I cannot tell a lie, when I weighed in this morning and the scales yielded me a mere 0.4 lbs loss, I was disappointed. I try to be very, very realistic about what I can expect on 5:2 but less than half a pound still stings. I'm hoping that now my digestive system seems to be settling down a bit, if I keep on with the old keeping on I will see a better result next week.
Talking of better results, yesterday saw me dip the very tip of my littlest toe back into the exercise pool. Long time readers might remember that we have a treadmill in our garage, purchased back in the days when D was a keen(ish) marathon runner. I've long been using every possible excuse to avoid venturing out there and climbing aboard, but given that it is clear that my 2018 Weight Loss Campaign needs a boost, I've done it. And by "it", I mean I completed the Couch to 5k week 1, day 1 workout, which is really more walking than anything else. Let's see if I can manage day 2 and 3 this week and maybe even reach the giddy heights of week 2.
Meal planning - we are out on Wednesday (a quick bite before a trip to the theatre) and on Sunday (lunch with the parentals). Today and Wednesday are fast days. There's not an awful lot else to plan.
Tuesday: Beef and fennel stew (from the freezer), mashed potato
Friday: Nigel Slater's fettucine with fennel and prawns - how adorably simple and delicious does this dish look? Perfect for an end-of-the-week-collapse-on-the-sofa supper.
Saturday: D is cooking two dishes from The Palomar Cookbook (a recent addition to our collection). He plans chopped liver followed by a deconstructed kebab. I shall be contributing homemade pitta breads to the proceedings.
Monday, 26 February 2018
Wednesday, 21 February 2018
Joro, Sheffield
D says that I would never make a professional restaurant critic because I am very bad at criticising places. And I get his point - I would rather not write anything at all if I have nothing nice to say. However.
There is loads and loads to like about Joro. But if I book a table for a tasting menu - which I have been told by the restaurant themselves takes around two and a half hours - then I rather object to having to vacate the table after two. Fair play to the server, he told us as soon as we arrived that they would need the table back at eight. And, owing to bad traffic across Sheffield we were about five minutes late arriving for our booking. And, I totally understand why restaurants turn tables - especially relatively new, popular restaurants who need to get bums on seats to generate revenue. But two hours was stingy, by their own reckoning; as a result, the pace of the meal was slightly quicker than I would have liked and we were not offered coffee (which, as it happened, we would both have appreciated). Clearly, the solution is not to book a table at six, but why should early punters be treated any differently to those who prefer to dine later?
Ooooh, deep breath. That was tough. Back to the fan-girl stylings to which my readers are much more accustomed. Because, as I said, there was loads to like here. The style is difficult to describe except to say it is very distinctly, typically, a certain type of modern British. Helpful, huh? They themselves describe it as "An urban restaurant influenced by nature" - which is fair enough. I would add that they are not constrained by any particular cuisine type, seeing as how the flavour profiles seemed to range across Europe and out to the Far East in scope.
The ten course tasting menu was considered, balanced and well executed with some dishes touching upon the sublime. Of the savoury courses, a full four were entirely vegetarian and it was great to see these plates holding their own against their meaty counterparts. A tangle of roasted brassicas served on a black garlic sauce, for example, really demonstrated how vegetables can stand up to hefty, smoky flavours and deliver something that is more than the sum of its parts.
For all that, our favourite courses all happened to involve meat - so no chance of us converting yet. Among the initial snacks, the cubes of homemade black pudding with apple cider gel were utterly divine. The pudding had a dense, almost fudgy texture which I appreciated very much.
I was in raptures over 130 day aged beef tartare with smoked butter and truffle. Just look at the amount of truffle on that plate! That shows a real generosity of spirit in the kitchen. Surprisingly, or perhaps not given that this was a brigade of chefs who clearly knew what they were doing, the beef more than held its own. This was an autumnal dish, musty and earthy - again, huge flavours but all in harmony.
D was particularly taken with mallard - cooked sous vide in a brine and served with a punchy coriander pesto, soy ketchup and puffed rice. I say particularly taken, he spent the rest of the evening talking about it. And much of the next day. He says that he wants to recreate it himself and consulted with one of the chefs as how best to do this. I am quite happy with this development.
