J Baker's Bistro Moderne: NOT a York based fairy tale

Whatever the lovely Peridot may believe, J Baker's superlative restaurant in York does open occasionally.  Their opening hours do look to have been reduced recently; I hope this is an indication that Jeff is planning to rest on his laurels a bit rather than one of straitened economic times, but who knows nowadays.  Anthony's in Leeds has demonstrated that even top quality places in vibrant city centres can suffer in this sad, post-recession day and age.

Anyway, D and I went to JB for dinner last night to celebrate the fact that I passed an exam (hurrah!) and also just because we hadn't been in ever so long....it turns out that I still miss York terribly.  It also turns out that walking is a dangerous sport for me - I did something distinctly odd to my left calf while traversing from the bus stop to the office (about three minutes) which means that stairs are currently problematic (difficult when you live in a four storey house).

That aside, looks at the yummy stuff we had to eat:

Yum.

Yes, that's right, I got the Picasa app recently and am now totally au fait with this collage thing...

But, seriously, can I draw your attention to perfectly cooked spiced duck breast - dense and tender of flesh, crispy of skin (main, left).  Or mussels steamed over local beer with butter and peas (top, centre).  Or a crispy, filo wrapped, delicately seasoned take on a classic pork pie (bottom, right).  The only sadness for me was that the set dinner dessert was rice pudding, which is one of my very few pet hates.

Fantastic restaurant, beautiful city, happy foodie.  The only sadness for me was the look of approbation from the home scales this morning but still.  Some meals are worth it.

Bits and McBobs

We passed this very aptly named shop while wandering the streets of Stirling last week:

 

 

Amusingly named retail outlets aside, Stirling, in general, does not appear to have an awful lot to it.  There is a castle, which we had vaguely thought of visiting until we saw the admission charges.  Ye Gods.  There was quite a nice sweet shop which smelled of childhood.  And a few run of the mill pubby places that did not set the pulses racing.

The Bridge of Allan, just outside, was lovely though.  We found a very pleasant little bistro type place with a menu that although a tad generic was perfectly good. 

 It is easy to sniff at these sort of places but often they are a reliable bet for a decent supper if you don’t know much about your location.  I had an asparagus, goats’ cheese and sun blush tomato pizza which was perfectly pleasant and slipped down a treat with a glass of what-the-hell-it’s-the-end-of-the-holiday Prosecco.  Plus, the place was called Jam Jar and they served all sorts of stuff in, you know, jam jars.  Quirky, no?

Still in the Bridge of Allan, flicking through the visitors’ binder on our caravan site, we found mention of a local brewery  which we decided to visit on a whim;  D has become quite the real ale man recently and I have been trying to get into it – mainly because he shakes his head in a disapproving manner when I drink cider.  This was a real find – quirky interior, friendly staff, interesting beers made on site including an amazing Thai scented one (I kid you not and it was gorgeous – hints of lemongrass and chilli heat) and (this really excited me) Golden Wonder crisps!  I can’t remember the last time I saw Golden Wonder for sale – I assumed they had been crushed by the behemoth that is Walkers. 

Oh, and talking of Thai (elegant segue there….) back here in Leeds I’ve come across a very nice Thai place that I must share; Thai Aroy Dee on Vicar Lane which I visited on Sunday evening with a group of fellow foodies.  It’s small and unprepossessing looking – especially when compared to some of the other Thai restaurants in the Leeds city centre – but the food was excellent both in terms of quality and value (my two courses came in at just £11) and pretty authentic according to the party member who actually hailed from Thailand.  Definitely one to check out if you a) like Thai food and b) live in Leeds.

MPM: 24th June 2013

A fairly normal routine for me this week.  I'll be freezer diving for the main constituents of most of these meals, so not an awful lot of cooking is required but I do have the wherewithal to bake some apple and cinnamon muffins (recipe to follow if any good) so you never know...

The weekend is still a bit up in the air, but up until Friday I will mostly be chowing down on:

• Chicken wrapped in bacon with barbecue sauce and cheese (an 80s pub classic, from the Tesco Fresh and Easy range), mashed potatoes and steamed green veg
• A sticky sweet chilli Gressingham duck leg with egg rice and broccoli roasted with chilli and garlic
• Pollo pesto pasta bake
• Oven baked fish and chips (Tesco Finest - not a bad substitute for the real thing) with mushy peas.  And ketchup.  Lots of tomato ketchup. 

Oh, and Thursday I'm going out to celebrate passing my exam.

It doesn't look like the most diet friendly of weeks, but with the exception of the meal out all of these dinners have already been counted and are in my tracker.  Just goes to show that it is entirely possible to follow a healthy eating plan and not live on dust.

Head over to Mrs M's for more meal planning fun!

It was all going swimmingly...

Yesterday was rather like the curate's egg.  There was good news (you passed your exam!  You can go ahead and destroy those stupid index cards!) but also bad news.  I managed to lose both my keys and my purse - and when I say lose, I am becoming increasingly convinced that I actually unintentionally gifted them to someone.  It's not the end of the world - ok, I could have done without knowing how much locksmiths actually charge (ouch!) and all the cards got cancelled before any transactions went on them and there wasn't all that much cash in there, but still, it leaves an unpleasant taste in the mouth.  I am someone who goes through life probably being a bit careless at times because I tend to believe in the inherent goodness of most people.  I need to be more cautious because some people just aren't nice.  Which is sad.

Oh, and the purse itself was a Mulberry one which was a gift from D for my thirtieth birthday.  Which also makes me sad.  I have replaced it with a very pretty Accesorize one but still, I loved that purse.

