When I wracked my brains to think of what I could teach others about for the Birmingham Twestival’s Brumability ‘How to in 60 seconds’ blog, I thought what do I do best? And then it came to me. Procrastinating.
As a third year student I have procrastination down to a very fine art. Unfortunately it’s not a skill that most people want to acquire but thankfully for me (and now you) I have learnt techniques to overcome this nasty little habit.
To see the techniques, visit Natalie’s Blog. Thank you @NatalieAdcock.
Dressage – or ‘horse ballet’ for those not in the know – is basically a series of training exercises for horses and a competitive sport from novice to Olympic standard. It’s used to improve horses’ athleticism, flexibility and obedience but more than anything – it’s amazing to watch at Grand Prix level (the highest you can get!)
Kellie Maddox provides a 60 second guide to Grand Prix dressage movements.
You were probably sat on Saturday night thinking that you were going to be watching Casualty or whatever new talent show is on BBC1. Instead this sport called rugby union came on and you watched it because there was nothing on ITV1 but you had no idea what was going on or what the “strange language” meant.
So here’s a little guide into some of the terms, and believe me there are loads:
Backs: They wear the numbers from 9 to 15 on the back of their shirts. They’re the ones who run fast, kick a fair bit and turn out to be the best commentators because nobody else can get a word in edgeways. They’re also the ones most likely to have a celebrity girlfriend. See Gavin Henson.
To see more, click on the link to my blog.
From Rachel Simmonite
Pancakes aren’t just for Shrove Tuesday: they’re also a great breakfast or pudding, so why not make them more than a once a year treat?
You’ll need:
- 125g plain flour
- 300ml milk (skimmed if you want the thinner, crepe style)
- 1 egg
- sunflower oil for the pan
- frying pan
- mixing bowl
- whisk (electric or hand)
- spatula
- lemon juice / sugar / chocolate spread / any other toppings of your choice
Measure out your ingredients into a big bowl and whisk until you have a mixture of single cream consistency. If you have time, leave it to stand in the fridge for a while because the gluten in the flour starts to stretch and you get better pancakes.
Then put a little sunflower oil into your pan. I like to use a non-stick shallow lipped pan because the pancakes flip easier and you can get to them with the spatula. Heat the sunflower oil til it’s just before smoking point. If you hold you hand over the pan (about 10cm above), it should feel proper hot - then you’re ready for your first one.
Using a ladle, spoon the mixture into the pan and kind of roll the pan round, so you cover the whole area with the mix. Now don’t do anything - it’s tempting to muck about with the edges but just leave it for a minute or so. When the edges start to lift away from the pan, you can start to get a spatula underneath the pancake. Don’t force it, just feel your way.
Once the pancake is loosened (and if you’re feeling brave) you can flip it. You might want to get pets/small children/laptops out of the way at this point. With a strong wrist action, take a deep breath and flip the pancake. If it survived, well done. Then let the other side cook through. The second side tends to get darker spots on it for some reason.
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When it feels/looks/smells done, serve it on warmed side plates with your favourite toppings.
Your first one will be a bit of a mess (see mine on the right->) so you have to eat it with your fingers standing up in the kitchen, it’s the law.
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Happy flipping!
From Kate Hughes
Saturday, March 20, 2010
One of the easiest ways to create a BrumAbility guide is to write 60 seconds of text. Choose a subject, write your guide and send it to us here at @brumtwestival.
Choose any subject you wish, IT or social media related or maybe a recipe for a cup cake.
If you have your own blog, you can post it there and email us a link. Let us know whether you want us to post the full text here with an acknowledgement and link or if you’d prefer us simply to link to your blog post.
If you don’t have your own blog, email it to us at paul@theaardvark.co.uk and we’ll post it here. Or wait a short while, there’s bound to be a BrumAbility post about setting up your own blog.
Sunday, January 31, 2010
