A grand day out

Lesley is very wise. In a comment on my last post she pointed out that there was nothing to stop me blogging about things other than food and cooking (or the lack thereof) while things were a bit squiffy. By which I mean peculiar rather than drunk. And she's right - I don't want to get out of the blog habit. Plus, a blog about food is always going to be about lifestyle as well, isn't it...sort of...?

So. Me and the husband are currently dating in an attempt to reinvigorate, rebuild, revitalise (I'm not sure what the correct word is in the circumstances) our relationship. Now, the thing about dating - as opposed to actually being married - is that you have to do stuff. So today we spent a few hours wandering around the Yorkshire Sculpture Park.

It's been on my to do list for years and I wasn't disappointed. Huge, often random, sculptures in a beautiful outdoor setting? Fresh air and culture in equal measures? An exhibition by an artist with a frankly bewildering fixation with female genitalia?

The layout is such that just wandering through woodland you encounter all manner of things. Like these choice specimens.


I was glad we chose this time of year to go. The autumn leaves and bleak sky set off the pieces beautifully.


Some were more peculiar than others...


Yes, that is a giant hare with breasts. I had to wait a long time for the gaggle of schoolboys to get out of the way before taking this shot. And here are some headless people sitting on chairs. They are hollow which represents emptiness and futility - this I know because the label told me so. I would have thought making them hollow made them lighter and thus easier to transport, but what do I know?


We spent over three hours there and only covered a tiny amount of the total space. Considering that you only have to pay for parking (£7.50 for the whole day) it was amazing value and we're already discussing a return trip in January when the temporary exhibition changes.

If you find yourself in the Leeds / Wakefield area and you have a penchant for this sort of thing then I would highly recommend it.

Hello, world!

I was chastised over the weekend for my lack of blog updates.

The trouble is that my cooking and eating is a bit meh at the moment. I'm still, let's be completely honest, missing my husband, my cosy flat, my cosy life and microwave meals and fish finger sandwiches just seem so much more...achievable.

But they do not a dieting foodie blog make.

I just do not feel particularly inspired, I'll be honest with you.

For me it seems, cooking is not just about providing fuel but sharing - a meal, love, time...I know I have to learn that cooking something nice for oneself is still an expression of love, just maybe a less obvious kind.

Still, it's not all bad news. Look at the gorgeous girl who jumps in through my living room window every now and then:


And I saw my darling Min at the weekend and I'd hate for her to be jealous:


I suppose there are worse things to be than a crazy cat lady...

The New Normal

In which I discuss the art of dating and provide a very user friendly version of Heston Blumenthal's macaroni cauliflower cheese.

D and I had been together eight and a half years when we separated, albeit on a trial basis. That's a long time, especially, I think, when it essentially covers the period from early(ish) twenties to thirties - for me, my real growing up years.

We're still trying to work out what this separation should look like. One thing we are agreed on is that we should try just dating for a while. Dating. Remember that? When you got dressed up and went out and did something as opposed to sitting on the sofa in pyjamas with a bottle of wine and a boxset? Yeah, dim and distant for me too. I got married so I wouldn't have to do dating anymore but there you go...

As of Saturday I have my first top tip for anyone who may find themselves in a similar position. When you book tickets for an event, EVEN if you book them through a particular theatre box office don't be so naive as to assume said theatre is where the event actually is. Apparently, in the last eight and a half years, things have changed. And I have failed to change along with them. Check, check and check again all the details of your "date" if you are the organising party - this will prevent your sort-of ex rolling his eyes, biting his lip and generally remembering all the annoying, scatty habits you had which led him to leave in the first place.
Why not invite him around for dinner? No location based issues to fend with then, and why not make him something like the below? It's rich and decadent enough to appeal to the sternest heart.

This is an adaptation of the recipe in Heston B's latest which is called something like "At Home" or "Easy Peasy Recipes for Busy People". The original requires a trip to the chemist to buy something more commonly used to treat cystitis than ameliorate your dinner and a number of slightly twiddly processes. I am sure that these are there to make the dish better but the below was scrumptious, easy enough to whip up after a day at work and with just a tiny tweak to the amount of butter and cheese and a swap of whole for skimmed milk, relatively WW friendly. Hurrah.

Don't be put off by the small amount of pasta - this quantity is definitely sufficient.

Ingredients
150g cauliflower florets
200ml skimmed milk
100g macaroni
80g Gruyere plus 20g for topping
20g Parmesan
Tsp wholegrain mustard
20g butter

Serves 2, 14 pro points per portion

Place most of the cauliflower florets in a saucepan - keeping a few back for the final stage. Go for a large pan with a big surface area so that the milk will almost cover when poured over. Place over a medium heat and simmer for 35 minutes. When done, the vegetable should be meltingly soft - tip cauliflower and milk into a blender and whizz to a smooth purée.

Cook the pasta in well salted water until al dente.

