Nostr notes by NeonSnake

How many times do you want to be paid for the same amount of ...

2026-04-24T13:07:38+02:00

In reply to nevent1q…rdd3
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How many times do you want to be paid for the same amount of work?

I mean, let's say that I happen to have an amount of spare cash lying about, and let's say that I earned it, fair and square.

That's being paid once.

Now, let's say that I invest that cash in a business, which presumably, will be a Good Business and reduce costs overall for anyone involved. I get my money back, obvs, plus the benefit of reduced costs, no matter how abstract or indirect those are.

That's being paid *twice*.

Lol now I want interest??

Fuck off, that's 3 times. Behave.

I often feel that a lot of so-called "economic theory" ...

2026-04-24T12:40:30+02:00

I often feel that a lot of so-called "economic theory" should be able to be refuted by employing "oh do just shut the actual fuck up" as a rejoinder.

Time-preference? Abstinence? Savings against future consumption?

You don't need a graph for this or wildly complicated and (largely) circular theories of why you should earn interest.

If you're poor, it's harder to save money. That's about it. If you're rich, you can afford to do without a third holiday this year, and can earn interest on what you haven't paid money for. Well done *heath ledger joker clap gif*

Now, do just shut the actual fuck up, marginalists.

This is where - in my opinion - a certain amount of fuzziness ...

2026-03-17T18:11:50+01:00

In reply to nevent1q…ja2m
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This is where - in my opinion - a certain amount of fuzziness needs to come in (and comes into account with time-banking etc)

I might be able to spend 3 hours cooking for someone.

They might be able to spend 20 minutes going to shops for me.

That might well be that they've given me "everything" they have; and their 20 minutes might be equal to my 3 hours.

I always recall the Magnificent Seven:

"I've been offered a lot for my work, but never *Everything*"

😉

Sure, but we all have obligations, whether explicit or implicit. ...

2026-03-17T17:30:17+01:00

In reply to nevent1q…lkwp
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Sure, but we all have obligations, whether explicit or implicit.

We all do stuff - hopefully - for other people, and we track it, in many different forms - sometimes very explicit, and sometimes we just think "you know what, Steve is taking the utter piss"

It's not about hoarding, it's about division of labour and keeping a rough or rougher idea of who owes who what.

I've just had a kneejerk "hard disagree" reaction to ...

2026-03-17T13:28:06+01:00

In reply to nevent1q…8nf9
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I've just had a kneejerk "hard disagree" reaction to this.

On reflection, I suspect it's because we might be approaching both currencies and property in different manners.

I believe that currency - the very strict sense of something that all relevant parties agree to - can be a useful tool for tracking obligations. I have no ties to *government-issued* currencies, however. Just a unit of measure, I don't massively care what it is, and I absolutely do not believe that it needs to be valuable "in and of itself"

Likewise with "property" - property has a lot of different definitions, but in the sense that my house and land is my own, and that it's of a "reasonable" enough size (ie. not stupidly large to the point that I'm excluding others from reasonable use), then the concept has value.

Is your view on both different to mine?

(I live in a country where "guns" are not a thing in the same sense as the US, so allow that as well, my conception might be a little different. Memory serves, you're US-based?)

I have vague memories of being a teen and my Dad* ...

2026-03-17T12:23:53+01:00

In reply to nevent1q…ze43
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I have vague memories of being a teen and my Dad* "explaining" to me that banks lend to their customers from the savings of other customers, and also invest savings into other companies.

I'll be totally honest, I still think I'm not smart enough to understand "that" side of economics. Like, everytime I feel I've got a handle on MMT, I read something that makes me completely doubt my understanding of it. I have an acquaintance who is *very* high up in one of the banks in the UK who has told me that no, banks don't create money out of nothing, and that everything has to balance every single day at 4.15pm.

I "believe" him, but I couldn't follow his arguments at all, and there's a chance that in fact they do create money out of nothing, but his way of thinking (liabilities vs assets or something) was at odds with my own - very limited - understanding.

I further believe that this is, in part, deliberate. I've got a vague thought that the whole thing is confusing to us mere lay-people, to keep us from just...going off and ignoring it altogether and doing our own thing.

(In a very, very, very small way, I'm involved with some LETs in my local area - which is literally just a spreadsheet we use to keep track of who owes who what lol)

*My Dad was a Certified Accountant; eventually at CFO level, which might make it even worse 😬

oooff at the Epstein thing. It's one of those things that ...

2026-03-16T17:31:16+01:00

In reply to nevent1q…luq9
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oooff at the Epstein thing.

It's one of those things that sort of intuitively makes "sense". You and I , after all, save money to afford stuff. Stands to reason that Pete The Peasant saved his money until he was able to purchase, like, half of Essex, right?

Which...fine?...I guess...until you know how it actually works.

If you still keep up the pretence of people squirreling away gold under the mattress after knowing how it works, then...hey, I've a bridge to sell you, I suppose.

A week or so ago, I made a statement along the lines of "I ...

2026-03-16T12:27:14+01:00

A week or so ago, I made a statement along the lines of "I don't understand the arguments *against* the credit theory of money"

Kevin Carson (npub1glr…8qmc) here does a fantastic job of fleshing those out, on Center for a Stateless Society (npub1jlt…hf45)

https://c4ss.org/content/61050

no, I dont know what that is? Bloop (I'm only a little way ...

2026-02-10T21:02:27+01:00

In reply to nevent1q…q4fh
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no, I dont know what that is?

*Bloop*

(I'm only a little way in, so I'm aware; but am enjoying telling my various kiddies in my circle that there's a noodle place operated by various types including their Octopus - they're loving it!)

Since about April 2020, I've been gifted an amount of ...

2026-02-10T20:30:00+01:00

Since about April 2020, I've been gifted an amount of plushies and stuffed toysies from my friend's kids - at least a few were very dear to them, before they came my way.

In each case, I fold them into my life, and send photos of them "helping". I have a purple bear who is now in charge of the kitchen, and a smaller pink bear, who is now in charge of the cafe. They were both very, very well loved before they came to me during lockdown and my period of isolation. I don't massively plan how they're going to "fold in" to my life, they just do. I treat this very seriously.

This has carried on as a "thing".

Recently, we welcomed into a our life a small stuffie octopus (Bloop), who for reasons I cannot quite work out, ended up on financial duty for the "restaurant" that I sort of pretend to operate for my friends and their kids. Lots of photos of her in front of a calculator and whatnot, and delighted children on the other end.

Anyway, Annalee Newitz 🍜 (npub1hhs…rl5g) Automatic Noodle is *sending us* right now.

Fantastic book. Just what I needed. ❤️

My second attempt was "semolina bread" (pane di semola) ...

2026-02-08T13:48:21+01:00

In reply to nevent1q…smkg
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My second attempt was "semolina bread" (pane di semola)

This is, we think, our favourite so far. It uses a roughly 40/60 split of semolina to normal flour (as well as the biga), which gives it a slightly different taste and texture.

It's a little firmer, I think? And I quite like the taste of semolina, it's a little like polenta.

I attempted a plaited bread with some of the leftover dough. I will leave you to decide whether I was successful or not.

The loaves are, of course, doing massive damage to the word "artisanal", as they're basically my inability to shape bread before cooking it. But fuck it, I'm whispering "yeah, that's rustic, that is" whilst making it.

😊

"kids today can't hold a spade, rest in peace my weary trades"

https://docs.google.com/document/d/1VVCk2P0sIWEqNXEJoUE2aViiQ8PMVsiGnnXOiRn_0GY/edit?tab=t.0

Ciabatta My first attempt with the "biga" was Ciabatta. ...

2026-02-08T13:21:23+01:00

In reply to nevent1q…9at3
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Ciabatta

My first attempt with the "biga" was Ciabatta.

