I have had another success in the kitchen with a new recipe, so I thought I'd share. :)
Gluten Free: since this has couscous it is not gluten free, however, subbing in quinoa or wild rice would work just as well. Also make sure your harissa paste has not been bulked out with gluten.
Vegetarian: Quorn or Tofu would make a good substitute for the chicken.
Vegan: Vegan Quorn or Tofu instead of chicken and a soy or coconut yogurt would work well to make this dish vegan friendly.
Harissa Chicken & Butternut with Moroccan Style Vegetable Couscous
Serves 4 (if you have a group with really healthy appetites then up the amount of couscous and veggies, or add another chicken breast :))
Other options are aubergine, courgette, tender stem broccoli - anything you like really that will take the Moroccan spice.
To serve: more natural yogurt
Instructions
Pre-heat the oven to 200C(400F)/180C(350F) fan/Gas 6.
Mix 2tbsp of the harissa with the 3tbsp of yogurt and add a little salt as well (leaving the salt out if you don't normally use it is fine).
Slash the tops of the chicken breast.
Roll the chicken breast in the yogurt mixture and leave to marinate.
Peel, de-seed and cut the butternut squash into wedges.
Peel and cut the red onions into eight wedges each.
Mix the last tbsp of harissa with the oil in a large roasting tin.
Add the butternut and onion and stir until covered.
Cook in the oven for 10 mins.
Add the chicken to the tray and pop back in the oven for 20-30 mins until the chicken is done and the butternut is tender.
While the bake is cooking, chop the mushroom and red pepper into small chunks.
Add the tbsp oil to a frying pan with 1tsp of the Moroccan spice mix and heat until the spices start to give off their aroma.
Add the mushroom and cook until it gives off its water.
Add the pepper and peas and cook for five mins until they pick up the spice.
Cook the couscous in the stock with the other tsp of Moroccan spice (check the instructions on the packet, for mine it was bring the stock mixture to the boil, add the couscous and keep cooking for five mins, or until all the water was absorbed and then let stand until the time totals five mins).
Add the couscous to the frying pan of veg and mix together.
Take the tray bake out of the oven and serve one chicken breast per person with some of the butternut and onion, with the couscous on the side, and extra yogurt for those who want it.
This is very tasty and mildly spicy. I'm a mild chilli, korma kind of girl, so its that level of heat for anyone who might be worried. I had never used harissa before, so I was not sure if it would be too spicy for me, but it was good. For those who like more punch, adding a chilli or two would work to give it a bit of a whack.
So Rob and I have been re-watching the last two seasons of The Listener and it makes me wish there was more and I so want to share the love.
The premise is that Toby Logan is a telepath and he uses this gift to help people, but it turns into so much more.
So why do I love this show?
The characters are awesome.
The cast is brilliant.
The plots are entertaining and engaging.
The scripts are well written.
It kept coming back from the dead.
So first a little warning, the show does kind of change emphasis at least twice. Once after the first season because they got canned and then had to come back and more or less start again. I can only guess that whoever marketed the first season completely failed, because it's a great show and they must have let it down.
They do take into account the first season, which is well worth a watch, so it's not a reboot, but the direction of the show does change, then in season 3 they go up a gear again, which they stick with through to season 5.
The show is also in the same universe as Flashpoint which is also set in Toronto. We know this because Spike from Flashpoint made a cameo in one episode of season 3.
Toby is our hero with something of a tortured past. As the beginning of season 1 he is a paramedic in Toronto's EMS service who spends a lot of his life trying to hide and ignore his big secret: he is telepathic.
After realising his gift might be able to help people he starts to use it. Over and over he runs into Det. Charlie Marks, who comes to realise his insights are incredibly useful. However, she doesn't fully trust him because she has no idea how he knows what he knows.
Brought up in foster homes, Toby has very little memory of his mother, Maya, or family. All he has are scattered recollections of running from something or somebody, until his mother left him to keep him safe. When Toby's past catches up with him it is dangerous for everyone.
