Weekly Menu Plan, 31 Dec - 6 Jan

Friday: Cheeseburgers & Chips
Saturday: Stir Fry Chicken w/White Rice
Sunday: BBQ - Marinated Beef Skewers, Grilled Zucchini, Baked Potatoes
Monday: Mexican - Nachos for the kids, Grilled Chicken Wrap for me
Tuesday: BBQ - Sausages for the kids, Steak for me
Wednesday: Spaghetti
Thursday: Chicken & Rice Casserole

Summer is here, the BBQ has been cleaned and is back in service. A couple of pieces disappeared when we moved, but nothing I can't get along without. In fact, I think I prefer having fewer bits to worry about. So I'll be out there cooking a few times this week, and I'm looking forward to it. On Sunday, we're having marinated beef skewers. I was thinking of going with the spicy Bufalo marinade, but in the end I went with a simple (booooring!) teriyaki to keep the kids happy. I think that next time I'll ask Jordo to throw in a few spicy ones. Then on Tuesday, I'll do some sausages (beef, tomato, and bacon) for the kids and a steak for me. After cooking my steak using the sear/bake method all winter, it'll be nice to cook one over a fire again. 

And when I'm cooking inside, it looks like I'll be eating chicken. Except for spaghetti night. Wow, I hadn't realised that until just now. The chicken for the stir-fry is marinated in a tamarind, lime & chilli glaze, which smelled great and hopefully will taste just as good. And it's much easier getting the chicken from Jordo when I get the rest of the meat, and as long as I stick to breasts, I can get free-range organic. Or non-organic free range if I want other bits (I like wings and thighs, James likes drumsticks).

So there's nothing exciting or adventurous, but it'll be tasty, healthy, and easy to prepare. Perfect vacation cooking. 

George Hrab & the Canberra Skeptics

I had a good time at the Skeptics in the Pub event last Sunday. I'd nearly forgotten how much I love listening to live music, and George is a talented musician and an excellent performer. I've seen all sorts of musical acts -- rock, blues, jazz, pop, classical, funk, metal, rap, punk, reggae, ska, R & B, country, alt-rock, rap-metal, etc. but this was the first time I've seen a geek/skeptic/atheist act. With songs like "God is Not Great", "Everything Alive Will Die Someday" and "brainsbodyboth", it was a damned good show.


The geek/skeptic/atheist crowd was okay too (although a few were a bit annoying during some of the audience-participation parts of the show), and I'm planning on going to the next Canberra Skeptics event, a talk by Professor Julian Cribb called "The Coming Famine: Risks and Solutions for Global Food Security". Should be a real hoot! :)

And it wouldn't be a Skeptics in the Pub without the pub, and King O'Malley's is a good one. Maybe a little too upmarket for my tastes (and my wallet), but the beer was good, the decor was interesting, the staff were nice, and the toilets were clean. I started with a Coopers, the a Fat Yak, then a Big Helga's (served in a big "pint" mug), and I finished off with a Guinness, and thoroughly enjoyed each one of them.