6th June 2007
Well I've had a bit more relaxing a day today than I had over the weekend! I went over to Winsley to see the family - Mum was having a bit of a difficult day. But all was well in the end and we had a great lunch. I'd boiled up a few tins of condensed milk a few days ago, and took a couple with me, so I whipped up a banoffee pie for pudding. Considering I put it together in about ten minutes, it came out really well, and I'm only sorry I didn't bring some home with me as a good bit was left.
Still they'll finish it tonight, and I'm supposed to be loosing weight.
Yes. I am supposed to be loosing weight. Frankly, dieting is not my favourite thing to do - is it anyone's? But I was good, we had salad and a bit of pork pie for lunch, and for dinner this evening, I've had a bacon and egg (yes, yes, I know this isn't diet food!) with lots of tomato's. Frankly, for me, to loose weight, the key is increase the vegetable and fruit content of my diet. I've also done some small salient things - low fat spread for the bread rather than butter, less sugar in my tea. And I'm upping the veg. For instance, the other day I had pipperade for supper - this is a lovely omelette-y sort of supper, you frizzle up a bit of onion, some garlic, and lots of peppers in a pan, and then throw in a couple of eggs. Cook it gently, give it a stir every now and again, and you get a lovely eggy mess - you've got to use more than one colour of sweet pepper here. And you're aiming to get your onion to a nice white transparency, not a hint of colour. You only need a tiny dab of fat to do this, just toss in a few spoonsful of boiled water, and pop the lid on and sweat them down. You don't put the eggs in until all of the water has evaporated, and there is a low fat high veg very tasty supper. Yesterday I ate a cheese sandwich for lunch - low fat spread, granary bread, grated cheese so you don't need too much, and with it I had a coleslaw of carrot and apple. Mum used to make this for us when we were kids, and I still like it today - it's a great way of getting fresh raw vegetable and fruit into a kids diet, and frankly any adult who's not too keen on vegetable eating. You grate the apple very coarsly, and you need one of those hard apples - a Braeburn, Golden Delicious or whatever, I had a very green Granny Smiths, which I don't normally buy, but I haven't had one for quite a while, and every now and again, one of those crisp hard apples is just what you fancy. Anyhow, you grate the carrot very finely. They both give off a lot of juice, but don't worry about that, but a fine and coarse grate seems to mix better. If you try to grate the apple finely, it will disappear into a pulp. Add a tiny bit of mayonaise - very tiny if it's the full fat stuff, a bit more if you're on the light version, and mix it together. The juice makes the dressing more liquid and it gives better coverage, so you get a nice fresh salad.
For supper, I had chicken livers with onion and garlic with rice. I'd bought the livers on Monday, and had them in the fridge soaking in milk. This removes the bitterness that chicken livers can have. I gave them a good wash, and a trim - remove all of the fatty bits. Chop them up small, and sweat off the onions and garlic. When they've turned soft and transparent, toss in the small bits of liver. Serve it on boiled rice - or make a nice rice with bits if you like. If I'd had them to hand, I'd have put some fresh peas through the rice, and maybe added a few mushrooms to the livers. Oh yes, and I forgot, the mustard. When the livers are reaching the end of the cooking, add a good tablespoon full of mustard. Dijon is best for this. It makes the most wonderful sauce for the livers.
Anyhow to make up for my nasty remarks about Virgin, I've got some cutie photo's here from my trip to Winsley!
This is a bee on a flower outside the Burger King by the bus stop - I whipped out my camera and there he is, rolling in pollen on what I think may be a dog rose!
This is Jacob, and Pogle, whispering together in the garden. Actually they aren't whispering at all, Jacob is clearly demonstrating his subordinate position to the boss cat by grooming him. Pogle is quite a bit younger than Jake, so he was very bossed about by Jake as a kitten. Now Pogle is big and sleek and in his prime, whereas Jake is a bit old and arthritic - so positions have changed. But it still looks like they're having a good old gossip in the garden doesn't it?!
