Dinner Tuesday 16 January - Jerusalem Artichoke & Mushroom Hotpot again

Well, that Jerusalem Artichoke and Mushroom Hotpot made four servings, so here is another one. This time served up with Savoy cabbage sauteed with apple and caraway seeds and some dwarf beans.

Nutrition Summary
Calories (kcal) 434.9
Protein (g) 12.0
Carbohydrate (g) 72.3
Fat (g) 11.7
Fibre (g) 13.0

Lunch Tuesday 16 January - Stir Steamed Vegetables & Prawns

Yet another in a continung series of Stir Steams. Today selection:

• baby corn
• carrots
• spring onions
• broccoli
• sugar snap peas
• bean sprouts

Lunch Tuesday 16 January - Stir Steamed Vegetables & Prawns

Yet another in a continung series of Stir Steams. Today selection:

• baby corn
• carrots
• spring onions
• broccoli
• sugar snap peas
• bean sprouts

Breakfast Tuesday 16 January - Good bye, Shredded Wheat

Ate the last two Shredded Wheat biccies for breakfast. This now means the cereal horde is diminished and I am where I wanted to be on the cereal front.

I now have one type of cold cereal (Kellogg's All Bran Flakes) and one type of hot cereal (MornFlake Oat Bran) in the house.

A minor victory in only 5 months.... not bad considering I had:

• Grape Nuts
• All Bran Flakes
• Alpen Unsweetened Muesli
• M&S Luxury Fruit & Fibre Muesli
• Porridge Oats
• Mornflake Oat Bran
• Shredded Wheat

on 22 August 2006

Dinner Monday 15 January - Trout in Tarragon Sauce

Trout in Tarragon Sauce
1 trout fillet (about 115g)
1/2 pint vegetable or fish stock
1 tablespoon cornflour
1 tablespoon extra thick single cream
handful fresh tarragon

Poach the trout fillet in the stock until just cooked. Remove to a warmed plate and cover.

Mix the cornflour with a tiny bit of water and add the paste to the poaching liquor. Cook until thickened, about 5 minutes. Stir in the cream and tarragon, season to taste and pout over the fish.

Served with 135g new potatoes, 125g broccoli and 150g carrots.

Nutrition Data
Calories (kcal) 446.8
Carbohydrate (g) 45.0
Protein (g) 31.2
Fat (g) 18.3
Fibre (g) 9.1

Lunch Monday 15 January - Veggie Caldo Verde

Veggie Caldo Verde
1 small onion, chopped (about 90g)
1 teaspoon olive oil
2 cloves garlic
1 pint well seasoned vegetable stock
1 vegetarian sausage (about 50g)
1 potato (about 175g)
1 teaspoon paprika
150g curly kale
salt & pepper to taste

Saute the onion and garlic in the oil until cooked. Add the potatoes, kale, paprika and stock. Cover and cook until potatoes are tender, about 15 minutes. Add the sliced sausage and warm through.

Nutrition Data per serving
Calories (kcal) 353.9
Carbohydrate (g) 44.5
Protein (g) 17.0
Fat (g) 12.4
Fibre (g) 10.7

My take on a Portugese classic - probably wildly inaccurate, but tasty nonetheless.

Brekfast Monday 15 January - Pineapple

Polished off the other half of my bargain pineapple with two cups of mud.

Did you know? The pineapple is a symbol of hospitality.

Dinner Sunday 14 January - Swordfish with Capers

Finally got my swordfish with capers! Again, no real recipe. I just seasoned the fish with some of the Montreal steak seasoning (this stuff is really growing on me!) and seared it on either side in a non stick pan sprayed with a bit of olive oil. Toss in the chopped capers when it is nearly done and there you go.

Served up with 160g of steamed carrots and 200g of steamed asparagus.

Nutrition Summary
Calories (kcal) 229.8
Protein (g) 30.1
Carbohydrate (g) 15.7
Fat (g) 7.0
Fibre (g) 7.1

Lunch Sunday 14 January - Jerusalem Artichoke & Mushroom Hotpot

Jerusalem Artichoke & Mushroom Hotpot
1 tablespoon olive oil
2 medium onions, chopped
2 stalks celery, chopped
300g Jerusalem artichokes, cut into chunks
200g chestnut mushrooms, quartered
2 fat tomatoes, chopped (about 300g)
2 tablespoons flour
1 pint vegetable stock
1 teaspoon thyme
1 bay leaf
600g waxy potatoes, sliced
1 tablespoon butter

Saute the onions and celery in the olive oil until the onion is translucent. Add the flour and mix well. Add the Jerusalem artichokes, mushrooms, tomatoes, herbs and stock. Cook over low heat for about 15 minutes.

