The George Lite Zone

Another week working at Toyota in Brussels, land of beer, chocolates, mussels & fries. Perhaps I’ll postpone the diet for another week…

We watched the first 2 episodes of Heroes tonight. Excellent stuff, looks like it’s going to be up there with Battlestar Galictica as another must see show. Good characterisation, storyline and the future arrival of George Takei and Christopher Eccleston to look forwards to make it an SF fans wet dream. Bring it on.

Another grunge list, this time culled from the pages of Q magazine.

15 Grunge Classics

Babes in Toyland
Fontanelle
Further listening - Spanking Machine

Tha Afghan Wings
Gentlemen
Further listening - Black Love

Smashing Pumpkins
Gish
Further listening - Siamese Dream

Hole
Live Through This
Further listening - Celebrity Skin

Stone Temple Pilots
Core
Further listening - Purple

The Breeders
Last Splash
Further listening - Pod

The Jesus Lizard
Goat
Further listening - Goat

Soundgarden
Superunknown
Further listening - Badmotorfinger

Screaming Trees
Sweet Oblivion
Further listening - Mark Lanegan, Whiskey for the Holy Ghost

Pearl Jam
Ten
Further listening - Vs

Mother Love Bone
Apple
Further listening - Malfunkshun - Return to Olympus

Mudhoney
Superfuzz Bigmuff
Further listening - Every Good Boy Deserves Fudge

Alice in Chains
Dirt
Further listening - Jar of Flies

Temple of the Dog
Temple of the Dog
Further listening - Shame by Brad

Nirvana
Nevermind
Further listening - Bleach

Q Classic Nirvana and the Story of Grunge

36 Essential Grunge Classics

CLASSIC GRUNGE

1/ Dinosaur Jr - Freek Scene
Available - Bug

2/ Nirvana Smells Like Teen Spirit
Available - Nevermind

3/ Smashing Pumpkins - Today
Available - Siamese Dream

4/ Screaming Trees - Nearly Lost You
Available - Sweet Oblivion

5/ The Jesus Lizard - Puss
Available - Liar

6/ L7 - Pretend We’re Dead
Available - Bricks Are Heavy

7/ Soundgarden - Jesus Christ Pose
Available - Badmotorfinger

8/ Afghan Wings - I’m Her Slave
Available - Congrgation

9/ Hole - Miss World
Available - Live Through This

10/ Superchunk - Slack motherfucker
Available - Superchunk

11/ Babes in Toyland - Catatonic
Available - To Mother

12/ Pearl Jam - Even Flow
Available - Ten

13/ Teenage Fanclub - Everything Flows
Available - A Catholic Education

14/ Modhoney - Touch Me I’m Sick
Available - Superfuzz Bigmuff

THE ROCK ROOTS OF GRUNGE

15/ Flipper - Ever
Available - Generic

16/ Melvins - Heaviness of the Load
Available - Gluey Porch Treatments

17/ Butthole Surfers - Sweet Loaf
Available - Locust Abortion Technician

18/ Green River - This Town
Available - Dry as a Bone

19/ Pixies - Debaser
Available - Doolittle

20/ Big Black - Kerosene
Available - Atomizer

21/ Sonic Youth - Tenage Riot
Available - Daydream Nation

22/ The Replacements - Favourite Thing
Available - Let It Be

23/ Husker Du - The Girl Who Lives On Heaven Hill
Available - New Day Rising

POP GRUNGE

24/ Foo fighters - This Is A Call
Available - Foo Fighters

25/ Buffalo Tom - Velvet Roof
Available - Let Me Come Over

26/ The Breeders - Canonball
Available - Last Splash

27/ Sugar - A Good Idea
Available - Copper Blue

ART GRUNGE

28/ Slint - Good Morning Captain
Available - Spiderland

29/ The Flaming Lips - Turn It On
Available - Transmissions From The Satelite Heart

30/ Pavement - Summer Babe
Available - Slanted And Enchanted

31/ Royal Trux - The Flag
Available - Cats & Dogs

32/ Sebadoh - Gimme Indie Rock
Available - Gimme Indie Rock EP

NEW GRUNGE

33/ Queens Of The Stone Age - The Lost Art Of Kepping A Secret
Available - R

34/ Auf Der Maur - Real A Lie
Available - Auf Der Maur

35/ Nine Black Alps - Shot Down
Available - Everything Is

36/ The Distillers - Drain The Blood
Available - Coral Fang

This list was taken from Peter Irvine’s Scotland Is The Place website. Peter writes Scotland The Best, probably the best guide to the country. When I get around to visiting them I’ll add some posts to this blog with pictures and comments.

