Artist of The Week - John Grant

Phew! It's all busy busy busy here at the moment. I'm taking 6 courses this semester, as well as attempting to get fit, so there is lots of running around back and forth to different classes and between classes and the swimming pool!

Artist of the Week - John Grant

John Grant is the ex-lead singer of the Czars, who last year released his first solo album Queen of Denmark. I first heard his music on the radio a few weeks ago, specifically the song Where the Dreams Go to Die and was smitten. He has a rich, almost old-fashioned voice which, when paired with his unconventional lyrics, makes something very magical and unique. The album Queen of Denmark, made with the band Midlake, is about his past struggles with alcohol and drug addiction, suicide attempts and coming to terms with being gay.

Where the Dreams Go to Die


I Wanna Go To Marz


It's Easier


Caramel


Fireflies


Sigourney Weaver


So what do you think of John Grant?

Winter Warmer

I cooked this before Christmas - the last proper meal I bothered to cook before the stress of flight cancellations! It is very comforting and rich, and I rather enjoyed it!

Veal Meatballs with Slow-cooked Tomato sauce and Spaghetti


Ingredients
olive oil and butter for cooking
 - For the sauce -
1 onion, finely diced
2 garlic cloves, crushed
1 teaspoon chili flakes
2 carrots, finely diced
1 tin chopped tomatoes
300ml veal stock (chicken or beef is fine)
 - For the meatballs -
500g veal mince
1 cup crushed crackers
1 egg
2 cloves garlic, minced
1 tsp grated nutmeg


Start off the sauce first: Heat up 1 tablespoon of olive oil in a large pan over a medium heat, then add the butter and let it melt in the hot oil. Next, add the onion and saute until it begins to turn translucent. Add the garlic and chili and saute for a minute, then add the carrot and saute for another minute or so. Next add the tomatoes and the stock. It should look a bit like this:

Bring to the boil, then turn the heat down so that it is barely simmering, cover and leave to cook for 2-3 hours.

Now for the meatballs: in a bowl, combine all the ingredients, using your hands or a spoon to make sure everything is well mixed

Shape the mixture into tablespoon-sized balls, then cover and refrigerate for at least half an hour*. To cook them, fry them in a little olive oil and butter until they are cooked through and crispy on the outside. Serve them with spaghetti, and the sauce, which will have reduced over the cooking time and become thick, rich and flavourful.

*The raw meatballs can also be frozen at this point - freeze them on a baking sheet, then when they are hard, put them into a tupperware or freezer bag

Artist of the Week - Fleet Foxes

Here we are, back to normal programming with a return to the beardy men's corner of the music world. I have been listening to these guys a lot in the past couple of days, since the sun came out. I think their music goes perfectly with bright, chilly days in the pacific northwest, probably because it was written here!

Artist of the Week - Fleet Foxes

Fleet Foxes are a five-piece band from Washington State. They have been around for a while, but began to come to real prominence with the release of their album Fleet Foxes in 2008. They have so far released two EPs and one album, though a second album has been in the works for a while. They are best known for their use of 60s-influenced vocal harmonies and many groups with a similar sound have popped up since their debut.

So, on to the music!

Mykonos
Probably my favourite Fleet Foxes song

Blue Ridge Mountains
I think this goes perfectly with winter sun.

White Winter Hymnal
This was a very popular single in the UK.


Ragged Wood
Just listen to those harmonies!


Heard Them Stirring
Really dreamy


Tiger Mountain Peasant Song
There is something very soothing about all their music

Home Comforts

I have been quiet for the past couple of weeks, and that is because I was at home for Christmas.  Once I finally got home, I had a lovely quiet break with my family and friends, and I had my first white Christmas!

Over the past couple of years, there are some things that I have really come to appreciate about being at home - the space (the space! Every time I come home now I collapse on the floor of my room, because I can), the fact that it is cleaned twice a week by someone other than me, how nice the furniture is, the outdoor space, the tv, and... The kitchen!

Let me give you a guided tour of why I love it so much:

Well, first off, it's huge. Plus it has marble counters and a giant island unit.

It is also very light - there are big, south facing french doors and this thing in the roof

There is food everywhere. Cupboards full of dry goods, and this fridge,

these fridge drawers,

and this chest freezer in the garage.

Then, there is the cooker.

*Angelic voices singing*


5 gas burners, 2 ovens and a grill!

Oh, and let's not forget the most important kitchen resident:


Hi Molly! I missed you!

Stuff of Nightmares

FINAL UPDATE: I'm home! I managed to switch my booking, and I got home on Wednesday on the first flight out! I have been lucky really, there are so many people who haven't reached where they want to be yet.
I am finally able to enjoy the snow, and it looks like it is going to be a white Christmas - the first one I have ever had!

UPDATE THE SECOND after five hours of me and my mum clicking and refreshing pages, I have managed to get a ticket on a flight on the 22nd. Let's just hope it isn't cancelled.


UPDATE - My flight from Las Vegas was cancelled, so I didn't set off. I have no idea if/when I will get home, I have been up since 4 trying to find information, the desk at the airport doesn't open until 2pm

Don't read this if you don't like hearing people moaning, but I need to recount my day in full somewhere to get it out of my system and this seems like a good place!

Today has been a nightmare - I woke up this morning ready to spend a leisurely day packing and sorting things out before my flight in the evening, only to find out shortly after that my flight had been cancelled, due to "adverse weather conditions" (i.e. a bit of snow and ice) at Heathrow.  The earliest I could rebook was for the 24th - meaning I'd get home on Christmas day in the afternoon. This was not happy news. 5 days does not sound like very much, but it is rather significant if you are only going somewhere for 2 weeks, and I had so much planned for the week before Christmas - meeting friends, going shopping in London, carol services etc. After weeping down the phone to my parents a few times, I packed hastily and went to the airport ($40 for a taxi each way) to try and talk to someone, where I stood in a line for two and a half hours, but after this, things started looking up!
Thanks to the (very friendly and helpful, despite being confronted with 3 jumbo jets' worth of passengers) BA staff, I have been put on an alternative route, so tomorrow I will be flying into Gatwick via Seattle and Las Vegas. The timings are a little tight, especially considering the only time I have had a plane journey with a transfer was when I was 11 and pretty much asleep, but I should make it home 16 hours after the start of my first flight, which is really very good.

The thing that I really marvel at though is how one of the busiest airports in the world can grind to a halt for 3 days after a snowfall - it is ridiculous! There are thousands of people stranded in places they don't want to be, all because Heathrow can't get their act together. They need to take a lesson from airports in places where it snows frequently, where they just get on with it, and the flights come and go with only minor delays.
Anyway, rant over. Please keep your fingers crossed for me!