Monday, 2 April 2007

Monday part two

Sunday I slept in for half an hour, only one place to go to feed horses so hubby treated me to breakfast in bed. Croissants with ginger preserve, coffee and grapefruit juice.
Have no idea what I ate for lunch it cannot have been anything inspirational.
For dinner I had Grilled pork chops with pan fried herby potatoes, cabbage, cauliflower, carrots and broad beans.
For pudding I found something to do with that chocolate sponge cake that I managed to burn during my baking the other night. It wasn’t really all that burnt, more dried out. So with a bit of trimming, then soaking in Marsala wine and orange juice, it became the base for a trifle. I used orange jelly, poached pears, and a vanilla custard. It was not bad, but son and heir says it should have been chocolate custard. Next time I will make it chocolate, as half of the chocolate sponge is still lurking in the freezer

Monday

Saturday breakfast Hubby made it, one of his favourites, bagels with smoked salmon trimmings and cream cheese, served with a big mug of coffee and a glass of grapefruit juice.
Lunch we are finishing up leftovers again, using up the roasted vegetables from the other night, warmed up in a can of tomato soup, it becomes a really substantial lunch served with a chunk of bread.
Just before going to put horses to bed, we had a cup of tea with one of the fruit cakes from my baking frenzy the other night.
Dinner time we were both a bit fed up and could not think what we wanted to eat for dinner, so did a raid on the supermarket looking for bargains and inspiration. No real bargains available, just one French stick, and a few bits of cheese, so with that as a start the dinner was, French stick and anything we could find in the fridge. It often seems to be the best meals as there is always some salad, and I don’t have to cook. Ice cream cone for pud.

Saturday, 31 March 2007

Saturday we are now international

I have just looked to see where people are that look at my blog, Various places in France and one in Canada, over the past couple of days. I have not had any comments yet, so if any of you feel like saying something nice that would be great. Or maybe you have a blog that I would be interested in?

Saturday

Thursday I tried taking an apple with me to eat for breakfast, if I was hungry. I was, but not until I had to defend my apple from two horses, most horses like apples. and two Labradors that are convinced that apples and carrots are really good dog food. So, on the whole maybe not a good idea.
Lunch chicken noodle soup and bread.
Dinner was unexpectedly tasty. Pasta penne, onions, garlic, celery, fresh tomato, a jar of mixed wild mushrooms, smoked bacon, pesto and olives. Quick and mostly store cupboard things.
Yesterdays eats. One slice of wholemeal toast with peanut butter for breakfast.
For lunch one sandwich of pate with cucumber. Tea and a piece of cake.
Dinner time I made Sheppard pie and stretched the meat with the addition of chopped carrots, celery and a few peas as well as the usual onions. As I put the oven on in the interest of economy and generally saving the planet, I made two dishes of this, and also cooked a large dish of roasted vegetables, consisting of things in the pantry, like sweet potato, sweed, pepper, onion, garlic, celery, fennel and carrot all splashed with olive oil and sprinkled with mixed herbs. Ten mins before the end of cooking I added some cherry tomatoes that had had a bit of an accident in the shopping and squashed. There is loads left over, so will be used one way or another over the next couple of days.
As the oven was on I did a bit of cake baking, a no measure chuck things in the mixer sort of fruit cake, that made too much for the tin I had prepared, so some was put into fairy cases for immediate consumption, the main cake can be stored to mature if it lasts that long. I also made a chocolate sponge then left it in the oven too long and burnt it. Some may be useable will let you know if I think of anything to improve it.

Tuesday, 27 March 2007

Tuesday

Well it has been a few days since I have updated this blog. It must be as a result of my non diet, dieting, I have become too weak to type.
Not really, I have been fairly good in as much as I have stuck to smaller portions than I would usually eat, and I wait until I am really quite hungry.
I cannot remember everything I have eaten since the last blog so I will just list some of the more memorable meals, and confess to all the naughty things, or at least the ones I can remember.
Last Saturday was our wedding anniversary, so in keeping with tradition hubby cooked me dinner. For starters we had nachos, and used the guacamole that I had made a week ago when the avocados were ripe and then froze it. I was not sure if it would work, answer is yes it does and it was very nice. For the next course he cooked a really splendid chilli with rice, all washed down with a lager, just the one for me. The plan for desert was apple and blackberry pie but we were both too full, so saved it for desert over the next two days.
Another memorable or odd dish from the past few days, was because the pears in the fruit dish all decide to ripen at once, so after the usual fruit salads, I thought of doing a well-established dish of pears and stilton with a poppy seed dressing, I made the dressing and sliced the pears only to find I had eaten all the stilton. So it ended up being pears with cream cheese apple and walnut topping and the poppy seed dressing. It was ok but not a candidate for my signature dish.
Hubby and I have had dodgy tummy’s for the past few days, and I was sure that it was not my cooking,or his, or a bug, I think I have found the culprit, cauliflower. I am sure it is very good for one, but maybe not lots of it, and every day since the farm shop was selling them for 3 for a £, big ones! We eat it raw in salads, and we have a salad most days, boiled with other vegetables, curried on Tuesday night and cauliflower cheese for last night’s dinner. Too much, never mind only one more cauliflower to go.
Other naughty things to admit to since last blog: - ate huge amount of chocolate on Saturday. Drank wine ½ a bottle of wine. I am still eating cake, though smaller portions and this will continue for some time as I plan to do a bit of baking, and it all has to be eaten.

Friday, 23 March 2007

Thursday

The blog today is a bit different as I missed yesterdays. I decided on Tuesday that I have gained too much weight, and it is high time I cut down, I do not think that dieting is a good thing as it really a does not seem to work. My proof is, have you ever met a fat person that has not been on a diet? They all have, therefore, if they are fat and have dieted, dieting must make you fat. It is a good theory, and it’s all mine.
I think the reason for my weight gain is over the last year my workload has changed, the work is not so heavy, which is good as I was getting strain problems like a frozen shoulder and joint pain. My doctor said unhelpful things like “‘at your age, you should be taking things easier”. Well my days are still quite full, but I now take time to eat sitting down, and eat the same size meals that I did before which is as much as I can eat before I fall asleep.
So my idea for reducing weight would normally be work harder, it always worked in the past and I can lose a stone in weight in a matter of a month, but I have no desire to damage my now dodgy joints, So cutting consumption will have to be the way.
I will also cut out anything that I will not really miss, like butter on my toast, chocolate, and nuts, I will miss them but it won’t be too tough.
I started yesterday by giving up second breakfast. I ate a sandwich of one slice of wholemeal bread, with marmite grated carrot and just a little bit of mayonnaise; I must wean myself off mayonnaise. It did take more time to get out of the house but I saved time by not coming home for second breakfast.
Lunch was one sandwich of pâté tomato mixed leaves and cucumber. Hubby then gave me a piece of fruit cake. Well it is only day one; don’t want too much shock to system.
For dinner a starter of orange and watercress salad, followed by vegetable curry, with rice and lentils with naan bread.
Evening snack was an orange.
Not a great start.

Wednesday, 21 March 2007

Tuesday

I really cannot remember everything I ate yesterday, don’t think it was much. So this is going to be a very brief update.
Shredded wheat for breakfast.
Lunch just a bowl of tomato soup with bread. And one of the little fruit cakes.
Dinner was a baked potato with prawns, celery, onion and sweet corn in a tomato sauce.