Despite just having the one fast day last week, my body appears to have taken it upon itself to drop a chunk of weight. I'm 4.2 lbs down this morning. It all seems a bit odd to me; I wonder if I'm dehydrated or something.
A relatively quiet week for us - D is out on Friday playing snooker, but other than that, there are no plans which suits me fine. Now that winter is properly upon us I can think of few things nicer than settling down at home in front of our just-installed-this-year wood burning stove. With the cat by my side and a decent book to hand who needs to go outside?
So here's the plan for the week:
Monday - fast day, soup.
Tuesday - another Rafi's curry, this one called Ma's Paretal, made with chicken thighs, mushrooms and little cubes of butternut squash. Not sure that the latter, in particular, is a particularly authentic addition to curry, but never mind.
Wednesday - fast day, soup
Thursday - roasted aubergine macaroni cheese
Friday - probably some sort of prick and ping for me
Saturday - sweet and sour pork with egg fried rice. D thinks that he doesn't like sweet and sour, I hope to prove him wrong.
Sunday - beef stew. I don't think that beef stew is a particularly exciting thing, D hopes to prove me wrong.
Have a good week folks, and don't forget to crack out the Advent calendars,
Monday, 27 November 2017
Friday, 24 November 2017
Notes on Northumberland
We had a wonderful few days away at the start of this month, heading up to explore a little corner of Northumberland. It's not a part of the world with which either of us are particularly familiar, despite it not being that far away - we do have a tendency to bypass the rest of England and make straight for Scotland when we head North. But this year we decided to go for a bit of a change, particularly since we had already identified Raby Hunt as our Destination meal.
We booked a few nights, on my Mum's recommendation, at The Red Lion in Alnmouth. Prior to booking we knew nothing about Alnmouth and, having spent two nights there, can report that there is really not a lot to it. However, The Red Lion itself is a great little place to stay. It's a pub with rooms and, while the bar looks to be quite unassuming, it has a decent range of ales and proper Posh Crisps (always a good thing) while the kitchen turns out perfectly serviceable, albeit ginormous, dinners. I had two starters on the night that we decided to dine there, and found that to be the right amount of food; D was unable to finish his main course risotto. That aside, our room was gorgeous, with probably the comfiest bed I've slept in all year, and the breakfast was where the kitchen really came into its own - top notch, and cooked with far more care and attention than you often find in bed and breakfast venues.
As I said, not an awful lot else to Alnmouth - basically, a single street with the sea at one end. However, on that single street, a couple of doors down from TRL was a rather sweet little fish restaurant which I would not have any issue recommending to you if you happened to be in Alnmouth and in need of something to eat. Which is not to say I'd necessarily encourage a special trip. But Hooked, for Hooked it was called, served up some very well cooked fish indeed - my hake and D's sea bass were both absolutely spot on. Accompaniments were well judged and thoughtfully prepared. Our waiter did magic tricks at the table. There was sticky toffee pudding for dessert. Such things are all calculated to make me happy.
When we mentioned that we wanted to go to Alnwick (primarily to visit Barter Books which is the most wonderful bookshop that I have EVER SEEN and which seems to make all bibliophiles go slightly misty eyed) a couple of people mentioned the Treehouse and, indeed, one look at the website convinced D that I would insist on visiting there for lunch. Decor-wise, it is absolutely adorable if you are slightly twee at heart (I am). Just outside the Alnwick Garden, it is all wooden walkways and blazing fires and twinkling lights - the fact that it is a popular wedding venue came as no great shock. The food is fine but I think you're visiting (and paying slightly over the odds) for the ambience because they're not serving anything that a competent cook couldn't make at home.
The gardens, and the book shop itself are both fabulous though. I loved our day in Alnwick. I loved the next day, stomping along one of Northumberland's beautiful, pale stretches of coach, with Banburgh Castle looming up behind us. We also managed to squeeze in a trip to the Holy Island, driving across a causeway that was barely out from beneath the sea. There is obviously lots to explore round there, and it is an area with which I need to become better acquainted - particularly since I hope that there are some foodier finds to be made.