Heigh ho.  I must admit, my last ditch attempts to reign in any Scottish themed damage went somewhat out of the window last night and (still in a spirit of confession) I was tempted to skip weigh in this morning as a result.  But I didn't, and the result was a 3lb gain which also isn't the end of the world.  A good week will sort that out.

And then, post weigh in and post post weigh in coffee, I went swimming which is news in itself.  I took out an expensive gym membership back when I moved here in September and then, like 67% of people with gym memberships proceeded to not use it.  I just thought about using it a lot.  While lying on the sofa.  Weeping.  And drinking wine.  Which meant that my fitness went woefully downhill.  Which made me even less inclined to use it.  But I have, just in the last few weeks, gradually started to reintroduce it into my life.  I used to love some of the classes that I went to at the gym - I think I would struggle with an hour of Body Combat at the moment, so I've started with swimming, and I'm going to build up.  It's probably too soon to notice a huge difference, but earlier this week I walked up a hill to get to the Wallace Monument and then walked up said monument and didn't die.  I take victory where I can get it.   

The Wallace Monument.  Big in Scotland.

View from the Wallace Monument, complete with Scottish flag.  And top of random man's head.

Raggle taggle gypsies - oh!

First, a huge thank you for all those crossed fingers, toes and eyes - I passed my latest exam.  So that is two modules down, umpteen to go before I can call myself fully versed in the ways of tax. 

Bonny Scotland - the countryside just outside Sterling

Now, let's talk about far nicer things shall we - like gypsy caravans?  I first saw these mentioned on one of my fellow Monday Meal planner's blogs and it was love at first hyperlink click.  Actually, I declared myself in love with The Chip in yesterday's post, didn't I...does this make me fickle?  Probably just overly effusive about everything.  Anyway, Bramble Bield.  I've tried camping once before and hated it (ha - so not effusive about everything) - I find the concept of sleeping on the floor with nothing but a thin sheet of canvas to protect you from the elements as the very antithesis of fun.  But sleeping in a pretty Romany caravan, with net curtains and fairy lights?  That, I can get on board with.  This, my friends, is glamping.

And our caravan, Rowan, was very beautiful...(I particularly like the ethereal ray of light slanting down through the first picture...)

 

But, let's be strictly truthful here, if I was an estate agent I would call Rowan bijoux.  I, a diminutive 5 foot 4 (and a half) actually just about fit, lengthways, on the bed.  D struggled and ended up having to adopt a sort of C shape which I don't think he found particularly comfortable.  Another of the caravans, a fetching green one called Holly, is said to be larger.

Minor length issues aside, Bramble Bield was a lovely place to pass a couple of days.  Although the site itself felt fairly isolated it was actually just a few miles outside Sterling.  And the fact that adjoining us was a fully fitted kitchen and working shower meant that it was somewhat more civilised than the aforementioned camping experience.  Oh, and talking of civilised, the owner brought a lovely Continental breakfast round for us each morning - cereal, fresh bread, pastries, fruit, yoghurt - far more than we could manage in one sitting.  One minor gripe?  No Yorkshire tea bags.  We're going to have to start carrying our own around with us.
 

Powis House Lodge  

Stirling

FK9 5PS
01786 460231

Glasgow and The Ubiquitous Chip

I knew very little about Glasgow prior to visiting it.  Just that it was "Not Edinburgh".  I still don't feel like I know very much about it; I suppose there is a limit to what you can learn in less than 24 hours.  I didn't immediately warm to it in the way that I have with some cities.  The town centre suffers a bit, as do most British cities, with the rash of same old-same old shop fronts and while some of the architecture was beautiful some of it was awful 1970s concrete monstrosities - occasionally right next door.  But the area around the university was absolutely gorgeous.  And Ashton Lane, the location of the restaurant at which we dined on Sunday evening, was equally lovely and made me think there could well be more to Glasgow if one took the time to scratch the surface.

I was already a bit in love with The Ubiquitous Chip before even looking at the menu because as far as I am concerned it is the best name EVER.  And then there was the fact that the food looked rather exciting and used lots of amazing Scottish produce.  And then we arrived and...well, the interior.  It's amazing.  Like dining in an airy conservatory all strewn about with foliage and fairy lights.  Kitsch as anything and utterly, utterly gorgeous.

 

 

We had a very minor falling out when it transpired that the main course that my beady little eye had been trained upon was not on the current menu.  It is, of course, a rookie mistake to set your heart on something that appears on the website - most decent restaurants change their menus far more frequently than their sites and quite right too.  And the food that I did end up eating was excellent anyway.

 

 

If I had to pick a favourite dish - and we're talking gun to the head situation - it would be the truly divine steak with brown shrimp butter - which pictured on the left above looks the least inspiring.  Let me tell you, this was some seriously good cow.  And the kitchen actually knew how to cook a steak blue - it was practically mooing when it came out.  Gorgeous stuff.  But there was plenty to love elsewhere - including a quinoa accompaniment which actually sold me on that rather worthy grain. 

 

In short, an excellent dinner but as to Glasgow itself, I remain undecided.  However, since The Chip and I are now officially dating, I may well have to go back and explore some more.

 

The Ubiquitous Chip

12 Ashton Lane
Glasgow,
Lanarkshire
G12 8SJ
0141 334 5007

 



The scales are a cruel and fickle mistress

But not today.  Today I lost another 2.5lbs.  I should add that I successfully managed to sleep through my official weigh in - a permanent Saturday alarm has now been set to ensure such muppetry doesn't happen again - so that this result comes from my rather funky-hot-pink-home scales.  But, since they were in line with the less-funky-more-functional-looking-WW scales last week, I think it is acceptable to take their word.

