What I did in my holidays
In April this year I left IBM – I had worked for them for 23 years. I almost left after I had worked for them for six months because I thought I could never get used to the corporate culture. In truth I’m not sure that I ever did – but I was very happy working around it and made many good friends in the process.
I was a bit concerned that I’d be bored when I left IBM, I needn’t have worried. My mother bought a house a mile away and I embarked on six months hard work overhauling the garden and keeping an eye on the builders. Not that they (H Woollhead of Ropley) needed any supervision, I could have left them completely alone. They were described to me by a friend as “Safe hands….not cheap hands, but safe hands”. That was true, but I will add that they were worth every penny. Watching skilled craftsmen at work is something I’ve never had time to do before – it was a joy. Their attention to detail was incredible as was their understanding and sympathy for restoring a very old building. Thanks to Woollhead and company my mother has a comfortable and beautiful home. In addition to working on the house they were also kind enough to give me lessons in bricklaying, laying turf and laying paving slabs.
The only things that I provided, apart from garden labour, were brownies every Friday. The recipe is here for anyone who is interested.
I also got to know the staff in Alresford Builders’ Merchants, another company which I can wholeheartedly recommend. Rick even gave me six free screws at one point. I have no idea why everyone laughs when I tell them that.
So, with the summer over and my mother settled in to her new home, it was time for me to think about what I wanted to do. I’m glad I did nothing (computer related) for a few months. Amazingly it took me that long to arrive at this list:
- I want to go on doing things with technology, specifically software
- I want to work with local businesses
- I want to continue working with open source organisations
- I don’t want to work for a big company again, in fact probably not any company
- I need to earn some money
So that led me to this – ZOAH. I have two customers so far and they are keeping me busy – so life’s good. Bugger retirement!
Brownies
These were always a favourite with the children, although for some inexplicable reason Tim always had to have them without walnuts. This summer I made them once a week for the builders that were working on my mother’s house – just keeping their blood sugar levels up.
- 100g butter
- 35g cocoa powder
- 2 large eggs
- 225g vanilla sugar (*)
- 50g self raising flour
- 100g walnuts pieces
Melt the butter gently, stir in the cocoa and leave it to cool for a few minutes. Grease an 8 inch square cake tin and line the bottom with a double layer of greaseproof paper.
Beat the eggs and sugar together till light and fluffy. Mix in the flour and finally stir in the walnut pieces. Pour the mixture into the tin and bake at 180C (fan oven) for 30 minutes. Don’t be tempted to leave them in longer than this – they are meant to be squidgy. Let them cool for 10 minutes in the tin then cut them into 12 squares and leave them on a rack to finish cooling.
* Vanilla sugar is just caster sugar which is stored with a vanilla pod in it. I keep a large jar of it, topping up the sugar when it gets low and replacing the vanilla pod every so often. It’s much better than vanilla essence.
Potato cakes
I’ve never heard of anyone apart from my mother cooking these. Served warm with plenty of butter they make a good alternative to potatoes with, for example, a ham salad. They can be cooked in batches and freeze well.
- 325 grams self raising flour
- Level teaspoon baking powder
- 165 grams butter
- 650 grams mashed potato
Mix the flour and baking powder. Rub in the butter to make a bread crumb like mixture. Stir in the mashed potato and mix everything. Roll out on a floured surface to a thickness of about 1cm, cut into squares and place on a greased baking tray. Cook at 220 C (or 200 C in a fan oven) for about 15 minutes. Eat warm, split open and buttered.
Too much kale?
No that’s really not possible. This year we had a great crop of almost everything in the garden. At the moment we are left with kale, black cabbage (cavolo nero) and red cabbage. These recipes work pretty well with all of them – quantities are approximate.
Kale with chorizo and beans
- Kale – a good double handful
- Chorizo – about 100g. Use a spicy one!
- Tin of butter beans or cannelini beans
- Olive oil
Cut up the chorizo into small chunks. Wash the kale, get rid of tough stems and shred it. Stir fry the chorizo in a dash of olive oil until it’s beginning to catch. Add the chopped kale and continue to stir fry until everything is well mixed together. Add a tablespoon of water, put the lid on the wok/frying pan and let it cook till the kale is tender. Be careful not to let it burn. Tip in the can of beans and stir till everything is hot.
I serve this with sourdough toast drizzled with olive oil.
Kale with pancetta and pasta
- Kale – a good double handful
- Pancetta or bacon bits – about 100g
- A red chilli (or chilli flakes or chilli sauce)
- A tablespoon of pine kernels (optional)
- Pasta (penne)
- Olive oil
- Grated parmesan
Wash the kale, get rid of tough stems and shred it. Blanche the kale and drain it – get rid of as much water as possible. Cook the pasta and drain it. Fry the pancetta (in a little olive oil) with the red chilli till it’s crisp; add the pine kernels (if used) for the last couple of minutes. Add the drained kale and stir the mixture together – continue cooking and stirring until the kale is cooked. Add the cooked pasta and stir to combine.
Serve with grated parmesan, a tomato or green salad and bread.