The Day in Food: Back to Reality

Life resumed it’s normal pace yesterday. After the joy of Christmas, it’s time to knuckle down and grind through the last months of winter.

On Tuesday night, I set myself for success, I shut all screens down at 9pm and was in bed, lights out at 10pm. Apparently the universe does not reward good intentions and I completely failed at falling asleep or staying asleep.

It felt like I was awake half the night.  At 6am, after what was possibly the worst nights sleep in the world, I had to get up in the dark and go to work. Also one of the weird things about me, is when I’m tired, I’m often sick. Yep, if it’s very bad, I throw up, mostly though I just feel nauseous. Not fun. So I didn’t start the day feeling great. The best thing to do is eat something, preferably something that will give you some energy.

Breakfast: Mint tea / Pint of water with berocca / Half a slice of walnut bread with butter and gooseberry jam / Porridge with apple sauce and cooked blueberries and cherries /Lemon and ginger tea to take out with me (not pictured).

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The applesauce is my usual and the berries and cherries were cooked with a bit of apple juice from frozen.

 

Snack One: Low fat plain yoghurt with some more blueberries and cherries/Lemon and Ginger tea / Water

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Lunch: Lentil, roasted veg & egg salad. A slice of Christmas cake and a pear / More water

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It’s usually 2 eggs but I forgot about them last night when I was boiling them and was reminded when one of them exploded! So this is remains of them, somewhere between one and three eggs worth!

Snack Two: Graze pistachios and a banana / More water / Lemon and ginger tea

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Snack Three: Mushrooms

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I always get home hungry and generally reach for a couple of mushrooms. I think I prefer them raw rather than cooked and it’s better than coming home and eating cheese!

Dinner: French Onion Soup with Comté / slice of walnut bread / couple of mouthfuls of custard / 4 chat au longues

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I had planned a nice ‘treat’ dinner for today as I knew it would be a long day. I ended up not eating the all the custard. I just didn’t fancy it. 

There was more water and more tea. But I forgot to take pictures of that.

Best thing was the onion soup. I love that soup.

Did you go back to work today? How was it?

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Mince Pies and Mincemeat

I know that it’s January and that a post on mince pies is maybe not encouraging for people who’ve embarked on a ‘New Year, New Me’ health kick. However, these are good and  I am proud of them so here they are, later than is probably useful but at least next Christmas, I can point you to this post!

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Mince pies are a proper British tradition, you could quite happily spend from September to December eating mince pies, they are everywhere. A long time ago, mince pies actually contained meat as well as dried fruit and very little sugar. Nowadays, the only savoury thing about them is the use of suet in the mincemeat and their name.

Most people buy mince pies but I’m not keen on the shop bought ones, there’s too much mincemeat and the pastry is an unappealing mixture of crumbly, soggy and far too sweet. Home-made mince pies, are smaller and nicer, so of course at some point I was going to have a bash at making my own.  However, if I was going to make my own, everything in them had to be as home-made as possible and so I decided to make the mincemeat too! I’ve been doing this for about 4 years and I can’t imagine Christmas without making them and giving them away.

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Making your own mincemeat sounds labour intensive and scary, but it isn’t. It really is a case of assemble the ingredients, bake for a bit and stick in jars. In fact, the cheat’s ‘take a jar of shop bought mincemeat and pimp it with extra brandy and fruit’ is, I feel, more of a faff than making it from first principles. I didn’t make mincemeat this year, I had a couple of jars in the cupboard from last year and they tasted better this year. So please don’t feel that this is something you have to fit in December, you can do it about the time you start a Christmas cake, or any time at all. In fact so inspired am I about how good the ‘matured’ version of this was, I’m probably going to make mine in January and feel like a domestic god for the rest of the year! If you are going to store it for any length of time, it’s important to make sure that the suet melts slowly and covers all the fruit, this is what preserves it. I’ve never had the problem, but I’m pretty sure that slowly fermenting (and rotting fruit) is not fun! So do make sure that you use the suet and properly sterilise the jars. This isn’t difficult, just wash them in really hot, soapy water, dry with a clean tea towel (or put them through the dishwasher) and put them in the oven, gas mark 4, 350F, 180C, for 5 minutes. Remember not to touch the insides with your fingers!

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When I first started making these, I turned to Delia for the recipe and then made it even less complicated and left out the nuts. I generally use ordinary suet but vegetarian suet also works well if you want to make the vegetarian. For pastry, I generally use this recipe, but any good pastry recipe will do, puff pastry works well. The only rule, I have is that the pastry should not be sweet, the mincemeat is sweet enough and you don’t want to guild the lily!

Mincemeat (adapted from Delia Smith’s Complete Cookery Course).

Makes 6lbs. You will need enough jars for this amount!

