Galileo

Venice - Galileo Galilei with his telescope from here on the 21st August 1609 expanded the horizons for men of the fourth century.
Enough said.

Three Wedding Rings

I wear three wedding rings. They are all Welsh gold which makes them priceless but they are also priceless for another reason.
The oldest, and the one I have worn the longest belonged to my Grandma Janet Andrew. She first wore it when she married my Grandad Jonathan Andrew in 1921. It is the thickest of the three rings.
Sitting next to it on the ring finger of my right hand is my Mum's wedding ring which she got when she married my Dad on June 19th 1954. Mum had it on for 55 years.
The smallest ring is on my little finger and it belonged to AC - Clara Bradbury. She married John Bradbury sometime in the 1940s.
It's nice to have the rings together. Grandma and her two daughters. One day the rings should belong to Joanne and/or Lindsey, keep them in the family along the Andrew line.

Teardrops on the City ...

At some stage in the next few days (if you haven’t already done so) take a moment and play Tenth Avenue Freeze Out (from the Born To Run CD) as loud as you can. Marvel in the sound of the sax as it comes in at the start and weaves its magic through the track. Then blast out the title track of the cd, wait for that great sax solo in the middle and give thanks that such talent walked this earth.


R.I.P. Clarence Clemons (January 11, 1942 – June 18, 2011)


When the change was made uptown
And the big man joined the band
From the coastline to the city
All the little pretties raise their hands
I’m gonna sit back right easy and laugh
When scooter and the big man bust this city in half

Auckland - Sky Tower

They are a little bit "out there" in New Zealand. They invented crazy things like bungy jumping and Zorb. In Auckland, you can leap off Sky Tower. A 200m drop.
The first part of the fall is about 20 metres and the wire pulls you up in front of the coffee shop. They take a photo from above and then off you plummet again.
Of course none of this comes from first hand experience. ARE YOU NUTS???? It comes from watching people do the jump - first while having a coffee and a breakfast muffin (which is when I took this shot) and later with a glass of wine and a snack. Far more civilised than being on the other side of the glass I think.

Moroccan Lamb Shanks

This recipe is for the oven, see note at end for slow cooker.

8 lamb shanks (Frenched or not - who cares???)
plain flour
1/4 cup olive oil
2 brown onions, chopped
3 cloves garlic, crushed
1 teaspoon ground cinnamon
2 teaspoons ground cumin
2 teaspoons ground coriander
1 cup dry red wine
4 cups chicken stock
2 tablespoons honey
2 small sweet potatoes

1. Preheat oven to moderate.
2. Toss lamb in flour (I do this in a plastic bag).
3. Heat 2 tablespoons of oil in flameproof dish and cook lamb until brown.
4. Heat remaining oil in same dish. Cook onion, garlic, cinnamon, cumin and coriander until soft and fragrant.
5. Add wine and bring to boil.
6. Reduce heat and simmer uncovered until liquid reduces by half.
7. Add stock and honey and bring to boil again.
8. Return lamb to dish and place in oven.
9. Cook covered for about 90 minutes.
10. Uncover. Turn shanks. Add kumara.
11. Cook for another 50 minutes uncovered.
12. Can boil down the pan juices at the end to make the sauce thicker.

SLOW COOKER:
All recipes can be done in the slow cooker, just use half of the liquid. With this one, I find that less is better - so use 1/2 cup wine and 1 cup of stock. (Don't reduce any of the other quantities)
1. Brown the shanks (still toss them in flour). Put them in the slow cooker.
2. Chop up the sweet potato and put in the slow cooker.
3. Caramelize (so Masterchef!!!) the onion, garlic and spices. Mix with wine and stock
4. Pour over the shanks
5. Cook on high for 4 hours of low for 8.
(if you think you need more liquid at any stage, go the wine option but warm it first).