Meanwhile, steam the sliced potatoes for about 5 minutes.

Pour the hotpot mixture into a casserole dish and arrange the part cooked potato slices across the top of the dish. Dot the potatoes with butter.

Bake in a moderate over for about 1 hour, until the top is golden and the potato are well cooked.

Serves 4 generously

Nutrition Data per serving
Calories (kcal) 295.4
Carbohydrate (g) 52.2
Protein (g) 8.2
Fat (g) 6.6
Fibre (g) 6.4

Had a serving of this with some runner beans and kale.


Here is the full beast - I am going to be eating this for days!

Breakfast Sunday 14 January - Strawberries and pineapple

Decided to crack into my bargain pineapple today (50p) and so had half with a punnet of strawberries and the ubiquitous coffee.

Dinner Saturday 13 January - Scallops with Rice Noodles, Sugar Snaps, Bean Sprouts and Red Pepper

Scallops with Rice Noodles, Sugar Snaps, Bean Sprouts and Red Pepper
Juice 1/2 lime
1 teaspoon sugar
2 cloves garlic
2-3 chillis, chopped (or to taste)
1 tablespoons Thai fish sauce
200g bean sprouts, blanched
4 spring onions, finely sliced
200g scallops
1 red Romano pepper, sliced and blanched
100g sugar snap peas, halved and blanched
50g dry weight rice noodles, cooked according to packet instructions
handful of fresh coriander leaves

Make a dressing by combining the sugar, garlic, chillis, fish sauce and lime juice.

Toss together the blanched beans sprouts, sugar snaps and red pepper. Add the spring onions and cooked rice noodles. Pour over the dressing and combine gently but thoroughly.

Spray a non-stick skillet with a little oil and heat. Season the scallops with a little salt & pepper and sear for a minute or two on either side until just cooked.

Garnish the noodles and veggies with the scallops and serve.

Nutrition Data
Calories (kcal) 507.1
Carbohydrate (g) 70.1
Protein (g) 50.9
Fat (g) 2.1
Fibre (g) 11.3

Lunch Saturday 13 January - Chickpea Tagine & cous cous

Chickpea Tagine & cous cous
1 tablespoon olive oil
1 red onion, chopped (about 115g)
2 cloves garlic
1/2 teaspoon cayenne
1 teaspoon paprika
1 teaspoon ground ginger
1 teaspoon cumin
1 teaspoon turmeric
1 teaspoon cinnamon
2 fat tomatoes (about 300g), chopped
1 teaspoon golden unrefined sugar
1 carrots, chopped (about 150g)
handful fresh parsley
1/2 preserved lemon, chopped
1 tin chick peas
55g pitted green and black olives
8 dried apricots, quartered (about 50g)
250g raw pumpkin, cut into chunks
handful fresh coriander

Sweat the onions and garlic in the olive oil. Add the spices, tomato, sugar, carrots and parsley. Add enough water to just barely cover the ingredients. Cover and simmer over low heat for about 30 minutes.

Add the chick peas, preserved lemon, olives, apricots and pumpkin. Simmer until pumpkin is tender, about 15 minutes more.

Garnish with the fresh coriander and serve with cous cous.

Makes 2 servings

Nutrition Data per serving
Calories (kcal) 275.1
Carbohydrate (g) 35.9
Protein (g) 9.6
Fat (g) 11.3
Fibre (g) 8.2



Salted Preserved Lemons
Quarter lemons, but leave quarters attached at the base.

Mix together
- coarse sea salt
- lightly crushed coriander seeds
- lightly crushed fennel seeds
- lightly crushed black pepper corns
- stick cinnamon, broken into shards
- a few sprigs thyme
- a few bay leaves

Place a layer of the salt mix in a large clean jar. Pack in a couple of lemons, sprinkle with more salt mix. Keep alternating layers of lemons and salt until jar is full. Press lemons down well to extract the juice and compress them. Top up the jar with more lemon juice if required.

