dietdevil: Nice and not so nice things

dietdevil: Nice and not so nice things: So I had a wander into town and was given a list from Martha of things I had to get.   A diamond nose stud, a nose ring and a shark pos...

Nice and not so nice things

So I had a wander into town and was given a list from Martha of things I had to get.

 

A diamond nose stud, a nose ring and a shark poster from the book shop???

 

First stop was one of my favourite shops - The Painted Bird down Fore Street. It is a real aladdin's cave of scarves, jewellry, hats, ornaments, incense sticks, bags, gloves, just everything lovely really.

 

I know I prommised myself not to mention the 'C' word but I have got an few ideas from going in there this morning and also a couple of things to put on my wish list too.

 

Next stop was the book shop for the shark poster. I used to do in there all the time but since I got my kindle I hurry past the door, feeling almost guilty for abandoning them .

 

And as much as I love my kindle, I MISS PROPER BOOKS. It's just not the same looking on Amazon for reading material - nothing beats seeing a book's front cover and reading the blurb on the back. Also, with a kindle you can never judge how long a book is going to be ..................500 pages? That means nothing to me.

Whilst they were rolling up my poster I had a sneaky peeky at a few of the current bestsellers and made a mental note to look them up when I got home.

 

One of them I was surprised / disturbed / jealous to see was set in Cornwall and written by Judy Finnegan! Is this THE Judy Finnegan , the female half of Britains' favourite chat show couple or someone else with the same name?

Again, I will look it up online later.

 

The not so nice thing today was seeing an old man that had taken a tumble outside the health food shop. He had cut his head badly and an ambulance had been called. In the meantime one of our local coppers was sat next to him on the pavement looking after him but it made me really upset.

 

It made me think of the vulnerability of the elderly and the fact that I wasn't there when my Dad died I didn't even know he was ill - he told nobody) and that my Mum is nearly 80 and I felt a lot of guilt and sadness. I rushed home and had a good cry but it made me think and hope that the old man is ok and that with any luck there will be someone to look after him when he gets home.

dietdevil: Why aye man - I love the hairy bikers!

dietdevil: Why aye man - I love the hairy bikers!: So first of all - I LOST 4 POUNDS! Obviously my cunning plan to rejoin as a new member has paid off and I am mentally patting myself on t...

Why aye man - I love the hairy bikers!

So first of all - I LOST 4 POUNDS!

Obviously my cunning plan to rejoin as a new member has paid off and I am mentally patting myself on the back.

 

And now on to the rest of the blog.

 In my constant quest for new and inspiring recipes to keep me away from the pies I watched these 2 cheeky chappies last night. Their current series is them going around the country meeting people who are using recipes that have been passed down the generations by their mums and grannies , hence the name 'Mum knows best'.

 The first recipe was from a lady in Denby Dale for a succulent looking meat and potsto pie so I obviously ignored that and also  the ginger pudding with custard too,  but I did like the look of an aromatic beef curry and apart from the oil, it is all syn free on Slimming World.

 

I have a pot of it bubbling on my hob right at this very minute and it's smelling delicious.

 I am looking forward to eating it and watching The Great British Bake Off! Martha is obsessed with this show at the moment and keeps watching it on her i pad . It makes me want to bake ( and eat ) cakes but I will resist. She is in the kitchen right now making, I think an apple crumble.............but again, I will resist, I will I will I will.

 

St Ives is very quiet but today people seemed to appear from nowhere. I visited some friends 'downalong' and whilst walking along the harbour I couldn't believe how many people there were just generally wandering about and eating ice creams and pasties. Mind you, this was the view around 1pm today so who would pass on the chance to just sit and look at it?

 

Tomorrow is the start of another week and I am being very well organised for the next few days. I am going to do something with pasta and olives for dinner tomorrow and then will put my thinking cap on for the rest of the week.

 

I think a few more Hairy Bikers recipes may be in order - but not ones that contain pastry or custard of course..............

 

 

dietdevil: A sprout is for life not just for Christmas!

dietdevil: A sprout is for life not just for Christmas!: So I have mentioned the 'C' word in my blog title, but I feel it's very apt as I am having brussel sprouts for dinner hooray! Not just brus...

A sprout is for life not just for Christmas!

So I have mentioned the 'C' word in my blog title, but I feel it's very apt as I am having brussel sprouts for dinner hooray! Not just brussel sprouts on their own obviously as that would be wrong but I am having them with a roast dinner, and for those of you that don't know -

 

I LOVE BRUSSEL SPROUTS!

 

As soon as they become available in the shops I buy as many as I can because I think they are totally delicious. I have made soup with them, I use them in bubble and squeak and an Indian friend once told me she had made a brussel sprout curry and the thought of it excited me......... a lot!

 

I know they are an acquired taste and I haven't always loved them but over the years they have grown on me more and more and these days any roast from the autumn onwards has a huge pile of them - right next to the carrots. My hubby is fairly partial too, but not as keen as I am which is great as that means there's all the more for me.

 

Victoria Wood once talked about Christmas and she said 'oop north' you would put your sprouts on around November . I prefer mine fairly al dente, but really I'm not fussy as it's the taste and not the texture that tantalises my tastebuds.

 

Marks and Spencer do gigantic ones - they are probably full of all sorts of chemicals but I love them the best so I don't care.

 

And once on Hugh Fearnley Whittingsdale's River Cottage show he got Tim, one of his assistants to make a sprout pate which I always forget about but it's something I would definitely try.

 

Jamie Oliver peeled them and stir fried the skins in olive oil and garlic - this is wrong. All you need to do is peel them,  put a  cross on their cute green little bottoms and throw them into a pan of boiling water. I don't add bacon, chestnuts or anything to them because as a vegetable they should stand alone and not be messed with. Using them in a pate or curry is another matter, but Jamie Oliver's idea was ( in my eyes ) sprout abuse.

 

Tomorrow is my first weigh in after rejoining fat club and I am hoping for a decent loss. It is also a taster session where we all bring along something healthy that we've made. I am getting up early to make a smoky sausage ragu with pasta but on hindsight I wish I had bought more of my favourite small round green vegetables and I could have gone for that curry or pate.

 

Ah well, there's always  next time.................

dietdevil: Pottering about and life's simple pleasures

dietdevil: Pottering about and life's simple pleasures: So today was one of those days when apart from a bit of washing and a couple of invoices there was nothing I actually had to do. I like da...