Wednesday, August 2nd, 2006...12:01 pm
Up there for thinkin’
People say academics live in Ivory Towers and couldn’t tell their arses from their elbows, but it’s not ALL like that.
For instance I was heating up my lunch just then in the kitchen* when I spotted an ice cream container on the counter with a note on top. I hoped it was an invitation to make off with homemade cake or something, but it said
Throw far from picnic table
to lure magpies away
Not just clever, but kind and thoughtful too.
* The baby gets hungry very early. I mustn’t look pregnant yet (just horribly fat) because people still look askance when I eat lunch early. So it was very nice to be able to say “If you were having lamb shanks braised in red wine and balsamic vinegar on polenta with some gremolata on top you’d want it at half past eleven too.”
BUT, she reconsiders the next day – it’s dumb to feed the magpies anything! They’ll still associate people at the table with getting fed, and try and peck me at lunch. No decoy bread for YOU, little birdy.
24 Comments
August 2nd, 2006 at 4:57 am
That’s right! Now I remember your offer… it involved cooking something in red wine for beloved and I if we should end up in your lil town.
August 2nd, 2006 at 5:19 am
It did, didn’t it? This one is really very good too.
August 2nd, 2006 at 5:52 am
I’ll tell beloved as an incentive. After I had a very good interview yesterday she’s getting very cold feet on the idea.
August 2nd, 2006 at 5:56 am
aah so it’s people like you who are to blame.
I can’t afford lamb shanks to make soup anymore. I can remember when the bloody butcher useta give ‘em t’ me for FREE. Now it’s all trendy to roast them in bourgeurbia and I’m deprived.
August 2nd, 2006 at 6:07 am
Nah, FX, they were cooked in an old school crock pot. I don’t think you can call bourgie on that.
August 2nd, 2006 at 7:08 am
Mmmm lamb shanks.
*sigh*
August 2nd, 2006 at 7:55 am
Yay for crockpots. Yay for lamb. Yay for nice colleagues. (Today my colleague loaned me $5 to buy lunch so yay for her too.)
August 2nd, 2006 at 8:17 am
I had lamb shanks on Sunday night. I can confirm their goodness, so good I do not sully them with no braising. Red wine in a glass, a dab of wholegrain mustard on the shanks and that is all.
I have lunch most days 9am-1000am but then I start work at 5.
August 2nd, 2006 at 8:39 am
zoe – whooa an old skool orange real thing crockpot? I’ve been looking for one for ages. Used to be you could get them given to you for flower pots.
August 2nd, 2006 at 8:40 am
btw – today at a chi-chi butchers shop in Glenferrie Road I saw small HALF shanks wrapped in plastic for $3 each!!!
August 2nd, 2006 at 8:43 am
I’ve gone over to mainly Snorkers Smoked Hocks for ‘am ‘n’ Pea soup. No meat for Punkin Soup or Tomatoe w. Lentil and a bit of bacon pieces for celery soup.
August 2nd, 2006 at 9:28 am
my mum’s orange crock pot died last year
and the little one I found at a garage sale just isn’t big enough. because if you’re going to do crock potty stuff, it’s got to be lots!
so we went searching for a new crock pot. or an old second hand one…
… but gah, they’re not called crock pots any more. they’re called fancy-schmnacy slow cookers instead. all stainless steel-looking and black ceramic. mind you, they get really BIG – the one we bought is about one and a half times the size of the old orange one, and it wasn’t the biggest on the market! the only thing that stopped us from being greedy gutses is the fact that when the big ones are full, they’re bloody heavy.
August 3rd, 2006 at 12:44 am
Yeah I tried to buy an old orange crockpot on on ebay. Turns out it would have cost me $100 to ship it from NSW, so I just gave up. And none turned up around Perth when I was looking.
In the end I had to get one of those stainless steel ones from Breville — I mean, it does a good job, but I’d much rather it was orange.
August 3rd, 2006 at 2:00 am
Sadly, mine is a subdued pale grey – it was a 21st birthday present from my sister.
They are exceedingly good, especially working full time. Getting home with a hungry nearly 4 year old and dinner being ready is tops.
August 3rd, 2006 at 3:24 am
Hey FX – I bought not only one but TWO of the orange Crockpots last year in the local opshops within a week of each other. They were $15 and $20. This was after I deliberated too long over one in the window – so when I spotted the next one I snapped it up. Last year it was all retro slow cooking round here.
I’ll let you know if any more surface round these parts.
August 3rd, 2006 at 4:45 am
For fear of sounding like a sadly-PC killjoy I did keep my thoughts to myself yesterday, but since you’ve added the update…it is very wrong to feed bread to magpies.
I’m just such an oldest child rules-obeyer it is embarrassing sometimes.
Regarding crockpots: grandparents are a good source.
August 3rd, 2006 at 4:50 am
For hassling reasons, 3C, or because it’s bad for them? Because I also remembered vaguely something this morning about it not being terribly good for wild birds to eat bread.
Mind you they all turn into vicious swooping nasties in a couple of weeks and I’d cheerfully throw rocks at them then.
August 3rd, 2006 at 5:08 am
Bread is bad for them. Very bad.
Rocks are bad too, but in swooping season different rules apply. I spend most of spring with an ice cream container (to which I have applied texta eyes) on my head.
August 3rd, 2006 at 5:14 am
Can we have a picture?
August 3rd, 2006 at 6:42 am
Little rocks, collected in a 12 gauge shell… swooping birds are my pet fear and hatred.
August 3rd, 2006 at 11:57 am
Vegemite toast – with turkish bread got me through the mid morning hungries with Charlie. It was dry biscuits with Gemma, and a sneaking suspicion that maybe something was going on that I hadn’t cottoned onto yet. That thing that I hadn’t cottoned onto is now sitting on my lap getting square eyes watching West Wing. At least she has good taste in TV.
August 3rd, 2006 at 12:46 pm
Vegemite toast here, Mindy. The stuff is magic.
August 4th, 2006 at 5:27 am
yay, make it three for Vegemite toast. I wonder if the kids will have gotten their love of Vegemite in utero?
and I agree with Kate, I wish my cooker was orange. I think it makes things taste better.
August 4th, 2006 at 11:27 am
When my orange pot died, I took out the ceramic bowl and I’m still using it for cooking in the oven.
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