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Once you’ve made it once, you’ll never again need a recipe for banoffi – it’s a fantastically forgiving dish 
Step one, somewhat unintuitively, is the middle – the toffee. This basically involves cooking a can of condensed milk until it turns into caramel My mum always used to make this on the stove, but I never bothered to enquire about the details while she was still making my desserts. There’s plenty of scary stuff on the internet about exploding the cans, so I used the method described by Ian Dowding in his “Original Banoffi Pie Recipe“. Ian says that Banoffi wasn’t so much invented as it evolved, so I don’t feel too bad about the vast differences between his recipe and what I came up with…
Find a saucepan big enough to fit a few cans of condensed milk (gezuckert, available in Migros, yay!), but small enough to fit in the oven. You’ll need two cans for one banoffee pie, but it keeps for approximately forever Preheat the oven to 140C. Put the cans in the saucepan, and cover them with water. Boil the water on the stovetop, put a lid on the pot, and transfer it to the oven. Leave it there for 3.5h, and be very, very careful taking it out – it will be hot!
While that’s going on, you can make the base – empty a packet of biscuits into a freezer bag, and bash them up with a rolling pin until they’re just crumbs Melt up about 100g of butter, and mix it in with the biscuit crumbs. Fill the bottom of a (lined!) springform pan with the biscuit mixture, and let it settle.
When the toffee is ready – be careful, don’t slice your finger on the can! – empty two cans of toffee onto the biscuit base, and spread it around gently til the base is evenly covered in toffee. Slice the bananas, and lay them out on the toffee in a double layer. Sprinkle a little bit of lemon juice over the bananas if you have it, to make sure they don’t get brown too quickly. Clingfilm and pop it in the fridge until you’re ready to go.
When you’re ready to serve, whip up a pint of cream – with a small amount of instant coffee, if that’s your thing – and spoon it out over the bananas. Sieve a sprinkling of cocoa powder over the top, and you’re ready to go
Tasty++! And once you have the toffee made, it’s super-quick too… Just don’t even try to count the calories
Costigan Quist says he’s not taking the Ada Lovelace challenge. But I think he’s missed the point, and in my own rambling fashion, I’ll shortly explain why.
Before I do though, what is the challenge? Suw Charman-Anderson set up a pledge on PledgeBank, saying “I will publish a blog post on Tuesday 24th March about a woman in technology whom I admire but only if 1,000 other people will do the same.” Within a week, 1,000 other people signed up, and I can’t wait for 24th March, to read about all those amazing women! The pledge is still open to sign up, and there’s more about the background on the Finding Ada blog, if you’re interested.
Costigan says he’s not in, because the women he knows in technology are just as anonymous as the men. He says ‘all I can do is to say of someone “she’s achieved the same as a man, but she’s only a girlie – well done you!”‘. Which, to give him his due, he recognises as rather patronising I think he’s missed the point big-time though.
“Blog about a woman you admire” doesn’t mean “blog about someone you think should be famous”. There’s nothing wrong with being an unsung hero – or heroine! But women have a greater need for female role-models than men have for male role-models. And Ada Lovelace Day is about showing women that there are role-models out there. A role-model doesn’t have to be someone famous, or even necessarily the top of their field. A role-model is just someone who occupies a role to which you aspire. It’s someone who does something that you would like to be doing, or gotten somewhere that you would like to go…
Ada Lovelace Day isn’t about saying “she’s achieved the same as a man, but she’s only a girlie – well done you!”. I don’t even think it’s about giving the women we blog about their 15 minutes of fame. It’s about showing the women who need female role-models that those role-models exist. It’s about showing the men who need a role model – male or female! – that there are role-models out there for whatever it is you want to do, or be, or have. Maybe they are famous. Maybe they’re completely anonymous. Maybe they don’t even know that they are a role-model to someone. But they’re there.
Maybe what they’ve done is stupendous. Maybe it’s fairly ordinary. A recent example I came across was someone desperately wanting to know if there were any women who’d gotten promoted to a particular level while they had a young child, because the person asking could only find male examples of people who’d gotten promoted to that level while they had a young child. And there were women who could say “yes, I have”. And that made a difference. They were doing the same things as the men around them. They got their fair due. But this isn’t for those women. It’s for the people who are asking. Who want to know if it’s even possible. Who just need, on whatever level, to know that there are women out there who’ve done it.
And Costigan, even if it’s only namechecks, knowing that there are role-models out there makes a difference, to many, many people.
One of my Joost friends twittered the other day, with a message that I think bears repeating.
