A Trip Away Keeps The Slimming At Bay

Goodness me how I've grown since last week! And I only wish it was as a person, rather than in person. Had a delightful weekend in York with Husband#1 - and yes, I missed the gals hugely, but as we've had different holidays, we won't get any sleep ins this week so a couple of nights and days with no routine was needed. Sleep? Have some. Want to eat? Do it. Don't want to eat? Who cares. Even the T.V. watching was kept to a minimum as we read whenever we liked. What a treat getting to the end of a whole paragraph's worth of sentences without being interrupted. And who better than to read than Adrian Mole? Deep, meaningful and at times, hilarious. I do believe Husband#1 must have known Sue Townsend when younger, as surely she couldn't have used anyone else as her muse? Even if he was only three when it was written (or similar).

So it started on Saturday when we found our way, without desperate phone calls, to the Blue Rooms - which are at the centre of York and lovely. A new little, Korean restaurant, called Obishi, has opened up just next door so we went in - how cute. It is like a bedsit, with about 16 seats on various tables and a kitchen at the back. The food was a treat as well. We've never eaten Korean before, but I'd go again. Just the right amount of spice and the octopus that Husband#1 had was absolutely beautiful. I could have had more, but as was pointed out, we were eating out again that evening and had fancied tasting something in the market...

So on we walked into town and one new dress later, we had German wurst - mine hot and smoky - in the market. I was good, though and used the bread only as a holder. For tea we went to The Whippet Inn. We were a little early and - shock! - had to sit in the bar for a drink! It's been a while. The starters were delicious. Squid and scallops, perfectly cooked, both dishes. I was disappointed with my vegetarian pie for the main course as it was a little dry - as if kept warm for a little too long. The pastry just crumbled when I tried to get it on the fork, which was a shame as well. It did taste good, though. Husband#1 was in heaven with his haloumi and aubergine platter - which looked like a piece of Jackson Pollack artwork, I have to say. We decided to be good and had a layer of Milk Tray for pudding back in the apartment.

The next day we lunched at Loch Fynes, which was lovely - with a view of the river Foss and a beautifully fruity glass of white wine which reminded me of summer. For tea we went to the Blue Bicycle and what a treat. Scallops for both of us as starters, mine with an Indian twist. Excellent. And then, steak for Husband#1 and cod with beef cheeks for me followed by a lovely assiette of puddings to share. One thing: why on earth do people insist on spoiling food with rhubarb?

So, four restaurants, one street food experience and two fried breakfasts later, here I am, fatter than ever and buckling the legs of the chair as I type.

Good to be home, however, Biggie and Little Biggie keeping us on our toes as ever. Back to cooking this week, though nothing too testing. Friday will bring a trip to the fish market in Leeds so looking forward to whatever that leads to!

Food, Food, Food - is that unimaginative?

So, it would seem that tonight is the start of a culinary ten days which will see me put on about ten pounds or something ridiculous. I really must control myself after this.

Last weekend was a treat with shoulder of pork cooked in a low oven for 22 hours and then served with coleslaw, BBQ sauce and balsamic onions for Sunday lunch. Pudding was a rice pudding cake, which was nice enough, though heavy. I'd have preferred the rice pudding mix before it was set - now that was good!

The next day there was pork a plenty and so I made extra BBQ sauce and we had cold roast sandwiches for lunch - wow what a treat that was (especially as there was a little coleslaw left as well!). Tuesday saw the pulled pork wrap with BBQ sauce...but that was where it ended. It will happen again, though. I don't make many roasts, but that was lovely and surprisingly un-greasy when cold.

Monday was garlic mushrooms on ciabatta, to which I have now added a poached egg, a drizzle of extra virgin olive oil, sea salt and a sprinkling of Parmesan. It was a dream to see Biggie polishing it off in minutes, though I have to say her ciabatta was on a separate dish as she doesn't like soggy bread! Little Biggie (as she will henceforth be known) was a little unwell and doesn't like mushrooms, so I made her the equally sophisticated tomatoes on toast with extra virgin olive oil, a smear of garlic and a sprinkling of Parmesan. Went down a treat. We can have vegetarian nights after all!

Tuesday was another treat - it's been a surprisingly good week - with a leek and haddock risotto. Again, Biggie had it downed in seconds. I am very proud of her ability to eat and enjoy.

And so to Wednesday, when there was a blip and a near-miss with a takeaway. I'd planned a favourite; roasted mackerel with crushed new potatoes and broccoli, but I just couldn't see it on Wednesday. Neither could Husband#1. So we decided to try it later. I made Biggie hers (which again, she sat and ate without question) and then we had ours after the girls had gone to bed. I'm glad we did - I'd forgotten how good roasted smoked mackerel is. Not much beats it, in my book.

Tonight does see the takeaway, but Biggie had anchovies and mussels mixed with tomato puree and pasta. Ate every bit. What a girl. Little Biggie had tea at nursery so she sat at the table devouring dates and apricots instead. Those girls are fabulous!

And so to the weekend ahead: Friday night is of course the night of the pizza, but Saturday we're eating at the Whippet Inn in York and on Sunday, the Blue Bicycle. Lunches are yet to be decided, but I'm willing to bet there won't be M&S sandwiches!

Emotional Freedom Therapy

It's bad news, I'm afraid; biggie has not been chosen to participate in the cookery club. Grandad Kenny Camel texted me from picking her up to get her a treat as she was 'devastated.' So, feeling devastated myself, I bought her a new game.  Family games are the new thing, but between the Moshi Monster Memory Pair Game and the Doc McStuffings Memory Pair Game, there's little variety. Sometimes we play the Hello Kitty Guess Who Game, but I can't do it so everyone fights over who plays with Husband#1. I'll report back on the new game later...

Anyway, to add insult to my second-hand injury, at bedtime, my very manipulative five year old told me there was a letter in her school bag about the cooking club, and maybe she'd got a place...I knew this to be a fib as I'd discussed the letter and her knowing she was out with GKC. What could a Working Mum Who Cooks do? I had to go downstairs, get the letter to pretend to check it. Then, I had to 'break' the bad news to her, whilst she looked sad, as if hearing it for the first time. This broke my heart, even though I now know my little Madame is indeed a Manipulator and Attention-seeker in-chief.

Thus, I have no emotional freedom...but, my new EFT technique to stop overeating is working. No snacks since The Night of the Chocolate Mushroom binge. We'll see how long that lasts. Friday tomorrow, and that has to be a treat filled night. Saturday is, well, Saturday. This week, even Sunday will be bad as all the parents are over for lunch. I'm making pulled pork with BBQ sauce and (bought) coleslaw (your friends don't have more fun if you make coleslaw yourself - Ina Garten). Then, for pudding, we'll have a rice pudding cake from the Andy Bates Brazilian Street Food show. Never made slow roasted pork. Hope it's good!

They Say a Couple of Pounds Per Week is Good....

...for weight loss, but how does that work for weight gain? I can't help but LOVE food.

Admittedly, I eat for stress relief, like last night. I arrived home from work and immediately stuffed a raw mushroom in my mouth to relieve the pangs for something more delicious. And another. And, as Husband#1 and daughters arrived home, I had yet another hanging out of my large-enough mouth.

Husband#1 forced me to enjoy the frozen and reheated mushroom risotto, it's too early in the week for a take-away, he said. It was fine - made all the more fine with a few fresh mushrooms (well, slightly less than intended) and - wait for it - a POACHED EGG on top. What a treat they were to find in the back of the fridge and still in date! Drizzled with a little extra virgin olive oil and sprinkled with Parmesan and sea salt, actually it also required a glass of white wine.

It's been a long time since I blogged, and I've missed it. I'm trying a new form of non-invasive acupuncture (can't remember the name of it for the life of me) to get rid of the jelly, as I'm a little weary of the morning consisting of hilarity caused by:

A) the jelly
B) the jelly being squeezed into support tights (my morning would start 5 minutes earlier did I not have to do this crazy dance)
C) everyone singing 'If I could turn back time' as I pull on the above offensive items and until I cover them with a dress

In fact, my likeness to a rather cherubic Cher in this outfit led to my main birthday gift being a sailor hat, which I also often have to wear on a morning as I dress.

I will not be the jelly joke
I will not be the jelly joke
I will not be the jelly joke

Anyway, before I researched ways to loose the jelly, I ate two Kinder Bueno, a Cadbury's Caramel and two regular Dairy Milks...well, someone has to and I'm determined it won't be my gals!