It's not perfect, but, it was good. 9/10 would make again. They're not *quite* airy enough, which I'm not sure I have the knowledge to know why. Maybe needs further rising? I'm still learning.

https://docs.google.com/document/d/1kzfR_PjNKwwaL2jlVyCoM--GmyMCga7cun6YvIhxP7U/edit?tab=t.0

MOAR BREAD!!! Ok, I got a bit excited. I've started making ...

2026-02-08T12:57:22+01:00

In reply to nevent1q…8dd6
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MOAR BREAD!!!

Ok, I got a bit excited.

I've started making bread with a starter.

I found a recipe for "biga" in one of my books - it seems like a "starter for dummies" to me.

Flour, water, commercial yeast. I've been doing it for a week or so, and it's working really well. It seems like you can also "feed" it with flour and water, once started, like a more traditional sourdough starter.

Recipe here:

https://docs.google.com/document/d/1vErGOlDMG8aTnB4NmA_e1XQZLS7keeZcVlxDS_zE1XY/edit?tab=t.0

I'm really enjoying making bread. LIke, really enjoying it. ...

2026-01-22T11:01:52+01:00

I'm really enjoying making bread. LIke, *really* enjoying it.

Whilst I've had a few goes in the past, I never really "got into it" - there's something about "baking" that I have an odd mental block with.

Maybe it's too sciencey, too precise? Typically, I'm a hands-on "cook it in a pan so I can keep an eye on it" type of cook, rather than a "put it in the oven and cross my fingers" type.

But, I've surprised myself. I've not done anything clever, just a few Delia Smith recipes and a focaccia, but

I think maybe it ticks my "I want to homemake as much as possible" box, even whilst I'm still not convinced that I'm saving much money - also because I have a stand-mixer (thanks Mum!) the hard work is done for me - even while I appreciate the irony that even that is a bit hands-off, as such.

Now all I need to do is remember to eat the stuff before it goes stale 😂

Feels as well like an easy thing to give to my mates - I gave a loaf to one on Tuesday, they were overjoyed with it, so happy days.

I'm very much at the "it's good, but could be better" stage right now - and have had only a couple of attempts at sourdough, which I didn't get right at all - but so far, I recommend, if you have the capacity.

What they don't have, is any ability to "command" me, ...

2025-12-13T12:18:51+01:00

In reply to nevent1q…2qac
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What they don't have, is any ability to "command" me, due to their wealth.

There's a very iffy concept, prevalent amongst the right-wing, of the "politics of envy".

Am I envious of them?

Sure! A bit!

I would very much like to not be tracking my grocery receipts, actually, and I suspect that they don't have to! I'd love that, and I love that for them, too.

Am I *jealous* of them? If you mean, do I hold a grudge against them for being comfortable - then no. Not in any way at all.

Best as I know, the old fella earned his money in pretty standard ways; I'm sure I could purity police him to hell and back if I liked, but he doesn't own slums or anything like that etc. To the best of my knowledge, he wields no power over the less wealthy in anything other than very abstract ways (I'm sure he probably has shares somewhere)

And I think this is important.

When we talk about wealth inequality, largely, we're not talking about "oh, David has a nicer car" (ffs)

We're talking about "Bill has bought all of the land, houses, and productive enterprises, and now insists that I pay him money/rent/etc to use them to survive."

Compared to me, who every few months has to to beg for help, ...

2025-12-13T12:09:11+01:00

In reply to nevent1q…jw57
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Compared to me, who every few months has to to beg for help, they're rich.

Given that they can go on hols several times a year, they're rich.

I've been inside their house, and they have a kitchen I can only swoon over. They're rich.

I wanna be clear at this point - they're lovely people. I really mean this. I couldn't ask for nicer neighbours.

One of my trees blew onto their fence a week or so back, and their response was largely "Well, that's not like it's your fault!!! We'll deal with it together!"

They give me a bottle of wine every Christmas, I give them any spare harbs and chutneys I have. They are *genuinely* absolutely lovely.

RE: https://kolektiva.social/@HeavenlyPossum/115708264038241529 ...

2025-12-13T12:05:12+01:00

RE: https://kolektiva.social/@HeavenlyPossum/115708264038241529

"A person in poverty doesn’t just have “less stuff,” but also lives at the precarious command of the wealthy."

Stealing this and starting my own thread, so as not to derail HeavenlyPossum (npub1s02…zz9t) 's thread with my random witterings that sometimes come up when reading one of theirs.

My next-door neighbours to my right as I look out the front, are, as best that I can tell, *phenomenally* rich.

They live in a detached house (in the UK, this itself is a sound indicator that you are in a different tax bracket), they take several holidays per year - generally cruises - and have lovely new cars.

They're also elderly and retired, for whatever that's worth, but I get the distinct impression that "he" earned a LOT of money during his career. Lived abroad for several years for work, and so on.

What do I mean by "phenomenally rich"?

Well, I mean all of the above. That's it.
nostr:note19y5re6zzynf32heyugzu7fzhfk9hc6qrer9qut52syve38us996s7jn2wj

"Under anarchism, tho, what if warlords?" Great point and ...

2025-12-11T13:27:14+01:00

"Under anarchism, tho, what if warlords?"

Great point and also utterly irrelevant.

More importantly: under anarchism, tho, what if you create recipes where the ingredients are not the order you need to use them?

Well, they'd not be shared around.

This is *far* more important. Trust me.

(me, adding cabbage to a soup where I should have suateed garlic earlier)

I don't know whether this is a direct consequence of ...

2025-11-07T13:20:33+01:00

I don't know whether this is a direct consequence of capitalism or not, but over the past *however* many years, I feel that we have been infantlised.

It's a difficult subject to talk about. I personally don't feel that I have the tools or the language to do it justice (I'm not entirely happy with "infantilised", but I literally can't think of another word right now, so don't fucking @ me about it).

Essentially, though, we've been led to believe that without a centralised authority, then the shitty* jobs just won't be done.

And I understand that.

We "sort of" get that within the confines of our own homes - within our own fences - *of course* we will do the dishes and clean the bathroom and empty the bins and all the "go on, it's your turn, isn't it? *wink*" jobs that just need doing.

Filling in the pot-holes on the public road? That's *clearly* outside of my remit, right?

*pun intended.

The cemeteries in the UK are also filled with terrorist antifa ...

2025-09-19T15:27:04+02:00

In reply to nevent1q…yctc
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The cemeteries in the UK are also filled with terrorist antifa members.

My Grandad (RIP) ferried "outside agitators" across the English Channel for several years to attend, um, protests. Many, if not all, of those outside agitators were armed!

My Nan (RIP) and a terrorist antifa cell consisting of "her and her workmates at the factory", even made parachutes for those sneaking in under the cover of night! So much for "sunlight is the best disinfectant" amirite?

Honestly, it's shite. Like, I had to a restart after ...

2025-09-18T13:07:30+02:00

In reply to nevent1q…k397
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Honestly, it's shite.

Like, I had to a restart after installing the new driver and somehow it fritzed my second monitor set-up at the same time - got a fuzzy pixel screen, instead of extended monitor, which only resolved after unplugging the hub I use. I'm just trying to install a new printer! Why has my monitor fritzed lol?

And it's like....I know how this works. I've got locked in, my muscle memory and brain memory is now so locked into Windows that shifting to (say) Linux will be a near impossibility - and I'm not even contemplating it - but I was expecting the "difficult bit" of setting up a new printer to be the physical lifting, and *maaaaybe* the wi-fi set-up. Not the rest.

sigh OK, I've stopped it from starting up on a restart, at ...

2025-09-18T12:59:57+02:00

In reply to nevent1q…ucjf
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*sigh*

OK, I've stopped it from starting up on a restart, at least.

If anyone can help me with uninstalling, I'd be grateful - this is one of those things that's going to grate on me.

