Bankrupcy banquet
I got up in the morning thinking I had a free day with M_____ working all day. I put on my buckwheat porride as usual. It doesn’t bother me at all now. I’ve got my technique down to make it how I like it, leaving the buckwheat to simmer in the rice milk for at least fifteen minutes, and then turning off the heat for a good five or ten (while I have a shower, say). Meanwhile, I got on to read the Czech version of what I have now found is indeed translated into English (as how could it not be), “H.”: Autobiography of a Child Prostitute and Heroin Addict by Christiane F. I read a little to myself, and then a little more out loud, practising my pronunciation and frustrating myself in the process – Czech is a very difficult language to read out aloud since I find that I constantly anticipate the endings of words incorrectly and end up stuttering more than usual; in combination with the inherent difficulty of the pronunciaion for English speakers it sounds very bad indeed. Czech shot up my priority lists from this, as I’m sure it will as quickly fall down.
In any case a good morning, watching the coverage of the Great North Run at one and the same time, and thinking a little of Muttley in the process, a guy I used to share a house with who accidentally ran the Scab City marathon when he had intended the half. The lead runner and eventual winner was, besides, very attractive (the coverage mostly followed the women’s race, probably due to Paula Radcliffe, who I had cause to remember, whilst already set on my university days, was a favorite of Tall Tom who also gave me a few moments recollection).
Anyway, after that I found I was a little down and whatever I chose to do, perhaps because I was not already thrown headlong into a project, seemed somehow futile. I resolved to cook for both myself and M____. That, I assured myself, would lift my spirits. I remembered Garp, the creation of John Irving whose book, a Prayer for Owen Meany, I began to read last night, a writer, who cooked, ran and wrote, finding that one of these pursuits would invariably be going better than at least one of the others and would compensate for them. As soon as I hit upon it, it seemed like a good idea. I would always need to be able to cook. Yes. I could read at the same time by listening to my MP3. Indeed (just as anytime when my priorities shift, when I begin to tell myself that they not only could but must shift forever), I told myself I should cook enough every day that audiobooks from Audible should be my main source of reading matter.
I had already resolved to make a curry for myself, and had scratched out the next item on my reintroduction list, tea. Tea invariably would go badly, so in terms of morale, I should reintroduce something I strongly suspected would give me no jip, and which would additionall prove useful in my cooking. A strong factor in this decision was that I did not want to be seen with unappetising food at work. (This was neither a rationalisation nor a superficial consideration since the way people see us strongly affects the way we can act and the way we feel.) I had already written into the reintroduction page of my booklet that tea could not be reintroduced before the 1st, because I wanted to see if I could get shot of my feelings of anxiousness and antsiness befoe moving on, and to feel that I was capable of feeling normal. I drew an arrow from onions up to tea to show I had changed the order. I would cook a normal-ish curry with onions.
In addition I would cook M_____a nice lasagne. This had prompted lots of reveries already, since I had been planning to cook for her. Describing cooking blind (without tasting) as like Beethoven yadayadyada. I also looked up a type of cake called a babovka that I wanted to make for her. I was going to cook most of that day. I had resolved that much.
I had just been paid and so I went to Sainsbury’s which is relatively more expensive, more upmarket than Asda (part of the Walmart group).
Sainsbury’s
Try Something New Today
BLACK HERD MEWS : 01624 551822
VAT NUMER : 774 8534 96
CORIANDER LIVING POT £0.99
POTATOES SM WHSD LSE
0.755 kg @ £1.39/ KG £1.05
reduced item -£0.61
DWARF BEANS £1.08
LARGE ONIONS £0.89
BROCCOLI LOOSE
0.775 kg @ £1.78/ kg £1.38
CAULIFLOWER £0.78
TOMATO BEEF SINGLE
2 @ £0.49 £0.98
VINE TOMATOES £1.79
MIXED PEPPERS X 3 £1.29
PEAR CONFERENCE LSE
1.085 kg @ £1.38/ kg £1.50
APPLE PINK LADY LSE
0.795 kg @ £1.47/ kg £1.82
APPLE GOLDEN DEL LSE
0.690 kg £1.47/ kg £1.01
SWEETCORN SINGLE COB
3 @ £0.53 £1.62
*** MULTI BUY**** -£0.62
AVOCADO LRG SINGLE £1.19
BANANA FAIRTRADE LSE
0.795 kg @ £0.85/ kg £0.68
PEARS TTD CONCORD LS
0.585 KG @ £1.99/ kg £1.16
LEAN STEAK MINCE £2.19
LEAN STEAK MINCE £2.19
***MULTI BUY*** -£0.38
RICE DREAM £1.38
RICE DREAM £1.38
JS TOMATO PUREE £0.24
LASAGNE 500g £1.48
KERRYGOLD BUTTER £0.88
JS SMOKED HAM £0.88
CHOPPED TOMOATOES £1.77 [sic]
JS MED BARN EGGS £0.95
* WHT ROASTER £2.99
* WHT ROASTER £2.99
JS COCOA £1.24
JS 4 TURKEY STEAKS £2.99
JS 4 TURKEY STEAKS £2.99
***MULTI BUY*** -£0.98
ENGLISH MAT CHEDDAR £3.66
S/SKIMMED MILK £0.76
CORIANDER WHOLE £0.95
SWZ WHOLE CUMIN SEED £1.43
ALPRO ORG SOYA YOFU £1.15
PURE SUNFLW SPRD £1.09
40 BALANCE DUE £52.28
Maestro UK £52.28
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ISS. DATE : 07/07
EXP. DATE : 07/10
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TOTAL DISCOUNTS -£2.59
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B0040 0040 13:39:19 30SEP2007
Recipe. Using beetroot from G_____ who is a little fussy.
