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Menu Plan 19 Jan

Do you make New Year resolutions? I sort of do. Well, I do, but they are usually just sort of slight changes to my behaviour rather than fully blown resolutions.

I’ve made some this year. They are written down on a full page of a lovely notebook. They are also on a word document, and there is a shortcut direct to it on my desktop. The notebook may be referred to again, but the list there won’t necessarily be updated, while the word document will be updated as I make progress. I’m already changing my language around the resolutions, see: I will ‘make progress’ instead of ‘crossing them off when I achieve them’. You see, most of my resolutions are things I want to do better at, rather than completely new directions. Even my weight loss goal is building on the stone and a half that I lost last year.

But anyway, one thing I am trying to do is decrease my reliance on my local supermarket. I’m not even going to mention its name, but I have got into the habit of going there pretty much every weekend, and spending between £50 and £100. This is soul destroying – the shopping experience isn’t much fun; I always buy more things than I intend to and which I don’t actually NEED, or not now at any rate; I’m not supporting my local economy; we have a good local farm shop. There are so many reasons I should change my shopping habits.

Towards the end of last year I started sporadically menu planning. For years I have day by day thought about what I’ll cook. At the weekend I will have bought a variety of fresh ingredients, which I instinctively know will work together and will make tasty, nutritious meals, but I haven’t actually planned what will go with what or precisely what meals they will make. So sometimes there were things leftover, sometimes they went off before they were used and were thrown out. Yes, I am feeding that shame-making mountain of food waste in the West.

But I found that if I planned the evening meals for the week over the weekend, then I was more likely to use all the food I had, before buying any more. And it was much easier getting home and knowing exactly what you were cooking as soon as you got in the door.

So, one of my Not-Exactly-Resolutions is to plan menus each week. And follow them. This will not only reduce waste, it will also probably save me money and time.

We have hens and get 2 or 3 eggs a day and i make our own bread. Breakfast for me is usually either toast or cold frittata (eaten on the train). The Captain generally has porridge in the office. I haven’t included lunches in the menu plan – most lunches will be leftovers, or soup, or bread and cheese or ham. Most days I don’t need lunch as I meet friends in a cafe in town.

Anyway, this is what I have bought this week:

Butchers

Cheddar, chicken breasts, sausages, black pudding, bacon, mince, ham hock, haggis, apple pie

Farm shop

Seville oranges, beetroot, cream, milk, red cabbage, potatoes, biscuits (already eaten), plums, pears, bananas, onions, carrots

Co-op

Parma ham, sliced ham, wine

Things I need to use up

A few mushrooms, those expensive silly mini peppers, brussels sprouts

And the meals, day by day:

Saturday: chilli con carne. Make EXTRAS: creme brulee

Sunday: chicken wrapped in parma ham, potatoes, brussels sprouts. Apple pie. Make EXTRAS: marmalade, lentil soup, winter slaw

Monday: Chicken stir fry

Tuesday: I’m out for the evening. The Captain will probably have what is known as a Kraft Dinner (cheesy pasta!)

Wednesday: Black pudding and poached egg on toast with winter slaw

Thursday: Toad in the hole and carrots

Friday: Haggis, carrots and tatties as it’s Burn’s Night, probably joined by some pear upside down cake, or pears with chocolate sauce

There. That has made me happy. Food for a week. And not much left over.

Menu Plan Monday 1/7/13 (knittingzeal.typepad.com)
Eating my way into New Traditions: (ediblenglish.wordpress.com)
Winter Cleanse 2013: Week One (katieatthekitchendoor.com)
menu plan #18: 6 gluten-free meals for $43.54 (frugalfoodiefamily.com)

Tags: lists, menu plan

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Categories Plans

State of Wonder

21 Jun

I love Ann Patchett. I didn’t know I loved Ann Patchett, but really I think I do.

She’s one of those authors who have crept up on me. I’ll be honest, I’d never heard of her and then I started coming across Bel Canto a few years ago, and it became one of those books that I ended up having to read, or it felt like it would keep cropping up in my life until I did. But let’s face it, it was no hardship to read it was it? If you haven’t been there yet, just buy it this weekend and find a comfy spot and start reading. You’ll thank me.