By season 2, however, Toby has left his past behind as well as Charlie Marks. He's using his gift more to have fun than help people because of what happened before. Then, thanks to an amnesiac woman he ends up on the radar of Sergeant Michelle McCluskey and her partner Corp. Dev Clark of the Integrated Investigation Bureau (IIB). After telling Michelle the truth, Toby is taken on by the IIB as a confidential informant.
Then at the beginning of season 3, because of a bank robbery, Alvin Klein, Michelle's boss is also brought into the loop and he sets up a special unit with Michelle, Dev and Toby as a special consultant with Toby taking shifts as a paramedic when he has time (we see this about once :)) to take on the crimes no one else can solve.
Oz is Toby's best friend and partner in the EMS. Oz is Turkish and very much involved with his family. He finds out Toby's secret near the beginning of season 1 and, rather than being freaked out, enjoys the opportunities it opens up.
He is funny, loyal and very hard working, although he does seem to manage to get into trouble all the time. He is Toby's rock and treats Toby more like a brother than a friend.
When Toby moves on to helping the IIB, at first Oz is worried, but he continues to support Toby and is kind of thrilled when Toby becomes "a real cop" - even if Toby points out he is a special consultant repeatedly.
From season 2 Oz is in love with nurse Sandy Wardwell.
Liv is Toby's ex-girlfriend and a doctor at St Luke's where they are all based. She looks out for Toby, especially after he tells her his secret. She is highly intelligent, having chosen to work in the busiest E.R. in town even though other hospitals were bidding for her, and she is very dedicated to saving people.
Liv and Toby's on again, off again relationship finally settles into proper friendship and Liv becomes part of Toby's self-made family.
When he has trouble with his abilities she helps him through it and, like all of Toby's friends, constantly worries about him. Liv is Toby's other rock for as long as she can be.
Charlie is a good cop working for Metro Homicide in Toronto. When she first meets Toby she sees him a a wannabe who is going to get himself into trouble, but eventually she comes to trust his insights, if not him completely.
They repeatedly team up, more by luck than judgement, to solve various cases and help the people of the city.She is dedicated to her job and has overcome her own share of hardships, so she comes to an understanding with Toby.
When Toby's past comes back to haunt him she puts her life on the line the save his.
Michelle has had a meteoric rise to her position in the IIB. As a rookie she managed to catch Magnus Elphrenson, a genius who made off with 50mil in stolen money, who had eluded all other law enforcement agencies. She is humble enough to say it was partially luck, but it boosted her career.
When she meets Toby and he helps her save an informant, she becomes interested in his past with Charlie Marks. She needs because one of her undercover operatives may be in danger and Toby tells her he's a face reader. She uses him on the case and he reveals the truth to her to save lives.
More interested in making sure dangerous criminals cannot hurt people than the letter of the law, Michelle uses Toby's cover story as a face reader to bring him on board, only telling one other person the truth, he partner Dev Clark.
Michelle's personal life is not completely uncomplicated, especially when she runs into her soon-to-be ex-husband, Adam, on a case. They split because of Adam's gambling problem, but Adam has quit now and is running a successful up market bar. There is still chemistry between them and they begin to reconnect.
Michelle's father was also a cop, dishonourably discharged in what looks very like a fit up. She is that most dangerous of police officers to any who would go against her: she is strong, intelligent, honest and she cannot be bought. Threaten her or those she cares about and you will go down.
Dev Clark is a hacker genius with a badge and a gun. Once he was on the other side of the law, but he switch sides and now uses his skills for the IIB after coming up through the RCMP.
He is a geek of the first order and can perform what seem like miracles to mere mortals on computers. Toby might read minds, but Dev has an almost mystical link with all things electronic.
His skills are invaluable when tracking down suspects, creating efits of the people Toby sees in suspects' heads and tracking down who they might be. He's also handy in the field and more than capable of taking down bad guys away from his desk as well.
Alvin Klein is a lawyer and there to advise the IIB on all things legal. He is also a consummate politician and when he sees the chance to create an elite unit within the IIB he does so.
