Meenzer

Must... fight... Olympisches Feuer cravings... (I have flights to Hamburg mid-February for an event that's been postponed to April. Easyjet, non-refundable. I'm tempted to come over just for an O-Feuer hit. )

Even forgotten/minor US comedies like Grace Under Fire fall into the same trap. Divorced single mother, recovering alcoholic, two kids, works as a mechanic - massive house in the burbs. Ho hum.

In an alternative reality, this anecdote continues "And then I noticed he was wearing Germany shorts...".

Always the sign of a good night out.

Stop trying to bum me.

If it's not a vintage shopping mall in the basement, I don't want to know. http://www.scottsdalefashionista.com/barbr...n-her-basement/

Just ditch the bun, then it counts as a healthy protein-packed backstreet encounter. Just like you like it.

Een kleine muis op klompjes, nee 't is geen grap!

Oi, Meeeeeenzer, fancy a Mexican this week coming? Aye, that'll help us both. I may have to pass until/unless our #MEATEASY encounter. Mmmmmmm, #MEATEASY.

Schönen guten Abend! (hey, they speak it in South Tyrol, it kind of counts... )

In that phase where I can feel myself getting fitter without any weight actually dropping off. Which is fine, just need to keep motivated.

Him

Light beer

Kid Dynamite, Super Sleuth. Why are you so bothered?

That looks borderline radioactive. Mmm... borderline radioactive.

I'm not usually fussed when musicians shuffle off this mortal coil, least of all 80somethings who'd been battling cancer for some time - but I saw Charlie Louvin in Nashville last summer, still putting on a fine show despite his illness, so I reckon the fella at least deserves an RIP and a couple of clips here.

I've got a food processor but rarely use it for chopping stuff in that context because I haven't got a dishwasher, and extra washing-up is the last thing you need given the amount of stuff that tends to pile up when you're trying to get a meal done in 30 minutes.

In that case, here's my variant (i.e. 90% what Alex said in the first place): INGREDIENTS 500g mince One large onion, finely chopped Several cloves of garlic, crushed (depends how much you like really) Two peppers (any colour, though preferably one red and one green), chopped fairly finely -- Dash or two of soy sauce Dash or two of Worcester sauce Black pepper 2 tsp dried mixed herbs Couple of shakes of cinnamon Quarter to half a tsp chilli flakes 400g tin of chopped tomatoes + 500g carton of passata (but any combination is fine really) A few chopped up sun-dried tomatoes if you have them (or a squirt of tomato puree if not) Glass of red wine if you have it in (and if not, why not?) -- Handful of fresh basil, torn up (or a tsp or so of pesto) AND THEN... 1. Fry the mince, onions, garlic and peppers on a medium heat until the mince is nicely browned. Should be no need for oil, but add a squirt of olive oil if it's sticking. 2. Add all the herbs/spices etc. and stir, then add the tomatoes/passata/wine. 3. Simmer on a low heat for as long as possible, ideally at least an hour. Add a bit of water if it's getting too thick. 4. About 10 minutes before the end, stir in the basil (or pesto). Add more seasoning to taste. Serve as spag bol or chuck it in a lasagna in the configuration that pleases you the most.

I've adapted it slightly to actually include meat and that. Sacrilege tbh.

Working from home helps in my case, means I can do some of the shopping, prep etc. during the day and it breaks up the translation tedium.

If using any of them you need to add a tsp of sugar. Aye, makes sense. I'll tend to stir in a bit of crème fraîche or something if it won't ruin whatever it is I'm making, has the same offsetting effect. But as Alex says, it's not hard to make your own really, in fact I've got a lasagna in the oven as we speak using his patented pasta sauce recipe. Alex, PM CT asap tbh.

Jars of pasta sauce always taste strangely bitter to me, at least the tomato-based ones.