Rugby and Romance this weekend February 13, 2009

The Boy isn’t really a romantic, so I know not to get hung up on V Day (although in our first year of dating he cooked me a three course meal on 14 Feb – he hasn’t since).  Anyhoo, we thought we’d make a bit of an effort tomorrow night, without being frivolous or overly slushy.  Meals out on V Day never cut it with me (all the freaks come out for their one romantic night of the year. Isn’t spontaneous romance better?) – so we’re staying in.

 

AM – jobs time, I am setting seeds for veg in the greenhouse, The Boy will no doubt be doing car related stuff.

PM – I’m getting a hair cut then the plan is to get prep for dinner done and watch the England rugby game with a nice bottle of fizz which my Sis gave us at Chrimbles. After rugger, time to cook (warily, having necked a bottle already). 

 

We are having:

Starter: Salt and pepper king prawns with home made chilli and tomato bread

Main: Duck breast with port and cherry sauce, mash and red cabbage

Dessert: chocolate pot with home made hazlenut brittle.

If I’m sober enough, I might take a pic of the food so you can see the yumster grub. Being realistic though, I’ll probably be a bit sozzled and will wolf it down…

The ’stress less’ test is passed July 15, 2008

Following yesterday’s post about things I will be when 30, I can confirm that the first day of the thirty year old new me has gone as planned.

Today I’ve continued to accessorise with new earrings bought by the Boy, and last night I did a lovely pork steak with sage from the garden, new potatoes freshly dug and lovely home made coleslaw, which included the kohl rabi given to me by lil’ sis (who described it, accurately I find, as a ‘cross between a turnip and an apple’).

The ‘worry less’ theme was also tested sorely as first off I pranged into a car in front of me in the queue to a roundabout, just as I was leaving work (no major damage), and then when I got home I kept being a dunce with my online banking system passwords, until I was locked out (takes them 3-5 days to set me back up again).

When I was 29, I would have fretted about both of these incidents, but I find my new mantra of stressing less is easier than I thought it would be…

On turning thirty… July 14, 2008

I’ve just turned 30 and had an awesome party on Sat with loads of mates and family coming along to shimmy me into my next decade.

I feel this is a significant juncture, and it got me wondering about how a 30 year old me should approach life. Here’s what I’ve decided:

- Accessorise more. I have lots of lovely jewellery (even more after my bday thanks to gifts from my lush mates). A 30 something should be wearing nice bracelets and earrings every day of the week, not just on a night out.

- Worry less. I am a worry-wart and often think out loud in an attempt to share my concerns, which actually just results in a very annoyed Boy. Most of what I worry about is over stuff I can’t control – the weather, other people’s plans etc. My 30’s should be less stressy!

- Bake/Cook more lush stuff, just for fun. I love to bake cakes and do nice proper food, but only really do it for special events or cricket teas. I am going to aim to do less ‘functional’ cooking – you know, tv dinners whipped up quickly cos I’m knackered – and do more lush cooking that I am going to love to eat. A friend got me the Jamie Oliver at home cook book for my bday, and I’m going to start with that.

I think those three things will do me for now. Tonight, I will be baking in a stress-free manner, with a fabulous necklace on!!

detox? derailed June 30, 2008

Hmmmm. I always knew this weekend would be tricky, but my detox diet has been completely submerged by a tide of beer, pastry, cakes and gin.  Whoops.

First off, it was my turn to do the Boy’s cricket tea for Saturday’s game. Now, I am competitive in everything I do – including baking.  So, Friday night was spent at the oven producing fresh pasties, two cakes (which didn’t rise to my expectations, quite literally) and the piece de resistance – a home made gala pie.  I knew that the one way I could smash every other WAG’s cricket tea effort out of the water would be to produce this pork and egg combo.  I think I did well – check it out:

And here’s the inside:

I’m not generally a fan of recipes involving lard, but this one worked for me.  After a bit of stress about the pastry holding up, it all turned out pretty damn well. I reckon I have this year’s cricket tea top marks in the bag. Result!

As you’d expect, my detox was compromised by the need to taste test some of the cricket tea – any cook work their salt does this, for sure.  So that was Friday gone.
Saturday was no better, in fact it was a lot worse – owing to a hen bash.  A rugby girl’s hen do is bound to be messy, so I was psyched up for beer drinking.  A light soup at lunch was a good option, I thought – until I then started drinking and realised there wasn’t enough stodge in my belly to compensate for the beers.  I carried on regardless and found myself, three beers and three gins later, on the waltzer at the fair next door to the rugby club.  Really, not a good move.  Didn’t mix well. Bad times.

After a big trough, I decided to plough on through – which meant eating lots of burgers and crisps.  The second wind came along and I partied on until the early hours.  Again, not a good option diet wise in terms of beer and burgers, but needs must.  An almighty hangover yesterday meant I had to keep eating grease (it’s the only thing that works for me) – so it was crisps, egg butties and peanut butter on toast all day.  So, detox is definitely shot to bits, it’s fair to say.

This morning I was full of good intention, starting with high-fibre cereal.  I packed up loads of fresh fruit and a healthy prawn sandwich for lunch.  But, I’ve just sat at my desk and realised I’ve left my lush packed lunch on the front door step (the handy place to put stuff on your way out the door) – boo it.  I’m not back till late tonight so will find a whiffy fish sarnie growing ever more rancid on my return.  Oh well.  I will have to try and seek out some healthy stuff from the canteen…but I’m not holding out much hope.