Friday Night Cocktail

Posted on January 9, 2015 by nicdempsey

Last Friday I was making cocktails for Christina and Tom. We went through several as my hangover will attest and this was one of them. I think it was the last cocktail of the night, which would explain why I made it differently than the instructions in the Savoy Cocktail Book.Displaying IMG_2643.JPG

In fairness to me, I was trying to half the recipe as I went.

I’ve since made it again for one person and although I think it’s slightly different from the cocktail as originally intended, I still really like it!DSCF4894What

1oz gin

1 oz dry vermouth

1/2 teaspoon maraschino

3/4 teaspoon curaçao

dash of orange bitters

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How

1) Put all ingredients in a mixing glass filled with ice

2) Stir and strain into a chilled cocktail glass

3) Garnish with a cherry and a piece of lemon rind

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Friday Links

Posted on January 9, 2015 by nicdempsey

Happy Friday! It’s been a very long week, here are this week’s links…

The Worst Jobs in the World. I think the title is hyperbole but it’s worth a read if Monday left you a jibbering, wreck that hates their job!

Social Jetlag. That explains my mood this week!

10 things we could do to improve the UK. Alternate title could be ‘Things I don’t Expect to see in the Telegraph’

Do we need to adjust our expectations?

Dental care in Alabama. I know that the British have a reputation for bad teeth in the US and I’ve always found it weird given that so many people in there don’t have good teeth or medical care because they can’t afford it. These guys are changing that and this is the way that business and the public sector should work. We could use something like this for NHS dentistry here.

Charlie Hebdo: Now is the time to uphold freedoms and not give in to fear. Yep. Also, why when the perpetrators of violence are Muslims, are all moderate Muslims asked to apologise and condemn it but no one asks Christians to apologise when the shooters are Christian?

For politicians everywhere, have an understanding of the laws of your country and do not fuck with the press! GOP Politician Threatens Journo; Newspaper Publicly Mocks Him

Hadley Freeman on Prince Andrew. Quite.

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The Day in Food

Posted on January 8, 2015 by nicdempsey

I haven’t done a day in food post for ages and never a bad idea to take a step back and log what I eat now and again. So this is what yesterday looked like…

Morning

Black coffee / berocca.

I don’t eat at home in the morning ’cause it makes me feel sick but I drink a glass of water with a berocca in it while I’m waiting for the kettle (the new kettle is like living in the future, I can set the temp from 85C to 100C in 5C increments depending on what I’m making – coffee is 95C!). Coffee gets made before I shower and drunk while I’m getting ready to leave the house. I’ve gone back to my small cafetiere that gives me about a mug and a half of coffee, in my current favourite mug. On the weekends (and all over Christmas) I use the bigger one. What’s better than coffee, more coffee!/home/wpcom/public_html/wp-content/blogs.dir/75d/15758768/files/2015/01/img_2647.jpg

Greek yoghurt and apple honey / water / mint tea/home/wpcom/public_html/wp-content/blogs.dir/75d/15758768/files/2015/01/img_2649.jpgI get into work and switch on the computer, then go and fill my water bottle and make tea. I drink all my tea and coffee without milk (the work of the devil) and mostly tea is peppermint or lemon and ginger, it’s normally always herbal. Breakfast this week has been greek yoghurt with apple honey, I make them up at the beginning of the week and then I can just grab it from the fridge in the morning. The yoghurt has dairy and protein and the apple honey is the sweeter here, it’s very sweet so a small jar (250ml) lasts maybe 3 weeks!

A banana / a clementine / more water / peppermint tea

Around 11am, it was time for a reup of my tea and water and some fruit. Work supplies fruit 2 days a week and these were my pick!

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Afternoon

Black bean and veg stir fry with soba noodles / water / peppermint tea

Lunch was last nights leftovers, more water, more tea. The joy of being back at work is that it’s really easy to stay hydrated. Dinner last night was totally made up on the spot, 1 leek, some red cabbage, a red pepper, 3 mushrooms, a cup of black beans stir fried with some teriyaki sauce and served with soba noodles, it was really good and made a great lunch too!

This is the point that I would show you a photo and I did take one but there were some technical issues, so no photo. Instead, here’s the two celebrations I ate as lunch dessert (I resisted the doughnuts on the snack table and had two of these instead – the healthy option!IMG_2652

More water / more peppermint tea

Yes I realise that I didn’t take this photo until I’d drunk most of the water!Displaying IMG_2653.JPG

 Red Lentil Dahl / Red Cabbage / vegetables

Dahl and flatbread is one of my staples, but I didn’t have flat bread dough made so I made do with extra vegetables!

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That’s actually a pretty usual week day for me. I don’t eat a lot of processed food, always eat more than my five a day and mostly don’t drink alcohol during the week. It’s the weekends where my diet goes to pieces!