Bring the cauliflower mixture back to a simmer, add the cheeses and mix well. When the cheese has melted and the sauce is unctuous and smooth, stir through the mustard, the butter and season to taste.

Fold the cooked pasta and reserved raw cauliflower florets through the sauce. Top with the reserved Gruyere and pop under the grill and bubbling and golden.

It's never too early...

Behold!


Some amongst you may scoff that it is FAR too early in the year to be thinking about the C word. But let me tell you, these Heston Christmas puddings will be rarer than gold dust come the beginning if December. So when I happened across a stand full of them in Waitrose this afternoon I simply couldn't resist...

Foodie Penpals - September

Regular readers of this blog will know that September was not the best of months for me: I started a new job, moved house and separated from my husband all in the space of thirty days.

Before all that - back in those heady days when I had a clue what was going on - I signed up to a rather fabulous scheme called Foodie Penpals. You can read about it here but the gist is that you buy some yummy things, pack them in a box and send them to a fellow foodie with a note of explanation.

My box arrived on one of the most horrible days of my life and, deeply mired in self pity as I was, it still managed to raise a smile from me. That's one of the amazing things about blogging. You become a part, albeit a tiny one, of a wider community where the collective spirit is one of support and kindness and joy.

My package came from the very lovely Carys. Look at my loot!



What was especially nice was how thoughtful the items were.

There were some Welsh delicacies - including some extremely gorgeous Welsh cakes (best described as flattish, lightly spiced scones - how have I managed to miss these for the past thirty years??) Oh, and toffee waffles that you perch on a cup of tea until they go all gooey and delectable. I definitely must go for tea in Wales.

There were also some slightly offbeat offerings - I told Carys via email that I would try anything once and she definitely took me up on it! But, let me tell you my friends, if you have never tried cheddar and toffee popcorn then you are seriously missing out. It is one of the most moreish snacks I've come across in a long time. I've found it here and will definitely be purchasing some more very soon. Roasted chickpeas proved almost as addictive - and being as healthy as they are tasty make a perfect snack for a WWer trying to claw her way back onto the wagon.

I still haven't got around to trying the green tea noodles and Japanese seasoning but see a seared tuna steak dish in my very near future to sample these.

So thank you to Carys, to Carole Ann who organises the scheme and, in fact, thank you to all you bloggers who have made this little corner of the web such a lovely place to be. Roll on October!

Meal Planning Monday - 1st October 2012

I'm back! Kind of...




This is my first meal planning post for a while, my first in my new home and my first as a singleton. Phew. I'm keeping it extremely simple and with lots of nursery food options on there (see Thursday and Sunday!) to get me back in the swing and to soothe my troubles away - while remaining on track. Where a dish won't freeze particularly well I shall just eat it over two nights. I know - contentious (but frugal).

• Monday and Tuesday - cheese and tomato bread pudding with salad in honey mustard dressing.

• Wednesday - out having a crying on the shoulder session with my lovely friend A. Going straight from work so will have an Innocent veg pot before leaving the office.

• Thursday - fish fingers, mash, peas, carrots and oodles of ketchup.

• Friday - tuna pasta bake using the Homepride sauce that lovely Jenny has recommended previously.

• Saturday - a slow cooker chilli using beef brisket and chorizo, from a Thomasina Miers recipe which can be found here.

• Sunday - back to the nursery for
potato waffles, baked beans and a poached egg. To be taken in front of Downton - if I have a working television before then!

As always, head over to Mrs M's for more meal planning fun.

Reality Bites

Thank you from the heart of my bottom for the comments left on my last post. You were all so kind; it meant a lot. I'm sorry I've not been commenting on blogs much recently but gradually, gradually normal service looks set to be resumed.

I am now moved in to the new place in Leeds. Half of my possessions are still in boxes but I'm slowly getting there. It's a beautiful house and I am lucky to have it and I am resolutely not going to focus on the fact that I am here on my own.

I don't yet know what will happen between me and D but I do know that I am going to give saving our relationship a good shot. And part of that is looking after myself and not allow myself to wallow in a mire of self pity and rose wine. With this in mind, off I toddled to a brand new WW meeting this morning. Yep, at 7.30 am, I was getting weighed! How virtuous does that make me feel! The meeting itself is just a ten minute walk from the office so I was at my desk by eight, all aglow with good intentions.

I don't yet know if this is going to be Operation Win Back Husband or Become Presentable Singleton. But either way, it has to be better than Operation Become Morbidly Obese Gin Raddled Lock In.

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Girl/Boy, Interrupted

Once upon a time, about eight and a half years ago, there was a girl and a boy. They met, as girls and boys often do. They went on a few dates. They made each other laugh. They had interests in common (although the relative merits of the musical as an art form and the correct ambient temperature for the living room would be constant sources of disagreement).

And after (quite a short) while, they moved in together.

And a few years later, they got engaged.

And a few years after that, they got married.

And a year (almost to the day) after that, the boy told the girl that he wanted to separate for a time to think about whether he wished to continue to be in the relationship.

