Hitting up the Scotland Year of Food and Drink 2015

I'm on the countdown to my holidays - today is officially my last day in the office for over two weeks and I couldn't be happier about it.  We are off to Scotland on Monday - a couple of nights in Glasgow and then a whistlestop tour of Islay before Mull for a week.  The weather forecast might be a little dismal but our enthusiasm remains undampened.

It goes without saying that most of our plans involve indulging in some fabulous food and drink.  Not for nothing did we pick Islay, home to a number of fantastic whisky distilleries, and no trip to Mull would be complete without at least one seafood binge.  I hope to share some of my adventures here while we go round, WiFi access allowing.

By a very happy coincidence, it turns out that 2015 has been declared the Year of Food and Drink in Scotland so hopefully we will come across some events while we are out and about.  Whatever happens, you can be sure that there will be plenty of enthusiastic prose and terrible photography.

A beautiful Scottish oyster topped with chorizo in Oban

I'm also conscious that I've been very lax about posting recipes here lately and we've been doing some fantastic cooking at home.  I'm going to try and schedule some recipe posts to pop up over the next couple of weeks while we're away - keep your eyes peeled for a very interesting prawn dish and a superlative pulled pork.

Reading, not planning

I faithfully promised my mother on Sunday that I would write a meal planning post.  And indeed, I had every intention of doing so - especially since we actually had a meal plan.  But then I accidentally picked up a book and...suddenly the evening was gone.

As a child, indeed, as a teenager, I was always a bookworm.  I was one of those kids who started getting twitchy if there was nothing around to read.  Unfortunately, I read incredibly fast which made holiday packing tricky (this being in the time before Kindles).  I seem to recall one trip when my exasperated parents banned me from taking my usual mountain of reading material and I ended up practically memorising a copy of Woman magazine that my mother had bought at the airport.

I loved reading so much that when it came to choosing a degree subject, there was, in the end, no contest.  My head said that something vocational like law was the way forward, but my heart pined for English literature and was ultimately victorious.  When people ask me what is the purpose of an English degree, I can talk the good talk about the critical reading and communication skills that you pick up, but the truth is that most English students that I encountered were the kind of children who, like me, dreamt of being accidentally locked in a library overnight.

Anyway, the point of all this is that recently I have been trying to get back in touch with my inner bookworm.  I don't know whether it is part of growing older, or the demands of work, or the fact that I no longer have a daily train journey, but I just don't seem to read as much anymore.  D and I therefore declared a mindless television ban (it remains off unless there is something that we specifically want to watch) and our evenings are to be devoted to literary pursuits.  Which is great.  But yesterday, I picked up an old copy of Sebastian Faulks's "Engleby" and barely looked up until bedtime.  So I forgot to meal plan.

Sorry about that.

I did manage to throw together a delicious dinner for us, as per the abstract plan.  Pan fried salmon, warm potato salad dressed with olive oil, lemon and mustard, and some lightly pickled, dill drenched cucumber ribbons.  Gorgeous stuff.

The rest of the week we are aiming to eat as much of the perishable stuff in our kitchen as possible, prior to our departure for Scotland next Monday.  Which means cod curry tonight (the second half of the batch that we made last week), then haggis hash and 'nduja spaghetti with garlic bread later on.  It all sounds like pretty tasty stuff.

When we get back we plan to revisit some of our recent budget ideas to ensure that any profligacy while enjoying the whiskies of Islay and the seafood of Mull (not to mention the pre holiday Kindle binge), is balanced out.  I see macaroni cheese in my very near future!

MPM: 19th July 2014

I always try and write the meal planning post on a Sunday to ensure that it gets done.  But sometimes the result is that I feel quite Sundayish when I do it - sleepy and slow and tea ridden.  This is especially true this morning and therefore I am going to plunge straight in to the meals themselves and spare you the rambling intro.

Meal plan this week is as follows:

Brown shrimp risotto
Leftover roast pork with potato salad
Red pepper, goats' cheese and 'nduja pasta bake
Rick Stein's cod curry (bumped from last week)

We are mainly out next weekend and so it is just the midweek that needs thinking about - which makes this a short (but definitely sweet) entry.  More meal planning fun (and perhaps some engaged brains) over at Mrs M's.

The treadmill

I am continuing to try to blog even though I fear what I am producing is little more than a ramble.  Actually, I have a gorgeous recipe that I will try and post at the weekend (makes mental note).  No pictures unfortunately - or fortunately if you consider my woeful food photography skills.  Perhaps I shall headline it with a picture of the cat looking winsome.

I got on the scales this morning, out of idle curiosity, and was surprised to see that I've lost a couple of kilos (they remain set to kilograms for the time being although the temptation to convert to pounds is often too hard to resist).  It's a slow drift but it is a drift down which is interesting.  It got me to thinking about the whole diet treadmill thing.  You know - you're either on it, and jogging along with everything going swimmingly, or you're flat on your black on the floor, having been violently hurled from the belt, and you're pouring molten chocolate into your mouth.  Have I, quite accidentally, managed to stumble across the happy medium?

