having done the poster for tomorrow's Escape Act gig at Club NI:NG, Smitty asked me to create one for the triumphant return of 'the Dirt' in late December. I'm quite pleased with the result.

My friend Neil has posted his HND Photography project on flickr. Some nice images taken around the waterfront area in Belfast City Centre.

this is something that i made up a while back when i'd more bacon than i knew what to do with. i've hoked out the recipe for my friend Laura who is living in Paris with only a two ring hob. 1. cook 8 strips streaky bacon in the oven or pan till they're just crispy, allow to cool, reserve some bacon fat 2. fry 2 chopped carrots off in a some oil and some of the bacon lard for 5 mins 3. add a chopped onion, 2 garlic cloves crushed and two chopped sticks of celery for another 5 mins 4. add 2 bay leaves, salt and pepper 5. add 1 can of chickpeas (drained) and stir in for a few mins 6. add 1 pint or more chicken stock, bring to boil then simmer gently for 10 mins 7. break bacon into little bits 8. add some parsley to taste 9. cook out for 10 more mins 10. use a potato masher to mash it up a little, but not too much 11. leave overnight to develop flavour mmmmm tasty stew!

i've been bereft of interesting things to post, obviously, since my last post, tho i've a few thoughts on the NIMIC seminar yesterday that i'll deliver later. in the meantime here's some celery soup that I made the other day, it turned out to be tasty enough. I made quite a large quantity cos I was in Tesc0s and came across two big packs of celery in the bargain bin for 10p each, the rest is cookery.

1. Heat some oil and sweat half an onion and a small leek, both finely chopped, with two bay leaves
2. Chop a small carrot and a small parsnip and add to the pan
3. Sprinkle in a tea spoon of thyme and stir
4. Chop about 15-20 celery sticks, add to the pan, and stir
5. (You can score the back of each celery stick with a knife to remove the tough filaments, or sieve them out later)
6. Pour in two pints of freshly boiled water and stir
7. Add a chicken stock cube, and a vegetable stock cube
8. Season with salt and black pepper
9. Cover and simmer for about 30 minutes, until the celery is cooked
10. Check the seasoning and adjust accordingly
11. Allow to cool and blend 70% of it
12. Serve with a dollop of cream and some nice bread