I'm Rich

Sadly, not me. This was the excited squeal of my almost 5-year old niece Lulu in Dundrum yesterday after I emptied the change from my bag into her little hand. It's her 5th birthday next Wednesday and after consultation with her Mum (aka Little Sis), it was decided that she needed new shoes as her present. So I arranged a Girls Nadventure Day just for the two of us and called to the house to collect her.

The door was opened by a curly haired child still in her pyjamas who told me that she wasn't going anywhere. The face on her would have soured milk from 100 yards and my heart sank. I could have stayed in my own jammies at home with The Hubs who had taken a day off. So stroppy knickers proceeded to have an epic meltdown and her Mum threatened her with the cancellation of her birthday party if she didn't cop on and get dressed. After some very tense negotiations and rather a few high-pitched screams (from both sides), a smiling child appeared into the kitchen, dressed for a day of shopping. I had also promised her that I would let her have the pick of my nail polish for a manicure, so I brought the box in from the car, opened it and she nearly fell off the chair with delight. Amazingly, she didn't opt for the bright pinks and purples - her choice was a sparkly purple/navy called OPI Ink, so I promised we'd do that when we got back.

We arrived at Dundrum and Lulu showed me the 10c coin she had in her pocket for shopping, so I rummaged through my bag and gave her all my change - she ended up with about €3.50 and kept shouting "I'm Rich" I nearly fell over laughing at her! We started our day in Boots because they had just started a Diet Coke/Nails Inc promo which I heard about thanks to the totes wonderful blog Beaut.ie. It wasn't on the floor, but a quick enquiry produced two bottles - Paris and New York, which also happen to be my two favourite cities. Lulu gave them her seal of approval - ooh they're GORGEOUS. Ahem, they're mine and not yours, little fluffy head. Step away from the bag. She told me that she was the strongest girl ever and carried the bag back to the car for me - it also contained 4 bottles of Diet Coke, so this was no mean feat!

Next stop was M&S to buy Squishy Piggies (Percy Pig jellies) which I had promised her earlier on. We did a food shop to ensure that Uncle Hubs wouldn't starve and she was very impressed by his love for broccoli and baby oranges. Eventually we found the squishy pigs and a bag of Colin Caterpillars also managed to fall into the trolley... how bizarre! We looked at the kids shoes but they were all denounced as being yucky, so we dropped the shopping back to the car, liberated the bag of Squishy Pigs and went in search of new shoes.

We went to Next and there was a whole wall of pink shoes awaiting us. After some horsetrading, and some "pinchy" shoes that were too small, Lulu chose a pair of pink shoes with a rabbit on the front - utterly gorgeous, but they were even nicer in blue. Unfortunately, pink was the victor in battle of the shoes. At this stage, it was time for lunch, so we headed over to The Counter for burgers. Lulu is not a fan of burgers so she chose the toasted cheese sandwich. We did some advanced colouring in with the crayons, making sure that our colours all clashed. I was told that salt is naughty but pepper on chips is lovely and hot (it was!) She refused to try my turkey burger and only ate her sandwich when she saw a toddler of the same name devour a baby burger, fries and a milkshake - she refused to be beaten by a baby!

We decided that a birthday girl needs a birthday cake, so we wandered into Tesco to pick one out. She opted for a white one with coloured stars - and when she discovered there was jam in the middle, she squealed with delight and told the nice lady at the checkout that she absolutely loved jam. Finally, we went to Penneys where I wanted to pick up a new sunhat for myself. She told me I looked ridiculous in all of them and then chose a big floppy gold number for me, pronouncing it beautiful. No point in arguing with her really. For her, we bought some green nail polish - one normal, one with glitter, a new pair of runners with coloured stars all over them and a very funky blue t-shirt. She was absolutely delighted with all her birthday gifts and to be honest they were all very reasonable, so I didn't spoil her too much (anyway I'm her Godmother, so I'm entitled to!!)

We got home to show Mum everything and then the nails were done. She sat still through base coat, two coats of colour and a Seche Vite topcoat and was thrilled with her new nails. God knows what her Dad will say when he sees the state of her...

