Christmas and Beyond

As I sit here typing, balancing a bowl of heavily salted, roasted jumbo cashews whilst nursing a large G&T (and yes, Husband#1, now you can taste that two year old gin is quite fine), I'm worrying about the excess of cheese - particularly Stilton - that may go off in the fridge.  Is there a Stilton dessert that I can cook for Husband#1's birthday tea on Sunday? Already I have planned broccoli and cauliflower (blue) cheese for lunch on Sunday: is it possible to then have a Stilton soufflé as a starter for tea, followed by a Stilton and fig cheesecake (for example) for dessert?

May have to research that fig and Stilton cheesecake. Could it have a hovis biscuit base? It's sounding quite nice, but then maybe that's the part of me that's desperate not to waste. Certainly a cheese sauce will be created and frozen as there is a lot of blue cheese - bought in a panic of Armageddon proportions. What if they run out? It was beautiful last year, we need double this year. Maybe triple. Goes out of date on January 3rd? Not a problem to us. I over-estimated even out glutton. Oh dear.

So, let me go through what I've eaten in the last few days - ashamedly I have put on a 'few' pounds and will put on more before the sobriety starts. I believe it all started on Christmas Eve with Baby Big Girl's birthday party, an inspired 10am beginning with platters of cut fruit, two bought Spanish Omelette's with garlic mayo (well done again, Husband #1) and some Sainos Blueberry Mini Muffins. It all went down very well and guests were expelled at 12pm. Fish and chips, pork pie and various pickles provided energy for the rest of the day. 

Christmas started at 8.10am, waking up both children (wow!) and going downstairs for croissants and brioche. Then came Kathaleean's Christmas Dinner - never a meal to be missed. Turkey, bacon covered sausages (called..?), sausage stuffing, sage and onion stuffing, chestnut stuffing, cauliflower, carrots, parsnips, broccoli, sprouts, roast potatoes and mash. Oh, I forgot bread and cranberry sauces. I ate it all apart from the mash (a little excessive, Kathaleean?) and then moved onto the leftover sprouts, chestnut stuffing and parsnips. Excellent. Christmas pudding was also good with brandy sauce and custard - I've never been one to make up my mind. Tea wasn't necessary,

Boxing Day is my big one and it was tough - by 8pm I was laid out on the sofa pathetically unable to even lift the TV control. Serious fatigue. But the afternoon was good. Twenty noisy, hungry and thirsty guests (including a Meat-Eating Vegetarian, the Gluten Free Sister and the Child Who Eats Nothing) were all happily catered for. Starters were nibbles, put out as and when I thought of them - bread sticks, crisps, dips, squid in ink sauce, capers, gherkins, saucisson and plum tomatoes all appeared and disappeared nicely (eleven year old nephew - a treat to feed and upon whom to administer new tastes!). This was all followed by chicken in  cider sauce with leeks and carrots and optional, separately roasted chorizo. An adaptation of (Sir) Rick Stein's Spanish dish due to the Gluten Free Sister, but tasted good and was easily done. Then for the Vegetarian who has become the Meat-Eating Vegetarian, I'd made a Mushroom Stroganoff. In fairness I've made it a few years running now and everyone likes it, so it isn't especially for those with morals, just those with taste - but imagine my surprise when the Meat-Eating Vegetarian took a slice of ham to go with her Veggie Stroganoff and then polished off the Child Who Eats Nothing's chicken...

So to dessert: white chocolate and lemon mousse, which didn't set properly but tasted well so who cares? - and an Ina Garten Tarte Tatin, executed delightfully by Husband#1.

It was all good - but good enough to be absolutely physically spent by 8pm? Not sure. Will I be a professional chef? No. Will I cope if I owned a nice little café? Probably not. Will I do Boxing Day next year? Probably...

And so back to the future. My pizza is ready (it IS Friday after all) and I sit here researching what to do with Stilton. Answers on a postcard are very much needed.

Kathaleean's Turkey Soup - 2nd Best Meal at Christmas

Two days and Counting

Will I get to the end? Who knows. A presentation in briefing this morning brought a new meaning to nerves, add to that a day of assessment and a lunchtime meeting, and the chances are that exhaustive collapse before Friday are high.

And even before that there are high chances of food poisoning. Last night I realised that the beautiful vegetable tartes I'd bought for a lunch were use by yesterday. We agreed that money was too scarce to ignore them and so they would go to work today. Who forgot his? That's right. Husband #1 had a fresh, free school lunch whilst I ate salmonella and something akin to Norovirus. It tasted good. Probably all the better having been left out on the side in a hot office for the morning.

So to tea, which was a beautifully reheated lamb tagine, which I originally made for the girls but was too spicy, accompanied by a larger portion than necessary of rice - so what, I then ate three Ina Garten sized cheese straws. Ha ha ha.

Yes, that said cheese straws - baked by husband #1. Baking, on a Wednesday?! Yep. And my, they were good. Puff pastry, Gruyere, Parmesan and cheddar with dried thyme, salt and pepper. What else could you make?