We booked a few nights, on my Mum's recommendation, at The Red Lion in Alnmouth. Prior to booking we knew nothing about Alnmouth and, having spent two nights there, can report that there is really not a lot to it. However, The Red Lion itself is a great little place to stay. It's a pub with rooms and, while the bar looks to be quite unassuming, it has a decent range of ales and proper Posh Crisps (always a good thing) while the kitchen turns out perfectly serviceable, albeit ginormous, dinners. I had two starters on the night that we decided to dine there, and found that to be the right amount of food; D was unable to finish his main course risotto. That aside, our room was gorgeous, with probably the comfiest bed I've slept in all year, and the breakfast was where the kitchen really came into its own - top notch, and cooked with far more care and attention than you often find in bed and breakfast venues.
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| Goat's cheese and vegetable stack at The Red Lion, Alnmouth |
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| Hake at Hooked, Alnmouth |
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| Sea bass at Hooked, Alnmouth |
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| The Treehouse, Alnwick |
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| Banburgh Castle |
Monday, 20 November 2017
MPM: 20th November 2017
I wrote this post yesterday and scheduled it to magically appear today. Or, at least, I thought that I did. The fact that it has not appeared and that literally no one knows what I am planning to eat this week (EMERGENCY KLAXON!) means I obviously failed. Bah.
It has been a tired, grumpy day so apologies in advance for a tired, grumpy post. In fact, do you know what? I'm just going to post a list of meals and then retreat back to bring tired and grumpy on the sofa. No reason for anyone else to have to deal with me.
Monday: chicken Xacutti with basmati rice - a freezer dive. We were originally supposed to be out this evening, so planned something quick and easy.
Tuesday: out
Wednesday: potatoes baked with cream and smoked cheese, fennel salad
Thursday: the only fast day of the week, soup
Friday: some sort of fish - to be decided on the day depending on what looks good at the fishmonger
Saturday: burgers
Sunday: roast chicken
It has been a tired, grumpy day so apologies in advance for a tired, grumpy post. In fact, do you know what? I'm just going to post a list of meals and then retreat back to bring tired and grumpy on the sofa. No reason for anyone else to have to deal with me.
Monday: chicken Xacutti with basmati rice - a freezer dive. We were originally supposed to be out this evening, so planned something quick and easy.
Tuesday: out
Wednesday: potatoes baked with cream and smoked cheese, fennel salad
Thursday: the only fast day of the week, soup
Friday: some sort of fish - to be decided on the day depending on what looks good at the fishmonger
Saturday: burgers
Sunday: roast chicken
Sunday, 19 November 2017
Recipe corner: tagliatelle with mussel butter sauce
For such a simple recipe, this looks bloody long when it's written out. Sorry. But if you like mussels, and pasta, and all good things, and if it pleases you to end a meal and have a glaze of butter about your lips then this is the dish for you.
I've already got a mussel pasta dish on here from years and years ago - I'll have to make it again soon to compare and contrast.
Ingredients
1kg fresh mussels (in their shells)
Small glass white wine
250g fresh tagliatelle
Tbsp olive oil
Shallot, finely chopped
3 cloves of garlic, crushed
Red chilli, deseeded and finely chopped
50g butter, cubed
Small handful fresh dill, chopped
Squeeze of lemon juice
Serves 2
Sort through the mussels, discarding any with broken shells. Remove the beards. Heat the wine in a large, lidded pan and when it just starts to simmer, tip in the mussels and cover. Cook for 5-6 minutes until the mussels are all steamed open, plump and glistening. Discard any that are closed and set the rest aside to cool slightly.
When no longer too hot to handle, remove the mussels from the shells and strain the winey juices. All this can, of course, be done in advance.
Bring a pan of salted water to the boil and, on a second ring, place a second pan (large enough to accommodate all the pasta) over a low heat and measure in the oil to warm.
Sweat off the shallot, garlic and chilli with a generous pinch of salt, then pour over the mussel juices. Reduce the liquid down by about a third. Start to add the butter a cube at a time, stirring well. Once all the butter has been incorporated you can throw in the mussels and dill.