And the girl cried (quite a lot) and drank gin (quite a lot) and at first thought evil thoughts about the boy but then remembered some nice things about him and cried a bit more.

And the girl reluctantly admitted to herself that sometimes, however much you love someone and however much you have built your life around them and however much you think the day is brighter because they are in it, sometimes relationships fall apart despite everything and that it isn't a question of blame or guilt, just very, very sad. And she was grateful that they loved each other enough to think that their relationship might be worth a trial
separation period and might still be worth saving.

And the girl, who wrote a blog that was sometimes about dieting and sometimes about food and sometimes just about life in general, decided to put up a post explaining why things might be a bit unsettled for a while and why meal planning might consist of a lot of prick and pings* for one for the time being while she got used to the idea of cooking for herself.

*Although then she remembered that she didn't have a microwave anymore so would have to go for ones that baked in the oven until she got around to replacing it.

The end. For now.

- Posted using BlogPress from my iPhone

End of the summer

I've interspersed this rather meandering post with pictures from a recent meal we had at Carriages wine bar.  If you ever find yourself in the North Yorkshire market town of Knaresborough and in need of sustenance, it is well worth the visit.  They don't appear to have their own website, but you can find their entry on the Harrogate food guide here.

Well. What an odd two weeks it has been to be sure.

You may remember, in the last thrilling instalment, that I was on the point of moving out; after weeks of procrastination by a pair of less than stellar solicitors, things had suddenly come to a head very fast. D, my brother and I spent a couple of frantic days flinging all our stuff into boxes and driving a white van between our flat and my parents’ garage wherein now can be found pretty much all our worldly possessions. In no particular order.

King prawns and langoustines in a lemongrass, chilli, pineapple and kaffir lime leaf nage

We were fully prepared to spend the following fortnight, which we had both booked off work for the purposes of general chilling out as opposed to going away, combing Leeds for the perfect place to live. But the rental market, previously a relentless juggernaut of a thing which waited for no man, slowed down to…well, much less of a juggernaut. So we’re currently still chez les parentals.

Smoked trout fillet on grilled fennel with olive salsa and beetroot marinated calamari

Much as I love them, it is not a particularly ideal situation for either party. Their garage looks, as my mother says, as if the Ark of the Covenant could be concealed somewhere within its depths (although D did manage to create a path through to the wine rack at the back). And of course there have been fraught moments on either side when I for one have been in danger of regressing to my thirteen year old self.

Beef fillet with beetroot fondant, sausage and leek ragout with a tarragon and mustard bechamel sauce

Still, all that aside we did manage to get some relaxing in. I don’t think I got up much before nine the entire time which was absolutely blissful. And, of course, any thought of dieting went out of the window – well, it never takes much with me, does it?

Yes, this is a diet blog, remember? Ha, I bet you’d forgotten. The old weight has been remaining pretty steady – but not going down and all the impetus and drive of the first few months of this year has completely dissipated among the general disruption and stress of the summer. BUT. I reckon you can’t be said to have failed until you have given up altogether and that I will never do. There is a meeting, located a ten minute walk away from my office, that takes place at 7.30 a.m. on a Wednesday morning, and that is where you find me this time next week.

Pot au chocolat with pistachio fudge

My thoughts on meetings have always been mixed. On the one hand, I resent paying to have someone weigh me, like a pig going to market, and then tell me stuff that I already know for half an hour. On the other hand, I am a creature who thrives on structure and routine and I have proved time and time again that left to myself I will have the odd burst of brilliance and then drift off course like a chubby little cloud. So, meetings it is. Meetings and meal planning and (whisper it) back to the gym – although it will be a new gym, because to go all the way from Leeds to York just to jog on a treadmill for a bit would just be silly.

So, all steam ahead for next week, although there is the small matter of my first wedding anniversary beforehand…

A place called home

I've almost certainly mentioned on this blog before that although I now live in God's Own County (Yorkshire for the uninitiated) I was born and grew up down south, at the part of the Underground map where the District Line meets the county of Essex, only moving in my early twenties. Leaving the house I grew up in was relatively painless in the end. It happened while I was at university and during that period so many things were in a state of transition that it didn't register as much as it might have done a few years earlier. And I always assumed I'd go back. Not to the house you understand, but to The South, to London, because that is what graduates, clutching their shiny new degrees, did.

It never happened and somehow, eleven years later, I find myself a kind of expat. By which I mean I think that I think of myself as a Southerner living in the North. They don't let you declare yourself a Yorkshire(wo)man until you're third generation.

And now I'm moving again, from North to West Yorkshire. And, oh,  the wrench at leaving York is far more acute than leaving Essex. I guess it's because my really formative years took place here, my  real growing up.  In the last ten years in this, my beautiful city, I have had my first proper job (it involved chocolate), and my first flat (damp and nasty).  I got my heart broken a little bit and bruised a couple in return and, of course, I met the man that I would end up marrying. It was in York that D and I had our first date, at a grotty pub that happened to be handy for the station, in York that we made our first home together, spent our first Christmas, probably had our first big fight. York is where I think of as home.

