Friday 26 October 2012

Easy Tasty Herby Roast Potatoes

EASY TASTY HERBY ROAST POTATOES  (4 people)



4 large or 6 medium potatoes - wash and peel
4 fresh rosemary sprigs
1 large onion - slice lengthways in half, then slice downwards in long slithers
half tsp onion salt
2 tablespoons olive oil

- Heat oven to 200C
- Cut potatoes across and lengthways, and keep in large chunks (about 1 inch x 1 and a half inches)
- Put potatoes in baking tray
- Add olive oil
- Chop rosemary finely, but unevenly, leaving some pieces quite large
- Add chopped rosemary to potatoes
- Add onion slithers
- Add rest of ingredients
- Mix thoroughly with hands
- Put in oven and cook for about half hour, turning potatoes after 15 mins to even the browning.
- Stick in a sharp knife to make sure they are cooked.

** Please Note, these are very morish. Do a few more potatoes than you would normally do. They're also lovely when eaten at room temperature or cold.

Thursday 18 October 2012

Marilyn's Very Tasty Quick Paprika Chicken Wedges

Serves 4

3 large chicken breasts (boneless)
1 tablespoon oil (vegetable or olive)
half teaspoon onion salt
2 cloves crushed garlic
2 teaspoon paprika
1 tablespoon soy sauce

- Switch on oven to 180 C.
- Wash and cut chicken into wedges no thicker than half inch at the thickest point.
- Put it into a heavy baking tray
- Add all the other ingredients
- Using hands, mix thoroughly till all pieces are coated
- Leave to stand for 20 minutes, if you have time
- When oven is heated, cook in the middle shelf of oven for 20 minutes, or until cooked but pieces are still soft.

(To check if cooked - Stick a sharp knife into the thickest part of a few of the pieces. If you have no resistance, and no liquid runs out, it is cooked.)

Friday 5 October 2012

COMPETING CHARACTERS

Having reread the whole novel straight through, some of the errors shout out at me.

One of those errors, is having the secondary character competing with the main character, with the threat of taking over the plot.

Latchmin, the Main Character is 11, and too obedient. She is coming across as good, but not interesting. The secondary character, Sumati, 14, is stronger, wild, and wilful, and inevitably, her plot line is more interesting.

I have decided to change the plots slightly, and now put the two girls, Latchmin and Sumati parallel to each other. Basically, they both have the same problem, but they each deal with it differently. I am bringing them closer in age too, to even things up- maybe 12 and 14.

Here are some of their differences:-
Latchmin comes from a wealthy home. Sumati comes from a poorer home.
Latchmin has educational goals. Sumati has matters of the heart forefront in her mind.
Latchmin does as she is told. Sumati does what she wants to do, disregarding what she should do.
Lathcmin appears weak. Sumati is strong without a doubt.
Latchmin is reactive. Sumati is proactive.

I have a problem... Latchmin is in danger of being overshadowed by Sumati in the book. That must not happen.

Therefore, I am rewriting Latchmin so that the reader sees more of her Point of View, so as to identify more with her - her fears, her thoughts and her weaknesses. She is afraid that her parents will force her into early marriage. Her main weakness, is that she is too obedient, but that also means that she does the right thing. She also has a strong view of right and wrong.

In the end, Latchmin's strengths must be greater than her weaknesses.

But in the beginning, Latchmin must draw in the reader with her plight - she has a grave illness - a killer.