Also, lol at the list of programmes that wanted to start on a restart, I'd forgotten that I'd turned off most of them.

Spotify? Xbox? Opera? Edge? Whatsapp? Teams?

Get to fuck, I want my drivers, anti-virus and rainmeter, and that's about it.

I *really* miss the days when I could tell a computer what to do, and it would do it.

I know part of it is my age, and I also got lazy in staying up to date, and enshittification and all that and etc fucking etc, but uninstalling a no-longer needed printer driver should not be requiring me to open a terminal, follow instructions from the web, and it still not work to the point that I give up in frustration.

oh ffs How do I remove an old printer driver? It's telling me ...

2025-09-18T12:40:09+02:00

oh ffs

How do I remove an old printer driver? It's telling me I don't have admin rights.

(it's a personal laptop, and search engines are not being helpful)

Windows 11, if that helps.

I took this through sheer luck back in 2013 - yours reminded me ...

2025-09-08T13:58:29+02:00

In reply to nevent1q…tj2d
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I took this through sheer luck back in 2013 - yours reminded me enormously of it!

Mushroom Asada ...

2025-09-06T17:20:34+02:00

In reply to nevent1q…emuu
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Mushroom Asada

https://docs.google.com/document/d/11pgmdTE3wrObQ5j8kyVHBZLPmZ-Q7GX89K1J6M9R1XM/edit?tab=t.0

Catching up I did this a couple of weeks ago - it's a ...

2025-09-06T17:09:55+02:00

Catching up

I did this a couple of weeks ago - it's a marinade that would "traditionally" be used for steaks.

I did indeed do that, but I also used it on mushrooms etc, so I thought it would be useful to write it up on it's own.

(The recipe below is vegan)

https://docs.google.com/document/d/1DVYG95UzvGc_OaShTjpVt2FdQarFr6vBUm7uzjO1Q_M/edit?tab=t.0

Honestly, they're the small man syndrome of the bird world.

2025-08-28T19:16:08+02:00

In reply to nevent1q…32le
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Honestly, they're the small man syndrome of the bird world.

I love them, but they're a bunch of little shitbags. I have a ...

2025-08-28T19:13:03+02:00

In reply to nevent1q…v9ga
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I love them, but they're a bunch of little shitbags.

I have a bunch of magpies who live in and around my garden, very polite and lovely, and every season theres a bunch of robins who come in going "yeah, my garden now"

I love watching this, robins are so cocky about it when ...

2025-08-28T18:13:27+02:00

In reply to nevent1q…wgqd
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I love watching this, robins are so cocky about it when they're like "Yup, I'm really cool, gonna eat me this blueberry that I've never tasted before, lol" and then they're like "OMG A BLUEBERRY! *stunned*" falls over sideways

Can someone explain to me - UK suburbanite - the Cracker Barrel ...

2025-08-26T17:29:06+02:00

Can someone explain to me - UK suburbanite - the Cracker Barrel thing?

I mean, the new logo looks awful, sure, but I'm not certain why it's "woke"?

(I'm absolutely fine with being told that there's context around the old logo that I'm not aware of)

"Like, I have to pull out sprouting clovers every now and ...

2025-08-24T16:47:17+02:00

In reply to nevent1q…27lm
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"Like, I have to pull out sprouting clovers every now and then, but all those wild hostas, and dandelions, and amaranth aren't spiny, and those tall yellow flowers are easy to pull."

is that okay?

Like, I have a couple of pots of rosemary or sage or whatever, and every now and then, I have a dig and pull out anything that is not a rosemary.

But both my rosemary and sage are transplants so were already pretty hardy. If I start off new stuff, do I need to kill off everything else, or can I just pull it as needed?

I've already hit it with the weedkiller, but: I have an ...

2025-08-24T14:35:57+02:00

In reply to nevent1q…c70d
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I've already hit it with the weedkiller, but:

I have an *enormous* amount of cardboard that for the pre-mentioned energy reasons, I've done nothing with, and is stacking up.

Not fucking about, I mean, *enormous*. I could cover my entire lawn with it, I reckon.

I also have lots of small rocks. Fella that lived here before me, created borders filled with gravel, with the occasional "plant surrounded by 4cm to 20cm size rocks". I've an idea that he was inspired by Japanese design, if that makes sense?

I hit the "I say we take off and nuke the site from ...

2025-08-24T14:24:15+02:00

In reply to nevent1q…0y5p
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I hit the "I say we take off and nuke the site from orbit" option on the raised beds.

I've spent the last couple of years thinking "it's okay, what I'll do, is I'll get out there and clear it off by hand, and then plant carrots/cabbage/kale/whatever, so I don't want to kill it all with weedkiller"

This is...not the case. I'm just not going to. So I've dumped a fuckload of weedkiller in it, knowing full well that those beds are now out of commission until next spring.

(They didn't have anything worthwhile in them, just weeds)

I feel better for biting the bullet on this one.

Have sowed radishes into an uncovered bed, and lettuce into a bed ...

2025-08-24T14:20:21+02:00

Have sowed radishes into an uncovered bed, and lettuce into a bed that I can cover with a plastic see-through lid. I'm sort of aware it's too late, but maybe the lid can help?

Slowly working through the seeds I already own - what is to lose, after all?

"Western civilisation" somehow excludes Hitler, ...

2025-08-23T19:26:14+02:00

"Western civilisation" somehow excludes Hitler, Mussolini, Franco, everyone else that i've not included, and

fuck me I'm just
so
fucking
tired

of all this shit

I....could do with some help. I'm not sure what I've ...

2025-08-07T14:04:00+02:00

I....could do with some help.

I'm not sure what I've done, and my brain isn't braining enough to do a deep-dive through my accounts to see where I've screwed up, but I've somehow got £87 to last me until the 21st (my disability payment), which *will* then see me through to payday the following week. I've got upcoming car insurance and car tax payments, but if I can make it to the 21st, I think I'm okay and will be able to eke things out.

Absolutely anything gratefully received - I'm probably looking at needing about £300, maybe £350?

£0/£300

#mutualaid

https://ko-fi.com/neonsnake

I just mis-read something as "hate-stage capitalism"*, ...

2025-07-05T08:34:28+02:00

I just mis-read something as "hate-stage capitalism"*, and I thought: "that's fucking brilliant".

(they'd written "late-stage capitalism", obvs)

"while people are now sometimes more willing to go private ...

2025-07-02T17:10:51+02:00

In reply to nevent1q…rfl0
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"while people are now sometimes more willing to go private this is a strategy of desperation not a willing political conversion."

Yep, this.

I went private a couple of years ago (2023) for something, because the difference was being seen in a month vs being seen in (apparently) 8 months. I was in the very very fortunate position of having private care as a job perk.

Over the space of the 5 or so months I was being seen for, I noticed that in the beginning, I'd have a scan, and then I'd be called back a week later to discuss the results. Towards the end, it was a month between "scan" (or whatever) and results.

On discussion of this, apparently, they'd become overwhelmed with desperate people in the last few months who literally couldn't wait the extra several months on the NHS, and were resorting to paying for private - as you say, not out of political affiliation, just pure desperation.

(I dread to think how desperate these people must have been, giving that I know my own "private bill" was in the 10s of thousands, of which I only had to pay an excess of £500 or something similar, *and* I reached the limits of what was "allowed" for me in those few months)

"an island of strangers" (re. Kier Starmer's Enoch ...

2025-05-17T14:21:19+02:00

"an island of strangers"

(re. Kier Starmer's Enoch Powell cosplay the other day, in the UK)

I grew up in an area of East London and Essex that had a large-ish proportion of Muslims, Hindus and Sikhs. I lived with a Muslim lad for a few years, at University (a household of 5, including him)

I spent my early twenties working retail in East Ham, London, which is very skewed towards Muslim immigration, and the majority of the staff that worked for me were young Muslim women (18 to 25, as a rough estimate).

