No longer living here...

I have decided to move this blog under the banner of All About Chris Lowry, my personal website over at http://allaboutchris.co.uk. So now, check out the amazing All About Chris - The Blog, over at http://blog.allaboutchris.co.uk. I'll probably do a new style sheet at some point, but until then, the excellent Mystique theme should hold it.

Any new updates (of which there will be many!) are all over there now. So what are you waiting for...

Becoming beguiled.

I just spent 20 minutes trying to get a div to display pixel perfect on a website.

So simple, yet so pleasing (and frustrating). So I thought I would look for the right word to express it. I got it down to a runners up list of three:

Absorb: to involve the full attention of; to engross or engage wholly:so absorbed in a book that he did not hear the bell.
Captivate: to attract and hold the attention or interest of; to capture; subjugate.
Enthrall: to captivate or charm; to put or hold in slavery;

But my final selection is...

Got a little bit i love typography on you there. (Since you asked, the fonts used are MEgalopolis Extra and Cambria, all put together in Fireworks). Feel free to check out the hi res version on my flickr page, and remember to allow your interests to beguile you!

Just leave you with a link to a twitter friend of mine, Scott Williams. He is a pastor over in Northwest Oklahoma, and he is big on integrity, a shared interest. Check out his excellent blog over at http://bigisthenewsmall.com, which is just starting to feature guest bloggers on Fridays. Ah, I can but dream...

Peace,
x

Spicy Sweet Potato and Parsnip Soup

I decided to do a little Delia, and give you a recipe for an extremely tasty soup. I warn you I'm not big on exact quantities, I'm from the "chuck it in and stir" school.

This will make one big batch that will serve about 8 people, or more.

You will need:

• Parsnips - I used 3 big ones.
• Sweet Potatoes - I used 2 big ones.
• Some carrots, or potatoes, to add a bit of body, not affect the flavour and still be cheap - I used 5 carrots.
• Onions - I used 2 big ones.
  
• Vegetable stock cubes.
• Gravy granules.
• Mixed Herbs - 1 table spoon.
  
• Cumin - 2 table spoons.
  
• Coriander - 2 table spoons.
  
• Chilli Powder - 1 table spoon.
• Few cloves of garlic.
  
• A load of butter.
  

The recipe:

1. Get a big pan, with a lid, on a low heat. Chuck all the butter in.
   
2. Peel the sweet potatoes, the parsnips and the carrot/potatoes. Chop them, the onions and the garlic into smallish bits.
3. Put all the chopped veg into the pan. Stir it occasionally, replacing the lid between stirs, and just let it "sweat" in the butter for ten minutes. You aren't trying to cook it, just make the vegetables sweat. My mum taught me this, and it's golden - makes everything taste better. 
4. You should also add all your herbs and spices at this point. Careful with the chilli powder - I use mild chilli powder, and more of it, because I love the taste of chillies, but don't necessary need the burn.
   
5. Whilst that's going, prepare about 2 litres of stock. Chuck loads of stock cubes in, and a good load of gravy, leaving you a slightly thickened brown juice.
6. After 10 minutes, pour the stock into the pan, and bring the mixture up to boiling point, stirring it frequently. 
7. Once its reached boiling point, you can turn the heat down a bit, and just cook it for about 10 minutes, stirring it well.
8. Using a hand blender (if you like smooth soup), blend it now, or just leave it lumpy.
9. If the soup is too thick for you, or you want it to go further, add more stock.
   

Serve with bread. You can butter the bread if you want. The best option is probably rolls, warmed up in the oven.

Enjoy!