I had a secret goal in my head to be into the next stone bracket down before we head off for a few days break in Scotland, which I achieved.  Since we don't like to bandy numbers around on this blog, let's just say that I've moved from MAYDAY:0.5 to YIKES:12.  HAPPY:10 is still a long way off, but these kind of little milestones do help.

If I can maintain this week, I'll be more than happy.  I'm going to be taking my pedometer away with me and plenty of walks are planned, but, equally, some indulgent eating - not least a dinner in Glasgow's Ubiquitous Chip which I am thoroughly looking forward to and can't wait to share with you.  More importantly than the food though, I am hoping for some real quality time with D.  We are coming up to the time when we have to decide whether or not we want to be a proper couple again and, at the moment, things feel good - I hope this trip confirms that.  I mean, how could you fail to feel romantic staying here?

Photo credit: bramblebield.com

MPM: 10th June 2013

Well, I said in my last post that I needed to get back into meal planning, so here we go.  A tentative toe in the water. 

I'm pleased to say that, following the outpouring of optimism last week, I lost two and a half pounds at my weigh in on Saturday morning.  And I'm equally pleased to say that, at the time of writing (Sunday afternoon) I have still not succumbed to any wobbles or wibbles.  Another good week prior to our trip to Scotland would be a real boost.

It's a bit of an odd one though, this week, since I'm staying with D for the first couple of days.  I have an exam on Wednesday (which I may have mentioned once or thrice) and, following a bit of a meltdown in which I told him that I was going to eat WORMS and then FAIL the exam because I had NO-ONE to make me tea or mop my fevered brow, he *ahem* thought to invite me.  So he was in charge of meal planning for the first couple of days - but luckily he is a well trained estranged husband and picked two of my absolute favourite dinners. 

Wednesday - exam day - I am playing by ear.  I have a book group meeting in the evening so hopefully there won't be too much rocking in a corner.  Saturday I've left unplanned as well - but I'm thinking it will be a post weigh in pre holiday pizza (pointed, of course).  And Sunday, it's off to Glasgow and dinner at The Chip.

Rest of the meals look like this:

• Salmon fillet with pasta pesto
• Pan roasted chicken breast with lemon couscous and asparagus
• Chilli con carne burrito with salad and minted crème fraiche dressing (x2)

More meal planning fun over at Mrs M's.

Make (wa)hay while the sun shines

It’s amazing what a spell of good weather will do to the spirits. Or maybe it is that, finally, after nine months of wound licking and general feeling a bit Eeyore-ish I am perking up. Either way, I have been in an oddly good mood the last few days. I feel…hopeful.

Diet first of all – and I have had a run of excellently good days, including a delicious meal out at a local restaurant where all choices were sensible, tracked and washed down with mineral water. For the fifty billionth time, I ask myself why I apparently find it so difficult to stick to what is essentially a very sensible and balanced eating plan all the time. Especially when I consider how much well-er (not a word, I know) I feel when chock full of fruit and veg and fish and Good Things.

Marriage second of all – and we have had a lovely few dates in the last couple of weeks and a positive session with the Nodding Counsellor last night. I can’t deny that I hope we get back together. I think it would be a terrible shame if we don’t. But, equally, I have begun making tentative contingency plans for what I will do if we decide not to reunite, and, although the prospect doesn’t fill me with joy neither does it fill me with complete and utter dread. Just profound sadness.

I have some things on the horizon to look forward to – well, post exam anyway (on which note please spare a thought for me a week tomorrow). Most notably, a trip to Scotland which will involve a couple of nights in a proper gypsy caravan here and an overnight stay in Glasgow with a meal at a restaurant called The Ubiquitous Chip which has been on our to-do list for some time. Aside from anything else, don’t you just think it is the best name for a restaurant ever?

Now, if I could just get back into the habit of meal planning (which I always find an invaluable tool for WWing success) and get a couple of good results on the scales I think I’d almost be back to being a proper Good Blogger.

Recipe corner: Hazelnut meringue cake with whipped cream and berries

I can't pretend that this post contains a recipe that is remotely WW or other diet friendly.  It is, however, cake and very good cake at that.  And it has fruit in it.  And no flour which makes it suitable for thems what can't eat flour.  So, as my brother said, practically a health food.

Last Monday, you see, was my mother's birthday and birthdays must always bring cake.  My brother D and family were visiting from London and very lovely it was to see them too.  My sister in law V is currently doing a sterling job growing a new little addition to the family and being mother to little D who at nearly two and a half is my favourite example of the toddler genre.  D and V took charge of the very important job of making Mum a birthday cake; I think I offered to help but I am far less efficient than the two of them, not to mention far more lazy, so ended up watching Shrek 3 with little D instead.  Which made me cry a bit when Shrek had a midlife crisis and decided he didn't want to be a husband and father anymore - I am predictably maudlin when it comes to marital unrest portrayed in the media.  Little D seemed to enjoy it though.

Anyway, cake.  I didn't get round to asking why they picked this particular one but I am glad that they did because it was very nice and perfect for the sunny weather we had last weekend - it felt almost more like a dessert than a cake.  We didn't put candles in it.  We did, however, drink champagne and sing happy birthday so I don't think Mum minded.

The only change that I have made here to the original Rachel Allen recipe is to reduce the amount of cream by 100mls.  I don't think that will make a great deal of difference (there was a lot of cream in lovely Rachel's version) and it does bring the point / calorie / fat count down a bit. 

Ingredients

10g butter
225 g hazelnuts, whole, skin on
6 medium eggs
200g caster sugar

To serve:
250ml double cream
10g icing sugar
Mixed berries
Fresh mint leaves

Serves 10, 11 pro points per slice

Firstly you need to toast the hazelnuts in a hot oven - there is an excellent how to here.

