The challenge: To make “Really easy mushroom risotto”
Cost per person: £2.60
Time to prepare: 10 minutes
Time to cook: 30 minutes
Overall rating (out of 5): 5
The recipe (serves 4)
Ingredients:
250g assorted mushrooms
350g Arborio rice
2 tbsp olive oil
150ml dry white wine
1 onion chopped
2 pints hot vegetable stock
2 garlic cloves finely chopped
2 tbsp chopped fresh parsley
25g butter
salt and pepper
Grated parmesan to serve
Method:
1. Heat the oil in a large, heavy based saucepan and add the onion and garlic. Fry over a gentle heat for 2-3 minutes, until softened.
2. Add the mushrooms and fry for a further 2-3 minutes, until browned.
3. Stir in the rice and coat in the oil. Pour in the wine and simmer, stirring, until the liquid has been absorbed. Add a ladleful of the stock and simmer, stirring again, until the liquid has been absorbed. Continue adding the stock in this way, until all the liquid has been absorbed and the rice is plump and tender.
4. Stir in the parsley, butter and salt and pepper. Serve with freshly grated Parmesan.
The verdict
Sam loved this recipe: “It was so easy to do, it only takes half an hour, but there is a lot of stirring involved (I have a sore arm from all the stirring!!). It was absolutely delicious, even my fussy boyfriend was impressed!”
Tip: Use decent wine for the recipe. You can find some really great offers on wine at the moment in most supermarkets, and is worth spending as much as you can afford on a good bottle. Plus you get to drink most of it as only 150ml goes in to the dish…!
Sheffield’s biggest free music festival Tramlines is back next month and we can’t wait!
Following on from its success last year, Sheffield’s free urban music festival is upon us once again and hopes to attract over 50,000 people this time around. With over 50 venues across the city including the main stage on Devonshire Green and new additions Leadmill and o2 Academy confirmed, this summer is set to be a scorcher and will be a guaranteed fix for all you music lovers out there!
Tramlines will take place Friday 23 – Sunday 25 July 2010 and has something to offer for everyone, regardless of your musical tastes with performances covering a range of genres and activities aimed at all ages… so get yourself down!
The acts this year have been confirmed including headliners Echo and the Bunnymen, Mystery Jets, Craig David and Annie Mac. Alongside these stars you will get the opportunity to sample some of Sheffield’s finest unsigned bands and artists and who knows, you may even spot the next Arctic Monkeys!
When Tramlines was first set up in 2009, it gave itself the ambitious task of creating an Urban Glastonbury, a cultural experience for everyone which would celebrate the city’s diverse and individual inhabitants.
Dave Healy, One of the Festival Organisers at Tramlines said: “We have made no secret of our admiration for Glastonbury. One of the things that makes that festival so special is the sheer variety of entertainment on offer. So our mission with Tramlines is to include as many different performing spaces and promoters into the festival as we can. It’s a free music festival so our budgets don’t stretch as far as our ambitions but this is where Sheffield comes into its own. Venues of all shapes and sizes have joined in making this year’s festival bigger, better and more diverse.”
Anyone who went to last year’s Tramlines will agree the guys did good and with promises of an even more exciting and exhilarating party this year, who knows where Tramlines will take us?!
For more information on the festival why not add them on Facebook by clicking here.
See you at the main stage!
**If you like things that are fast or free like Tramlines, check out our new FREE broadband for next year by clicking here
After plans for the Halo movie fell through, Peter Jackson went to Neill Blomkamp and offered him $30 million to make whatever he wanted. This was the result.
Oscar nominated? Normally the typical sign of a snore-fest. However, District 9 is a pretty fun ride. The thriller is presented in a mockumentary style from the opening and that gives it a little more charm. You get to identify with Wikus Van Der Merwe (Sharlto Copley), the main character who we follow right through to the bitter end.
District 9 sees a world or at least a part of the world, where aliens living on the same planet as humans is seen as the norm. Wikus, working with the government, polices their activity and stumbles upon an unknown alien object which starts to have strange effects on him. If you’re not interested now, you probably close this page and go rent Steel Magnolias or something.
