End of Year round-up

Well, there are about two hours to go until 2008 so just time for a few end-of-year round-ups.

The Beef

Since so many of you have asked we are happy to report that it was absolutely wonderful. Seasoned with mustard and freshly crushed black pepper, it roasted happily in the oven while the trimmings cooked around it. Before the sun set the joint was stripped and the remaining meat was back in a casserole dish with some caramelised onions and the remains of the red wine gravy. Having bubbled for an hour or two it was portioned and popped into the freezer.

That lovely joint will be keeping us fed for some time to come … at least another three meals in cold January!

The Seville Oranges

About a week before Christmas we were offered some Seville oranges. A friend has a tree and, as so often the way here, once it starts to crop it is a challenge to use all of the fruit before it goes bad. Marmalade-makers wandered off with carrier bags full but we have no such leanings. However, if there were half a dozen oranges to spare we might have a beef recipe that would appreciate them, said we.

A few days later we were presented with a carrier containing 17 goodly sized oranges.

Mands did a little research and then amended menus. Instead of Christmas beef followed by tart au citron perhaps there could be a light orange syllabub instead?

After a couple of false starts it ended up being one of the foodie highlights of the holiday, and a perfect foil to rich Christmas pudding.

For 4
o Juice and zest enough oranges to yield 1/4 pint of juice (about two large oranges)
o Reduce juice to about 1/3 of the original volume. Allow to cool
o Mix reduced juice with icing sugar to thicken and sweeten. About 4 tablespoons gives a good consistency
o Whip one pint of cream
o Fold sweetened juice mixture into the cream
o Spoon into small glasses. Serve with almond thin biscuits

Tonight, as part of our NYE meal, we cooked a variation of Gary Rhodes’ Beef with Seville Oranges. This too was fantastic, but does mean that of the original batch of oranges we only have two left. Hmmmm, wonder if there’s another dozen available?

We made another batch of syllabub today to say thank-you to the providers-of-the-oranges. Pity we didn’t know that they’ve gone to Dubai for a holiday! Another friend, who is staying at home by choice, was happy to take them home to add to her planned meal.

The Weather

Bright, clear, warm in the sun but chilly out of the sun.

These last couple of days have given us some of the coldest temperatures this year. Overnight it is dropping to around 6 or 7 degrees. The irony of getting a lightly sunburnt nose during an afternoon and then huddling under a 13.5 tog quilt at night isn’t lost on us! To some extent the issue is made worse by the very poor insulation of our rental house.

At 5pm today the bedroom temperature was 12 degrees and falling. We have no real heating upstairs, and only a gas burning heater downstairs. It isn’t expensive to run but doesn’t heat much beyond that which is in front of it.

The Euro

At midnight tonight we join the Euro. The Cyprus pound will be no more. Well, apart from those liberated from mattress hiding places and cashed in at the bank for the coming six months. There are reams of stories in other locations about the mechanics and the legalities and the difficulties and the dual currency calculators.

Suffice to say that tomorrow we can pay for our groceries (if anywhere were open) with a trusty 10 Euro note rather than a £10 CYP note but we’d almost certainly be standing next to someone, Cypriot or English, complaining that prices have gone up. Same old, same old!

And Finally

Best wishes for the outgoing and the incoming years. We wish you happiness, prosperity and shorter bank queues. Oh, maybe that last one is only relevant to those on the island ;-)

Ian & Mands

Christmas Beef

Warning: Not suitable for vegetarians!

This year we are cooking lunch on Christmas Day. It’s been several years since we cooked turkey for Christmas and didn’t really relish the idea of going back to it. When we were in London we often cooked a rib of beef on the bone, sometimes known as a standing rib, but here it is not a common cut of meat. Actually, many of the cuts that we are used to are not well known here which has led to changes in the types of meals we cook.

That aside we thought we might have a solution. A butcher in one of the villages, Xylotymbou, advertises as selling English (actually, the original butcher was from Scotland, so make that Scottish) cuts. Early last week we hopped in the car and drove there to place our Christmas order. Business must be good because despite it being before his published last order day he was already sold out. Not a single rib of beef to be had, though we could have had a dull sirloin in its place.

Somewhat dejected, we got back in the car and drove back towards Larnaca. The Christmas meal plan revolved around this piece of beef and now it looked like we would not be able to get it. Driving back we talked about where else we might get a joint … certainly not any of the supermarkets but maybe one of the other butchers might understand the cut we wanted?

We stopped at one just outside Larnaca, overlooking the sea.

“No problem” he said when we asked if he could do a rib of beef for Christmas. After quick conversation about the number of people and therefore size of joint and the number of ribs we wanted he made a note in his diary and we agreed to come back to collect it on Saturday. As we drove away we weren’t entirely convinced that we and he had been talking about the same cut. We certainly didn’t know how much this might cost – the price wasn’t mentioned at all.

Today we headed back there as part of our last run of errands.

He recognised us as we walked in and quickly disappeared into the chiller at the back where he hangs the meat. He came back, not with a neat joint, but with a half carcass of beef.

Having confirmed that it was a three-rib piece we wanted he asked if we would prefer the joint cut straight or following the rib. Cutting straight would mean a joint which would stand better but would mean slicing through one of the ribs. Following the ribs would mean a sloping joint but three intact ribs. We agreed that following the rib was a better option so he proceeded to cut. A single slice, with a scarily sharp knife, separated our joint from the rest of the carcass. Then a cleaver was used to shorten the length of the ribs “Otherwise they will not fit in your oven” he said. A slice or two more to neaten and the joint was brought over for inspection.

It looks not unlike this.

