Hungry Planet

Finally got one of the long standing books on my wishlist from Amazon,
titled “Hungry Planet”. It’s a huge tome showing 40 different families from
countries around the world and all the food that they eat in a week laid out
in a bizarre family portrait. All this is accompanied by stories and interviews
about their daily life involving food.

There is an accompanying book in the same style called “Material World”, with the same families and all their possessions laid out in front of their house for a weird insurance-claim-this-is-everything-I-own photo. It discusses what is important to them (asset wise), their daily activites, and interesting to see the endless ways in which people decorate their homes ranging from items for survial, to cheap tacky looking woodpaneled furniture.

With so many different cultures in the world, its fascinating to travel into their lives by flicking a few pages, seeing lifestyles, tastes, activities and the similarities which cause us to associate as a race.

And of course, all the weird things that set us apart.

African Suburb in Chicago

I was travelling through an alley on the outskirts of Chicago, exiting onto the african plains. After passing some derelict storage warehouses which I remembered were build by missionaries when they first arrived, I entered the first door I found.

I stepped inside the kitchen of Amber’s old work colleague Arden, who offered me “anything I wanted” after my journey. Opening the freezer, the top shelf was completely filled with a tidy tray of chocolate bars, bags of chips, and frozen hamburgers with all the toppings you could imagine or want, but looked as you would see on TV. I wanted one of these but saw 2 defrosting on the counter already but were taking ages and there was no microwave. So instead, I settled on a peanut slab for the energy of the peanuts it contained to revive me.

After my meal, Ardens husband Troy came home and we spent the next 10 minutes practising the correct handshake style with lots of hits, flicks and other hand signals. Once we got it right, I left their house then woke up to head to work.

Dreamtime

The Edinburgh sun is still rising at 4am, and trying to shine past our boxed up window, managing to brighen our room a few hours before we have to get up. Because of this play of light, I awaken briefly then go back to sleep to have vivid and bizarre dreams. Will start updating with any freaky ones that I remember.

Extended Corporate Life

Woken from a blissful weekend sleep-in, I buzz the mailman into the building and have to sign for a letter. Turns out I have had my contract extended by 6 months from the original end date. This puts me working for RBS until the start of Feb 2007. Guess i'm going to be quite busy at work but they haven't mentioned any of that yet. Weird to think how quickly and randomly I got the job just after we moved to Edinburgh, and now 8 months later I'm only 1/2 way through the contract.

With the news of the extension, I'm starting to already get plans in my head about a week or two of snowboarding at the end of the job, to relax, unwind, and forget about working completely. If any of you out there will be in Europe around Feb, lets catchup on a mountain slope somewhere. If you are already over this way, I'll be in touch to think about making some plans for the winter.

Delicious.

We have been getting into the summer spirit and into fresh harvest of fruit/veggies that is on the shelves and down at the farmers markets (one of my favourite wanderings on a saturday). Lately we have opted for the easy dinners and been making different soups, served up with a fresh piece of bread (no sliced stuff). The following one is my current favourite, so i've decided to share it with you all:

Butternut Soup (for 2)

Ingredients
knob of butter
drizzle of olive oil
1 butternut squash, peeled and diced
1 onion, peeled and chopped
2-3 cloves of garlic, peeled and chopped
300ml vegetable stock
pinch of chilli flakes
pinch of salt and freshly ground black pepper
splash of double cream
2-3 sprigs of Rosemary

Method
1. Gently heat the oil and butter in a saucepan and sauté the squash, onion, garlic, and Rosemary for a few minutes to soften.
2. Pour in the vegetable stock, bring to the boil and then reduce the heat.
3. Add the chilli flakes and seasoning, then reduce the heat and simmer gently for 10-15 minutes.
4. Use a Hand Blender to blend until smooth. Or let it cool a little then put it in a blender until smooth.
5. Pass the mixture through a sieve back into the pan and warm through gently. Add the cream and stir through.
6. Serve it up.

Late night thoughts…

Watching the day end out of the window, 10:49pm and feel like I'm just getting started into my night. The long days do give you a weird kind of energy, tempting me to stay up and just see what happens. I don't actually like how each day is filled with work, then coming back home to prepare for the next day's work. Living for the weekend as many before me have put it. My mind wanders to thoughts of the 24 days (like in Finland so I hear) where you could do everything you wanted in just one long, long day.

At the moment, I just feel that my time in Edinburgh is going too fast. The trips to Europe are cool and memorable, but I need something more in the city to remember, something to miss when we finally leave here. I'm always trying to keep busy at home doing things, increasing my knowledge or just doing something I enjoy like wandering with my camera, or cooking new dinners. 