Turn the jar to agitate the mixture once a day while the mixture is aging. Age for 30 days before use. Will keep for about 2 years.

I saw the Mockney Jamie Oliver do these on his telly show a while back (repeated on UKTV Food) and made some. They are now a few months old and they are bloody gorgeous - they have produced a sort of "honey" in the pickling syrup. Must try some other recipes with them, too.

Breakfast Saturday 13 January - Strawberries & Galia Melon

Here is the other half of yesterday's melon with a punnet of strawberries and a scattering of mint.

Dinner Friday 12 January - Roasted Monkfish Skewers with Rosemary

Roasted Monkfish Skewers with Rosemary
No real recipe here. I just cut the monkfish into chunks and used some bits or anchovy to "lard" each chunk of fish. Then I sprinkled the anchovy laced monkfish with lemon, salt and pepper and threaded the chunks on "skewers" of fresh rosemary. Each skewer was spritzed with a little olive oil.

I then popped them under the grill with a tomato and grilled them for about 5 minutes, while I was steaming some broccoli & runner beans.

Nutrition Data
Calories (kcal) 259.4
Carbohydrate (g) 12.7
Protein (g) 34.5
Fat (g) 8.2
Fibre (g) 8.1

Larding is normally the process of injecting extra bits of fat, called lardons, into meat. Meat is normally larded by using a instrument called a larding needle. Larding can be used to add succulence to drier cuts of meat.

I borrowed the idea from this process, but injected the monkfish with anchovies more for the flavour than anything else. I just cut a little slit in each chunk & stuffed a half an anchovy in the slit.

Lunch Friday 12 January - Warm Prawn & Pepper Salad

FishWorks give you a coupon for 10% off your next purchase from their fishmonger when you dine with them, so I went back and bought a chunk of some nice looking monkfish and six stonkingly big prawns.

The prawn shells are turning into some stock, while the prawns themselves ended up festooned in this salad.

Warm Prawn Salad
2 cloves garlic, chopped
1 green Marmara pepper, de-seeded and sliced
1 red Romano pepper, de-seeded and sliced
3-4 chillies, chopped
75g sugar snap peas, halved
1 teaspoon sugar
1 tablespoon Thai fish sauce
3-4 spring onions, sliced
6 raw tiger prawns, shelled, deveined and butterflied (about 125g)
juice 1 lime
small handful fresh coriander
120g mixed salad leaves

Spray a non-stick skillet with a little oil and saute the garlic, chillies, peppers and sugar snaps until just barely tender.

Add the sugar, fish sauce, spring onions and prawns and cook over high heat for 3-4 minutes until prawns are just done. Do not over cook.

Add the coriander leaves and lime juice. Toss well and served on a bed of mixed leaves.

Nutrition Data
Calories (kcal) 211.7
Carbohydrate (g) 25.3
Protein (g) 25.9
Fat (g) 2.0
Fibre (g) 7.6

Breakfast Friday 12 January - Melon & Mint Smoothie

Picked up a bargin in the market the other day - a fresh pineapple and a galia melon for £1. So, half the melon became a melon & mint smoothie this AM.

Melon & mint is one of my favourite combinations - very refreshing.

Dinner Thursday 11 January - Langoustine Soup with Orzo

Langoustine Soup with Fresh Herbs

1 tablespoon butter
1 couple of ribs of celery, chopped fine (about 60g)
1 carrot, chopped fine (about 100g)
1/2 small onion, chopped fine (about 35g)
a few chestnut mushrooms, chopped fine (about 40g)
7 raw langoustine
1 pint fish stock made from the langoustine shells
1 tablespoon flour
1 tablespoon tomato puree
50g dry weight orzo
small handful each fresh tarragon, chives and parsley
salt & pepper to taste

Extract the tail meat from the langoustine & reserve. Make stock from the langoustine shells as described here.

Melt the butter in a sauce pan and add the vegetables. Cover and cook over low heat until vegetables are soft, about 10 minutes. Add the flour and cook for a moment or two, then add the langoustine stock and stir well to ensure no lumps of flour remain.

Add the tomato puree, the chopped langoustine tails and the orzo. Cook over low heat until the orzo is tender, about another 10 minutes.