Put the pasta in the now boiling salted water and cook for 3-4 minutes or per the packet instructions. Meanwhile, taste the sauce - season and add a splash of lemon to lift it slightly. It may taste slightly salty at this point but this will balance out when eaten with the pasta.
Toss the tagliatelle through the mussel butter sauce and serve immediately.
I've already got a mussel pasta dish on here from years and years ago - I'll have to make it again soon to compare and contrast.
Ingredients
1kg fresh mussels (in their shells)
Small glass white wine
250g fresh tagliatelle
Tbsp olive oil
Shallot, finely chopped
3 cloves of garlic, crushed
Red chilli, deseeded and finely chopped
50g butter, cubed
Small handful fresh dill, chopped
Squeeze of lemon juice
Serves 2
Sort through the mussels, discarding any with broken shells. Remove the beards. Heat the wine in a large, lidded pan and when it just starts to simmer, tip in the mussels and cover. Cook for 5-6 minutes until the mussels are all steamed open, plump and glistening. Discard any that are closed and set the rest aside to cool slightly.
When no longer too hot to handle, remove the mussels from the shells and strain the winey juices. All this can, of course, be done in advance.
Bring a pan of salted water to the boil and, on a second ring, place a second pan (large enough to accommodate all the pasta) over a low heat and measure in the oil to warm.
Sweat off the shallot, garlic and chilli with a generous pinch of salt, then pour over the mussel juices. Reduce the liquid down by about a third. Start to add the butter a cube at a time, stirring well. Once all the butter has been incorporated you can throw in the mussels and dill.
Put the pasta in the now boiling salted water and cook for 3-4 minutes or per the packet instructions. Meanwhile, taste the sauce - season and add a splash of lemon to lift it slightly. It may taste slightly salty at this point but this will balance out when eaten with the pasta.
Toss the tagliatelle through the mussel butter sauce and serve immediately.
Monday, 13 November 2017
MPM: 13th November 2017 (and more musings on intermittent fasting)
For the first time in a while, we managed to complete two full fast days last week and, as a result, the scales have started to veer downwards again which is good news. Monday is sort of the "official" weigh day which means that my "official" result is 1.2 lbs off - however, my lowest recorded weight of the week was 0.6 lbs below that.
None of these figures are stellar. I doubt that anyone is going to be particularly inspired by a two-stone-in-a-year loss. But I'm happy with it. Yes, I remember saying at the outset that I would be happy with a pound a week average and I've managed half that. But the important point is that it is steady, sustained weight loss. There have been loads of weeks where we've only fasted once or we've not bothered at all and on non-fast days, I've been eating normally - no food is forbidden, nothing is off limits. Because of this, I've noticed my habits improve; for example, I tend to eat quite small portions, I never feel the urge to clear my plate if I've had enough and I don't eat anything for the sake of it. These are all healthy habits. I feel like I've come a long way - even if the scales haven't.
Now, on to meal planning. We had a lovely week last week, culminating in an excellent rabbit pie with a proper, suet pastry crust. Absolute bliss with mashed potatoes, braised red cabbage and honey roasted carrots. I'm looking forward to some leftovers this week!
Monday: Fast day - soup
Tuesday: Spaghetti Bolognese (sauce from the freezer. As ever, we live in hope of one day seeing it empty).
Wednesday: Fast day (probably) - soup. D won't be able to fast today as he is going on a team lunch out. He said that he is still quite happy to have soup for tea, which gives me the opportunity to stick to a fast if I want to do so.
Thursday: D out - leftover rabbit pie for me.
Friday: As with last week, we're going to do a mystery fish type exercise, depending on what looks good in the market. The hake that D bought last week was served with delicious butter beans which I cooked with chilli and rosemary, which acted as perfect ballast (every time I eat beans I remind myself to have them more often).
Saturday: Home made pizza - we both get to choose a topping. I'm thinking maybe something with tiny cubes of roasted squash. Or perhaps a classic goats cheese and caramellised onions. Or punchy anchovies.