By and large, what happened, was that their Mums would come into the shop to check me out, and see whether they approved or disapproved of me.

To a person, they all disapproved of me.

-----

Turns out, I was *ridiculously* underfed and *far too skinny* for their liking. *This* was why they disapproved of me. "he needs feeding up!"

So, I spent a couple of years with them sending in their daughters with food for me to eat at lunchtime. I've never eaten better.

So, fuck off with your "island of strangers" - if I spent, as the most whitest of white men, a few years being fed by my team's mothers, then you can fucking do one. We are an island - when allowed - where people from "different cultures" competed to give me the best foods.

East Ham, fwiw, is one of the areas on the list when people talk about London and "there's areas that are 'no-go areas' for white people."

lmao. I worked there for a few years, and honestly, grow up.

my 80yr old Scottish next-door neighbour, bringing me round a ...

2025-04-27T16:45:58+02:00

my 80yr old Scottish next-door neighbour, bringing me round a bottle of wine after I gave them a load of home cured bacon: "I take it ye are still a dirty communist, aye? Ye'll take this bottle of wine, aye?"

I mean, no, not as such, I have no such adjectives, but, aye, sir, if if make you happy to think so 😂

Something I think about a bit is violence, and it's ...

2025-04-22T16:42:30+02:00

In reply to nevent1q…a22y
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Something I think about a bit is violence, and it's appropriate use.

Story time (and this is all true)*

When I was about 14 or 15, I had the absolute *classic* of a school fight.

The school bully was picking on my mate during Games lessons (that's Rugby or other outdoor sports) I told him to pack it in, and it devolved into "Do you think you can have Michael in a fight?"

Obvs, I said yes. I was, at the time, a skinny type, and crap at rugby. I did not look "hard". I also had - secretly? - years of judo at the time* I also have an older brother who would fight me for laughs, and would stop if I punched him hard enough in the face. (as in, he felt, I fought back hard. He's seven years older; which was a bit rubbish for me when I was 8 and he was 15)

So, "Michael" came at me in the changing rooms (locker rooms, for the US types), and, uh, he lost. I was lucky, to be clear. He broke my specs, and I still have a scar. But I won, and left him on the floor.

Next steps: my Phys Ed teacher, who (I shit you not) was called Mr Hardman* took me into the office to ask why I didn't tell him that "Michael was picking on me". My blood being up, I informed him that it was because he'd laugh at me.

The following followed all the standard rules. I got a bollocking from the teachers, my Mum bollocked me for breaking my glasses, my older brother wanted to know the lad's address, and Michael wanted to be my best friend* (the last one really made me laugh. I didn't realise that was a real thing).

But the point is this - yeah, it's cliched as buggery, but had I followed the "rules" - my Phys Ed teacher would have embarrassed me at best, and left me and my mate to be beaten up at worst. When I - not through my own decision, sort of - took matters into my own hands, I came out of it pretty badly, in a "legal" or - in the case of school - "formal" sense. Detention and what not (nothing major)

On the other hand, one of my other Phys Ed teachers (who happened to be my old Judo sensei, by genuine coincidence, and a massively decent guy), did spend the next few years amusing himself by pairing my up with the school bully (same height), and pissing himself laughing when I floored him in about ten seconds every time*. And said bully didn't fuck with my mates anymore*

Anyways, this is about the police, in a roundabout sort of way, and why I feel about them like I do. The "stars" are all factual.

*this was all true. if you think this sounds cliched, I refer you to the start of this footnote, which I have starred several times.

This is sort of a subtoot, as such, but only because I don't ...

2025-04-22T14:53:08+02:00

This is sort of a subtoot, as such, but only because I don't wanna ruin HP's thread (they've been pretty clear that it's not about answering the question of "how does anarchy handle bad actors any better than a state?", as opposed to "if you ask that question, please think about whether the state handles them well?"

But it IS a relevant question. It's one the Anarchy 101 most asked, I'd suspect. For an enormous amount of people, I'd guess it's the number 1 concern.

Which is...fine...I guess? I'm a pretty charitable sort, and I think a lot of those question are, genuinely, asked in good faith.

What's not fine, tho, is assuming that you're the first person to ask it, and therefore it's an absolute ironclad gotcha that's going to have every anarchist thinking "oh bugger! I hadn't thought of that! shit, I'm done."

Anarchy isn't something that was "invented" 5 years ago. It's been about - in its current form - for at least 200 years, and in various forms before that - albeit less formally named - for thousands of years. The chances of you, Patrick, being the first person to think about "but what about muggers, heh?" are pretty low.

In good faith? I think it's pretty sensible question, for those who are first encountering anarchy, and I think we should have at least *some* plausible answers.

The flipside, is we can normally tell when it's bad faith.

One of my favourite things to do at the moment, with the whole ...

2025-03-07T14:31:05+01:00

One of my favourite things to do at the moment, with the whole MAGA meltdown, is to bait UK right-libertarians with statements like "Yes, but Geofforey Roberts destroyed the whole 'deferred spending, time preference, lending against accumulated capital which requires a return on investment argument."

They always reply with some kind of "Yes, but marginal productivity is...um, I'm not sure, but important!....which is why Geoffory Roberts is wrong!, and I have proofs!"

My dude, I made up Geoffory. He's a mix of my mate Geoff and my mate Big Dave, neither of whom have huge interests in economics, but...y'know, you crack on with arguing with my imaginary figures, for sure.

People aren't really doing the "Why do we need NOAA when ...

2025-03-07T12:56:26+01:00

People aren't really doing the "Why do we need NOAA when we can just check our phone?" are they?

Like, that's just someone doing a bit, right?

Just boosted someone saying that, in the US, it currently feels ...

2025-02-01T09:21:23+01:00

Just boosted someone saying that, in the US, it currently feels like the first few weeks of COVID lockdown; which feels very correct.

That comment has helped me realise, here in the UK, that it feels a bit like January/February 2020 - you knew it was a very real and awful thing that was happening elsewhere in the world, but you also assumed that it would be contained and sorted before it reached and affected "you".

And, well, we remember how that kind of apathy worked out in 2020.

anguinea (npub1naz…d5y3)

And yet. We're currently watching a full-on fascist take-over ...

2025-01-30T15:34:47+01:00

In reply to nevent1q…azmh
_________________________

And yet.

We're currently watching a full-on fascist take-over in the US (and I don't use fascist lightly), with literal concentration camps, nazi salutes, and...fucking everything else (!)...and we're playing with "no, no, you're overreacting!"

If a vaguely left figurehead had pulled even a *fraction* of this, the right would be losing their shit about their "liberties", but no. It's fine, because the only people affected (LOL so far) are the people they don't like.

And we know who those people are, that they don't like. It's fucking simply "people who aren't like them".

I dunno, I'm no expert of fascism, but seems pretty fucking fascist to me, and if you're in the UK and 3/4 of your personality is "Me Nan used to make parachutes for Our Boys, and me Grandad was in the Navy until 1945, simple as, and me ovver Grandad spent the summer of 1940 desperately repairing Spitfires", I'd probably not be keen on excusing fascism anywhere.

But hey, what do I know?

It's absolutely beyond reason to imagine that he wasn't ...

2025-01-30T15:23:23+01:00

In reply to nevent1q…tuc3
_________________________

It's absolutely beyond reason to imagine that he wasn't being painted as some kind of Stalin-esque "off to the gulag with you!" type.

The relevant story was about the Salisbury poisonings, carried out by Russia, and the photo was from two years' earlier.

Clearly placed to show Corbyn as some kind of pinko-Stalin-pro-Putin-USSR-Marxist-Leninist stooge

(and if my conflation of terms is incoherent, welp)

Some years back, the BBC in the UK used this as a backdrop for a ...