One of the desserts - a brown butter and muscovado parfait on a Parkin base with sherry syrup and sour apple - was a thing of beauty and a joy forever. The other was good, although paled slightly in comparison with this inspired combination of sweet and sour and spice.
So much to like and a minor annoyance. I would go back to Joro, and considering Sheffield is about an hour away by train that's quite the compliment. But I wouldn't book an early table and I'd probably point blank refuse to leave until they brought me an espresso. Just to learn them.
There is loads and loads to like about Joro. But if I book a table for a tasting menu - which I have been told by the restaurant themselves takes around two and a half hours - then I rather object to having to vacate the table after two. Fair play to the server, he told us as soon as we arrived that they would need the table back at eight. And, owing to bad traffic across Sheffield we were about five minutes late arriving for our booking. And, I totally understand why restaurants turn tables - especially relatively new, popular restaurants who need to get bums on seats to generate revenue. But two hours was stingy, by their own reckoning; as a result, the pace of the meal was slightly quicker than I would have liked and we were not offered coffee (which, as it happened, we would both have appreciated). Clearly, the solution is not to book a table at six, but why should early punters be treated any differently to those who prefer to dine later?
Ooooh, deep breath. That was tough. Back to the fan-girl stylings to which my readers are much more accustomed. Because, as I said, there was loads to like here. The style is difficult to describe except to say it is very distinctly, typically, a certain type of modern British. Helpful, huh? They themselves describe it as "An urban restaurant influenced by nature" - which is fair enough. I would add that they are not constrained by any particular cuisine type, seeing as how the flavour profiles seemed to range across Europe and out to the Far East in scope.
The ten course tasting menu was considered, balanced and well executed with some dishes touching upon the sublime. Of the savoury courses, a full four were entirely vegetarian and it was great to see these plates holding their own against their meaty counterparts. A tangle of roasted brassicas served on a black garlic sauce, for example, really demonstrated how vegetables can stand up to hefty, smoky flavours and deliver something that is more than the sum of its parts.
For all that, our favourite courses all happened to involve meat - so no chance of us converting yet. Among the initial snacks, the cubes of homemade black pudding with apple cider gel were utterly divine. The pudding had a dense, almost fudgy texture which I appreciated very much.
I was in raptures over 130 day aged beef tartare with smoked butter and truffle. Just look at the amount of truffle on that plate! That shows a real generosity of spirit in the kitchen. Surprisingly, or perhaps not given that this was a brigade of chefs who clearly knew what they were doing, the beef more than held its own. This was an autumnal dish, musty and earthy - again, huge flavours but all in harmony.
D was particularly taken with mallard - cooked sous vide in a brine and served with a punchy coriander pesto, soy ketchup and puffed rice. I say particularly taken, he spent the rest of the evening talking about it. And much of the next day. He says that he wants to recreate it himself and consulted with one of the chefs as how best to do this. I am quite happy with this development.
One of the desserts - a brown butter and muscovado parfait on a Parkin base with sherry syrup and sour apple - was a thing of beauty and a joy forever. The other was good, although paled slightly in comparison with this inspired combination of sweet and sour and spice.
So much to like and a minor annoyance. I would go back to Joro, and considering Sheffield is about an hour away by train that's quite the compliment. But I wouldn't book an early table and I'd probably point blank refuse to leave until they brought me an espresso. Just to learn them.
Monday, 19 February 2018
MPM: 19th February 2018
Amazing meal at Joro last week (write-up to follow shortly). Less than amazing was my digestive system's reaction to it. Yes, I am having (ahem) ishoos at the moment with what feels like food in general (and, in particular, food) which I'm fairly convinced are linked to the fact that I had a bit of said digestive system lopped out last summer. It appears to be rather pissed off with me and is exacting revenge. I'm fighting back by keeping a detailed food diary complete with colour coded (ahem squared) movement monitoring which, at some point, I may need to go and wave at the doctor. Although I'm terrified that they'll make me FODMAP, or some such thing. Which would not be in keeping with my (shamelessly nicked) life philosophy of everything in moderation, including moderation.
