Sunday 30 January 2011

Roast Potatoes!!

OK so I recently loving blogged on the virtues of the perfect bacon sarnie, seeing as we now have an #ilovebacon fanclub on Twitter!!  Today, I think that I made the perfect tray of roast potatoes! Naturally I've been trying to do this since learning how to cook a roast dinner, so I thought that I'd share the recipe but also encourage you to tell me yours. I've been amused this evening looking at different roast potato methods and am always trying to improve!!

Spuds: Sainsbury's Taste The Difference Heritage potatoes for roasting.  Cut the spuds into egg-sized chunks
Put in pan, wash through a couple of times, cover with boiling water and a sprinking of rock salt, bring to boil and par boil for about 7 minutes.
Meanwhile, add two tablespoons of semolina to a bowl.  Season generously with ground rock salt, freshly milled black pepper, and half a teaspoon of cayenne pepper
Drain spuds thoroughly, return to pan and shake to rough the edges. Sprinkle over the semolina and shake again to coat the spuds evenly.
Add three tablespoons of goose fat to the oven (about 200 degrees c) and heat until smoking.  Add the spuds and baste them in the goosefat. Turn after 20 minutes and chuck in three cloves of garlic (unpeeled)
Turn again after 15 minutes.
Check again after 10
They should be golden and crispy and delicious.
Nom nom nom!!

How do you cook yours??

Thursday 27 January 2011

F is for...

Tomorrow I get an exam result for my CIPD qualification.  Due to work issues at the time, the likelihood is that I've not passed! But I am turning my mind to my studies for the first time probably since the exam.
Studying anything whilst working full time is pretty tough. You have to be verrrry motivated and self-disciplined. I travel a lot with work too, so choosing to study on top of this really impacts on my home life.
So it has to be something that means a lot.
I've been studing my CIPD for two years. If I fail this exam, I have two to retake in May (work permitting), my management case report, and my electives.
The CIPD, in its infinate wisdom, has changed the course structure part-way through.
My college currently has no start dates for the electives that I need to take.  In my last tutorial, the tutor mentioned that the tutors haven't been told the course structure or content.  There may not be exams.
This means that I'll have to take exams that are no longer considered valid to complete my qualification.
Logic?
I can't complete my final year until....? no date yet.
Logic?
I have, in two years, not learned anything that I have applied in my workplace.
Scary. (that could be seen as a reflection on me rather than the course though!)
So I'm going to have to put in for at least one exam in the next week, maybe two, that may no longer be part of the CIPD qualification.  I have to do a management report about something that doesn't interest me but fits in with my tutor's areas of specialism.  And I have to wait til God knows when to complete my studies.
Tell me now, honestly, if you got the results and got a big fat F - would you, given this knowledge, honestly put in to retake the exams?
It seems to me that the CIPD needs to sort itself out, and sharpish.  More to the point, do I still really need a CIPD qualification to progress my career? What can this qualification currently be worth if two thirds of it are already out of date?
It's time that the CIPD realised the impact of their decisions on those who embarked on the programme with a genuine desire to learn and broaden their horizons.
All I want to do now is stick that F.....

Tuesday 25 January 2011

A simple tale to bring you cheer

In between all the philosophising and rhetoric of blogging, I thought I'd take this opportunity to tell a simple tale which will hopefully bring a smile to the lips of the few that read it. Goodness knows it's a miserable time of year, so a smirk at my stupidity may cheer you up

It was last week, a workday evening, and I arrived home from work after a trying day. I was on the phone ranting with a colleague as I let myself into the house. One thing struck me as weird. The door between the kitchen and living room was closed. We always leave this open. Still on the phone, I walked in and encountered Mr B sat on the sofa wearing coat and hat and with the fire on. I gave him a confused look and walked back into the kitchen. He followed me, glared, and pointedly closed the door. To which I carried on ranting on the phone and walked back into the living room. He followed me, closed the door and glared again. I ignored him again, went back into the kitchen to check the status of dinner (he was cooking, natch).  Again, he followed me, closing the door and glaring.  By which stage I realised I couldn't be bothered with his weirdness, so I decided to get changed. I walked upstairs, still on the phone, whilst taking my suit trousers off (not best practice health and safety).  On reaching the top of the stairs, trousers in hand, I walked into the bathroom.........only to encounter the British Gas man mending our boiler!