Now, using the butter, grease a loose bottomed (heh heh) 23cm tin and preheat the oven to 170 (fan 150).

Blitz the toasted hazelnuts in a processor (or, alternatively, you could work off some pent up aggression by pounding them with a rolling pin).  Whisk together the egg yolks and sugar until pale and fluffy and gently fold in the hazelnuts.

In a separate, clean bowl, whisk the egg whites until they form stiff peaks - or, until you can hold the bowl upside down over your head without getting an egg rinse.  Gently fold these into the other mixture until completely incorporated. Be sure to fold and not stir - stirring will destroy all those little air bubbles that you have just created into the whites and lead to a heavier cake.

Put the batter in the buttered tin and bake for around 45 mins until an inserted skewer comes out clean.  Rachel says don't worry if it sinks slightly in the middle - I take this to mean that it will inevitable sink in the middle.

Allow to cool in the tin for 10 mins before sliding out onto a pretty serving plate.  Allow to cool completely before the final stage.

Prior to serving, whip up the cream until stiff and then smear or pipe it on before decorating with fruit, a dusting of icing sugar and torn mint.

Sunshine? On a bank holiday weekend?

You must forgive me if I'm a little quiet over the next few weeks - I have an exam coming up which necessitates a lot of wandering around shaking my fist at myself for thinking having a job which involves passing exams is a sensible idea. 

We had a lovely time at the weekend though, so let's focus on that for now.  Saturday and Sunday were properly sunny days of a kind that seldom exhibit themselves on a British bank holiday.  The fact that they have subsequently been replaced by grey skies and drizzle doesn't really detract. 

D and I have been trying to have quality time together - actually doing things rather than behaving like any normal married couple and sitting around watching the telly.  So we strapped on our walking boots and, er, went for a walk.  After nine months of lying around on the sofa weeping into my wineglass, the five and a half miles proved something of a struggle.  I really must start swimming regularly to build up some fitness.

East Witton in bloom - note blue sky

The very best kinds of walk involve at least one stop off in a pub, and the circular route from Jervaux Abbey via East Witton (see here) does just that.  And what a pub as well!  The Blue Lion in East Witton is an absolutely fabulous foodie destination.  We only stopped off for a light lunch but the full menu almost had me leaving an unseemly trail of drool from the bar out to our table.


Lunchtime platter at the Blue Lion

D went for the platter: pie, cheese, pate, a scotch egg and some very lurid piccalilli while I opted for a roast beef sandwich with some excellent chips.  Were it not for the fact that there were miles to go to get back to the car, caution might very well have been thrown to the wind though - I think I might need to go back for dinner.

Now, if you'll excuse me I need to stop having fun and go and learn more about tax.  But I promise to be back later in the week with a recipe for cake.  Hurrah!

The Blue Lion
East Witton  
Leyburn,
North Yorkshire
DL8 4SN
01969 624273

Alfred Bar, Leeds - one day everybody there will know my name...

I think I may be ready to bestow the accolade of My Favourite Bar in Leeds.  And, the thing is, it’s not even in Leeds but is tucked away in a sedate Northern suburb called Meanwood.  Which suits me because the older I get the more I find that city centres are tiring, bustling things.  I was in London at the weekend and, much as I will always love it, hauling myself on and off the packed Tube and navigating the churning crowds of the West End quickly palled. 

 

Anyway, back to Meanwood, and to Alfred, which is the kind of neighbourhood bar that every neighbourhood should have.  For a start, both the décor and the bar staff are quirky and cool but not off puttingly so.  There is an excellent range of real ales from predominantly local breweries but also some decent wines served by the glass not to mention a selection of hot drinks to go with the delectable homemade cakes that repose under retro Perspex cloches on the bar counter.  God, I love cake. 

The only possible downside is, perversely, one of its selling points – the size.  It is bijou, in estate agent speak, intimate, cosy – perfect for hunkering down on a Sunday afternoon with a pint and a paper.  Which is fabulous until they decide to do a free, unticketed Brewdog tasting event* that attracts half of the population of Meanwood, then it can start to feel a little claustrophobic.  Which is frankly nothing that another drink won't fix...

D wears his Brewdog badges with pride!

Anyway, should you find yourself in the area do pop in.  Alfred is actually part of a little chain which you can check out here - nice bars all, incidentally.

 

*And yes, you may well ask why someone on a diet should find themselves at a beer tasting event on the night before a weigh in to which I say – free samples!  Of yummy beer!  Life is far too short to miss out on such golden opportunities and when the scales give me a proverbial frown today, I shall tell them so.

Alfred
6 Stonegate Rd  
Leeds
West Yorkshire
LS6 4HY
0113 278 0779

Girls' weekend

No words required!

Lipstick on a pig

I want to start this by saying: this is not intended to be a sad post, a "poor me" post, a post to make my loved ones concerned. It is just something preying on my mind at the moment that I want to get down before I forget or get distracted by a new form of sandwich filling or something.

I've come to realise (or maybe, more accurately, acknowledge) that there is a part of my brain that steadfastly believes that I do not deserve good things because I am overweight.

I mean, it is a small part. Logically, I know it is the silliest form of silliness. But don't we all have those little voices deep down? Those voices that say that we're not worthy of x because of y?

I can't imagine why it is. I've never set an awful lot of store by being beautiful - I'd rather be described as clever or funny or, even, nice. I don't aspire to a career where looks are important. But still, always the nagging feeling that being big makes me...less.

