Spicy Tuna with Tomato and Rice

Ingredients

2 tins of tuna (John West in Brine)

Tin of chopped tomatoes

1 onion chopped  

½ tin sweetcorn (small)

Ghost pepper sauce or birdseye chilli’s

1 cup rice

This is a really quick, cheap, tasty, simple recipe that my friend taught me how to cook about 10 years ago. 

After you have chopped the onion combine this with the tuna, tomatoes and sweetcorn.

Turn on the rice and the two should be ready about the same time. 

When it’s nearly ready I add a drop of ghost pepper sauce.   If you have never used ghost pepper sauce, I mean a drop - it’s very hot. 

If you prefer using fresh chilli add this at the beginning.

Of course do it without the sauce /chilli’s if you prefer it plain. 

Enjoy

Chicken and green bean vermicelli noodles

150g dried vermicelli noodles

Olive oil

2 large chicken breasts

1 large onion chopped in chunks

2 carrots peeled and cut into match sticks

3-4 celery sticks

170g green beans cut in half

Tinned pineapple rings chopped

3cm ginger cut into match sticks

2 garlic cloves (pestle and mortar)

2 tbsp water 

60ml dark soy sauce

60ml sweet chilli sauce

http://www.taste.com.au/recipes/1673/chicken+and+green+bean+vermicelli+noodles

Here is the original recipe.

I’ve opted to leave out a few things. 

Tesco online didn’t find any capsicum.

I’m not keen on baby corn and for no particular reason I left out the buk choy. 

I had a tin of pineapple rings in the cupboard I thought would go well.

The original recipe does not direct this but most recipes tell you to soak the noodles in warm water for an hour. 

I keep my ginger in the freezer after I have peeled it so on this occasion I pulled out the ginger to soften.  If it’s just chopped ginger I would just grate the frozen ginger in.

Cook the chicken in a large wok with olive oil and set to one side.

Fry off the onions, garlic, beans, celery, carrots and ginger for 2 minutes, then add 2 tbsp of water.  I then added some of the juice from the pineapple tin which seemed to help cook the veg. 

Reduce for maybe 5 mins, keep stirring.

Drain the noodles and add to the wok, followed by the chicken, soy sauce and chilli sauce.

Just toss and stir until the remaining ingredients are warm and then serve.

 

Enjoy

Bad things, Good people

Dedicated to John Bellerby

Last night I went on facebook and saw a fella I hadn’t seen for a while, an old colleague of mine John Bellerby, he was in my team at Donaldsons.  We were not particularly close but he was a lovely, kind, gentle, sweet man who was highly regarded by all that knew him.    

This morning I was rather shocked to read an email from another former colleague and friend to say that John passed away in December of Cystic Fibrosis.

I haven’t had any contact with John since he left but it really upset me and I was very sad to know he had come to a tragic end.  How horrible to even say that about another person that I have shared time with.  It got me to thinking about how wonderful all of my former colleagues were and how it would be if it were someone I had known very well.

It makes me so angry how it is always the good people that are taken, especially when there are so many w*nkers in the world that could be taken in their place. 

Life is so unfair and so unkind; we all know this but doesn’t it just kick you in the teeth when we need to be reminded.

I was already in a grumpy mood today and I began hating myself for woeing over silly problems when as some people say “We’re here for a good time, not a long time”; well isn’t that just true.

It’s easy to get bogged down with our day to day routine and problems.  A lot of happy people that have everything are unhappy because they want more and it always seems those people that get dealt the shit cards in life are the ones who are happiest and cherish life for what it’s worth.

Does it take death for us to cheer the f*ck up?

The only person I have ever lost close to me was my good friend Donna who left us some 10 years ago now due to leukaemia. 

It’s a strange thing as even though I don’t see her family or speak of her she is often in my dreams and has been for 10 years.  I like to think that is her popping in to say hello and not letting me forget about her. 

Anyone will tell you, she was the life and soul our Donna, and even after she had gone when the tears were falling she managed to make us all laugh by playing Ricky Martins “La Vida Loca”.    

My grandparents died on my Dad’s side but to be honest I felt so much more upset for my Dad; I can’t imagine what it is like to lose both parents.      

So for anyone that’s had a sulky day/ week pick yourself up, get a large drink, call your best friend or your mum and take a minute to think about all the things you feel grateful for.

To all my old Donaldsons chums I miss you all very much.   You are an amazing bunch and I am lucky to still be in touch with most of you. 

I’ll never understand why these things happen and I guess I am not supposed to. 

I’d like to offer my sympathy to Johns family and friends.

I’ve attached a link where you can donate if you would like to support John or are interested in donating towards Cystic Fibrosis. 

http://www.justgiving.com/John-Bellerby

http://www.yorkpress.co.uk/news/9456670.Tributes_paid_to____a_great_son_and_magnificent_friend___/

The sun has returned so there is one thing I am grateful for. 

Hope you all have a rockin bank holiday; be good and if you can’t be good be careful.

Love Jamie xx