Lately, I tend to run out of time.
Each and everyday I'll scribble down the list of jobs that I consider as important or urgent matter. I'll probably spend good 10mins or so thinking about the most effective and logical working orders of the job required. Although I am not the sort of person who works with strict time schedule and allocates rather tight time limits to everything, I, more than often, considered myself as a grafter who would simply get on with the tasks once I put my mind to it.
But lately, I can't seem to be able to get down with the business.
I mean, come on, sorting out stuff, picking up the pieces, taking care of all the nitty gritty used to be my forte, given the fact that my job title is a 'manager'.
I thought, as long as I am organised and have the ability to successfully produce a super tight - by I mean good - job lists, everything would be a peanut.
Bish bash bosh, job done, and the mission accomplished!
You see, I planed to update the blog the other Wednesday. But after spending hours wrestling with a grubby old toothbrush, trying to clean the bloody mould and stained hair dye on my bathroom tile grout, I lost all my will to even attempt to babble. The simplicity of repetitive hand movements had caused me some serious muscular pain and the only thing I could ever think of lifting is very well deserved glass of wine to celebrate those intense moments of me and now-very-worn good old toothbrush.
The thing is, I have been trying to cram everything into what was already a very little spare time of mine.
I had a full time job to care for, a blog to look after, a magazine article to submit every month, an-almost-there but never ending home renovation, and to top it up - or to tip it all upside down - a wedding to organise.
My stress level was reaching high, and my tolerance was wearing thinner and thinner each day. I could, if I tried hard enough, start to see myself turning into the short tempered, always tired looking, greasy messy haired, fag puffing, miserable cow.
OMG!
And, that's when I decided enough was enough.
As much as it was wonderful to be given an opportunity to write for CookAnd, I couldn't help myself feeling upset that I have left my love in neglect. Every given time off was spared for the magazine and my blog was being pushed on a side, at the bottom of my lists. And, it was about time, that I put things in right order.
The day I submitted my last article, I wrote to my editor explaining that the time has become an issue, and unfortunately Toby and I will have to call it a day.
She wrote back to thank me, and told me that one of our images were on the front cover to celebrate my final article.
And the day I made this gnocchi, I giggled and told Toby how happy I was. I think it may have well been the first time I smiled in a long while.
Beetroot Gnocchi with Green Pesto
serves 2
for the gnocchi
300g floury potatoes
250g beetroot, peeled and roughly chopped
some plain flour
pinch of salt and pepper
some oil and butter for frying
for the green pesto sauce
1 garlic cloves, crushed
handful of pine nuts, toasted (put some on the side for garnish)
handful of basil
handful of parsley
25g parmesan cheese, grated (+some extra for garnish)
1/2-1 lemon juice
some extra virgin olive oil
pinch of salt and pepper
couple of shallots, finely sliced
This is a sort of recipe where you can be really lazy with measuring, and just go with the flow. Although I have made it vegetarian, it would also be quite lovely to add some thick smokey lardons. Pay enough attention to how the dough feels in your hands, you will be rewarded with these mouth watering, beautiful, earthy magenta nuggets.
First of all, preheat the oven to 200º and bake the potatoes with skin on and pricked for around 45mins to an hour, until it is really fluffy and soft inside. Baking potatoes will remove a lot of its moisture contents, which will then allow the gnocchi to be the lightest and fluffiest.
Meanwhile, put your beetroot into the saucepan with a pinch of salt, cover it with water, and boil them for around 30mins or until it is soft.
When it is cooked, drain and blitz them until it becomes smooth pure.
To make your gnocchi, skin the cooked potatoes and put them through the ricer. You can mash them really smooth if you don't have the ricer. However, passing them through the ricer will give you the airy texture you want from good gnocchi.
Mix in the beetroot pure into the potato, season and gradually add the flour until your dough becomes stiff enough to handle but supple.
Take handful of your dough, roll our on the floured surface into a long sausage shape, and cut them into small bite size chunks.
Repeat this process until you use up all of your dough.
Now, let's make the green pesto sauce.
I am making my pesto slightly on the thicker side for this pasta because I like to have a little bite to it rather than puree like. But you can make it more runny if you prefer, by adding more oil and lemon juice. Or even tiny drop of water to loosen it up a bit.
First thing, put toasted pine nuts, garlic, parmesan, basil and parsley into your food processor or pestle and mortar. Blitz them into preferred consistency whilst adding some olive oil and lemon juice. Season with salt.
To put together this lovely gnocchi, pan fry your bite sized gnocchi with little butter and oil over medium to high heat, making sure you only turn once. You might have to do this in batches. Be patient, and don't be tempted to do it all at once. You want to get them really crispy on the outside to create contrasting texture.
Once you're finished with it all, put them on a side.
