A simple red meat sauce. It’s the most basic red sauce you can make and when you have made it up, you can easily add more flavours to it – it works in lasanga, cannelloni, on top of pizzas, or just poured on to pasta. I don't claim this as an "Italian" recipe - but it is my own.

Serves 4 (Or 2, if you’re hungry!)

* 200G lean beef mince
* 1/2 bottle red wine (and don't buy wine you wouldn't want to drink)
* 3 large white onions
* 5 small tins of tomato puree (100g tins of "double concentrate")
* Salt
* Olive oil

Begin by finding a sauce-pan, with a reasonable size, a lid and a heavy bottom – if you don't have one then please consider buying one! A lid is really important for this, as it will be cooking for so long, something needs to be on top to keep the moisture in

Once you have a pan, then chop your onions up into 1cm cubes (this doesn't have to be precise)

Put the pan over a medium-high heat and add some olive oil, once this gets hot – throw in the onions and hear them sizzle! Once they do this, stir them and throw on a little more oil and some salt. You want at least 1tsp of salt here to help draw the moisture out of the onions

Turn the heat down to low and let the onions cook through for about an hour. You want them down so low that they won't burn, but up high enough that they brown through. The best way to assess this is to listen to them – if they sizzle, then you have the heat up too high.

Once the onions look delicious, brown and cooked, then throw the meat into the pan and turn the heat up a fraction and then leave the meat for another half hour to an hour – till it is browned through. You are aiming to slowly cook the meat through with the onion – infusing the flavour of the meat into the onions and the onions into the meat.

When this has done, turn the heat up to high, wait for 30 seconds and then pour in enough wine to cover the meat and onions. This might be half a bottle – it might be a quarter of one – just enough to cover.

Stir this through and then turn the heat down to low again

Add in the tomato puree and stir – you now have your sauce

Leave this to cook for at least 2 hours and for preference, 6 – please bear in mind that you might have to top it off with either more wine, or a splash of water to keep it from drying out.

To this you can add any kind of flavour you want - garlic should go in with the onion and any dried herbs should go in before the wine and after the meat is cooked. But.. Do yourself a favour - if you haven't tried a simple, herbless and garlicless sauce - then do it.

...where-in the author shares with you his recipe for settling your head and your stomach.

The Hangover Cocktail

* 1 shot Chambourd liqueur
* 2 scoops of high quality vanilla ice-cream
* Milk to top up to a pint of liquid

Combine all 3 ingredients and then either blend, whisk or mix (depending on how your kitchen is equipped; I used a stick blender) and then serve.

The milk soothes your stomach and the slight kick from the Chambourd will help your head. If you're feeling really shaky then add a crushed ibuprofen to the mix.

Enjoy.

Following karohemd 's advice I used white onion for my sauce today and balsamic vinegar instead of port, wine or any other kind of alcohol.

I also tried cooking using a little more worcester sauce - based upon duncanneko 's wisdom.

This was more sauce than last time - I'm making for me, for a housemate's lunch and for meatballs tomorrow night.

I feel a lot more ambivalent about this sauce. Too much strong tomato flavour - I think doing it in volume meant the ingredients didn't have room to mix, to breathe.

The white onions are good though - they brown off well and you can't help but love worcester sauce. I'm not sure about the balsamic vinegar though - I need to try using it some more.

I followed the standard pattern of cooking the onion and garlic, then the chunks from the tinned tomatoes - then seasoning, sugar and topping up with the tomato juice until I am happy with the taste.

Tomorrow - re-seasoning this sauce and meatballs!

This week I am going to be perfecting my basic recipie for making a red, tomato sauce using tinned tomatoes, garlic, herbs, spices and the rest of it.

On Sunday we had a pizza, using some of this sauce and tonight I have had a bowl of pasta using a new batch. So far I have experimented with paprika (don't use too much of this, kids - it really isn't going to help) and am debating the relative merits of red onion vs white onion vs the shallot.

I have gotten a lot out of using a splash of tawny port instead of my usual wine or vodka, when deglazing the pan (following on from frying the onions) - but it just isn't something I can keep around the house (expensive + I am likely to drink it).

