A Better Day

After the travesty of a day that was Tuesday, Wednesday was much better.

(OK, so Tuesday wasn’t exactly a travesty. Like Mara said in the comments, it was one of those days that makes you want to cry while you’re enduring it, but is comical in retrospect. It was filled with first world problems and slight annoyances that were all cured and rectified with a bowl of pasta – I can’t really complain.)

Wednesday, however, was an absolute corker of a day. Here is why-

1. I didn’t have to work.

2. I bought a whole load of things that I didn’t necessarily need but which are lovely. Some yellow shoes, a storage box with birds on it, a yoga/exercise mat, and some amaretto flavoured coffee. All from TK Maxx, except the shoes which are from Tesco. And they were all absolute barry argins.

3. I received an email bearing good news. Not everything is in place yet but watch this space! #unnecessarilycryptic

4. I bought a pork shoulder so that I could make slow cooker pulled pork today. Here’s another non-recipe for you!

Slow Cooker Pulled Pork (adapted from almost every recipe for this I’ve ever seen, but particularly The Londoner’s)

She uses pork ribs but I used a shoulder. It was a cheap and nasty one from Tesco which came to the grand total of £3.86. Stick it in your slow cooker and pour some coke over it. I did not have any BBQ sauce so I didn’t use any. Whether this affected the flavour or not I will never know. (It has just occurred to me that I didn’t really follow her recipe at all, in any way.) Make sure the pork is covered and whack your slow cooker on high. After about 3hrs I removed a few ladles of the liquid and added some beef stock. (I can’t explain why I did this.) At this point I began to worry as it smelled disgusting and looked like some sort of alien. So I tried to forget about it for another few hours. Other things I added over the course of the cooking time: Frank’s Red Hot sauce, tomato puree, a sprinkle of brown sugar, a squeeze of HP sauce. Jesus wept I am bad at following recipes – though maybe this means I would be amazing at making my own recipes? (Probably not.)

All in all, my alien shaped pork shoulder was in the slow cooker for a total of around seven hours. I turned it over a few times because it seemed to grow (much like an alien would) and I didn’t want the exposed bits to get tough. I served the pork in much the same way as The Londoner does – in crusty buns with gherkins and red cabbage, along with a side of coleslaw. It was one of those sandwiches that lacked structural integrity but made up for it in tasting delicious.

There are so many ways to adapt a recipe like this. If you don’t have a slow cooker, use your oven. You can cook it in whatever liquid you like, really, though I have read that the Coke helps break down the enzymes or something – and the finished product does not taste like Coke. Use whatever cut of pork that you like. If you’re a vegetarian or a vegan… this is the wrong recipe for you.

Enjoy!

June 27, 2012
by Emily 1 Comment

What Emily Read Next

WWW Wednesday #4: idea from Should Be Reading

What are you currently reading?

Too many things, as per usual. The only one I’m actively reading is How to Climb Mont Blanc in a Skirt which is interesting and entertaining. Lots of lady explorers I didn’t know about! I quite appreciate that it’s not pushing an agenda, though, and is happy to call women explorers out for their failures as well as celebrate them for their successes.

What did you recently finish reading?

I managed to finish The London Train by Tessa Hadley. It got much better after about page 100, and in the end I enjoyed it a lot. Then I read The Baby Laundry for Unmarried Mothers by Angela Patrick which was a touching easy read with a fairly happy ending. I didn’t read 101 Things To Do Before You Diet from cover to cover but read most of it and am now keeping it in my car for those moments when I’m stuck with nothing to do. It started out really well and quickly descended into madness, suggesting that you pour washing up liquid on your leftovers so that they can’t tempt you. After the author slates diet books in the introduction, she goes on to write a book that is actually a bit more awful than your average diet book.

What do you think you’ll read next?

I downloaded The Earth Hums in B Flat by Mari Strachan to my Kindle so I might give that a go.

What are you reading/have you read/are you going to read?

June 26, 2012
by Emily 8 Comments

One Of Those Days

Everyone’s had one of those days.

When a simple trip to the bank turns into a torturous 45 minutes of hell.

When you accidentally put Fairy liquid in the dishwasher and it overflows.

When you peel your finger instead of a carrot.

When you fall into the laundry basket when you’re gathering up towels.