This is the man with the contacts and he will support his team with everything he has. He knows how to play the game while they get on and catch the bad guys. He smooths over their contact with Metro and other agencies. He calls in the top brass when they are needed. He is basically the fixer.
He trusts Michelle to do the police work while he deals with everything else.
Tia is a reporter and Toby's girlfriend as of the end of season 3. They meet on a case and Tia almost manages to get Toby fired, which might not be a great start to a relationship, but Tia has something Toby finds fascinating: he cannot read her at all.
While Toby loves Tia for her sparkling personality, her integrity and her intelligence, he finds the fact he never knows what she's thinking amazing. He's never met anyone who was completely a blank wall before her and he loves it.
When Toby finally tells her the truth it almost breaks their relationship, but in the end makes it stronger. Tia helps Toby with leads she gets through her work and he helps her by giving her the exclusives when the cases break. They make a truly powerful couple.
Adam is Michelle's husband. His gambling problem almost destroyed their relationship, but it is clear they are both still very much in love with each other.
He supports her in what she needs to do and, although their relationship has rocky moments, they become a very solid couple.
Ryder runs his ambulance station with an iron fist. He takes no crap from anyone and seems to have a special interest in making sure Oz walks the line. He's tough, but fair, and mostly keeps Oz and Toby from doing anything stupid.
When Oz decides to go for his supervisor exams, Ryder is there to support him all the way and make sure he is very serious about the whole thing.
Becker, when he was a Det. Sergeant was Charlie Mark's boss and sometimes partner. He completely blamed Toby for what happened to Charlie.
When Klein is poached by the foreign office for another assignment, Becker becomes the head of the special unit in the IIB. This causes a lot of friction since he doesn't trust Toby at all.
In the end, however, he has to admit Toby gets results and they come to an understanding of sorts: they might not like each other, but they can work together.
Ray is a psychiatrist who helped Toby when he was first brought to Toronto. He knows about Toby's gift and he knows that Toby was hidden to keep him safe. While he supports Toby's need to help people, he can also see the dangers.
He gives Toby good advice from time to time and helps with a few cases.
Alex is a forensic specialist assigned to the IIB. She can get DNA from sources no one else would even try and she is incredibly good at puzzles. She's also a bit of a geek.
Her and Dev hit it off immediately and have an adorably awkward will-they-won't-they romance while solving crime.
Alex is the best in her field and becomes an essential cog in the workings of the IIB's most successful unit.
The Cast
The cast are a brilliant group of actors. I think Canadian TV is very like British TV in that there are a stable of awesome actors who keep showing up in everything. Even the bit parts do their job well and the main cast are superb.
Ennis as Oz was clearly brought in as the comic relief, but he becomes so much more so quickly. Craig as Toby is very human and plays at being slightly broken beautifully. I loved Lisa as Charlie in season 1 and I have no idea why they wrote her out, whether it was because they were canned so she moved on to pastures new, or they wanted a slightly bigger name in Lauren Lee Smith, but they both carry their parts so very well.
There is no one who lets this cast down - they are brilliant.
They are also diverse with plenty of female characters to balance the guys, and characters of various ethnic backgrounds. This show is not just white guys saving the day.
The Plots
This isn't Lost or The X-Files, it just has a whiff of the supernormal in Toby's abilities. They brought in a bit of Toby's past as an arc in season 1 and they let it linger in the background through the rest, but this is, at its heart a police show with a telepath, and that's what makes it so great.
This is just like Unforgettable or Lie To Me where it's all about solving cases and bringing the bad guys to justice, but with an unusual edge to it. Luckily this one does not go off the rails like Unforgettable did in season 4.
If you like police procedurals you like The Listener.
The plots are well thought out and clever and will keep you guessing, even when seeing flashes of Toby's telepathic reads.
The Scripts
This is a well written show. Yes there is a voice over at the begining of season 2, but I think that was just to make sure everyone remembered what had happened and that everything is new after such a long break.
I did not have to sit and cringe my way through an episode ones.