I spent the weekend with my young nephew and niece and my great wish for them (my niece in particular since it is often a female issue) is that they never get on that treadmill, because once you do it is always there.  If they are wise they will follow my brother's example; he loves his food and his wine and his beer and always has, but even as a small child he instinctively ate in moderation and was naturally active.  He has had his faddier moments - and I still don't approve of cottage cheese pancakes for breakfast (he is a fan of a protein rich diet) - but his relationship with food has always seemed to me to be pretty good.  Me - I've feasted and famined, been fat and thin and probably always will be ever so slightly weird when it comes to eating.

Having said all that, the number on the scales this morning shows that when I actually stop thinking about it and try and act like a normal person, I do pretty well.  Counting points makes it hard to be normal - and don't get me wrong, I know I need to count points to get down to where I need to be - but it gives me some hope that maybe when I get there I'll finally get that balance right.

MPM: 13th July 2015

Just back from a few days down South visiting some of my favourite little people.  My niece and nephew are (and I fully admit that I might be biased) an incredibly gorgeous and engaging pair and an absolute pleasure to visit.  Not to mention my brother and sister in law who somehow manage to make parenthood actually look not only easy(ish) but also pleasurable.

I also had the opportunity to visit one of my oldest friends who has recently had her first baby.  It is a very odd experience seeing someone that you have known since they were in white knee socks becoming a mother.  It doesn't seem all that long ago that we were teetering down Romford High Street smothered in lip gloss.  And now she has a small son.  How times change.

Anyway, back home and back to meal planning.  Actually, D has put together the plan for this week - well, he needed something to do while I was off gallivanting!

Langoustines with sweet potato and chilli vinaigrette (we had this a few weeks ago and enjoyed it so much that it has popped up again - although we're going to try and refine it this time)
Coq au Riesling
The ultimate BLT
Rick Stein's cod curry
Chilli con carne with home made cornbread
Barbecued shoulder of pork

More meal planning fun over at Mrs M's!

Recently...

No MPM this week as I am away from tomorrow (D will probably live on scavengings from the fridge and freezer) and the first few days were...actually, mainly scavenging from the fridge and freezer.  So it would not have made very interesting reading.  But, mindful of my resolve to blog more frequently, I thought I would do a quick update post.

Weight Watchers

Well, this blog is called the weight watchers foodie, isn't it?  Maybe I should just rename it the foodie.  Or just some girl who likes to eat and also talks about her cat an inordinate amount.  Whatever, at the moment it just isn't happening.  I have decided to stop worrying about why this is for the time being.  My goal for the next few weeks is just to concentrate on healthy routines.  We go away to Scotland for the first fortnight in August which will be a great opportunity to recharge, relax and generally get a bit of oomph back.  Then, when I return, I can put plans in place to crack on and make the second half of the year a tale of successful pound shedding. 

Cooking at home

There has been some good cooking going on recently; our favourite new recipe of the year so far remains the fabulous lemongrass and turmeric chicken that I mentioned a few weeks ago and has since already reappeared on our menu. 

Another recent obsession is a fabulous ingredient called 'nduja which is a spicy, spreadable sausage - sounds weird, tastes fantastic.  We bought ours online from The Ham and Cheese Company and intend to make it a regular fixture in our fridge (it lasts for months if wrapped up properly).   We both very much enjoyed this incredibly simple 'nduja spaghetti recipe but perhaps the best way to enjoy it is spread on good bread and then popped under the grill for a couple of minutes and drizzled with a little bit of extra virgin olive oil.  Capers or pickles make a good foil for these little toasts.  Honestly, this stuff is fantastic and highly addictive. 

Out and about

You may have already read my glowing review of Harrogate based Norse which has been a recent highlight.  But I also have to give yet another shout out to the lovely Black Swan in Leeds.  This place manages to be a bar, a pizza parlour and a gastropub and fulfil all three functions well.  We very much enjoyed their pizzas earlier in the year and recently went back to try out the gastropub menu (all in the name of research - D was looking for a Christmas party venue.  Yes, that was the C word.  No, I won't say it again for a while).  If you like robust British pub food then this place will suit you down to the ground - we enjoyed chicken liver parfait and a crispy little porky croquette for  starters and then D tackled the beef and bone marrow burger while I went for a beautifully balanced chicken and chorizo dish.  It's not fayne dayning, but it's very, very good. 



Croquette



Parfait




Chicken and chorizo

Cat stuff

As I mentioned, I'm away for the weekend so D is going to attempt to bond with the cat.  He is calling it Operation: Stockholm.  I sense I am going to come home to one traumatised feline and one husband who is more scratch than skin.  Wish him luck...

Norse, Harrogate

It's always exciting when you discover a new favourite restaurant, especially when it is a mere half hour drive away. It may still be early days - we're still in the getting to know you phase, the will he or won't he call me back phase - but I have the feeling that with Norse, D and I have found somewhere to which we will return again and again.

As the name suggests, the food has a strong Scandinavian influence throughout which can be felt in the fresh flavours, extensive use of herbs and citrus and the odd portion of raw fish. But the use of local, and often unusual, ingredients (woodruff ice cream, anyone?) make it an affectionate representation of the best of British as well.

