Super fast custom Biryani

Not all the "required" biryani spices are included, but this was very tasty. This is a highly customised dish and I'll probably get a lot of backlash by calling it biryani - but hay, the end result was very biryani-like and very tasty.

You need:

• Beef cubes (or mutton if you prefer)
• Tomatoes
• Garlic
• Cloves
• Salt
• Black pepper
• Mr Dash mixed spices (I think the All Spices mix would work as well)
• Coconut oil
• A cup of rice.

Chop up the tomatoes into cubes and heat in a pot with low heat.

Add the salt and black pepper as well as the garlic.

Chop up the meat into relatively nice chunks, not too small, not too big.

Add the seasoning (Mr Dash) as well as the cloves to the tomato base as the last step before adding the meat. Not too many cloves, about half a teaspoon will be enough.

At this point, it's OK to cook the rice. I cooked the rice separately to get it "mostly cooked before adding it to the meat.

Under low heat, add the meat to the seasoned tomato base. Increase the heat to allow the meat to slightly sear. This should only be for about 5 to 10 minutes.

Then reduce the heat and allow it to cook very, very, very slowly.

It took me 1 hour to cook the dish. At about 50 minutes, I added the rice.

Of course, the dish can be made a little bit more complex by adding vegetables, or even cooking the rice with the meat and using a broth.

Another year older

Everything must change

Nothing stays the same

Everyone must change

No one stays the same

The young become the old

And mysteries do unfold

Cause that's the way of time

Nothing and no one goes unchanged

There are not many things in life

You can be sure of

Except rain comes from the clouds

Sun lights up the sky

And hummingbirds do fly

Winter turns to spring

A wounded heart will heal

But never much too soon

Yes everything must change

_________________________George Benson

I turned 51 on December 2nd, 2015. And it looked like it was just yesterday that I turned 50. Where did the year go? Absolutely frightening because for the first time, I'm looking back at the year and it seems like the accomplishments are few. The year disappeared while I was busy doing what?

Even my running seems to have suffered. No races this year. Not a single one, just wasn't motivated to get out and do the hard work. But I was working, on maintaining my technology career.

I've noticed that my patience with tasks has waned over time. I used to spend time drawing - and that takes both time and a lot of patience. I don't have the patience to work on a single drawing for hours and hours, taking pleasure in seeing the form grow, straining to blend colour and form, light and shadow. I'm slowly melding into the fast food of everything world. The "just get it done" world. A world that was very unfamiliar since stuff got done, but the urgency was never there. Or at least, it was never imposed.

And I don't just want to get things done. I want also to enjoy doing them. Making what I do a craft.

And so suddenly, in this 51st year. And only because it happened so quickly. I've started thinking about how much time I have left. Turning 50 was a breeze. That was nothing. I ran a 15k at a 5:30 min/k pace just to prove that the body was still intact. I'm now struggling to keep close to the 6 min/k pace. That's a 4 hour 14 minute marathon finish. And I'm still looking to finish a race close to 3 hours 10 minutes. At least under 3 hours 15 minutes. The dedication required to do that insists that I clock 100 k a week, and get that pace down to 5:30 - comfortably.

So I need a couple of things. Dedication and motivation and a complete change of lifestyle. Wealth must be accounted in terms of health, not money. My wealth should be how healthy I am. What I'm eating and how my body feels. The 3:15 finish can come in as early as next year, Fall races. But the dedication must start now.

Slow down. Pace it. Work on quality. Don't rush. Take time. Be really good!