The geek speak is well thought out and not as incredibly unbelievable as some shows I have watched.
The writers of The Listener know what they are about.
It Rose From the Dead
Whoever marketed the first season was an idiot and it was canned on NBC after only 7 episodes. It almost never saw a season 2, but foreign markets saw it rise from the dead to go on to five seasons. From the way it changed pace again at the end of season 2, I suspect it almost sank there too, but it survived.
I am sure it had a sixth season in it as well, but clearly TV producers are not as forward thinking as I am. I keep hoping they may resurrect it for some reason, but it is a faint hope.
How to Watch
The biggest problem with this show is how to watch it. It never took off in the US because of time slots etc, so they have never released any of it on DVD in region 1 and I'm not even sure the whole show has been shown. The only way to see it is to catch it in re-runs (or y'know Google 'watch the listener' and check out what comes up) because TPTB have yet to release anything except season 1 on DVD and, as I mentioned above, only in region 2. I don't know if it's available on Netflix, but it doesn't seem to be on Amazon Video.
I so wish they would release the rest - I want it badly, especially if they would release on Blu-ray. Since there are 13 eps a season and 5 seasons they could do a box set of the whole show really easily. Why won't they take my money? *pout* If this was a US show it would all be out there by now.
Anyway here are the links to the season 1 DVDs for any who are interested in purchasing them. They are the cheapest in the UK.
Now I am the first person to reach for the keyboard most of the time when I'm writing. I know some people swear by pen and paper for their first draft, but I just can't write fast enough to keep up with my brain.
Well I can, but reading what I have written afterwards is like trying to decipher hieroglyphs without the Rosetta stone :).
I haven't used anything except a keyboard to write fiction since I was at uni. My fingers work much faster when typing than they do with a pen. If I try and write fiction by hand I always end up frustrated and with sentences that have a whole heap of words missing. Pen and paper tend to be strictly for notes when I'm writing.
However...
There is one thing for which I find pen and paper really, really useful: proof reading.
There are many other techniques for finding errors in writing:
change the orientation of the page
add in columns
read out loud
put it on an eReader or phone
etc.
Printing out the fiction and going through it with a red pen is another option that can be incredibly useful. I'm currently proofing my novel Dead Before Dawn: The Vampire Curse (available free to read on Wattpad) for paperback and it's amazing what the eye picks up when changing medium from screen to page.
There is no substitute for another set of eyes on our fiction, there's no getting away from that, but even the best editor might miss something (I've found more than my fair share of typos in traditionally published books). It can be the silliest things, for example, a missing carriage return under a chapter title or an 's' missed off one word. I've found that paper and a pen is a great help in finding these last few tiny errors that the eye just misses on the screen.
Anything that makes us re-read the words on the page rather than skimming over them because our brains have become used to the layout and know what there can be useful. We have wonderful pattern recognition skills, it's what makes us so versatile, but when we're looking for mistakes this can be very unhelpful. We see what we want to see, not what is actually there. Hence, shaking up what we are looking at really helps.
I know printing uses paper and ink, but that's why there's a duplex and draft option on the printer and I recycle the paper once it's finished with. I try very hard to only print out one copy and sometimes we just have to go with what works.
Do you find printing out your work helps you to iron out the final wrinkles in your novel/story or do you prefer other methods?
So my latest Harry Potter fanfiction is now up to chapter 8 and things are getting exciting.
Summary:The threat of open war in on the horizon. The Order and the Ministry are of one accord and both know that where Harry Potter is, Voldemort will eventually be. Preparations are being made and this time the side of the light will not be caught unawares. Summer classes, sabotage, revelations about Draco's father, teaching and the final showdown with Voldemort all await Harry and Draco in this exciting sequel to Gold Tinted Spectacles (LJ | AO3 | Wattpad).
So I tried out a new recipe last night and Rob gave it a 9.5 out of 10, so I had to share. It's based off this one on GoodFood, but I added and changed a few things, so this is my version :).