D said, in our counselling session this week, that he wanted me to take more pride in myself, that he thought it was important - not because he sets any store by high maintenance females but because he feels that I've lost a bit of myself. I always respond to this by retorting that I scaled back the lipstick and the styling and the sparkle because he has often said he prefers a simpler aesthetic. But that's only part of the story.

And when I thought about it more, that old phrase kept flashing into my mind - what's the point of putting lipstick on a pig. It shocked me a little bit. Because that is some very sad, negative thinking right there that I wasn't even conscious of.


Do you know what? Pigs are great. They are highly intelligent, friendly, loyal, playful animals. And if a pig wants to wear lipstick - MAC or Chanel for preference - then she damn well should and tell that little voice inside to pipe the eff down.

Because, aside from anything else, losing weight is an act of self love in the same way that piling it on is often a way of expressing some form of self pity. And this little piggy will never get to where she wants to be until she gets her head around that.

Recipe corner: I take enormous pride in my asparagus and goats' cheese tart

I had such a proud moment last weekend.  Well, two if you count the rather pathetic pride I took in going for a walk.  Let’s not shall we – just between us friends let’s pretend that I’m not so needy that I require praise for enacting the basic human function of putting one foot in front of another for a prescribed length of time.

Anyway, the other proud moment was – I made a tart!  With pastry and filling and everything!  From scratch!  And it was scrummy and didn’t have a soggy bottom and didn’t leak and it made a fantastic spring supper.

Now, this is notable for two reasons.  The first is that, as long time readers who have held on through the various ups and downs of the scales and my emotional stability respectively will know, my cooking mojo upped and went a little while ago and has proved a slippery little bugger ever since.  Hence my recent ode to sandwiches and the lack of many recipes on the blog this year.  So me getting back in the kitchen is always worthy of a mention these days.  But the second is that pastry is one of those things that I’ve never really tackled.  Like bread, pastry makes me furrow my brow in…not fear exactly, but certainly a little trepidation.  I think it’s because whenever you see someone on television make either bread or pastry they say something along the lines of “It’s nowhere near as hard as you think it is!” or “There’s no need to be scared!” which…I don’t know, it just sows the seed of doubt doesn’t it?  Plus the fact that my Mum makes the best quiche ever in the history of the world gives me some pretty high standards to which to aspire.  But, nevertheless, I had some asparagus in the fridge and a yen for an asparagus tart.

Look Ma!  I made pastry!

I knew that I wanted the pastry to be savoury and crumbly – perhaps flavoured with Parmesan for extra saltiness.  And I knew I wanted the asparagus to be softly suspended in a custard with just a hint of nutmeggy, peppery warmth so that the iron flavour of those beautiful green shoots would be predominant.  And I quite fancied a scattering of goats’ cheese on top – a young, fresh goats’ cheese that had a touch of lemon to it for some much needed acidity.  And so that is what I made.  Warm (not hot) from the oven, it was perfect with some crispy garlicky roast potatoes and a lightly dressed salad.  Cold, it made a most excellent lunch.

 

Ingredients

140g plain flour

85g butter, cubed
3-4 tbsp cold water
75g Parmesan, finely grated
Salt, pepper, whole nutmeg
Bunch of asparagus
4 eggs
140ml skimmed milk
125g soft goats’ cheese

Serves 6, 9 pro points per portion

OK, first pastry.  Deep breath.  The one thing I have gleaned from years of intensive foodie telly watching is that when you make pastry, everything needs to be cold.  So, I chilled in the fridge at every stage.  First – measure out the flour, the butter and two thirds of the Parmesan into a large bowl.  Put in the fridge, alongside a glass of water for half an hour.

Now you want to combine the fat and the flour.  I used the Kitchen Aid paddle for this but you could equally just rub it in with your fingers.  If you do, try to make sure you use just the finger tips.  When the mixture resembles dry sand, add the chilled water a tablespoon at a time.  Again, I did this in the mixer but you could equally use a spoon or a palate knife.  When it looks like it is thinking about coming together, use your hands to form it into a ball – if it is damp enough it should do this without effort but, equally, without feeling sticky.  I found it took exactly four tablespoons of water.  Wrap in cling film and return to the fridge. 

During the second chill, prepare your asparagus – snap off the woody ends and slice in half lengthwise.  If it is particularly thick you may consider blanching it for a minute or so just to take the edge off (blanche – plunge into boiling water, then remove and transfer immediately to a bowl of cold water, or run the cold tap over until cool to the touch).

Now – rolling the pastry out.  I used a Rachel Allen tip which is: instead of rolling out on a floured work surface, roll between two sheets of cling film.  This worked beautifully and means you don’t risk adding to much flour to the mix and upsetting the ratios in the pastry.  Transfer to a 20cm diameter tart dish.  Trim any overhanging ends and use the trimmings to ensure that there are no holes and that the crust is even all the way around.  Return to the fridge for a final half hour blast.  Preheat the oven to 180.

Using baking parchment and beans or rice to line, bake the case blind for 15 minutes then remove from the oven and bake for a further 10-15 minutes until pale gold.  Pause for a moment to congratulate yourself on your skill.

Beat the eggs briefly and then add the milk and whisk again until a little frothy.  Season with salt, pepper and nutmeg. 

Sprinkle the remaining Parmesan on the base of the case, artfully arrange the asparagus and then pour over the egg mix – carefully to avoid overflow.  Finally, crumble the goats. cheese on top before returning to the oven for around 35 minutes until puffed and golden.  Allow to cool to just-slightly-warmer-than-room-temperature before serving.

I take my pedometer for a walk

Oh, how I wished that I was one of those lucky souls who enjoyed exercising. 

I think I've had phases of tolerating it to the extent that I got into the routine of going along to things that were not entirely loathsome and then quite enjoyed the positive effect that it had on my physical and mental wellbeing.  But it is far, far easier to fall out of a routine than it is to get into one. 