Does anybody have any advice on making a basic tomato sauce?

Walking home from the supermarket tonight, I could not help but overhear from one of the flats next to our house, the strained voice of a woman, obviously pleading for a life soon to be left behind;

"Look, oh god I can change......... Yes I know but.... No, no, no, please.......... " and then more wailing and crying till I felt as though to do anything other than withdraw would be rude.

I cannot help but feel that.. If there were anything I could do to stop this heartbreak; even for a stranger. I would do it.

Am I a hopeless romantic for wanting to do so? A hero without a cause?

I hope that whoever they are.. The wounds are not too deep to heal.

Van D'Alsace Pinot Gris, 2005 Reserve from Cave Vinicole Hunawihr

( Review under the cut.. )

Inspired by both season 7 of 24, (excellent, by the way - new direction), and my current cycling predicament, (4 inner-tubes in a week. A combination of poor maintenance and ill circumstance), I present to you - one of my favourites;

Invictus

Out of the night that covers me,
Black as the Pit from pole to pole,
I thank whatever gods may be
For my unconquerable soul.

In the fell clutch of circumstance
I have not winced nor cried aloud.
Under the bludgeonings of chance
My head is bloody, but unbowed.

Beyond this place of wrath and tears
Looms but the Horror of the shade,
And yet the menace of the years
Finds, and shall find, me unafraid.

It matters not how strait the gate,
How charged with punishments the scroll,
I am the master of my fate:
I am the captain of my soul.

--William Ernest Henley.

That said, it has taken 3 gin & tonics to calm my raging sensibilities. Over the last few years, many things have happened which I have railed against - but there is something about cycling issues that makes my blood boil. Loss of independence, loss of dignity. Loss of a speedy-way to get into work.

It stresses me and I feel angry about that.

..going back, back to school.."

Or not, as the case may be. But it's the festive season and quoting RENT is a requirement for this journal.

My 3 (public) goals for this year, include;

1. Learn how to cook more and quicker meals - Week-night specials. Most of my cooking needs a lot of preparation and time. Not a bad thing - but I'd like to be more experience with pulling things together quickly.

2. Continue exercising - I've been doing yoga, going to the gym and have been biking to work for my whole time in Cambridge - it's good and I'd like to keep it going.

3. Rise up, at work - I've been asked to do a lot more as part of my role. It's not going to be impossible - but it is going to require me to put my back into doing it.

In general, I'm more excited and happy going into 2009 than I have been over the last few years.

Catch you all on the flip-side.

This is my favourite version;I like the Cohen version. I do - but I think this one is the better, the best.

It's a good song. Whenever anybody - girl, boy or pop-idol, uses the phrase, "...it goes like this, the fourth, the fifth. The minor fall and the major lift...", I get goosebumps.

I really enjoyed this film. It was reasonably short - not stretching out into repetition. It stayed close to the original, whilst not being afraid to make some changes in the plot - and it has finally found Keanu Reeves a role in which he is perfectly suited.

I found the character played by Jaden Smith, (son of Will), to be overly frustrating - along with the Secretary of Defence, (Kathy Bates), being strange and a little forced.

I think they could have done a lot more with the idea - and could see the central concept working as a mini-series on, "Are we really worth saving?"

See it if you like big questions, if you do believe in aliens and if you'd like to believe that it really is "A Wonderful Life", this festive season.

Avoid it if you dislike giant robots, the military and annoying child actors.

What will happen when two men, (myself and my beautiful assistant, mattridge), eat this volume of cheese along with drinking this bottle of port?



( Answers under the cut... )

So I write this, whilst in church, in the blank pages in the back of my own personal copy of Mark's Gospel.
I would, ordinarily feel uncomfortable writing in any holy book, but, as I've been asked to make notes within the pages - it's not so bad.
I am listening to and being told that the most important thing to this interpretation of the Christian faith, (and I am not naive enough to think that this is representative of every facet of the religion), is to love God - and that the love of those around you, comes second.

I cannot put my faith into this.

The rhyme and metre of Mark's gospel, seems to be to love those around you, heal the sick, cast out the demons.
But I have been told that if I am to ask to enter heaven, it will be through the grace of Jesus Christ as an aspect of God, who died for my sins.

