Wednesday, 25 February 2015

Steven King, food and lots more food



25 February

The other day I began reading Steven King’s The Shining and there in the introduction were more words of wisdom from the master. He wrote that now he had turned 60, he struggled to write 1800 words a day. I’m not sure how I feel about that you know. Should I see it as a relief that it’s normal for writers to slow down as they older; or should I worry that I’m showing my age when I do? Oh dear, yet another worry … … … But you know, I don’t care either way. I’ll go on in my own sweet way as I’ve always done.

The Spag-Bol went down well last night Jan says. It’s nice to know I haven’t lost that little touch at least. Later I shall find how my curry sauce touch is when I make myself one using a bit of pork we have left over. There’s a point; did you happen to see the Food Unwrapped telly show the other week? One of the presenters went off to speak to some scientific-type guys to ask if it is true that you can die from eating pink pork. She could have called me and I’d have told that it was truce. I didn’t know the details but all pigs carry a virus that is only killed by being heated to a certain temperature.

If it isn’t then the chance of food poisoning is greatly increased and in some cases, it will kill. There are two main illnesses that pink pork can cause, Firstly, there is Trichinosis, a parasitic form of ring worm. The second is Hepatitis C, which can lead to jaundice and liver failure. So if you’ve ever felt off from eating sausage at that summer barbi, now you know why eh. So what about me and my twice cooked pork then?

Firstly, I make very sure that when I roast pork, it is well cooked. My moto with pork is, ‘If there isn’t a little man sitting on top waving a white flag, put it back in!’ Actually, it’s not like that at all. It’s a case of using a carving fork and pushing it in to see if there is any blood running out as you pull it out. How do you gauge when to test it then? Well, I take the weight and give it 20 minutes per lb plus 20 minutes. That’s fine for larger joints and on a guide for smaller ones. With say a 2lb joint, try it at the one hour mark and then keep an eye on it after that.

As for twice cooked pork, well, I shall be making a strong curry sauce and then add the diced cooked pork. In the over it will go for at least 90 minutes, but probably more like 2 hours. It will be safe then. BUT … and left over will go in the bin. But knowing me and my greedy taste, there won’t be anything left over. Oh yes … that twice cooked thingy, it applies to everything! If it’s been cooked twice, it won’t be safe to reheat it again – ever!!!.

So, enough about saucy things … Today’s photo is … 


My lunch in a Coventry pub one time. That butty was far too much for me.

Today’s funny …

A reporter was reporting for a newspaper on a soccer team. One of the players looked old so he went over to him and said, “you know you might be the oldest man playing on a soccer team! How do you do it at this age?” The man replied “I drink 5 beers a day, smoke 2 packs of reds a day, and eat tons of chips.” “Wow, that is  incredible! How old did you say you are?” He looked at me and replied, “22 years old.”

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