Following last week's food fest on Saturday, with the lovely risotto and white chocolate and lemon mousse, I'm having to think long and hard about future (Mc)Cookings. I haven't used some of my ingredients for ages as I'm relying on my freezer stocks, but cooking is good, relaxing and satisfying. Being important as I am now becoming at work ;-) I am somehow going to have to have a think about how I reorganise the rest of my life. Or even just organising it in the first place would be good....

I don't want to hit an unGodly weight, become diabetic, have a heart attack or my kids to go to school in unironed gear. Something's got to give here - and I don't mean my zipper.

Hibernation? 10 Minutes Sleep Would Be Good.

Things in life just now are disorganised to say the least, so to emphasis that I'll start this post with a picture of the Gals pizza:

Chicken with Roasted Red Pepper

So, working extra hard and extra late on Wednesday was fine as Husband #1 was cooking a three course extravaganza and would greet me at the door with a large glass of red wine as I arrived home at some ungodly hour after 9pm. Whatever. Someone had different ideas: OFSTED.

So I had to buy (out of my own money) my own tea. And worse still I had to get Husband #1's favourite takeaway (the expensive version) and extra treats and snacks to 'sooth' his troubled being. I got home at 10pm. The takeaway was delicious, I have to say, though and I also enjoyed the many extra treats and it was well worth it to have bought a couple of Cobra beers.

So since my tough day on Wednesday I have also been a single parent. It's tough, but hey I don't have to do it all the time so I can cope. Husband #1 and I will never spilt up, no matter how I joke as we wouldn't be able to agree over the children. Neither of us could cope alone :-).

And forward to Saturday. I don't remember much in between except that Baby Big Girl has regressed and had two 'night feeds' - wow. (Just what you need in the middle of the night just having done a 17 hour day and the day before OFSTED.) Tonight the parents are coming for tea as a thank you for the ridiculous bed building event of last week. For the first time in months I'm doing REAL cooking with my own recipes and everything! We are having saucisson, giant capers, gherkins and cavalo nero stir fried with caramelised garlic for the starter, followed by a smoked haddock and black pudding risotto with leeks and a poached egg. For dessert, I'm experimenting for Christmas: a white chocolate and lemon mousse (last year I may have called it Panna Cotta).

All I did was melted two bars of Green and Black's white chocolate in 600ml double cream and then added 4 tsp of lemon curd. Today I've made four separate ramekins but on boxing day it will all go into one bowl and get scooped out. It tastes lovely and has indeed set. I'll see what it's like when we eat it - but I think it's be good for Boxing Day and the gluten free sister.


White Chocolate & Lemon Mousse

I'll update with the risotto when it's done. Cross fingers!

Smoked Haddock, Black Pudding & Leek Risotto with Poached Egg
 

Hibernation

It is official. I am going into hibernation. I'm not sure when as work and children, in conjunction with seasonal commitments have all to take some priority. But I know I will go into hibernation because I am building up my fatty layers so that I stay warm over the long months ahead.

Husband #1 isn't helping. He keeps buying snacks and goodies. It's a little like when Hal kept secretly fattening up Lois on Malcolm in The Middle. Little things like swapping the skimmed milk for semi-skimmed, adding an extra 1/2 spoon of sugar to her tea etc etc. Currently he's planning a lovely tea for tomorrow night as I'll be working late and he's treating me. Not sure quite what, but we are having chips (on a week night!!) and he did say something about his meal 'not requiring vegetables.'

I have to say I'm looking forward to the weekend as I'll get to cook something nice. Not sure what yet, but I think I'll do something new. Maybe I'll come up with something which will prove useful for Boxing Day (remember the gluten free sister?). I've seen a make ahead dessert, but it includes amaretti biscuits. Thinking I could swap those. A shoulder of lamb would be good as I hear gluten free pittas are quite good. And maybe I could do something new with the salmon - who needs croute anyway? There was once a delicious flour free cake in the Sainos magazine which was lovely but I lost the mag and Sainos were too tight to forward the recipe after the fact.

Oh well. Sleep now calls. It won't be the long one tonight, but I'll take what I can, safe in the knowledge that I won't freeze.

A Three Hour Nightmare to Start the Day

Someone along the A1 today had it worse than me, but what a nightmare - it took three hours to do a 40 -50 minute journey to work. Three hours, of which 90 minutes was spent desperate for the loo and trying to get to services on either side of the road, both of which were closed - I believe because they were too tight to let desperate motorists use their loos. Esso, (on either side on Barnsdale Bar) you should be absolutely ashamed of yourselves. And no, you don't do a 'stock take' at 8.30am on a Monday morning on one of the countries busier routes. Shocking.

And so today started well with Weetabix for breakfast and a packed lunch!!!!!!!!!!!!! Absolutely. Potato and onion tortilla (sold in Sainos, vacuum packed) with garlic mayo and tomatoes. delicious.

It's the nieces birthday, however and unfortunately there were crisps and cake. Can you believe it is possible, in half an hour, to eat sufficient crisps and cake to be too hungry for tea? Well it is. That said, there is still half the pot of Stilton left over from last night. That will need finishing later. Just quality assuring for Christmas, you understand.....