We had the tasting menu (of course) which was ridiculously good value, kicking off with some fabulous rye sourdough bread with goats' butter, artichoke puree and toasted grains.  Hard not to fill up on this before the meal had even got going.

Bread

Toasted grains

A pea and cheddar veloute with cep custard and pickled girolles was an early highlight, managing to balance the sweet, the sharp and the earthy notes perfectly.  Unfortunately, the balancing act fell down a little during the Whitby crab course - the one misstep of the evening.  The crab meat itself was a bit lacklustre and did not provide the sweetness required to balance out the bitter notes of lemon verbena and beer.  It was the one course that was less than successful, and for that they are forgiven.  Any kitchen that can provide a dish as sublime as the Lancashire smoked eel with dill purée, that arrived a little later, deserves top marks.

Eel

The pudding, too, was near perfect - a strawberry cheesecake that included the lightest, most perfumed elderflower foam and the aforementioned woodruff ice cream, all combining to make one of the nicest puddings I have had in a long while - and usually, I'm a chocolate girl all the way.  This was a bowl of British summertime by way of a shady woodland dell, absolutely sublime.

Strawberry cheesecake

All in all, I strenuously recommend this place if you happen to find yourself in Harrogate - although it should be noted that it only turns into Norse in the evening - during the day it is a coffee shop called Baltzersen's (I've just looked at the menu, and am rather keen to go and try the meatball open sandwich).  It's an absolute little gem of a place and I know that you will all wish us well as we embark on a hopefully long and happy relationship.

Norse
22 Oxford Street
Harrogate
HG1 1PU
01423 202363

Weather whinge

I made a little promise to myself that I would blog every day this week.  And then yesterday happened and I spent most of it in a puddle moaning, "It's tooooooo hooooooot." 

I do not like heat.  I can cope with the cold quite easily - I am essentially warm blooded, not to mention the fact that I have a decent layer of sub cutaneous insulation (rolls eyes).  But heat?  No, no, no, I do not like it. 

I do not like the sun - my fair, Irish skin will burn within minutes.  I do not like humidity - my naturally curly hair will turn into a halo of frizz, my nose and forehead will become bedewed (deliberately twee word to make the whole process sound vaguely cute) with sweat and I will resemble nothing so much as the witch in The Wizard of Oz - after she started melting.

The cat is not impressed either.  She keeps looking up at me piteously, expecting me to fan her with palm fronds.  I guess she is walking round in a fur coat, poor love.

So listen up weather gods - let's dial it down a notch, shall we?  Sunshine is good but not too intense and a nice, brisk breeze to keep the temperature at a manageable level.  Thank you.

"Books. Cats. Life is good."

It's always easy to focus on the negative when, as that glorious Edward Gorey quote suggests, there is plenty to be cheerful about.

Cats, for one thing. We haven't had a Minx picture for a while, have we?

Moody

She continues to be as eccentric a creature as ever there was and a total Mummy's girl to boot which is great news for the Mummy in question - less so for D. She literally walks over him to get to me.

 

On the subject of books - or rather, adaptations of books, has anyone else been watching the adaption of "Jonathan Strange and Mr Norrell" on BBC1?  Fabulous stuff.  One of those series that makes you happy to hand over your license fee.  I am considering rereading the novel (which I adore) but there are so many things to read and so very little time.  One of my current favourite websites is Goodreads; I pore greedily over my personalised recommendations on an almost daily basis.  We are going to Scotland for two weeks in August and I plan to spend quite a lot of quality time with my Kindle. 

 

In other news, our strawberry plants delivered up their first fruit at the weekend.  I wish that I had taken a photograph to mark the occasion.  We ceremoniously ate one strawberry each and agreed that they actually tasted of strawberries which was a minor revelation.  The plants continue to prosper, and we may even get a bowlful to douse with sugar and cream before the summer is out - watch this space.

Getting back to blogging one Meal Planning Monday at a time...

 

Sometimes, life gets in the way of both blogging and dieting.  And sometimes, it is not so much life as me...I get in the way of it.  I think that I have fallen out of love with things recently, got a bit stale. I need to think carefully about how I can regain the amazing mojo that I had not all that long ago. 

Without going too much into it, I've been feeling a bit off.  Long time readers will know that I am someone who has to keep a careful eye on my mental health and I haven't been as vigilant as I should of late.  And it can be a vicious cycle to fall into - I start to feel a bit low, a bit disinclined to look after myself as well as I should and that then feeds the devil on my shoulder and my mood continues to dip. 

I am, I know, amazingly lucky in many ways, especially in my family and my husband who is unstintingly supportive.  I also know that the tide will turn, as it always does and I will bounce back full of enthusiasm and then everything will be easy.  That's what I am holding out for - the day when it becomes easy again. 

In the meantime, there is still meal planning!  This week, D is out on Friday, and we are both dining out on Saturday.  So five days to think about...

Prawns with a chilli viniagrette and sweet potato and coriander mash
Leftover lamb biryani
Red pepper and goats' cheese alfredo pasta
Pea and ham soup
Tandoori chicken, creamy lentil dahl, home made flatbreads

As ever, more meal planning fun over at Mrs M's - and sorry for the slightly self indulgent whinge at the beginning of the post!

