Sunshine, lollipops and a new blog post

Long-time no blog!  It is probably a little self-indulgent to say that I hope that I haven’t been missed – but I feel it is slightly justified given that lovely Hazel left a comment on my last post saying she missed my Meal Planning Mondays!  I promise to reintroduce them forthwith.  With regards the radio silence:

 

Reason the first – my digestive discomfort issues have been continuing.  I have always prided myself on the robustness of my digestive system and this has been unpleasant and disconcerting.  I finally plucked up the courage to go the GP and it is probably something very simple related to stomach bile (sorry if TMI) post gallbladder surgery.  It is not uncommon and can be controlled with medication.  So once anything more sinister is ruled out (and giving that all of this has only kicked off post surgery it seems highly unlikely) I will be rendered as right as rain by the wonder of our NHS.  Happy days.

 

Reason the second – which is related to reason the first.  Long term readers will know that, from time to time, I have a bit of an issue with anxiety.  Or rather, Anxiety, because anxiety is when you’re a little bit worried about a presentation that you have to do at work the following day and Anxiety is when you are frightened to leave your bedroom for reasons that are obscure even to you.  It’s frightfully common nowadays – the go-to mental health issue de nos jours, so I feel like something of a cliché but there you have it.  Fretting about my health and always trying to ensure the nearest toilet was within easy access in case of emergencies combined with my existing predisposition and made me…well, a bit shaky.  I don’t want to dwell on this too much – if it’s boring and tedious to me then it is undoubtedly boring and tedious to you.  Needless to say, fasting went by the wayside (low blood sugar is the last thing you need when you’re wobbling anyway) as did much cooking or, indeed, taking much pleasure in food.  (Sorry for the melodrama – can you understand why I didn’t post now?)

 

I haven’t weighed myself in a while but from the feel of clothes and suchlike I think it is all relatively stable but I’ve not been eating particularly well and that is stupid, because one of the best things to do for your mental health is to ensure that your diet and fitness are on point.  So that leads me to reason the third why I’ve been a bit reluctant to blog.  I’ve decided to go back to WW for a bit.

 

I know that I swore off it and I truly believe that, in the longer term, intermittent fasting will enable me to maintain my weight without being a slave to the pointing and weighing and measuring.  But I also believe that just for now, a bit of structure, something to focus on, would be a Good Thing.  And if I can ditch a few pounds in the process it will be an Even Better Thing.  I don’t intend to be evangelical about it.  I will eat out and have nights off – life is too short to never eat another takeaway.  And I will continue to monitor the situation.  If the return doesn’t justify the effort well, then, I’ll stop.

 

I’ve already signed up for the app and will be going to my first meeting tonight.  I’m intrigued about the new plan – it seems to be edging ever closer to Slimming World with more zero point foods – including lean poultry, fish, eggs and pulses.  I struggled initially when WW switched from Pro Points to Smart Points so it remains to be seen if the further changes make it more or less doable.  Regardless, a healthy project is just what I need at the moment to take my mind off my own navel. 

MPM: 31st July 2017

Pay day!  Hurrah!  The meal plan last week was abandoned to a certain extent when we realised that we had more food in the fridge / freezer than we had money in the bank (an exaggeration, but you get my drift).  Hence it may seem slightly repetitious this week since dishes got bumped into that glorious hinterland where wallets are full again.  Not that our wallets are ever that full seeing as how we are civil servants and the Government hates us and wants us and our children and pets to suffer.  Again, I exaggerate and again, I digress.

It's hard to believe, especially given the appalling weather that we have had recently, that we are now entering into the last gasps of Summer.  Here's hoping that August decides to be kind to us and brings some sunshine.

We're fasting on Monday and Thursday this week, so that will be soup, as per.  On Wednesday, we are going to Shears Yard for a five course tasting menu paired with Sipsmith gin cocktails.  The menu looks fantastic - check it out here; the only concern being that I hate being out on a school night.  To atone, the weekend will be a model of restraint and decorum and will probably involve quite a lot of doing stuff in the garden if the weather would be so kind as to stay dry.  Elsewhere:

Tuesday: Crab tart with a side dish of spiced courgette couscous.  Leftovers of both will do us for lunch on Wednesday and Friday.

Friday:  Chicken Caesar burgers.  However, we're taking the original recipe and, er, messing with it a bit to make it more exciting.

Saturday:  Pepper and lime crusted tuna with mustard cucumber "spaghetti".  I think that I've blogged this one before...yes, here it is.  Gorgeous.

Sunday:  We're trialling a couple of dishes for a forthcoming dinner party with my parents so I don't want to go into any detail in case they're awful and we have to rethink the menu, but courgettes and lamb will be involved in some shape or form.

Have a lovely week folks!

MPM: 19th June 2017

So it got hot. I, in common with much of the rest of the UK, have spent the last few days of the heatwave complaining about it bitterly. When the rain returns halfway through the week, we shall complain bitterly about that too. Such is the British way.

