Just found this recipe at gourmet.gr. It’s for Kushari which is a dish very popular all over Egypt. We ate it continuously when we were there - very tasty and cheap! Monday is a Bank Holiday here, so we’re going to have a go cooking it for lunch! I’ll let you know how it comes out.

Kushari (Lentils, rice, and macaroni mixture)

1 cup brown lentils
1 cup rice
1 cup uncooked macaroni
2 large onions, chopped
2 Tbs oil
2 cups tomato sauce
hot chili (optional)
salt

Cook lentils in salted water until tender. Strain. Cook rice in salted water until tender. Strain. Cook macaroni, preferably the small, round variety, strain, rinse, and strain again.

Place lentils, rice, and macaroni in a cooking pot. Fry onion in the oil until rich brown, then remove the onions onto absorbent paper and strain the oil into lentil mixture. Return the pot to the flame and cook for 7-10 minutes, tossing often to prevent sticking.

Serve by topping each individual plate with tomato sauce and fried onions. Sprinkle with hot chili.

Spring is in the air, and I finally got my last film back from the lab!

Some new stuff online therefore:

Pictures of our Easter trip to Paris.
Pictures of a recent weekend in Dover.

Not a huge amount new to report.

The weather here in London has been better of late, though many days are still grey and not terribly warm. Still, we’ve finally had our first genuinely decent days of the year after the most interminable winter on record, and for that I’m truly grateful.

I’ve been spending most of my time pretty quietly these days - mostly DIY and trying to save a bit of money. The house is coming on well, though the number of jobs outstanding seems to stretch away before me endlessly. I’ve had all the windows replaced and am in the throes of replacing all the floors. I’ve just today learnt that I have survived a round of restructuring at work - a bit of a shame really since I rather fancied the redundancy money!

On the entertainment front, went to see M:I:3 on the weekend. Silly, but good fun. Also made the mistake of watching Mr and Mrs Smith on DVD against my better judgement (Claudia’s call, honest!) Easily the worst film of the year, probably the last decade. Avoid. Took Claudia to see Les Miserables for our anniversary (first time I’ve seen it) and was suitably impressed. Not quite as good as Phantom perhaps, but definitely a close second. Finally, Claudia bought us tickets to see Madame Butterfly next month for my birthday, so looking forward to that!