1lb / 450g bramley apples chopped small

8oz / 225g shredded suet

2lb 4oz / 1.25kg luxury mixed fruit

12oz / 250g soft dark brown sugar

zest and juice of 2 oranges

zest and juice of 2 lemons

4 level teaspoons mixed spice

1/2  level teaspoon ground cinnamon

1/4 level teaspoon freshly grated nutmeg

6 tablespoons brandy (optional)

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How

1) Combine everything apart from the brandy in a large roasting tin. Stir and mix together well.

2) Cover the tin with a clean tea towel and leave in a cool place for at least 12 hours.

3) Pre-heat the oven to gas mark 1/4, 225°F (120°C). Cover the roasting tin loosely with foil and place it in the oven for 3 hours.

4) It will not look pretty, there will be lots of melted fat. Don’t worry, it’s supposed to look like that!

5) Leave to cool, stirring it every now and again.

6) Once the mincemeat is completely cold, mix thoroughly again and add the brandy if using.

7) Put in sterilised jars and seal. Store in a cool, dark cupboard.

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Once you have the mincemeat and are ready to go. Roll out the pastry and cut into circles and fill a bun tin (the kind you use for fairy cakes and jam tarts!). Fill the pastry with 1 to 2 teaspoons of mincemeat and roll out the pastry again and cut out shapes to go on the top. Stars are traditional but you could completely cover them or use a different shape! Brush the tops with milk and bake in a medium oven for 15 to 20 minutes.

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2013

Welcome to the New Year.

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These photos are from the walk I took with Richard, Sue, Sarah and Jackie last year. It was an lovely cold and sunny day. It was also the walk that persuaded me that it was time to buy some walking boots!

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I don’t know what this year holds, I have a couple of ideas of what I want to do and maybe even a rough idea of how I want to achieve it. At the moment though it’s all a bit vague and I’m happy, for today, to let it be vague. To enjoy the day off work, knowing that the routine of my everyday life is on hold today and begins again tomorrow.

What are your plans for the year?

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2012 – Some of the year in pictures

I was thinking about writing a review of the year but in the end decided to let pictures sum it up.

January

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February

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March

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April

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May

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June

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July

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August

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September

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October

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November

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December

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The Weekend

This weekend was a complete washout due to me being ill.

I spent Friday in bed and not at work. I didn’t stay at Ma’s on Friday night as planned or have my haircut on Saturday morning. I did not go to Mike and Christelle’s on Saturday night.

My mum popped around after her haircut to deliver toiletries and Christelle and Mike dropped in to deliver, my Christmas present, a French Conté food parcel – cheeses, sausages, langues du chat biscuits, wine and a magnum of Cremant du Jura. Yum.

But this view from my bed was what I saw most.

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On Sunday, I got up and got dressed! I had another opticians appointment and I’m working tomorrow so I really needed to sort out food and house for the week coming. So I cooked up a storm and have made vegetable soup from all the just past it’s prime vegetables in the fridge, French onion soup (I have a massive lump Conté, it’s the least I can do!), I’ve roasted vegetables and cooked lentils for tomorrow’s lunch, I’ve also made meringues for NYE dessert. I’ve also made a chicken meatball broth, that I’ll share when it’s been perfected.

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That’s pretty much it. I’m still a bit croaky but feeling that a good night’s sleep will help and I’ll be right as rain and really for New Year.

How was your weekend? What did you get up to? Any big New Year’s Eve plans?

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Sunday Music

I was really struggling to find something for this week. I just haven’t really been listening to the radio or the ipod for that matter. Then this earwormed me.

It’s one of my running songs and at the end of the year, somehow seemed appropriate.

AWOLNATION – Burn It Down

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2012 Goals

Back at the beginning of the year I made 12 resolutions. I’ve decided that today, which is always the day I look at my monthly goals, I should have a look and see how I did and have a think about the year generally.

Overall, it’s been a pretty good year, there are some things I’m really happy with and some that I’m not but I’ve been employed for the whole year and mostly happy. I’ve spent quite a bit of time in Watford with the family and my favourite nephew. I’m better at saying no to things. I hope that I’ve been a good friend this year, I’ve been more aware of how grateful I am for my friends and their presence in my life.

So those goals

1) I will make exercise part of my life again, whether that’s running, bootcamp, classes or very long walks. I will to spent 2012 making it a priority. 2-3 times a week, nothing scary..

It’s fair to say I’ve not been consistent about this. I have exercised, I walked more, I ran a bit but I suck at consistency.

2) I will eat properly. I know about the drastic impact good food choices make to my life. This doesn’t mean that I won’t eat cake and have the odd cocktail but I will be more mindful about what I choose to eat.

This I think has been the biggest change. I eat less junk, I have 2 vegetarian days a week, I get more than my 5 a day and eat more beans and lentils. The biggest impact this has had is on my PMT, although I’m still having the monthly migraines, I’m not for the most part bursting into tears at the drop of a hat. I do wish that I’d been better at resisting treats in the office so I’m going to work on that in 2013.