Roslin Glen - Edinburgh

Spiritual, historical, enchanting (and now very famous because of Dan Brown’s ‘The Da Vinci Code’), with the chapel, a ruined castle and woodland walks along the River Esk.

From Edinburgh follow the A701 from Mayfield or Newington (or bypass, turn off at Penicuik, A720 then fork left on A701 to Roslin). There is some parking at the chapel, 500 metres from the corner of Main Street and Manse Road, or you can follow the B7003 to Rosewell (also marked Rosslynlee Hospital) and 1 kilometre from the village the main car park is to the left.

Yellowcraigs - East Lothian

Perfect for a windy beach walk in the New Year is Edinburgh’s nearest decent beach.

Follow the A1 or the bypass, then A198 coast road. Turn left the other side of Dirleton for 2 kilometres then park and walk 100 metres across the links to fairly clean strand and sea.

Gullane Bents, a sweep of beach, is nearby and can be reached from the village main street. It connects westwards with Aberlady Reserve.

Mugdock Country Park - Glasgow

One of Glasgow’s nearest and easiest escapes. The park which includes Mugdock Woods and two castles is north west of Milngavie.

The regular train from Queen Street station takes 20 minutes. Follow the route of the West Highland Way for 4 kilometres across Drumclog Moor to the south edge of the park.

By car to Milngavie by the A81 the park is 5 kilometres north and well sign posted. There are five car parks. The main one includes the Craigend Visitor Centre (open from 9am to 9pm), the Stables Tearoom (open 10am to 5pm every day), discovery room and theatre.

Many trails are marked out and further afield rambles. This is a godsend between Glasgow and the Highland hills.

Plodda Falls- Near Tomich near Drumnadrochit

Take the A831 from Loch Ness to Cannich (20 kilometres), and then 7 kilometres to Tomich, a further 5 kilometres up mainly woodland track leads to a car park. Walking 200 metres down through woods of Scots Pine and ancient Douglas firs leads to one of the most enchanting woodland sites in Britain, including a Victorian iron bridge over the brink of the 150 metre fall into the churning river below.

The dawn chorus here must be amazing. In winter it freezes into a winter wonderland (ice climbers from Inverness take advantage). There is a good hotel in the village.

Landmark Centre - Carrbridge

A purpose-built tourist centre with audiovisual displays and a great deal of shopping, it’s great for kids who can mess about in the woods on slides, in a ‘maze’ and the large adventure playground, Microworld or (especially squealy) the Wildwater Coaster.

The tower may be too much for Granny but there are fine forest views. Open all year round, seven days till 5pm in winter.

The following foodstuffs all have health giving properties atributed to them. Eat them all and you’ll probably live forever. Now time for a cup of tea I think.

Beans
Sidekicks:All beans … pinto, garbanzo (chickpeas), lentills, green beans, sugar snap peas and green peas
Reccomended:at least 4 1/2 cup servings per week

Blueberries
Sidekicks:Purple grapes, Cranberries, Loganberries, Raspberries, Strawberries, Currants, Blackberries, Cherries and all other varities of fresh, frozen or dried berries
Reccomended:1 to 2 cups daily

Broccoli
Sidekicks :Brussells Sprouts, Cabbage, Kale, Turnips, Cauliflower, Spring Greens, Bok Choy, Watercress, Rocket, Swiss Chard
Reccomended:1/2 to 1 cup daily

Oats
Super Sidekicks:Wheatgerm & Ground Flaxseed
Sidekicks: brown rice, barley, wheat, buckwheat, Rye, Millet, Bulgar Wheat. Amaranth, Quinoa, Kamut, Yellow Corn, Wild Rice, Spelt, Couscous
Reccomended:5 to 7 servings per day