It doesn’t matter what happens to the banks, the economy, my job/house/savings. Every one of those things could disappear, and I’d still be better off than most of the world’s population.
With the Irish Budget announced yesterday, and the “economic climate” we can’t get away from, there seem to be a lot of people very worried about what the future holds.
What have you done today, to make the future better for the people for whom your worst nightmare is better than their greatest hopes?
In ten days time, Stephen and I will be moving to Zurich, Switzerland. Don’t be too surprised if you never got the memo – life’s been rather busy, and I never really had time to send it
Some quick answers to the questions I keep getting asked:
- I’ll be starting work as a Technical Writer in Google Zurich, and Stephen will be continuing the job he’s currently doing, from a new location. A technical writer is, according to Wikipedia, “a professional writer who designs, creates, maintains, and updates technical documentation”. I describe my line of work as translating between geek and English.
- Yes, the photos you’ve seen of the office are real – it has a fireman’s pole, and a slide, and meeting rooms that look like anything but. No, neither of us speak French or Swiss, but I speak reasonable High German, and if my experience in Munich is anything to go by, we’ll survive just fine with English anyway.
- We’re planning on being there for “a while”. We don’t really know how long just yet. It could be three years, or five, or fifty. Probably somewhere in the single digits, but we’ll see how it goes.
- Google have provided us with a generous relocation package, and the nice men will be coming to take our stuff away this time next week. Accommodation will be provided initially, as well as assistance in finding our own place.
If you’re around, we’re having a barbeque at my parents’ house on Saturday, starting around 4pm-ish. If you need directions, please let me know. If you didn’t get told about the date previously, sorry for the short notice, and please don’t worry if you can’t make it. We’re leaving, but Zurich really isn’t that far. You can come and visit us if you like, and I’ve already got my tickets booked for my first trip back home.
I’ve been enjoying twitter for a while now – but the ease with which it allows me to write down individual thoughts means that this blog has been rather neglected.
In the last few weeks though, I’ve been thinking more and more about the various bits of technology, none of them things that would have been available to my parents – or even to someone, say, ten years older than me – that make my life easier, more pleasant, more fun. There are so many of them that it’s hard to know where to start, but these are just a few of my favourites.
When I was born, contraceptives were only available on prescription in Ireland. At first glance, you might say “but that’s still the way” – after all, you still need a prescription for the pill. But in January 1985, you needed a prescription for any kind of contraceptive (other than, presumably, the rhythm method/abstinence!). Earlier this year, I got the last contraceptive prescription I hope to need for a long time – and had an Implanon rod embedded in my arm. It took me a couple of weeks to get used to it, and probably a month before I completely stopped worrying about it popping out through my skin! But I’ve found it an absolute dream since then – and it’s one of the things that makes me so glad to live in the age I live in
When I was a very small child, I got my first pair of glasses. I believe mum still has them somewhere – they’d fit a medium-sized doll just about perfectly, they have amazing curls at the ends of the arms to keep them hooked over small ears, they’re just so funny to look at now! I’ve had all kinds of different glasses over the years – big, pink ones; small metal ones; frameless, full framed and half-framed… But apart from one short period after an operation, I’ve always worn glasses. So when I met Rosie in town and I wasn’t wearing any, she thought that maybe I’d had surgery! Not quite – although when I woke up this morning and could see clearly, I did begin to wonder myself! What I’ve got are “continuous wear” contacts – designed to be worn for a month at a time. I’ve only had them for a day or so at this stage, so it remains to be seen whether they’ll work out – but it’s definitely a change!
Finally, when I was growing up, one of the regular tasks that had to be done around the house was the hoovering. When I moved out, I discovered that it still had to be done, but now I couldn’t foist it off on my siblings every other week  I hate hoovering, but I also hate the dust bunnies that build up in the corners and under the couches. So yesterday, our new pet did its initial exploration of our living room & hallway. Animals aren’t strictly allowed in our apartment complex, but the landlord didn’t seem to mind too much when I explained that Poomba the Roomba would be coming to live with us. Poomba is a “vacuum cleaning robot”, and I’m in love! Not only does he uncomplainingly hoover, he also sings a happy little tune when he’s done, and a somewhat sorrowful one if he gets stuck! He can clean a (pretty large) room in about 45 minutes, and if he misses a spot, his spot-clean mode works wonders in just a few minutes. He does have a tendency to randomise shoes and scatter shopping bags, if they’re left out while he’s running around – but he’s definitely our new best friend!