Lemon Parmesan Chicken

I've been utterly traumatised over the past 24 hours or so. Yesterday morning, I decided to make a batch of Banana Muffins and they went completely wrong in the oven. I thought it was because I tried to use low fat butter instead of the regular stuff, so just fired them in the bin and cursed a lot. Last night, I put a piece of bacon into the oven to roast for dinner. 40 minutes later, I went to throw in the Cauliflower Cheese and the damn meat was still snorting. PANIC!!! I had to switch to emergency Pasta and Meatballs thawed out in the microwave instead and try to find a repairman. We certainly don't have the spare dosh for a new oven, especially after the washing machine dying on us a few weeks ago, so I left a begging message on his answering machine.

Luckily, he called this afternoon, diagnosed the Zanussi as suffering from a severe case of element failure and replaced it. I celebrated by cooking that piece of bacon for tomorrow night's dinner in the oven and making yummy Lemon Parmesan Chicken on the hob.

Lemon Parmesan Chicken
I start with two chicken breasts which I trim and beat the crap out of with a rolling pin. Wrap them in baking parchment first to avoid meat splatter around your kitchen - they need to be about 3/4 of a centimetre thick.

Then put 2 cups of fresh breadcrumbs into a bowl, add the grated zest of a lemon, a small handful of grated Parmesan, some salt and pepper, and some flatleaf parsley - mix it all together. Beat a small egg and pour onto a shallow plate - dip the chicken in the egg and then coat with the breadcrumb mix. Heat a large frying pan with about a 1 tbsp of olive oil and fry the chicken for about 5 minutes on either side until golden brown and crunchy.

Drain briefly on some kitchen paper & squeeze some of the de-zested lemon over it. Serve with whatever floats your boat. Tonight it was McCains Rustic Oven Chips (a fave of The Hubs) and some green beans tossed in anchovy garlic butter.

Apologies for the lack of pictures, but it was basically inhaled!!!

Baked Halibut with Potato, Courgette & Tomato

The other night I was stumped for a dinner idea - I was in too much pain to go to the supermarket so I went on a trawl of the chest freezer in the shed for inspiration. I found a package of frozen Halibut which I picked up for €1.50 in the reduced to clear bin in Aldi and made a snap decision... it was going to be a fishy dishy tonight.

I laid out some baking parchment on my trusty baking tray, found my mandolin in the cupboard and ran some new potatoes through it. I seasoned the paper with salt & pepper and then layered the potatoes on top in the manner of fish scales



Then, I found a deformed courgette in the fridge which I thinly sliced and laid on top of the potatoes, re-seasoned and placed the halibut on top.

Then I went looking for some white wine to add to the mix, realised there was none open and changed the plan to include some Cool Tomato Salsa from Tesco - I love this stuff... there's no chili & very little coriander in it, so it's just tomatoey and yummy. Anyway, a few tablespoons got fired on top, the package was sealed, wrapped in foil and baked for 25 minutes at 200c

While the fish was baking away, I steamed some green beans and made some herby couscous to soak up all the juices. This is the finished dish. It didn't stay that way for long...

Little Steps

Well, I managed to get home from hospital on Wednesday night, a lot earlier than the good doctors & nurses would have like, but I couldn't face another night of shared bathrooms and uncomfortable beds. The Hubs drove very slowly over the millions of speed ramps which litter the area in which we live (ouch) and helped me up the stairs to bed, where I stayed until the next morning.

Then I had the bright idea of getting up, going to WW, collecting my government riches in the Post Office and getting some painkillers, as the hospital had basically given me a prescription for Junior Aspirin. Given what they had done to me the day before, that wouldn't even touch the sides... so a quick call to my GP resulted in a new supply of high-quality drugs for moi. Off I went : up 2lbs in WW which was hardly surprising seeing as I was full of gas from the op. Collected my riches and didn't purchase a winning lotto ticket. Went to the chemist for my fix where the nice Spanish pharmacist gave out to me for being out of bed - she knew what happened during the op... and finally a wander around the supermarket as the cupboards were bare. Made it home by lunchtime absolutely knackered & retired to bed for the afternoon.

Friday was a stay in bed day - I had all the supplies necessary for this mission : remote controls x 3 (tv, Sky+ and media hard drive). Phones x 2 (landline and mobile). Books & magazines. Laptop. Water and painkillers. Then I got numb bum - no matter what way I sat up or lay down, I wasn't comfy. I reckon that during the op, they threw me around the table like a rag doll in advanced yoga positions and my poor legs & hips were only just realising how traumatised they were! I managed to cook dinner which took an awful lot longer than usual thanks to my state of blissed-out painkiller stupor.