The story moves along at a rather quick pace so much so that the opening scenes feel too rushed. It does keep you hooked all the way though to the epic final scene though. The visuals are stunning. The CGI is flawlessly realistic, the aliens (or ‘prawns’) didn’t look as computer-generated as I’d initially anticipated and the various explosions, bloody battles and shoot-outs are brilliantly entertaining.
The $30million budget is surprising considering the film looks like the budget was considerably higher, I was simply amazed with the special effects and would probably go as far as to say that this is one of the best science fiction films of the decade. I don’t give a five-star rating often, but it really couldn’t be recommended more.
Poppy? Pretentious? Too chilled, or maybe too damn strange? Accusations against Foals will come from all angles, especially on a new album with such expectation resting on it. It is well documented how Yannis Philippakis felt that Antidotes was not the album they wanted to record (despite being loved by pretty much everybody), so by all rights this album should be absolutely astounding . It’ll have to be to please an audience waiting for a creative and atmospheric experience as much as a pop record.
Where Antidotes was a discussion, Total Life Forever is a statement; better organised, sensibly constructed with good ideas in the right places and a collection of rhythms, riffs and hooks to get you, well, hooked. That slight element of freneticism is gone but in its place is all the proof you need that a lively song needs to rack up the BPM. There are 6-minute singles painting desolate landscapes and shorter instances of angular, maze-like intricacy driven through at a dangerous tempo for the limbs but the satisfaction in them is the time allowed for extravagance. Call it pretentious, but the three minutes of fairly repetitive crescendo at the end of ‘Black Gold’ are what allows ‘Spanish Sahara’ to create such a variety of sound in a much more restrained atmosphere after it, and in turn it is that which opens us up to ‘This Orient’ complete with fully discernible chorus, tick-tock drumbeat and a catharsis of a guitar riff bounding out of restraints. The visual nature of this album, as well as its impressively varied sonic accompaniment, strikes you like a film moving before your eyes; Jimmy Smith’s tidal guitar softly moving up against Yannis’ whispering and howling, all tied up by Jack Bevan’s heart murmur drum kit which beats about in a way to terrify cardiologists nationwide.
It’s kind of hard to know what’s going on at times, distinctly reminiscent of a cool party you’ve been invited to but all the kids are dancing in a pretty strange way. Is this intended? Are they just enjoying being themselves or acting up? ‘After Glow’ is where you’ll fall into the trap and join in. 6:09, a semi-trance synth opening built upon by that same ticking guitar and rolling vocal swinging one way to haunting and back around to comforting, and yes that is your head just nodding along without really knowing why. ‘Miami’ struts calmly along and is the sound of Foals enjoying themselves. ‘Alabaster’ is like an Edgar Allen Poe story interpreted by the Mystery Jets and you want to say on some kind of narcotic but this is far too clever; there is no complacency or room for relaxation. You could ignore the whole album first time and feel like you know each song when it comes back around, but don’t be fooled by the first time listen. There is the temptation to say they’ve relaxed, lost their edge or have even got a bit boring. But those aspects are not lost, they have been reined in and controlled into tense rhythms with actual singing and lyrics replacing the sometimes pointless raving they occasionally lapsed into.
Maybe it’s because I’m a huge fan anyway, there are few live bands who can set off an audience like Foals, but I was sold on the first listen. The second I was interested more and contemplated it. By the third I thought it was brilliant. Where Bloc Party tried to make singles and Editors got far too heavy for their own heads, ‘Total Life Forever’ moves along at its own pace and dictates its purpose to you. It’s essentially something to listen to loud in a bedroom and experience in entirety because, kill me for getting sentimental, it will take you on a journey. Whatever you’re looking for from Foals, this album will bring it to you eventually, but it might not be in the place you expect it.
Total Life Forever is released through Transgressive Records on 10/5/10. You can view the video for lead single ‘This Orient’ below.
“Content provided by Faux Magazine. This article was simultaneously posted on ireadfaux.com. For more information on Faux visit ireadfaux.com or find Faux Magazine regionally throughout the UK”
Following on from the theme of “Fast and Free” we got thinking about exactly how much it is that our privilege card holders could save each week, even we were surprised!
Monday; we tottered off to Vodka Revolution to treat ourselves to lunch and take advantage of for 2 for 1 offer. We saved £6.95. Result!
So happy with that off we went to the Common Room for some pre club drinks, £1.80 a pint for four of us, £1.60 in the pocket saved, loverly jubberly!