Into the same pan you've just fried your gnocchi, gently fry the shallots with little olive oil until it's golden and crispy. Add fried gnocchi and pesto, stir in well with lots of freshly cracked black pepper. Season to taste with salt and lemon juice.
Garnish with some toasted pine nuts, and more parmesan cheese.
It feels good to be back. To the place where I feel home.
The problem of talking about the stuff that is close to you, too close to your heart, is I think, that often, your emotion kind of overrides ones consciousness and more than often there is a danger which the speaker may become too attached and end up focusing on the sentimental values of the subject matter rather than the matter itself.
This is my problem.
I have been babbling about what is up with me lately on this screen for the last few days, in an attempt to write a post to share the important news. For the last few days, and I am not joking when I say Days, it has been six days to be quite precise, I found almost impossible to get pass the first few sentence.
The thing is though, I am trying to talk about something that is not only very close to my heart but also a very big deal; a huge deal. To talk about such is really overwhelming and I didn't quite know where to start.
Well, as some of you might already know, I have been living in London for quite some time. Over the past 12 years, I had to learn to speak English, learn to understand the culture and learn to grow up; try to grow up as a good resident of Britain.
You could argue, I didn't have to learn to speak the language, if I had chosen to live near by Korean community. And to tell you the truth, for a little while I did in fact lived in New Malden; a small town in Surrey where you'll find most things Korean. But soon, I realised it wasn't for me. I wanted to feel part of London, so to speak.
I remember going into the bank to open a bank account and feeling slightly humiliated by the lady who found me a little difficult to understand. Experiencing what I could only recognise as dismissal of my rather inadequate performance in communicating, I promised to myself I'll never let that same feeling to hurt me again.
I tried really hard to speak well. I wanted to speak, so no one can ever tell the difference that I wasn't actually born and bred hear in London.
I am not sure whether I have kept my promise but fortunately enough, the same incident does not happen to me anymore.
It's been a tough journey to get here and a very long one too. And here, I mean by, where I feel possibly more home than back home, Korea. I am comfortable with my surroundings. What was so new and shocking back then isn't alien to me anymore.
A naive young girl who landed London with a little clues of what was ahead of her life has finally grew up and London has become an essential part. It is part of me, part of my adult life that I want to celebrate.
The dilemma of adolescence and the confusions in values of my life as youth has come to an end with my status in London as a staying guest.
I am preparing myself to become a proper resident and possibly to gain the British Citizenship in near future.
Strange thing is though, although I never doubted that I'll get here, I am kind of frightened of the slim chance that it might all fall apart. I am not confident all again.
It was so easy to talk about this stuff in the past but now it is so close, I can't seem to be able to rationalised it. And to even think of the possible failure really terrifies me.
Toby tells me we're not going anywhere until I pass this test.
Triple Cooked Chips (Inspired by Heston Blumenthal's)
some potatoes, scrubbed well and cut into thick chunky chips
frying oil
salt
For making chips, I found King Edwards or Maris Piper works well at home.
Triple cooked may put you off with all the work involved but it is actually quite easy and worth the effort. My method doesn't actually fry the chips twice. Instead, I fry once then bake them in the oven. I just prefer it this way.
First of all soak your chips in cold water for 5mins or so to remove starch. Rinse well under running water then simmer them in salted water for 7-9mins. Chips should still hold its shape.
Drain them well and lay them onto baking tray. Put them in the freezer for 30mins or so to dry them out. You can leave this in the fridge over night instead if you're not going to use this straight away.
Heat your frying oil to high temperature and fry the chips until lightly coloured.
Now, place your baking tray in the oven and wait until it reaches the highest temperature. Carefully remove the baking tray to place fried chips, put them back in the oven, drop the temperature to 200º and bake them for about 20-30mins or until chips are dark golden brown around the edges.
Sprinkle some sea salt to taste and the rest is entirely up to you. Good helpings of tomato ketchup, a dollop of mayo, a drizzle of malt vinegar or perhaps all of these. Whatever it may be, I am certain you will enjoy these quintessentially British chips.
And now, back to my study of 'Life in the United Kingdom; A Journey to Citizenship'.
In 1948, people from the West Indies were invited to come and work in Britain as well as workers from Ireland and other parts of Europe.
Until 1857, a married woman had no right to divorce her husband.
In 1918, women over the age of 30 were given the right to vote and in 1928, women won the right to vote at 21, at the same age as men.
A census has been taken every ten years since 1801, except during the second World War.
The UK is divided into 646 parliamentary constituencies.
There are 78 seats for representatives from the UK in the European Parliament.
The National Assembly for Wales, or Welsh Assembly Government (WAG), has 60 Assembly Members.
The Queen is the head of the Commonwealth, which currently has 53 member states.
Schools must be open 190 days a year.
And 75% must be achieved to pass the test.
I hope I pass because, I intend to stay here for good this time and that is, for sure.