I don't want to leave.

But then, what is home, really?  Is it a physical place?  Or is it just anywhere that the people you love are?  I suppose the very fact that my heart now belongs so firmly to the grim North is evidence that the concept of home is more than geographical.  It is love and memories rather than bricks and mortar.  And so, although I got a bit sniffly when I looked round our little flat, devoid of furniture, and will get a lump in my throat when I walk down High Petergate towards the Minster, I must be brave and resolute and accept the idea that in a little while they'll be a whole new set of Leeds based memories and a home built there too.

I leave you with one of my favourite views of York taken by D a few years ago. And I promise to follow this up at some point with something more relevant to this blog - a Foodie's Guide to the capital of Yorkshire.

OH

It turns out that I am moving.

Tomorrow.

After weeks of delay and a torpor suddenly things have started moving rather more quickly.  We have yet to find anywhere to go so we are descending on my parents for what all parties hope will be the briefest of sojourns. D is attempting to ram our sofas into their garage as we speak.

Cooking and meal planning may go to the wall a bit for the next week though, so please bear with.

But look, in the meantime, here’s a lovely picture of some strawberries!

Meal planning Monday - 20th August 2012

After last week’s successful return to the meal planning fold (meal plan not only made but pretty much adhered to) I find myself in a bit more of an anxious mood today. Perhaps it is the fact that we are living surrounded by boxes and that we are still awaiting confirmation of a moving date, but I don’t really want to commit myself to anything more than a few days in advance.

I can tell you what we’re eating tonight – Shepherds Pie. We were supposed to have it yesterday but it got bumped in favour of a rather delicious sausage sandwich, using award winning sausages from this butcher.

I know that I’m out tomorrow night – going over to Liverpool for a couple of days to have a handover to the replacement me – so D is fending for himself.

And I know that on Wednesday I’ll be back late and so quick, easy and tasty is the order of the day so that old reliable, pan fried salmon fillets with pasta pesto is popping up.

I’m pretty sure nothing much is happening on Thursday, which will give me the opportunity to cook my third Capricorn goats cheese recipe. I’ll leave that one as a bit of a surprise – suffice to say is is going to be a savoury version of a dessert classic.

The weekend though – that seems way too far into an uncertain future to have a plan. I’ve got some pigeon breasts in the freezer, and some puff pastry, and so have had the idea of doing little pigeon Wellington type things. That’s a possibility.

I can’t tell you how much I am looking forward to finally being settled and back into routine. I start my new job on 10th September and would like to be well ensconsed by then, so please cross all digits for me. And, after you’ve done that you might like to pop over to Mrs M’s for some more meal plans.

Mid week catch up

Moving blows goats. There is simply no polite way to put it. We are currently living surrounded by packing boxes as we wait for the sale of our flat to go through. If and when this happens it will be no thanks to our completely inept solicitor, who is very good at finding new things to charge us money for, but little else. I’ve been reduced this week to chasing up various bits of information on their behalf and have proved to be about ten times more efficient. And I am not an efficient person at all. When I beat you in the efficiency stakes there is something seriously wrong.

They need to pull their finger out because we have to have a moving date so that we can sort out where we are actually moving to. At the moment it’s a toss up between my parents’ shed and a blow up bed under my desk. I am not dealing well with the uncertainty. We’ve seen a couple of places that are potentials, but the rental market in Leeds moves so fast that agents are, understandably, not keen to agree a let when the let-ees think they might be moving at sort of around the end of the month, assuming their solicitor can rouse themselves from post-lobotomy torpor to lift the phone and agree something with the buyer’s solicitor (who is, by all accounts, equally useless).

Anyway. D decided that it was not worth shipping my ridiculously large, tottery pile of food magazines over to Leeds and so has been spending his evenings ruthlessly ripping out the pages he deems worthy of keeping and ditching the rest. I see his point but was rather fond of my pile and have secretly decided to start building it up again as soon as possible.

Mind you, I’m starting to wonder how many recipes one person actually needs. I’ve recently started trying to catalogue all the various internet bookmarks I’ve got and they total 330 so far. That’s in addition to shelves groaning with cookbooks, a box file and additional folder stuffed with clippings and two recipe notebooks. And still I struggle when it comes to meal planning! Anyone know why that is? Answers on a postcard…which you might need to address care of Leeds station toilets.

A second #capricornchallenge recipe corner - Summer tomato pasta with goats cheese

So, as I explained here a lovely goat called Ethel sent me all sorts of gorgeous ingredients in return for coming up with some fun and funky ways of cooking her beautiful cheese. Easy for a dedicated cheese lover such as myself.

We've already had a classic tart, and this recipe, inspired by the Barefoot Contessa (love her!) is a fresh and summery pasta dish which would be perfect for al fresco dining if, you know, we actually had any summer to speak of.