Yesterday I was like a bag of hoors. I was hurting, I was grumpy and you couldn't even look sideways at me without me wanting to beat the crap out of you with a shovel. The Hubs cleaned the house from top to bottom while I went for a snooze on the couch- mainly to avoid watching Leinster getting a hiding from Toulouse. To compensate for my extreme narkiness, I made dinner and a few drinks took care of the sleeplessness issue! I just was on the phone to Little Sis describing my litany of pain and she reckons they bent me in half backwards to achieve what they did in theatre... eewwww. I haz lots of hurt today.

Have A Little Patience

I was bored. Bored out of my tiny mind. Why? I was in hospital - nothing too serious, just an operation that was scheduled a few weeks ago. I am a brutal patient because I have no patience and a very low boredom threshold. And I'm obviously far too used to staying in hotels because I got a shock when I saw my room. A single bed. And no private bathroom. I don't even share a bathroom at home with The Hubs for gods sake! And where was my robe, slippers, water & fruit basket?

The afternoon dragged on - why make me come in the day before when I could have been at home doing stuff? I could have got one more day out of my divine new Estee Lauder Ultra Violet nail polish - but no. So I hung around my room all day pootling on the laptop, nattering away to the lovely ladies on www.beaut.ie and taunting myself by reading trip reports in www.flyertalk.com, and at 5pm it was dinner time. Dinner at 5pm? I'd be lucky to get it on the table by 8pm at home. It was horrific - gammon steak and chips. No salad, no veg, no potatoes. The chips were cooked about 20 years ago from the look of them & kept warm on a hotplate, and as for the gammon steak, let's just say that if my FitFlops ever wear out I'd know where to find a replacement sole!!!

The nice nurse gave me a sleeping tablet which was as much use as a chocolate fireguard because there was a strip light directly outside the room which went on at 15 minute intervals - it was like bloody Guantanamo Bay without the orange jumpsuits. Waste of a sleeping tablet. And when I managed to get to sleep, they woke me at 5.30am for breakfast as my op was scheduled for the afternoon. It was a looooooong day hanging around, I can tell you. Eventually I was called up for the op which went well-ish although new stuff was found and a suspicious mole was removed... apparently it's nothing to worry about but I'll wait to hear to be 100% sure

The Hubs came to liberate me last night - they tried to make me have another sleepover but I graciously declined and hightailed it into the car claiming I was feeling great. That was a lie - I nearly threw up all over the nurse... I was never so happy to get into my own bed, complete with comfy pillows and subdued lighting. All I need now are more painkillers!

What A Load Of Balls

Meatballs to be precise. Yesterday myself and The Hubs took a road trip to Belfast to stock up on booze - it's not that we're alcoholics or anything, just that it's a hell of a lot cheaper and with friends who only go out when they can get a babysitter (as rare as winning the Lotto), we do like a few drinks at home of a weekend. I did my usual online research to see who had the best bargains : beer was cheaper in Tesco - and we get double Clubcard points which will help fund our annual trip to France, and spirits were 20% off in Sainsburys...

We must have looked like right winos clanking through the Sainsburys off-licence in Forestside with a trolley full of Vodka, Kahlua, Morgan Spiced and Stella, but when a litre of voddie is £12/less than €14, it's a sin not to take advantage of the bargains! Then it was time to head to Tesco for the beer. As usual, I wandered my way around the store bemoaning the crap stock we are stuck with down here compared to NI Tesco stores... the fruit & veg is much cheaper and the variety is just great - more M&S than Every Little Helps. I located the Reduced To Clear section (my favourite) and got some Finest beef mince and chicken mince for the princely sum of £3. I love this section as it's where I save a bomb and decide on the spot how I'm going to use the cheap meat.

This time, there was only one option... meatballs. I use a mix of beef and turkey mince normally (as it's nigh-on impossible to get chicken mince here) and it cuts the fat content hugely, which helps with my WW efforts. I had picked up some fresh chives & flat parsley in Sainsburys so a recipe was formulating in my teeny tiny brain.


Herby Meatballs in a Tomato & Vegetable Sauce

I started by making the tomato sauce in a large pot... well worth all the chopping. You'll never open a jar of Dolmio again!

2 big onions, roughly chopped
2 large cloves of garlic, crushed
1 aubergine & 1 courgette, diced
Large handful mushrooms, finely sliced
4 cartons chopped tomatoes (390g size)
Seasoning

Saute the onions in some olive oil until translucent & soft. Add the garlic & fry for another 2 minutes. Season with salt & pepper. Add the rest of the vegetables & fry for another 5 minutes. Add the tomatoes, taste & re-season if necessary. Bring the sauce to the boil and then reduce to a simmer.