The Bed

What a day today has been. Set the alarm for 7.30am as the new bed was being delivered between 8 and 10am. Woke up to the doorbell ringing at 8.50am. Never has poor Biggie Big Girl been taken from her bed so quickly as we paid an extra £20 for the pleasure of it being carried upstairs. More about seemingly dubious and excessive charges later.....

So up we got, breakfasted quickly (tomorrow with the Cinnamon toast there will be only slow-paced relaxation) and got the girls dressed ready for Granny and Grandad to come over help put it up and swap round Baby Big Girls room. I'd even bought in extra ham and scufflers in case they were still with us for lunch.

Well.

The Bed

Many ham sandwiches, four cups of tea, a mince pie with whipped cream, a white chocolate cookie and a partridge in a pear tree later they've finally been able to go home and all is done.

It is 7pm. Eight hours of bed up-putting later and they've finally been able to relax on their day off. Oopsie. A dinner invite has been issued for next Saturday evening as I think it is more than well-deserved. Husband #1 is perusing Ina recipes as I type looking for luxurious delicacies to serve.

And so, whilst waiting for my asparagus to roast, my mayonnaise to garlic itself up and my steak to steakhouse itself and fry a large pile of chips, let me go back to seemingly dubious and excessive charges. Well, the place who sold us the bed offered to make it up it for £80. After this day, what a bargain that seems. Lesson to all: pay the money!

Tea: makes everything worthwhile

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Being a working mum who cooks is tough....

....but someone's go to do it.

Work is really tough at the moment - but fantastic at the same time. Food has gone downhill of late and there's been little in terms of new ideas or innovation, which is a shame. In fact today's weekly trip to the supermarket was done entirely from memory and so, having returned home and taken stock of what I have available to me I have the following meal list for the week:

 Tomorrow night will be a treat though as we've got loads of jacket potatoes in the garage so it will be asparagus, roasted in olive oil and sea salt dipped in garlic mayonnaise followed by a Barefoot style Steakhouse Steak and homemade, very deep fried chips and yet more garlic mayonnaise. Whilst I'm thinking about it I may just also do some onion rings as we also have quite a few of those lying around. I may as well have one last good meal before the chaos begins: Baby Big Girl is moving into a bed tomorrow and I dread the consequences. I've planned Cinnamon French Toast for breakfast on Sunday but may be too shattered to make it. The fear is tangible.

In the  meantime I'm starving. Last night a decision was made NOT to collect more milk from the One Stop due to the likelihood of yet more chocolate entering the house. Both blue and red were needed, but between the remaining blue and what green we had, I decided that we could manage at least for Baby Big Girl's bobby and our cups of tea (breakfast might take a kicking, but possibly not). Didn't the little pest take the opportunity last night to demand her first 3am bobby in about 10 months. What a nightmare. So definitely no breakfast followed by a meeting with someone important led to me eating the biscuits left over from last night's meeting for breakfast. At sainsburys I then ate a sample of breaded ham - it was nice, though I like mine sliced much thinner. Then I tried the piccalilli flavoured cheese. Disgusting. Had to have more breaded ham to get rid of the taste. And now I'm waiting for pizza - chicken, caramelised onion and green pepper. The favourite and just what a cold night in requires.

On a humorous note, glad to inform you that Baby Big Girl raided her sister's advent calendar. She went straight for number 24.  Clever girl that one....

Bonnie Tyler Style

Over the weekend I've had some dodgy throat moments, the worst at 3am on Saturday morning when I was in some real pain and had to take paracetamol that Husband #1 went to fetch for me - he's just bought a few more years of good McCookings.

Friday night's pizza was a pesto triumph with gouda and emmental instead of mozzarella plus I added slightly more tomato puree than I usually would. Saturday was Christmas Tree Day and so a simple tea was all that was allowed: a few weeks ago I'd bought cheeses which hadn't been eaten (amazing in this house) and so I made some bread, cut a pear and we had that with a celery, walnut an parmesan salad, courtesy of Husband #1. 

I have to say the bread was lovely - even if I say so myself and even though I only made half a portion (Nigel Slater recipe and he is of course, generous!) there was still a huge chunk to throw away to the birds on Sunday morning! Of the cheese, we had a stilton, a reblochon and another one which was a Spanish ewe's milk cheese and quite delicious. So busy were we from Christmas Tree decorating and then tidying up, we were even too full for chocolate. Don't know how to move on from there....

That night I put a lovely lamb shoulder joint into the oven on a bed of onion, carrot, garlic and boiling water - covered in a tightly sealed foil tent - on 140'. The smell in the morning was unbelievably good and by 1pm the lamb just fell off the bone - in fact the bone simply fell off. Teamed with home made tzatziki (mint, lemon, yoghurt and garlic), pitta bread and red onion, it was a real treat.

And this all followed a lovely breakfast of banana pancakes. I had to make up the recipe, but 250g flour, 1tsp baking powder, 40g melted butter, 2 eggs and some warm milk (200ml? I forgot to measure - but enough to make a thick batter!) seemed to do nicely. Then I added 2 large mashed bananas and cooked in a non-stick pan. No fat required. Even Baby-Big-Girl ate two and she never eats more than a single pancake.  Biggie ate two and a half! By the way, clearly there was also maple syrup involved.

