Thursday, September 10, 2015

Communicating Honestly: Trickier Than It Seems

Honest communication. We'd all want that, surely?

Not so fast.

In reality we spend an awful amount of energy not communicating honestly, and those who do often find that those to whom they are communicating honestly, would rather they did anything but.



Sunday, September 6, 2015

Chicken, Bacon and Leek Pies With Tarragon


These look good enough to eat!

One for the #recipe file.

Edgar's chicken, bacon and leek pie.

Chicken, bacon and leek pie.
Pie filling:
3 tbsp butter
1 tsp olive oil
1 leek, thinly sliced
6 rashers bacon, chopped
600g skinless chicken thigh fillet, diced
2 big sprigs of fresh tarragon, can also use italian parsley with the tarragon.
½ cup plain flour
375ml chicken stock

Method
For the pie filling
1. Place butter and olive oil in a large pan over medium heat. Add leek and cook until softened,
about 2 minutes.
2. Add bacon and continue cooking for a further 5 minutes.
3. Add chicken and tarragon and continue cooking until chicken is just cooked through, about
another 5 minutes.
4. Add flour to pan and cook, stirring, for 1 minute. Add chicken stock  and bring
to a simmer, stirring continuously until sauce has thickened.
5. Season. Set aside to cool.
6. Roll dough out on a clean, lined bench to 2mm thickness and cut 6 circles of pastry to fit 7.5cm
base pie tins. Spoon filling into cases and cover with another layer of pastry.
7. Crimp the edges of the pie and place in the oven to bake until pastry is golden and crisp and

filling is cooked through, about 25-30 minutes.

Butter Pie Crust

Author: Bakepedia, recipe by Dede Wilson

Ingredients

For a Double Crust:
• 2½ cups all-purpose flour
• ½ teaspoon salt
• 1 cup (2 sticks) very cold unsalted butter, cut into small pieces
• 4 to 6 tablespoons ice cold water (or more or less as needed)

Friday, September 4, 2015

Shake Off The Pattern Of Ignorance

We all want to have an opinion but we often don't really know the facts of the situation. That leads us to have a view of the world that is not necessarily valid. The media don't present news as a way of showing the whole story, they promote - the sensational that will draw more eyes to view the story - and satisfy sales figures.

What is the pattern of ignorance? These videos will explore that and show you how to be more aware of the facts of the world and be able to make fact based decisions.


How Not to Be Ignorant About the World | Hans and Ola Rosling | TED Talks


           The Best Stats You've Ever Seen | Hans Rosling | TED Talks