Now this recipe only fed two of us, but I had 2 chicken thighs and Rob had the other 7 because he had just finished in the gym and was craving the protein, hence I think it would serve 3 comfortably.
This recipe is entirely gluten free.
For a Vegetarian Version sans Chicken
I think it would be very easy to convert this to being a vegetarian dish with just a few changes. Quorn pieces or baby new potatoes would make a good substitute for the chicken, but I'd add about 100ml of vegetable stock as well to make up for the lack of chicken juices that are released during cooking. Also, watch the cooking time and just take it out when everything is tender. Always check your cheese as well, just in case, to make sure it doesn't use animal rennet.
Spring Vegetables with Roast Chicken and Feta
Serves 3 (to serve 4 just up the number of vegetables)
Ingredients
1 pack of chicken thighs (8 or 9) (I used thigh fillets because I hate dealing with bones when eating but with skin on the bone works too if you like crispy skin etc)
2 tbsp olive oil
1 lemon (the original recipe zested the lemon, but I hate lemon zest in things and you still get all the flavour without that)
4 shallots
4 sprigs of rosemary or 2 tsp dried rosemary (guess who didn't have fresh rosemary last night :))
2 large roasted red peppers (from a jar)
1 large courgette
250g peas (the original recipe wanted fresh, but they are often hard to get and frozen work well)
~100g asparagus spears
~100g tender stem broccoli (Morrisons do a nice mix pack of asparagus and tender stem broccoli, which is what I used)
100g feta (about half an average block)
Equipment
1 large roasting tray
1 sharp knife
1 chopping board
1 spatula
1 saucepan
Instructions
Pre-heat the over to 200C/400F | 180C/350F fan | Gas 6
Cut you lemon into eight wedges.
Put the lemon into the roasting pan, giving each wedge a gentle squeeze to release some of its juice.
Chop the shallots and add them to the roasting tin. I like my shallots to melt away into nothing so I chop them finely, but you can have larger rings if you would like.
Drain and chop the roasted red peppers into bite sized pieces and add to the roasting pan. I always split the ones I bye down the middle first and then make sure there are no seeds left in them.
Split the courgette down the centre and the chop into thick chunks on the diagonal. Add to the pan.
Add the oil and mix everything around. I added just a pinch of smoked salt at this point because my pepper were preserved in brine, so not much salt was needed, if yours are just in water you might like to add a pinch more.
Add the chicken thighs and mix. If you are using skin on thighs, make sure they all end up skin side up once they are coated in the oil.
Put the roasting tray in the oven and cook for 40-50 mins until the chicken is cooked all the way through.
Take out of the oven and cover with a lid or foil to let the chicken rest.
Bring a saucepan of water to the boil and cook the peas, asparagus and broccoli for 4 mins.
Drain the vegetables and add to the roasting tin, mixing everything around to coat the vegetables in all the lovely cooking juices.
Crumble over the feta and serve.
This really was delicious and its packed with vitamins and good things.
~*~
Defence, Pretence, Offence
by Beren (aka Tasha)
3rd and 4th chapters of my new Harry Potter fanfiction are now up.
Summary:The threat of open war in on the horizon. The Order and the Ministry are of one accord and both know that where Harry Potter is, Voldemort will eventually be. Preparations are being made and this time the side of the light will not be caught unawares. Summer classes, sabotage, revelations about Draco's father, teaching and the final showdown with Voldemort all await Harry and Draco in this exciting sequel to Gold Tinted Spectacles (LJ | AO3 | Wattpad).
New chapters are posted every Monday, Wednesday and Friday.
Warning: This story is canon compliant until the end of Order of the Phoenix and then goes AU. None of the HBP or Deathly Hallows plot will be used, or the Horcruxes for that matter since this story was planned before we knew the details about those things, and hence has it's own fanon. This includes birthdays and other information that have since been revealed on Pottermore and in further productions.
The Marketing Blues aka Motivation, Where Art Thou?
