Dear Santa, please give me a set of knives…….

Quick update after my weekend class at Leiths.
After a light warm up (thinly slicing carrots and cucumber for a Thai salad) we moved straight on to filleting and skinning flat fish and round fish. As well as getting used to the different knives we were told to become familiar with our fish. This is Brian the Lemon Sole:


I named my Sea Bass Dave, but my hands were too icky to take a photo with my phone.

All neatly packed to take home then we got started on portioning the chicken:





I’m hooked 🙂

A WFH day

I’m really lucky to be able to work from home once a week, if I need it. The rest of the time I’m in an office full of people, which is nice. Woke up early this morning with my mind racing so I logged in and got started. It was 11am before I realised I’d had no breakfast and no coffee. Oops.
Scheduled a strategic 15 minute break to knock up fried sweet potatoes and eggs and a big cup of coffee. Even managed to prep all my leftover veggies so they’re ready for dinner tonight and as snacks with dip 🙂

Took a late lunch break, grabbed the crudités and dip and some cheese and started slow cooking a mirepoix ready to make beef ragù later tonight. Not for dinner, just getting some had some sad looking carrots and celery in the fridge and this doesn’t require much attention. Even bunged on a load of laundry so my Friday night consists of eating and loafing in front of the TV. Domestic bliss!

This week’s menu – 07 November 2014

Got quite a few social events this week so aiming to stay disciplined with the food I have at home in case I have limited choice (or just have no self-control) when I go out 🙂

• Pork, apple and sweet potato hash with poached eggs
• Sausage stew with tomato veggie sauce and swede mash
• Chicken, coconut and butternut curry
• Sausage stuffed aubergine with broccoli
• Piña colada chicken
• Mackerel, broccoli, orange and almond salad

Seafood platter

Apologies for the ugly flash photo

Smoked salmon, prawns, rollmop herring and beetroot salad with apple and pea shoots

This week’s menu – 31 October 2014

• Smoked salmon, prawns, rollmop herring and beetroot salad with apple and pea shoots
• Sausages, mash and onion gravy
• Beef & ale casserole with parsnips and cabbage
• Fish curry with roast cauliflower and raita
• Garbage stir-fry
• Dinner for 1: Jerk chicken roast on apple and onion with butternut squash
• Dinner for 1: Czech meatballs with creamed savoy cabbage and bacon

This week’s menu – 24 October 2014

• Steak w/ blue cheese sauce, and crunchy salad
• Czech meatballs w/ bacony sprouts
• Bourbon and chipotle braised beef short ribs w/ apple salsa sweet potato wedges
• Merguez lamb koftas w/ roasted red peppers and halloumi
• Greek chicken w/ roasted red peppers, roast aubergine, red onion, and feta
• Bobotie w/ mango chutney salsa and crispy shredded sweet potato
• Fish and sweet potato curry