Erm's Photo Diary

[craftylucyloo]

Oh and I put some chopped fresh coriander in mine as well which is perfect!! Oh and some fresh ginger and garlic. Mine tastes pretty chinesey.

 

[ermintrude]

Saturday 12th - Extra Easy

I totally didn't think today through, it's gotta be EE due to the mix of stuff in tea, never mind me mushy pea lunch so Ive had to syn ALL my cheeeeeeeese :cry:

Breakfast: Coffee & Toast 1 HEXA, 1 HEXB, 2 syns
Lunch: Leftovers
Tea Starter: Honey's fig & prosciutto salad 1.5 syns for prosciutto as I caaaaaan't cut the fat off - I dry fried it as crispy prosciutto, fat and all, is *divine* :drool: and 4 syns for cheese. Boo
Then for Main: Honey's rack of lamb with braised red cabbage and parsnip & celeriac puree. 3.5 syns for oil, sugar and apples in the cabbage and 1.5 syns for more cheeeeeeese
Snacks: Pears, plums, apple. And du vin. About 40 syns

Ommmmmm this starter was diviiiiiiine!!! :drool: Crispy prosciutto and balsamic vinegar in salad, who knew?!

I've never had figs before! They were enormous so I only stuck a couple in each salad, so we've got some left we could have as dessert or something tonight Interesting... are you supposed to eat the skin? I left it as I thought probably not but it did seem very soft and thin and I think I swallowed a few bits

Disappointed with my lamb Didn't really taste of anything and it was kind of 'spongy'? I got two different racks from different places so I guess Im just not a lamb rack person. Strange, I like normal lamb OK Interesting to try veggies in a new way though

And there was a LOT of them! When I saw the size of the puree mix I was torn between:
- doing it in a zillion batches in my mini chopper - definite NO
- doing it in two batches n the disastrous cheapo whizzer I got as a present - Ohgodpleasedontmakemehavetogetthatdamnthingoutagain *shieldseyes*
- doing it in the "compact" *cough* whizzer that turned up from Amazon - hmmmmmm...

Wasn't sure whether I was gonna keep the new whizzer, its not my definition of "compact" in any way shape or form (and I dont know where the b*ggery Im going to put it ) but given the alternatives I thought Agh Sod It, I cant face the other options - and OHMIGOD!!! Its FABULOUS!!! Spins like a dream, fabulously fast, comparatively quiet - even the spatula is heaven! I'm in loooooooooove!!! :love:

 

[JackieN]

that salad looks amazing. I love figs but they seem to be going up in price again now.. you can eat the skin but I didnt like it in any quantity

Shame about the lamb racks but you never know until you try xxxxx

 

[ermintrude]

that salad looks amazing. I love figs but they seem to be going up in price again now.. you can eat the skin but I didnt like it in any quantity

Shame about the lamb racks but you never know until you try xxxxx

Ommmmm looking at that salad again... it was just soooooo divine :drool: Didn't really need the figs I dont think, but the crispy prosciutto, cheese & balsamic ooooooohhhhhhh *shiver* Deffo having that again!

Yeah it was an expensive meal all round really, with the lamb racks, figs, ham goat's cheese and all that, but I like to make something a bit special on a Saturday, a bit of a reward for behaving myself all week Just chicken & veg tonight, then it'll be speedy veg & lentil casserole/soups the next coupla days. The scales are swearing at me! I do feel stuffed as a stuffed thing tho, and TOTM i almost due... definitely another damn bladdy gain this week :cry:

 

[blackwidow]

how did you cook your lamb? theyre really nice with a herb crust - sealed in a pan then stuck in the oven. I like mine pink like yours. I have to say though, I think all lamb is overpriced - in particular rack and chops.. only buy them when theyre on offer as meat on the bone does just have something that other meat lacks! x

 

[HelsAngel]

I eat the skin of figs. I have them like an apple but eat it all except the stalky bit at the top. I get them from my green grocer 4 for a quid and I love 'em.

 

[ermintrude]

how did you cook your lamb? theyre really nice with a herb crust - sealed in a pan then stuck in the oven. I like mine pink like yours. I have to say though, I think all lamb is overpriced - in particular rack and chops.. only buy them when theyre on offer as meat on the bone does just have something that other meat lacks! x

I just seasoned it with salt, pepper and Aromat, sealed it in Fry Light in a pan, put it in oven for 10 min then left it to rest for 5-10min. It was nothing wrong with the recipe I dont think, it was just the lamb itself, didn't really taste of anything and it was kind of 'spongy'... soft and watery. Almost as if it had had extra water injected into it or something

I dont think I undercooked it or anything, it looks pretty much how I would normally eat it if it was normal lamb/beef/whatever. I did wonder if it was just my weird tastebuds, given they were 2 different types of rack from 2 dfifferent supermarkets but the b/f thought the same as me. Oh well, back to the veggies, they suit me better

 

[ermintrude]

I eat the skin of figs. I have them like an apple but eat it all except the stalky bit at the top. I get them from my green grocer 4 for a quid and I love 'em.

Oooh I forgot, we didnt have the leftover figs for dessert yesterday! Ommm I can have em for lunch today then, so I get ALLLLLL of them mwahhaha Cool, I shall gobble them up skin and all!

 

[ermintrude]

Sunday 13th - Extra Easy

Breakfast: Coffee & Toast 1 HEXA, 1 HEXB, 2 syns
Lunch: Leftovers 4.5 syns for cheese, oil, sugar & apples
Tea Harissa chicken with veggies
Snacks: Plums, stir fried mushrooms 0.5 syns for mustard, box of blackberries

Nothing exciting today, just chicken & veggies.