That got us in the mood for a bit of a boogie and not wanting to queue we wandered down to the Leadmill, walked past the waiting punters with our cards, 25 extra minutes to enjoy the night… thank you!
Tuesday; In need of a little pampering after the night before a hair cut was booked at Toni & Guy, who wants to pay full price? Not us! 20% off please, £3 saved!
A chilled night in front of the TV was in order next, nothing in the fridge? Papis Chinese it is then! 20% off all our order, tasty saving of £3.60.
Wednesday: midweek dawned and Pizza Express for lunch was on the cards, 2 for 1 offers were available to us so we took full advantage! Two starters, two main courses, whopping saving of £11.20!
Chuffed with change in our pockets we decided to head to Riley’s Pool and Snooker hall and paid for 2 hours and got the 3rd free, 3 for 2 on all bottles and we got free membership! Total saved – £8.70.
Thursday; So nearly the weekend it was only right we ended up at the Tequila Bar for 2 for £5 cocktails and 2 shots for £1, cheap as chips! Totaled saved – £5.75
Nipped to SOYO, no queueing here either, excellent! Saved 20 minutes and didn’t have to twiddle our thumbs waiting to get in, cracking!
Of course we then wouldn’t want to queue at Plug for Jump Around either, guess what? We didn’t have to! Straight in! Danced our socks off, slept like a log that night!
Friday; Weekend is here!!!! Straight to Freshman’s for some new threads,15% off with our card and saved £3.75 on a new shirt, can’t argue with that!
Looking pretty dapper we headed down to the Old House and the Forum for drinks and saved £2, finished off with a trip to Corporation and with an entrance fee of just a quid we considered ourselves pretty well done by! £4 saved!
Saturday; The folks came up with visit and we were able to take advantage of our discounts at the Holiday Inn Royal Victoria and saved them a tidy sum of £20 on the room as well as 15% off food so we saved £5.34 on our lunch there too.
Sunday; Headed off to the Ski Village today and with 2 for 1 on skiing for four of us skiing for 2 hours we saved a colossal £59.20!!!!!
Two hours on the slopes worked up a massive appetite so before they headed home we nipped to the fantastic Nawaab Indian Restaurant and used our card for the “buy two meals, get the third free” offer saving us £9.90!
Have you been totting up our savings? No? Good job we did then. Drum roll please… in one week of using our privilege card we saved…..
£144.99!
Yes, that’s One Hundred and Forty Four POUNDS and Ninety Nine PENCE!
Need any more persuading to take advantage of your privilege card savings? Thought not!
Fast and Free, two words we blooming love up here in Sheffield. If there’s something we can get that won’t cost us a penny… we are always after bargains and “owt for nowt” which is why our city is such a great place to live in.
Don’t get us wrong, we aren’t stingy but why shell out loads of dosh when there’s plenty of things to do and see for squat and discounts galore if you know where to look!
At The Pinnacles we offer FAST AND FREE broadband and IPTV, that’s right… ZERO pounds and ZERO pence to you. Not only that but with our amazing offers available to our residents with their privilege cards you’ll be racking up the savings left, right and centre.
Here’s a quick lowdown on a few beauts you can take advantage of this summer:
Creative Sparks Exhibition, Sheffield Hallam – 29th May-20th June (free)
Peace in the park (free music and arts festival) – Sat 12th June
National Bike week. Fast and free! Email travelplans@sheffield.gov.uk for info
SHU racing team. If you’re an engineering student at Sheffield Hallam you could join the team (fast and free, and can help your degree!)
Toast Magazine; great free magazine you can pick up in bars and shops all over town.
The Metro; jump on any public transport and you can nab this informative local rag.
The free Sheffield/Rotherham bus!
Tramlines Festival – 23rd July – 25th July. Gigs all over town, main event on Devonshire Green and completely FREE. Echo & The Bunnymen headlining along with Simian Mobile Disco! http://www.tramlines.org.uk/
And let’s not forget the huge array of savings you can pick up using your privilege card: 20% off with Toni & Guy, 2 for 1 meals at Vodka revolution, 15% off at Freshmans, 2 for 1 at Sheffield Ski Village, £1 entry at Corperation plus much, much more!