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Blogs I like to read

Posted on January 7, 2015 by nicdempsey

Even though I didn’t start of with the intention of it, I did a bit of  New Year’s sort out of the kitchen last week, mostly fuelled by the idea that people were coming over and I needed more surfaces to work on if I was going to entertain. It didn’t take more than a hour, and in that time. I cleaned and reorganised the cupboard under the sink, scrubbed the floors (they never look cleaner but I knew!) and threw some things that were gathering dust on the kitchen shelves away and felt much better.

I’ve done some digital clearing out too, mostly in the form of unsubscribing from emails and blogs that have either stopped updating or I’ve stopped reading. I’m a creature of habit, most of the blogs I read 3 or 4 years ago I still read but I have added a couple, here are the ones I currently love to see updates from.

Bookshelves of Doom

This blog (and the Smart Bitches) are why 2015 is a book diet year for me!

Smart Bitches, Trashy Books

I have waxed poetic about the Bitchery before. Book reviews, cover snark, knitting patterns…there is nothing that I want more from life..

Back to Her Roots

BTHR is a really great place for food ideas. Lots of Cassie’s recipes have gone on to become a staple in my menu planning, I usually end up adapting some of the ingredients but so far they haven’t had a failure. Last year was a year of big change for Cassie and the blog has reflected that change but I really enjoy the open way that she’s approached the changes and while our lives are radically different, I always enjoy reading about her goals, food and challenges.

My Radical Commitment

Krissie is another person I couldn’t have less in common with, but I love how brave she is about trying new things and being emotionally open and honest.

Drogba’s Country

Full disclosure, I’ve met the author of this blog because he’s a friend of a friend, which makes it weird when you hear them on the World Service. It’s maybe while I like the blog, I know how committed he is to Cote d’Ivoire through his relationships so I know that his criticism is affectionate too.

Real Men Sow

My obsession with allotments continues, this is fun and one day it will be useful.

DIY Diva

This is another blog that details a life I’d be completely rubbish at living. I’m so totally a city person and I’m dangerous and slightly scary with power tools in my hands, but the stuff she takes on…amazing.

Cowgirl Runs

Ange does mad running things, loves her cat and is funny about bananas (which I totally get!). I boggle at her running achievements and that fact that it seems always to be snowing in Canada…

So what/who are your favourite blogs? Recommendations please?

 

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January Plans

Posted on January 6, 2015 by nicdempsey

I didn’t expect January to be busy. It’s January, no-body likes January, it’s “an unsweetened rice pudding” of a month and I try to avoid doing too much planning and promising. January is the month when I naturally want to “stay in bed and eat  pies” because let’s be real here, getting back into the swing of work and early mornings, is plenty of things for me to cope with in winter. January 2015 feels like it’s going to be pretty full.

This week is all about getting back to work and routine. I need to join the gym (actually that’s done, I just need to get a pass and a tour!), take down the Christmas tree and get to work on time each morning and remember to bring a packed lunch!IMG_2569This weekend, I need to have the haircut I missed last week, go to Grace and attend Charles’ 70th birthday party, it’s on a Sunday night so I it can’t be a late night for me because I need to be at work on the Monday morning.

That Monday is my only day in the office, because on Tuesday 13th, I’m off to Strasbourg to mind Ms T for a couple of days, which has just been arranged, I feel it’s an exaggeration to say it’s last minute but as the possibility of going was only raised the week after Christmas, the tickets were booked on Sunday night and I only got official confirmation from work that I could take the leave yesterday, it feels very last minute!IMG_2453By the time I’m back from France, we’re more than halfway through the month! I don’t have anything else planned, so it should be a peaceful rest of the month!

What are you doing this month?

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Life Happened – Post Christmas Funk and the New Year

Posted on January 5, 2015 by nicdempsey

Last week was very lazy.

I did some shopping in KingstonIMG_2618

 

Did NYE in normal grumpy fashion

Went to Ms T’s birthday partyIMG_2632IMG_2630

And in the process discovered just how loud 9 small children can be. Answer = very!

Christina and Tom came over for drinks, which Christina photographed..IMG_2636

IMG_2642There was some burning of wood that Tom brought back from South America (it smells nice!)IMG_2640And I missed my haircut due to the late night (and cocktails).

Now I’m back at work. I’m glad to have had the do nothing time and although I am looking forward to getting back into a routine, I have a feeling that 6am is going to come as a huge shock this week. Also the next couple of weeks are a bit odd. I’m at work this week, then one day next week and then off to Strasbourg to mind Ms T for a couple of days, which was a last minute thing, because we all know how fantastically I adapt to sudden changes in plan and routine (which is to say that I don’t, at all!)

Right, once more into the breach my friends….

