Friday Five…desert island discs

So anyways, we got to talking in the partition this morning about desert island albums. You know the ones- those classic albums that if you were stranded on a desert island with access to power and a device that played music, you’d make sure that you had with you.

It’s a tougher question than you’d think. I first reached for Dire Straits Love Over Gold, but asked if I could add the track Brothers In Arms to the album. Apparently that’s outside the rules.

Then there was Damien Rice’s O– just how good is The Blowers Daughter?- but I’d also like to include 9 Crimes. I’d definitely take The Audrey’s Between Last Night and Us, White Ladder by David Gray, The Oil’s 10-1, and Sing When You’re Winning by Robbie Williams. After that I start to run into big questions- which Kylie, which Pet Shop Boys? Should I include Oasis (What’s the Story Morning Glory?) or some of my current faves?

Anyways…to the five:

What’s cooking…

I have an aromatic beef bone broth bubbling away on the stove. It all sounds a little Sarah Wilson-ish or paleo-ish but is, in fact, the base for a pho I intend to make for a girlfriend who’s coming for lunch tomorrow.

Besides, I admire Sarah Wilson a lot.

Pho is one of those soups that comforts the soul, and eases away any trace of lurgy- and with all the stress I’ve been under of late, and the fact that virtually everybody else in the partition has fallen victim to something snot laden (sorry…) I’m doing everything I can to stay healthy.

Any excuse will do.

I’m following a base recipe by Adam Liaw from Two Asian Kitchens. It’s a bit of a palaver to do from scratch, and if I lived closer to somewhere that does great pho (there are plenty of terrific places in Sydney, but none close to my suburb) I probably wouldn’t bother.

I also make a cheatie but very tasty version using a recipe from the website of ex Masterchef Mindy Woods. It’s healthy enough to be included on the Cooking the Books diet menu.

What’s not cooking…

Some mango puddings- also from the Adam Liaw book- that are busy doing the setting thing in the fridge. They’re a little like mango pancakes without the pancake…and very yummy.

What I’m reading…

I started Useful by Debra Oswald a few weeks ago, but left it at work. I found it yesterday when I was looking for something else….don’t ask- my desk is as chaotic as my brain. The other thing that happened yesterday was that my back fell out. Just. Like. That. I have a dodgy back, but it hasn’t fallen out like that for a long time.

I drove home from work in incredible pain and wedged myself into position for the remainder of the night with Useful. I’m loving it. Oswald’s characters jump off the page, and Sully is flawed, but man, am I cheering for him. The only downer? I suspect the dog is going to die, and I usually avoid any book or TV show or movie where the dog dies. But, Oswald did it when she killed Rocket in Offspring, so I figure she won’t have any qualms about doing it now. As an aside, that episode was, for me, even sadder than the Patrick dying episode.

If you’ve read the book, tell me what page it happens at so I can skip the tears.

What I’m looking forward to…

My friend visiting from Wellington next weekend. We have lots of eating and talking and drinking and talking and eating planned.

The most surprising thing that happened…

Thanks largely to my dodgy back, it’s been such a yucky week that I was struggling to find something to finish the “five” off…and then I picked up a marketing call from a Telstra rep. Yes, I’m hearing you groan, but this lady was just gorgeous. She told me about Telstra Air, and we had a lovely chat. Well done Telstra Call Centre in Adelaide.

How was your week? Do you have a desert island album I can steal?