The more I write, the more things and toys I think of that make the way I live so different to how it might have been if I’d been born at a different time. But for now, let’s just leave it that I’m so very glad to live in this time, in these places. Life is such an adventure!
Shane introduced me to the idea of CSS Naked Day via PlanetApache, and it’s today – so for one day only (unless I forget!), this blog is CSS-free.
I’ve been interested in the issues of designing websites that work well in non-standard/text-based browsers/readers etc since I started in uni. Although I’m not a design person at all, and my templates were all written by other people, I’m pleased to see that they’re still usable without CSS. (It’s something I usually check – but it’s been a long time since I changed theme). It does looks kinda funky, with all the text on one side, and the background image in the middle, but it really doesn’t seem that bad (to me!) in terms of information flow, browsability etc.
So, do you look good naked?
Just had the most wonderfully tasty pasta dinner… I’m not usually a fan of creamy sauces – but this was da bomb! Cooking time, approx 10 mins – which means it beats the socks off phoning for pizza too
Serves 4
Chop up three small onions, fry lightly in a small saucepan for a minute or two until softened.
Add 175g pancetta, fry for about five mins, until it all looks wonderfully juicy.
Add 250g garlic & herb cream cheese (think Boursin, although I used Tesco’s “light choices” one), and about 150ml milk – keep heating gently, and stir until the cream cheese melts into the sauce and stops being lumpy.
Put on the pasta at the appropriate point – at the beginning if it’s dried pasta, or while the pancetta is frying if it’s fresh pasta – so that it’s done at about the same time as the sauce.
Drain the pasta, mix in the sauce, and tasty’s your dinner
Later on today, I’ll be going to Trinity to pick up the DEPFA prize. Until then, it’s a normal workday… It’s not quite normal though – although I graduated months ago, there’s a sense that getting the prize will truly be the final word in that chapter. And while working at a startup brings plenty of trade-offs, I’m having a fantastic day today So I thought I’d catalogue some of the things I love about my job, and a little bit of how they relate to my education.
- I’m working with truly outstanding, top-of-the-line people, every day. When I started university, I was told I’d be lucky if 1/3 of my lecturers were superb, 1/3 were adequate, and 1/3 were awful. I think that ratio probably panned out over the years – some were better than others. At Joost, there’s just so much talent, everywhere, in all kinds of fields. I don’t know everyone in the company, so I’m sure there are Regular Joes hiding somewhere – but the ratio of brilliant:regular colleagues is pretty high.
- The job-spec is a springboard, not a box. One of the things that I loved about the IB was that the syllabus was meant to be a starting point, not an end. Only once in Joost have I come up against an “it’s not your job” barrier, and there were real, technical reasons for it.
- Flexibility is the reality, not some marketing blurb. I have a desk, in an office, on our office plan. There’s been a bit of movement recently, so I’m not exactly sure which one it is, but that’s not the point. When I go into the office, I head to where my team are, and I take over their couch. If anyone minds, they haven’t told me yet. I’m most comfortable working with the laptop in my lap, on either a low couch or a cushion on the floor – and that’s just fine. I get the odd “are you honestly comfortable there?”, but no one’s told me “you have to go sit at a desk”. Not once. This is an ultra-big-deal for me – flexibility has shaped my decisions for almost a decade, and it’s often seen as something one should “grow out of”, move on from. I chose the IB in part for its flexibility, I chose my degree almost entirely for its flexibility, and I have no intention of taking on a job where they tell me how to dress, what time to take my coffee break, or which way I should sit.
- There’s no “ism”s. I was asked a few tenuously-legal questions at interview, which did shake me up a bit. But despite that, Joost has an incredibly open and tolerant work environment. There’s fantastic diversity in the workforce – and yes, I think it makes the company better just by being that way. People from different backgrounds – culturally, politically, socially, technically – think differently, and that benefits Joost enormously.
I’m sure there’s more, but I’ll save them for another day. Too much cheer all at once could be dangerous
Having been invited to a couple of these in far-off lands (ok, maybe not that far…), I was delighted when an invite to an Irish Geek Girl Dinner landed in my inbox.
It’s definitely not invite-only, so if any of you ladies are interested in joining some self-identified Geek Girls for dinner on 27th February, head over to the Irish Geek Girl Dinner website to register!
Guys, you’re welcome too, but the official policy is that you should be invited by a woman who’s planning on attending – the idea being that the attendance is kept to people who want to be there because they’re actually interested in the organization. If you’re genuinely interested, I’m sure there won’t be a problem finding you an invite
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