Thinking, House Hunting and Food... All in a day's work

Thinking....

About how some people influence our lives a lot more than others. In my case one person who really stood was Bro. Walsh, back when I was in grade school. Bro. Walsh was from County Cork, and used to the english teacher for 10th grade but by the time he and I met, he had stopped teaching and was retired and lived in our school. I was sitting on th bench in the "front of school" at my usual spot - the corner covered by the pine tree and the massive cactus and working my way through Kipling's Plain Tales from the Hills. He walked up to where I was sitting... so I naturally stood up and the first thing he said was "That's a strange choice for a saturday afternoon". I guess my expression told him how confused I was as to what choice he spoke of..so he pointed at the book. He then spent the next hour or so quizzing me about what I had been reading and why I had been reading and what I remember and what I learnt from what I read. I was petrified... since I had no idea what was going on. Mercifully, the bell rang to annouce tea... and off I went... like a bat out of hell. Since I had practise after tea... I didn't run into him again and the day wound up and I forgot all about it. Next day, I was at my usual place finishing up my book... and all of a sudden he is sitting next to me. He didn't say a word, and started reading the book he was carrying... and this is how it went. Over the next 2 years, he gave me books that I should have been reading, debated them with me and even spoke to my mom and told her to persuade me to study literature once I got out of school (my mom was all for it, esp since she herself has a masters in English Litt) . The thing I learnt though (and I realized this muchhhh later) was he actually taught how to form my own opinions based on what I read and what I saw and not what others thought of it.





House Hunting....



Probably the most irritating of all human activities... I rate it lower than standing in line at a government office even. Its that time of the year that I need to look for a new place (our old is ok... but the area around it is a dump) . So we need to move... again.... to a place where its easy to find a maid, and have the garbage cleared on a daily basis and other small things. Well.... wish me luck!!!



Food....

This is something that I picked up from somewhere (dont remember where...) but is super for a rainy day :

You going to need :

4 Chicken Breasts

Whisky (not the cheap stuff - Use a Bourbon, or Scotch or Irish)

Double Cream

Mushrooms

A twig



Add oil to a heavy pan, and sear the chicken lightly and evenly. Turn the flame low, add whisky to the pan making sure that you put enough on the chicken . Light the twig, and hold it to the pan, allowing the whisky to light up. Make sure you stand way back because its going to go up a treat and WILL take your eyebrows off if you are not careful. Once the flame dies down... add the cream and the chopped up mushrooms and salt to taste and allow it to simmer in the pan till cooked. You will want to check on it every once in a while to make sure its not sticking to the bottom and adding a teeny bit of water to keep it going until cooked. To serve.... out 2 pieces to a plate and pour the sauce over it liberally. You might wanna chop up some parsely and sprinkle across the top.

P.S. - You can do this with beef or lamb as well. Just remember that the pieces need to be small otherwise they aren't going to get cooked.