Sunday: A Diana Henry recipe from her Telegraph food column: baked sausages, apples and blackerries with mustard and maple syrup. She suggests serving with mash or jacket potatoes.
So an excellent week's eating. Hopefully I will manage to claw my way, alone, through a second fast and record enough of a loss on the scales to finally tip me over the two stone mark for the year. Wish my luck, and have a fabulous week!
None of these figures are stellar. I doubt that anyone is going to be particularly inspired by a two-stone-in-a-year loss. But I'm happy with it. Yes, I remember saying at the outset that I would be happy with a pound a week average and I've managed half that. But the important point is that it is steady, sustained weight loss. There have been loads of weeks where we've only fasted once or we've not bothered at all and on non-fast days, I've been eating normally - no food is forbidden, nothing is off limits. Because of this, I've noticed my habits improve; for example, I tend to eat quite small portions, I never feel the urge to clear my plate if I've had enough and I don't eat anything for the sake of it. These are all healthy habits. I feel like I've come a long way - even if the scales haven't.
Now, on to meal planning. We had a lovely week last week, culminating in an excellent rabbit pie with a proper, suet pastry crust. Absolute bliss with mashed potatoes, braised red cabbage and honey roasted carrots. I'm looking forward to some leftovers this week!
Monday: Fast day - soup
Tuesday: Spaghetti Bolognese (sauce from the freezer. As ever, we live in hope of one day seeing it empty).
Wednesday: Fast day (probably) - soup. D won't be able to fast today as he is going on a team lunch out. He said that he is still quite happy to have soup for tea, which gives me the opportunity to stick to a fast if I want to do so.
Thursday: D out - leftover rabbit pie for me.
Friday: As with last week, we're going to do a mystery fish type exercise, depending on what looks good in the market. The hake that D bought last week was served with delicious butter beans which I cooked with chilli and rosemary, which acted as perfect ballast (every time I eat beans I remind myself to have them more often).
Saturday: Home made pizza - we both get to choose a topping. I'm thinking maybe something with tiny cubes of roasted squash. Or perhaps a classic goats cheese and caramellised onions. Or punchy anchovies.
Sunday: A Diana Henry recipe from her Telegraph food column: baked sausages, apples and blackerries with mustard and maple syrup. She suggests serving with mash or jacket potatoes.
So an excellent week's eating. Hopefully I will manage to claw my way, alone, through a second fast and record enough of a loss on the scales to finally tip me over the two stone mark for the year. Wish my luck, and have a fabulous week!
Thursday, 9 November 2017
Raby Hunt, nr Darlington
Back in the days when D and I were young(ish) we used to turn to the Michelin guide a lot when picking restaurant destinations. I’ve always known what I like (most everything apart from rice pudding) and what I don’t like (rice pudding) when it comes to food, but when it comes to dropping a three figure sum on an experience, it’s as well to receive some wisdom and guidance.
As we’ve got older and fatter, we have become less driven to collect stars. And one of the reasons that we took agin them is the (to us) perceptible London bias. Despite the fact that I live in Yorkshire, I would always regard myself as a displaced Southerner, and, in general, roll my eyes at the chip on Northern shoulders when it comes to the national geographical divide. But I do concur that it seems to be far harder for restaurants outside the capital to trouble the hallowed pages of the Michelin guide and wonder if not all standards are created equal. Thus, when a restaurant in the wilds of the North East is awarded two stars we cannot help but take notice since it flies in the face of all our huffing and puffing.
And I can safely say that Raby Hunt, after a single, glorious dinner, has established itself firmly as one of my new favourite places to eat. Every single one of you reading this blog, wheresoever in the country you are situated (and I appreciate that many people live quite a long way away from Darlington) (and, in fact, some people don’t live in the UK at all so they’re even further away) need to get yourself over there. It’s not really handy for anywhere but that gives you an excellent excuse to stay over in one of the three, beautifully appointed, definitely not haunted rooms, and have a very good breakfast the next day.
