Sunday morning is our day for a traditional English breakfast. Despite the apparent lardiness of this breakfast, it is eaten quite late in the morning, which means we usually skip lunch or have something very light to eat. Yummy bacon, scrambled egg, grilled tomatoes and brioche bread. A lovely cup of Intensa Crema on the side courtesy of my Tassimo. Delish.
This is the last day of our Christmas Tree. We opted for this Black and Silver combination last year. I don’t like the idea of killing a tree for 10 days of pine needles in the carpet. I know they are grown for cutting, but it seems cruel somehow.
We are off to Waitrose for our first shop of the year, but before we go, I have my next mini box of Hotel Chocolat choccies. Today is a Coffee Praline and a Christmas Pudding coupling.
The supermarket trip delivered all the stuff I’ve been craving. Loaded up on fresh produce, I have tried to keep in season, but couldn’t resist the 75% off fresh cherries. Its a moral maze. I know they have been flown into the UK, but if un-bought, they are destined for the landfill. The excess is likely to discourage the supermarket from importing more anyway.
Highlights of the shop: Jerusalem Artichokes, which I will quarter and roast in their skins; red plums, which I will eat raw if sweet enough, or stew with some port and cinnamon; pak choi, to be stirfried / steamed with soy sauce and thai chili sauce; calvero nero (my favourite kale) which will be cooked quickly with a minimum of water and a knob of butter, to bring out its sweetness; conference pears, rock hard and destined for poaching with sugar and lemon juice, before serving with porridge.
Lunch was a roll filled with chicken, cucumber, basil, tomato and jarlsberg cheese. My guilty pleasure (and junk food compromise for the inner nutta) are little boats of celery filled with primula cheese spread… the squeezy cheese…. My beloved despairs at my Chavtastic extra, but still has some himself. The Alpro yoghurt is to up my calcium levels.
My daughter, Zoe, who has been staying with us over Christmas, returned home today. The decorations were put away and thoughts turn to the start of the working week. Another Christmas over.
We are hoping that our body clocks won’t be too out of phase with work hours after newly two weeks of getting up and going to bed when we liked. I suspect Monday morning will be hard.
Dinner was a roast chicken, herby potato wedges and roasted brussel sprouts. This is the only way to cook the glorious sprout. A sprinkling of olive oil and salt, roasted for 20 mins, and then a quick dribble of balsalmic vinegar before serving. The rest of the chicken will be used for another meal or lunches.
I have bought a different type of porridge oats to try – White’s Organic Jumbo Porridge Oats. They are more oaty looking, bigger and take longer to cook. I am going to pre-soak them tonight to see if I can get away with less than 7 minutes in the microwave. I will also use the remainder of our dinner to make a packed lunch for tomorrow.
Nutty as a Fruitcake 