When I awoke yesterday morning, it was to the strains of a Good Friday hymn played a minute or so before the 7.00am news to remind us all that we are well and truly into the Easter period. My U3A trans-Atlantic friend has been designated to read some of the lessons in the many church services and I believe that many of the churches collaborate in a religious procession in which a cross is dragged through the streets of Bromsgrove. For my own part, I looked in the media sections of the Sunday newspaper to discover that Bach’s Matthew Passion is to be broadcast in its entirety from 1.00pm-4.00pm this afternoon and I shall certainly listen to this in its entirety. I have started to think in earnest about the breakfasts I have each morning and decided to follow a recipe to which I had been alerted on the back of a packet of porridge oats. The recipe called for some maple syrup (of which I just happened to have some) to be blended with some plain Greek yogurt and whole milk before a serving of rolled oats is stirred in and then the whole left in the fridge overnight. Then in the morning, I will probably need to add a bit more milk, yogurt and some fruit topping. I sought an explanation for this preparation and this is what I found. Yogurt and oats are left in the fridge overnight to allow the raw oats to fully absorb the liquid, transforming them into a soft, creamy, and pudding-like texture without cooking. This overnight soak makes the oats easier to digest, improves nutrient absorption, and provides a convenient, chilled grab-and-go breakfast. A key reason for the overnight fridge method include obtaining an optimal texture. While they can be soaked for less time, 6-8 hours ensures oats fully absorb the yogurt and milk, resulting in a thick consistency rather than chewy, raw oats. An additional benefit is improved digestion and nutrition as soaking oats in an acidic medium like yogurt helps break down phytic acid, making the oats easier to digest and allowing for better nutrient absorption. So I now I am appraised of the science behind the culinary preparation. Whilst having a brief moment of wakefulness during the night, I started to think how I might add some more protein to each of my breakfast meals. I will certainly have the oats plus yogurt mixture on two days a week and then I return from church on Sunday morning, I generally treat myself to a fried egg accompanying some spaghetti or beans on a slice of toasted sourdough bread. For the other four days, I can now plan variations around the other ingredients I have bought. One day I can have lean chicken breasts perhaps enhanced by some onion and avocado. Another day, I can have some shredded ham and so make myself a traditional ‘ham and eggs’ style of breakfast but I only intend to eat meat like this once per week. On another day, I can have some prawns that I bought and on the fourth day, I shall probably add some cheese to an omelette and that completes a rota for the week. When my son calls around, I shall discuss my ‘healthier’ eating options with him because I know that he and his wife are very well informed about such matters.
The morning has proved to be a quiet one. I popped down to get my newspaper as I know from bitter experience that supplies of things like newspapers can be a little ‘iffy’ on Good Fridays. I arrived back in time for my son’s visit and was delighted to give him the Easer eggs recently purchased for him as well as the ‘spider’ plant for his wife. Whilst my son was here, he did a little cutting job on some material that he was using to enhance his newly installed kitchen units. I had set myself to task of bring my very oldest iPad into use to assess what functionality it had left but my efforts were not really successful but it may be that there are sone videos in place on the use of older iPads which might be of some assistance for me. I made myself a risotto meal with some kippers purchased yesterday and as always, I tend to make enough for two meals rather than one so I now another meal in store for later on. In the late morning, I received some interesting news relating to my joining the U3A Curry club which is due to have an ‘elite’ meal next Wednesday. Initially this was over-subscribed but I was the first on a waiting list. But I received the news that someone has dropped out so I can now occupy the 20th place on the list next Wednesday. I let the organiser know when accepting the invitation that I had curry once a week since I was a student some 60 years ago although admittedly these tend to be of the home made rather than the restaurant provided variety. The news was broken in the afternoon that the US have lost an F5 fighter plane over Iran and the US has despatched a transport plane and a couple of helicopters in an attempt to locate and rescue the pilot and the navigator. The Iranians are claiming that the fighter jet has been shot down but the Americans have not (and may never) admit that this is the case. There is a massive race on the ground because if the Iranians manage to locate the crew before the Americans, then they can be deployed in a massive propaganda display (quite contrary to the rules of war, of course, but these have been torn up, by both sides for a long time now) The analysis given by the media pundits on Sky News is that Trump would have been warned, over and over again, that if Iran were attacked they would close the Straits of Hormuz, would attack American bases in neighbouring countries and that the loss of aircraft would happen even only accidentally in a conflict situation. There is the possibility that a rescue mission could endanger the rescue crews themselves but it has certainly given the story a new twist. Donald Trump, other senior US officials and their cheerleaders appear to be embracing attacks – and threats of attacks – on Iranian civilian infrastructure, which legal experts say appears to constitute serious war crimes under international law. In a rambling national address on Wednesday, the US president warned that if Iran did not reach an unspecified deal with him, US forces would ‘hit each and every one of their electric-generating plants’ and ‘bring [Iran] back to the Stone Ages – where they belong’. Amnesty International’s senior director of research, advocacy, policy and campaigns, said: ‘Intentionally attacking civilian infrastructure such as power plants is generally prohibited. Even in the limited cases that they qualify as military targets, a party still cannot attack power plants if this may cause disproportionate harm to civilians. Given that such power plants are essential for meeting the basic needs and livelihoods of tens of millions of civilians, attacking them would be disproportionate and thus unlawful under international humanitarian law, and could amount to a war crime.’