Add the fresh herbs, correct the seasoning and serve.

Nutrition Data per serving
Calories (kcal) 368.2
Carbohydrate (g) 37.1
Protein (g) 23.7
Fat (g) 15.1
Fibre (g) 5.7

Lunch Thursday 11 January - Seitan Wrap

Doggedly working my way through a pack of 6 plain tortilla style wraps, so today's lunch was half a pack of smoky seitan, lettuce, tomato and cucumber raita wrapped up in one.

Seitan is made from wheat gluten, if you are not familiar with it. It is vegan and very tasty, too. This was some "Wheaty" seitan I had lying about in the fridge. I am a fan of seitan (and fried gluten) but it is not that easy to come by, it seems. I find it canned in Chinatown as "mock pork" and "mock chicken", but these seitan steaks are nice.

Wheaty website

Must try making some one day. Here is a nice blog about how to make seitan.

Vegan Lunchcast

Nutrition Summary
Calories (kcal) 456.5
Protein (g) 35.2
Carbohydrate (g) 48.4
Fat (g) 13.7
Fibre (g) 5.9

Breakfast Thursday 11 January - Blueberries

Had a nice punnet of blueberries along with some toasted Dan's Dilly Bread and coffee.

Dinner Wednesday 10 January - Dinner at Fish Works

Met up with Marcel and we had a few drinks then went to the FishWorks restaurant on Upper Street. I had grilled swordfish with Moroccan Salad (which was basically sliced tomatoes with shallots and olives). It was nice and the fish was well cooked, if a bit pricey.

Also ate a huge portion of cheese for afters - a nice bit of very mature cheddar and some Stilton, too.

FishWorks website

Still, it satisfied a yen for swordfish which I had had for a few days. Happened to see an old episode of "Fraiser" in which Niles presents Fraiser with a massive jar of capers and Fraiser makes some quip about swordfish. Got me thinking "Mmmmmmm - swordfish & capers" in a Homer Simpson sort of way.

So, I got the swordfish, but no capers this time. I had been looking in Steve Hatt's for a couple of days for swordfish with no joy.

Lunch Wednesday 10 January - Curried Okra Wrap

Okra Curry Wrap
This was just the other portion of the Curried Okra along with some lettuce, tomatoes, raita and pickled pepper wrapped in a flour tortilla. Got to say , this was very nice (if very messy).


Nutrition Data
Calories (kcal) 477.3
Carbohydrate (g) 60.1
Protein (g) 21.1
Fat (g) 17.5
Fibre (g) 11.7

Breakfast Wednesday 10 January - Rye Bread, Cheese and tomato

This was some of the nice, dark, chewy rye bread. It is heavy, but I like it. L. bought it in the Welling Lidl but did not care for it - bargain at 49, even more bargain at FREE to me.

Had a slice with one if the Linessa low fat cheese slices and a tomato.

Dinner Tuesday 9 January - Curried Okra, Rice, Raita & Tomato Salad

Curried Okra, Rice, Raita & Tomato Salad

Okra Curry
1 tablespoon sunflower oil
1 onion, chopped (about 180g)
1 teaspoon mustard seeds
1 teaspoon cumin
1 teaspoon turmeric
4 cloves garlic
1 fat vine tomato, chopped (about 150g)
2-3 each small green & red chillis (to taste)
small handful fresh curry leaves
1 tablespoon dessicated coconut
275g raw okra, cut into 1 inch segment
1/2 pint water

Heat the oil in a large sauce pan and saute the onions until soft. Add the mustard seeds, cumin, turmeric, garlic and chillies and fry until fragrant. Add the tomato, curry leaves, coconut and water and cook over low heat until most of the water has evaporated and the tomato is soft. Add the sliced okra and cook, covered, for about 15 minutes until tender but not over cooked.

Makes 2 servings

Nutrition Data per serving
Calories (kcal) 192.9
Carbohydrate (g) 14.8
Protein (g) 6.5
Fat (g) 12.3
Fibre (g) 7.5
Alcohol (g) 0.0
Fruit & Veg 3.9

Serve with boiled rice, cucumber raita and tomato salad

Tomato Salad
1 ripe vine tomato, sliced
a few thin slices of onion
small handful fresh mint leaves
1 teaspoon sugar
sprinkle salt

Tuck the onion slivers in around the tomato Do the same with the mint. Sprinkle over the sugar and a pinch of salt. Allow to stand at room temperature for 30 minutes for flavours to develop.