The chef-proprietor, James Close, is not only self-taught but was, until the age of thirty, a professional golfer. In less than a decade he has marshalled a kitchen that prepares and sends out some simply extraordinary food which speaks of incredible instincts: an understanding of texture and flavour combinations that must be utterly innate. Much as I love dishes that fit within a shared culinary history, here, I really appreciated a sensibility that seemed unfettered by tradition. Flavour combinations were sometimes familiar, but sometimes absolutely not – the dish of razor clam with celeriac and almonds was nothing I had come across before and, on paper, doesn’t sound like it should work…and yet, in the eating was utterly extraordinary.
Jay Rayner’s 2015 review of the restaurant mentioned that the food was not as definitively of its place as, say, a L’Enclume and I would agree with that…there was a hint of wanderlust to the menu with ingredients and influences both drawn from across the globe. Potentially confusing and cacophonous in the hands of a lesser kitchen but here, it felt mischievous and exciting. So a crab taco was served in the same parade of little dishes as a mini New York deli sandwich, a lamb ragu nestled within a crispy Kuzu basket (which we think is some sort of Asian starch), the final dessert (mango, yuzu and coconut tart) was full of tropical sunshine…and it all made perfect sense. And, really, it’s a peculiarly British habit to shamelessly annex tastes from around the world – we’re a nation of culinary magpies. So perhaps I was wrong to say that Close is unfettered by tradition – perhaps it is the nomadic aspect of our culinary heritage that he is embracing here.
We went with my parents and, around the table, struggled to reach consensus as to the best dish (although for my money the razor clam was the star of the show. Also, I want all my chocolate mousses to be served with a hint of fruity black olive from now on). Suffice to say, throughout the fifteen course tasting menu, there was not a single duff mouthful. But, as ever with these places, the service is as much a part of the experience as the food, and that was perfectly charming too. Favourite moment: my Mum wondered aloud what a yuzu looked like and one was produced from the kitchen. Second favourite moment: when D bemoaned the lack of bread available for mopping up the remainder of his lamb gravy, a basket was duly brought. You can be sure he returned the favour by sending back a plate so clean that no further washing was required.
With so many wonderful places to visit and explore, and finite resources at our disposal, we sadly don’t get to revisit favourite spots as often as we would like. However, there is absolutely no way that this will be my last visit to Raby Hunt. I am beyond excited to see what this chef, an absolutely shining example of modern British cooking, produces next.
As we’ve got older and fatter, we have become less driven to collect stars. And one of the reasons that we took agin them is the (to us) perceptible London bias. Despite the fact that I live in Yorkshire, I would always regard myself as a displaced Southerner, and, in general, roll my eyes at the chip on Northern shoulders when it comes to the national geographical divide. But I do concur that it seems to be far harder for restaurants outside the capital to trouble the hallowed pages of the Michelin guide and wonder if not all standards are created equal. Thus, when a restaurant in the wilds of the North East is awarded two stars we cannot help but take notice since it flies in the face of all our huffing and puffing.
And I can safely say that Raby Hunt, after a single, glorious dinner, has established itself firmly as one of my new favourite places to eat. Every single one of you reading this blog, wheresoever in the country you are situated (and I appreciate that many people live quite a long way away from Darlington) (and, in fact, some people don’t live in the UK at all so they’re even further away) need to get yourself over there. It’s not really handy for anywhere but that gives you an excellent excuse to stay over in one of the three, beautifully appointed, definitely not haunted rooms, and have a very good breakfast the next day.