It's safe to say that I am not in any sort of routine at the moment.  There is a gym a mere hop, skip and a jump away with a lovely pool and a whole array of exciting classes and I am struggling to motivate myself to get there.  D keeps telling me that I should walk the half hour straight line between my house and my office rather than jumping on a bus.  He is right of course.  But walking along a main road is terribly dull.  And, also, have I ever mentioned before the terrible problems I have with general balance and rightfootedness?  Part of the issue is my weight distribution; I am essentially a Weeble - an almost perfectly spherical thing perched precariously on two little legs.  I have to actually concentrate to resist the pull of gravity which would have me toppling forward at any given moment in time.

And part of the issue is very simply this - I am terribly, terribly lazy.  I would, in all seriousness, list napping as one of my favourite pastimes - especially while being lulled by the dulcet tones of an audiobook or something soothing from Radio 4.  D tells me that sleep doesn't really count as a hobby.  I beg to disagree.  I thought that when I hit my thirties I would finally grow out of my rather teenagerish sleep patterns, the ability to sleep until noon if left undisturbed.  It has not happened yet and, the thing is, now that I live alone, I sometimes have very little motivation to rise from my rather comfortable bed.

The good folk at Weight Watchers obviously have encountered people of my ilk before as a part of the WW programme is a thing called Activity Points - essentially, if you exert yourself you earn bonus points which can, in turn, be scoffed.  I've noticed a lot of people on the message boards laugh in the face of such gluttony - why, they say, would I go to the trouble of earning these points to then eat them?  Why, say I, would you not?  And Weight Watchers have gone one step further by inventing a pedometer that not only counts your steps but beeps every time you have shuffled far enough to earn one of these precious, precious points.  I've been toying with the idea of buying one for ages but finally cracked on Friday and have been walking round with it clipped to me ever since - consulting it every so often to see how far I've walked.  As motivaters go, it's surprisingly effective.

On Saturday, D and I took the pedometer out for a walk.  There was a Gu chocolate ganache pot with my name on it in the fridge and, as I trotted, slightly sweaty and grim faced a few paces behind him, my ear was constantly cocked for the sound of the beep that would get me one step closer to guilt free pudding.

Oh, and there were some pretty spring flowers as well...

Although I must admit that sometimes I stop to take a photograph not so much because I am overcome by the beauty of nature but that I need to catch a breath or two...shhhhhhhh.

Living below the line

Being fat is a very first world problem. There is something uncomfortably, horribly wrong about a world where resources are spread so unevenly that some of us can actually not only afford to over consume but then, spend even more money on learning how not to over consume or why we have over consumed in the first place.

There are a few bloggers out there taking part in a challenge where they have to feed themselves for £1 a day. I received an email about it myself a few weeks ago and thought, oh, that sounds interesting and then promptly forgot about it. Probably because I am guilty of spending too much time staring at my own navel. But also, if I am truthful, because the idea of eating nothing but lentils for a week did not particularly fill me with joy.

So I just wanted to write this post as a shout out to all those people brave and clever enough to give this a go. The more I think about it, the more the idea of poverty terrifies me – and I am someone who is blessed enough to never have experienced anything even approaching poverty.

The website, Live Below the Line, is here for anyone who is interested. Good luck to all who are taking part through choice and God bless all those for whom living on a pound a day is a permanent reality.

A tale of two Indians

Let’s open with a fun fact: did you know that in 2012 the city of Bradford was crowned the curry capital of Great Britain for the second year running, narrowly beating Glasgow? Despite this, and despite the facts that a) I am awfully fond of a good curry, and b) Bradford is a mere hop, skip and a jump away from my current home of Leeds, I had never experienced a Bradford curry until quite recently. But now my cherry has been well and truly popped and, let me tell you, I don’t believe that I will ever know butter chicken like that again.

The Punjab Sweet Shop and Grill is an unprepossessing looking place, a good walk outside the city centre. It does not have a website. It does not sell alcohol nor allow you to bring your own. But, an insider (by which I mean someone who lived in Bradford for a number of years) rated this as one of the best curry houses in a city known for good curry houses. Plus, around the corner is a rather fabulous CAMRA pub called The Fighting Cock which is ideally situated for a pre or post (or both) dinner beverage.

I would normally avoid a starter in an Indian restaurant – not because I am not a fan but because I prefer to save room for the main event (and would rather not have to roll rather than walk out at the end of the meal). But D, who had been before, was insistent that I try the fish tikka. We split a portion and it was, indeed, fabulous – moist fish with a flavoursome and not overwhelmingly hot crust, perfect drizzled with a little raita. Apparently they offer this as a main course sandwiched between two naan breads to which I say, genius!

With regards to mains, we allowed ourselves to be guided by our insider, who selected four different chicken dishes with a bread each to scoop up the curry. All four were good but the butter chicken – oh, the butter chicken, it was absolutely amazing. It’s a dish I’ve eaten before – there’s a recipe for a version on this very blog – but this was different: less saucy and infinitely richer with a gentle kiss of chilli heat. I would defy anyone to eat an entire portion though – even D, a self confessed butter addict, admitted that it was impossibly rich and I shudder to think how much ghee actually went into the making of it. Still, I would walk back to Bradford to eat that butter chicken. And I don’t really do walking.

We’ve had a good run with regards curry lately, as Saturday saw us going for dinner at what is apparently a Leeds institution, Hansa’s. This is a much slicker operation than the Punjab – it has its own website for a start. Specialising in Gujarati cuisine, it is wholly vegetarian and you don’t miss the meat for a second.