There’s fast as well; with your privilege card in hand you can queue jump at SOYO and Plug. Queuing is not for Digs residents!
Sheffield is an amazing city to live in, a fantastic community and a place that keeps on giving. You’ll never be bored, never have nothing to do if you’re skint and always find people that love a bargain just like you. So what are you waiting for? Make our city, your city.
After about 10 minutes of viewing, it became clear to me that It’s Complicated seems like it’s going to be a cliché-ridden, lovey-dovey romantic comedy aimed at 40+ adults. Maybe that’s why I didn’t enjoy it very much.
I only gave It’s Complicated a view because I like Alec Baldwin in the sitcom 30 Rock and I figured he’d bring his comedic charm to this movie. How wrong I was. Although Baldwin is usually quite a funny guy he’s not exactly on fine form here. Although he does get a few witty one-liners they’re not enough to save the movie.
In truth, It’s Complicated has quite a dull and slow-moving storyline and nothing much of interest happens to keep you entertained. The character development takes up two-thirds of the movie and the last thirty minutes are really where everything happens.
Surprisingly, Steve Martin emerges as the highlight of this movie, despite the fact he plays a significantly smaller part than Streep and Baldwin. But it’s not the comedic element of the movie that he shines in, although not through lack of trying. He well and truly shows that he is past his comedic prime but he does deliver a good performance.
Now this may just be because I’m not the target audience for this movie, but the scenes (and there’s no shortage of them) where Streep and Baldwin are half-dressed aren’t too appealing. In fact they’re a little disturbing. With the exception of those scenes, the remainder does feel like a made-for-TV movie, seemingly following all the clichés and ticking them off on the way. All-in-all the trailer is pretty much the best part of the movie, it packs all the laughs of the movie into a 2- minute clip. I’d recommend just heading to YouTube to watch the trailer.
RATING: ★★
This review was brought to you by Ryan one of our Storthes Hall Park residents and film review extraordinaire. You can check out his page here.
It’s weird to think that Marina & The Diamonds have been performing live for well over a year now. First witnessing Marina’s incendiary live show at Camden Crawl 2009, I’ve frankly been hooked ever since. As far as live performers go, she’s one-of-a-kind, a combined whirlwind of energy, emotion and dynamism that truly defines the live experience. Having said all that, she’s now a year into a pretty heavy touring schedule, arguably struggling to escape the shadow of friend and BBC Sound Of 2010 winner Ellie Goulding, but already piecing together her second, darker LP. Would Marina manage to stun a packed-out Leeds Met?
First however, was much-hyped support act Spark. Gaining a credible following through her slots on the rest of the tour, by this, the last date, her show was really showing polish. For a girl that finished college only a few weeks before, she performs astoundingly, flaunting herself in the way that only a future pop temptress can. The songs themselves are glorious cascades of pop, taut and writhing beasts that manifest themselves as future radio smashes at each and every turn. Managed closely since 2008, she’s clearly destined for a bright future.
And so it begins. Swathes of smoke, overly atmospheric intro music, projections onto the back of the stage; it’s a much more full-blown affair than previous show, but then this is a Marina Diamandis riding the back of glowing album sales and press, ready to blow Leeds away. And blow she does with set opener Girls, a stomping storm of agitated instrumentation and equally frentic dancing. Launching from standout album tracks such as ‘Obsessions’ through to the pure-pop energy of ‘Hollywood’ or ‘Oh No!’, Marina shows all the charisma, energy, vibe and vitality of a pop princess. There is, for me, no denying the fact that she is one of the stand-out performers of the last few years, if not the decade. There, I’ve said it. That effortless combination of charisma, confidence, and unabashed showmanship is utterly infectious, deliciously organic, and brilliantly excecuted. If pop wears a crown, it’s Marina’s for the taking.
Marina’s debut album The Family Jewels is out now on 679/Atlantic with her next single, ‘Oh No!’, featuring remixes from Faux favourites Andy George & Jaymo among others out July 26th. Spark releases her debut single, ‘Shut Out The Moon’, on 12th July.
By Liam Haynes.
“Content provided by Faux Magazine. This article was simultaneously posted on ireadfaux.com. For more information on Faux visit ireadfaux.com or find Faux Magazine regionally throughout the UK”