Then I saw Ann Patchett at the Book Festival in Edinburgh a few years ago. She was with another author, Valerie Martin I think, and I have a feeling that it was the other author I was initially interested in. Anyway, I no longer recall why I was quite so determined to see this event… out of around 800 events with world class authors, thinkers, politicians, commentators, illustrators, historians, philosophers, scientists, et al why would it be this one that I actually go to? You see, although I worked at the world’s largest (and possibly greatest) book festival for a number of years my attendance at live literature events was woefully low. But I read a lot, and had a great time, so no regrets!

Anyway, back to Ann P. I bought her novel ‘Run’ off the back of seeing her in conversation with Valerie Martin. And it didn’t disappoint either.

So, when I saw that State of Wonder was shortlisted for the Orange, I knew I had to read it. That was all I knew about State of Wonder though – it was written by Ann P and had been shortlisted for the Orange prize. So, two good reasons to read it really.

It’s interesting when you start reading a book with no real idea of ‘what it’s about’. Especially if you read on an e-reader and so don’t see even the front cover as a clue, or the blurb on the back to give you an idea of what might be within. I realise that ‘what it’s about’ is often not what makes a book great – recently I have read about an orphan, shopping malls, the life of Achilles, a second marriage, a child in a poor estate in south London, and so on….

Anyway, I wasn’t expecting a research scientist from a large pharmaceutical company to shlep off to the Amazon to try to get a major research project back on track, and find out what happened to her colleague who had been despatched to do the same job some weeks earlier. But State of Wonder isn’t just about any of those things, is it? It will be about different things to different people I’m sure, but for me it’s about where you belong, and about loss and being lost. And found. And about parenthood. It’s about dreams. And nightmares. About ideals and compromise; about hopes, dreams and desires. It’s beautifully written, evoking the intense heat and sheer ‘foreign-ness’ of arriving in a town on the Amazon. The main characters are all women and all strong women, but each with their own vulnerabilities. Ann P is so good at drawing characters, people you feel you know from the first encounter with them, and then as you read, you just get to know them better.

I studied science many years ago. In my naivety at school I had hoped to be a research scientist, discovering the cures for all the world’s ills, or at least cancer (AIDS hadn’t appeared in our lives at that point. Yes, I’m that old!). So, I studied for a degree in Medicinal Chemistry. And quickly realised that I would never work for a large pharmaceutical company and would never discover any cures. I’d already worked out that scientific research probably wasn’t my vocation in life (really? I have to do exactly the same experiment over and over and over again every day for weeks and weeks and weeks just tweaking at the different components and reporting on any changes? How dull). But when the pharma companies started the ‘milk round’ of recruitment of fresh young graduates the remaining vestiges of that enthusiastic naivety and hope for the future died. They were oh so proud of a drug they had produced which reduced the symptoms of ulcers (and therefore made them lots of $$$ from stressed American businessmen). In the very next sentence they told us they were cancelling all research into a drug which had the potential in the future to eradicate a third world disease (was it cholera? Malaria? Or something altogether different, I can’t recall). But it would never make them any money. So the research was being pulled.

State of Wonder reminded me of my earlier self, and the erosion of my state of wonder. But I’m glad I’m not a research scientist. I would have been pretty rubbish at it, and I never looked good in a white coat anyway.

Tags: Ann Patchett, books, lists, Orange Prize for Fiction, State of Wonder

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Categories Books

The Forgotten Waltz

19 May

A colleague has lent her kindle to a mutual friend who is in hospital. As a result she is buying REAL books and lending out ones she loves. So, on a recent trip to London and Brighton she bought The Forgotten Waltz by Anne Enright, and by the time she’d returned to Edinburgh she had finished it and was desperate for me to read it so we could talk about it.

And I’m SO pleased she lent it to me to read; it’s a great book. I’m not giving anything away by telling you it’s about an Irish woman who is having an affair with a married man. And yes, it absolutely is about that. It’s about the course of the relationship, from the moment she first sees him at the bottom of her sister’s garden at a barbecue…. I won’t say where it goes, as I don’t want to spoil it for you.

Except that in many ways, the story isn’t what I found so remarkable about this book. Gina, who is having the affair, is the narrator. She is an IT professional in her mid 30s. Her husband is a like-able bear of a man. Her lover has ‘too beautiful’ eyes and a daughter who is captivating and strange. The writer captures the detail of the emotional roller-coaster the adulterer goes through. But more than that she captures the minutiae of daily life, down to the noise made by the rubber strip as you pull open the fridge door.

By the end of the novel the economic boom has bust. But has the same happened to the relationship? Read it and find out.

The Forgotten Waltz has been shortlisted for the Orange Prize for Fiction; it’s the second of this year’s shorltist that I’ve read, so watch this space for the remaining books. They are on my wishlist.

Anne Enright meets the Guardian book club – podcast (guardian.co.uk)

Tags: Anne Enright, books, lists, The Forgotten Waltz

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Categories Books

My Lover’s Lover

2 May

I went to a World Book Night event last week (or possibly the week before) with Maggie O’Farrell and Jenny Brown.

I read Esme Lennox years ago, and didn’t particularly enjoy it, but I didn’t hate it either so I read Maggie O’Farrell’s latest book before I went to the live event. I was glad I had: I loved the book and I felt that I got more out of the event having read it.

Anyway, that’s all some background to say that after the event I decided I really wanted to read another, and so I picked My Lover’s Lover off my shelf, where it had been languishing for some years and started it.

I feel somewhat disappointed now, but also cheered by the thought that the author is probably getting better with each book she has written.

My Lover’s Lover is a Rebecca-like tale of Lily and her new lover, Marcus. And Lily’s obsession with Sinead, who is ‘no longer with us’ … but was very much with Marcus until recently. Lily narrates the first part of the novel, and like the new Mrs de Winter seems to be a bit of a mouse of a creature, who ends up in bed with the glamorous,older architect, Marcus, living in the warehouse apartment he designed himself. She starts seeing Sinead everywhere, and believes her ghost has come back to tell her something.

For me, the warehouse apartment is almost the strongest character in the book (more echoes of Rebecca with Manderley?).

I wonder if my disappointment in this book was related to the fact I’d loved the live event so much? Or that I had just read both Rebecca and Rebecca’s Tale? It certainly drew from Rebecca, with the two lovers even watching Hitchcock’s Rebecca in an early scene in the book.

I’m now reading Oliver Twist for book group, but think that the next book should be Ewan Morrison’s Menage. I like reading books that feel as though they have some link with what you’ve just read, and this seems perfect.

World Book Night: Stephen Fry joins million giveaway (guardian.co.uk)
The Hand That First Held Mine by Maggie O’Farrell (doctordolittle.wordpress.com)

Tags: books, lists, Maggie O'Farrell

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Categories Books

Resistance by Owen Sheers

2 Feb

I loved this book.

When I started it I knew nothing about it, nothing at all. A friend recommended it to me at our last book group gathering – in fact she suggested that we have a book group outing to see the movie of the book when it comes to the Cameo in Edinburgh later this month. I like this plan.

And when a couple of days later I finished the current book, Resistance felt like the right next book to start. I’m slightly picky about what order I read books in, and never really decide which book will be my next book until I’ve actually finished the one I’m on. (OK sometimes I read more than one at a time, but that doesn’t count). I downloaded Resistance onto my kindle on the train down to London – what a blissful piece of technology a kindle is! But more on that another time. And possibly on another place. I need to tell you about our new blog. I say ‘our’. The fabulous patothecity has set up edinburghbookgroup. It’s a place for people to chatter about books. It’s in its infancy, so who knows where it might go, but I have visions of a virtual book group – a resource for people wanting to discuss what they’ve read, whether it is online or in their own local book group. Go have a look, join in by commenting if you feel like it…

But back to Resistance.

You’d expect Resistance to be beautifully written, given that the author is a poet, but I don’t think I was prepared for such an evocative book. It’s set in the last months of the second world war, but it is a different second world war: Germany has invaded Britain and is winning. So,although there is a very strong sense of time, it’s not the time as we’ve seen it before, it is distorted by a dramatic change of circumstances.

The whole story is set in an isolated Welsh valley, opening one morning with the womenfolk of the valley who all wake up to discover that their menfolk have upped and left them in the middle of the night. The sense of loss is almost physical, with a recurring description of the imprint from his body on the mattress. But the women choose to go on as though nothing has happened; or perhaps there was little choice. Country life is hard, and life in the country during the dying days of a war are unbearably hard. Owen Sheers depicts that hardship beautifully.

If you want to see what else I’ve read this year, see my list. If you have any recommendations for me, leave a comment. Preferably not chick lit though.

A writer who’s hard to resist (independent.co.uk)
Resistance: the small British movie Resistance really deserves to be seen (telegraph.co.uk)

Tags: books, lists, Owen Sheers

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Categories Books

What I’ve read this year – 2012

14 Jan

So, let’s see how I do against my targets for this year… Let the reading commence!

Oh, and in case you care, my links to buy the books are all for amazon.co.uk. If you don’t like amazon, other booksellers are available, just google.

January

Stieg Larsson‘s The Girl Who Kicked the Hornet’s Nest. The final book in his Millennium series, and yet again a book that could have done with a good edit. Having said that it was yet again a good thriller and a compulsive read, finished in about a week.

Carol Birch‘s Jamrach’s Menagerie. Our book group’s first book of 2012, and a worthy book to discuss. What started as a kids’ adventure story became a true horror story, full of gore, slime and grime. It will generate interesting discussion, of that there is no doubt.

Why Be Happy When You Could Be Normal by Jeanette Winterson. A powerfully emotional book, the ‘true’ story behind her debut Oranges Are Not The Only Fruit.

Before I Go To Sleep by SJ Watson only came to my attention because it is in the Richard and Judy book group, and I saw Judy absolutely raving about it on telly one evening. It’s a quick read, and kept me guessing. The narrator of the book is a woman close to my age who wakes up each morning with no memory, but with a sense of horror that she’s in bed with a middle aged man – her initial thought is that she got wrecked the night before at a party and can’t remember who she came home with. It’s not a Groundhog Day book, and it’s not a love story – more a psychological thriller. And, as I said, a quick read.

I loved Resistance by Owen Sheers. And it brought my total for January to five books finished. Yay!

February

In Pigeon English by Stephen Kelman Harri searches for clues after the murder of a boy from his school. He hopes the clues will lead to the killer. Harri has an innocence, he is a boy about to become a man. But what sort of man can he possibly be, brought up in this violent, unkind environment? His mother has brought him from Ghana, in the hope of giving him a better future. Harri’s voice felt ‘true’ although I did find it vaguely annoying after a while.

I read What a Carve Up by Jonathan Coe as a book group book. And unusually I read it all the way through (not enjoying much of it at all) and then refused to go to book group to discuss it. I just felt I had nothing I wanted to say about it. And I found that after I’d finished I couldn’t even distinguish between the different hideous family members. Various friends have told me how much they loved this book. I didn’t. And I’m not sure it was helped by reading it in e-book form, so I couldn’t flip back easily and see who was who.

I read about The Secret Intensity of Everyday Life by William Nicolson in the Sunday Times one weekend. It wasn’t a review, but was in someone’s column, and I honestly can’t remember whose. I kinda wish I could, as I really enjoyed the book, which absolutely is described in the title. It focuses on a few days one early summer in a small village in commuter distance from London. The characters are well drawn, the situations perfectly described. It’s not a rip-roaring read, but thoroughly enjoyable.

March

April

May

My Lover’s Lover by Maggie O’Farrell had been on my shelf for years (I got it as a bookcrossing random act of book crossing kindness years ago, and really must pass it on now that I’ve actually read it). It had elements of Rebecca about it, and inspired me to re-read Rebecca and Rebecca’s Tale.

After my Maggie O’Farrell feast I turned to an author new to me, recommended by my good friend Salidatious: Anne Enright’s The Forgotten Waltz. Sal had read it quickly and loved it, and wanted someone else to read it so she could talk about it. I love that about her. And was so glad she’d recommended, and loaned, this book to me. A worthy shortlisted book for the Orange, a tale of an adulterous affair in Ireland. The backdrop to the tale is the arc of the Irish economy, from roaring tiger in the boom years, to the depression of the recession.

And so it seemed sensible to read another Orange shortlisted book immediately after I’d finished the Anne Enright. And as I’d bought Ann Patchett’s State of Wonder a couple of months earlier, now seemed like the time to start reading it. Some books nourish you, and stay with you long after you finished them. This is one such book.

Ewan Morrison’s Tales from the Mall has been in my subconscious for a few months, mainly on social media, but also in bookshops, and newspaper book reviews. It’s a fascinating read, especially for someone who doesn’t like either shopping malls, or short stories. It’s made up of perfect bitesized chunks of reading goodness, a mixture of fact and fiction, but all related in some way to shopping malls. You’ll learn all manner of things, like why cross dressers like malls, and why walking round a mall is considered a terrorist threat. Unsettling and fascinating (but not necessarily in that order).

After I’d whet my appetite with TFTM I chose Swung, also by Ewan Morrison. There’s a lot of media coverage of 50 Shades of Grey just now, but I suspect it isn’t nearly as interesting as Swung, the story of a Glasgow couple trying to make their relationship work.

Tags: books, Carol Birch, Jamrach's Menagerie, Jeanette Winterson, Jonathan Coe, lists, Owen Sheers, Pigeon English, Stephen Kelman, Stieg Larsson, What a Carve Up, William Nicolson

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Categories Books

A list for 2012

8 Jan

OK, here goes. These are NOT resolutions. Resolutions are wrong, but what is most wrong about them is the time of year we generally make them. Who on earth has the energy in these cold dark January months (in Scotland at least) to change all those bad habits? Not me.

Must update my things to do list...

Lists I am going to write more lists in 2012. This is my shorthand for planning better, and accomplishing things I want to accomplish. I know, from experience, that once I identify a goal I am usually pretty good at achieving it. It’s the identifying bit that has always come hard to me. So, 2012 will be the year of accomplishment (through the medium of the list!)
Fish I am going to cook and eat more fish in 2012. And more varieties of fish too. Yes, Hugh Fearnley Whatsit, I’ve listened to you.
Spice Another very specific one related to cooking and eating. I am going to sort through my kitchen cupboards, specifically the jars and jars of spices and herbs. I’m going to throw out things that are way past their best, and only smell of dust now. And I’m going to start again from scratch. I’ll make a list of what I’ve got, and will use them regularly. I’ll be experimental, I’ll try things out for myself, and I’ll be inspired by new recipes and other cooks/chefs. If I buy new jars of spices I’ll endeavour to use them over and over again so I don’t need to throw out a nearly full jar again in 3 years time. And, to make things easier, I’ll put wee labels on the lids of all the jars so I can easily see what I’ve got (they live in a twirly pull out corner cupboard unit thing below eye level).
Craftiness OK, I’m going to get specific here. I’ve already signed up to the Underachievers Group in Ravelry and am committed to knitting at least 6 things this year. That means finishing 6 things, not just starting them and then moving onto something else when I find something new and shiny to do instead. I also want to sew at least 6 things and embroider (either by hand or by machine) at least 6 things. Oooh, it’s looking a bit like the craftiness of the devil now, with my 6-6-6 goals. Hey ho!
Weight I am going to lose 3 stone. There, I’ve said it. So my first goal will be to lose 1 stone by the end of March. That’s surely achievable? I’ll keep with my low carb diet, which worked well for me to start with, but (inevitably) led to a plateau once I became less strict with it. Over Christmas I ignored the diet altogether – I was relatively sensible, but ate the things I wanted to eat, as opposed to only the things I should eat if I want to lose weight. I put on 1lb, which I don’t think is too bad, but I want to reverse that trend again and get healthier.
Being social I go out quite a lot through the week when I’m living in Edinburgh. I stay home in the Valley at weekends. I love my life and although living in two places has its drawbacks (the right accessory is never in the right home when I want it) it’s a pretty good balance between social and chilled. Some weeks I find I’d like to have another night or two in my flat instead of being out. And I’d like to see more things, do more things when I’m out – yes, I love blethering with my mates, but I also love experiencing new things. So, I guess I need to put numbers on this. I’ll aim low. I’m going to go to the theatre/cinema (or attend ‘something’) at least once a month. And I’m going to have an average of at least 2 nights a week in the flat.
Holiday I’m going to go somewhere this year. Don’t know where, but I need to get away and see something new and different with these eyes. And perhaps get the warmth of the sun on my back. Any suggestions?
Progress Spreadsheets! Oh, I do love a good spreadsheet. And I’m going to spreadsheet my life this year. I already have one for my weight loss(gain!) but will also record all the other goals and see how I go. I will also report back here of course, but perhaps not too regularly – really you don’t want to know about the minutiae of my life.
The blog Last year I decided to really get going with this blog, pretty much as a way to record recipes as I went along. It’s intended for me more than for anyone else (sorry readers, but that’s how it was at the beginning!). Now I’m more aware that other people read it occasionally, in fact if I look at my stats quite a lot of you read it! Thanks! So, I’m going to be a better blogger. I’ll try to blog something every Sunday. And, if I treat myself to a new camera at some point I will take better pictures of everything. Occasionally you might have a blog which is just pictures. After all, one’s worth a thousand words. Think of all the typing I could save myself!

