Coffee Pots, Chips and Yoga Moves

I met a group of friends at the ski club for lunch of lentil soup and little else while the kids gorged on chocolate muffins. We wandered down to the local park, Eileen and I stopping off at her house to fill a tray with freshly brewed coffee, a pot of tea, chocolates, biscuits, juice, china mugs and sweets. We carried the tray to the park (right next door) along with a few chairs and sat sipping our drinks, soaking up the sun and watching the world go by.

The kids played away happily, entertaining themselves with footballs, swings and the occasional visit to 'Terabithia'. All was well until we started to talk about fish n' chips, Kember & Jones, sun-blushed tomatoes and food in general. I got so hungry I started imagining my arm was a leg of mutton and barely stopped myself chewing it right there and then.

I got home and immediately made a fritatta out of leftover spaghetti and an egg. It filled a wee spot somewhere at the bottom of my tummy but the hunger was still there. Having had my dinner, I was loathe to eat anything else, because, as you know, those pounds are shifting slowly enough anyway but I eventually decided to just have some chips and be done with it.

Brian rolled his eyes, picked up his car keys, took Kelly and brought home a bag of chips and a jar of pickled onions. The kids couldn't believe their luck, having also already had their tea and we all sat with tiny little bowls of vinegar soaked chippy chips, pickled onions and slices of bread.

I felt much better afterwards and realised that when the stodge need overtakes, you need to go with the flow and just not overdo it. I've done an hour of yoga to compensate.....I don't profess to think that there is anything other than a calorie deficit but I don't care. I enjoyed them, they enjoyed me and the yoga made me feel sublime.

Sometimes, all it takes to make you happy is a chip, a pickle and an asana or two!

Wordless Wednesday?

I have too much to say.

This week has been spent in the house, mainly cleaning. I'm not even going to begin to bore you with the details except to say, God I'm Bored. If the children say they are Bored, I tell them non possible, mon petit pois (pretentiousness runs in the family) the only people who get Bored are stupid people, people with no imagination. We once had a funeral for Bored (hence the capital letter...you were wondering where I was going with that, weren't you?). We buried him in a box (yes, Bored is a he...of course he is)and said a few kind words and then Bored no longer lived with us. Bored, Can't and Won't all had funerals. We mourned their passing briefly but emotionally.

But Bored is back. He has risen from the dead and I'm trying to keep him hidden within the confines of my head. I can't let the kids see him as they'll be scared, confused and happy, all at the same time. I know how to get rid of him but I miss the wee fella and he has to stick around whilst I continue my rant round the house. Or else Clutter and Confusion will come back. Sigh.

Bored had a nap whilst my mum and big sis visited with wee baby M. I made my usual indoor picnic, this time consisting of cold meats, a round of Camembert, crackers, tomatoes, Parmesan, Pastrami and rolls. The kids had cheese and pickled onion sandwiches with chopped apple and crisps. I then made Welsh Cakes. I had forgotten how much I love these little treats. You cook them in a dry pan which makes life kinda easy as they take around 5 minutes and taste delicious either on their own or with jam...of course, Kelly poured half a jar of Nutella on hers. I tried to tell her everything tastes good with Nutella and maybe she should try it on it's own first but her invisible lalalala and fingers in the ears look was apparent.

Welshcakes
125g cold, diced unsalted butter
250g self-raising flour
75g caster sugar (plus a bit more for sprinkling)
Quarter teaspoon ground allspice (if you can't find, mix some powdered nutmeg, cinnamon and cloves)
100g sultanas or raisins
1 large egg, beaten
Crinkle Cutter, round, approx. 7.5cm and griddle or frying pan

Rub the butter into the flour like you would pastry until it resembles sandy breadcrumbs...don't worry if a little lumpy, then add sugar, spice and dried fruit and stir. Add egg and mix with spatula or wooden spoon. I get in with my hands at this point just to give it a quick knead but hands should be cold and work quickly so it doesn't get warm. You don't have to do this though. Form a ball and then flatten a bit into a disc shape, cover with clingfilm (is this the same as serrano wrap?) and place in fridge for at least 20 minutes.

Roll out onto floured surface to just under a cm thick and then use crinkle cutter to cut out rounds. You will need to re-roll to cut out the rest. It should give you between 10-16, depending on the size of your cutter and the thickness. Neither matters too much.

Preheat the pan over a medium heat, no oil, and place Welshcakes inside and cook for approx. 3 minutes each side. The cakes will rise a bit and go golden-dark brown. I like these on the dark brown side. Remove to a cold plate and sprinkle with caster sugar. Leave to cool and set in the middle before eating with jam, plain (too dry for me)or even that bleedin' Nutella!



I have so many things to sell on ebay; I'm going to start with my teeny weeny Karen Millen suits that I used to wear for work. They are in excellent condition, will now be viewed as vintage and will be worn by some slim, young girl who doesn't know the half of it yet...good on her! I'm putting the proceeds towards my Canada Fund. More on that later...