Makes 1 serving

Nutrition Data per serving
Calories (kcal) 58.6
Carbohydrate (g) 11.7
Protein (g) 2.0
Fat (g) 0.5
Fibre (g) 2.3


Cucumber Raita
1/3 cucumber, grated (about 70g)
1/2 teaspoon salt
80g thick, Greek style yoghurt
small handful fresh mint
1/2 teaspoon black mustard seeds, crushed
1/2 teaspoon cumin

Salt the grated cucumber and leave to stand for 10-15 minutes. Squeeze out any water from the cucumber gratings with your hands, then mix the cucumber and mint and spices into the yoghurt.

Makes 1 serving
Nutrition Data per serving
Calories (kcal) 113.2
Carbohydrate (g) 5.0
Protein (g) 5.1
Fat (g) 8.2
Fibre (g) 0.5


Nutrition Data for complete meal
Calories (kcal) 538.7
Carbohydrate (g) 71.3
Protein (g) 17.2
Fat (g) 21.1
Fibre (g) 10.5

Lunch Tuesday 9 January - Composed Salad w Trout

Composed Salad w Trout

Dressed Edamame beans
80g cooked edamame soy beans
1 echalion shallot, sliced finely
1 teaspoon olive oil
1 tablespoon lemon juice
1 teaspoon mustard
Make a dressing of the oil, lemon juice and mustard. Season with lots of black pepper and some salt. Mix together the edamame and shallots and toss with the dressing. Allow to stand about 30 minutes for flavours to develop.

Slice fine
1/3 cucumber, sliced (about 70g)
Sprinkle with salt and dill, toss together and allow to stand for about 30 minutes for flavours to develop.

1 carrot, grated
50g Savoy cabbage, shredded
100g romaine lettuce, shredded
Mix together and use to line a plate. Arrange on top the edamame salad, cucumber slices and

125 g smoked trout fillet
1 fat vine tomato (about 150g)
3 hard cooked quail's eggs, garnished with celery salt


Nutrition Data
Calories (kcal) 463.1
Carbohydrate (g) 27.4
Protein (g) 47.1
Fat (g) 19.0
Fibre (g) 12.5

Breakfast Tuesday 9 January - Just toast & coffee

Just had a couple of slices of Dan's Dilly bread, toasted and two cups of coffee.

Dinner Monday 8 January - Vegetables Marinara & Salad

Vegetables Marinara & Salad

I started off with a nice big salad of Romaine lettuce, rocket, grated purple carrots, shredded spring onions and cucumber.

Then I had a selection of veggies baked in Marinara sauce, topped with grated mozzarella & Parmesan cheese.

It is pretty much the same as this recipe, but I added in a pack of baby courgettes, grilled and a sliced tomato to the veggies and I topped it with some half fat mozzarella.

Lunch Monday 8 January - Winter Roasted Vegetables

Winter Roast Vegetables

Today's selection was:

• 250g Jerusalem artichokes
• 250g pumpkin
• 1 red onions (about 135g)
• 4 cloves garlic

Served with 120g strawmato tomatoes

Nutrition Data
Calories (kcal) 345.6
Carbohydrate (g) 65.0
Protein (g) 9.9
Fat (g) 5.9
Fibre (g) 8.9

Breakfast Monday 8 January - Toasted Dilly Bread and a pear

Staretd my day with some Dan's Dilly Bread, toasted a couple of conference pears and coffee.

Dinner Sunday 7 January - Stir Steamed Veggies with Crab Balls

Stir Steamed Veggies with Crab Balls

This is just my usual recipe for Stir Steamed Vegetables & Prawns but I substituted some frozen DoDo brand "crab" balls (crab surimi) for the prawns.

DoDo surimi products are made in Thailand. They have a funky little website with an infectious tune.

I Love My DoDo!

Lunch Sunday 7 January - A Spicy Composed Salad

A Spicy Composed Salad
1 small gem heart lettuces
1 carrot, shredded
4 Peppadew peppers
80g fine beans
3 hard cooked quail's eggs
35g caperberries
120g strawmatoes
85g crayfish tails
1 tablespoon spicy catsup
2 tablespoons low fat mayonnaise
squeeze of fresh lime

I just made a dressing for the crayfish tails from some Cool Chile Chipotle Ketchup and some low fat mayo with a squeeze of lime.