But I realise why we in this house never eat Sunday roasts; Husband #1 was asleep shortly afterwards and I was dozy enough to allow the girls to strategically place stickers all around the room and glue cut out leaves (I cut them out!) onto doors and worktops around the downstairs in the quest to create a jungle theme. Clearly already bored of Christmas.

And so to tea. Planned to be a jacket potato, it soon turned into a rather excellent treat of yet another block of blue cheese with a glass of wine at 10.30pm. Oh well. I can diet next year.

...and the throat rasps on.

Back to work, extra long day, left for work at 7am, returned at 9pm and this has not helped the throat AT ALL. Is sore and once again rather raspy.

Plus sides are always present and husband #1 is earning brownie points cooking in the kitchen. Up I went to change, with the house smelling all citrussy, down I came to a glass of wine. Five minutes later I was served up a grilled halloumi, walnut and orange salad on a bed of watercress. What a lovely, unexpected surprise - I'd forgotten how salty yet creamy halloumi was. It's going to be a weekend of cheesy treats - I had a tub of cottage cheese for lunch, tomorrow night is of course pizza and Saturday's tea will be a full cheese fiesta (minus half the Stilton which was a snack last night!) snaffled whilst putting up the Christmas Tree.

Sunday is going to become a day of tradition, not sure quite what, but letters to Santa will be involved and perhaps a slow cooked (overnight) shoulder of lamb for lunch.

And so to the main course, not yet completed but it's been in the oven and it contains garlic. Can't be bad. I'm banned from the kitchen, so can't even get a sneak preview. What a pain.

Well, needless to say I'm well looked after on a night where the temperature in the McSignia dropped to -1 on the way home.

Hark, I hear the oven timer.....will update on the rest of my treats another day!

A Long Week of Croak

Well there may perhaps be an end to the croak in sight and I'll be happy, I have to admit. There is something a little bit depressing about waking up late in the morning with no one else here - it's not quite so satisfying as coming downstairs to the chaos of two nutcases running round, play fighting on the floor whilst your youngest is causing havoc in the kitchen. Oh well, I've had a rest, see what happens with the voice tomorrow.

It's also been a little disturbing to have got out of the food routine that keeps us afloat and stops us putting on a stone per week. Well, okay, it hasn't been a great routine since October but it is there in skeleton form and has indeed prevented a stone per week being gained, if not a few pounds. But having been off work, I've not had weetabix for breakfast (eek!) and then haven't been making lunches. The joy of coming down on a (mid-) morning, dreaming of lovely deliciousness - a box of noodles, cheese on toast with HP sauce, a toasted sandwich, a big pile of pasta with sauce, scrambled eggs on toast with ketchup or boiled eggs. The list goes on. But the disappointment was huge when I realised that being such a good shopper on a week by week basis, I now no longer have a pantry full of luxurious snacks just waiting for a day off. Lunches are planned, and if to be made at all, need making for two. Hmph. So, I had three slices of lemon curd on toast (I had no breakfast). It was a choice between that or porridge.

For tea it was vegetable pasta bake, consisting of broccoli, cauliflower and carrots steamed till blendable then mixed into a sauteed leek, garlic and onion blend with a tub or two of ricotta cheese and a little liquid chicken stock for good luck.  I make it to stuff cannelloni with for the girls, but as there was mix left over I mixed with part cooked pasta, topped with tomato sauce and baked with a little Parmesan on top (indeed exactly like the cannelloni, but with penne instead!). It's nice. My eldest nieces like it too, which pleases me. Today, reheated from the freezer, it was a bit of a mash up so I put on lots of black pepper, more Parmesan and a little extra virgin olive oil. Nice. But disappointingly small.

Looking forward to the weekend now, I can see nice things ahead. Husband #1 is cooking for me tomorrow, as I will be late home from work (voice permitting!). Friday, of course there will be a pizza - not sure what kind yet, it may be a retry of the pesto version but I need to think of something to go with that as the usual mozza and tomatoes weren't quite right. But then I may go with mushroom, a treat for husband #1, perhaps. But is it too cold for solely mushrooms? Maybe a ham and mushroom? He doesn't like me messing with his mushrooms, but maybe this once?

Saturday will be cheese. Celery salad, devised by Barefoot and executed by husband #1 to accompany and of course some bread, which I think will be homemade. I'll be making pizza for those monsters anyway so a little more kneading won't hurt. We're putting up the Christmas Tree on Saturday, so it will be a lovely night with decadent food and hopefully episode 1 of NCIS season 9. Yipeeeeeeeeeeee!

There will also, of course, be chocolate.

Courgette fritters with pistou - just felt like a picture!



Only a short update today, have spent the day in silence - well the afternoon - having slept in nicely until almost 11am. Just my luck to be woken up by the window cleaner wanting the key to the back gate. Typical.