The chef-proprietor, James Close, is not only self-taught but was, until the age of thirty, a professional golfer. In less than a decade he has marshalled a kitchen that prepares and sends out some simply extraordinary food which speaks of incredible instincts: an understanding of texture and flavour combinations that must be utterly innate. Much as I love dishes that fit within a shared culinary history, here, I really appreciated a sensibility that seemed unfettered by tradition. Flavour combinations were sometimes familiar, but sometimes absolutely not – the dish of razor clam with celeriac and almonds was nothing I had come across before and, on paper, doesn’t sound like it should work…and yet, in the eating was utterly extraordinary.
 |
| Pastrami sandwich |
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| Razor clam, crab taco, mango and yuzu tart |
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| Chocolate, black olive |
We went with my parents and, around the table, struggled to reach consensus as to the best dish (although for my money the razor clam was the star of the show. Also, I want all my chocolate mousses to be served with a hint of fruity black olive from now on). Suffice to say, throughout the fifteen course tasting menu, there was not a single duff mouthful. But, as ever with these places, the service is as much a part of the experience as the food, and that was perfectly charming too. Favourite moment: my Mum wondered aloud what a yuzu looked like and one was produced from the kitchen. Second favourite moment: when D bemoaned the lack of bread available for mopping up the remainder of his lamb gravy, a basket was duly brought. You can be sure he returned the favour by sending back a plate so clean that no further washing was required.
With so many wonderful places to visit and explore, and finite resources at our disposal, we sadly don’t get to revisit favourite spots as often as we would like. However, there is absolutely no way that this will be my last visit to Raby Hunt. I am beyond excited to see what this chef, an absolutely shining example of modern British cooking, produces next.
Monday, 6 November 2017
MPM: 6th November 2017
We are just back from a lovely few days away in Northumberland (hence the lack of meal planning post last week). I say just back - we actually returned on Thursday but I have spent all my time since Lying Around and doing Nothing Much. Which has been very nice. I am not the sort of person who feels the need to fill my time with activities...sometimes this makes me feel guilty, most of the time I just embrace the sloth.
Exciting moment this morning though - I have actually managed to lose a [tiny] bit of weight over the last fortnight, which means that today I weighed in at my lowest point so far this year. Which has given my enthusiasm for fasting a definite boost. I want to see new numbers on those scales, launch into Fresh Fat. Whether that is doable or not, especially given the time of the year, remains slightly doubtful, but I'm going to give it a good go (stay tuned to see if this enthusiasm manages to last more than, oh, a week).
So two fast days this week, and one midweek catch-up with one of my oldest and dearest friends at Leeds institution, Friends of Ham. Elsewhere:
Monday: Fast day - soup
Tuesday: Pasta with a mussel and chorizo sauce
Wednesday: Out (D says that he is going to raid the cupboards. I suspect that he may end up at the chip shop).
Thursday: Fast day - soup
Friday: Fish - we haven't got any further than that so far, as D is going to buy whatever looks nice in the fish shop and then we'll decide on appropriate accompaniments. To be honest, in the current climate I'm working on the basis that it will take a lot to dissuade me from a nice pan fried slab of crisp-skinned fish and a mountain of creamy mash.
Saturday: Chicken Xacutti with rice and naan bread
Sunday: D's famous rabbit pie. With yet more of the aforementioned creamy mash. God bless mashed potatoes.
Exciting moment this morning though - I have actually managed to lose a [tiny] bit of weight over the last fortnight, which means that today I weighed in at my lowest point so far this year. Which has given my enthusiasm for fasting a definite boost. I want to see new numbers on those scales, launch into Fresh Fat. Whether that is doable or not, especially given the time of the year, remains slightly doubtful, but I'm going to give it a good go (stay tuned to see if this enthusiasm manages to last more than, oh, a week).
So two fast days this week, and one midweek catch-up with one of my oldest and dearest friends at Leeds institution, Friends of Ham. Elsewhere:
Monday: Fast day - soup
Tuesday: Pasta with a mussel and chorizo sauce
Wednesday: Out (D says that he is going to raid the cupboards. I suspect that he may end up at the chip shop).
Thursday: Fast day - soup
Friday: Fish - we haven't got any further than that so far, as D is going to buy whatever looks nice in the fish shop and then we'll decide on appropriate accompaniments. To be honest, in the current climate I'm working on the basis that it will take a lot to dissuade me from a nice pan fried slab of crisp-skinned fish and a mountain of creamy mash.
Saturday: Chicken Xacutti with rice and naan bread
Sunday: D's famous rabbit pie. With yet more of the aforementioned creamy mash. God bless mashed potatoes.
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