 

 

 

 

 

 

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Sunday Music

Posted on January 4, 2015 by nicdempsey

On New Year’s Eve, I was in Sainsburys and they were playing party music, or what they thought was party music. This came up and, I know all the words (Ma had a thing about David Essex and his twinkle!) and here it is..

At this point, he was 26-ish and he looks so baby-faced…

David Essex – Gonna Make You A Star

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Saturday To Do List

Posted on January 3, 2015 by nicdempsey

For the first Saturday of the New Year, I’m going to have a haircut, there isn’t a lot of housework to do this weekend ’cause I did a lot for NYE and last night ’cause Christina and Tom were here last night and there was some frantic tidying. So until the tree comes down on Monday night, there’s not a lot to do!IMG_2569

Next week is back to work and preparing for the week after in Strasbourg and more on that later…

 

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Friday Links

Posted on January 2, 2015 by nicdempsey

Happy Friday!

Although it’s the first Friday of the year, I’m still on holiday, 2 things to read and I’ll do better next week!

We should love tax and paying it. If we could have decent roads, healthcare, transport and all the other things that make for a civilised society then I’d be happy not to have tax. History and the US teaches us, this is not so. Taxes it is..

Things to think about when making New Year’s Resolutions.

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New Year, New Goals

Posted on January 1, 2015 by nicdempsey

Happy New Year!

I’ve been thinking about resolutions and goals. I didn’t do resolutions or monthly goals this year and don’t get me wrong, I had a really good year but it lacked focus and going into 2015, I feel like I need a bit more. However, I’m generally fairly rubbish at resolutions, I start strong and then lose momentum, this year may not be any different so I’m going to set them and my idea is that I’ll have a monthly post to talk about them and hopefully renew my enthusiasm for them each month.

BODYDSCF4423I didn’t really do any exercise at all this year and that showed in my weight and my general health, which I did not enjoy. Also I’m feeling my age, I’m in my 40’s now, my knees and feet are playing up and it’s not going to be too long before I have to bite the bullet and have my bunions surgically attended to. So I need to fix the slight disconnect between my mind and my body and gently get back into feeling better. So nothing mad, I’m not running any marathons any time soon and I’m not gong to overcommit, it’s easy to say that I’ll go to the gym every day but that’s not sustainable so 2 gym classes a week and 15 minutes of yoga every day. I have a short series that I’ve been doing on and off this year and it helps stretch and relax me, I know that it helps my knees and it also helps me sleep better, it takes about the same amount of time as the physio stretches for my knees but actually works better, so it’s just swapping one thing for the other. I may, later in the year, set some smaller goals within that but this is my base line. I also have been given a fitbit for Christmas (thanks Christelle!), so I’m looking forward to seeing how that changes my view of my fitness!

HOME & MIND (BOOKS)20140122-110053.jpgMy ‘To Be Read’ pile of books AND the list on my Kindle is ridiculous. I read about 100 books this year and I have more books than that to read and while I maintain that there is no such thing as too many books, my bookshelves are stuffed. The answer is clear. It pains me to admit it but I need to stop buying books! However, cold turkey is tough, so I’m going to have a limit. This year I will only buy 12 new to me books. (Barter Books in September could be torture!). I have joined the library, so I will make more use of it and hopefully get through my TBR pile.

HOME GENERAL20140423-123504.jpgThis year, keeping the flat in good order seems to have really clicked, mostly it’s tidy and under control. I want to continue that by working on the deep cleaning a bit more. Things like cleaning the oven and floors (basically the stuff I’m not currently brilliant at keeping on top of!). I also want to work on having less clutter and more organisation. Over the year that will mean some de-cluttering, more importantly, that will mean not bringing new things in, unless things leave the flat first. Some things are coming in, this is the year, I replace the bed, I need a new mattress and a bed that better suits this bedroom so I stop bruising my legs on the current one. I also have new curtains, inherited from Ma (thanks Ma!) that I was going to put in the bedroom but may work better in the living room, so I need to sort that out.

SPIRIT20140914-204723-74843564.jpgLast year, I did Krissie’s beFULL course and despite my traditional discomfort with ‘hippy dippy’ feelings stuff, I found it really useful. Over that time working with Krissie, she asked us to use a word to define a state of feeling that we wished to create in our life. I chose PEACEFUL. I described it like this:

I struggle with using one word, because that word means a whole bunch of other things. It also means feeling calm and secure and content and trusting and joyous about God’s plan for my life and it’s also the place where I accept that I don’t understand or control all of it, which a big deal for me..

Since that time, I’ve realised that it’s a pretty active word, because I need to do things to bring that feeling. For example, leaving the kitchen tidy at the the end of the day and ready for the next day gives me that peaceful feeling, but it requires me tidying the room before I go to bed. So peaceful is my word and the feeling I’m working towards in 2015.

What about you? Any plans for 2015?

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