Having agreed it looked wonderful it was bagged, popped on the scales and we handed over a little under £15CYP (£18GBP, $36USD) for about eight pounds of prime beef. Had we bought a similar joint from our old London supermarket we would have paid two, if not three, times the price.

The beef is now lightly oiled and seasoned and is sitting in the fridge. Only a few more days before we know whether it tastes as good as it looks. If so, it may be on the menu more than once a year ;-)

Merry Christmas to you all. We hope all of your holidays are wonderful, peaceful and joyous.

Ian & Mands

Supply and Demand

No, not another post about water! For those interested, the water came back on the following day. So, in all likelihood it was some unplanned maintenance rather than us being cut off for not paying the water bill. But since the water bill still hasn’t been paid (and some of it goes back as far as August) you may see more posts on this in the coming weeks.

So, back to supply and demand. Sometimes we sometimes read the UK news with a little bafflement. Right now one of the big stories appears to be the annual rumpus regarding the must-have toy this Christmas. For 2007 that, apparently, is the Nintendo Wii.

For those who have never heard of them the pronounciation you are looking for is We. The Wii is a games console, made by Nintendo and this year demand in the UK has exceeded supply so much that Nintendo considered canceling all advertising. Whole websites are devoted to searching online retailers, minute by minute, to track down elusive stocks. Discussion are ranging in online communities such as The Motley Fool and MoneySavingExpert about how to get hold of a Wii. Is is worth flying to the US or taking the Chunnel across to France in the hopes of picking one up there? On eBay Wiis are selling in crazy volumes, and sometimes crazy prices.

So, if Wiis are in such short supply that people are considering trading in their first-born child for one why are we baffled? Well, because had we not read these news stories and seen the online discussions here in Cyprus we wouldn’t know there was a shortage. Why not? Well, ‘cos there are plenty on the shelves, obviously! The electrical concession in one of our local supermarkets has three on display. When we asked if they were displaying empty boxes the staff were a little bemused.

No, they are full. Why? We have more in the storeroom if you want more than one and we will get more supplies next week

The price? £169CYP (£206GBP) against a UK recommended retail price of £178GBP.

A trip to Nicosia ended up with us wandering through a newly built mall. The electrical store there had a stack of about nine on the stock floor. This time we didn’t even bother to ask if they were real. Apparently there’s no shortage in Cyprus.

Today we dropped into our regular supermarket to pick up a loaf of bread and a gas bottle. Yes, shopping can be a little different here! While we were paying we spotted another little stack of Wiis. And they were on sale, reduced down to £155CYP.

We can only assume that Nintendo didn’t fully understand their market. Here, home computing is not that common. Less than 10% of homes have a computer so perhaps home gaming is even less usual. The result is that while the UK seems to be getting tied in knots over whether little Jonny will get his Wii for Christmas, here they are being put on sale as there is no interest.

Strange times!

Wildlife and water

Well, the prayers for rain may have worked. After some light showers we now have torrential rain. This morning’s BFBS weather forecast predicted an inch or more of rain, gale force winds and heavy snowfalls over Troodos. Right now, as strong winds batter the house, the forecast is looking spot on.

So perhaps the water shortage is over? If so why do we have no running water today? Well, the most likely answer is that it’s part of regular (but random) maintenance where our supply gets turned off with no notice. Less likely is that it is part of a planned restriction, aka no water for four days a week to conserve supplies. Outside chance is that we’ve been disconnected because Mands hasn’t paid the bill, again.

Only time will tell ;-)

In other news we’ve been quartering the hillside north of Larnaca today. We were up in Kosi (pronounced Goshi with a soft G) trying to find a 5 mile trail for some runners and walkers. On the way back down the hillside we were buzzed by a huge bird of prey. Back in February we saw a juvenile Golden Eagle in the same area … today we think we may have seen the same bird as an almost-grownup.

Seeing a bird of that power and beauty at that range is absolutely fantastic. This website has a lovely photo of a juvenile in flight. The one today flew right over the front of the car at a height of about 10 feet.

It was an unexpected, but absolutely fantastic, treat.

Pray for Rain

In spite of some of our previous posts rain has been worryingly scarce this year. No rain over the summer is normal but since the arrival of autumn we’ve only seen about three showers.

Generally rainfall on the island has been low in recent years and usage has apparently increased. Warnings have been in place for much of the year that, unless more rain arrived or people reduced their usage, water rationing would be implemented.

That hasn’t happened yet but the situation is now so bad that the Orthodox Church has declared on December 2 we should all pray for rain.

Apparently the Archbishop has said …
“We are sure that if we all pray with deep faith the Almighty will heed our prayers; ‘Ask and ye shall receive, that your joy may be full’

The Minister for Agriculture was interviewed on R4’s PM programme on Friday. He was quick to explain that the Government had decided to build three more desalination plants. The R4 interviewer was kind enough not to ask about the 2 or 3 year lead time or to point out that such a decision would have been useful some time ago rather than, well, now.

So, the best plan we have then is back to praying for rain eh? Oh, and keeping fingers crossed as well. Maybe if we all arranged to wash our cars on the same day … would that help? Concentrating the power of Sod’s Law and all that?

Anyway, enough frivolity. There just isn’t enough water and, unless it rains soon, it’s going to be unpleasant. From what we’ve heard water rationing would mean that our water supply would be turned on for about four hours a day on three days of the week. Between those times we’d have to make do with the contents of our water tank on the roof. We’d like to think that we’re careful with water but it might be hard to make that last. Apparently some houses have two tanks to get around the problem. Sort of defeats the purpose, doesn’t it?

But there’s hope … right now storm clouds are gathering over Aradippou as we type. At least some rain looks likely, today at least. Whether it will be enough to solve the problem remains to be seen.

Just 30 days of water left ……..