Post the Twelfth (in which our heroine muses about her Bucket List)

So.  Ye olde Bucket List.  What's on yours?  Mine is very short.  I'm a woman of simple needs and more importantly, I'm ridiculously lazy.  No point in having a yard-long list of things I know I'll never actually getting around to doing.  My one big, huge thing, though, is to swim in the Devil's Pool at Victoria Falls.  Google it there.  Doesn't it just look like the most friggin deadly thing ever?  I should probably get the finger out, though.  It requires a four-hour trek through to jungle to reach it, so probably the kind of thing you'd want to do while still relatively young.  The logistics are a bit of a mare too - you can get there from Zambia or Zimbabwe, and I don't think Zimbabwe is currently on the Department of Foreign Affairs list of Great Places for White Europeans to Go on Holidays.

I also want to do the Ice Hotel in Sweden and see the Aurora Borealis.  Eh, that's pretty much it.  How boring am I?  Oh, and I'd also like to do the Man V Food tour of America, but only if I've been diagnosed with a terminal illness and dying of a fried-stuff-with-cheese induced heart attack seems like the better option.

Anyway, speaking of food, I really, really need to try and behave myself a bit, because I've decided to break out the oul Slave Leia costume this Halloween and I would prefer not to look like Jabba the Hut raided her wardrobe while wearing it.  In that vein, today's recipe is quite virtuous - Cheat's Coq au Vin.  In the interest of saving calories I've made it with chicken fillets, but it really would be much better with thighs.  Try both and see which you prefer.

Cheat's Coq au Vin - serves 4

4 chicken fillets, cut in 3 pieces each, or 12 thighs, left whole
6 shallots, peeled & diced                       Handful fresh thyme, leaves picked
100g diced lean bacon                            425ml chicken stock                            
150ml dry white wine                              Worcestershire sauce  
100g mushrooms of your choice (not that I ever get to put them in, as Emmet is a total fungus-phobe)

1) Dry-fry the chicken & bacon in a large pan for a few minutes until just beginning to colour.  Add the shallots & mushrooms (you can use mixed peppers instead, if you prefer) with a few tablespoons of the stock and cook until most of the stock is gone.  Add the rest of the stock, the wine, the thyme leaves and a good dash of Worcestershire sauce.  Season with pepper, but no salt - the bacon is salty enough, believe me.  Bring to the boil, then reduce the heat and simmer, covered, for 15 minutes if using fillets or 25 if using thighs.

2)  Taste & adjust seasoning if needed.  Serve with green beans and mashed potatoes.

          
I've also decided to add a Viz Top Tip to the blog every day, just for fun.

Today's Top Tip:  Cyclists - if stopped by the police for cycling at night with no light on your bike, ask them how the fuck they saw you, then.

Til tomorrow, peeps.