Mix together the lettuce and shredded carrot. Arrange other ingredients on top and serve.

Nutrition Data
Calories (kcal) 274.1
Carbohydrate (g) 27.9
Protein (g) 22.9
Fat (g) 8.5
Fibre (g) 8.8

I love Peppadews - they are sweet, spicy and crunchy all in one go.

Breakfast Sunday 7 January - Crispbread and Cheese

Just had a very quick couple of quick breads and a slice of some Linesse Low Fat cheese which is purchased at the Lidl in Welling on Friday. It is actually pretty tasty for low fat cheese! Always a nice surprise.

Linesse seems to be a Dutch company, and my Dutch is not up to much, but here you go:

Linesse

Dinner Saturday 6 January - Veg-o-rama

OK - I like veggies! I enjoy a meal of huge piles of vegetables. So, I had another veg-0-rama tonight and finished off the other portion of the Mushroom Sauce from the other night.

Today's selection:
125 g broccoli
100g fine beans
200g new potatoes
100g carrots
130g Savoy cabbage

Nutrition Data
Calories (kcal) 330.2
Carbohydrate (g) 55.4
Protein (g) 16.1
Fat (g) 6.5
Fibre (g) 15.1

Lunch Saturday 6 January - Thai Style Mango Salad with Crayfish

This is basically the same recipe I have made many times for a Thai style Mango & Tomato Salad, but this time I used some crayfish instead of prawns. This was a big one - 485g mango!

Recipe here

Nutrition Data
Calories (kcal) 431.7
Carbohydrate (g) 83.7
Protein (g) 21.6
Fat (g) 2.3
Fibre (g) 16.8

Breakfast Saturday 6 January - Shredded Wheat and coffee

Cannot WAIT to finish off this shredded wheat. Them there will only be All Bran and MornFlake oat bran left and I will be at my goal - no more that two cereals in the flat at one time.

I will never again have more than one hot and one cold cereal in the flat at any given time!

I WILL tame the food hoard.

Dinner Friday 5 January - Just a bit of cheese on toast

Not especially hungry after such a large lunch, so just had some Dan's Dilly bread toasted with some half fat cheddar and a few asparagus spears.

Burnt the crusts and had to leave them behind.

I also had a bag of mixed salad leaves and some "Jester" tomatoes from Mark & Sparks (another tomato with attitude).

Lunch Friday 5 January - Pub Scampi & Chips with salad

Went for a walk around the open space in Welling and then opted for a pub lunch where I chose (predictably) scampi & chips with a side salad. This one looks a bit fancier than mine, but what the heck.

Had my first drink of 2007 (a pint of Kronenbourg 1664) and felt quite tipsy after!

Breakfast Friday 5 January - Dan's Dilly Bread and coffee

Made another loaf of Dan's Dilly Bread, so had some of that toasted with coffee before heading off to Welling to vist L.

Dinner Thursday 4 January - Smoked Trout, sweet potato "chips" & veggies

1 Sweet Potato (mine weighed 180g)
130g savoy cabbage
1 echalion shallot
100g fine beans
125g smoked trout with juniper berries

This is really simple. I just cut the sweet potato into chips, sprayed them with a few spritzes of olive oil, sprinkled them with some of my "Montreal Steak Seasoning" and baked them in a hot oven until crisp and golden, about 25 minutes. These are delicious.

I had them with one of the packs of smoked trout I bought in Welling, some steamed fine beans and 1/4 head of Savoy cabbbage which was stirfried with a sliced shallot.

Nutrition Data
Calories (kcal) 363.0
Carbohydrate (g) 43.3
Protein (g) 35.2
Fat (g) 6.8
Fibre (g) 11.7

Lunch Thursday 4 January - Cabbage soup, Dovedale cheese & apples

Just had some leftover cabbage soup, but also had a bit of a treat in the form of some rather nice blue cheese and a crunchy apple. Is there a more perfect combination than tart, crisp apples and creamy, rich blue cheese?

According to the EU Protected Food Names Scheme, Dovedale cheese is a "cylindrical shaped, blue veined, white full fat soft cheese, made from cows milk." It's from Derbyshire!

