Chinese Feast Fit For Two by Bettsie

I adore Eastern food. I wanted to learn to cook Asian cuisine as I cannot eat take away. I find it sweet, gooey and it always makes me sick. I say NO to MSG! My first attempt was a Chinese feast fit for two. As anybody who knows me will know, I do not do things by halves. 

Extravagance and food go hand in hand. Ribs, prawn toast, chow mein, gluten free crispy beef, green coconut curry, tempura vegetables, dips (home made), satay skewers all made by me. I have attached a pic at the top.

So yesterday morning I marinated my ribs with my secret sauce before I set off to work..

I made chow mein to go with the ribs as I have a fussy eater in my house called Jamie so I left out the shallots. I just let him pick out what green food he's not keen on as long he eats the bulk...so that's good enough for me.

As you can see the dinner was delish, Jamie and even my bulldog Major Johnson had a small taste of noodle and was happy with it. Although Major J eats raw brussels sprouts.

So what to plan for my next cuisine.  I have no idea. I know Jamie with opt for a chimichanga.

I am clearly obsessed by cooking and sometimes have to be dragged out by Jamie who tells me "no more get out the kitchen" . 

Look out for my next update and follow me on my own blog.

Bettsie

http://bettsie.blogspot.com/

New Guest Blogger from Baking With Bettsie

I write and talk way too much that this needs to be applied to a blog. Unfortunate for you all I say.

Here I will bore you with Grammaphone speak and most of all, my cooking skills. I hope this blog will just make you all hungry.

As everybodys knows on facebook I am making a Mexican feast with a few untraditional dishes such as carrot cake. I am pestered too much not to have it on the menu.

Blue margaritas, Chimichangas, Fajitas with my secret mix, Chips and home made dips (Guacamole, hoummus with a twist, Coriander and lemon dip, Salsa) Arroz con Leche and Lemon Mousse for dessert and as requested carrot cake...

 Bettsie

http://bettsie.blogspot.com/

TV lesbians of the 80's

Continuing with our 80's adventure, here's some TV stars of the age we speculate could have been moved to the dark side....

Christine Cagney, Cagney & Lacey

Not actually stated to be a lesbian but was hard-nosed, single and drank too much so all the signs are there.

Bev ‘The Butcher’ Baker, Prisoner Cell Block H

Could have chosen any of the cast really but we like Bev the Butcher the most. Died from using a hypodermic needle full of air. A sad end for this brilliant criminal mastermind.

Elsye Keaton, Family Ties

Real life lesbian (shocker) Meredith Baxter played the part of a liberal hippy in US show Family Ties. Damn hippies.

‘Quaint’ Irene, Mapp & Lucia

Boho artist who dressed like an Eton school boy and lived with her maid. Rode a motorbike. Socialist

Cecily Meldrum, You Rang m’Lord

Liked to wear men’s clothes and play sports. Always hanging around with her ‘chum’ Penelope. Also a socialist.

Dotty, The Raggy Dolls

Bossy, artistic, liked dungarees

Mrs Dingle, Camberwick Green

Very prim and repressed. Liked rules, the postal service and dogs

Penfold, Danger Mouse

Definitely a lesbian in disguise. Didn’t fool us

Coach Katrina, Galaxy High

You wouldn’t want to get on the wrong side of this centaur

Melanie and Martina The Twins, Fun House

Only in the 80's for a year but worth a mention because we all wished it...come on, you know you did.

The Candy Bar: New Lesbian reality TV show on Channel 5

Following the success of recent US lesbian reality shows such as The Real L Word, Channel 5 has commission a new lesbian reality show called ‘The Candy Bar’ set in London. The plot will be based around the relaunch of the London lesbian bar The Candy bar and also follow a select group of lesbians as they go about their day. The Soho based lesbian reality show is due to start this spring and will follow “the lives and loves of a group of young lesbians who work hard and party even harder”. We hope they have time to sit down and enjoy a good old cup of tea.

Rumour is that Big Brother star Shabby Katchadourian will be featured in the show along with Dannii Orsii who is a 21 year old model/pole dancer and her girlfriend Lucy who works as a bouncer on the door.

“Viewers will be drawn into a world filled with drama and unique characters. The series aims to explore the day-to-day experiences of the girls as they search for the universal themes that affect us all. From searching for the ideal date to finding a flat mate, changing careers to relationships breaking down. We follow the Candy Bar girls on their journey as they search for the answers all set against the backdrop of a vibrant city” (Press release)

According to channel 5’s website the series will feature owner Gary Henshaw, locally known for his portfolio of gay clubs in central London. Having only recently acquired The Candy Bar, Henshaw is on hand to keep things calm as chaos threatens to overrun the club’s relaunch. My own memories of Candy Bar is that it reminded me of an extended corridor with nothing much else about it really.