We ordered a variety of dishes to share between us, including a starter called the Spice Bomb, which was, predictably, very, very spicy. I expected to struggle with the heat of this – I have a delicate mouth in general (I’ve never got beyond medium at Nandos and was a lemon and herb kinda gal for years) but even D (an extra hot man) was moved to request a jug of water after it. I think, from the rest of the meal, that this particular dish was just thrown in there to keep the spiceheads happy since everything else was impeccably spiced and utterly delicious. I particularly loved a dish of paneer and spinach – to the extent that I acquired Hansa’s cookbook on the way out to recreate it at home. The masala dosa (a filled pancake) with coconut chutney was also lovely. D was left a little disappointed with the chickpea dahl – he felt that the sauce was too thin rendering the dish reminiscent of baked beans. While I took his point, there was no disputing that the taste of said sauce was fabulous. Unusually, I think, for an Indian restaurant, the desserts looked rather tempting as well – but a lack of cubic capacity meant that this end of the menu remained untested. I guess it’s a good excuse to go back.

So – two very different institutions but two wholehearted endorsements to get your curry on here in the West of Yorkshire. And, because in a spirit of fairness I wanted to finish with a fun fact about Leeds, did you know that in 1884 a young man named Michael Marks opened up a penny bazaar in the Kirkgate market which was to lead, ultimately, to the retail behemoth that is Marks and Spencer! Yep, the WW Foodie – it’s not just an entertainment, it’s an education.

Punjab Sweet House and Grill
122-126 Listerhills Rd,
Bradford
BD7 1JR

Hansa’s
72-74 North St,
Leeds,
LS2 7PN

MPM: 29th April 2013

I feel this post is a bit of a cheat...


I so wanted to take part in meal planning Monday today, I really did. But the trouble is, I’m out three nights this week and so meals will be eaten on the run – probably sandwiches! And, per my last post, is anyone really interested in sandwiches? So there is not an awful lot of planning to be done.

The night that I am in I plan to cook something scrummy with new season asparagus. This could be the asparagus cream pasta that I have blogged about before – or maybe something even simpler like pan roasted asparagus with scrambled eggs.

Friday will probably be burger night…

Saturday looks like being Kashmiri lamb curry with pilau rice in front of Doctor Who.

Sunday – I’ve actually booked myself in to my first ever Pilates class in the evening which could be interesting as I’m one of the least bendy people you could ever hope to meet. I doubt very much that I’ll want an awful lot when I get home, so I’m thinking soup – I have a cheeky can of Heinz cream of tomato in the cupboard which has relaxing Sunday evening written all over it.

As always, more meal planning fun over at Mrs M's

The wonder of sandwiches

So, remember when this used to be a blog about losing weight?  C'mon really cast your mind back...yes...bit further....there we go!

Well, in the last two weeks this little piggy has managed to lose five pounds.  Which, in turn, has earned me five stars on my star chart.

I love a star chart.

I put all my success down to sandwiches.  Yes, that's right.  As I said to D recently, I think a good 75% of my meals lately have been sandwich-centric. 

It's not very exciting - certainly it wouldn't make for good reading for you, dearest blog followers.

But I am here and I am keeping on keeping on. 

When I grow up I want to be a marriage counsellor...

...I know these people are highly trained individuals, and I don't mean to be flip, but the idea of a job where you basically just nod, smile, then swivel your head and say "And how do you feel about that D/S?" sounds great to me.

Although the neck swivelling - there must be a genuine risk of RSI with all that going on.

Maybe I mean to be a little bit flip. 

Please don't take any notice, I'm just grumpy.  I had to sit through a five hour meeting today and have lost the will to live a little bit.  So, couples therapy.  First observation: they don't let you sit close to each other.  We've been in two different rooms now and in both cases there was a whacking great table separating the chairs they allowed us to sit in.  And tissues.  Always boxes of tissues within easy reach.  Which is good because I cry a lot.  I'm a crier.  I cry when I'm sad, when I'm happy, when I'm angry, when I'm tired - it's my default emotional reaction.  I worry about my hydration levels, I really do.

But we came away with some things to work on, which is good.  One of my goals is to wholeheartedly commit to a healthier lifestyle - for the sake of my physical and mental health and one of D's is to support me in that.  It's not that he hasn't been supportive in the past, you understand, but we both have a habit of leading each other astray on occasion...Also, I respond well to pats on the head and bribery both of which he has promised to deliver.  Pats on the head in the comment section will also be gratefully received.

Spring has sprung!

My poor little blog has been sadly neglected lately and I have had stern texts from my mother telling me to remedy the situation. She is probably concerned (and with good reason) that a lack of posting tells of a poor, Gollum like creature huddling on the sofa behind a wall fashioned out of takeaway cartons and Easter Egg boxes.

Such is not the case, although it could also be said that the water is being well and truly trod at the moment. Actually, my weight has been drifting downwards but that is more to do with the fact that I have had a period of not taking an awful lot of interest in food in general. I feel a bit like I’ve been hibernating, waiting for Spring. I’m desperately in need of a good dose of sunshine and some general de-cobwebbing. I’ve been doing a lot of quiet contemplation and am feeling generally calm and fairly happy but the trouble with too much of that is one tends to start to sink into a bit of a rut especially when one spends quite a lot of time on their own.

So, let’s make this a generally positive post – a “Things wot I like at the moment” post and see if a bit of optimism and sunshine can perk up my somewhat overgrown corner of the blogosphere.

TWIL #1 – my new(ish) Jo Malone scent in lime, basil and mandarin which I have been spritzing on with abandon. It’s one of the loveliest things I have ever had the privilege of smelling.