Anyway, the point is that the meal plan unravelled slightly towards the end of last week to accommodate my delicate little self. Although we were back on track by Sunday for a fiendishly good fish finger sarnie. I reckon that I've nearly nailed ciabatta rolls which are the perfect vehicle for any sort of sandwich that has the potential to be messy: robust yet airy with an excellent flavour.
New week, new start and I've stuck to a fast day today (I suppose it's only half six, there's time for it all to go wrong) will hopefully be able to stick, more or less, to the planned meals for the week without needing to resort to gruel.
Monday: fast day - soup
Tuesday: freezer dived turkey curry with rice and cucumber raita. And maybe a flatbread if I can be roused to such dizzy heights.
Wednesday: fast day - soup (and a trip to the cinema to see The Black Panther in an attempt to distract from the hunger pangs)
Thursday: prosciutto capalleti, garlic bread, some sort of salad
Friday: as part of our ongoing quest to cook our books, I'm doing a couple of dishes from Tim Anderson's "Nanban". I think that I've selected Tonkatsu, which is the Japanese equivalent of schnitzel, with sushi rice and mushrooms with spicy miso butter. I'm not entirely sure that it would be considered at all authentic to both things together, but the idea worked in my head, so we'll give it a go.
Saturday: D has requested burgers, so I'll be doing ciabatta rolls take 3 and will leave the filling of them to him.
Sunday: we had a pot of cream in the fridge that needed using up, so I threw together a pommes dauphinois last week and whacked it in the freezer ready for next Sunday lunch. Such a rich dish needs very little else, so probably a small amount of roast meat and something no-nonsenseley green.
Anyway, the point is that the meal plan unravelled slightly towards the end of last week to accommodate my delicate little self. Although we were back on track by Sunday for a fiendishly good fish finger sarnie. I reckon that I've nearly nailed ciabatta rolls which are the perfect vehicle for any sort of sandwich that has the potential to be messy: robust yet airy with an excellent flavour.
New week, new start and I've stuck to a fast day today (I suppose it's only half six, there's time for it all to go wrong) will hopefully be able to stick, more or less, to the planned meals for the week without needing to resort to gruel.
Monday: fast day - soup
Tuesday: freezer dived turkey curry with rice and cucumber raita. And maybe a flatbread if I can be roused to such dizzy heights.
Wednesday: fast day - soup (and a trip to the cinema to see The Black Panther in an attempt to distract from the hunger pangs)
Thursday: prosciutto capalleti, garlic bread, some sort of salad
Friday: as part of our ongoing quest to cook our books, I'm doing a couple of dishes from Tim Anderson's "Nanban". I think that I've selected Tonkatsu, which is the Japanese equivalent of schnitzel, with sushi rice and mushrooms with spicy miso butter. I'm not entirely sure that it would be considered at all authentic to both things together, but the idea worked in my head, so we'll give it a go.
Saturday: D has requested burgers, so I'll be doing ciabatta rolls take 3 and will leave the filling of them to him.
Sunday: we had a pot of cream in the fridge that needed using up, so I threw together a pommes dauphinois last week and whacked it in the freezer ready for next Sunday lunch. Such a rich dish needs very little else, so probably a small amount of roast meat and something no-nonsenseley green.
Monday, 12 February 2018
MPM: 12th February 2018
Shrove Tuesday, Chinese New Year and Valentine's Day falling in the same week? SO many reasons to indulge in fabulous food. Unfortunately, because we are going out for dinner on Thursday (about which I am SO excited!) we will be fasting on V-Day itself. Which is a shame because I had a very romantic idea about something I could cook for D, but it will keep. If I'd properly thought about things, I would have tried to plan in a Chinese dish, especially given how much I enjoyed the couple of recipes that we made by Fuschia Dunlop recently, but never mind. Instead, the plan is as follows:
Monday: fast day - soup
Tuesday: pancakes (crepes rather than American style) with bacon, chilli and maple syrup. This is an April Bloomfield recipe and really rather wonderful.
Wednesday: fast day - soup
Thursday: out for dinner, review to follow!
Friday: a freezer dive - turkey curry, rice, cucumber raita, flatbreads
Saturday: D might be out, in which case, prick and ping for me. If not, I intend to rustle up a quick spaghetti carbonara using a hard ewes milk cheese called Lord of the Hundreds, which we picked up at the weekend
Sunday: a homemade fish finger sandwich, combining goujons, green chilli and coriander chutney, cucumber in herby yoghurt and homemade (probably) ciabatta rolls. Lush!