Once you've sauteed the veggies for the tomato sauce, make a start on the meatballs.

75g fresh breadcrumbs
Milk
2 cloves garlic, crushed
400g each beef & chicken mince
1 egg Lea & Perrins
4 mushrooms, finely chopped
Chives & Parsley, finely chopped
Seasoning
1 red onion, very finely diced

Get a large bowl and soak the breadcrumbs in some milk until all the liquid has been absorbed. Add the rest of the ingredients and mix until well combined. If the mixture is too wet, add some more breadcrumbs.

Heat a large frying pan and add a small amount of olive oil. Fry a teaspoon of the mix to test for seasoning and adjust if necessary. Using a tablespoon, form balls of the mixture and fry until brown on both sides (this quantity makes approx. 33 meatballs). When all the meatballs are browned, add to the tomato sauce, put a lid on the pot and simmer for 30 minutes.
Remove the lid and allow the sauce to reduce slightly. Add some more parsley & chives just before serving.
This freezes like a dream... so it's perfect for lazy dinners when all you have to do is cook some pasta, rice or couscous to soak up the gorgeous tomato sauce.
The meatball mixture before cooking

Frying away...

Meatballs & sauce having a little bath together

The finished product

Apple-icious

Thanks to the lovely GeeGee, I have been making lots of her divine banana muffins which have been scoffed by all who are fortunate enough to sample them. A batch even went to my parents where my nephew turned his adorable 7 year old face to me and told me that "banana is my absolute favourite thing". Needless to say, I didn't crack and give him one! I was especially delighted I didn't share, given that himself & his little sister physically wrapped themselves around my legs yesterday as I was trying to leave the house. Have you ever tried to peel two kids off your ankles while not kicking either of them in the head? It's bloody difficult and I had to think creatively to make it to the car intact...

This morning, I wanted to make more muffins but I was getting a bit banana-ed out, so I decided to substitute them for apples. On a whim, I bought a can of apple slices from Tesco the other day and decided they would do the job.

I followed the recipe as usual

1/2 cup sugar
1 can apple slices - mashed
1 egg - lightly beaten
3oz butter - melted
1 tsp vanilla extract

Mix all of these together & add to the following

1.5 cups plain flour - sifted
1 tsp each Bicarbonate of Soda & Baking Powder
1/2 tsp salt

Give it a good mix until everything is well combined & then use an ice cream scoop to fill 12 paper muffin cases (I get mine in Marks & Spencer) in a 12-hole muffin tin. This mix makes exactly 12 muffins.

Bake for 20 minutes at 175/Gas 4 and then cool on a wire rack. They taste the best on the day they're made. And mine are nearly cool enough to scoff... time to put the kettle on!

And The Smell Of Fresh Cut Grass...

There's really nothing quite like it, is there? I've been behaving in the manner of a 1950's housewife today, getting all the boring stuff out of the way in the morning so I could sit out on my trusty sunlounger and read my head off this afternoon.

There is something quite magical about sitting out in the sun, covered from head to toe in Factor 50 to avoid a repetition of Tuesday's sunburn with a huge floppy hat on my head, and singing along with the radio. I have a little technique for this - I turn on Heart FM on the Sky+ box, turn on the surround sound, open the sitting room window and prop one of the speakers on the windowsill. Instant audio entertainment, and they play songs that I can (and do) sing along to.

I dozed off and was woken by The Hubs who decided to skive off early from work, proffering a Brunch. This man knows me well... It's such an artificial icepop, with the gaudy pink crumbs and the sugar crunch, but it does hit the spot. I lay there trying to eat it before it melted, while watching him carrying out the first cutting of the grass. First the strimmer emerged from the shed and neatly edged the grass. Then the new mower came out (the little brother broke the old one... and never replaced it) and made short shrift of the ankle length grass, and finally his favourite toy - the garden vacuum which makes enough noise to raise the dead... and hopefully piss off our charming neighbours!

I think it's time to fire up the BBQ for dinner as a reward for his hard graft today. Chicken kebabs should keep him happy.

Summer Lunching (well kind of...)

Yes I know that it's not exactly the height of Summer outside but my millions and billions of freckles don't agree - I look as if I've been sunbathing through a sieve!