Ingredients

3-4 plum tomatoes
Handful of fresh basil leaves
Fat clove of garlic
Tbsp olive oil
Tbsp balsamic vinegar
Squeeze of lemon juice
120g fresh pappardelle pasta
100g Capricorn Somerset goats cheese
20g Parmesan, grated

Serves 2, 16 pro points per portion

The key to this dish is to allow the tomatoes plenty of time to macerate - at least a couple of hours at room temperature. I prepared them the day before, refrigerated overnight then took them out of the fridge a couple of hours before cooking the pasta.

So, firstly you need to halve the tomatoes then, using a teaspoon, scoop out the seeds and discard. Dice the flesh.

Then, julienne the basil leaves. To do this, lay them flat in a pile, roll into a cigar shape and then thinly slice into a heap of green slivers.

Combine the tomato, basil, oil, vinegar, lemon juice and the crushed garlic clove with a hearty amount of salt and pepper, cover and set aside.

When ready to serve, cook the fresh pasta in boiling salted water for a mere 3-4 minutes.

Meanwhile, prepare the goats cheese. I removed the side rind but left the top and bottom and then roughly diced to help it melt through the sauce a little quicker.

When the pasta is cooked, drain well and then stir through the tomatoes, the goats cheese and
half the Parmesan. The cheese will melt and combine with the macerated tomato liquid to give a beautifully delicate, creamy sauce which coats the pasta.

Serve with the remaining Parmesan sprinkled on top.

Meal Planning Monday - 13th August 2012

So the fireworks have been fired, the last medals presented and the Spice Girls, er, spiced. The Olympics are officially over.

Back to meal planning!


For the first time in a few weeks I have sat down with notebook and pen, chewed said pen thoughtfully, and put together a meal plan. Nice to be back in control - or as much in control as I ever am.

So, this week is looking a little bit like this....

• Hake fillet with tapenade and pears - a delicious and unusual Hairy Bikers recipe

• Pear, blue cheese and walnut salad with crispy pancetta (I have pears to use up).

• My next recipe for the #capricornchallenge - summer garden pasta with goats cheese.

• More pasta - filled with spinach and ricotta this time and tossed with butter and Parmesan, a quick supper before a murder mystery evening!

• And something a bit more wintry (we cater for all seasons here) - Shepherds Pie with green veg to use up some delicious lamb gravy from the freezer.

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

A #capricornchallenge recipe corner - pissladiere with goats cheese

Cheese is a very serious business.

I am a huge fan. Check out the recipe page of this blog and you will see that a large proportion of the dishes that I am encouraging people to cook contains the stuff. Yes, most cheeses are relatively high in calories and fat – but. Choose something with good flavour and a little will go a long way. Plus, wouldn’t you rather eat a small amount of something outstandingly delicious than a huge bowl of tasteless diet pap?

(Ahem. Climbs down from soapbox).

Ethel the Goat, of the Capricorn Somerset Goats is currently encouraging food bloggers to get creative and come up with some recipes that show off her rather tasty cheese. Now, goats cheese tends to divide people but I am firmly in the love it category. It has a gloriously pungent quality that is always (to me at least) reminscent of the smell of summer farmyards, of sunshine on straw. One tweet to Ethel later and the most amazing hamper of goodies turned up on my doorstep. This is clearly a goat who takes her cooking seriously.
The cheese itself is fresh and creamy and to be honest, I was quite tempted to just smear it on some crusty bread and leave it at that. But that would not make for the most exciting of challenge entries. So I’ve come up with a few different ideas, the first of which revisits an old friend.

One of the things I wanted to cook was a real classic – a red onion and goats cheese tart. I sometimes find when I eat this that the onion component can be a little too sweet and jammy. So I looked back at the first ever recipe I posted on this blog – pissaladiere. This is an onion tart where the sweetness of the onions, tomato and balsamic vinegar are whacked around the chops with an intensely savoury garlic and anchovy hit. I had a feeling that sliced goats cheese melted on top would be absolutely delicious. I was right.



You’ll find when you make this that the amount of topping looks a little meagre. Don’t be tempted to increase it – there are some serious flavours in there so definitely a case of less being more.

Ingredients
125g puff pastry
1 large onion, thinly sliced
1 tbsp olive oil
2 garlic cloves, crushed
100g (half a small can) tinned tomatoes
Several sprigs of fresh thyme
1 tbsp balsamic vinegar
22g (half a small can) tinned anchovies
100g Capricorn Somerset goats cheese, thinly sliced

Serves 2, 15 pro points per person

Preheat the oven to 220˚C unless you are preparing the onion mixture in advance.

In a large saucepan heat the olive oil and then stew the onions, covered, over a low heat for about half an hour until they are wilted and golden. A pinch of salt in with the onions will help them release moisture and sweat. You might need to give them the occasional stir to ensure that they don’t catch.

Add the thyme, one of the garlic cloves, the tomatoes and the balsamic vinegar. Turn the heat up slightly and let the sauce reduce down for about 5 minutes.

