The meal was a mixed bag yet again. And yet again, my own fault! Thankfully only I knew what was wrong!
Suzy, Sheila and a new face to this blog Jenny (pigging photo os a bit blurred) all arrived thirty minutes late. Well Suzy and Jenny were twenty minutes late and Sheila was the full half hour but then she had texted to warn me. How could I be annoyed when the reason was that she had gone hunting for, and obtained, the rest of my cigars?
The soup I have to say was perfect although my hand blender didn’t seem to function as well as usual, nonetheless I got a nice thick and creamy result - even if I may ultimately have to buy a new processor. It cost less than 200y anyway so it won’t be a huge problem.
The chicken a la king? Well of course I was never going to be able to replicate the “galley trogs” aboard HMS Conway (more’s the pity in this instance) but I had everything prepared by three and all I had to do was reheat when it was time and boil the noodles.
Of course, by the time “the time” came, the soup had thickened and quite literally a spoon stood up in it and stayed there. Nothing wrong with a hearty broth especially when the Chinese call hot water with a piece of tomato and a shred of egg in it “soup” but any thicker and you could have spread it on toast! So naturally I added more water, just enough to produce a thick and filling bowl of soup. I had even added chilli oil for a little bit of a kick. Perfick.
The chicken had done likewise. Instead of being creamy it was more like setting cement. So I gave it the same treatment. Pillock. I should have left well alone because with hindsight I reckon the reheating would have loosened it up. Instead it was too runny. As aforementioned, the girls never knew how it should have been and they enjoyed it regardless. I on the other hand was mentally kicking my privates for not leaving well alone.
I think the kids enjoyed the evening anyway (ice cream cornets whilst watching my computer for afters) and I showed them the documentary on Christian the lion (I swear they didn’t believe me that two blokes in 60s London bought a lion from Harrods when I mentioned it in class) followed by the rest of ET. If only I had left the a la king well alone.
The Old Conway and internationally acclaimed author Geoff Woodland (Triangle Trade) was chiding me the other day regarding meals aboard Conway. He is a decade my senior but it seems the food never altered. Apparently he developed a liking for the fried bread we were offered. Not for those with dentures, as he described it perfectly as being so thick and rock hard it shattered when you bit it. He has tried and failed to achieve the same result. I have to inform him I have done it with resounding success on occasion but certainly not intentionally!
No idea why but today I felt exhausted. Ok I had the thought of every stitch of crockery and cutlery in the dining room to wash up but that could (and did) wait. I wasn’t late to bed and only got up when I woke up. But hell I felt drained.
Of course I was very pleased after going all the way to school to find but one student had arrived for class and she was on the phone talking to a mate and I assume telling her she was about to leave. I asked her if she wanted a class (this is the same girl who was the only one who turned up a while back) and her face said it all. I told her if she wanted to leave it was ok. She left.
Shortly afterwards so did I. Now what’s the betting students will turn up next Friday when I definitely WON’T want them to? My Monday morning class has been rescheduled to Friday morning and that will mean a long day. There is a guest lecturer arriving from Shanghai so I have been shunted into the sidings. I confess if the afternoon mob don’t show up I will be joyous.
I took buses home, revelling in the fact they are still free due to, well I don’t know, it’s not particularly polluted although it is a bit chilly, and decided to go to Homwo to buy another three matching oval plates. Of course, instead of the 13y I paid for the first one, they were 20y each but at least now I can serve a main course with symmetrical dishes. I also bought another plastic fish slice (the other one was way too thick to flip an omelette or get a fried egg out of a pan), a back scrubber for the shower (the last one was actually for scrubbing the floor and was useless for cleaning my back) and a wall clock. All that cost me 100y and I now have a clock in the bedroom that I can simply glance up at (as long as there’s some light) and know the time when I wake. That luxury cost 20y plus battery.
Three days off yawn ahead of me and the multi-coloured mountains idea surfaced in my mind again. Not sure I can justify the expense of it though.
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