RaeAllen.net

  • Behind the bowlers arm

    DSC04559_glenn_mcgrath

    Originally uploaded by RaeA.


    “When the angels add my days and say my time is up
    I’ll say to them now hold on please there’s one thing you forgot
    I know each man must leave this world behind when he gets called
    But we had a deal that you won’t count the days I watched the bat & ball

    And the angels, they’ll know where to find me
    There’s no place I’d rather be
    Right behind the bowlers
    They’ll know where to find me, ten rows back with sunburnt knees
    Right behind the bowler’s arm”

    – Paul Kelly

  • great injustice

    In the part of this universe that we know there is great injustice, and often the good suffer, and often the wicked prosper, and one hardly knows which of those is the more annoying.”

    – Bertrand Russell

  • Quick Egg Pie

    This is a quick egg pie, good for breakfast or dinner.

    Ingredients:

    2 sheets of puff pastry

    6 Eggs

    2 slices of ham

    half a capsicum

    4 cherry tomatoes

    mustard powder, salt and pepper for seasoning

    Method:

    Pre-heat a moderate oven

    Get a muffin pan and prepare it for pastry, the silicon one’s need nothing, others might need to be lightly oiled/greased.

    Cut the sheets of pastry to fit inside the muffing holes. on mine I just cut the sheets into 4, and fold them so they fit. Don’t cut off the excess, just leave it stand outside.

    Finely slice the ham and capsicum, and tomatoes.

    Put a slice of tomato in the base of each pasty cup.

    Evenly divide the ham and capsicum between the cups, put half in the botom, and keep the rest for after putting the egg in.

    Break an egg into each pastry case.

    Add the remaining capsicum, ham, and a pinch of mustard powder, and use a skewer to stir them in and break up the yolk.

    Float the remaining slices of cherry tomato on top. Salt and pepper to taste.
    Place in oven and cook until firm all the way through, and puff pastry has crisped up – about 15-20 minutes.

    Serve as a breakfast treat or with a salad for dinner

  • enlightenment not brilliance

    Think of those who gained enlightenment upon hearing the sound of bamboo when struck by a tile or seeing blossoms in bloom.

    Does the bamboo distinguish the clever or dull, the deluded or enlightened; does the flower differentiate between shallow and deep, the wise and stupid?

    Though flowers bloom year after year, not everyone who sees them gains enlightenment.

    Bamboo always gives off sounds, but not all who hear them become enlightened.

    – Dogen 1200-1253

  • Salad of Char Grilled Chicken & Thai herbs with a Chilli & Tamarind dressing

    Ingredients
    500 grams of chicken breast, char grilled, cooled & chopped.
    8 red shallots, finely sliced
    2 stalks of lemon grass, tender part only, micro planed
    8 kaffir lime leaves, finely sliced
    3 tablespoons of ginger, julienne
    Half cup of coriander leaves*
    quarter cup of mint leaves*
    1/4 cup Viet mint leaves*
    250 grams chopped cos for the base.
    *Never cut herbs with a knife, if leaves are too big just tear with your fingers.


    Dressing
    3 tablespoons of palm sugar, grated.
    3 tablespoons fish sauce
    1.5 tablespoons of lemon juice or lime juice
    1.5 tablespoons of tamarind water
    1 hot red chilli, deseeded & finely chopped

    Method
    To make dressing, dissolve palm sugar in fish sauce and combine with remaining ingredients.

    Combine all salad ingredients in a bowl, toss with dressing & serve on chopped cos lettuce base on serving platter.
    Garnish with crispy fried shallots & coriander sprigs.

    Red shallots can be substituted with red onions, but flavour will be less intense.

    Always grate palm sugar if using in recipes that don’t require heating. If you cut with a knife the larger pieces of sugar will be harder to dissolve.

    Serves 4

    modified from a recipe from the James Street Cooking School

  • thinking

    “As I grow older , I regret to say that a detestable habit of thinking seems to be getting a hold of me.” – H. Rider Haggard

  • Searching

    Often the only way you will find something,
    Is to stop searching for it

  • Fame Speaks

    Fame Speaks

    Stand forth,John Keats! On earth thou knew’st me not;
    Steadfast through all the storms of passion,thou,
    True to thy muse,and virgin to thy vow;
    Resigned,if name with ashes were forgot,
    So thou one arrow in the gold had’st shot!
    I never placed my laurel on thy brow,
    But on thy name I come to lay it now,
    When thy bones wither in the earthly plot.
    Fame is my name. I dwell among the clouds,
    Being immortal,and the wreath I bring
    Itself is Immortality. The sweets
    Of earth I know not,more the pains,but wing
    In mine own ether,with the crownéd crowds
    Born of the centuries.-Stand forth,John Keats!

    ee cummings

  • On Fame

    “You cannot eat your cake and have it too.” -ProverbHow fevered is the man who cannot look
    Upon his mortal days with temperate blood,
    Who vexes all the leaves of his life’s book,
    And robs his fair name of its maidenhood;
    It is as if the rose should pluck herself,
    Or the ripe plum finger its misty bloom,
    As if a Naiad, like a meddling elf,
    Should darken her pure grot with muddy gloom;
    But the rose leaves herself upon the briar,
    For winds to kiss and grateful bees to feed,
    And the ripe plum still wears its dim attire;
    The undisturbed lake has crystal space;
    Why then should man, teasing the world for grace,
    Spoil his salvation for a fierce miscreed?

    – John Keats

  • Hippocrates soup

    I got this recipe from a contact who got it from The Gerson Therapy book, which preaches no salt. Dr. Max Gerson was a German, who escaped Nazi Germany and practiced medicine on Park Avenue, NYC. He recommended the Hippocrates soup, yes, the man himself, and suggests that it cleanses the liver. As you would imagine, without salt and other seasonings, the soup tastes a bit bland.

    “To make the Hippocrates special soup, the following vegetables should be thoroughly washed, not peeled, but into cubes, covered with water, and cooked for two hours. Put everything through a food mill; allow only fibers and peels to remain. The result is a thick, creamy soup.”

    – 1 medium celery knob (root). If celery root is not in season, substitute 3 or 4 stalks of branch celery.
    – A small amount of parsley
    – 1-1/2 lbs of tomatoes (more if desired during the summer season)
    – 2 medium onions
    – 1 medium parsley root (rarely available; omit if not)
    – 2 small leeks (if not available , substitute 2 additional medium onions)
    – several cloves of garlic
    – 1 lb of potatoes