When your knee suddenly decides it does not want you to walk around, work out, or be happy.

There are only a few things that can a day like that better. These things are a) listen to Janis Joplin and b) eat pasta with pesto and avocado. Here’s a good starting point for the first one.

And here’s the only non-recipe you need to lift your spirits.

Avocado and Pesto Pasta

You will need pasta of your choice, pesto and around 1/3 of a medium avocado. I made my own pesto, which is really easy… if you’re not me. All you have to do is blend pine nuts, basil, olive oil and parmesan. My advice would be not to attempt to blend it in a smoothie maker. It probably won’t work, and the next smoothie you make will have a vaguely cheesy flavour.

Put your pasta on to boil. I chose wholemeal spaghetti. Mash your avocado with a tiny squeeze of lemon juice. I added some leftover mushrooms and courgettes but if you don’t like them don’t use them. If you don’t like pesto or avocado… I’m not sure what to say to you really.

When your pasta is cooked, drain it and mix with avocado, pesto, vegetables and any other things you have chosen to add. Stir together. Serve with a sprinkle of sea salt and plenty of black pepper, and a slice of garlic bread if you’re that way inclined. Cheer up instantly.

If you’ve followed these steps and you’re still having a bad day, it’s time for cake and wine. Best of luck, my friend.

June 20, 2012
by Emily 7 Comments

International Short Story Day

Happy international short story day, everyone!

I am a big believer in the short story. In my early teens I truly believed that I would be a serious novelist one day. Now, at the ripe old age of twenty-one, I favour the (equally unrealistic) dream of writing endless collections of short stories, each as compelling and bizarre as the last. I studied a module called, quite simply, The Short Story in my second year of university (taught by the lovely Kath McKay) which cemented my love for the short story.

I’m currently working on a story loosely based on the story of The Halifax Slasher, which I’m rather excited about.

If you fancy buying yourself a short story collection, go here to find out which ones I think are great, and to buy one through my Amazon store if you feel the need. If you don’t want to pay to read a short story, then thankfully there is a wealth of them free online. Search ‘international short story day’ on Twitter for lots of links and other nice things.

Are you a fan of the short story? Do you write any of your own? What short story collection would you recommend?

(As usual, if you buy anything through my Amazon Associates account it might earn me a little bit of commission but will cost you the same.)

June 14, 2012
by Emily 14 Comments

I’m a Professional, You Know

You may have noticed that I have acquired a .com. Which means that I am now a professional blogger.

No, it doesn’t really. I don’t make any money off this. I don’t even get all the free things that some bloggers do. I’m doing this out of love, people. Well, love and vanity and a compulsive need to write. They’re all good things.

Now I’m even more professional, as these business cards have landed at my door. They do not say ‘blogger’ on them because, as I say, this is not my job and not a form of income for me. I’m still not even sure that my blog address should be on a card that I plan on giving to potential employers and professional contacts. Will they think I’m just some silly girl writing a diary and expecting people to care?

What I’m hoping is that my blog will show that I have a passion for writing, as well as an understanding of and interest in social media and online communications. I’m hoping that it will fill in some of the blanks on my CV, and that it will explain that I have not been sitting around being lazy for the year since I graduated. It should show that I’ve been writing, reading and learning. I’ve been volunteering and working. I’ve been writing for money and writing for no money. I’ve been writing for local websites and national websites and international websites, and I’ve been writing for my own little website. I’ve been working in social media, in PR and communications. I’ve also been doing my fair share of non-work related things, like falling in love with Italy and then cheating on Italy with Prague.

If this blog is going to put somebody off employing me, or working with me, then that’s a real shame. I have a lot to offer. I’m smart and I’m hardworking and I’m enthusiastic and ambitious.

This blog is not my job, and I don’t want it to be. Nobody is expected to pay me for writing about my life, about the fun things I do, and the things that anger me. But you could pay me to do some freelance (or in-house) writing. You could pay me to help you with your PR & communications. I’ve been looking after the online PR for my parent’s business for around a year now. Earlier this year I worked with a small charity for a month in order to help improve their social media presence. I help with the communications and content writing for a National Trust property, as well as for a local community project.

I’m pretty good at it all, too.

(I promise to resume normal posting now that I’m done with this shameless and sickening bragging and own-horn-tooting. As you were.)