Foodie on a budget

I can't remember how it first arose, but recently D and I decided to enter into a challenge.  We are neither of us particularly frugal individuals, particularly when it comes to what we eat, and so we undertook to each design a week's menu and make it as cheap as we could while trying not to compromise too much on the quality of the dishes.  (You can see our respective menu plans here and here).

Lamb with gratin dauphinoise

We made it fairly easy for ourselves by allowing quite a broad definition of the word "pantry": dried products such as pasta and rice were included, as was flour, a box of eggs (any more than six had to be counted), a packet of butter and a bottle of milk, plus herbs and spices, seasoning, stock powder, and, perhaps slightly more controversially, breakfast cereal.  Apart from these items, anything that we already had in the fridge, freezer or cupboards could be incorporated but they had to be counted using the original cost and the proportion utilised.  Likewise, any items purchased that were not used in full were only charged proportionally - so, where I bought two half legs of lamb for £10 and committed one to the freezer, the total value of the lamb recorded in my half of the spreadsheet was £5.  We thought this was a fair reflection of the fact that anyone on a budget would be daft not to take advantage of the savings offered sometimes by bulk purchasing.

Smoked haddock and leek macaroni cheese

We usually do our weekly shop in our local Waitrose.  D decided that he would carry on as normal and not look elsewhere.  I took a slightly different approach and visited Butchers' Row in Leeds Market for the Sunday joint and budget supermarket Aldi for some of the produce I needed.  The results were surprising.

The total cost of my week was £34.49.  If we call this lunch and dinner for two adults, seven days, this works out at just £1.23 per head per meal or £2.46 a day.  Not too shabby, right?

Spicy lamb flatbreads with Moroccan couscous and carrot salad

D's, shockingly, was just £30.97.  Bear in mind that this was buying everything at Waitrose.  That's just £1.10 per head per or £2.20 a day.

Now, as I've mentioned, our definition of pantry was pretty loose.  But still, the result was surprising - we managed to eat pretty well over the course of two weeks while not spending a huge amount - and certainly not living on beans on toast.

Turmeric and lemongrass chicken

We both commented that good planning was absolutely paramount; not just sitting down and making a list of meals but working out how ingredients could be utilised in different ways to minimise waste.  However, a degree of flexibility within the plan can mean you get the best deals - D managed to get his week's meat on a 3 for £10 offer by compromising slightly on the ingredients for his curry, which meant that his chicken, which provided one dinner and two lunches, was just £3.33.  Vegetables, particularly root vegetables, are a cheap way to add bulk as well as additional flavour - I caramelised a handful of onions at the beginning of the week and used them both with shredded spicy lamb in a flatbread, and stirred through basmati rice, ribbons of carrot popped up in a Moroccan style couscous salad and a herby pasta dish.

Spaghetti with carrots and herb pesto

We also both agreed that a good spice cupboard is also pretty essential.  The likelihood is, on a budget, you will be buying cheaper, possibly less high quality, meat and fish which will need help in the flavour department.  And it's worth spending a little on other ingredients which will add a lot of flavour for not a lot of volume - cured meats such as bacon (a couple of finely chopped rashers can transform many a recipe) or strong cheese like Parmesan which, as a seasoning, can wake up pasta and rice dishes.

Lamb and cauliflower curry with cucumber raita

All in all, I'm pretty pleased with the experiment, and hope that we can be a bit more thoughtful with regards our food budgeting in future.  In terms of the challenge - D won on cost and also won the prize for the dish of the fortnight with Diana Henry's absolutely sublime turmeric and lemongrass chicken.  However, I flatter myself that I edged it in terms of diversity of menu (four out of his seven planned dinners were pasta based).  Perhaps a very worthy tie?  And (cringeworthy final sentence pun on its way) definitely food for thought.

MPM: 15th June 2015

The weekend passed mainly in a blur of despair and giant flying reptiles as we binged on the latest series of Game of Thrones. Gah, the unrelenting misery! Not even the presence of Star Trek Deep Space Nine's Doctor Bashir popping up could offer much solace. One episode left to go and I have no doubt it will be equally traumatic.

Some good food while we watched though: last night, a slow roast pork belly and lentils dish with braised fennel and a superlative though spicy curry on Saturday, which definitely eased the pain slightly. 

This week, we've yet to make plans for Saturday although it may involve some form of homemade bread. And on Thursday, we're off out for supper at a place in Harrogate that's been on the radar for a while. Elsewhere the week looks a bit like this:

Salmon with pasta pesto (a bump from last week)

Steamed buns with leftover pork belly (inspired to remake by Nicola's recent post)

Chilli con carne

Friday night fish and chips

Tumeric and lemongrass roast chicken

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

MPM: 8th June 2015

It's D's turn to design a low budget eating plan this week as we compete to see who can put together the cheapest, most delicious weekly menu.  I'm amazed at how little we have both managed to spend and how little we have had to compromise the type of food we eat - but I think I'll write a longer post on this subject later this week.

Last night, we had lemongrass and turmeric chicken from Diana Henry's latest book "A Bird in the Hand" which, if you are a fan of chicken and good food I urge you to look at.  The recipe is reproduced online here (albeit translated into American) and it is most definitely worth a try.  We have got leftovers for lunch today and I can't wait!

