Viva Espana

This morning was the 4th of 5 mornings I woke at stupid o'clock for a sport-related activity.  Thursday and Friday were for practice runs, waking around 5am.  Saturday I had a delightful sleep-in (thankfully I'd cancelled my morning students - the first is usually scheduled for 8am, arriving 7:55 or so, but I woke up at 7:59 - it was bliss).  Sunday was the lovely 4:20am wake up for the Gold Coast Half Marathon.  Today I woke at 4:30 in preparation for the Euro Cup Final.  Admittedly, my plan of making a cup of coffee to help things along didn't pan out, and I fell asleep again until about 5:45...

It's not often that I alter my sleep habits for sport.  And it's not that I'm a massive soccer fan.  But I did feel that this would be one of those games, and I didn't want to hear about it merely second hand.  Plus, my brother and his flatmate are big soccer fans.  So, once I woke and made myself less scary-looking, I hobbled down to their place.  And got to see the sky lightening beautifully.  There are definite benefits for waking stupidly early.

When I arrived at their place, I thought maybe they'd fallen asleep.  Then, when I saw them sitting attentively on the sofa with a doona each, I had the impression they were watching a movie.  But no, they were being considerate neighbours.  Of course, it is soccer, not known for goal-scoring.  And as I arrived early in the second half with a score of 2-0, I didn't expect to see any goals.  Surprisingly, I was wrong, and I got to see the next 2 goals as well.  I'm not sure I've seen so many soccer goals in total before, let alone in the one game.  As it turned out, this was a record for a Euro Cup final.  Next bonus - seeing the sun peeking over the city as I hobbled up the hill.

In honour of Spain's win, I decided to make a Spanish dish for dinner tonight.  Originally I intended to make empanadas (yum!) but there was just too much effort involved.  I should mention here that my day involved breakfast...a load of washing...coffee...phone call with Dad...made bed...extensive nap...lunch...walked to the shops to buy ingredients for tonight's dinner...made dinner... you get the idea.  It felt like mostly sleeping.

Tonight's dinner, then, was Spanish Prawns with Spicy Lentils.  Unlike last time I tried to follow a recipe, this time I was much more diligent.  You can find it here if you want to try it.  My brother came over as well - even though he isn't a fan of lentils and I warned him what dinner would be.  Moreover, he said a couple of times how tasty it was.  I consider that a win.  Both of us were still hungry by the end though, so maybe it needed more imaginary crusty bread.  Oh yeah, I'm not good at remembering things like crusty bread, so you have to use your imagination here.  We did.

Today's photo:

My mega achievement for today was walking to the shops.  Slowly.  And I got to see the layered sky with the moon rising.

Sinus-clearing Soup

I've been feeling like I'm fighting a cold all week.  This is not a good feeling, especially with a to-do list as long as mine.  At lunch today, I was contemplating my options with that stuffed-up feeling in my sinuses.  I had half a tin of tomatoes sitting in the fridge, so I thought I'd improvise a soup.  Then I noticed the chilli sitting there, and decided to try a spicy soup and clear those sinuses.  The last time I tried to make a spicy fish soup I was rather underwhelmed with its spiciness, but I went all out here.  It worked a treat - after 2 spoonfuls I was reaching for the tissues, and felt much more clear-headed afterwards.  And thankfully knocked a few more things off my to-do list.

Approximate recipe for the Sinus-clearing Soup:

A chopped onion
Green capsicum
Red chilli, sliced
1/2 tin diced tomatoes
A tablespoon or so of tomato puree
About 1/4 cup drained jalapenos
About 300g prawns (or something with protein)

Heat some olive oil in a saucepan over medium heat, add the onions and fry until soft.  Add the chilli and capsicum, fry until softened, then add the tomatoes, tomato puree, and jalapenos.  Also add some water - I used about 1/4 cup but it depends how sloppy you want your soup.  Bring it to the boil, then reduce the heat and simmer for a bit (10 minutes maybe).  Add the prawns, increase the heat and cook until prawns are cooked through.  Serves 2.

Today's photo:

Brisbane knows how to put on good weather in winter.  We have a week of sun ahead of us.  When I was emptying the water from the coffee machine, I saw the shadow of this flower was so crisp against the fence.  Plus I like that it's no longer straight up, but leaning over (mostly thanks to the washing line).  I've lived here for many years, but it was only in the last few that this aloe vera plant has actually produced flowers as we were in drought for so long.