Monday 31 December 2012

Irregular Choice

It happens every year. In the summer, I become a hippie who only needs 3 sets of clothes and one set of flip flops. I denounce materialism and scoff at people who go shopping at the weekend. I declare I no longer need 'things' to make me happy and am going to throw away most of my possessions.

Then Autumn sets in, it gets colder, and I remember I wear at least 3 sets of clothes at once outside summertime. You can't do as much stuff outside and eating raw leaves doesn't sound that nice anymore. I start to feel a yearning for cinched wool dresses...

By Christmas I'm wishing I was a millionaire again, like everyone else. I've found so many lovely things I desperately want, as a by-product of shopping for presents and because internet browsing has long replaced slacklining in the garden. 6 months ago all I wanted to look like was healthy and beachy, now I want to look like one of the ladies from Mad Men, with their structured flattering dresses and painted lips.

Happily for me, I have been completely spoilt this Christmas (and birthday of course, got to love having them at the same materialistic time), and am now the proud owner of many yearned-for 'things', including a red leather retro Roberts radio to go with my Mad Men outfits, a posh new stereo for my little car and a whole sewing machine to make my Mad Men outfits with (more on that in another post...). However the finding 'things' exciting doesn't get cured so easily, that takes another couple of months, so please share with my the joy of admiring the shoes from Irregular Choice. If I was indeed a millionaire and my feet agreed with anything other than boots made of duvet I would buy lots of them.









 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 

 
 
 
 


Saturday 15 December 2012

Puddles the Cat

 
My mum is amazing!!
 
Mum: "He looks like he's been the victim of an oil disaster."

Thursday 13 December 2012

Vegetable of the Week - The Dudhi

This week's vegetable of the week is the dudhi, or bottle gourd, which is a very satisfying name to say. Bottle gourd. Try it.
 

I'm abandoning the 'eat it first, research it later' idea, as some things like potatoes you shouldn't eat raw, and I don't want to precipitate some sort of digestive disaster. Also, to give the candidates a fair shot at a good review, I should prepare them in a recommended way. Broccoli is excellent in a stir fry but terrible in risottos. It would be sad to review risottoed broccoli and disuade anyone from such a very enjoyable vegetable.

Therefore, I found the dudhi and discovered it is a member of the squash family, and all the recipes for it were curries. I chose Lauki Chana Daal Subzi, or 'Bottle gourd and lentil curry.' From here:

http://maayeka.blogspot.co.uk/2012/09/lauki-chana-daal-subzi-bottle-gourd-and.html


On chopping, it resembles a courgette inside. After chopping, the pieces oozed sappy watery stuff.


Ingredients....


Ta da!! I really liked it. The dudhi is a bit firmer than courgette and takes up the spices nicely. This is apparently an ayurvedic recipe and is supposed to make lots of things better. It certainly feels very nourishing and healthy. Famie and I enjoyed it. I decided to get its goodness into Zappa so I took some over to his work. He said, 'I think we look for different things in a lunch, Em.'
I said, 'Really?'
He said, 'Yeah, I go more for 'yum yum'!'

Well, I'm just glad I got some good food into him instead of a chicken mayo and bacon baguette from the sandwich van. I'm definitely making this again.

Thursday 6 December 2012

Vegetable of the Week: Chayote

This week's exotic piece of produce is in fact a fruit: the chayote.
 


First impressions: It looks like a bramley that's tried to eat itself. Slightly less firm than an apple though, more like an old apple that you know is going to taste rubbish but you feel guilty for not eating sooner so you should probably at least try and slog through it.


Cut up, it looks appley too but with only a hint of an effort to produce pips. Ghost pips. Very nice and crispy firm flesh.

Taste - .....like the smell of when someone's been strimming. Strong hint of grass and other stemminess. Not strong flavour. Refreshing.

Conclusions: It's alright. I like the way it reminds me of summer. It feels virtuous and healthy. A whole one's a bit much. It's not as moreish as other fruits as it's not very sweet.

Sunday 2 December 2012

Ava Sophia

We got treated to meeting Ava Sophia Ingram for the first time, Buriton Luke's little girl. She's so tiny!
 


She and her godfather ended up having a fight.
.



I am FUUURIOUS!