Warmer weather means lighter food and with that in mind, I scoured through my semi-well stocked fridge to see what was on offer. Seeing as I'm the only one who fills it, I should have known the answer to this already!

Let me take you through the contents from top to bottom, left to right...

Top Shelf : Dairygold, M and S Tomato Salsa & Sour Cream dip (reduced fat), skinny Philadelphia, sugar free jelly, Muller Lights, Tesco skinny Creme Fraiche, fresh Breadcrumbs & Laughing Cow Deli Light cheese, Boyijan Lemon, Lime & Orange oils

Middle Shelf 1 : homemade Curried Veg soup, Cornichons & Dill Pickles, Guinness (eh, not mine), Tesco Finest Apple Sauce, Aldi Tomato Chutney & real butter

Middle Shelf 2 : homemade Tuna Salad, homemade Coleslaw, Ham, Cheese, Tesco Finest Caesar dressing & Maille Balsalmic dressing

Bottom Shelf : M&S Pears, Courgettes, Vine tomatoes, Cucumber, tail end of a bottle of Pinot Grigio, more Tomatoes

Salad Drawers : Tesco Value salad, M&S Green Beans, M&S Tenderstem Broccoli, Carrots, WW Chocolate Mini Rolls, Romaine Lettuce, Aldi Specially Selected Parmesan, Scallions, Limes, Lemons, Celery, Curly Wurlys

Door : Connaught Gold skinny Butter, Eggs, Capers, Squeezy Branston Pickle, Tesco Garlic and Chili in tubes, Sundried Tomato Puree, Tesco Ingredients Anchovy Puree, Ballymaloe Relish, Aldi Specially Selected Green & Red Pesto, Tomato Puree, Garden Gourmet Mediterranean herb blend tube, Aldi Apple Juice (nicest in the world...), Skinny Milk, Semi-skinny Milk, Skinny Hellmans Mayo

So what fascinating insights do I reveal about myself? Not too much really except

(a) I like food and cooking - and eating

(b) I'm trying to be good in WW hence the skinny versions of loads of stuff. However there are some things i.e. real butter, wine, that will never be compromised upon!

And what did I end up having for my lunch? Flatbread stuffed with coleslaw & tuna salad. It was only gorgeous (well, I made it myself!)

A Nadventure Day

No, it's not a typo - it's what myself & my niece Lulu had the other day. She's on her Easter holidays and I had called up to see her as she was up in Norn Iron with the other side of the family for Easter and I missed her (godmother privileges...). We were having a natter about stuff in general and she was very taken by my nail polish so I promised for her birthday that I would let her have free rein of my box of nail polish and I would do her fingers and her smelly toes. She was thrilled.

Then I asked if she wanted to come out with me to see her Nuncle in work and then go to the Post Office. This was a gamble as she's very attached to her Mum, especially after being away from her for almost a week. She declined my offer initially, preferring to eat cheese on toast and watch some Disney crap on the telly. Then as I was waving goodbye, I heard a howl of "wait - I want to go tooooooo". So the fluffly haired maggot was sent upstairs to wash her face & get dressed. Down she came, semi-clean face visible, and a pair of bright purple wellies on her feet. No point in even asking, because god knows what answer you'd get. So we waved goodbye to Mum and went off on our Nadventure Day.

First stop was Nuncle's place of work - we rang him en-route as I had a feeling he was on lunch. Lulu roared at him to hurry up as we were coming. When we arrived, she demanded to go up to him in the canteen & was rightly peed off when this request was denied! So, she dragged me around all the tellys on display and then all the DVD's - possibly in the hope that I'd buy her one, but I'm not that soft. We concluded our business with the Hubs and set off down the town to attend to our other business.

I got given out to for parking too far away from the Post Office, the lazy article. So off we set with the promise of a visit to "the shop" when we were finished. I never told her which shop, so as we passed every store on the street, I told her it was that one. She gave me the dirtiest of looks when I started these antics... she gets that from her mother! Eventually she chose the newsagents where I was informed that Peppa Pig was stupid and smelly as she browsed through the mahoosive selection of kids magazines. I was astounded when she picked a packet of Hot & Spicy Monster Munch as her surprise - she's a cheap date, my niece! I was also very impressed by her not dropping or smearing them all over the back of my car so we had a race to see who could eat the crisps fastest on the way home, and I let her win...

Here's to many more Nadventure Days!