Saffron Rolls

More an exercise in food photography than anything else.  More work needed!




When I moved in with my partner, she didn't have much in the way of furniture or homewares to add to the party, but she did have the most enormous box of saffron I have ever seen, and all things considered I think it makes it even.  It's such a warming and delicate addition to bakes in particular, I find it really elevates bread.

These are a simple white bread roll with a pinch of saffron soaked in the water for a bit before adding, to augment some of these I also added a few cumin seeds to the top, but I have found these to be a bit overwhelming on occasion, so I would suggest less is more when it comes to cumin.

These rolls are batched, which (as I understand the term in any case) means that they join up when baked together, meaning that the leave a lovely soft side when separated.  It's also a good way to get more onto a smaller baking tray...

Next on the agenda - sweet saffron buns.  Watch this space.

Stuart Maconie - The People's Songs, Birmingham Town Hall - 16th October 2013

An Americano before setting off

Stuart Maconie, for those not familiar with his work on radio and print, is warm, witty and erudite, and an unapologetic champion of pop music.  Through his radio 2 series “The People’s Songs” (and accompanying book) he has explored the role of music in shaping and reflecting the realities of modern Britain.

Birmingham Town Hall is an iconic venue marking the edge of Victoria square, and will be familiar to many Brummies.  The hall opened in 1834, with one of the architects being Joseph Hansom, later the inventor of the Hansom cab.   The Town Hall project actually bankrupted Hansom, the experience of which may have led to him later becoming a radical socialist.

I mention this as the Town Hall is therefore an appropriate venue for Maconie’s discussion of music, politics and everything in between, with particular focus on ‘ordinary’ people, as the building has served in the past as a forum for political debate and a meeting place for local government.  During his talk, Maconie drily noted he felt the pressure, knowing that Charles Dickens gave readings at the Hall (apparently, the first public reading of a Christmas Carol).  The venue symbolises the grandeur and optimism of the city in the 19^th century, and we should remain proud of it today.

Maconie is an engaging speaker, and his talk this evening is fairly fluid, structured loosely around some of the themes from The People’s Songs radio programme, a good format for a raconteur used to performing on live radio. As well as The People’s Songs, the talk includes excerpts from Maconie’s amusing and insightful books on music, food and The North, all of which he links well to his personal stories – his tale of being taken to see The Beatles as a small child is particularly hilarious.  In the hands of a less likable host, some of the tales could have descended into grating “here’s a story about my famous mates” anecdotes, but Maconie is unpretentious and grounded and these instead become fascinating insights.

The only downside of the evening, ironically, is the venue itself.  Despite being a spectacular building, both outside and in, the Town Hall is too large and “showy” for Maconie’s warm and inclusive manner.  The hall was less than full and this did give rise to a slight sense of being present at a sparsely-attended political gathering.  Overall, this reviewer felt that the event would have felt better in a more intimate setting.

This is, however, not a criticism of either the Town Hall, or of Maconie himself – both  are things to be treasured.

 

During the evening, Maconie noted with glee that The People’s Songs programmes are on the iplayer for 800 years (I’ve checked, and it seems he was getting ahead of himself – the latest episode is due to expire in 2099…).  Let’s hope that the heirs to this warm chronicler of the modern world are appearing at the Town Hall then.

 

[This post first appeared on www.birminghamfavourites.co.uk



The Raid (dir: Gareth Evans)

A cup of green tea to calm down.

Is it me, or are there more interesting DVDs in charity shops than ever before? Are they going the way of the video tape, with people getting shot of things they think of as clunky remnants of a pre-cloud world?

Whatever the reason, I am finding that I can pick up something worth taking a look at most weeks, and this week was no exception. With the Raid 2 about to hit cinema screens, I noticed the original film in the PDSA shop for £1.99, and thought I'd give it a try.

The film (which I think was released in 2012) was widely reviewed as being a benchmark movie in the action genre, which is not something I know much about.  My philosophy is usually that if you going to explore something new, whether food, music, books or film then to start with the classics and work out from there. So this seemed a good opportunity to see if I should explore further.

Set in a Jakarta tower block taken over by a brutal criminal gang, essentially this film is a 90-minute long fight, with a few moments of calm to allow the viewer to catch their breath before the next protracted period of ultra violence. Guns, knives, machetes, and kicks, kicks, kicks are the order of the day with no punches pulled on showing the gore on screen either. This film is not for the squeamish.

So, what did I think? Certainly is was fabulously put together, the production design, acting, music and sound all working well in the service of the film, but the star was clearly the direction, perhaps better described as choreography. The battles are absurdly over the top, with the flurries of punches, kicks and leaps sometimes feeling never-ending, and the superhuman protagonists surviving damage which no human surely could, then getting up to do it again and again.

For me, it is this cartoonist element that makes the violence tolerable, removing it from all sense of reality, an experience I last had watching Crouching Tiger Hidden Dragon. Brutal and bloody, it wasn't something I would normally give the time of day to, but the time flew by, and the ending had a emotional punch I wasn't expecting.

So, will I be off to the cinema to see The Raid 2? Probably not, but I'll definitely be keeping an eye out in Brum's fine charity shops.