2025-01-30T15:19:36+01:00

Some years back, the BBC in the UK used this as a backdrop for a story on Jeremy Corbyn:

Is it just me feeling like this, or is everyone feeling ...

2024-12-06T18:57:47+01:00

Is it just me feeling like this, or is everyone feeling hopelessly burned out right now?

Anyone know a good sub for "barley wine"? It's for a ...

2024-12-05T19:48:35+01:00

Anyone know a good sub for "barley wine"?

It's for a Christmas Pudding, and I literally don't know what it is. Looks like some kind of stout or cider, but...well, I don't really trust google right now.

(Not super urgent, trying to get ahead of Christmas if I can )

Lol So, all jokes and fucking about aside: Toad in the Hole, here ...

2024-12-02T20:08:11+01:00

In reply to nevent1q…mhff
_________________________

Lol

So, all jokes and fucking about aside:

Toad in the Hole, here in the UK, is nothing cleverer than sausages cooked in a a Yorkshire Pudding batter. Yorkshire pudding batter is, roughly, the same as Canadian pancake batter.

I don't mind it, and I do cook it occasionally.

Trad, it would be served with mashed potatoes with gravy (onion gravy) to John's point. It's a *cracking* meal to cook for kids.

Genuinely, I've never heard of it in the "egg in toast" sense.

breathes slowly

2024-12-02T19:58:29+01:00

In reply to nevent1q…2ers
_________________________

*breathes slowly*

splutters excuse me? Are you saying that there is a version of ...

2024-12-02T19:57:57+01:00

In reply to nevent1q…3dd7
_________________________

*splutters*

excuse me?

Are you saying that there is a version of "toad in the hole" that is not this?

yeah, there's an egg in the batter, obvs ...

2024-12-02T19:55:34+01:00

In reply to nevent1q…xd4c
_________________________

yeah, there's an egg in the batter, obvs

https://docs.google.com/document/d/1jCM0KfwYAGMZa0vzaOxrRXRUpl00GqaakYTHWoLf6O0/edit?tab=t.0

Hold on, are you serious? You think "Toad In The Hole" is ...

2024-12-02T19:49:13+01:00

In reply to nevent1q…7kxt
_________________________

Hold on, are you serious?

You think "Toad In The Hole" is an egg cracked into a piece of toast?

I mean, I'm not about to make you think it's "better", but that ain't what it is...

WOAH WOAH WOAH (sweet child of mine)

2024-12-02T19:46:56+01:00

In reply to nevent1q…2qe8
_________________________

WOAH WOAH WOAH

(sweet child of mine)

wait, what?

2024-12-02T19:44:06+01:00

In reply to nevent1q…rzks
_________________________

wait, what?

I'd need to check to be sure, but I'm 99.9% it wasn't ...

2024-12-02T19:29:35+01:00

In reply to nevent1q…pu49
_________________________

I'd need to check to be sure, but I'm 99.9% it wasn't in the original graphic novel.

But like, was it nice? I've literally never heard of it until that film. Seems like a waste, like just do a fried egg on toast, man!

what, with the whole taking a chunk out of the middle of the ...

2024-12-02T19:22:37+01:00

In reply to nevent1q…w9p5
_________________________

what, with the whole taking a chunk out of the middle of the bread thing?

God I hate Facebook (or maybe I hate algorithms, I don't ...

2024-12-02T17:33:21+01:00

God I hate Facebook (or maybe I hate algorithms, I don't know)

I only have it for the family who I have zero chance to persuade not to use it, and occasionally I give it a quick scroll, and see something I think is mildly interesting.

Just now it was the, uh, "famous" eggy bread (put a hole in some bread, crack an egg into it, fry it or oven it or whatever. Most of you know if from V For Vendetta, even though only 7 people in Britain have ever made it ever. Fine, whatever).

I put my phone down after 3 seconds, bored with it, look back it a minute later, and it's showing an advert for Jordan Peterson.

is it facebook? Or is it me? Have I clicked on something or watched something for too long that it thinks I'm the sort of spanner that wants to know about Jordan Peterson? I don't know.

Was it the rage click I gave because I saw a shitty comment under an advert and was morbidly curious as to what the prick was talking about?

Or maybe the video about painting Warhammer 40k minis that took me back to my teens that I watched out of nostalgia?

Who knows? Not me (I never lost control)

Except I did, didn't I?

hey, so you know how you all contributed 50 squillion dollars to ...

2024-11-30T17:08:54+01:00

hey, so you know how you all contributed 50 squillion dollars to Kamala Harris, and got, like a zero return on investment?

Check out some of my recent boosts instead.

Please.

Contribute to some of the people I've boosted. A tenner here, a tenner there, it really makes a difference, and you'll be helping people in a concrete fashion.

I can't list names, as basically, I'm boosting more than I can keep track of, because that's how bad shit is for people right now.

But please, punt a few dollars/pounds/euros etc to people who need it now.

waves Hello, new followers! I've had a few new followers ...

2024-11-24T14:56:45+01:00

*waves*

Hello, new followers!

I've had a few new followers over the past couple of days.

I haven't yet followed some of you back.

I'm pretty liberal with my follow-backs - my preference is to follow back everyone, unless they're obviously a wrong'un.

I do have some rules though:

First: I need you to have a profile pic, a banner, OR a bio. Without that, I don't follow back, even if your follow list includes a lot of my mutuals 😃

(edited to change AND to OR, after some discussion and a ponder)

I sort of need some sense of who you are, for my own mental health - bio is probably preferable.

Second:

I tend to get a lot of follows from fellow Long-Covid sufferers, and as a foodie, from fellow foodies *waves cheerfully*

Um, just be aware that my politics skew distinctly towards anarchism, and my views on both the pandemic and, uh, also food production, are informed by that.

Other than that, hello!

Sinuses well and truly cleared 😂 Between 600ml of white wine ...

2024-11-23T18:04:55+01:00

Sinuses well and truly cleared 😂

Between 600ml of white wine vinegar, and spices including 25g of mustard powder, I think I've cured the common cold.

Piccalilli - I've literally no clue whatsoever how popular this is outside of the UK, but it's a "post-Christmas" staple here, when you're using up the leftovers and cold meats.

So far, I've made the "sauce" that it sits in.

I mean, if all countries were sensible and drove on the left ...

2024-11-08T12:26:44+01:00

In reply to nevent1q…7np6
_________________________

I mean, if all countries were sensible and drove on the left anyway, we wouldn't have that problem, amirite? (UK here) 😜

Jokes aside: we call it "prefigurative politics".

Under current capitalistic constraints, it's hard, because capitalism inherently strives to manufacture scarcity, but: there's things everyone can do *now*.

Very stereotypically, capitalism encourages an atomised, "rugged" individualistic existence, whereby everyone looks after their own small nuclear family, and no-one else.

However - and this is purposely a very small example for the sake of illustration - what you could do is, say, batch cook for several families at once.

This saves everybody money (not just on power/gas), but on ingredients (things are cheaper in bulk, and you're less likely to throw out leftovers), saves *time* for the people not doing the cooking, which can be invested elsewhere (on spending time with kids instead of in the kitchen, maybe), and so on.

A tiny example, and on the face of it trivial, but scaleable and do-able *now*.

Other examples - I live on a suburban street where everyone has a front and back lawn. Do we *all* need a lawnmower? Or maybe just 1 house in 5 and we share? Do we *all* need a full set of power tools? I mean, there's almost no imaginable circumstance where everyone needs a power saw desperately at *exactly* the same moment, right?

If I want to mend my clothes, do I *need* a sewing machine? Or can I borrow one? Or, even better, can someone mend them for me (because I don't know how to use a sewing machine in the first place)? After all, I've been cooking some of their meals for them...

Again, all *tiny* little things in their own right, but they add up, give a little bit of a sense of "possible", and most importantly, are do-able *now*. And each one takes us just a *little* further away from relying on the current capitalistic system.