I ran out of the bathroom and locked myself in the spare room (why?? Why???) - explained to my colleague (still on the phone!) what had happened! She was caught between being appalled at me being trouserless on the phone to her, and wetting herself laughing at what had just happened.

Ending the call, I rushed back downstairs and asked Mr B why he hadn't told me the gas man was there! Or screeched, to be fair.  His calm (and slightly laughing) response was.
1.....I told you the gas man was coming Tuesday evening (whatever, that was at least a day ago, I have a head like a sieve)
2....it's in the calendar (so I'm supposed to read the calendar every morning, digest its contents and remember it, hmm??)
3....why do you think I'm still wearing my hat and coat?? It's freezing in here! (yes, but I have the warmth of rage - I feel no cold!!0
4.....why do you think I was keeping the door shut?? To stop the cat getting shut in the airing cupboard again like she was last time the gas man came! (I still think that was deliberate - how can you miss a giant tabby cat?? Bastard)
5....did you not notice the British Gas van parked outside the bloody house???

....answer, no, I did not, I was on the phone and ranting.

And here is the lesson in this.

Always check for vans parked outside your house before removing your clothes whilst ranting on the phone.

Saturday 22 January 2011

I love bacon

I love bacon.  I really do. I have a bacon sarnie pretty much ever Saturday and Sunday. I get angry if my bacon is incorrectly prepared.  I am exceptionally fussy about how my bacon is prepared.
I don't know why I love bacon so much. Well, it is truly delicious. An affordable treat. Accessible, yet saved for weekends. It cures a hangover. I've even been known to have a bacon sarnie when I've come home really late and missed dinner.
I'm also rather partial to sausage, but definitely prefer bacon.  Bizarrely, I'm not keen on roast pork. Strange.
So after much chatting with @ailsasuttie and @dougshaw1 on what number of rashers etc make the optimum bacon sarnie, I've decided to let you into the secret of what makes my perfect bacon sarnie.  I'd then like you to comment and put what your perfect bacon sarnie is.  We bacon lovers can try new styles of sarnie, broaden our horizons, or even just turn our noses up at each others (pig) ignorance! This may have been done before, but I've not seen it so I don't care ;-)
So here goes:
EITHER toasted thinly sliced wholemeal bread, mainly cooled but still slightly warm OR really fresh thinly sliced white bread.  But preferably the wholemeal toast.
THREE rashers of smoked back bacon. M&S do a particularly nice one.  It must be lean, ideally with the fat removed
GRILLED (only fried if in a hurry) until lightly crispy.  The texture must have both a slight crunch on bite then be chewy. Anaemic, flabby, unsmoked bacon is my personal food hell.
KETCHUP. Heinz, and plenty of it. Circle the bread twice with a squeezy bottle and that should hit the spot.
SERVE on a slightly warmed plate with a large mug of tea, brewed for c4 minutes, with milk (no sugar)
PREFERABLY this will be consumed whilst still in a nice warm dressing gown.


Doug? Ailsa? I'm counting on your input!


Over to you guys - let me know your bacon heaven

Wednesday 19 January 2011

Mommy??!