Drain the anchovies on kitchen paper to remove excess oil and then pound them up with the remaining garlic clove. When the sauce is reduced, remove it from the heat and stir through the garlic and anchovy mixture.

On a lightly floured surface roll out the pastry into a rough square shape. Spread on the onion mixture leaving a small 2cm margin around the outside which you can then fold in to make a crust. Top with the slices of goats cheese (resisting the urge to swipe one or two for yourself).

Bake in the preheated oven for 15 - 20 minutes until the pastry is puffy and golden. This is best eaten warm rather than hot, so leave to cool for 5-10 mins if you can manage it. Gorgeous served with a simple dressed salad.

The hairy bikers stole my USP!

Humph. So the Hairy Bikers, lovers of beer, baking and butter, are on a diet and the BBC are paying them to make a television programme about it. What's with that, BBC? I've been writing a blog about how to lose weight while enjoying gorgeous food for years now! Where's my TV deal?

That aside, I enjoyed the first episode - still available on iPlayer, although I was a little bit sniffy about the fact they used cornflour to thicken their white sauce rather than make a proper roux.

They've apparently lost a fair bit of weight between them (good for them) and they are affable chaps, so I shall watch forthcoming shows with interest.

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In which I paint the town red in Liverpool

As you may know (because I can be quite repetitive) I am starting a new job in September. While this is, in many ways, a Good Thing, I will miss the people that I have been working with very much. We are situated in various offices all over the country, generally only coming together a few times a year to deliver training or mark assignments but we are incredibly lucky in that from the very start we all hit it off and found that our working styles, despite being different, easily mesh.

This week was the last time that I was to see most of them so we were determined to Go Out and paint the town, if not red, a very definite shade of pink.

We went to the Olive Press in Liverpool mainly because they were offering a good midweek discount deal and we civil servants haven't had a payrise in a while. For £30 a head (three courses and wine) it seems churlish to complain. But the food, while adequate, did not rock my world.


My chicken liver pâté starter was woefully under seasoned though nicely presented - I'm a sucker for a Kilner jar.


Lemon chicken with goats' cheese and basil risotto was, again, a little lacking in flavour. Oh, and the chicken was overcooked. I know people can be squeamish about chicken but really, it needs to retain some moisture...

However. I can't complain about the liqueur coffee. So I won't. And the pizzas that were delivered to some of the party looked excellent - a pleasingly blistered base with a good amount of toppings - not so much as to be overkill, not too little to be sparse.

The hardcore contingent then made our way to Revolution for shots and giggles.


Don't you just love the idea of cocktail teapots?

What I learned here was:

• Birthday cake vodka is not nice.

• If you have had enough alcohol
previous to said birthday cake vodka, you will drink it anyway.

• Long Island Iced Tea ROCKS.

• I am no longer very good at late nights midweek.

Which is why, if you will excuse me, I'm off for a little nap. If you happen to be travelling across the Pennines on the way to York at the moment and you hear someone snoring away in the back carriage then do feel free to give me a sharp dig in the ribs - or at least wipe the drool off my chin.

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I’m back, baby. Kind of.

After two solid weeks in the wilderness – Lincoln then Essex via Surrey and back to Lincoln again – I am home and slowly, gradually getting myself back into routine. Well, I say that, but I’m off again this week for a few days so this meal planning entry will be on the short side - but at least it sort of kind of exists.

This blog hasn’t been very Weight Watchery lately for the very good reason that I haven’t been very Weight Watchery myself. Weight Watchers, like pretty much any eating plan, works but only if you put in the time and commitment. At the beginning of the year, when I was planning and tracking and exercising, the weight came off with relative ease. Life has got in the way, as life has a habit of doing. But I take heart from the fact that I have pretty much managed to maintain through some stressful times and that when things settle down again, as will happen very soon now, I’ll be able to start again with renewed vigour.

 I have thought about this a lot over the last few months. I have spent so much of my adult life on a “diet” that part of me wants to throw the towel in and say, ok, I may not be slim but I’m healthy and happy and being a size 10 isn’t the be all and end all. But do you know what I’ve realised? I don’t want to throw in the towel. Yes, I’m happy (and considering I spent a considerable amount of time in my twenties being very unhappy this is excellent progress). But I would be even happier if I were more confident in my appearance. And yes, I’m healthy at the moment, but I’d be stupid to assume that I will always be so lucky, and extra weight puts unnecessary strain on my body.

 I am pleased that I have learned to count my blessings. I don’t think the girl who wrote the first few entries on this blog was very good at that. I am pleased that I no longer tie up all my self worth with my size. But I do not want to go gently into the good night of plump middle age just yet.

 Anyway. A cursory amount of meal planning this week.

 

• Classic lasagne – this has been popping up on a few meal planning blogs lately and given me quite the fancy for it.
• Chicken mini roasts with roast potatoes and seasonal veg.
• Chilli and lime crusted salmon with…well, it’s supposed to be lentils but it may well be new potatoes since I’ve got some that need using up.