Breakfast Thursday 4 January - Persimmons & Shredded Wheat

Back in the cereal saddle, at least for today. Had 2 biscuits of shredded wheat with coffee and a nice, big fat persimmon. I got some persimmons in the Turkish shop in Welling, 3 for £1.00.

I was looking for a nice persimmon picture and I found this drawing:

which is, indeed, a very nice drawing of a persimmon.

I also happened across this painting which I quite like. It is called "Persimmon Ghosts" and it is by an artist named Henryk Fantazos. It is somehow, very evocative of persimmons and autumn.

Henryk Fantazos

Dinner Wednesday 3 January - Wild Mushroom Tortellini with mushroom sauce

I tried some new (to me, anyway) tomatoes that M&S had in today. They are called "strawmatoes" and are sort of strawberry shaped cherry tomatoes. They are very sweet and flavourful. Apparently, they were discovered in Japan and are now grown in the UK for M&S.

I found an article about them in The Independent - looks like they have been around for a while!
Strawmatoes in The Indy

Anyway, for dinner I had the other half a pack of the disappointing Sainsbury Wild Mushroom tortellini, but I covered them in a mushroom sauce and had some fine beans and broccoli along with.


Mushroom Sauce
250g chestnut mushrooms, chopped
1 echalion shallot, chopped
2 cloves garlic, chopped
1/2 pint vegetable stock
1 tablespoon cornflour
2 tablespoons extra thick single cream

Cover the mushrooms, shallot and garlic with the vegetable stock. Cover and simmer over low heat until vegetables are soft and well cooked. Add a bit more water if stock evaporates down too much.
Mix the cornflour with a little cold water and add the the sauce. Cook over low heat until thickened, about 5 minutes. Stir in the cream and serve.

Serves 2

Nutrition Data per serving
Calories (kcal) 83.1
Carbohydrate (g) 8.7
Protein (g) 4.2
Fat (g) 3.6
Fibre (g) 1.7

Lunch Wednesday 3 January - Asparagus Soup

Asparagus Soup
1 tablespoon butter
1 tablespoon flour
1/2 pint asparagus stock
3 tablespoons extra thick single cream
150g asparagus, cooked and chopped
salt & pepper
a few chives

Melt the butter in a saucepan and add the flour. Cook over low heat until flour is blended with melted butter. Do not brown. Add the asparagus stock and simmer until slightly thickened. Add the cooked asparagus and cream and heat through. Season to taste and garnish with a few fresh snipped chives.

Breakfast Wednesday 3 January - Fruit Smoothie & coffee

Made a sort of weird but nice smoothie of green and red grapes, apple and a satsuma. Very pulpy and delicious.

Dinner Tuesday 2 January - Winter Roast Vegetables

Winter Roast Vegetables

Today's selection was:

1 yellow pepper (125g)
1 mildly spicy Turkish or Marmara green pepper (60g)
1 sweet red pepper (80g)
2 echalion shallots (250g)
6 cloves garlic
1 sweet potato (280g)
200g baby turnips
1 fat ripe vine tomato

Everything just cut up, sprayed with a bit of olive olive oil and seasoned to taste (I used some more "Good with Everything" salt). Then simply roasted in hot oven until all tender and browned.

I added the tomato for the last 15 minutes and served the whole thing up with some steamed Savoy cabbage.

Nutrition Data
Calories (kcal) 435.5
Carbohydrate (g) 86.9
Protein (g) 12.5
Fat (g) 7.4
Fibre (g) 20.0

Lunch Tuesday 2 January - Cabbage & Cannellini Bean Soup

I bought a nice head of savoy cabbage in the market today from my usual guy and he gave me a second one free as it was the end of the day. So, I have a lot of Savoy Cabbage!

Cabbage & Cannellini Bean Soup
1 onions, chopped (mine weighed 260g)
1 tablespoon olive oil
1 head of garlic, sliced (about 10 cloves)
5 stalks celery, chopped (about 200g)
1 large carrot, chopped (about 100g)
1/2 head Savoy cabbage, sliced (about 260g)
1 can cannellini beans (white kidney beans)
2 pints vegetable stock
1 teaspoon winter savoury
salt, pepper to taste

An entire head of garlic might seem like a lot, but I find garlic very mild and pleasant when slow cooked. Reduce the number of cloves if you wish.
Saute the onions and garlic in the oil until beginning to soften. Add the celery, carrot and cabbage. Cover and sweat over low heat for about 10 minutes until the cabbage is wilted. Cover with the stock, add the beans and savoury and simmer for 30 minutes. Season to taste and serve.