So it's been dull. No excitement in anyway, shape or form. I haven't taken advantage of time off to catch up on work, do extra cleaning, reading or similar. I did however watch Doctors. Love it and miss it. The promise of watching Doctors is the only thing that tempts me to have another baby (thus maternity leave, thus more Doctors). But no, that's not going to happen - I may just sky plus it. Wonder if husband #1 would take it up on a Friday night? Well, if not, roll on husband #2.

For tea we had dahl, raita and nan bread - my own lovely recipes (apart from the nan bread). It was a nice change, but the last portion and so at some point over Christmas I'm going to have to be making some more because it really is a great recipe: lentils, ginger, turmeric all cooked until almost ready. Then, cumin seeds, mustard seeds, ground coriander and ground cumin fried in hot oil with chilli and garlic until the garlic is golden when it is ready to add carefully to the lentil mix. I add spinach just at the end too, along with some chopped coriander. Even the raita was good, though it could have been better had husband #1 not given all of my cucumber to the giddies! They get all the best veg in this house.

Having a bit of a blog overload at the minute. Or am I a blog over loader? I think that's it. But I still have a sore throat, neck and ears (did I mention that?) and after a day of overworking that in my throat which still is attempting to work, I may have decided to take the day off tomorrow and see the doctor about my significant pain. But, like this morning (when I rang in sick but turned up anyway), I may change my mind.

So I'm sat here with a bit of time on my hands, watching Barefoot midweek with online Christmas shopping just waving at me. I did get quite a bit done last night too. All the nieces and nephews are catered for - and two arrived this evening, though one has the 24th of December as a delivery date. Risky. Am I admitting to much to say they all have slightly different versions of the same thing? Of course not! They won't read Working Mum Cooks - aged from 7 to 19, I think I'm a little too uncool for that, but I shouldn't even give them that little clue.

Food hasn't set my world on fire today - weetabix, sachet of soup and two slices of 50-50 followed by pain inducing spag bol, usually a great favourite. So I'm having a think about Boxing day to cheer myself up - one of the highlights of my entertaining year. Having a gluten free sister doesn't make things easy and I realised last week that the lovely Bullfighters Beef isn't gluten free, thanks to the beurre manié. Nor is salmon en croûte. Okay, I knew that one. So what can I make?

Having recently made a delicious lamb tagine - my own recipe, including lamb neck fillet, tinned tomatoes, stock, ras-el-hanout, apricots, dates, carrots, onions and courgettes, I'm wondering about that. But the ras-el-hanout spice mix I have is spicy and there are lots of kids coming and I like them to try...Mushroom stroganoff usually works well and that goes well with Dad's best basmati rice. I will never learn how to make it in that way, but it is the best ever plain boiled rice - absolutely no sarcasm there. Could I make the chicken and chorizo in cider? Not sure if chorizo contains gluten, but I bet it does. Chicken in cider - would have to replace the whole bird for a lot of thighs, but will there be enough bone to thicken up the sauce, I wonder?

Once upon a time I made a lovely buffet each year, but I was single, childfree and relatively rich. I spent the early hours of the 27th of December washing up by hand, drinking Christmas Baileys from Nanna's glass whilst listening to the latest Christmas CD. Those were the days! No time for that malarkey so I want one dish that I can slow cook, one I can do on the hob and a third for the oven. Aforementioned rice goes in the microwave, new potatoes go in the oven to roast or the hob if there's room and then there'll be bread - defintely not homemade, though. As for pudding, my thoughts so far have also been far away from the gluten-free zone: jam roly poly and tarte tatin (husband #1's speciality). Of course I know a lovely hazelnut meringue recipe but am always wary of nuts with the kids around. Plus it's time consuming and requires refrigerator space once made. Iles flottantes are good, but not easy to make for twenty-two greedy, potentially drunken, baying relatives. Last year I made an odd thing - it was a frugal, but promising lemon mousse to which I added white chocolate on the off-chance and then called Panna Cotta. Whilst the EU failed to sue me on misrepresentation, I was lucky as it did go down well and diners even had to be rationed - people were fraudulently coming to take portions that they had no intention of eating to pass onto those who had already had some - a sin on Boxing Day when all get served once before seconds are allowed!

So what do I have? Mushroom Stroganoff, rice and Lemon and White Chocolate Faux Panna Cotta. That's not a full table yet, bear with me.

(Iles Flottantes, just to share a picture!)

The sore throat rasps on to see another day and all I want to do is sit and eat badness - it's going to be hard not to succumb. There's Dairy Milk in the kitchen and I haven't even attacked it yet; am very proud.

Jacket potatoes are in the oven, will be smothering them with butter and salt before the tuna, sweetcorn and mayonnaise gets applied. Sunday's are tough to mess up once I get to this stage as the tea is already on and I cannot bring myself to waste an already heated meal.