Elsewhere, we are having

A non microwave version of Jack Monroe's carrot ribbon spaghetti
Bangers, mash and red onion gravy
Spaghetti carbonara
Cauliflower and macaroni cheese
Salmon with pasta pesto
Lamb mince and cauliflower curry

Lot's of pasta then - which suits me fine as I love the stuff.  A couple of near repeats from last week as well - obviously our minds tend the same way when we are thinking about budget food, but still lots to look forward to.  As ever, there is more meal planning fun to be had over at Mrs M's

We head to Le Manoir Aux Quatr'Saisons

My parents both celebrated a big birthday this year.  One of those ones where the number ends in a zero.  Whereas such events tend to mean existential crises and gin for their daughter, they are made of sterner (and more generous) stuff and decided to take their offspring and their offspring's partners out for a slap up dinner instead, with a luxurious room within staggering distance.

I actually had my 18th birthday lunch at Le Manoir.  It was, I think, my first experience of really high end dining and although I have been lucky enough to eat at many great restaurants since, it means that this one has a special place in my heart.  It didn't disappoint.

Before we get on to the food itself, I just have to say a word about the overall experience.  Because it is an experience, from the moment you drive in to the car park and are approached by a porter who courteously removes your bags.  It is screamingly luxurious, the service impeccable, the rooms opulent, the surroundings - Monsieur Blanc's gardens and croquet lawn flank the impressive manor house - idyllic.  For a brief time, you get to step behind the curtain and live like royalty.  Or, at least, a Kardashian.  Which is probably why an evening there costs the equivalent of a minor Kardashian wedding.

But the food, the food is what we are really interested in and it was, of course, impeccable.  For all that it is rooted in a very French tradition it has a very light, modern touch, giving the lie to the assumption that French food is overly rich and fussy.  There was a very clean quality to most of the dishes both in terms of flavour and presentation.

An early favourite was the goats cheese agnolotti which came bathed in a clear tomato essence with tomatoes, olives and artichokes:

This was early summer on a plate for me: the peppery sourness of the cheese singing through and enhancing the warm sweetness of the tomato and its accompanying troupe of vegetables.

The table was divided as to overall favourite dish of the night with half plumping for a fillet of brill with cucumber and wasabi:

And the others opting for a plate of lamb with asparagus and morels:

While the lamb was unquestionably delicious, for me, it was the fish that was really something special and perfectly encapsulated that clean, fresh quality that I mentioned.  The balance of the dish was impeccable - wasabi is a powerful flavour but here it added zip and zing without overwhelming.

I don't think that this is a restaurant to which you come expecting startling innovation and culinary challenges.  It is, at heart, a classical French restaurant, with a due respect both for classical techniques and for the ingredients it uses - many of which come from the gardens surrounding the house.  But that is not to say that it is old fashioned, or dated, or irrelevant.  True classics, and I think Le Manoir may well be one of those, never go out of style.

MPM: 1st June 2015

This week's meal plan should be sub-titled "How low can you go?"  D and I have challenged each other to design a budget week.  There are various ground rules as to what constitutes a pantry item (dried stuff, milk, eggs and butter up to a point, herbs and spices, oil) and the goal is to try and see how it is entirely possible to eat well on less money than we are used to spending.  Our weekly grocery budget is around the £100 mark, which for a household of two means we can be fairly profligate - but just because we can, it clearly doesn't mean we should.

Incidentally, the cat is not being made to give up her beloved Sheba pouches in favour of economy biscuits.  That wouldn't be entirely fair.

So, this is my budget plan.  The week actually began yesterday with a delicious roast lamb and potato gratin Sunday dinner, and you'll notice the lamb leftovers popping up on Tuesday...

Smoked haddock macaroni cheese
Lamb and caramellised onion flatbreads, with couscous and Moroccan style carrot salad
Twice baked cheese and bacon jacket potatoes with salad
Creamy lentil dahl with egg pepper fry, cardamom scented rice and cucumber raita
Sausages and mash
Mussel paella

D's budget week begins on Sunday when he has promised a delicious sounding spiced roast chicken.  Sounds good - especially the me not cooking part!

More meal planning fun over at Mrs M's - and if anyone has any top notch food budgeting ideas or recipes, I would love to hear them.

Recipe corner: Crab and rocket spaghetti

I can never be entirely sure whether or not I like crab.  Sometimes, I just find it a little bit cloying. D, however, is a huge fan, and is never happier than when he is dismembering large crustaceans.  Still, I was very taken with this recipe which is based pretty closely on Felicity Cloake's version.  I love how all the flavours marry together.  It is incredibly quick and simple to do and tastes very luxurious for the points.  Incidentally, we have tried it both with and without the finishing touches of butter and Parmesan and preferred the dish with - they add an additional savoury note not to mention a velvety texture.  They do bump the points up a bit though, so feel free to eschew them if you're feeling extra virtuous.

