Sascha's blog

I haven't posted to Vox since August.  Wow.

The reason for this was that where I work, I can't access the page properly.  Since I'm usually online at work, my Vox usage dropped.

Anyway, I'm back.  We'll see how long it lasts!

Happy new year, everyone!

What albums are in heavy rotation for you right now?

Le Roi Soleil - Je fais de toi mon essentiel

Le Roi Soleil

Stephen Lynch - Superhero is the main one.  I like all the albums (if you haven't been able to tell from recent entries, I'm on a bit of a Lynch kick, as it were), but this one is my favorite because it has my three of my top 5 Stephen Lynch songs - Priest, Lullaby, and Grandfather.

Le Roi Soleil soundtrack is another one I listen to a lot lately.  Le Roi Soleil is a French musical.  The song linked on this entry is from the show, and it's all just so fabulous.  It helps to understand French, but even if you don't, the music is wonderful.  It's not like "old time" musicals, but rather is modern and makes me bop!

Belle and Sebastian - The Life Pursuit  is another really good one I've been listening to a fair bit lately.   There are very few songs on the album that I dislike and quite a few that I adore.

My last main album at the moment is Garou's self-titled album.  It's a fairly new release, so I haven't gotten as familiar with some of the tracks as I have with other Garou albums.  This is another French album.

If you browse the songs I have uploaded, you'll be able to find tracks from each of these album. :-)

What was the last wedding you went to?  Were you in the wedding?

The Bride and the Groom - April 2006

The last wedding I went to was last April for my boyfriend's sister and her (now) husband.  Ten of us went to Iberostar Tucan Resort in Playa del Carmen, Mexico for two weeks all-inclusive, and they had the wedding there.  It was fabulous.

As you can see by the picture, the wedding was held outdoors in the jungle.  There was no music, just the sounds of the flamingos and monkeys.  It was casual, but beautiful at the same time.  It's reinforced my desires to not have a boring church wedding (aside from the fact that I'm not at all religious!).

I wasn't in the wedding... in fact, nobody other than the bride and groom were, really!  There were no bridesmaids or groomsmen or anything. :-)

They had originally planned to have the wedding on the beach, as Caroline had always dreamed of a beach wedding.  They changed their minds after they saw the venue; there was nothing to stop people from standing around and watching the wedding or getting in the way during the pictures.  To have the wedding in the jungle area of the resort, it was much more secluded.  They were able to section off an area just for us, so that they could have their ceremony in peace. :-)

Take a picture of something under construction.

The Flat in Progress

We're in the process of trying to buy a new flat... which is currently under construction, as you can see.  Hopefully next time we see it, the walls will be painted, there will be a gorgeous hardwood floor in place, and the ceiling lights will be fixed in.  It will be gorgeous when it's finished.  I just hope we can actually get it!

The room straight ahead in the picture will be the lounge; we'll hopefully be putting a back door in so we can access the garden from it directly.  The closest doorway on the right is the bathroom, and the other doorway is the kitchen.  Behind the photographer would be the upstairs bedroom, which may end up being an office instead.  Down the stairs on the left, there will be a small study area, plus another bedroom with an en suite bathroom. :-)

It'll have a smaller kitchen, but it's in a far nicer area of Liverpool with much more space than our current little flat.

Take a picture of something that made you smile.

Random Letter

Everything you see is like a new world in sind you and when you thing about something in your head that you know that it is just like it is in your live but when you know that it is not you will not thing about it any more but you can if you want to and if you don't want to and if you don't want to you don't need to.  !KEEP YOUR DREAM!

So random and bizarre, but it makes me laugh everytime I read it. :-)

What do you usually do on Sunday?

Settlers of Catan

Sundays are usually relatively quiet for me.  I don't go out shopping much, because I never know what's actually open on a Sunday and would hate to make the journey to find a shop is closed.  I also don't drive, so unless my partner Rich and I are going someplace, I take the bus, which runs far less frequently on a weekend.

Often, like yesterday, we go to his parents' house for dinner and to play some games of Settlers of Catan.  Usually Rich wins, but we still love the game.

(Yesterday, I am pleased to note that although Rich won the first two games, I had victory in the third.  Hooray!) :-)

Comedy Central presents Stephen Lynch

I had linked to this video on YouTube, but it was taken down.  Perhaps that means it's only a matter of time before it's taken down from here, but hey. 