What would be good? Perhaps a nice, salty and spicy Chinese with loads of fluffy rice and noodles (has to be both or I'd be disappointed). To start, I might want hot and spicy soup, salt and pepper squid or some delicious pork and prawn dumplings with sweet chili sauce. Of course there has to be vegetables - even with a take away I'm a stickler. So perhaps some seaweed and/or fried broccoli. Maybe mixed vegetables? I'd take a good spoon of each. But maybe I'd prefer an Indian? What I get depends on where husband #1 would be willing to drive to. The best version would include chicken mangalore (love the whole red chillies) or goan king prawn - though there is a beautiful, low fat lamb and cauliflower dish too. Of course, tarka dahl is vital (veg), alongside a garlic nan and pilau rice. Maybe a mixed seafood starter (for 2, so I guess I'd share) or some samosas, bhajis or pakoras. Meat or vegetable? Don't care as long as there's spice. The cheaper version provides free poppadoms with chutneys - an advantage in anyone's eyes? There is an oddly pink korma (but rather tasty) and a lovely chicken rogan josh (thigh meat, really tender and juicy) - clearly still needs dahl, nan and rice.

How sad am I feeling now? My jacket potato, no matter how crispy the skin or how much salt and butter I add, will be sadly lacking in excitement and comfort. Who said it was good to dream?

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What an odd week. Have had a horrible sore throat and my voice just about went completely yesterday. Is up and down today, but I hope it comes back as I hate not being able to speak.

Last night's pizza was absolutely beautiful (if I say so myself) - salami, jalapeno and green pepper. But what really made it good were the 5 crushed cloves of garlic I mixed in with the tomato puree. Wow - I really pity those who hate garlic.

After a small head injury last night, resulting in two hourly checks of a little monster, we had a nice sleep in and then porridge with syrup. At 10am!!! What a luxury - usually I only allow one special breakfast a weekend, but I'm thinking that this time of year is so stressful at work and so dismal outside that perhaps a trip to the shop tomorrow morning and a little Cinnamon French toast wouldn't be bad, would it?!

And so to tonight...

Fairground Octopus (by Sir Rick, adapted by me), prawn and spring onion fritters (as before - Sir Rick, yours were a bit runny last week, I found!) with asparagus (roasted), artichokes (from Sainos!!! Don't really fit in but had to buy them to encourage stock) and chips. Oh, and not to forget the garlic mayo that husband #1 is about to make.

Am so looking forward to an evening of warm deliciousness dipped in garlic mayo. And with a nice red wine too. In the words of a heroine, how bad can that be?

Sore throat aside, the week hasn't gone well in terms of food. Husband #1 and I have eaten as planned but have supplemented this with a diabetic load of crisps, sweets and now, ice cream.

Last weekend was the annual 'parents' tea and I think it went well. Started with prawn and spring onion fritters, from (sir) Rick Stein's Spanish book, accompanied by lots of saucission, gherkins, giant capers and asparagus. They were nice and will be had again. The main course was a confit duck tart, which I'm delighted to say was a treat, topped with lovely potatoes and a just set shallotty and garlicky egg mix. With that I made roasted shallots (Ina style!) and cavalo nero, working mum style with caramelised garlic. Yummy!

For pudding, another newby - jam roly poly, steamed in my very own home-fashioned steamer but served with Sainos TTD custard - when I looked at the price of the eggs I had to buy, it seemed silly not to take the cheaper option, and though I do love homemade custard, the homemade Jam Roly Poly didn't lose out!

So to Sunday morning and queue cinnamon French toast followed by all you can eat Chinese buffet. Oh dear!

So it's nearly the weekend again and I have to say I'm still getting more Nigellaesque in size (sorry Nigella, I think I'm doing you a disservice there, I think you are almost workingmumesque in size at this stage. What to eat on Friday and Saturday? Pizza Friday, but after two weeks of chicken, caramelised onion and pepper I think something else needs a turn. Maybe it's time for salami and jalapeno? It's too cold for vegetarian options, even a full cheese. For Saturday I'm looking for a lamb curry recipe, something dry and unsaucy to go with raita and nan bread. I may then of course do a cauliflower curry in a sauce to accompany. Yummy.......

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Last night had a beautiful tea by (Sir) Rick Stein of Padstow and me. Pot Roast Chicken with Chorizo and Leeks in Cider. Nice and easy to do, stuck it in the oven and it just did itself really, though my sausages were pretend chorizo 'style' by Sainos and I found I needed to add more paprika - really needed smoked but was horrified to find I'd run out and not noticed. I do wonder why (Sir) Rick doesn't mention the carrots in the title? They were lovely. It made loads and today I've frozen another two portions AND there was enough of the mash I made with it to freeze those as well, so two lovely teas there for the up-an-coming horrible half-term ahead.

So today it was porridge and syrup, Costco pizza and hotdog for linch, with toast for those still hungry (yes, well, we only bought 3 portions) then jackets and beans for tea.

About to go to bed with Dairy Milk and wine. I deserve a treat or two and will be perfect hereonafter until Christmas.

And it goes on. Today, no time for breakfast so grabbed a flap jack from the cupboard which I then left in the back of my car until 5.34pm when I returned home. I took no lunch (have wasted a pot of humous and 6 wraps this week - oopsie) nor any money, so that didn't happen either. A magnet for crashes in the last few weeks, I was late home for collecting a gal and so went to parents for cup T and in the hope of something tasty being available - unfortunately they were out of Twirls, but there was a taster slab of home-made Christmas cake just waiting.....the mother cut me a maternity-leave sized slice and it was good.

