Cats have a scam going -

 you buy the food, they eat the food, they go away; that's the deal. (Quote from Eddie Izzard)

 

Sometimes that seems true with our cats, but as the weather gets colder I think they will stop going away, and spend the evening in the warm with us. In fact I can tzell that autumn is drawing on, as Millie spent part of last night in bed with me - it's lovely to have a soft, warm, purring body next to mine, but her "pudding" with her claws can be a little painful through my PJ top! I will have to keep a scarf under my pillow to cram under her paws when she arrives!

Poor Bib got shut in the kitchen by mistake last night. "It's okay", said Mr FD. "She didn't starve. She clawed open the biscuit bag!"

As I said yesterday, our food plans are mostly courtesy of the Hairy Dieters - some alterations & substitutions may have to take place however, as halfway through my shopping expedition yesterday I lost my shopping list! So I may not have all the ingredients I need for all the recipes!! 

 

I also bought myself a new pair of shoes as my old comfortable wear-with-jeans shoes have split right across the sole. I finally found a shoe mender but (boo, hiss) he said that it was too late and they couldn't be mended. It's really frustrating as the leather uppers are in perfect(ish) condition, it's the soles which have gone. Still, my fault for not finding a shoe repairer sooner. They have lasted being worn almost every day for a year-and-a-half, but I would have loved for them to have lasted another year-and-a-half!

 

Blurry picture of new shoes!

I had to buy them from the blokes' department though, as the womens' dept was all high heeled boots and shoes, with absolutely nothing that was remotely like what I needed! The very few possibilities did not go up to my size. Luckily my feet are big enough to be a small blokes' size, so I scoured the mens bit - and found about five different types that I could buy.

Anyway...Food!

TODAY: Merguez sausages, potato pie and green beans. Potato pie is a delicious local speciality (most definitely not Hairy Dieters fare!) - potatoes in a cream sauce in a puff pastry case!!!

Source: cuisine.notrefamille.com

SUNDAY: HD Chicken Chasseur, celeriac mash and carrots - of course, with some of these recipes coming from their newest book, I won't be able to find the exact links on t'internet. However, I'll link to similar recipes, such as this one and this one for the mash. You can work out for yourselves how to reduce the calorie level (like semi skimmed milk, less butter and no cream!!!)

MONDAY: Spicy Mexican Meatballs (again, not Hairy Dieters!!) with rice and green beans. I probably won't make the rice given in the recipe, but just do ordinary boiled rice. Or maybe pasta, as we're having rice tomorrow.

TUESDAY (new fasting day!) HD Vegetable curry and rice (just 25g raw rice) The link isn't to the Hairy Dieters recipe, but to another 5:2 recipe ite that I sometimes use. Similar recipes...

 

Source: videojug.com

 

WEDNESDAY: Hairy Dieter's Spicy Pork - I really haven't planned this very well...It's rice again!!! Still, it is rice-in-different-guises so hopefully Mr FD won't mind! 

 

THURSDAY: Hairy Dieter's Moussaka I want to make enough to pop two portions in the freezer for another time. I'm not working this Thursday (time to write my sermon for Sunday!) so I have more time to prepare this. I wouldn't have chosen it otherwise, as there seems to be quite a lot of faffiness.

 

FRIDAY (fasting again) Hairy Dieters Cod-and-prawn gratin 

 

 Source: underthebluegumtree.com

 

I got a large short-date jar of tomato sauce in Noz on Thursday for 89 cents. I also got a very sturdy case for my tablet, which acts as a stand for it as well. As I am starting to use my tablet for teaching a little more, it will be useful. It looks something like this:

 

Retailing at about 21$ (16€) I got it for 6€! I was very happy.

****

Thank you, as always, for your comments.

FISHCAKE RANDOM: I would definitely say go for the fasting 5:2 regime, but be prepared to cut down a tad on other days too. Otherwise, I think that you won't lose weight as quickly as one might wish. And don't think "Oh I couldn't go without food for so long..." It's not that difficult! 

And regarding husbands who aren't very good at leaving enough for another meal - usually I dish out in the kitchen, and hide the leftovers before he gets a look in! It's the best way to go!

KEZZIE: The pulled pork verdict: delicious...and very, very easy to prepare! Go for it! We're still training the cats to iron...Oddly, they're not very keen on the idea.

Thank you POMPOM, TRISH, JANE&CHRIS, and BUSY LITTLE CHICKEN for the birthday greetings. We had big choux buns as a birthday treat: like these, but the size of your fist!

 Source: http://gracessweetlife.com/

 

 That's all folks!

 

Motto for Life: