'Tis the season to go to black-tie dos...

Has been a busy week indeed gearing up towards an Awards ceremony our team has been organising at work. When Friday arrived I was eager to collapse in an undignified heap (or just have a weekend zoned out in front of the TV), but of course that cannot happen, so instead we have had an action-packed time, which was probably a good thing to take my mind off of the week ahead!


I had a big old cooking session on Friday afternoon when I whipped up a delicious Minestrone to fight off the coming snow (I served it with Parmesan which I will do more often with soup). I went on to make a cheeky Jumbo Chilli Sauce for my mother-in-law to have with a prawn salad when she stopped in to look after Little M to allow us a night-out at a lawyers' black-tie dinner. It was a really easy sauce to whip up - roasted red peppers, loads of coriander, oil and garlic and it keeps in the fridge for a week - no photo as Blogger keeps rotating it sideways so not uploading it! The do was fun and we won £160 worth of spa vouchers for Rudding Park in Harrogate - nice.



On Saturday we had Parsley Pesto for our X Factor TV dinner. I think I have said before, but pasta and pesto is one of my favourite meals so this is a nice twist. We also had a lovely time with a friend who moved out of Leeds a couple of years ago. One of those 'pick-up-where you left off' friendships. I was a bit embarassed that we were all in bed by 10pm on a Saturday night though. That's what happens when you are up after 1am on a Friday. Can't stand the pace anymore...


I also made a Venetian Carrot Cake, mostly to treat MIL who is gluten-intolerant. I am liking these flour-free cakes more than the real deal. The ground almonds mean that the cake lasts longer too so there is no pressure to eat it all day long just to avoid throwing any away (which in my view is not allowed).




Fast-forward to today, and my work event has passed, much to my relief. It was a success, and we managed to get home from London, despite snow blanketing most of the country. It is wonderful how people come together in what seems like a crisis (it's only a bit of snow for goodness sake)! Panic-buying, 'snow days' and cars abandoned all over the place.


This week I have lived almost entirely on panini, chips and the like so it is little wonder that my tummy feels somewhat neglected. I would love a detox week in Thailand but that just aint going to happen. With tummy ache, and a toddler who refuses to wear a hat, scarf and gloves in Russian-like weather, I ventured out of the house with the buggy to get some basic supplies. I had to walk backwards to our local shops, dragging the McLaren all the way! The only thing that would do to eat on our return was a cosy bowl of cous-cous (Standby Starch) - flavoured with thyme, cumin anc chicken stock. Really reassuring food.


I had dinner early with Little M and we feasted on Pancetta, Pepper and Parsley Pasta which looked so pretty (although maybe not on camera)! This meal has just the right balance of salt (pancetta), lemon and chilli to tick all of the boxes. It was also quite a fitting meal, as it looks like christmas on a plate - fantastic red and green - which brings me onto an announcement...
I am switching from Nigella's 'Kitchen' to 'Nigella Christmas' as we are now in Advent. A bit of a diversion from the original plan, but necessary methinks!

Seasons Greetings to all.

Goddess Mx

PS - I also made an appetising tomatoey Cous-Cous with Salmon dish which I had forgotten about, as follows (my brain can't keep up with the cooking):

Karen BA (Hons) MSc Queen of Preserving

I started off with something easy for dinner - lovely scorched Halloumi with Beetroot and Lime. The Beetroot was whizzed up in our sexy new red Magimix food processor. The things I get excited about now are shameful really.


Around 9ish (so an hour before my usual bedtime) I thought I would just 'whip up' some Pumpkin Chutney. It took me about 45 minutes alone just peeling, deseeding and chopping the pumpkin into miniscule cubes, peeling off a bit of my thumb in the process (ouch). Then came the fun bit. Mixing it up with cinnamon, ginger, cloves and all manner of other yummy stuff like red onion and white wine vinegar, and left to simmer for an hour, filling our house with a lovely aroma of christmassy joy.

So now I can say I have started my christmas shopping (or cooking) finally - hip, hip hoorah! 'Holidays are coming'...

Goddess Mx

A Sombre Weekend

On Saturday night I cooked pasta with salami, which does what it says on the tin, nothing exciting really, except perhaps from the addition of cannelini beans. Verdict on this dish is that the beans were surplus to requirement.

It has been a bit of a wierd weekend on the whole. For me the whole thing has been overshadowed by news that a guy we met on holiday died on Saturday. He was only a bit older than us. We don't know the whole story, but he is survived by his fiance, 7-year old son, 1 year old daughter, and a new baby on the way. Why, oh why, is life so unfair? A former colleague of mine at work is also gravely ill, who I had thought was relatively young in her early sixties. Life is so very precious. It certainly puts into perspective all the minor work worries and all the other daily grinds of life.

I like this poem, by Jenny Joseph, entitled 'Warning' which sums up the way I am feeling at the moment:

When I am an old woman I shall wear purple
With a red hat which doesn't go, and doesn't suit me.
And I shall spend my pension on brandy and summer gloves
And satin sandals, and say we've no money for butter.
I shall sit down on the pavement when I'm tired
And gobble up samples in shops and press alarm bells
And run my stick along the public railings
And make up for the sobriety of my youth.
I shall go out in my slippers in the rain
And pick flowers in other people's gardens
And learn to spit.

You can wear terrible shirts and grow more fat
And eat three pounds of sausages at a go
Or only bread and pickle for a week
And hoard pens and pencils and beermats and things in boxes.

But now we must have clothes that keep us dry
And pay our rent and not swear in the street
And set a good example for the children.
We must have friends to dinner and read the papers.

But maybe I ought to practice a little now?
So people who know me are not too shocked and surprised
When suddenly I am old, and start to wear purple.

I may not be wearing purple very much at the moment, but am very pleased with my purchase of a long black velvet dress which I am going to wear to a couple of posh dos over the festive period:



I am off to grab life with both hands, and to enjoy every minute.

Goddess Mx

Feeling hot, hot, hot

Something good shall come out of another that is bad. We were supposed to be visiting friends this weekend but got the call yesterday to let us know that their little boy has chicken pox. Now there was a dilemma: go and expose him so that he has then had it; or stay at home and let Little M get it when nature takes its toll. We decided to stay. So the good bit that has come from the bad is that I get to do some more cooking, starting tonight with my Korean Calamari.

I am eating alone again - becoming a bit of a habit, which I don't actually mind - and am managing to stay away from the annual Children in Need on telly, which is actually a lot of nonsense (but for a good cause, of course). I have been meaning to make this dish for a few weeks, but haven't been able to get Baby Squid, so this morning, Little M and I jumped in the car and drove down into the misty city of Leeds to the market to get some. You can imagine my embarassment at the squid costing only 37p. I know it is not exactly a delicacy but I wouldn't have it every week. Well maybe now I shall at that price.

The squid was soaked in mirin, whilst I made the sauce of gochujang (or Hot Pepper Paste), soy sauce, sugar and sesame oil. I fried off some baby corn and spring onions, fried the squid, added the sauce and served the whole glorious concoction with fluffy sushi rice. Can I just say that I have been suffering with a really energy-zapping head cold this week, and I think that this meal has just blown it right out of the water. It is a bit cheeky in terms of heat, to say the least.

Looking forward to a lazy(ish) day tomorrow and am going to make it my mission to find golden sultanas and 250ml jars to make some pumpkin chutney.

Goddess Mx

A Bread and Cheese Dinner

Last night I had an indulgent 'bread and cheese' dinner. There is something immensely satisfying about a crusty piece of torn-off baguette with a great big hunk of cheese, so a Blue Cheese Dressing drizzled over some juicy baby toms with some accompanying bread was lovely - the photo doesn't do it justice at all (looks a bit like scrambled egg). The dressing is made up of stilton, worcester sauce, yoghurt and milk, and I consumed the leftovers for lunch today.


Now this one is definitely a bit of a joke. I did mention that I was looking for quick-fixes for my recipes this week so Elderflower Spritzer is probably the easiest thing to make in the book. Elderflower Cordial plus sparkling water. Not rocket-science but nice and refreshing none-the-less. I am looking forward to making Elderflower Gimlet which includes Lime Cordial and Vodka or Gin - now we are talking!

I fear that I am not going to get to cook tonight. Master M is cooking - I think he misses it, and the opportunity to choose what he is eating. So, I might slip behind this week. My fault for applauding myself yesterday - too cocky!

Goddess Mx

Quesadillias are a piece of Cake, so I made one of those too

This weekend we are going away for the weekend, so I realised I would have to up my game somewhat and cook at least a couple of dishes a day a few times this week to compensate for a no-cooking weekend. So, I referred to the 'Express' Index of 'Kitchen' to find some speedy ideas. The Avocado Quesadillas jumped off the page at me, shouting 'eat me'! I love dishes that only comprise of a few ingredients and this consisted of tortilla wraps (which I had in the freezer), avocado, manchego (gorgeously nutty) cheese and jalapeno peppers (which I had in stock). The ritual of making these is fun, and I enjoyed griddling them for the stripey effect. I happily tucked into my plate of triangles at the table, alone. I love sitting down properly at the table to eat which I plan to do more often. Next time I might even clear the post, pile of washing, Little M's artwork or whatever else may be on our kitchen table, to lay it properly, as Nigel Slater said you should.


Pudding was Lemon Polenta Cake which I was dubious about, as it is labelled gluten-free, but what a pleasant surprise! Instant polenta is used with ground almonds as a flour substitute, and boy does it work. I ate a piece standing up Nigella-style in the kitchen, just to sample of course, before bringing it into work this morning for a meeting. It is amazing the productivity cake can bring out of people.

I was reflecting on my cooking, and looking at my blog posts since the start of this and am quite blatantly proud of myself on the number of dishes I have produced in the past six weeks. A firm pat on the back to me, from me. I think the person who has got the most out of doing this is ME - I have learned to cook properly, experiment with new ingredients, dedicate myself to a project whole-heartedly just because I want to, and look forward to trying new things soon, e.g. learning a language, doing a photography course, learning to knit more than a few rows, start a book club... and the list goes on.

Goddess Mx

Easy like Sunday morning

Sunday is my second-best day of the week. Naturally, Saturday is better as you have that wonderful feeling of another day ahead before you have to jump on that old treadmill of the working-week. We had an easy morning yesterday, as it should be on a Sunday, pottering around the house before heading out to church, and then a treat at the Waitrose coffee shop - fruit smoothies balanced out with cake for mummy and daddy, and a yummy fruit salad for Little M.

The rest of the day was non-eventful, just as I like it, so it made sense that dinner should follow-suit. Spanish Chicken with Chorizo and Potatoes is a straight-forward, no-messing kind-of dish - chicken thighs, chorizo (£7 worth for two of us!), red onion, new potatoes, oregano and olive oil in a shallow tray, cooked in a hot oven for an hour, and enjoyed. We did enjoy it but I did get the feeling that it wasn't that great for me - very salty. I had high expectations of this that didn't match up, but then you can't win 'em all can you?

I bought some pumpkin yesterday whilst they are still in season, and with it I intend to make some chutney. Need to find some jars, and some pretty christmas stickers to label them with. This is where my dometic goddess skills really need to up their game! If I can pull this off, I will be feeling very smug.

Goddess Mx