Makes 4 servings

Nutrition Data per serving
Calories (kcal) 130.6
Carbohydrate (g) 16.8
Protein (g) 6.9
Fat (g) 4.2
Fibre (g) 6.9

Breakfast Tuesday 2 January - Mango & Clementine Smoothie

Trying to get back into the swing of things after Christmas and New Year excesses, so had a huge smoothie made from some of my 10 for £1 mangoes, a clementine and a lemon.

First thoughts on 2007 Compact
Had first real taste of the "no new items" pledge today. I was walking past Woolworth's in Chapel Market and noticed some faux sheepskin fleece quited mattress covers in window on sale for £9.00. Thought "bet the cats would love that" and then thought again - nope! Not buying anything new in 2007.

Also received the Lakeland Limited sale catalogue. I love their stuff and am a sucker for kitchen gadgets and storage "solutions". I did browse on line and nearly placed an order on New Year's eve, but I decided that it violated the spirit, if not the letter of my 2007 Compact. So, no new spoon rest & pot lid holder for me!

I do have one exception so far - I desperately need a new television as my current set has been on the blink since about June. It works OK, but the colour is so bad that the Simpsons look normal. Marge's hair looks brown on my telly. So, I decided that I can get a new TV if I cannot find a good freebie on Craig's List or Freecycle.

Can't complain really - I bought the telly in 1995, so it is 11 years old now.

Dinner Monday 1 January - Wild Mushroom Tortellini

Sainsbury's had a new range of various fresh pastas on offer - buy 2 for £2.50. And of course, I could not resist. I bought Wild Mushroom Tortellini and Sundried Tomato & Scamorza Cheese Tortellini.

Tonight I decided to try the Wild Mushroom Tortellini. Whenever I try new things, I like to try them "as they are" so I can get the un-embellished taste of the product or foodstuff. So, I just had thiese with a smidge of butter, a few gratings of parmesan and a sprinkle of fresh flat leafed parsley.

I have to say - I was not very impressed with these. They did not taste very mushroom-y at all and the filling was just sort of bland and stodgy. Disappointing!

Nutrition Data
Calories (kcal) 377.8
Carbohydrate (g) 44.1
Protein (g) 15.6
Fat (g) 15.7
Fibre (g) 3.5

Lunch Monday 1 January - Veg-o-Rama

Veg-0-Rama
Today's selection:
200g new potatos
100g fine beans
200g asparagus
125g broccoli
1 serving onion gravy

Nutrition Summary
Calories (kcal) 344.5
Protein (g) 17.1
Carbohydrate (g) 52.2
Fat (g) 8.6
Fibre (g) 12.9

Breakfast Monday 1 January 2007 - Last of the Quince Crumble

Happy New Year to all. I have rung in 2007 with the final portion of the Quince Crumble and some fresh coffee.

In the middle of last year, I ran across a group called the San Francisco Compact. I was interested by their idea and wrote about it here.

Their goal for 2006 was to not purchase anything new.

Why? Well, we all know reduce, reuse, recycle. But what a lot of us forget is that the one action you can take that has the greatest impact is simply to consume less.

I was intrigued and have been thinking about it for a few months, reading their blog etc and I have decided to give it a try.

So, my goal for 2007 is to buy absolutely nothing new, aside from food and essential medicines and toiletries (like soap).

You can read about the San Francisco Compact here.

I like their summary:
1) to go beyond recycling in trying to counteract the negative global environmental and socioeconomic impacts of U.S. consumer culture, to resist global corporatism, and to support local businesses, farms, etc. -- a step, we hope, inherits the revolutionary impulse of the Mayflower Compact;
2) to reduce clutter and waste in our homes (as in trash Compact-er);
3) to simplify our lives (as in Calm-pact)

For me, the goals of simplifying my life and reducing my environmental footprint are of equal size.

2007 is going to be the year where I pare everything down to what I really need and want and get rid of all the extraneous distractions of my life.