Right. I think that will do it. I like odd numbers. And 9 is one of my favourite numbers. I like numbers. I like that 9 is 3 squared. And I like that it’s part of 29 (a prime number) which is my favourite number.

Oh, and to keep my list at a nice odd 9, instead of a hideous decimal 10, I am leaving my books list elsewhere. But shall record it on my spreadsheets, oh yes.

August doesn’t count I’m not sure I need to say much more on that. It just doesn’t. It’s my month off. Some things can be achieved in August more easily (I hope I’ll go to more events in August than in the rest of the year put together) but others are trickier. I’m relaxed about that. I’ll achieve what I can, and not stress about the things I can’t.

2012 is prime … (johndcook.com)

Tags: goals, lists, Low-carbohydrate diet, Ravelry, Weight loss

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Categories Uncategorized

Books 2012

2 Jan

Hmmm.. I had some rather grand plans last year about my reading. Some achieved, some nowhere near… but perhaps that is the way with reading, sometimes you see something and you want to read it there and then, and you pick it up and off you go. Other books you see or you hear about, and you decide to read them, but you don’t start them for a while. I have so many books on my shelves that aren’t yet read, but most of them will be one day – and in 2011 I made inroads into the pile. I do worry that having a kindle may reduce the speed at which I get through the To Be Read pile though – they make it just too easy to buy something there and then.

Anyway, what am I going to read this year?

I’ve already finished my first book: the last in Stieg Larsson‘s Millenium series. Not the best. And I think they all could have done with some serious editing, this one particularly. And I wonder if anyone came to this book first,would they ever understand it and be bothered to wade through the bits that make little sense? Who knows?

I’ve also got a book half way through: Jeanette Winterson‘s utterly brilliant Why Be Happy When You Could Be Normal. I’ll try to finish it in the next few days, and then start my Book Group book for January: Jamrach’s Menagerie. I’ve got it loaded onto my kindle already, so that’s a good start.

What else, what else this year?

I still want to attempt Ulysses. And read a Margaret Atwood.
And I still want to read Middlesex by Jeffrey Eugenides
I’ll finish Jeanette Winterson’s autobiography
The Secret Intensity of Everyday Life by William Nicholson. I read a good piece about it the other day which inspired me to put it on my wishlist.
Pigeon English by Stephen Kelman. Is it Stephen? I think so. I heard about this when it was first published and meant to buy/read it then. I forgot.
Life of Pi by Yann Martel. I have a beautiful hardback illustrated edition of this, bought at the Edinburgh International Book Festival a few years ago. I started it this year, but I just hate carrying big books around with me. Perhaps I have to download it onto my kindle too.. would that be too extravagant?
I’ll read Book Group books, even if I don’t always make it to book group.
I’ll aim for 30 books this year. I think I can do that, although I’m also hoping to increase the number of things I make this year, and not just foodie stuff – I’ve been doing a lot of knitting recently, and have started sewing again, so who knows what homemade goodies will appear from the Valley in 2012?