Ingredients

150g spaghetti
1 large courgette

Tbsp olive oil
2 garlic cloves, chopped finely
Tsp dried chilli flakes
Tsp fennel seeds, lightly crushed
75g brown crabmeat
120g (one tin) white crabmeat, drained
Large handful of rocket leaves
Zest and juice of half a lemon
10g butter
15g Parmesan cheese

Serves 2, 14 pro points per portion

Using a spiraliser or a mandolin or a potato peeler, reduce the courgette to thin ribbons.  Place the ribbons in the bottom of a colander (you will drain the pasta on top of it and the boiling water will take the raw edge off the vegetable).

Put the spaghetti on to cook in well salted water.

Put the oil into a large pan (large enough to hold all the pasta when cooked) and add the garlic, chilli and fennel seeds to the cold oil.  Set over a gentle heat and cook until the garlic is soft but not starting to colour - allowing it to come up to temperature in the oil should help prevent it catching.  Stir through the lemon zest and juice and the brown crab meat.

Once the pasta is cooked, reserve a mug full of cooking water and then drain and add the pasta and courgette to the brown crabmeat, along with the white meat and the rocket.  Toss well, adding a splash of pasta water to emulsify.  Finally, toss through the butter and the Parmesan.

MPM: 18th May 2015

Happy Monday all!  Meal planning this week was a bit of a last minute affair and mainly borrows from our seemingly bottomless freezer.  Feeling a bit uninspired at the moment which means my food choices tend to go a little beige.  I've got book group on Tuesday and not sure what is happening on Saturday, but elsewhere...

Pork chops with creamy mustard sauce
Open sandwiches of roast lamb and wasabi peas
Pea and ham soup (I think this is the third week on the trot that this poor soup has been on the meal plan - perhaps this will be the week that it finally gets eaten!!)
Meatball lasagne (inspired by Peridot)
Some sort of roast

Let's see how well I can stick to that, shall we?  More meal planning fun over at Mrs M's.

MPM: 11th May 2015

I think my cat fancies herself as a blogger.  There she was, curled up asleep in her radiator bed, and the second I opened my laptop she was up and positioning herself between me and the keyboard.  Which is extremely sweet, but it is making it very difficult to type this (it should be noted that I am far too wet to actually move the cat, who rules the household with a rod of purr.)

Anyway, meal planning Monday and the week is pretty much sketched out.  We're abroad on Wednesday night, seeing Stewart Lee perform in Harrogate and D is out on Friday night and, in recompense, was muttering about springing for an Indian takeaway on Saturday - a rare treat, but a welcome one.  Elsewhere...

Chilli crab and rocket spaghetti
Bacon, egg and asparagus salad (made this a couple of weeks ago but am now trying out a slightly different version - it's a delicious combo!)
Pea and ham soup
Some sort of roast dinner...?

Hmmm, not a vintage week, but it'll do for now.  As ever, head over to Mrs M's for more meal planning fun.

Recipe corner: coronation rice salad

So, we bought a barbecue.  A beautiful, kettle style, Weber jobby.  We bought a barbecue, and the weather promptly took a dramatic turn for the worse.  I'm not saying that we were directly responsible for the pervading dampness of the Bank Holiday weekend but...

We bought a barbecue and decided that the first thing that we were going to cook on it was a simple, spatchcocked chicken adorned with nothing more than a slick of oil and a flurry of salt and pepper.  And, to accompany it, I decided to try and recreate the Waitrose coronation rice salad of which we are both so fond.

Now not to diss our beloved Waitrose, but I think that my version is WAY better - more kick, more texture and less drowned in dressing.  Every barbecue, even the slightly soggy ones, needs a couple of decent sides and this is better than decent.  Along with some watercress salad and crusty bread, it was all that our beautiful chicken needed to ensure that our inaugural barbecue was a tasty one.

Ingredients

100g basmati / wild rice mix
Large onion, finely chopped
2 tsp vegetable oil
Tbsp curry powder
Tsp chilli flakes
Tsp cumin seeds
1/2 tsp tumeric
50g raisins

For the dressing:
Tbsp mayonnaise
2 tbsp half fat creme fraiche
Tbsp mango chutney
Tsp vegetable oil
Squeeze of fresh lemon juice
Handful of fresh chopped chives and / or mint

Serves 4 (as a side), 6 pro points per portion

Cook the rice according to packet instructions until al dente.  You want to ensure that it retains some bite which will lend the salad texture.

Gently heat 2 tsp of oil and then add the onion and cook off over a low heat so that it softens without colouring.  After about five minutes, add the spices and the raisins and continue to cook until the onions are meltingly soft and the spice mix has lost its harsh rawness - another five minutes or so.

While onion and rice are cooking, combine the dressing ingredients in a large bowl and season enthusiastically.

Now add the cooked rice to the onion pan and combine well. Cook for a further couple of minutes, stirring regularly to ensure that the mix is well amalgamated then remove from the hat and allow to cool slightly before combining with the creamy dressing.  Check the seasoning, adding more lemon or salt as necessary.

To have this at its best, allow to sit for at least an hour before serving.  It is relatively forgiving and can be made in advance, but don't serve cold from the fridge - always let it come up to room temperature first.  Your barbecue will thank you for it.