TWIL #2 – a polish that makes my nails look like a starry night sky (as an aside, are those fingers or sausages? Answers on a postcard…)
TWIL #3 – seven Easter eggs in place of one!
TWIL #4 – this incredibly simple but utterly delectable recipe for a slow cooked lamb shoulder on boulangere potatoes. I served this up for lunch on Easter Sunday and it was scrumptious and, after an initial bit of prep which you can do at your kitchen table while listening to the Archers, just looks after itself.

TWIL #5 – it’s sadly finished now, but I became mildly addicted to a little BBC2 programme called Country Show Cookoff, which involved celebrity chefs driving a van around the country and submitting entries to country shows. It was glorious – beautiful scenery of the kind that makes you want to start humming Jerusalem, huge cheffy egos being knocked down to size by gimlet eyed WI stalwarts…bliss. There may be a few episodes left on iPlayer – go and put a pinny on and watch them!

And so my darlings, what's new with you...?

Meal Planning Monday - 25th March 2013

I was absolutely delighted to step on the scales this morning and see a loss.

Well, to be more specific, stepping on the scales is never delightful in itself (even though my bathroom scales are a rather fetching shade of pink) but to see a number that was lower than last week’s number – that was the good bit. It was not a huge loss but the number this week is less, lower, under the number last week. Hurrahs and happy dances all round.


Now this week. I’m out on Thursday (theatre, dahling) and am going to D’s for dinner on Friday (I have been promised confit duck legs; I, meanwhile, will be providing a red cabbage and pineapple side dish). The rest of the week:

o Chilli con carne (from the freezer) – this will do two nights.

o Smoked haddock and cheddar fish cakes with tender stem broccoli

o Easter Sunday lunch: slow roast lamb shoulder on Boulangere potatoes with minted peas and roasted asparagus

That leaves me one meal short, but I’ve stocked my cupboard full of soup, so I think Heinz cream of tomato with a cheese toastie on the side might do me one evening – it’s very soup-ey weather at the moment.

Head over to Mrs M’s for more meal planning fun.

Meal Planning Monday - 18th March 2013

It's....


Interesting week. Last Thursday saw D and I undergo (is that the right word? Sounds a bit negative...) our first trip to Relate. Communal navel gazing a go-go. Because our lines of communication have been pretty open I don't think there are too many surprises in store but there are still difficult conversations to be had and to me it makes sense to have them in a safe environment.

Then today I had an appointment for some individual head shrinking. You know, so I can learn how to cope with life's traumas without recourse to cheese.

There has been lots of talking. And shredding of tissues. And I'm still not in a particularly cook-ey place. But I have a meal plan for the coming week - ok, most are assembly jobs, but that's alright.

• Tonight was a chicken mini roast with roast potatoes (oh, I love roast potatoes) and oodles of greens.

• Tomorrow - omelette. With spiced potato wedges ( = middle class for chips).

• Wednesday - Caesar salad (more veg, you see) topped with a griddled tuna steak.

• Thursday - I think I might be out so quick and easy and fab - fish finger sandwich.

• Weekend: not finalised, but it's looking like Kashmiri curry with pilau rice, a lunch out at Saltaire Mills and lamb shank in mint gravy with mash.

More meal plans over at Mrs M's.

Recipe corner - salmon with curried mussels

Whenever I check my recipe page, I am always surprised by the relative dearth of fish recipes on here.  I love fish - all seafood in fact, and often gravitate towards it on menus over meat alternatives.  If a restaurant is offering sea bass, for example, then nine times out of ten that's what I'll pick.  And yet, do I appear to have cooked any sea bass and blogged about it over the past few years?  Not a (fishy) sausage. 

Anyway, this is not a sea bass recipe - actually, I think we're just meant to call it bass now - but it is very, very tasty nonetheless.  The original used twice the amount of butter and a disturbing(ly good) dose of double cream; this version is slightly less....we'll say refined...less creaminess means the curry flavour comes through a little stronger, but the fish can take it.  We actually cooked this with clams the other night as we couldn't get hold of mussels and they worked too and I can imagine it being very nice with prawns - although obviously you'd have to replace the shellfish liquor with a good stock if you went down that route. 

Ingredients

2 medium salmon fillets
Tsp olive oil

500g mussels (weighed with their shells)
90ml white wine
Onion, roughly chopped
Handful of parsley – torn

15g butter

1 onion, finely diced
1 carrot, finely diced
1 celery stick, finely diced
Tbsp curry powder
150g potatoes, finely diced (this equates to around 2 medium potatoes)
50g half fat crème fraiche
Juice of half a lemon

Serves 2, 16 pro points per portion, 9 Smart Points (WW Flex) per portion

In a large saucepan, soften the onion and parsley for a couple of minutes before tipping in the mussels (having debearded them and discarded any damaged ones), the white wine and some seasoning.  Bring to the boil, cover and simmer for around 5 minutes until all the mussels have opened.  Strain over a bowl to collect the liquor and then remove the mussels from their shells.

Melt the butter in a pan and sweat the onion, carrot and celery until nice and soft.  Stir in the curry powder and cook gently for a couple of minutes to take off the raw edge.  Add about 300ml of the retained mussel liquor to the pan, bring to a decent simmer and then add the potatoes and cook until they are soft – about 10 minutes.  Lower the heat and stir through the crème fraiche and the mussels.

Now you can cook your salmon – heat the oil in a non stick frying pan, place the fillet in skin side down and then turn the heat down and cook for around ten minutes, flipping it to the non skin side for the last thirty seconds or so.  This should give you moist, just cooked flesh and a lovely crispy skin.  Serve the salmon, balanced atop the delicious curried mussel and vegetable mix.