So the answer is yes. I'll have one for Christmas please.

Just waiting for Friday's pizza to come out of the oven - caramelised onion, chicken and green pepper - a favourite these days. Some wine (the bloody mary is gone, Come Dine With Me and some chocolate: as (Aunty) Ina Garten would say, "how bad can that be?"

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Out of the window have gone all of the good and healthy attitudes towards food this week. Interview today (failed miserably) has caused untold stresses on diet. Throughout the week the girls' Halloween chocolate has disappeared and last night there were 2 midweek glasses of wine (forbidden), a large bag of Doritos (Original, with Salsa) and a small packet of buttons.

Tonight there has been a small Cadbury's whole nut (not really tasted as it went down so quickly), a Babybel (it may have been out of date, wrong to give the kids) and there will soon be an Agrah curry, with lager, wine and perhaps a bag of Cadbury's Caramel Nibbles.

Then it is the weekend - two and a half days of decadence by default. BUT, I will get back into cooking. Possibly a chicken, green pepper and caramelised onion pizza tomorrow (though I may experiment and try a new topping!) and I really fancy something new on Saturday. Not sure what yet. All the parents are coming the Saturday after and I'm thinking of doing something from Rick Stein's Spanish book, which hasn't had much use yet. It's cold, dark and I fancy something slow cooked and meaty. There are options from Rick - will have to see.

Anyway, just to reinforce my philosophy on food: If you like it eat it, if you need comfort eat it - just try to like vegetables and low-fat goods at the same time....http://www.facebook.com/recipe.mccookingseasy?ref=tn_tnmn

Ah ha. I have so much work this week that I have decided to sod the lot and I've taken to uber-blogging. Why not? What do I have to say on this fine (cold) and sunny (pitch black) Guy Fawkes Night regarding food, and what is my philosophy thereupon?

I mentioned weight loss in an earlier post. All is not lost and forgotten - weight loss is s slow process if it's to be done properly and I have lost 6 and a 1/4 pounds since September - not too bad? No, but how much better would that have been had I not spent last night and tonight snaffling The Gals Halloween chocolate treasures? Last night I got away with it and my post holiday weight was good, but I think I may have pushed it. Question: how much would you expect me to lose tonight after a small dairy milk, a 'fun' size flake (no fun to be had there, 1 bite and it was gone) and a packet of buttons. I may take the fizzy cola bottles next as they are more similar to a portion of fruit?

Anyway, for lunch I had roasted vegetables (see yesterday's work avoidance tactic) and butter beans because I opened the wrong tin and my discerning offspring will only eat borlotti beans with their sausages (sorry, girls!). The same will be had tomorrow and Husband #1 will join me this time. For tea we had garlic mushrooms on toast, which were okay, but I cooked them ahead on Friday when I made the pizza and I just wonder if fungus improves with age? Not sure. Maybe I'm just miffed there was no cream in there with them.

So back to work. I have a presentation to practise and think it may go better with a M&S chocolate eyeball challenging my lip movements? Let's see.....http://facebook.com/recipe.mccookingseasy

And so the holidays have ended again and, despite a week of working every night after the kids have gone to bed, I'm still working away this afternoon and having a mass panic. Or at least, I'm having a mass panic about working away and yet seem to be writing a blog post (thanks Niece #1), all the while cooking a tomato sauce to go with my girls' beans and sausages (none of that tinned rubbish for my girls*) and roasting vegetables to go on wraps this week.

I'm also sat next to a sandwich, which in theory will be delightful but....I sat the (frozen) ham on the buttered bread to defrost. It hasn't. I put some of the aforementioned roasted vegetables on the ham to rush it on. It hasn't. The bread is now a little 'self-toasted' after having sat out too long. Oh dear.

But to make me look a little better in culinary areas, I made a lovely Chateaubriand on Thursday (for 4) and was telling a chef about it last night and he was very impressed I'd even tried it - but for those of you who aren't adventurous chefs, it really wasn't that hard - really just a roast. I wiped it dry, smeared in olive oil, sea salt and black pepper and seared on all sides for literally a minute or less. Then it went in the oven at 190' for about 20 - 25 minutes. I covered it in fol and left to sit for 15 minutes and then served with chips and garlic mayo - was a beautiful piece of meat, I have to say. Followed it up with iles flottantes, one of my all time favourites.

So, thanks Niece #1, you made me lose 20 scarce minutes of work time, but I'll forgive you! Now off to eat my sandwich. Cross fingers that the ham has defrosted....

Thanks, Jack the Greengrocer

Well, I don't want to get into daily blogs, but I have to pay hommage to my neighbour, Jack. Or Jack the Greengrocer as he is now known.

Over the last 3 weeks he has provided us with about £15 - 20 of fresh vegetables from his allotment. HUGE globe courgettes and beautifully sweet and ripe tomatoes have arrived regularly.