June 12, 2012
by Emily 9 Comments

You Won’t Find This Funny Because You’re A Feminist

I’ve heard this a few times. A joke is told. It lazily plays off tired gender constructs and stereotypes, all to reach a punchline that you could have seen a mile off with your eyes closed.

Everyone laughs. I don’t laugh. A few sets of eyes turn to me, and there is an acknowledgement that I am not laughing. I like an easy life, so often I will simply say, ‘I just don’t find it very funny’. (Sometimes I will say more, it depends.)

Oh, well. You probably don’t find it funny because you’re a feminist.

Let me tell you what I am. Yes, I may be a feminist but I am also someone with a fully functioning humour gene. I like hearing jokes and making jokes, I like being funny and I love it when other people are funny, I like making people laugh and I absolutely adore laughing. I appreciate humour. All kinds of humour. I don’t really enjoy all this ‘constant banter’ business in which every single thing that happens in life is twisted into a forced attempt at comedy, but I was certainly not sent to rid the earth of laughter.

Do you know what I don’t appreciate? I don’t appreciate things that aren’t funny. Your joke might have been sickeningly misogynistic. It might just have been a boring tale of a nagging woman or a cheating husband, tired old tropes that we all need to move on from and find some new material. It might have been just too pathetic to even reach the level of actual misogyny.

There was one thing, though, that your joke was not. Your joke was just not funny. And I say that not as a feminist, but as a human.

June 9, 2012
by Emily 3 Comments

Bake All The Things!

This day, the 9th June 2012, shall henceforth be known as Bake All The Things Saturday. Colloquially known as Eat All The Things Saturday.

I don’t really know what happened. There were some overripe bananas and my dad talked me into making banana bread. Then I made cheese scones because he has a cheese scone addiction. Then my sister made Smarties cookies. Then… I made Chocolate Covered Katie’s chewy granola bars.

Then my friend Becci just ‘popped in’ for a coffee. She’s a wily one, she must have sensed all the freshly baked goodness somehow.

Let’s start with the banana bread. I am someone who hated bananas for a very long time. Something about the texture made me feel physically ill. I’m not sure when I started eating them again but I’ve never looked back. However, it’s still pretty easy to buy far more bananas than one person or even one family can consume before they inevitably turn. That’s part of the beauty of them… even when they’re no longer good to eat, they’re still good to make smoothies or bread out of. This loaf has been sprinkled with a liberal amount of cinnamon so it is extra good.

The cereal bars turned out alright. The reason they were just alright is probably because, as usual, I did not follow the recipe. I had big plans of making the oat flour that the recipe called for, but I forgot. I also forgot to add any sugar. What I did remember was to throw in a load of almonds, dried cranberries and white chocolate chunks. Dried cranberries are about the only dried fruit I enjoy, and shop-bought cereal bars are often full of raisins which I despise.

The cheese scones are good. The cheese scones are always good. The Be-Ro baking book is idiot proof. I don’t know why I don’t make them in lovely rounds like everyone else does. These small lumps of scone may not be very photogenic but they seem to be the perfect size.

The cookies are fantastic, and they were made to Harriet’s secret recipe which I can’t share with you for obvious reasons. (No, not because I would have to kill you, but rather because you would be compelled to make them every day and then die of a sugar overdose.)

I’m still no closer to finding a signature dish, unfortunately, but now I have lots of delicious things to eat over the next few minutes hours days, and to share with sneaky friends that turn up at just the right moment.

June 7, 2012
by Emily 9 Comments

Currently #3

Here’s what I was reading, listening to, watching, eating and admiring in March.

Reading Last night I finished It Shouldn’t Happen to a Vet by James Herriot. It was an easy enjoyable read but not something I would necessarily recommend to anyone, and I won’t be rushing to read another Herriot. Then I closed my eyes and pointed at my bookshelf and came up with The Medici Secret by Michael White. I’ve also been spending too much of my time going square-eyed reading Wikipedia pages trying to teach myself about all the things in the world ever. I had a strange existential crisis and thought about all the things I knew nothing about and so my current mission is to teach myself everything. (This mission may fail.)

Listening to I’m not even ashamed to say that I have been blasting Euphoria by Loreen very often. Yes, that’s the Eurovision winning song. It’s amazing. I also adore Paloma Faith’s new tune.

