Tuesday 17 May 2005

Coconut Rice

Just in case anyone wants to make this easy rice variation themselves (Y)

a = 1x cups basmati rice
b = 1x cups coconut milk or cream
c = 0.5x cups water
d = 1x teaspoons salt
e = 1x tablespoons sugar

where x ~= 0.33 (recurring) per person.

If you want fluffy rice, rinse a a couple of times in water to wash away the rice flour.

You can vary the amount of b for a richer or more subtle taste. It doesn't matter whether you use of milk or cream: they're both just coconut + water, and cream just has more coconut than water in it. Just make sure to satisfy the constraint b + c = 1.5x cups of liquid.

Algorithm:
Add a + b + c + d + e to a saucepan and mix.
Bring to boil on high heat, stirring occasionally. Immediately cover and reduce to a gentle simmer.
Leave on low heat for 12 to 15 minutes.
Remove from heat entirely. Leave covered for 15 minutes to sit.

This algorithm returns delicious cocount rice!

Monday 9 May 2005

Raid on Mt Jim Crow

We successfully raided Mt Jim Crow on the weekend with no wipes - actually without any deaths at all, though there were some close calls.
The raid was partitioned into to roughly three parties - Tanya and her friend Erin forging ahead along the main path; Nick and Sarah scouting alternate routes; and Brett and Melanie considerately escorting Carey, who was undoubtedly the one holding them up :p

Sarah insisted on proving that humans descended from apes by monkeying around in a tree on the side of a sheer drop. It would have been quite impressive, too, were it not for the it-just-had-to-happen moment:
"Sarah, come down now, you've succeeded in making me nervous," I called up to her in the upper branches of the tree.
"Nick, I've been climing trees all my life," she replied in exasperation, "And I've never fallen out!"
And of course, at that moment she reached out for a slender branch that sheared away from the trunk, and Sarah lurched forward, wrapping her arms around the trunk to save herself from plummeting straight down. She took a scrape along her upper arm, but besides her pride thankfully sustained no further injuries :p

And then of course we must also thank Tanya and Erin who between them, on the descent down the slippery slope, did an outstanding job of identifying the tricky sections :p

Ah, whoever thought nearly falling down a mountain could be so much fun :D

Friday 6 May 2005

Circus Oz

Wednesday night, Circus Oz came to town for one night only, and Tanya and I went to see it. Circus Oz (a quick web search tells me) has been around since 1977. It's a world-class, human-only stage performance similar to Cirque du Soleil - but a bit rougher, more down to earth, and funnier.

For their performance here in Rockhampton they used the Pilbeam Theatre, and I was impressed by how well they set up such a dynamic array of acts on such a small stage. I thought for sure there would be times when someone would accidentally tumble off the front of the stage, but no-one ever did :)
Speaking of which, only one acrobat made one misstep through all the performances, and even crashing down from missing a trapeze was covered so smoothly that I was left wondering if it was intentional - the act was certainly all the more amusing for it.

I'm amazed by what humans are capable of doing with their bodies. Over the course of the two hour performance, the different acts awed, inspired, and (sometimes sickly) fascinated. I would so much love to have some of the gear that they play with - especially the cylindrical frame in which a person stands spread-eagled, Da Vinci posed, and rolls effortlessly around the stage. That looks like so much fun :D

It was so much fun, I wish I had of learned of Circus Oz coming to town earlier and had time to invite anyone who wanted to come, but I only found out about it the day before. (The Pilbeam Theatre's online ticketing system works really well, by the by - we got great tickets the night before the performance! :) )