I have to admit that I am finding it hard to get back in the swing of things now the holiday season is out of the way. It's been so nice not having to do anything to do with books and marketing for a while that I found myself staring at my twitter this morning wondering why I was bothering.
Logically I know why I'm bothering, but a big part of me just wants to eat chocolate and watch TV :).
It's not the writing part that is the problem - I have ideas coming out of my ears, its the whole trying to convince people to buy things that has me wistfully thinking of the relaxing days between Christmas and New Year. Truth be told, I hate marketing. It's not why I signed up to be an author, it just happens to be an integral part of the job these days.
Unfortunately its very necessary.
So now I must kick my posterior into gear and jump back on the horsey, as it were.
It's time to set my alarms that tell me what to do when. They were working really well last year until Windows updated and broke the application on my PC. They wold go off an hour out and then refuse to be turned off. Most off putting. I shall put them in my phone this time ... hopefully that won't decide to go bonkers as well :).
To all those with similar marketing blues, I wish you much luck (because we all know one retweet or one share in the right place can make all the difference :)) and the perseverance to march into the new year strong, with a smile on your face.
We can do this!
Do you have any tips to keep the motivation high and the marketing blues in the background? For that matter, any marketing tips that have worked for you?
~*~
As promised the 2nd chapter of my new Harry Potter fanfiction was published yesterday, but I totally forgot to mention it here - please forgive me.
Defence, Pretence, Offence Chapter 02/70 - Introductions by Beren (aka Tasha) Summary:The threat of open war in on the horizon. The Order and the Ministry are of one accord and both know that where Harry Potter is, Voldemort will eventually be. Preparations are being made and this time the side of the light will not be caught unawares. Summer classes, sabotage, revelations about Draco's father, teaching and the final showdown with Voldemort all await Harry and Draco in this exciting sequel to Gold Tinted Spectacles (LJ | AO3 | Wattpad). Warnings: This story is canon compliant until the end of Order of the Phoenix and then goes AU. None of the HBP or Deathly Hallows plot will be used, or the Horcruxes for that matter since this story was planned before we knew the details about those things, and hence has it's own fanon. This includes birthdays and other information that have since been revealed on Pottermore and in further productions.
So most of you know me for my original fic, but I started out writing fanfiction and one of my first was an epic fic called Gold Tinted Spectacles. I published it back in 2003 and people have been waiting for the sequel, which I started writing ever since. Well I finally finished it :D. This is chapter 1.
Title: Defence, Pretence, Offence - Chapter 01 - Brighter Mornings Author: Beren (aka Tasha) Pairing: Harry/Draco Rating: NC-17 Disclaimer: This story is based on characters and situations created and owned by JK Rowling, various publishers including but not limited to Bloomsbury Books, Scholastic Books and Raincoast Books, and Warner Bros., Inc. No money is being made and no copyright or trademark infringement is intended. Warnings: This story is canon compliant until the end of Order of the Phoenix and then goes AU. None of the HBP or Deathly Hallows plot will be used, or the Horcruxes for that matter since this story was planned before we knew the details about those things, and hence has it's own fanon. This includes birthdays and other information that have since been revealed on Pottermore and in further productions. Summary: The threat of open war in on the horizon. The Order and the Ministry are of one accord and both know that where Harry Potter is, Voldemort will eventually be. Preparations are being made and this time the side of the light will not be caught unawares. Summer classes, sabotage, revelations about Draco's father, teaching and the final showdown with Voldemort all await Harry and Draco in this exciting sequel to Gold Tinted Spectacles (LJ | AO3 | Wattpad). Author's Notes: This is the second story in the Hecatemae universe. It starts up just after the end of the first instalment and I advice reading that one first so you understand the premise. Thanks go to my sister Sophie for the beta reading. It has taken me 12 years to finally get around to finishing this, I very much hope everyone enjoys it. Links to CH01:LJ | DW | AO3 | Wattpad Link to other parts:LJ | DW | AO3 | Wattpad
New chapters will be posted every Monday, Wednesday and Friday (except week1 when it will be Sunday, Wednesday and Friday).