Monday: fast day - soup
Tuesday: pancakes (crepes rather than American style) with bacon, chilli and maple syrup. This is an April Bloomfield recipe and really rather wonderful.
Wednesday: fast day - soup
Thursday: out for dinner, review to follow!
Friday: a freezer dive - turkey curry, rice, cucumber raita, flatbreads
Saturday: D might be out, in which case, prick and ping for me. If not, I intend to rustle up a quick spaghetti carbonara using a hard ewes milk cheese called Lord of the Hundreds, which we picked up at the weekend
Sunday: a homemade fish finger sandwich, combining goujons, green chilli and coriander chutney, cucumber in herby yoghurt and homemade (probably) ciabatta rolls. Lush!
Wednesday, 7 February 2018
Recipe corner: Pasta with ricotta and nduja
I have long wibbled on about the wonderful ingredient that is nduja and now it seems to becoming a lot more widely available and commonly used. Why, even our local pizza place uses it as a topping. If you have yet to experience it then I would describe it as being as a type of sausage, fiery with chillies and a very soft, paste (or pate) like texture.
Our absolute favourite (again, I've banged on about this before) is from The Ham and Cheese Company who are London based but do mail order. They're not particular cheap, and the delivery charges make one weep a little bit but they are very, very good. Alternatively, M&S have started doing a very passable version, a jar of which I received in my Christmas stocking (Santa knows me very well). I would say that the chilli heat is slightly harsher and the flavours slightly brasher than our favourite which is why this pasta dish, with the addition of ricotta to temper and soothe, was an ideal one to make with it.
It's the kind of supper that I adore - you can make the sauce while the pasta is cooking and have everything done and dusted within quarter of an hour, and yet it has a depth of flavour that belies such simplicity. Highly recommended.
Ingredients
Tbsp rapeseed oil
Onion, chopped
80g nduja
100g ricotta cheese
30g Parmesan, finely grated
Tsp thyme leaves, finely chopped
180g dried pasta
Grated Parmesan, to serve
Serves 2, generously
Set a pan of salted water over a high heat and, when it comes to the boil, tip in the pasta and cook for 8-10 mins according to instructions.
Meanwhile, heat the oil and then sweat off the onion, covered, with a hefty pinch of salt, for 5 mins or so until soft and translucent.
Stir through the nduja, turn the heat down to low, and allow to putter quietly in the background. As it does so, combine the ricotta and Parmesan in a bowl along with the thyme and a hefty whack of seasoning. Then, add the cheese mix to the onion and nduja in the pan, stir well, and allow to reduce slightly.
Siphon off some of the salted water and then drain the cooked pasta. Stir through the sauce along with a generous slurp of cooking water so that the sauce clings elegantly to the pasta shapes.
Serve, sprinkled with a little further Parmesan.
Our absolute favourite (again, I've banged on about this before) is from The Ham and Cheese Company who are London based but do mail order. They're not particular cheap, and the delivery charges make one weep a little bit but they are very, very good. Alternatively, M&S have started doing a very passable version, a jar of which I received in my Christmas stocking (Santa knows me very well). I would say that the chilli heat is slightly harsher and the flavours slightly brasher than our favourite which is why this pasta dish, with the addition of ricotta to temper and soothe, was an ideal one to make with it.
It's the kind of supper that I adore - you can make the sauce while the pasta is cooking and have everything done and dusted within quarter of an hour, and yet it has a depth of flavour that belies such simplicity. Highly recommended.
Ingredients
Tbsp rapeseed oil
Onion, chopped
80g nduja
100g ricotta cheese
30g Parmesan, finely grated
Tsp thyme leaves, finely chopped
180g dried pasta
Grated Parmesan, to serve
Serves 2, generously
Set a pan of salted water over a high heat and, when it comes to the boil, tip in the pasta and cook for 8-10 mins according to instructions.
Meanwhile, heat the oil and then sweat off the onion, covered, with a hefty pinch of salt, for 5 mins or so until soft and translucent.