And yes, there are eternal sins - which if committed, may keep me from the face of God forever.

But why can't I earn my place?

Is it wrong to want to prove to myself and to God, that by my own grace and good deeds, I should be allowed eternal glory?

Jesus Christ - man or legend, was a Warrior for whom I have the utmost respect - but surely emulating him is much better than loving him?

I just wish sometimes that I could find catharsis which would burn the sin and unbelief right out from the heart of me.

[transcribed from the good book, +1 hour from leaving the Arena session number 4 at St Andrew The Great's, Cambridge]

After waiting for over 2 weeks for the price to be reduced from £40, to £20, to £7 - this is now in my possesion:
( Can you guess what it is yet? )
Results and experiments to follow!

My Nanna, gods rest her, has passed away.

Her death to now, is like the click of a cassette tape reaching the end of the reel - the last few years having been a long drawn out hiss of strokes, hospitalisation and her wasting away physically, mentally.

She has been missed; she will be missed.

I started my new job today. Still at the same place - but now my title is, "Release Schedule Coordinator".

This means that I will be responsible for the planning and delivery of content, for the game. It includes working with people from multiple departments - reporting to operations and in general, doing a lot of the kind of work I have been itching to do for a long time.

I am really happy to have gotten here and hope to be this positive and energetic a few months into it - when things start to get hectic. Bear with me and.. Well thank you to everybody on here who has helped, contributed, listened to me moan and stress and in general, made my life better up to know. You know who you are.

</oscar-acceptance-speech>

Put 2lbs of fresh tomatoes into an oven, set at 100C, along with 2 red peppers and an onion. The peppers and onion should be cut into strips - the tomatoes should be loosely seeded and anything non-edible, cut out. Don't put too much effort into this - it's a lot of tomatoes to prepare.

Salt them too - you want to remove moisture and concentrate flavor.

Cook at this low, slow heat for around 9 hours. If it looks burning or on fire at any point - you're doing it wrong.

Once it all looks delicious, scrape it all into a food processor, a blender or a bowl you can use a stick-blender in. If you don't have any of these, go buy a stick blender for £4 from tesco. There is no excuse for avoiding a mechanized kitchen-life.

Blend it all up - then put into a pan. Add tinned tomatoes. The delicious nature of slow cooking will elevate the cheapest tin of chopped tomatoes to new heights.

At this point, you're pretty much done. You can add in basil, black pepper, garlic, paprika - anything you think improves your tomatoes. If you made it a bit thicker, you'd probably have a good pasta sauce. If you make it a little looser, you'd end up with soup, as pictured.

We had it over some tiny pasta shells, (not pictured - they're hidden under the soup), and with garlic bread. The green stuff is pesto mixed with a little olive oil.

( More pictures )

I opened my wardrobe, moved some shirts - and a single clothing moth flew out.

WHY MUST THESE CREATURES TAUNT ME?

Short of buying mothballs, I'm a little worried that my outfit choice is going to severely degrade over the next few months.

My Grandma died.

Black armbands aside, she was a sweet, kind and beautiful woman who was devastated when she lost her husband, over ten years ago. I Loved her a lot and.. Though I can neither confirm nor deny my personal belief in regards to an everlasting soul, I know she was in a lot of physical and emotional pain which is now, no longer present for her.

My advice after personal complementation on this is - tell people you care for them. Even in small, non-vocal ways. You might not know when you will lose the chance to do so.

I've been in London the last two weekends, which is surprising. I went to a birthday party the first week, then saw Stella. Seeing Stella was interesting and I can recommend it to anybody. The birthday party was also a success and led to me buying a new hat. Since I am not usually the owner of hats; this is a step in the right direction.

I also had a week off. I spent it mainly watching TV in my underwear whilst eating pot-noodles. This I cannot recommend higher - just make sure you get the right kind of TV.

This weekend was the second one and myself and mattridge saw RENT. It was an interesting, "remix" and I would recommend it to any fan of the show.

Generally this week has been a success.

It worries me that MySpace pages can continue after death. Somehow that does not seem right.