Flipping heck. I got a bit peckish after last night’s entry and so decided to liberate the squid rings from the freezer, fry them and have them with mayonnaise.
They appeared to be battered but in reality weren’t, so presumably the rings were caked in ice to give that impression. There were also too many to fry at one time but seeing as 90 seconds are all that are needed, doing two batches shouldn’t have presented a problem.
The first ones were emptied onto a kitchen towel and I slung the rest in. All went well until just after a minute when there was a furious broiling and roiling from within and when I went to retrieve the rings it behaved like a volcano in the centre. As I lifted the cage the damned thing spat at me and a dollop of hot fat flew upwards and down onto my hand.
Of course I dropped the mesh and the rings fell unhindered back into the maelstrom that was the oil. I had already turned the heat off but it was almost as if it had gone into superheat mode.
Ok, they were fine to eat but today I had to empty the fryer because the oil was a murky milky tea colour and of course the machine itself needed a thorough wipedown as it was rather oily. I think I’ll stick to chips in future!
Sunday 25th 1415
More than half the student marks are now stored on my laptop so if I input tomorrow’s lot before Friday then I can wrap the whole shooting match up and email the file to Janet. Then I have fulfilled all my contractual obligations well before it expires. There can then be no complaints or finger-pointing. It’s harder here as I have no idea how to enter the marks direct on the school system and each student has to be given individual marks for attendance, activeness, oral and total. And believe me, trying to type 240 Chinese names even in Pinyin takes one hell of a lot of concentration to get them right!
Talking of chips again, last night was a simple bacon, egg & chips. I found some bacon that actually had more meat than fat. Still North American continent rubbish but at least the streaks of meat were larger than the grey hairs that grow on a forty-something woman’s head between dyes. And no eruptions in the fryer. Definitely sticking to chips.
So today the forecast says 29C. Not unpleasant but I wait to see what high summer gives me indoors. It seems that although the bonus of living this far north sees the flat equipped with radiators for at least some warmth in winter, they don’t believe in airconditioning. So far so good. Sleeping at night is really what concerns me, I can always shower again before bedtime if I was a little damp during the day - like today.
The reason for the slight “glow” at present is not because I went to the market for food but because I have been (and will be again later) been cooking. Not exactly slaving over a hot stove but as my kitchen is almost a greenhouse (it would be 100% so if the ceiling was glass) it gets a bit hot in here.
I was going to opt for salad today but decided I may do that tomorrow after work instead. No, I have some UK curry powder left so I thought I would try to make a chicken curry again. The last effort was in Chizhou (can’t recall if Joan was the unfortunate student sharing it with me or not) and I overdid both powder and liquids and it was ghastly. So much easier in England where you simply buy a jar of Sharwoods cook-in sauce and you are done!
This time I have cornflour AND proper yoghurt so I am hoping it will turn out ok. Of course, I forgot that the rice I have is the same as they recommended in BHG which turned out to be more suitable for a good old English rice pudding than for dinner. So you guessed it - curry and chips tonight!
My youngest brother and his wife left for Barbados yesterday for a luxury all-inclusive holiday. Luckily they could get the inclusive deal (I have been reading that due to Brits suing for gastric problems caused by food in some resorts these offers are dwindling fast) and a friend of theirs managed to upgrade their flights to business class. For reasons some of my readers are aware, I sincerely hope this is a holiday of a lifetime.
As for my holiday preparations (I know my plans only start in just over 5 weeks but you know I like to be organised just as well as you KNOW it will go wrong!) two hotels are booked and paid for, one is free courtesy of Shenyang Steve and the other is booked and to pay on arrival. So accommodation sorted. So far only one flight booked and that’s Alice’s from Shenyang to Nanjing. I thought I had better make sure of that one, it would put me in a pretty bad light if I took her there and she had no way of getting home.
The other flights are still more or less double what I hope they will drop to if I keep my nerve so I am waiting.
Of course, the good thing is that next year (provided I stay and the school still lets me after my militancy) I shouldn’t have the same angst at being shafted unexpectedly. Then I will know to expect it and even better, have considerably more greenbacks behind me. Unless of course I decide to go somewhere in spring festival……….
No idea about the school summer thing. I have stated that I don’t share rooms, if I get my 3,500y I am happy to pay for my accommodation but if not then find someone else. And if not, once next year’s contract is signed and sealed I shall start making waves. Bit silly to do it before I even know and am safe for a year anyway. I accept blame for August’s pay but I will not roll over for their “mistakes”.
But hey! I am sure everything will be fine in the end! Be happy, by 1610 on Friday I am finished until the end of August/beginning of September!
1700
The curry was wonderful! Enough left over so that I may just reheat some for tomorrow!
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