Stir through the nduja, turn the heat down to low, and allow to putter quietly in the background. As it does so, combine the ricotta and Parmesan in a bowl along with the thyme and a hefty whack of seasoning. Then, add the cheese mix to the onion and nduja in the pan, stir well, and allow to reduce slightly.
Siphon off some of the salted water and then drain the cooked pasta. Stir through the sauce along with a generous slurp of cooking water so that the sauce clings elegantly to the pasta shapes.
Serve, sprinkled with a little further Parmesan.
Tuesday, 6 February 2018
Two steps forward, one and a half steps back
I ended the month of January slightly lighter than I started, which I take to be a good thing.
The cheese-topped, chips-on-the-side nature of our holiday in Scotland, not to mention the fact that we only managed one fast day during the week before we went (because we got into holiday mode slightly too early) means that I would have been entirely unsurprised to see a net gain on the month. What I have noticed about my 5:2 losses, though, is that for all that they are slow (so slow!) they seem to stick far better than when I was losing weight more quickly with WW. A fall from the wagon may occasion a gain, but not a particularly dramatic one. Not like the memorable occasion, many years ago when I gained five pounds one week and then lost seven the next. I wonder if I was blogging at that point? I can't see a post called "Flying in the Face of Science" but I definitely felt as if I was.
I know the blog is quieter than it used to be. Actually, blogging in general seems to be quieter than it used to be. And a lot of the blogs that are out there are very big and shiny and full of beautiful photographs as opposed to back in 2010 when people just got behind the keyboard and typed away on their unglamorous but entirely functional BlogSpot platforms. It's a shame, because I think the sense of community has disappeared a little bit, and I think a lot of the people who still are blogging are doing it less to reach out and more with a view to becoming the next Big Thing.
But, to my original point. The blog is quieter than it used to be partly because I don't really feel like I am on a diet any more. 5:2 has fitted in to my life relatively seamlessly. There's only so many times that I can write about how fast days are tough and I feel very hungry but it's worth the freedom that it wins me on the other, non-fast, days.
Still, I also started writing this as a place to record recipes and to record experiences, and I've not intention of giving that up because a Book Deal may yet be forthcoming! Well, not really, but because I love being able to look back and remember stuff I've eaten and places I've been. And, you never know, someday I might reach my elusive Goal Weight and I can't think of a better, more proper place to record that achievement than this little corner here.
So, as ever mes amies, onwards and downwards.
The cheese-topped, chips-on-the-side nature of our holiday in Scotland, not to mention the fact that we only managed one fast day during the week before we went (because we got into holiday mode slightly too early) means that I would have been entirely unsurprised to see a net gain on the month. What I have noticed about my 5:2 losses, though, is that for all that they are slow (so slow!) they seem to stick far better than when I was losing weight more quickly with WW. A fall from the wagon may occasion a gain, but not a particularly dramatic one. Not like the memorable occasion, many years ago when I gained five pounds one week and then lost seven the next. I wonder if I was blogging at that point? I can't see a post called "Flying in the Face of Science" but I definitely felt as if I was.
I know the blog is quieter than it used to be. Actually, blogging in general seems to be quieter than it used to be. And a lot of the blogs that are out there are very big and shiny and full of beautiful photographs as opposed to back in 2010 when people just got behind the keyboard and typed away on their unglamorous but entirely functional BlogSpot platforms. It's a shame, because I think the sense of community has disappeared a little bit, and I think a lot of the people who still are blogging are doing it less to reach out and more with a view to becoming the next Big Thing.
But, to my original point. The blog is quieter than it used to be partly because I don't really feel like I am on a diet any more. 5:2 has fitted in to my life relatively seamlessly. There's only so many times that I can write about how fast days are tough and I feel very hungry but it's worth the freedom that it wins me on the other, non-fast, days.
Still, I also started writing this as a place to record recipes and to record experiences, and I've not intention of giving that up because a Book Deal may yet be forthcoming! Well, not really, but because I love being able to look back and remember stuff I've eaten and places I've been. And, you never know, someday I might reach my elusive Goal Weight and I can't think of a better, more proper place to record that achievement than this little corner here.
So, as ever mes amies, onwards and downwards.
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