I know it is very "last year" to make new year resolutions but nevertheless I'm going to do it. I feel very stuck at the moment and need to make some changes in my life. So I resolve to*:
1. Indulge the OCD side of my personality by creating new lists of things I do.
2. Cook something from a recipe I haven't used before - at least once every fortnight.
3. Move to South London.
4. Get rid of a significant proportion of my treasured possessions junk.
5. Visit a gallery or the cinema once a week.
6. Change my job.
7. Send more postcards
8. Re-read Jane Austen.
9. Visit a country I haven't been to before.
10. Start cycling again.
I will keep you posted on my progress.
*I am not entirely serious about every single one of these resolutions.
Try Nigerian Groundnut Stew sometime and tell me what you think.
1¾ hours 15 min prep
3 lbs broiler-fryer chickens, cut up
3 tablespoons cooking oil
1 lb beef stew meat, cut into 1 inch pieces
2 medium onions, chopped
1 medium green pepper, chopped
1 (28 ounce) can tomatoes, cut up
1 teaspoon salt
1-2 teaspoon ground red pepper
3/4 cup peanut butter
mashed sweet potatoes or hot cooked rice
1. In a large saucepan or Dutch oven brown chicken pieces in hot oil abut 15 minutes; remove from pan. Set aside, reserving drippings.
2. Add beef, onion, and green pepper to drippings; cook till beef is brown and onion is tender. Drain off fat. Stir in undrianed tomatoes, salt, and red pepper. Bring to boiling; reduce heat. Cover; simmer 30 minutes.
3. Add chicken pieces: simmer 20 minutes more. In small sauce pan melt peanut butter over low heat. Stir into chicken mixture. Return mixture to boiling; reduce heat. Cover simmer 20 minutes more. Skim off fat.
4. Serve with mashed sweet potatoes or hot cooked rice.
Posted by: Cybez | January 01, 2007 at 09:02 PM
Re item 8 I was reading about a woman who is in a book club devoted exclusively to Jane Austen and their current project is reading Emma out loud. It's taken them a year to do 60 pages as they analyse the text. I suspect that although I consider myself an Austen fan that kind of behaviour teeters on the obsessive compulsive?
Posted by: incognito | January 02, 2007 at 09:17 AM
I have no intention of reading any Jane Austen aloud - unless of course someone asks me to.
Cybez thank you for the recipe but I am afraid I am a bit squeamish about flesh and I think that if I attempted to eat any dish including both beef and chicken (and peanuts!) it would result in me boaking rings round me.
Posted by: Ganching | January 02, 2007 at 06:01 PM
I'll definitely be trying that recipe. Maybe this weekend.
Posted by: Nelly | January 02, 2007 at 07:07 PM
I like Jane Austen but the thought of a year to read 60 pages would put me right off. Have you been to Canada?
Posted by: Sandra | January 03, 2007 at 02:39 PM
Canada is certainly a possibility.
I am already imagining myself sitting at a pavement cafe in Vancouver, using a copy of Emma to lean against, while I write lists on postcards......
Posted by: Ganching | January 03, 2007 at 06:34 PM
Or an overheated coffee shop in Toronto, scribbling lists on paper napkins?
Posted by: Sandra | January 03, 2007 at 06:41 PM