Oranges
Sidekicks :Lemons, White & Pink Grapefruit, Kumquats, Tangerines, Limes
Reccomended:1 serving per day

Pumpkin
Sidekicks:carrots, butternut squash, sweet potatoes, orange bell peppers
Reccomended:1/2 cup most days

Wild Salmon
Sidekicks:halibut, tinned tuna, sardines, herring, trout, sea bass, oysters, clams
Reccomended :2 - 4 times per week

Soy
Sidekicks:Forms of soy: tofu, soya milk, soy nuts, edamame, tempeh, miso
Reccomended:15g of soy protein per day divide total soy intake into 2 seperate meals or snacks

Spinach
Sidekicks :Kale, Spring Greens, Swiss Chard,Bok Choy, Romaine Lettuce, Bell Peppers
Reccomended:1 cup steamed or 2 raw most days

Tea
Sidekicks:none
Reccomended:1 or more per day

Tomatoes
Sidekicks:Watermelon, Pink |Grapefruit, Japanese Persimmons, Papaya, Guava
Reccomended: 1 serving of processed tomatoes or sidekicks per day, multiple per week of fresh tomatoes

Turkey
Sidekicks:Skinless chicken breast
Reccomended :3 - 4 servings a week (max 4oz per serving)

Walnuts
Sidekicks:Almonds, Pistachios, Sesame Seeds, Peanuts, Pumpkin & Sunflower Seeds, Macadamia Nuts, Pecans, Hazelnuts, Cashews
Reccomended: 1oz 5x a week

Yogurt
Sidekicks:kefir
Reccomended:2 cups a day

ESSENTIAL The Classics

Nirvana - Nevermind
Pearl Jam - Ten

SUPERIOR The Albums That Built Their Genre

Soundarden - Badmotorfinger
Temple Of The Dog - Temple Of The Dog
Mother Love Bone - Apple
Alice In Chains - Facelift

GOOD Worth Exploring

Dinosaur Jr - Bug
Stone Temple Pilots - Core
Screaming Trees - Uncle Anesthesia

AVOID

Silverchair - Frogstomp

A STARTER

Singles Original Sound Track

THE REST

Green River - Rehab Doll / Dry As A Bone
Malfunshun - Return To Olympus
Tad - 8 Way Santa
Smashing Pumpkins - Gish
L7 - Bricks Are Heavy
Hole - Pretty On The Inside
Mudhoney - Superfuzzbigmuff

Another year, another pancake day.

Ingredients

125g plain flour, preferably Italian 00
1 egg
300 ml milk
15-30g cooled butter, melted (optional)

Making the batter

Make a mound of flour in a bowl, add a pinch of salt and make a well in the top. Crack open the egg and put it into the well. Using a wooden spoon gradually mix in the flour from the sides and beat in the milk to make a smooth batter. When the batter is creamy, stop and switch to a whisk, at this point you can add the butter which makes more of a crèpe mix (ordinary pancakes don’t need the butter). Leave to stand for at least half an hour. If the batter thickens in this period add milk or water (or maybe some rum if you’re making crèpes) to bring its consistency to that of single-cream.

Cooking the pancakes

Use very little oil and very little batter. The pan must be very hot, heat the oil in the pan first, then empty it before adding just enough batter to cover the base of the pan When bubbles come to the surface flip it (if atempting fancy multiple flips do so outside, my friends wife Rachel still hasn’t forgotten the one I left sticking to her artexed ceiling after 4 rotations). Be prepared to reject (eat at the stove) the first as it usually doesn’t work. Re-oil the pan after every 4 pancakes.

Eating

Traditionaly in Britain these are served with sugar and a squeeze of lemon juice. Alternatively Orange Juice, Jam, Maple Syrup or a chocolate spread (such as Nutella)and bananas make good substitutes.

Inspired by my earlier dialog on pancakes, I decided to make up a batch of ham and cheese galettes. The recipe for them follows: -

Ingredients

250 gr [9 oz] buckwheat flour
1 egg
1/2 liter [17 fl oz] water
1 teaspoon olive oil
1 teaspoon salt

Preperation

Put the flour and salt in a bowl and make a well in the middle. Add the oil and the egg to this well. Gradualy fold in the flour from the sides using a wooden spoon to begin
to gradually add the water. Turn gently until the flour has disappeared. Finish with a whisk to make a smooth batter which should be left for at least one hour before cooking.