I really like the meal plan this week and am looking forward to all the dishes on rotation - with the possible exception of the inevitable Fast Day soup on Tuesday and Thursday. If it cools down enough to restore my appetite, I shall look forward to them even more.

Monday: roast sea bream with fennel, potatoes, olives and capers. A lovely sounding one pot dish that won't require too much effort and has an appropriately Mediterranean feel.

Wednesday: pasta in a sweet tomato sauce with roasted red peppers and sausage

Friday: a friend of ours brought us back some black pudding from a recent holiday and D suggested using it as part of a proper fry up. A weekend fry up supper was a real treat when I was a child so this should be great. Bacon, eggs, mushrooms and toast will all be in attendance.

Saturday: garlic prawn linguine. The original recipe looks pretty simple - just prawns, garlic, butter, lemon and parsley. I'm wondering about adding some spiralised courgettes and roasted cherry tomatoes for a bit of additional interest (and nutritional value!)

Sunday: Parmesan roasted chicken thighs with cauliflower and thyme - aka variations on a theme of Sunday roast.

Have a good week all!

Recipe corner: An Ottolenghi yoghurt dressing to see you through the summer

It may seem odd to add, to the distinguished archives here on WW Foodie, a recipe that essentially a salad dressing.  For a start, the instructions are pretty much, “Place stuff in a blender and switch on”.  But I wanted to make a mental note of this particular dressing because D and I have come to the conclusion over the past few days that it is one of those things (like bacon, butter and cheese) that makes EVERYTHING taste better.

It’s an Ottolenghi recipe and he serves it as an accompaniment to leek fritters (the recipe can be seen in full here – the fritters themselves are lovely).  But we’ve drizzled it over salad, used it as a dip, added a dollop atop a pile of tagine and couscous and it just perks it all up.

D’s lunch today is a box of somewhat dubious looking cold leftovers – even these, he reports, are delicious when accompanied by a swirl of the magic green sauce.  So, with barbecue season fast approaching, I think that this might be one to have in the fridge at all times for splatting, spreading and dunking purposes.  The below makes one healthy sized batch that seems to keep quite happily in the fridge for at least five days. 

Cook’s notes: the raw garlic does make it quite punchy (perhaps avoid eating before a first date) but I see no reason why you couldn’t add a green chilli into the mix for some additional heat.  We used a Kenwood mini processor to make this – a kitchen gadget that I could not be without as it is perfect for chopping and blending small amounts is easy to use and, importantly, easy to clean.  Highly recommended (although please note that they do not sponsor me.  I’d quite like to be sponsored and provided with lots of lovely free stuff because I have no shame but Kenwood most definitively do not.)

 Ingredients

100g Greek yoghurt

100g sour cream

2 garlic cloves, crushed

2 tbsp lemon juice

3 tbsp olive oil

½ tsp salt

20g roughly chopped flat-leaf parsley leaves

30g roughly chopped coriander leaves

 

Open blender (or food processor).

 

Insert ingredients.

 

Close blender. 

 

Ensure blender is plugged in.

 

Press button to blitz.

 

When the whole is a uniform green, check the seasoning and then set aside ready for use.

Recipe corner: Goats' cheese and red pepper bruschetta

This is my brother's thing. I need to make that very clear. He invented, developed and patented this particular bruschetta topping and I, his sister, am merely following in his footsteps. Thank you, D2.

Seriously, doesn't everyone love bruschetta - aka nice things on toast? I assume that they're an Italian thing, although I always use French bread to make them. Why is that? Also, what is the difference between a bruschetta and a crostini? Answers on a postcard.

If you are short on time, or lacking enthusiasm for being in the kitchen when the sun is shining, then use the ready roast peppers that come in jars. No one will tell.

Ingredients

1small baguette (you could make your own using my recipe here) cut into 12 slices

Tsp olive oil

1 large red pepper

75g soft goats' cheese

Tsp runny honey 

1/2 tsp dried oregano

Salt and black pepper

Makes 12 bruschetta

Preheat the grill.

Cut the pepper in half lengthwise and remove the seeds and pithy bits. Place skin side up on a baking sheet and then put under the hot grill. Cook until the skin is black and blistered all over: 5-10 mins depending on the strength of your grill.

Transfer the peppers to a bowl and cover with cling film. Allow them to cool for 10 minutes or so after which time it should be a relatively easy job to slip off the blackened skins.

Place the goats' cheese in a bowl and give it a brisk stir to loosen.

Roughly mincethe slippery pepper flesh and add to the cheese along with the honey, oregano and seasoning to taste - personally, I think this calls for a lot of black pepper. This topping can be prepared well in advance.

To assemble the bruschetta - brush the slices of baguette with oil and toast under a hot grill for a couple of minutes on each side until golden. Top with the red pepper and cheese mixture and return briefly to the grill to blister the top.

Serve with a long, cool drink.