Jeff Ford, the channel’s director of programmes has said that Candy Bar Girls will be made in the spirit of serious sociological inquiry:

“This is not about being salacious: it’s about our mission to reflect Britain and maybe people who haven’t been reflected, perhaps ever” said Ford of the series.

I find this hard to believe. I really doubt the people even in this programme give a shit about sociological inquiry...tits and ass will be the priority I'm sure.

Andrew O’Connell, Channel 5’s Head of Factual said: “With this brand new commission we highlight a world that has very little screen presence in the past and we want to bring a glimpse of their lives straight into the homes of our viewers”

I can’t help but feel that they are missing something. I am not doubting that people will watch this programme and I am not doubting that the viewing figures will be high. But let’s be honest, there is such a lack of programmes about lesbians or made by lesbians that we will in fact watch ANYTHING that has anything with anything remotely gay in it.

Ilene Chaiken remarked in one her interviews that when she started making the L word, she knew she was on a long journey but she really thought that by the end of it, by the end of all these seasons of the L word that there would be a whole host of Lesbian programmes out there. That the L word would become one of many. This isn’t the case. We are still in a drought when it comes to programmes about Lesbians. We are resigned to swooning over small characters in odd TV shows having a momentary ‘lesbian fling’ only to return to their long term boyfriend saying it was just some crazy blips. Lesbians are blips here and there.  Right now I am obsessed with the status of Arizona and Callie’s up and down relationship in Greys Anatomy because right now this all we have right now on TV. Nothing has really changed.

What was so good about The Real L word is that it gave us a glimpse of something exciting and the women featured in the show were by and large inspiring and successful. For the first time we saw good looking lesbians with careers who were going out there in the world and making their mark. Do we really want to spy into the lives of some bar girls from sticky floors of The Candy Bar? Yeah, I do  because I’m nosey and it has lesbians but let’s not assume I’m watching this because I think it’s a decent TV show… I wish there were some programmes about lesbian dentists, doctors, lawyers, TV executives, designers etc.  Something to inspire us. The truth is, every bar has  ______ girls and the reality is that many of them live quite sad lives. They come and go, they dance on the podiums, they DJ for a while, they serve drinks but really most of them want to get the hell out of there. These plays suck you dry. The wages are terrible and the hours are awful and the owners don’t give a shit about you. Let’s hope this programme shows something other than body shots and tequila slammers. 

Wordy Rappinghood

Chicks on Speed remix of the Tom Tom Club's 1981 classic 'Wordy Rappinghood'


They make music, they make art and they have a lot to say about women. Plus they're mad as bats. Brilliant! Take a look at their website here http://www.chicksonspeed.com/

Canal Street

Recently I have been thinking about the state of Manchester's gay village. It is true that bars do come and go. Some venues seem cursed for example 10 Canal Street where Bar 38 stood, for a while AXM and now Crunch and then who knows what now I'm so confused. Then of course the equally cursed 46 Sackville St where once Gaia stood and then Tropeiro with a number of bars in between. For some reason or another these bars and these locations have been unable to make a real connection with village regulars. No one really bat an eyelid when Gaia disappeared or will do when Tropeiro closes it's doors. There was nothing really memorable about these places.


Recently, however, Spirit has closed it's doors...the longstanding staple of the village. Years ago it would have seemed unthinkable that this giant could have closed. 3 enormous floors with bars on every level and a large roof terrace. It used to be that a night out in the village was entwined with Spirit. Spirit was an integral component that made up the stable back bone of the village. Whether this is a permanent move or temporary I do not know. It's sister bar View further up Canal St seems so far unaffected. I won't shed a tear for either though. Both are boring places with no atmosphere, blocked toilets and it will make no difference to my life if they open again or remain the same.


The Village has changed and it's clientele have changed. The success of the Northern Quarter shows the type of bars that people really want. Some new places in the village are recognising this. New bars like The Molly House show that people want something more stylish and high end. Not everyone wants to slum it with sticky floors and dance floors that stink of shit from the nearby blocked toilets. They want expensive vodkas, revealed brick, thoughtful design, attention to detail, niche ideas and will vote with their feet.


It's not all about money either before you shout, it's about interesting nights with an edge not the same old crappy dance music for gay men in a k hole. The success of nights such as Homoelectric and Bollox which is packed full of eclectic people not all with the same hair cut and All Saints outfit has shown that there is a demand for it.


In London, they seem to have embraced this desire for new and interesting nights that experiment with different venues and types of music...if only Manchester could emulate this.

Sexy Scrabble

http://drewcapener.com/?/projects/scrabble-1/

If you're spending a(nother) cosy night in front of the fire with your loved one, think about playing with this beautiful design for a new scrabble board. If enough people show interest, who knows, they might actually make it. And if you get bored, there's always sex scrabble.