Watching Against all odds, I have been watching – and enjoying – Cardinal Burns.

Eating Lots of salads. Yes, I’m feeling alright, and before you ask ‘Who are you and what did you do with the real Emily?’, hang in there for a moment. I’ve been buying the bagged salad that tastes really good but costs about a million pounds, and then putting fun things on it like halloumi and chorizo. Also, I made a pizza a while ago that was freaking delicious, and I threw together some red onion and cucumber pickle to go with it.

Admiring Smart jackets on eBay that I could wear to my interview. I eventually settled on this bad boy in light grey, which should hopefully be smart and businessy enough to slightly mitigate the brazenness of wearing a bright yellow dress. (I don’t really shop in eBay stores very often so I hope it’s not terrible quality.) Now I’m looking for shoes. HELP ME OUT PLS.

Shameless self promotion I just wrote my first review at the wonderful website Judging Covers. I have read and admired this website for a long time and so I’m really pleased that I have the chance to write for them too. Take a look at my review of The Snow Child by Eowyn Ivey here.

June 1, 2012
by Emily 10 Comments

June Goals

Here’s how my goals for May went-

1. Write creatively every day. I did not do this. To be honest, I didn’t really attempt to either. I did enter two short stories into competitions, though – one with a money prize, and one with a publication prize. So that’s something.

2. Read 3 books. The week when I wanted to get a lot of reading done was the week when all I ended up getting done was working, drinking Blue Moon, and occasionally sleeping. I finished Never Let Me Go one sunny afternoon, and then attempted to read a variety of other books but you’ll never guess which one I eventually got into – It Shouldn’t Happen To A Vet by James Herriot. I may as well embrace my roots, people, as I’m living in Herriot Country!

3. Get some business cards. This was so much harder than I thought it would be. The process went like this: chicken out of buying v. expensive cards, chicken out of buying cheap and nasty cards, debate whether to put blog on card, have a little personal crisis about whether this blog is silly and stupid and I’ll never be taken seriously ever, decide that blog is ok to go on card as it displays passion and creativity (or something), decide to make blog a .com, take forever getting round to this, buy a .com*, despair at the selection and pricing of business cards to be found on the interwebs, eventually settle on a rather pretty design from VistaPrint, eventually order them, then stupidly select the ‘slow’ delivery option meaning that the cards will not be mine in time for when I want them. Every day is a battle when you’re me, it would seem.

4. Sort out my unwanted clothes. I sold some crap on eBay! I made a fairly decent chunk of money and managed not to tear my hair out over posting & packaging the bloody things.

5. Bake something extravagant. Nope. I made some wholemeal pizza, which I topped with home made pesto. Does that count? Probably not. I started getting excited over the idea of making healthy vegan desserts, so I stocked up on sweet potatoes, cashews and chickpeas, but then I got busy and the weather got beastly hot and the idea of turning the oven on was no longer tempting.

Overall, not bad at all. Here are my goals for June-

1. Ace my interview on the 16th. I’m trying to keep it semi-secret (meaning I’ve told a load of people but I’m not telling everyone or posting on Facebook about it) so I won’t write on here exactly what the interview is for. But it’s good. So I’m going to have to be good.

1a. Plan the perfect interview outfit. The kind people of Twitter have informed me that a yellow dress is acceptable for an interview so that might be the basis of the outfit.

2. Finish paying off my loan from the bank of Mum & Dad. I took a loan out of the great parental bank to buy a new laptop a few months ago and I’m two payments off now.

3. Apply for two writing competitions. I forgot how fun and exciting it is to apply for competitions!

4. Bake a vegan dessert. I’m not going vegan but I’m determined to make a tasty pudding that doesn’t contain any animal products. I don’t know why. Any ideas for a good? I’m quite interested in using chickpeas to make brownies, and I have a sack of cashews at my disposal. (Whatever I make, I may or may not cover it in cream, ice-cream or something equally unvegan. Sorry I’m not sorry.)

I can’t think of a fifth one. What do you think my fifth goal for June should be? What are yours?

* In case you missed this, I am now a .com and I feel like a total badass!

What Emily Did Next

country living, city dreaming

Monthly Archives: June 2012