This will necessarily be a pretty brief answer, due to the ...

2024-11-07T07:55:22+01:00

In reply to nevent1q…5pkn
_________________________

This will necessarily be a pretty brief answer, due to the constraints of social media, but

Firstly, a lot (not all) of theft is borne of necessity - ie. poverty - and anarchism presumes that, absent capitalism, most if not all people will be having their basic needs met, thus removing the need for theft in the first place.

For the remainder, currently we rely on police to catch them, which they have a shockingly low clearance rate on. In a more "community-based" environment, it's *much* more likely that someone will know who did it. In terms of "punishment", I'd personally want reparations (ie. the item or value back, plus maybe an amount over and above, depending on the circumstances. I'm less likely to punish a child who's up to hijinks, for example). Prisons would be a no-go for me, as all they do is create circumstances making it more likely that a prisoner will re-offend against the society that removed their liberty from them.

It's a short answer, and I know it won't answer every single you might have, but hopefully is enough for you to go on for now.

I think it's likely that a number of very disillusioned Dems ...

2024-11-06T18:51:22+01:00

I think it's likely that a number of very disillusioned Dems are going to start questioning the validity of electoral politics over the next few weeks.

When I did the same, some years back, I was very lucky that the people I followed, followed back, and conversed with on Twitter (at the time) were pretty gentle with me as I worked through, basically, Anarchism 101 ("but what about burglars?" "you don't mean, like, ALL police, though, surely?" and all sorts of "yeah, I suppose, but..." that I had whilst I was unlearning a lifetime of propaganda - whether I was inclined to unlearn it or not, it was still *hard work*)

I hope we can be as gentle and welcoming to them as the people I spoke with back then were to me.

It might have been called "Winning Behaviours", maybe. ...

2024-10-03T19:41:09+02:00

In reply to nevent1q…q3n2
_________________________

It might have been called "Winning Behaviours", maybe.

One of the things that impressed me (for a *cough* given value of "impressed"), was how much further it took the credo of "Who Moved My Cheese?" - it posited, 100%, that anything that someone did - no matter how bad - they did for a "positive intention" - ie. that it did them some good in the very least, the short-term.

But, this wasn't restricted to a standard more work-related environment, it was broadened to everything. I leave you to imagine what conversations came up in this context.

The implication, explicitly stated, was that the only thing within my control was my response to this - my reaction, my emotions - and anything beyond that was, uh, a bit beyond the pale. Because I had to understand the "positive intentions" that the other person had gone through.

(My suggestion that beating the utter crap out of someone would be a reasonable and positive reaction under certain circumstances did not go down well. I earned a - practiced? - pained expression from the founder and a "I don't think you've been listening, hmm?" for that one)

I've gone through a *lot* of these sort things in my years of working for big corps, everything from Colour Theory to Myers-Briggs to the aforementioned Who Moved My Cheese?, and this one was probably the worst.

Does anyone (I guess it was UK only) remember that proper wanky ...

2024-10-03T19:05:47+02:00

Does anyone (I guess it was UK only) remember that proper wanky corporate consultancy group that was popular in about 2015 or so, whose main thing was "No-one does anything for negative intentions, it's always a positive intention for them, so it's on you to understand them?"

Like, it was a "the important thing is not what they did, but how you react to it"?

They also did the "if you want a new car that costs £100k, you'll find a way, if you *really* want it, otherwise you didn't really want it. Now read that again" kind of thing?

(I'm obvs paraphrasing, but that was the gist)

Thank! It's beginner-friendly? (Conscious of the price)

2024-09-28T14:21:56+02:00

In reply to nevent1q…fhp4
_________________________

Thank! It's beginner-friendly? (Conscious of the price)

Does anyone know of a (very, very) beginner-friendly guide to the ...

2024-09-28T14:01:27+02:00

Does anyone know of a (very, very) beginner-friendly guide to the "science" behind making breads?

Like, I've made flatbreads, and I sort of understand it. Flour, water, salt, bit of yeast.

Now, I'm making rolls. It's the second time I've made them, and the first lot were awesome, but I've no idea what I'm doing other than blindly following a recipe.

Why does it want X amount of sugar? Why this time am I using an egg?? And milk?

It's the same amount of yeast, *why* is it rising so much more than the flatbreads did? I don't understand!

I made a jokey-ish post a few weeks ago re. the whole ...

2024-09-17T13:58:02+02:00

I made a jokey-ish post a few weeks ago re. the whole "warlord" thing that almost inevitably comes up in discussions around non-state societies, and how people feel that "warlords will rampage across the land without a state/army/something".

I wonder how much of this is due to media - I went for Mad Max as an obvious example, but I think as well of things like The Last Of Us, The Stand, or The Road, or all the other post-collapse pieces of media, be they films, books, video games or other where *at some point* they do the "humanity is worse than the zombies/virus" type message.

I'm not really going anywhere with this, other than...maybe more people should read Walkaway? Or Becky Chamber's Monk & Robot, say?

Do we need more hopeful media?

What else do we have that we should be reading/watching/playing instead?

That leads me into wondering: Maybe just the possibility of ...

2024-08-29T08:37:50+02:00

In reply to nevent1q…5ynf
_________________________

That leads me into wondering:

Maybe just the *possibility* of mobility might be enough to protect from state imposition?

LIke - if I'm an ambitious, upwardly mobile, stately type, and fancy bringing "people X" under my control, I might not bother if I know that after I've expended a lot of time, energy and resource, they're just going to pick up sticks and start again 200 miles up the road, leaving me with nothing to show for all for my effort?

The bit that's interesting me is that Scott was pretty ...

2024-08-27T16:03:46+02:00

In reply to nevent1q…9394
_________________________

The bit that's interesting me is that Scott was pretty careful to position it as "sedentary farming was necessary but not sufficient for state formation".

Reading around the subject from later works like Graeber and Wengrow, we know that people moved in and out of "sedentary farming" as needed/suited.

Now, it might *very well* be the case that Scott covered this earlier in the book, and I just missed it - reading late at night isn't ideal for me! - but I'd be really interested to learn about societies who *did* stick at grain farming/sedentary farming, but weren't forced into statehood.

I've just started reading Kevin Carson (npub1glr…8qmc) 's "The State: Theory & Praxis", and in the opening sections he talks about how sedentary farming led to statehood specifically when the population was "caged" (he cites Michael Mann, an author with whom I'm not hugely familiar) by circumstances where they couldn't flee to other, equally fertile, spots (or, I guess, switch to other methods of provision).

I just finished reading Scott's "Against The Grain". ...

2024-08-26T15:09:02+02:00

I just finished reading Scott's "Against The Grain".

Overall, I think it's *excellent*.

Like "The Dawn Of Everything" - obviously published later, but I read it first - I think it does a cracking job of dismantling the classical view of "we moved, linearly and with little choice, from hunter-gatherer to horticulture to agriculture to ooops, we inevitably invented the State" and positioning State-hood as something that was *not* inevitable.

I think this is important, as a lot of conversations, even today, revolve around "yeah, sure, but, but, but: you can't have large-scale co-operation without a State, so...overall, wasn't it a good thing?"

I know it ages me and all that etc, but honestly: as live albums ...

2024-08-23T17:54:24+02:00

I know it ages me and all that etc, but honestly: as live albums go, Nirvana's MTV Unplugged is going to take some beating.

(this is a challenge. Hit me with your responses)

I'm not going to get chicken livers (nothing against it), as ...

2024-08-22T20:40:16+02:00

In reply to nevent1q…yn5s
_________________________

I'm not going to get chicken livers (nothing against it), as I'm on a "use up what I have in the freezer/cupboard" kick, but I have some cooked ham already, feels do-able?

yeah, it's confusing at a "hour on the internet" ...