One last thing - huge pride when Biggie (5 and a half!) came home tonight and BEGGED to be allowed to join the cookery class at school. Gotta love her!

I like Leopard Print and I Cannot Lie.

The depression that is a Sunday evening started early this week, when I realised at about 4pm that my time with the gals and Husband#1 was soon disappearing for yet another week. It's just not fair and I don't know how to make myself feel better about it, in fact, I am feeling quite depressed.

Was it an extra special weekend? No, the girls were as naughty as usual and the word "mummy" was used, as usual, on average, about eighty-eight times per minute. The pile of nappies I'd saved to go into nursery now we don't use them all ended up on random heads and bums (including mine) by 9.30am on Saturday morning. They fought like cat and dog. I put Booboo's hair clips back in approximately 27 times each day. The bathroom was a flood-site after bath time. There was no privacy to be had. I got up ten times during each meal to get something else for someone else. I sorted and washed about twenty sets of hats, scarves and gloves in preparation for the winter plus the usual never-ending piles of washing. I picked up fifty empty boxes from Biggie's bedroom floor to prevent her using them for 'recycled art or invention.' Was Husband#1 extra-attentive? Not really. I did all the cooking, except the toast he buttered this morning and wraps he made this afternoon. Did he tell me I looked slim? No, but he did say he loved all my jelly nonetheless. (Fool!). I've even become fond of the fly who has been checking out the house over the weekend and have named him Dewey II.

Not sure what to say about any of it really, except that I suppose I must quite enjoy my weekends and I must have the perfect family, so regardless of what they do, I'd like more please!

So onto tea last night. I made up my own recipe and was quite proud of it in the end, although pictures will show my risotto to be a little watery, it still tasted good and guess what? I ate the 'soup' at the end.

I started out sautéeing some leeks and garlic in butter with lots of white pepper and sea salt. I put this into a bowl, after eating half there and then as it was so delicious, and used the same pan to start the risotto. I added a little extra olive oil to the juices and then put in the rice (50g each). I sauteed this for a while and then replaced the leeks and mixed well. I added a LARGE glug (half a cup?) of Pernod and lit it to bur off the alcohol. Once the flames died down, I started to add chicken stock but by bit. When 3/4 cooked, I added three additional ladles of stock the remainders of a jar of crab meat, some small scallops and topped it all off with a load of langoustines in a pretty pattern and cooked it at 200 degrees for about 15 minutes. When out, I served it in a bowl with chopped tarragon and some extra virgin olive oil. Soupy? Yes. Tasty? YES!

Work. Argh.

I haven't managed to blog in almost two weeks now, clearly the daily treadmill has become too much and taken its toll. I'm sat now waiting for my seafood pizza at 7.30pm and just can't wait for bedtime. Highly likely I'll be up there by nine!

So last weekend we went back to the caravan for one final holiday and it was fantastic. I spent the week before looking for the girls winter coats (the east coast in autumn is surely, positively arctic?) and sleep suits. I packed extra socks and vests for night time and even took woolly hats. Surprised us all when we got there to fine it was a sub- tropical 21 degrees. The woolly jumpers were a tad warm...

Still managed to eat lots of pizza, a delicious roast chicken sandwich feast and best of all lobster gratin, thanks to a timely phone call to the seafood shop, who reserved two of the best.

This week has been okay and even managed a (frozen) seafood and leek tray bake yesterday. I sautéed leeks and garlic with salt and white pepper in butter before adding white wine, cream, saffron and thickened chicken stock. I then put (defrosted) mussels, prawns, clams and some jarred crab meat onto a baking tray and spooned over the mixture. Baked it at 190 degrees for about 20 minutes and served with crusty bread. A delight and a real midweek treat.

Tomorrow, it's crab and langoustine risotto with leek and tarragon with baked broccoli and Parmesan.  Should be good...

Spaghetti Bolognese - Return of the Forbidden

Quick post, but would you believe I was banned from serving good old spag bol about three years ago? Easy to make and freeze, then PreHusband#1 reckoned I made it too often...well it's back, with olives in. And I like it, the gals like it (Biggie was fighting for olives, of course) and most of all did so did Husband#1.

Fool. It doesn't get better than spaghetti drizzled with extra virgin olive oil and then covered in a mix of mince, tomatoes, mushrooms, celery, carrot and olive with a few additional tasty extras (wine, stock etc).

Yummy.