I recently read that some time theories explain that if we are conscious of the time, looking forward to something, or watching it pass then it usually takes longer to do so. Those who block the concept and just enjoy what they are doing will feel like they have longer days because they don't restrict themselves in that mindset.

Maybe that is the problem, of trying to do something when I need to sit back, relax and look around the city without the weeknights or weekend counting down to another day of work. I think its better to get what you want out of the day, and deal with it the next day at work.

Amsterdam!

Another hop and a skip around Europe, this time landing in Holland for the last of our planned trips. Spent a wonderful 3 days in Amsterdam, just glad to be excused from work for a while and relaxing. Its not really the sort of city that offers massive sights, like that of Rome etc, but has plenty of quirks going on to keep people entertained.

Our days consisted of staying in the metal hulk of a houseboat, which was all ours after the other room didnt show up. Was a nice little setup, tied to the shore away from the city center, but close enough to wander in each day. We checked out the Anne Frank house, stopping at cafe's for a drink along the way and various bakeries, sweet shops etc.

At night, people strayed like moths drawn to the red lights the the central city. Windows of girls, drunken stag parties, stoned Americans (and Canadians – we heard them). Perfect for people watching and exploring the liberties offered by the goverment over this way. New attitudes on reoccuring topics of the UK, and America – drugs, prostitution, porn, late-night bakeries, making it more than just a tourist attraction but accepted ideas, and willingness to try a new solution to old problems.

One of the interesting places we came across was the TropenMuseum – Museum of the Tropics. A collection of objects that the Dutch explorers brought back from far away lands as they colonised them. They have everything from anywhere near the equator, with many collectors awaiting the ships return each time. I think the most fearsome was the hippo skull (with massive fangs), and the weirdest was film footage of Papua New Guinea, where explorers were measuring the natives heads will callipers and recording the details as part of a scientific experiment.

Amsterdam is a cool city to wander, sit back in a cafe, explore museums, or bike around if you are keen. We really noticed the amount of bikes around - on every rail, bike stand, and the double bike lanes alongside the footpath. The constant ringing of bells is still in my ears cautioning me to get out of the way. Hoping to head back again next year for some more fun

Altered Reality

I came across this article in the paper the other week and it freaked my out: Invisibility may not be impossibility. Basically it says that they are developing theories to allow objects to become invisible by bending light around them. It's hard to imagine such an invention in the real world, real life magic tricks making things disappear. If they can accomplish that then time travel might be next. If all this is possible, the universe is really a weird and wonderful place, limited only by imagination of what we think we can do

What’s Happening

Things are cruising along between holidays over this way. Next in line is Amsterdam for 4 days next week. We are staying on a houseboat which will be cool, nice and central too. Till then i'm enjoying the summer in Edinburgh, actually sitting in the park for the first time yesterday having a read in the sun. Rather than sit here typing all day I thought i'd give you all a quick summary of whats happening with me:

 Reading: Harry Potter and the Half-Blood Prince. Book 6 I think it is. I'm a few years late on this craze, but its a good read if you don't want to think too hard.

Cooking: Tonights dinner is Spaghetti con le Sarde. Pasta with a fried fillet of Sardine. Continuing on the pasta trail after coming back from Italy. Want to get a book on how to cook italian stuff properly. Since being in Edinburgh my cooking has really improved, partly due to fresh ingredients, better kitchen, good utensils, more food knowledge and just having a printer at work to print new receipies. The other current theme is Japanese food, curries, and some veggie creations

Work: Work is cruisy, with an average of 37 hours per week. I've been put in charge for a bit so it might get busy.

Spare Time: Just got some photos (film) back so will be playing around framing or mounting those. Want to get some nice prints onto Canvas as it has a cool look to it. Next on the list is a photo printer as well

Exercise: Um, I currently walk to the bus stop and back, but will be starting 8 weeks of yoga soon. Should be good to get into it once again.

What's everyone else out there been up to? 

Light and Dark

Summer is here. The days are long with the sun setting at around 10:30pm and rising once again at a early 3:30am. Between these times, the official night, if you look to the horizon you can still see light in the sky, like the sun is playing a game of hide and seek. Coming home at anytime of night, it appears to be this surreal world of lightness, promoting activity and confusing your sleep patterns. Just sitting and thinking about it all, the whole explanation of planet tilts, solar systems, orbits and seasons starts to play with your head as the understanding of how it all works sinks in properly.

We have countered this so far by taping cardboard boxes together and forming a curtain in the bedroom window, trimmed with newspaper along each side, and pinned the curtain to the wall to stop light sneaking through. Its not perfected yet, but does mean I don't wake up at 5am thinking its time to rise.

Not sure what the neighbours are thinking about our new decorations though.