 That takes us through to the weekend at least, and then, if the weather holds, I quite fancy a classic barbecue…pass the Pimms!

As always, pop over to Mrs M’s for more meal planning fun (and probably considerably less navel gazing).

 

Recipe Corner - Spiced couscous with halloumi, courgette and broad beans

Squeaky cheese!

Hallelujah people – the frozen broad beans are finally gone! Long time readers, who no doubt take a deep interest in the contents of my freezer, may remember that sometime back in (I think) March or so I began commenting on the fact that I was trying to get the freezer down and that I was trying to come up with interesting uses for a bag of broad beans that never seemed to become any less. Well, one last push the other week and the little critters were finally vanquished. Hurrah.

Actually, I feel a little bereft now. As soon as we’re settled into a new home with a new freezer, I might have to buy some more.

So anyway, this dish was a gorgeous combination of delicately spiced couscous, salty, squeaky halloumi and a fresh pop of summer vegetables. Perfect for this sudden hot spell, I’d say. As the main ingredient is cheese, it is, necessarily, a little hefty on the points – but as you know, I’ll sacrifice a lot to get my cheese fix and halloumi really is a favourite. You’ll notice I use reduced fat halloumi in this recipe. I actually find there to be very little difference between reduced fat and full fat versions – and that is the God’s honest, hand on heart, truth. Were it not the case, I would rather reduce the portion size than compromise (cheese is, after all, a serious business).

Ingredients

100g couscous
Tsp cumin
Tsp coriander
Tsp cinnamon
10g butter
Chicken stock (sufficient to cover the dried couscous)
200g light halloumi, sliced lengthwise
100g broad beans (fresh or frozen)
1 courgette, reduced to ribbons (use a mandolin or a good potato peeler)
Tbsp olive oil
Tbsp white wine vinegar
Squeeze of lemon juice
Scant tsp Dijon mustard

Serves 2, 16 pro points per portion

Put a pan of salted water on to boil and prepare your veg.

Add the spices to the couscous and cover with chicken stock. Place some cling film or a clean tea towel over the bowl and allow to steam while you prepare the other component parts.

Whisk together the oil, vinegar, lemon and mustard with some seasoning and set aside.

Boil the broad beans for five minutes, adding the courgette strips for the final minute. Drain and run cool water over the vegetables to stop them cooking. Pat dry, and return to the pan over a very low heat. Pour over the dressing and gently warm through.

Fry the halloumi slices in a hot, dry non-stick pan for a couple of minutes on each side until darkly blistered.

Uncover the couscous and melt through the butter, using a fork to fluff up the grains. Serve, topped with halloumi slices and the lightly dressed vegetables.

The secret is, there is no secret

I met up with a good friend at the weekend, whom I hadn’t seen since before Christmas. Well – what a difference seven months can make! She had lost a shitload (note use of technical term) of weight. And how, I wondered aloud, had she managed it. Well…by following Weight Watchers to the letter and going to the gym five times a week.

Damn. I had kind of been hoping for some sort of weird cactus extract tea or at the very least a wheat and dairy and alcohol intolerance. Nope. Turns out good old fashioned watching what you eat and moving more can work wonders.

Good for her, say I. But also (in a slightly quieter voice) game on.

In which I sulk a little bit

So, let me tell you how this weekend should have gone. On Friday, three of us were heading for dinner at one of my favourite restaurants. Then, on Saturday, I was going for a much needed hair cut followed by a barbecue at my parent's house. Sunday would have seen a leisurely drive home via our local
farm shop to pick up a chicken for roasting, and then an afternoon drinking tea and getting up to date with the newspapers.

In fact what actually happened was that I spent most of the three days in bed, occasionally surfacing to drink more fluids and communicate my displeasure in an interesting series of croaks.

Yep, I have the lurgy. Actually, I've had it for a week now and it's just. Getting. Boring. I have no appetite to speak of and the only things that I can get vaguely enthusiastic about eating are Starbucks' Frappucinos and ice cream because they numb my throat on the way down.

It is not a diet I would recommend.

Anyway, despite the fact that I can't speak, and may well have to deliver sessions through the medium of modern dance, I am now back down to Lincoln for two weeks. It will be the last time I'll ever be a trainer on this course which is a little bit sad, but I am definitely starting to become more excited for the new job that I'll be starting in a few weeks. Or as excited as I am capable of being about anything at the moment (I am a terrible, terrible invalid. A really miserable piece of work).

Anyway. If I eat anything worth blogging about in the next fortnight, or, indeed, stumble upon some sort of universal truth of dieting, you'll be the first to know.



And here is a cute cat picture to cheer us all (well, me) up.

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Slow cooker recipe corner – Shoulder of lamb with tomatoes and butterbean mash

Every recipe that I post on this blog is one that I have cooked myself and enjoyed. There would be no point otherwise, would there? But occasionally, I post a recipe which it is IMPERATIVE that you go and make immediately and this is one such dish. Honestly, it’s really, really good.