Everyone I know is having babies, it seems.  And naturally, being 30 and due to wed next year, everyone keeps asking me if I'm going to have kids.
Because of course it is their business.
That aside (park it for another day, Betty!), it is of course something that I think about.  And it's something that I think about in consideration with my career. I love working, improving things, making a difference, making huge changes, challenging what needs to be challenged.  The thought of having a child terrifies me! Will it ruin my career?
One of the people who keeps discussing it with me is a senior manager at work who is amazingly good at what she does.  My current workload has my knees trembling, has me working all hours, I'm not sleeping and I feel sick all the time. And I thrive on being busy! This lady has more responsibility than me and has two children under 8. How the heck is she not insane?!?
Then the thought occured to me: maybe her parenting skills actually make her better at what she does? Maybe she really does know what she can and can't do with her working day - and delegates accordingly? Maybe she instinctivly shows leadership - encouragement and support when needed, and firm direction when required.
What if - gasp - being a parent (I'd say a mum but any father reading this would whinge) - actually improves our performance at work, and therefore our career opportunities??
So what do you reckon, is it time to stock up on pampers, or has sleep deprivation got the better of me?

Monday 17 January 2011

If I...

If I smiled first thing in the morning...I would not be me
If I made it through the day without teasing my man...I would not be me
If I found my keys on the first attempt
Went camping and didn't break the tent
I would not be me

If I was less stroppy because I cared less...I would not be me
If the children in my family didn't make my heart swell with joy...I would not be me
If I didn't torment my love about the quality of his brews
But quickly relent and state 'I love you'
I would not be me

If I wanted less and worked less and settled for average...I would not be me
If I faced crises with confidence....I would not be me
If I went a whole week without kissing my cats
And calling various people 'twats'
I would not be me

I will not apologise
For being a contradictory
Bag of energy
Wrapped in laziness and half-arsed intentions
I will smile through life and all its confusions
Whilst crying at its injustices
I will love those whom I love and protect them fiercely whenever I can
Whilst giving them wings where I can to fly and be free
And hope that they never feel the fear of inadequacy, or listen when people tell them that they are not good enough, not clever enough, not pretty enough, that the colour of their shirt lets them down
And encourage them to fight when they are pawns the games of others

I will not NOT be me
Even if you're not that keen!

An ethical dilemma

Anyone who is unfortunate enough to follow me on Twitter will know that I've not been having the most fun at work recently.
I'm one of those weird people who genuinely loves their job. I love knowing that the talent that I bring in to the company can and does make a huge difference. I've loved the challenge of setting up our Graduate recruitment. I relish the trauma and insane hours of undertaking an organisational restructure.  So it's not really 'me' to be coming home every night deeply unhappy and ranting.
The main problem is - and I can't go into any details - that something happening at work is going seriously against my personal values.  And this isn't something that's necessarily unethical overall, but something that sits really uncomfortably with me.
I've put myself forward for additional opportunities and something new, and it's bitten me on the behind. I feel trapped, powerless and claustrophobic, and genuinely unable to speak to anyone about it who could make a difference.
I would genuinely love to know if others have found themselves in a situation where their personal values were compromised and what they did about it? Because I have - naturally - started to explore the job market, but equally I resent looking outside of a company that I've loved working at.
What would you do?

Friday 14 January 2011

Baffled

So it's a Friday night and I'm home with the OH after a stressful week and starting to write a blog post, with no preconceptions about what to write about.
I'm not a prolific blogger and have written about politics, Axl Rose and my Twitter buddies. I'm a fairly prolific Tweeter (not usually in work hours though; no time!) and enjoy reading some blogs from my Twitter buddies.
I freaked out a colleague of mine (who has become a friend actually) in Operations today by sending him a message asking him why he'd been looking at my Linkedin profile.  He hadn't realised it would tell me! He said he wanted to expand his network and had noticed that I've got a fairly decent network, and that I attend interesting events, and how could he improve his Linkedin presence and make good contacts? A fair enough question to be fair! He's often offered me a double vodka for my time and opinion. And I like double vodka very much.
Here's the rub: Twitter is my guilty secret.  I have a couple of 'real world' mates who follow me, but the truth is that my friends don't know that I tweet, and that I'm Betty. It's my therapy.  It's also been a remarkable way of improving my professional network.  However, I like that I tweet under an alias (although a few by now know my 'real' identitfy and I don't especially hide it) because it allows me the privilege of having a work-based rant without compromising my professionalism.
So my friend wants to know how to improve his network. And my truthful answer is to join Twitter!!
Shall I tell him the truth??