MPM: 27th April 2015

Greetings everyone, and welcome to a more summery meal planning Monday than I can remember for a good long while.  The weather is, quite simply, GLORIOUS.  Which means that meals are tending to be a bit lighter and a bit fresher.

 

D and I are out Friday at a colleague's retirement drinks, out Saturday at a local event and leaving Sunday and Monday plan free at the moment until we decide how the long weekend is going to pan out.  So, not many meals to think about in advance this week.  Here's what we we will eating chez WWF...

 

Brown crab risotto with crab and chilli cakes and Parmesan crisps - a dish inspired by our recent trip to Whitby, where all along the seafront you can buy fabulous dressed crabs.

 

Bacon, egg and roasted asparagus salad with a honey mustard dressing

 

Trout with cauliflower and pickled mushrooms with brown butter sauce - D will be cooking this, an approximation of one of the dishes cooked in Masterchef finals week.  We are both in a very fishy mood at the moment!

 

Pea and ham soup.

 

Mmmm, looking forward to that little lot.  As ever, more meal planning fun over at Mrs M's...

Hello weight loss, my old friend...

For all my bravado a few weeks ago, I have yet to go back to a Weight Watchers meeting.  I don't know why, but the thought of setting foot through the door reduces me to a quivering wreck.  Definitely some issues there to work on.  But that is not to say that I have not been engaging in the Watching of the Weight.  I have a good few days under my (capacious) belt now and am feeling nicely in control even after our brief sojourn in Whitby.

One of my...issues is perhaps too strong a word but will do for now...with the WW model is the emphasis on the one weekly weigh in.  While I understand the reasoning behind it, it does set an awful lot of store by what you weigh in one particular moment in time rather than on the general progress.  I've recently found an app called Happy Scale which allows you to record a daily figure and then uses that to calculate a moving average as well as a record low summary.  So far, I like this approach.  The concern with daily weighing is always that it can be a bit obsessional, so I've switched my scales to kilograms - that way I can see and record the change in the numbers without really understanding what said numbers mean (I'm actively trying not to do conversion maths in my head).  I find that way there is a much less emotive connection between what the scales say and how I feel.  Logical?  Perhaps not, but you've always got to do what works best for you at any given time.

Anyway, it means that you are spared the interminable weekly weigh in posts for now - although I might do a semi regular update on progress if, for no other reason that to add a bit more accountability.  As to meetings, I just don't know...history tells me that I do better when I am going but history also tells me that I have a tendency to come to a juddering halt whenever I have a bad few weeks.  I'm keeping an open mind for the time being.

Whitby (and weight loss)

There are very few places in the world that I love as much as Whitby.  I've been visiting since I was a child and much of it has barely changed.  There is something completely timeless about the place.

For once, we were blessed with the weather. For the day and a half that we were there, we had constant sunshine and blue skies.  Whitby has a brooding quality which means that it suits grey skies and mizzle but it was so nice to walk round in short sleeves and feel the sun on our skin.

We went to the arcades, took a boat trip, climbed up to the Abbey and just...wandered.

On Thursday evening, we had planned to go for dinner at Green's bistro, which seems to be the closest Whitby gets to upmarket cooking.  But in the pub we found a corner table which was right by the window and afforded amazing views out across the seafront.  We couldn't bring ourselves to leave but lingered as the twilight fell and the lights of the arcades became increasingly gaudy in the gathering dusk.  So pub grub and cheap white wine it was, and then we fell into conversation with a large group of Goths who were there for Whitby Goth Weekend and ended up staying until well past the bell called time.  Next time, Green's!

Fish and chips at the Magpie Cafe were superlative as usual although I eschewed them in favour of  hake with a smoked haddock fishcake and creamy vegetables.  LOVED this and definitely would like to recreate something of the sort at home - I thought using a fishcake as an accompaniment was such a nifty little idea.

Points may have gone by the wayside to a certain extent, but prior to the trip, there had been a steady downwards trajectory all week, with a total loss of 2.6 kg across 6 days.  I expect to see a bit of a bounce tomorrow but nothing that a restrained weekend won't take care of.  I'm in a really happy place at the moment - I don't necessarily know what has caused the massive upswing in my general mood, but I am not going to knock it.  Onwards and downwards lovely friends, and a very happy weekend to you all!

MPM: 20th April 2015

Funny old week this week - I've got an exam on Wednesday so am a little bit...distracted, shall we say.  As soon as that is finished, D is picking me up and we are whisking off to Whitby for a couple of nights of R&R(&F&C).  We've planned the meals for tonight and tomorrow - I always eat the same dinner the night before an exam - and we know what we're having when we get back on Friday night, but the weekend remains a blank at the moment - probably some sort of roast on Sunday.  I'm sure we'll figure it out!

Anyway, the meals we have got decided are as follows:

Roast chicken breast, lemon couscous, asparagus
Salmon fillet with pasta pesto
Truffled mushroom risotto

More meal planning fun over at Mrs M's.

Amelia Rope chocolate (being a little of what you fancy)

I am a fully paid up, card carrying, unashamed chocoholic. Let's just get that out of the way first, shall we?  If there is a pudding on the menu that involves chocolate in any shape or form, you can be 99% sure that I will order it.  If there are two, then I'll be trying to convince D to order the other one.

