green beans and mustard

This may well sound disgusting, but trust me - it's delicious, vegetarian, and very cheap. An odd fusion of flavours, I know, and I do have a slight pang about the green beans flown in from Kenya ...

Put some basmati rice on to cook whatever way you like - there are, it seems, dozens of effective ways of cooking rice, so I won't tell you how to do it.

Trim the beans, and cook them in boiling water for about six minutes. Drain and set aside.

Chop an onion and some garlic, and a dried chilli if you like that sort of thing. Put some groundnut oil in a wok, and heat it, then add about a tablespoon or so of black mustard seeds , and cook them in some groundnut oil until they pop. Add the onion/garlic/chilli, and cook until the onion is just starting to turn brown at the edges. Then add the drained green beans, and stir them round with a heaped teaspoon of grain mustard. Add a splash of rice wine and some tamari, and heat everything through.

Originally published at Reactive Cooking.

write to them

Read No2ID's latest newsletter, and then use writetothem.com to write to your MP about it.

Do it now.

'twas on a Monday morning ...

On Wednesday afternoon, I spotted a workman coning off the road outside our house - he coned a stretch of about 50 yards, maybe.

I went out and asked why - "water board are digging up the road tomorrow, love", he quoth. "All cars gotta be moved by 9.30". We have only recently finished *weeks* of disruption while some incompetent company dug up the village to replace the gas mains and the pipes to the meters; in fact, they're still digging at the other end, so this brought forth a little gloom. However, it transpired that it was for next door's benefit, as their water supply and stopcock were buggered up by the aforementioned gas diggerers.

I asked if he was going to leaflet the houses to tell them why they couldn't park - no. He had spoken to the "young girl in there" (indicating next door) and she'll tell everyone.

She didn't of course, and so there's one car still parked there. However, it doesn't matter as, inevitably, no diggers have turned up. My guess is they'll arrive at 2.30 this afternoon, make a start, and leave us all with no parking (and probably no water either) till Monday.

Still, it all makes work for the working man to do.

the cat that lives in a vase

Originally published at the Tribe.

responses

It's fair to say that our local MP, the illustrious Liam Fox, is not of my persuasion.

I am however, quite pleased with the responses from his office this morning:

firstly:

"Many thanks for your email. It is a most alarming Bill. We will make further representations to the Minister concerned. I am going to send you a copy of a letter by post which we were sent on behalf of another constituent which covers some of the points you mention. We will be in touch again when there is anything to report. As you know, the Bill will be debated on Monday and the Opposition will certainly oppose.

and just now:

" This has been emailed directly to the Minister and to the Shadow Secretary for Justice."

ramtops' twitterings

Today's tweets are ( behind the cut )