Cooking

Give the batter a turn. Heat a pan, and put a small knob of butter in (swirling to distribute). The pan must be ho but not too hot that the butter browns. Pour a small laddle of batter into the pan, while swirling it to distribute the batter evenly. Cook until golden, turn the galette upside down and add any filling you’d like, such as ham and gruyere cheese. Continue to heat untill the topping has melted and the underside is also cooked. Serve imediately.

Repeat until you’ve used up all the batter.

Prior to pancake day tomorrow, I discussed the relative merits of the English pancake and the French crèpe with my good friend Geraud. In the course of this we exchanged recipes. Here’s his contribution on the art of the perfect crèpe. I’ll post mine tomorow on the good day itself.

The crèpes you get with this one are thicker than those you can get in Britany for example, although it has to do with the fact that I just poor the liquid into the pan rather than flatten it with the special tool they have over there.

Now, how to prepare some good crèpes quickly :

in a pot, poor :
- one liter or milk (I use full fat milk, but half works as well),
- 6 eggs (yes, six),
- a tea spoon of salt,
- eventually a small pack of Vanilla sugar, if you plan to eat your crèpes sweet only,
- eventually a small pack of the chemical powder than makes the cakes grow (that’s where my english is very limited…). That’s not mandatory though
- 8 dL (that is, 400g) of white flour
- a small cup of sunflower oil (or any tasteless oil)
- if for sweet ones only, you can add a drop of orange flower essence, but that’s strong, and not everybody like it, or a lemon or orange skin shredded, that’s more subtle

Just mix the whole thing with a mixer (I told you, it’s simple),
If you are patient enough, leave it alone half an hour, although it’s not really needed,

use some wide flat pans (20-30 cm of diameter), and poor the content of a (replace by: the big deep spoon you use to serve soup) into a very hot pan. Use a bit of oil for the first one, and a tefal pan, if you don’t have any, buy one, it’s worth it just for that… some special pans exist for crèpe, extra flat (one centimeter of heigt, called crèpière ?)
I use two pans to make it decently quick. Turn them over once the first side is done, one side will be uniformly yellow, and the second side moon-like, that’s normal ! The sun and the moon in your plate…
Turn them with a flat-wooden-spoon-you-see-what-I-mean, or make them twist !

One trick : if you eat them just once they are done, you’ll still taste the raw taste a bit (which you may like), while if you pile them up, they’ll finish cooking from the heat of each other.

Now you can serve that with all you can think about. I tend to put the garniture as a line in the middle, accross a diameter, fold in two over the line, and roll the whole thing like a cigar. Olga fold them in 4, so your choice !

Some of my favorite ones are :
– salty ones:
- a spoon of thick cream (warm or cold, depends on what you like), some shredded gruyère, some minced mushrooms, and a bit of pepper
- simple red (salmon) caviar (yes, she’s russian, they eat that like we eat nutella…), or lump eggs
- a spoon of cream, a slice of salmon, a bit of aneth (northern herbs)
- any variation on the above !
- any other thing you can think of ! you can go up to a burrito-like one…

– sweety ones:
- sugar ! one small spoon, that’s all, these are some of the best ones..
- any marmelade : orange, redberry, strawberry, apricot, plums, whatever
- Nutella, or melted chocolate
- butter and sugar (straight from Britany, you’ll see it straight on the scale though !! they are solid folks over there ! ). the butter will melt
- mappled syrup or butter, if you can find some (like syrup, but more concentrated)
- honey !
- fruits (whatever you want)
- ice cream (again, whatever), with chantilly or hot cholocate on top of the roll
- a great one : a bit of sugar, a bit of lemon juice, roll it, cover with a soup spoon of rhum, and light it up, watch out !

Taking advantage of Calvin’s newly acquired status as a 15 year old, I took him to see Hot Fuzz. A most excellent film, it had the feel of an extended episode of Spaced on steroids. Reading some of the forums around this movie, I see its UK release date, Valentines day, just happens to be Simon Pegg’s birthday. This is also Calvin’s birthday, so it was a fitting film to watch to celebrate the occaision.