3) I will set monthly goals. This is working for me at the moment and I’m not saying that I will always meet those goals but having something to aim at really helps.

I’ve done this and been successful in meeting some goals and failed in others. Having that monthly push has helped a lot.

4) By the end of 2012, I will work towards being 12st (that’s 168lb or 76kg to everyone else). That’s about 34lbs. I’m aiming for a pound a week and if that all went to plan would hit that goal just in time for Christelle’s wedding! However, I’m not going to aim for that, I’m going to say by the end of the year because stuff happens!

I didn’t do this at all! I weighed myself yesterday and I’m exactly the same weight I was at the beginning of this year. I don’t feel as bad about that as I thought I might. What I really want is to be fit. Next year I’m not going to set a weight goal, I’m going to concentrate on eating well and exercising and seeing what happens.

5) I will take more photos and learn how to use my camera! I have a lovely DLSR camera but I often end up using the ‘little’ one to take photos because it’s easier and I don’t really know how to use the DLSR to it’s fullest extent. This year Sarah has asked me to take photos for her wedding and I’d like to do it to the best of my ability which means getting to grips with the camera.

One of the saddest things about this year is how little, I’ve used the camera. I took the photos at the wedding and I’ve taken others photos but sometimes it’s just too much hassle to carry the camera everywhere.

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6) I will go on holiday this year. I don’t really do holidays but I would like that to change, starting this year. 

I went on two holidays this year. A week in Northumberland in May and a week in Yorkshire in September. I went with Ma and it was lovely. We’re going back to Northumberland next year in April and I have a feeling that it will be a yearly thing because we both love it up there.

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7) Buy a new wardrobe. The one I have was a cheap canvas and wood thing I bought when I moved into the flat, it was less than £30 and never designed to last this long.  Currently the only thing keeping it upright is some strategically placed boxes. Time to treat my clothes better and tidy up that messy corner of my bedroom.

I haven’t done this yet. I haven’t had the money. I still don’t have the money. It’s still a messy corner in by bedroom.

8) I will go to the cinema once a month. When I was in Fulham, Ma and I went to the cinema practically every Sunday. It’s harder to do in Ealing, but I’m going to budget for once a month movies. 

Mmm, the last film I saw at the cinema was Skyfall. Life has just been too busy which is a poor excuse.

9) I will learn to crochet. Because I can’t and it looks like fun.

I didn’t learn to crochet, I have a crochet kit and I got confused by the instructions. I did take it to Yorkshire with me but got distracted by knitting ‘Fat Lamb’ and that was that.

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10) I will have a clear out. I have too much stuff, in 2012, I will look at the things I have,  clear out the things I don’t need and use and organise the things I have better. (Like all things that might have to start in the kitchen!!)

Whether I did this or not is a debatable point. Ma would say not, I would say it’s a work in progress and part of that work is not bringing things in. I did have a massive clothes clean out at the beginning of the year!

11) On that note I will start to clear down the ‘To Be Read’ list. I’ve read 69 books this year and very few of them are from the pile!!

My weakness. It’s less but still quite large.

12) I will do another bootcamp with Jem. I’ve really enjoyed this one, despite the dodgy knees and miserable weather. 

I loved bootcamp last year and booked for the February one. However, at just that point work went bananas and I was doing the work of three people with 6 weeks in the job. It wasn’t at all doable, in the end I did a couple of one-on-one sessions with Jem. Longer term, it’s too far away for me to do the bootcamp and go to work!

Did you have goals for 2012? How did you do? What helped you achieve them? What stopped you achieving them?

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Friday Night Cocktail: Aperol Spritz

The Aperol Spritz. I know it’s supposed to be a summer drink and it is  but look at that colour, it just brings joy by being orange and so is festive. Aperol seems to be becoming more available and more popular. I think that this is due to the general interest in bitter drinks at the moment. However, bitterness is an acquired taste and Aperol is sweeter than say Campari and is therefore slightly easier to drink for bitter novices! A category I almost certainly fall into…

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The recipe is on the back of the bottle it uses parts, which makes it easy to size up for a  party. I give the recipe to make one and use ounces. The only change I made is not to use an orange but a clementine because I didn’t have an orange and clementines are more festive.

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What

3oz prosecco

2 oz aperol

Slice of clementine

A dash of soda water (I measured this a couple of times and in my house it’s somewhere between half an oz and an oz)

How

1) Fill a glass with ice

2) Add everything else and gently stir.

3) That’s it!

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Friday Links

Happy Friday! I’ve worked 2 and a half days this week, so I’m glad it’s the weekend, next year I’m taking the time between Christmas and New Year as leave! Let’s get to the stuff I’ve seen since last Friday that I thought was worth sharing.

