After Earth - Film review

I thought I'd try & do something different - a film review.

This is one film that I had been looking forward to. The clips looked promising, the CGI looked good, storyline sounded new, but I was a bit dubious of the main casting. & unfortunately my doubts were correct. 
As director, M. Night Shyamalan, had his work cut out, and to a point succeeded, but was ultimately let down by the actors. Will Smith playing a stern emotionless father was not a good choice. He came across as dull, detached, & bored. His real life son, Jaden Smith, played his son in the movie, & his character bore the weight of the storyline, but his acting wasn't upto the task, leaving what had been a promising movie decidedly flat & lacking spark. The whole movie almost felt like a videogame  with Will Smith controlling what his son was supposed to be doing.

If this movie was aimed at the early-mid teen market it would do well,  as a SciFi movie, it fails.

My rating: 5 spikes out of 10 (for the teen market it would be more like 7 spikes  out of 10)

I'm Back... & so are Quinces!

Winter is starting to set in & that means its getting cold outside. Stating the obvious..
So what to do with the extra time that I now have on my hands...? 
Ok, for a start I'll get this blog going again, but its going to be slightly different. Most recipes are going to be for one, for someone important - me :) They may not be the prettiest or most complex of dishes, but so what? Everyone has to eat, even if it is by yourself.

So, as quinces are in season I thought I'd buy a couple & cook them up.
Rather than baking them or using a saucepan, I thought I'd try the slow cooker, & it worked!
Simply peel, quarter & core two quinces, place them in the slow cooker along with 200g of vanilla sugar* or plain sugar, a stick or 2 of cinnamon, two crushed cardamon pods, a star anise, & just enough water to cover the quince. Also add the cored bits from the quince - adds to the flavour!
Turn the slow cooker on high till it starts bubbling, then switch to low until the quince are cooked. Then turn off the slow cooker & allow the quince to cool.
Simple, & fuss free. 

*I had a vanilla pod which had dried out too much, so I cut it up, threw it in a blender along with 500g or so of caster sugar & blitzed it - Vanilla Sugar is now ready

Damn... A year since I've touched this blog. Me Bad :(