 

[Honeyoc]

Aww Erm, sorry you didn't enjoy the lamb! That's so weird about the sponginess, I've never found it bland or spongy, lamb's my favourite meat lol! Probably to do with preferences than anything. However I'm yet to try New Zealand lamb which is supposed to be the best on the planet so maybe I'll change my mind when I do lol! Don't give up on it though! Maybe because you love vibrant and spicy food, simply cooked lamb may be a bit meh, maybe if you try it in a tagine or curry you'll enjoy it more?

Your pics are amazing, I could jump right into that close up of the salad :drool: never thought of frying the procsiutto OMG totally stealing that idea! I prefer figs in savoury dishes than sweet. Had it with a Greek yogurt and it was somewhat bland but paired with a salty strip of cured meat, well.... :drool: oh and eat the whole thing!

We're having harissa chicken and veg tonight too lol! Not sure what veggies to make with it though, probably squash

 

[ermintrude]

Aww Erm, sorry you didn't enjoy the lamb! That's so weird about the sponginess, I've never found it bland or spongy, lamb's my favourite meat lol! Probably to do with preferences than anything. However I'm yet to try New Zealand lamb which is supposed to be the best on the planet so maybe I'll change my mind when I do lol! Don't give up on it though! Maybe because you love vibrant and spicy food, simply cooked lamb may be a bit meh, maybe if you try it in a tagine or curry you'll enjoy it more?

Your pics are amazing, I could jump right into that close up of the salad :drool: never thought of frying the procsiutto OMG totally stealing that idea! I prefer figs in savoury dishes than sweet. Had it with a Greek yogurt and it was somewhat bland but paired with a salty strip of cured meat, well.... :drool: oh and eat the whole thing!

We're having harissa chicken and veg tonight too lol!

Ah I've got nothing against lamb, I've eaten it before lots of times, its not that I dont like it, its just not something I eat regularly, I dunno The OH *LOVES* meat of ANY kind, especially rare! And even he thought it tasted... well, of nothing really! Just unlucky I guess!

Figs! I still havent scoffed them! Right Im off figging!

 

[ermintrude]

Monday 14th - Green

Breakfast: Coffee & Toast 1 HEXA, 1 HEXB, 2 syns
Lunch: Spicy jalapeno hummus with mixed veg crudites; spinach salad 3 syns for dressing
Tea: Spicy root & lentil stew 3 syns for paste
Snacks: Pears, apple, figs

Not-very-interesting stew:

 

[Honeyoc]

Oooh Ermintrude I was watching River Cottage Veg yesterday and saw this recipe Porotos Granados recipe - Channel4 - 4Food
It looked really good and made me think of you lol, I'll be trying it sometime this week, much to DH's dismay. I think he's had it with the squash now...

 

[ermintrude]

Oooh Ermintrude I was watching River Cottage Veg yesterday and saw this recipe Porotos Granados recipe - Channel4 - 4Food
It looked really good and made me think of you lol, I'll be trying it sometime this week, much to DH's dismay. I think he's had it with the squash now...

Ooh ooh yumsome! I shall add this to ze list!! I was just browsing round looking for 'special' things for w/es. next Sat we're having partridge I think. Oh! Oh! And I got some nduja!!!! :drool: Awwwww my Gawwwwwwwwd, it's coming tomorrow! I used to get it on my pizzas but you cant buy it ANYWHERE I found some in a poash deli online so ordered a 500g one, Im gonna cut it into bits and freeze them, then I can take out a bit at a time for pizzas, crackers with cheese etc ommmmmmm :drool:

 

[Honeyoc]

LOL! My dad LOVES nduja. He eats it with the smelliest camembert I've ever come across. He grew up in France so he loves all sorts of luncheon meats and savoury spready things. I'm not a huge fan but I'll eat it! Freezing it is a great idea, maybe in an ice cube tray then take out the cubes and transfer to a ziplock bag so you have a bag of frozen cubes. That's what I do with Rosie's purees

 

[ermintrude]

Ohhhhh it's diviiiiiiiiine! :drool: With a bit of crispy prosciutto and a little cheese... ommmmmmmmm! Oh cheeeeeeeese... :drool:

I used to have it on pizza with roquitos! But I cant get roquitos anymore either! I even emailed customer services and they said there's only one shop in the UK that sells it now and that's a cash & carry and you have to get an 822g tin! Im not a business/charity so I can't get any Might have to see how I do with red jalapenos

Ooh yes an ice cube tray, that's a fab idea, thanks! Oh I went a bit mad in the online deli, I'd seen this recipe for violet truffles, thought Id make some for chrimbo, but my basket got that bladdy expensive Had to just empty it in the end Yow, Ive already ordered about 5 different sorts of chocs for people over Chrimbo Gotta say, the last set of truffles I made were O - M - G ... :faint2: soooo wanted to make them again but with violet liqueur, how wow would that be? K
ept telling nyself oooh Ill just have one or two and give the rest away as pressies, YEAH RIGHT! So I just emptied me basket and logged off sulking :sigh: Ill stick to the nduja on pizza!!!

 

[moonwatcher]

Ermintrude, I'm sure my bank balance will regret this, but are you allowed to post the online deli address?

 

[Honeyoc]

I wanna know tooooo!

 

[ermintrude]

The place I my nduja from was Natoora, be warned its Expensive! :faint2: In fact it's not even so much the price as the minimum delivery

 

[ermintrude]

Having said that they've just sent me a code for free delivery. PM me if you want it!