1) How to Live in Britain without getting your American head kicked in! Funny, not quite true (all our food is not beige!) but true enough

All the food is beige, the underground system is ludicrously hot all year-round and culture shock turned out to be a very real, very disorienting thing. I wish some wizened ex-pat had taken me by the hand pre-flight and explained to me how OK it was to be falling-down drunk at work functions, why Friends is constantly on television, the concept of “dogging”, what Cheryl Cole’s whole deal is and about four million other uniquely British phenomena that have been slowly revealed to me over my time in the country

2) How lucky do you feel?

A moment’s honest thought, that’s all it takes. I wager that you’ll agree, because I wager you have them yourself. It would take an inhuman, almost sociopathic degree of arrogance and lack of imagination not to. So, dear leaders, if you could give us that moment – pop it in the national stocking, why not? – it would be the best present ever. Merry Christmas.

3) The French are beginning to warm to Cheddar. Good cheddar is a thing of beauty!

The French were always nationalistic about their cheese, said White, reluctant to eat anything made beyond their borders. But they are now getting a taste for artisan cheddars – particularly West Country farmhouse cheddar, a protected product that by law has to be made by hand in south-west England.

4) The Sun covers NicsFight. I didn’t know Nic, I do know how much there is to do practically and emotionally when a young father dies, if you haven’t already and would like to sign the petition, you can do so here.

Graphic designer and lecturer Nic took out critical illness cover in 2009, hoping it would provide for his family if he became seriously ill or died.

But after being diagnosed with cancer in 2011, Nic, 44, was stunned to find his claim was refused.

Friends Life say they are not paying out £100K because Nic did not disclose he had “pins and needles” — symptoms doctors stress would not have been a sign of the cancer that killed him

5) Zoe Williams asks us to cheer up. On a side note, I’ve been banging on about the importance of building more social housing and the difference it would make to the economy for about 15 years!

The housing crisis is not a threat, it’s an opportunity. We need more social housing, we need a more vigorous construction industry, and we need things for a government to invest in, rather than rounds of quantitative easing, delivering money into the hands of the top 5% and eroding pension annuities. We could climb out of recession on the back of this “crisis” at the same time as halting the hegemony of the private landlord, which is perverting wage spending-power and intensifying inequality. This is one of the few levers the government could actually pull to influence the economy.

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Christmas 2012

It feels like Christmas and Boxing Day was another weekend so I’m going to recap it like I do the weekend. Normal programming will resume tomorrow, with Friday Links (I’m changing the name because I do seem to be posting every week!) and the Friday Night Cocktail.

Christmas Eve involved some running around. Then at 3pm there were Carols and Lessons from Kings on the radio as I wrapped presents and set up the house for Christmas Eve dinner.

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Ma arrived and we drank Manhattans while decorating the tree and listening to Christmas music. It needs to be pointed out that I love lametta but Ma goes completely mental with it.

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Christmas Eve dinner is always fish pie and peas washed down with champagne. It was lovely.

Christmas Day was presents, there are no photos but I got great presents.

Apart from maybe these! (also they are representative of money towards a new pair of proper glasses, which I really, really need so I’m not grumbling!)

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Ma and I slowly sorted ourselves out and had breakfast. We headed over to Sarah and Justin’s to deliver presents and say hello to Ryan who was over for a flying visit. We also ended up saying hi to Steve, Jo, Owain and Rowan (R’s dad, step-mother and brothers) via the wonders of Facetime.

Then it was home. Food on Christmas Day also follows a fairly strict tradition, so we had smoked salmon sandwiches and champagne and lounged about reading and listening to the radio.

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We got around to dinner about 7pm, roast beef, yorkshire puddings, roast potatoes and parsnips and brussel sprouts. It’s the same Christmas dinner we’ve been eating for about 5 years. Now and again we think maybe we should have something else, then we decide not to! Why mess with perfection? Everytime I make yorkshire puddings, I’m thankful that Charles taught me how, way back when I was 22…aren’t they perfect?

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Then we washed up and watched Dr Who and the The Philadephia Story and then went to bed.

Boxing Day is always a day with Ben, Laura and Oli. We ate lasagne and eton mess, made by me, because I’m not just the world’s best aunt, I’m a pretty great sister too (look I have to say so, Ben never will!). To prove what a nice aunt I am (Oli is not convinced!) I helped* Oli put together one of his presents. Then we all watched Room on the Broom, fortunately Oli enjoyed this version so there was no repeat of our theatre experience!

*which actually consisted of me putting it together, while Oli showed me how his fire engine worked and telling me to read the instructions!

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Came home, sorted out work things and then to bed.

That was Christmas, although there are 12 days of Christmas, so this is only Day Three. I’m back to work tomorrow and Friday, then it’s the weekend!

How was your Christmas? Do you have food traditions for Christmas or do you like to mix it up every year?

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