Hot hot ramen

When you have a cold, as a general rule your tastebuds go on holiday. So what better time to take advantage and feed yourself blocked-up-nose-busting super chilli soup?

I have just had two bowls of this and can barely feel my tongue screaming. Plus its got veggies, ginger, garlic and all sorts of good healthy stuff.

Ingredients (whatever you fancy, but I use):
- some pork
- some red pepper
- some baby sweetcorn
- a bok choy
- some mushrooms
- a couple of kaffir lime leaves chopped finely
- a cube of frozen ginger
- a BIG clove of garlic chopped finely or crushed
- chicken stock cube
- a little more than a splash of soy sauce
- a little more than a splash of lime juice
- some fine egg noodles
- as much water as you would like for the soupy bit

Basically bung it all in a wok until the noodles are cooked. By then everything else will be. Doesn't take long if you cut the pork into thin strips.

Then decant into a bowl and ensure you have a fork and spoon handy.

Enjoy!

When its gone its gone

That's my mum's Christmas chocolate theory anyway... so I am following it and scoffing all my Christmas choccies. Plus it tastes good and Jesus was born so I could have a chocolate orange each year. Wasn't he?

Stocking!

Didn't I do well?

Christmas jobs

This is my annual Christmas job. I get really mad when someone else does it.

Job done for 2007

iCan't Player

Last week I moved into Elle's spare room in islington in an attempt to make it through the Week Of Parties(TM) with out either dying or missing the last train.

All in all it was a rather successful venture. The objectives were met and it was fun having a "roomy".

However imagine my horror when, on Sunday night, I sat down to watch my recorded episodes of Spooks (last in the series?), Fanny Hill and Cranford, only to find what little was on the tape was only there to infuriate! Fanny Hill was very funny.... Until the recording stopped 5 mins before the end. Spooks was missing entirely and Cranford also stopped 5 mins short.

Asking around whether anyone had taped them, my friend Os kindly offered me Cranford. Sorted.

He also pointed me to the BBC's iPlayer where if you are in the UK you can watch BBC programmes for 7 days after they air. Woo! I think. Woo, this will be just what a modern girl like me needs. The perfect solution for people who don't watch much TV but whose social life always seems to arrange itself around the 3 programmes we do watch.

So I settled in to watch.

15 mins into fanny hill (15 mins that I had already seen remember, you can't fast forward), it stopped. Ditto Spooks.

Tonight the 7 days availability on Spooks ends. So that's an entire series I watched without being able to see the end (no point watching tonights if there is one more episode, this series has had fabulously linked episodes so it wouldn't make sense).

Come on BBC, sort it out. One bad experience on a service like this and it takes a lot to coax someone back. Judging by the error messages I received it could just be you need to buy More server capacity.

Statements of fact

My libary books are overdue

I have a slightly fuzzy head today, but English wine is very good

I am off work and taking it easy writing christmas cards

I am still REALLY looking forward to Christmas

On Sunday I become a Londoner again for one week only

Right now I am making myself as small as possible so as not to get in the way of my cleaner (or cleaners, as there are 3 of them)

Today is fabulous winter weather... brutal winds, sparkly sun, crisp cold

Despite feeling exhausted, this week reminded me how much I like my job

Dream pink houses

My dream house is for sale.

I have always loved the pink houses in Letchworth, and here is one with roses around the front door!! Oh I wish my house were worth twice as much so I could trade it in!! Its not that I don't love my house, but its not the pink house of my dreams...