2024-08-22T20:33:03+02:00

In reply to nevent1q…2fhd
_________________________

yeah, it's confusing at a "hour on the internet" glance, for sure. I'm trying to work out what I can do with some leftover "Cajun spice" (which I made, so is probably not genuine I. Itself) and a bowlful of fried up celery/pepper/onion - I don't know enough about the cuisine to be able to just go "oh, I'll do X!"

(And I'm not sure if I can get okra easily, so gumbo isn't the obvious answer!)

Wait, hold on - Cajun means Canadian? Me, idly stirring a ...

2024-08-22T19:57:16+02:00

Wait, hold on - Cajun means *Canadian*?

Me, idly stirring a jambalaya, having cooked enough holy trinity base for another coupla meals because my mate is too ill to come over and eat, and looking up Creole vs Cajun.

Also me: massively English, so forgive me for not knowing.

"Hey, turns out that using lead in paint is really bad, ...

2024-08-18T17:08:04+02:00

"Hey, turns out that using lead in paint is really bad, everyone! It's really harmful and we should stop doing it!"

"lol, provide me the precise chemical make-up of the paint we should be using, then, loser! I'll wait."

One of my favourite words to see in "we shouldn't abolish ...

2024-08-15T14:35:56+02:00

One of my favourite words to see in "we shouldn't abolish the police!!! oh noes!" discourse is "warlords"

My brother in Christ, you live in a 3-bedroom semi-detached house in the Home Counties.

Look, Steve from your local badminton club isn't about to start up a band of roving Mad Max leather-clad mythological Viking-style ravagers anytime soon.

He's got far bigger priorities; he's been promising to get a plumber in to look at the dripping kitchen tap for *months* now.

It's like, okay, fine. I'll compromise and give that a ...

2024-08-14T16:39:32+02:00

In reply to nevent1q…mmzs
_________________________

It's like, okay, fine. I'll compromise and give that a go.

Let's get rid of *all* the police except the ones dedicated solely to investigating murder (or whatever particular thing).

No more jaywalking, no more stop and search, no more busting people for selling single ciggies, no more drug arrests. No more *I could go on for ever*

Cool?

"Wait no I didn't mean that"

After Sunday's roast lamb with roast potatoes (still using up ...

2024-08-07T18:12:12+02:00

In reply to nevent1q…u4ux
_________________________

After Sunday's roast lamb with roast potatoes (still using up the ones I froze a few weeks ago) and peas with mint sauce, I took about 1.3kg of meat off of the bone. The bone is now in the freezer, ready to be into stock at some point.

Monday's dinner was this:

A batch of turmeric basmati rice, plus lamb and red lentil curry.

Whilst lamb *is* expensive, it also stretches a long way, due to how much flavour it has. Here, I cooked maybe 100g with onion, garlic, turmeric, ground cumin seed, ground coriander seeds, a spoonful of tamarind paste, and simmered it with some red lentils for 30 minutes or so. I got 3 portions out of this, the remainder is now in the freezer for later, or to be given away.

It's very beige, and I sort of wish I'd made a colourful side to go with it, but there you go :)

As ever, if my musings on how to cook with limited spoons/cash ...

2024-08-04T19:29:27+02:00

In reply to nevent1q…tpry
_________________________

As ever, if my musings on how to cook with limited spoons/cash are of interest, and you fancy encouraging me, my ko-fi is below:

I'm a long-covid survivor cooking for some people who are far worse off than I am, so every little helps.

I also hope that my little threads on how to cook are helpful for you as well, and am always happy to answer questions.

https://ko-fi.com/neonsnake

Over the past few weeks, I've done beef, chicken, and pork, ...

2024-08-04T19:24:56+02:00

In reply to nevent1q…ltax
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Over the past few weeks, I've done beef, chicken, and pork, and made associated leftovers, most of which are pretty interchangeable, and hopefully has given you some ideas on how to make one meal on a weekend and then turn it into plenty of dishes throughout the next few days.

I've attempted to be as varied as I can with the leftover recipes, within my own constraints - rice dishes from Italy through to Indonesia, noodles from china, potatoes from France and so on. There's no way I can cover every left-over dish I know of, but I've tried to point you in the right direction 😊 and hopefully give you enough to make it your own.

This week, we're going to do lamb.

I've avoided this up til now, because lamb is bloody expensive in the UK - 2kg lamb shoulder is £30!

But lamb opens up a lot more recipes later this week around north African which I'm pretty excited to share.

I'm currently roasting it in a pan with a rub of garlic, rosemary and salt - nothing outrageous - ready for leftovers later in the week.

In the meantime, I've ended up with some leftover veg, and ...

2024-08-04T19:07:24+02:00

In reply to nevent1q…6wnp
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In the meantime, I've ended up with some leftover veg, and some leftover bones.

So, today, I've made chicken stock from the bones from a few weeks back (this will be frozen in ice-cube trays), and also have smoked some home-cured pork belly ready to be sliced into bacon (I'll most likely cube it rather than slice it).

I also did a fridge clearout yesterday and made a batch of sofrito (onion, celery, carrot). I'm going to freeze this in a single bag, in one layer, on the basis that I can cut off as much as I need in one go.

When I can - and I'm not always great at it - having a fridge clearout generally means that you turn up food that can either give you a couple of days, or can go into the the freezer for later. Waste not, want not and all that.

Right, we've come to the end of the pork: I got, as ...

2024-08-04T18:56:26+02:00

In reply to nevent1q…ppzj
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Right, we've come to the end of the pork:

I got, as discussed, from £10 of pork shoulder:

1 roast dinner,
3 pizzas
1 pasta with asparagus
1 nasi goreng
1 pork with waffles
3 tomato-based Tuscan ragu
- and some sandwiches that I didn't track, particularly, because they went elsewhere.

So, at least 10 meals, and even with the added carbs, veg, etc, I'm confident that I'm still under £3 per portion, *and* I've still made meals to be proud of.

Final dish using the leftovers - Tuscan ragu. First things first, ...

2024-08-03T18:53:56+02:00

In reply to nevent1q…4l8c
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Final dish using the leftovers - Tuscan ragu.

First things first, I'm going to batch up a few portions of sofrito.

Roughly equal quantities of onion, celery and carrot, chopped very finely (I used a food processor), and very gently sweated in olive oil.

I've added garlic, rosemary, bay leaves and some home-cured bacon, but these are nice-to-haves.

Basically, sweat it for about 10-15 minutes, or until the "brightness" of the carrot has worn off.

I've deliberately done more than I need, mainly because I had celery that won't get used otherwise, so I'll freeze what I don't use today for future use. It's used in a *lot* of Italian dishes, from soups to stews to ragus, so it's always handy to have some in the freezer! If you're going to go to the effort, making extra is never a bad thing if you can.

Further experiments with leftover pork shoulder: 1) Pork and ...

2024-08-03T14:27:57+02:00

In reply to nevent1q…ksa2
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Further experiments with leftover pork shoulder:

1) Pork and asparagus pasta - my local shop had some asparagus on clearance, so I made a very basic white pasta sauce (nothing more than onion, butter, parmesan, and chicken stock) before mixing through the asparagus and pork. This was a keeper.

2) I'd seen a few recipes for BBQ pork served with Belgian waffles and coleslaw. I gave it a go out of curiousity, as I had a batch of BBQ sauce I'd made for the pizza below, but I wouldn't do it again.

3) Tomato-based pizza, very simple, topped with mozzarella, the pork, and then rocket when it came out of the oven.

4) BBQ base pizza - trying to replicate Pizza Hut BBQ pizza - homemade BBQ sauce instead of the standard tomato base, with mozzarella, sliced onion, sliced green pepper, the pork, and some jalapenos (I did this twice, firstly to save spoons because I had the BBQ sauce already and the pizza bases, and also, to be absolutely honest, because I burned the first one so the photo was shite)

Slight change of pace. I don't normally eat much pizza, but ...