If you're new to Stephen Lynch and have no idea who he even is, watch this.  It's about 20 minutes and is worth ever second.  Hell, watch it even if you're a long time member of the Lynch mob.

Stephen Lynch is a singing comedian... he has the voice of an angel, but his humor is very dark.  A lot of his songs are rather offensive, but this video's very tame compared to a lot of other stuff. It's absolutely superb, though.  :-)

[When I try to watch it on here, it's very choppy.  It doesn't seem to buffer the way that YouTube does.  I'm not sure if it's just me or not; I have a 4mb broadband connection, so it shouldn't be too bad. If you do want to watch and my version just isn't cutting it, try looking on YouTube.]

Do you have any tattoos? If not, if you were going to get inked, what would you get?

I'm completely tattooless.  Part of this is due to a huge fear of needles and pain, and another part because I don't want to get something that's more or less permanent and decide later that it was a stupid decision. 

I suppose if I had to get a tattoo, it would be a Celtic knot heart.  I saw one on a CD cover once, and I loved the image.  Unfortunately, it wasn't a mainstream band, so I couldn't just look the cover up now and find the image again.  It doesn't matter anyway, since I don't imagine I'll ever feel strongly enough to get a tattoo. :-)

So, how did do with that weekend goal? No goal? What did you do this weekend?

I didn't really have a weekend goal, as it were.  I wanted desperately to go to Ikea, and happily, I was able to.  I didn't get to spend nearly as much time as I wanted there, but I did get a few accessories for in the kitchen (shelves to help maximise cupboard space, scissors, pot holders, mis en place bowls, and a wine glass holder that attaches under a wall cupboard).  :-)

I posted this recently in my normal journal.  It's easier to organize things on here, though, so this may start happening more often if I post something I want to access easily again. :-)

This is the result of some experimentation, and it was very, very tasty.  It was almost too flavorful, so I think next time I'll use light soy sauce and some more mushroom broth.

Pork in Black Bean Oyster Sauce

Marinade:
1 1/2 Tablespoons soy sauce
1 Tablespoon rice vinegar
1 Tablespoon corn starch

Sauce:
2 Tablespoons corn starch
1 Tablespoon soy sauce
1 Tablespoon oyster sauce
1/2 teaspoon demerara sugar (white could work, too)

Aromatics:
6 spring onions, sliced thinly on the bias
1 Tablespoon salted, fermented black beans (lightly crushed)
3 cloves garlic, sliced
1 inch cube of galangal, minced (Normally I would use ginger, but I only had galangal)

Other Ingredients:
Pork loin - Unfortunately, I'm not sure exactly how much I used. Probably about half a pound or so. I only have to feed two when I cook.
4 dried black mushrooms
1 Tablespoon Shao Xing wine
Sesame oil (optional)

Process:

1. Mix together the marinade ingredients, using a silicone spatula to get rid of any lumps from the corn starch. Thinly slice the pork (which has been partially frozen to make it much easier). Mix together the marinade and the pork and set aside.

2. Soak the dried mushrooms in 3/4 cup hot water for at least ten minutes. (I let mine soak for 20 minutes to give the meat a chance to marinate a bit longer.)

3. While meat is marinating and mushrooms are soaking, combine sauce ingredients and set aside. Prepare the aromatics and set those in a separate bowl.

4. When mushrooms are ready, squeeze as much liquid from them as possible. Cut off the woody stem and discard, then slice each into four. Reserve 1/2 cup of the soaking liquid (broth), avoiding sediment.

5. Heat a small amount of vegetable oil in the wok until hot. Add in the aromatics and stirfry for 2 minutes, until they smell gorgeous but aren't changing color.

6. Move the aromatics from the middle of the wok and add the pork in a single layer if possible. Leave for a minute, checking to see if the slices are browning on the bottom. When they are, add the mushrooms and start stirfrying all ingredients that are currently in the pan together.

7. When pork is nearly competely white, add wine to deglaze the pan, scraping the bottom to unstick any bits.

8. Add the sauce ingredients. When bubbly, add broth and stir well. A nice, clingy sauce will form quite quickly.

8. Remove from heat and drizzle with a little bit of sesame oil if desired.

Serve with jasmine or basmatic rice. :-)