This has been going on for a long time.  My mother claims to still remember the look of bliss that passed across my face the very first time that I was given a chocolate button. And I'm sure that there is a story in the family annals about me as a toddler managing to steal and eat my way through an entire box of chocolates (and it does sound like the kind of thing that I would do - moderation and I are not regular bedfellows).

Mind you, I'm not a chocolate snob.  A four finger Kit Kat is a thing of beauty and a joy forever.  As is a bar of Dairy Milk, cold from the fridge and eaten with a cup of coffee.  But on the days when I don't have many points to spare yet need a chocolate hit, I tend to find myself turning towards the more expensive end of the market where you find greater intensity and complexity of flavour and thus can satisfy yourself with a smaller amount (theoretically).

And so it is that I wanted to commend to your attention the wonderful products produced by Amelia Rope.  If you're a chocolate fan - particularly a salted chocolate fan - then you need to give these a whirl because in terms of balancing flavours this woman is on a par with Willy Wonka himself.  The chocolate itself is superlative but factor in a dusting of sea salt and a few drops of one of Ms Rope's beautiful flavoured oils and you have an absolute masterpiece.  If I had to pick a favourite, I'd probably come down on the side of pale lemon and sea salt simply because it is a slightly unusual pairing and utterly, compellingly delicious.  If portion control is your issue, then follow the example of  D, who got me a box of salted chocolate cubes instead of an Easter egg; these are an absolutely perfect way for me to get a sweet fix at the end of the day and still feel relatively virtuous.

This is not a cheap product by any means, and the fixed £5 delivery charge means that you are better off buying a number of bars at a time - although this is no very great hardship.  If you are a fellow chocolate lover and you do give it a try then I'd love to hear what you think - or alternatively, get your own recommendations.

NB:  Sadly, this is not a sponsored post.  It is just bloody lovely chocolate.
NB2: If you are a Weight Watcher, both milk and dark chocolate are 1pp per 7g square.

Recipe corner: Hot cross bun pudding with salted caramel

I wasn't going to bother putting this one through the WW recipe builder, because frankly, there are some things that we are better off not knowing.  However, the original happened to include the nutritional information, so I've calculated the points for shits and giggles.  It's a scary number, but I promise you, if you make this recipe, you will thank me for it.  And we can all go for a long, daffodil strewn walk to burn if off, yes?

This recipe was originally published in March's Waitrose kitchen magazine and the only change that I made was to use skimmed rather than whole milk because I tend not to have whole milk to hand and I always feel that if a custard has double cream in it, it probably doesn't make an awful lot of difference.  It is a good dish for a dinner party because all the component parts can be made well in advance and then you just have to pour over the custard, strew the sugar and bake.  We did this just as we were sitting down to cheese and the timing worked out nicely.

We served this with a simnel cake ice cream which was basically a spice infused custard combined with dried fruit that had been pre soaked in brandy and Earl Gray tea, and chopped pieces of marzipan.  Vanilla ice cream would be a good accompaniment too though, or just a trickle of cream.

Oh, this makes slightly more of the salted caramel sauce than you need for four puddings, so keep the excess and pour over ice cream.  Or just eat with a spoon.

Ingredients

100 ml milk
100 ml double cream
Tsp vanilla extract
2 egg yolks
Tbsp caster sugar
4 hot cross buns, chopped into eight pieces
Tbsp demerara sugar

For the caramel sauce:

110g caster sugar
40g unsalted butter
1 tbsp brandy
75 ml double cream
Pinch of sea salt

Serves 4, 16 pro points per portion

First, the caramel sauce.  Put the sugar in a large saucepan - it needs to have a big surface area and a heavy bottom (a bit like me!)  Set over a low heat and allow to melt slowly.  Swirl it occasionally to ensure it is warming evenly but do NOT be tempted to stir.  While this is happening you can combine the brandy and the cream and get the butter measured out.

When the sugar is melted turn the heat up SLIGHTLY and simmer gently until it has turned a deep amber gold colour.  Watch it like a hawk - it will go from beautiful to burnt very quickly.  When it has gone as dark as you dare remove from the heat and stir in the butter (it will spit, so be careful).  Then stir in the brandy cream and the sea salt until combined.

Take the four ramekins you are using for the puddings and put a generous couple of tablespoons of sauce in the bottom of each one, swirling for even coverage.  Do this straight away while the caramel is still nice and loose.  Arrange the hot cross bun pieces on top.  You can do this in advance and set aside.

Put the milk, cream and vanilla in another pan and bring to just below boiling point - you want there to be lots of bubbles all around the edge just busily breaking the service.  While it is getting there you can whisk the egg yolks and sugar together lightly.  Remove the milk and cream from the heat and pour in a slow, steady stream over the egg yolks whisking constantly to prevent scrambling.  You can make this in advance as well.  Place some cling film directly on the top of the custard to prevent a skin forming as it cools and set aside.

Prior to serving, preheat the oven to 180.  Pour the custard over the buns and sprinkle with the demerara sugar then bake for 20 minutes or until golden.  You can drizzle more sauce on before serving if you like (and who wouldn't?)