2024-07-29T20:16:56+02:00

In reply to nevent1q…yk4r
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Slight change of pace.

I don't normally eat much pizza, but my local co-op had the bases on special today, so.

I've made BBQ sauce, but you can of course use shop bought, and spread it over a pizza base.

I've then added pickled jalapenos (again, I used ones I pickled last year, but shop is good!), plus cheese - I used pre-grated here, a mix of mozzarella and a chilli infused cheddar to try to mimic pepper jack, plus the pulled pork.

In the oven on a preheated upturned baking tray, and we'll see how it comes out :)

I've just realised I've been really crap at CWing meat, ...

2024-07-29T19:38:21+02:00

In reply to nevent1q…9wuk
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I've just realised I've been really crap at CWing meat, so, um, yeah.

I've had a kilo of pork belly curing in the garage since last weekend, in a freezer bag. I've cleaned it off today, and put it back in.

It now needs to sit, uncovered, and aircure for another week or so - basically until it's lost about 20% of it's weight.

At this point, it will be unsmoked bacon, and I have the choice as to whether to smoke it or not. Most likely, I'll half and half it.

Went with nasi goreng - one of the things I like about dishes ...

2024-07-28T20:51:32+02:00

In reply to nevent1q…cmf8
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Went with nasi goreng - one of the things I like about dishes based on rice (or noodles or pasta etc) is that it stretches all the other ingredients a long way; there's no more then about 30g of pork, cubed, in here, bulked out with some peas, carrots and small prawns.

I cooked a pork shoulder last night, approx 1 kg worth, and made ...

2024-07-28T17:53:11+02:00

In reply to nevent1q…gz5z
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I cooked a pork shoulder last night, approx 1 kg worth, and made a roast from it.

No photo of the roast, because I appear to be fundamentally incapable of plating a roast dinner in any way that doesn't look like I'm gonna end up on one of those "Rate My Plate" type groups, and get blasted 😂

But, I've just shredded the leftovers and have about 700g left. Would have been more, but I monched the crackling whilst I was doing it. (This isn't quite "pulled pork" texture, it's a little firmer than that, as I wanted carveable meat to begin with)

Now I have plenty of leftovers to see me through the next few days. Haven't decided what to do with them yet.

More prep for future me. I have some carrots that are on the ...

2024-07-28T14:23:55+02:00

In reply to nevent1q…xjs3
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More prep for future me.

I have some carrots that are on the turn, so I've chopped them *very* roughly into pretty large chunks, and added them to a freezer bag I keep for "stock veggies"

At the same time, I've added a roughly equal amount of celery and onion, some garlic cloves and a handful of parsley from the garden. The onions (shallots in this case) will be halved, and the celery probably halved as well, just to expose some of it when I get round to making stock (I've a fair amount of bones in the freezer for whenever I feel up to it)

It's a good habit to get into, even though the onions/celery etc are still fresh, as it means I've always got a bag in the freezer that I can grab a handful out of when I need it.

Whilst the pork shoulder is cooking, I'm doing a little tidy ...

2024-07-27T19:07:20+02:00

In reply to nevent1q…vyq0
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Whilst the pork shoulder is cooking, I'm doing a little tidy up of scraps and leftovers.

I have some chicken skin from a few days ago - I separated it because it didn't feel like it would go well in a risotto or baked pasta dish.

I also have some pork belly rind, that my butcher very kindly took off for me (the pork belly is currently sitting in a fridge, curing, ready to be smoked and sliced for bacon)

I'm turning those scraps into snacks :)

I baked the chicken skins in a combi-microwave for 10 minutes until crispy, and then scattered with salt. Essentially, I just want them to be cooked enough that they will break if I bend them - not just for flavour/texture, but the "drier" they are, the longer they'll keep in the fridge.

With the pork rind, I've scored the underside and rubbed in some more fennel and salt, and have baked for about 20 minutes until it has puffed up. Again, from a "no waste" perspective, this will keep for a good few days as a a snack, but the "puff-up" is what we're looking for. With the pork, I've scattered some tajin seasoning over it for flavour.

See below for results.

What we're going to do today is another roast - today, pork. ...

2024-07-27T14:56:35+02:00

In reply to nevent1q…zt4f
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What we're going to do today is another roast - today, pork.

I was going to do lamb, but my local shop had pork on offer. One of the benefits of having many years of cooking - and I hope to pass this on - is that I can make that choice, and it's okay.

Similarly to the beef and the chicken that I started with for the last couple of weeks, there's a dozen different ways to cook this, from all sorts of different cuisines, but I've done the most neutral, so as to allow for leftovers that can cover a broad sweep.

In this case, I've scored the skin, and rubbed in nothing more than salt, pepper, and some ground fennel seeds.

Fennel might seem a little out there if you're not used to it, but it brings out the, uh, porkiness. Trust me. We can still make this into all sorts of leftovers once we're done.

Leaving aside for a second everything else I've been tooting ...

2024-07-27T14:19:59+02:00

In reply to nevent1q…hg06
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Leaving aside for a second everything else I've been tooting about...😉

I've come to end of my chicken leftovers.

On Sunday, I roasted two chickens and a kilo of gammon. The entire gammon was sliced and sent off to my friends, along with maybe half to two-thirds of one roasted chicken.

On Sunday, I served with roast potatoes, green beans and pan-sauce. Yer basic British roast chicken dinner.

For the rest of this week, I've managed a green bean and lentil salad, with eggs, a risotto, and a pasta bake (the tetrazzini in the last photo, which lasted two nights for two people).

I sort of made sure that the "leftovers" looked more elegant than the main, because I'm trying to make a point, which is that "leftovers" can absolutely make meals that look like they can be served at a restaurant.

They're also very cheap, if you have the dried stuff already - like the risotto rice, the lentils, good old spaghetti and so on.

Even if you don't, we're not talking about using a whole box of spaghetti here, and I'll use the rest in the coming weeks.

Another point to make, is that I'm trying to vary my leftovers.

Last week, I made noodles, and fried rice, for instance, with leftover beef brisket.

These can *absolutely* be made with leftover chicken, but what I'm trying to demonstrate is that if you want to "leftover" cooking, you're not bound by certain dishes - there's loads that you can do, some of which are interchangeable, some aren't, but it doesn't need to be boring!

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2024-07-24T21:54:49+02:00

In reply to nevent1q…n4fy
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(yes)

Hmm. I still have some leftover gravy from my chicken roast the ...

2024-07-24T14:31:43+02:00

In reply to nevent1q…fs8s
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Hmm. I still have some leftover gravy from my chicken roast the other night, plus I've still got a lot of chicken.

I wonder if I can thin the gravy down to more of a brothy consistency, and make tetrazzini?

Pretty standard chicken leftover dish for last night - chicken ...

2024-07-24T07:49:23+02:00

In reply to nevent1q…kdhc
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Pretty standard chicken leftover dish for last night - chicken risotto. I added peas and lemon zest, and then stirred some chopped parsley through at the last minute.

The parsley is home grown; I already had home-made stock in the freezer (whenever I have a whole chicken, I make stock from the bones; in this instance I already had stock from previously. If I don't make the stock immediately, I freeze the bones; I also have a bag in the freezer with celery, onion and carrot chunks that I keep topped up so I can make stock as and when I have the time/energy)

A touch more elegant than yesterday's "just get it on the ...

2024-07-22T22:07:57+02:00

In reply to nevent1q…4fn2
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A touch more elegant than yesterday's "just get it on the plate and eat it", I've used some of the leftover chicken to make a French lentil salad. I've used up the rest of the green beans, plus an egg from the box I bought for last week's egg fried rice. The lettuce is from my hydroponics, and everything else (lentils, mustard and honey for the dressing etc) are store cupboard staples.