Just home from an absolutely shattering day at work and not yet out of my car, who is there on the drive with a bag of goods? The Greengrocer. Well today, another globe courgette - more tempura on Saturday night, maybe with garlic mayo this week, though chilli and soy are rather nice... and then more tomatoes, all perfectly ripe and, as we'd had soup for lunch (unplanned last minute lunch), instead of minestrone for tea, I made sardine, mussel and tomato spaghetti with capers and a beautifully sweet onion that Jack also brought (recipe on FB - was rather delicious and very quick). In fact he brought two onions (a Japanese variety?) and a green pepper too - so Friday night's pizza is suddenly chicken and green pepper with caramelised onions.

We gave him some beers last weekend and he thanked us and then, typical of a man from round here, said "I don't give you free stuff so you can waste your money on beers for me." - What a man.

Thanks Greengrocer!

Two and a Half Weeks Later

Well, two and a half weeks into my new food start - two stone to lose and counting. So far I've shaken off about 3lb, not much but then I've not starved either and have eaten some very nice food. Work always regulates how I eat and for a while at least I can be strong and avoid takeaways.

Today, however my strength has been pushed - thank goodness for husband #1 cooking my very favourite beans and sausages for tea http://www.facebook.com/recipe.mccookingseasy?ref=tn_tnmn I would definitely have strayed into a takeaway, with chocolate and would be having monstrous glasses of wine right now. I will have wine (if I have some red around, it's too cold for white and the heating's not yet on so I'm frozen....) BUT only a small glass.

So my diet? Cereal - any, but a measured portion with skimmed milk. For lunch a wrap, with humous, chicken or egg mayo - even tuna mayo last week - with tomatoes (normal or slow roasted) and/or grilled courgettes. Maybe some fruit if time allows. For tea, it doesn't really matter as long as portions are controlled - I measure pasta, rice etc as being an easily tempted piggy, I could eat double quantities of both. I love spaghetti - even just tossed in olive oil with sea salt crumbled a-top........yum......but not good for you in the quantities I'd like! One fishfinger sub instead of the two I'd happily munch and only two slices of bread with soup - but of course, butter is a must and therefore applied generously, as Nigel Slater (an inspiration) would say. Chicken in homemade wine and cream sauce is allowed, but the sauce is vegetable based and extra veggies added to the side.

And so it goes on. No treats midweek (Sunday to Thursday), but chocolate on Friday and pudding on Saturday are really a must if one is to follow any diet and make it sustainable. I think.......come back in a year and we'll see!!!!!

One last thing, NO food is a sin in my world. I am determined through sensible and varied eating, I will be slim soon. 28lb, 28 weeks? Eek. I'll get there in about 40.....bear with me, I hope you get some useful tips in the meantime!

;-)

My philosophy on food is that you should enjoy what you eat and eat what you enjoy. Try new flavours and textures, don't dismiss anything - imagine if you'd refused chocolate the first time you'd tried it as a baby - wow! Variety is vital to staying healthy, in my opinion. I don't always practice what I preach there and go through 'greedy' phases when work becomes tough but on the whole, eating a varied diet does not make me put on weight, in fact I lose it steadily. Oh, and read recipes from whatever source you find stimulating but, apart from baking and pastry type dishes, or things which need to set, alter the ingredients as you see fit. No one should tell you what you will enjoy, they can only suggest. Even Jamie Oliver - I'm not a fan, generally, sorry Jamie. On the other hand, I think Nigel Slater is fantastic and the man who inspired me to change things as and when I felt like it -  Nigel (and I) just wants you to enjoy food, no matter how simple or complicated.

I'm determined my children will have a healthy attitude to food - that they will enjoy vegetables and all things healthy, but that they will also be happy to try new things. They will not see certain items as food 'sins' - who even invented that word? No food should be a sin, but you just shouldn't eat a cream based meal, a box of chocolates and a fry up all in the same week (or maybe even month, but that's for  you to decide!).

Nothing delights me more than seeing my daughter taste all the cheeses - and I mean all the cheeses I try - at Anthony's Fromagerie in Leeds. Wow. And she fights for gherkins or balsamic pickled onions if they happen to be available. Spicy chorizo and all kinds of saucisson pass her lips with joy if ever we have them in - usually for a Saturday night tea, which should always be a bit more special and has extra funding allocated.....My younger daughter is developing into a similar foodie, though she is more inclined to spit out what she doesn't like at the moment!

So I have decided, as a full time working mum, who works long days and late into the evenings, that I will share my ideas about food. Recipes I have been inspired by, openly pinched or devised myself will appear on here, linked to my FB page and Twitter. If even one person makes a healthier, cheaper meal that they've never had before I will be over the moon. I cook many meals in bulk and that is time consuming but during the week, rarely does a meal take longer to make than the time it takes to cook pasta or rice - unless it spends time in the oven, of course, but that doesn't count as I can be working in the meantime!

Friday? It's pizza night, homemade without fail. And here I go back to Jamie and thank him for his recipe. Great dough, but I have altered your tomato topping, yours is way too fussy!

Saturdays are special, as I've already said, and if I can experiment I will. I don't mind spending the whole day cooking for a dinner party - it relaxes me. But then I will also happily serve Ina Garten's Steakhouse Steak and homemade chips. It is Saturday, after all!

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