I’ve had the slow cooker for a couple of years now (thanks, Mum!) and initially I thought it would end up being used for stews and chilli. But it turns out that is a fabulous way to slow roast cheaper joints of meat (shoulder of lamb enter, stage left.) After twelve hours at a low heat, the meat is melt in the mouth tender. We’ve done pork shoulder in there as well and I have a mind to try pork belly pieces at some point.

Anyway, I adapted this recipe from this blog here, and she in turn adapted it from a James Martin recipe. It’s lovely the way that works, isn’t it? Chinese whisper recipes – each new person adding a little something. Or perhaps taking a little something away. It’s one of the great pleasures of food blogging. Actually, the main thing I’ve found using the slow cooker, is to reduce the amount of liquid specified in any given recipe, so that is the chief difference here.

Ingredients

Half shoulder of lamb, bone in
Tsp of vegetable oil
Onion, finely chopped
Garlic clove, crushed
Large tin of tomatoes
Tsp sugar
Large tin of butterbeans, drained
2-3 sprigs of rosemary
2-3 sprigs of thyme
2 bay leaves
Beef or chicken stock cube
100ml red wine (I used port to no ill effect)
100ml water
2 tbsp Worcester sauce

Serves 2 (with leftovers) – 3, 12 pro points per portion (if divided 3 ways)

First the easy bit. Into the slow cooker, lob every ingredient apart from the lamb, the oil, the onion and the garlic. Swoosh it around a bit. Add a pinch of salt and a good scrunch of pepper.

Now, season the lamb and in a large, non-stick pan, brown it on all sides. This will create a lot of smoke and may well set off your smoke alarm. Ensure an assistant is on hand to waft a teatowel around and open all windows.

When browned, remove the lamb from the pan. Add the oil for a little lubrication and then cook the onion and garlic for about 5 minutes until golden. Tip them straight into the slow cooker, do another bit of swooshing and then place the lamb on top. Cook on a low heat for 10-12 hours. When cooked, the bone should slip straight out of the tender meat.

Set the lamb shoulder to one side to rest. Extract the butterbeans from the sauce and blitz in a food processor, or roughly mash. If you have time, cool the remaining gravy and skim off any fat that rises to the surface before reheating to a brisk boil and reducing slightly. Serve the meat with the butterbean mash, a good ladle of gravy and perhaps a couple of vegetable side dishes.

Meal Planning Monday - 9th July 2012

And there it was gone. The weekend, that is. How was it for you? Despite the dire weather predictions we managed to eat ice cream in the sunshine on Saturday afternoon and yesterday cooked Sunday lunch for my father in law, a slow roast shoulder of lamb to die for (recipe to follow). All in all, very pleasant indeed.

So, on with this week’s meal plan. And in a shock development, I’m actually at home all week! No gallivanting whatsoever.

Tonight we’ll be having a chicken and summer vegetable pot pie with mash. Pot pie, I have recently learned, is what you call it when your pie just has a pastry lid but no walls. Aka dieter’s pie or less-fun pie.

Over the next three nights in no particular order:

• Spaghetti bolognese, made with lamb mince and the rich, delicious, tomatoey gravy left over from our lamb shoulder roast at the weekend.
• Spiced couscous with griddled halloumi and a warm salad of courgettes and broad beans.
• Salmon gnocchi bake. We’ve got some frozen salmon in the, er, freezer which isn’t really nice enough to eat just as a fillet but will be fine in this kind of thing. I first saw this recipe mentioned on another MPM post so, whoever you are, I thank you! I adore gnocchi.

Friday night we’re out for the evening, Saturday we’re off to the parentals for a fishy barbecue and Sunday….hmmm. We might end up picking at leftovers, or I might buy a chicken to roast to provide D with the basis for some meals next week while I’m away (again). So, undecided. But hey, this is more of a plan then I’ve managed for a while so I’m pretty pleased. For more meal planning fun, as ever, scoot over to Mrs M’s.

York screams for ice cream

Prior to us moving away, D and I have been spending some Quality Time with York over the past few weekends. We've done this year's Science and Innovation Grand Tour, checked out a few of those hostelries which have been on our To Do list for a while and generally had a good old wander round.

We've uncovered a few little gems of places, one of which was this establishment.


The Luxury Ice Cream Company (or Licc - you see what they did there?) was an absolute paean to kitsch - from the bright pink umbrellaed tables outside to the pastel colour scheme used in the parlour. But it was fabulous.


Next time I go I'll save up some room and try a liccabockerglory. As it was, D and I shared a small tub of chocolate, orange and
ginger ice cream which was divine - and plenty enough for the two of us which, at £2.30 makes it pretty damn good value. There was a huge range of flavours - from bubblegum to ginger biscuit, all of which looked delicious, as well as a cute selection of toppings. An ice cream lover's paradise with gingham and frills.

Luxury Ice Cream Company
20 Back Swinegate
York

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