Saturday, May 31, 2008

# 213 Protein for Breakfast

Almond Flour Pancakes

Quick to make - Not many carbs - Tastes nice.
















Ingredients:

1 egg

1 tablespoon of sour cream

1 tablespoon of water

4 tablespoons of ground almonds
half teaspoon baking powder
pinch of salt

Method:
Mix all together and spoon onto a hot(ish) buttered frying pan.
Fry (makes three small pancakes)
Flip (carefully) after a few minutes, then serve after a few more minutes.
I added some strawberries and cranberries but if you want the real Atkins diet deal just add butter :-)


Tuesday, May 27, 2008

#212 Eng. Lit.

I can thoroughly recommend The Way We Wore by Robert Elms. It's an account of the writer's infatuation with the clothes, music and style of his youth. He's younger than me but near enough to to spark a memory of wearing Italian shoes and smoking French fags down the Coffee-Bar. Odd that the book cover is crap . . . . .

On the other hand, a good record cover usually has well designed music. And I don't have to fret about my feminine side to appreciate the show music from Porgy & Bess - its by Oscar Peterson and Joe Pass - so that's all right.

Nothing to do with fags, Providing You Don't Kiss Me by Duncan Hamilton is a biography about the infamous football manager, Brian Clough. I used to follow his teams, especially Nottingham Forest just because he was so outrageous. Sometimes he was a nice man - but not always.

I've extended my World Music collection with Made in Dakar by Orchestra Baobab. Only trouble is it's the . . . . . (counts records) . . . . fifth Orchestra Baobab cd in my collection, I wonder if it would be better to have only one cd (or make a compilation, I suppose).

I like Manu Chao in the same way but once you've enjoyed one cd you've enjoyed them all - or am I being insensitive to their subtle musical nuances . . . . .

Monday, May 26, 2008

#211 Crossword, Smoshword

Yeaaaa!

Finished the Saturday version of The Times crossword (that's the extra hard one, don't you know) Thought I was stumped with a couple of clues not answered, but picked up the paper this morning and the last two just popped in :-)

Obviously have far too much free time.


Wednesday, May 21, 2008

#210 Two Bikes

This one is my new singlespeed.
I built it from some old bits (and some new).
That one is my old "low-pro" triathlon bike.
Tom and I have converted it to a fixie.
He's riding it up and down Las Ramblas at this very moment ;-)


Tuesday, May 20, 2008

#209 Odd Socks

This is a warning to those considering on-line shopping for socks.

I recently took up a special offer from Rapha for 3 for the price of 2 pairs of merino wool socks. These are special because the inside ankle area of the right sock is reinforced to withstand dirt and chain abrasion (it says here) as opposed to the left, which is not.

Anyway, I received the 3 pairs. My first pair is ok as you see from the pic but the second pair is made up of two lefts and the third pair is two rights - no wonder they were discounted. . . . . . . .

Monday, May 19, 2008

#208 Watched Read Listened

Watched a Pedro Amodóvar film Habla con Ella about two women in a coma (not the same coma - they had one each) which wasn't quite as gruesome as some of Almodóvar's other films. I suppose Volver wasn't that gruesome either, although it was a story about a corpse but Matador was really, really, hide-behind-the-sofa horrific.

Read a biography about French Tour de France winner Louison Bobet and enjoyed it so much I bought another book by the same author (actually Louison's brother Jean). You would think watching a film or reading a book in a different language would be a chore but these two books were ok, probably because the subject, cycle racing in the sixties, was so familiar.

Then after seeing a tv documentary about Amy Winehouse went straight out and got hold of her Back to Black cd and made a compilation of modernish soul music with Duffy and Al Green and stuff like this:

  1. Valerie - Mark Ronson & Amy Winehouse
  2. Wishin' and Hopin' - Dusty Springfield
  3. Stick With Me Baby - Robert Plant & Alison Krause
  4. Warwick Avenue - Duffy
  5. That's Not My Name - The Ting Tings
  6. Let's Stay Together - Al Green
  7. My Ever Changing Moods - Style Council
  8. Me & Mr. Jones - Amy Winehouse
  9. Walk On By - Dionne Warwick
  10. Back To Black - Amy Winehouse
  11. Mercy - Duffy
  12. Love Is A Losing Game - Amy Winehouse
  13. You're The Best Thing - Style Council
  14. Funny How Time Slips Away - Al Green & Lyle Lovett
  15. None Of Us Are Free - Solomon Burke