GROW YOUR BLOG time

...but I almost forgot! How stupid am I?! Luckily I saw that a couple of the blogs I now follow, through last year's Grow Your Blog party, have posted, and that reminded me.

So, here is the bit where I'm suppose to introduce myself, and tell you a little more about my tiny corner of blogland. Well, the fact that I almost forgot I was involved tells you something about me - full of good intentions then panicking to get them fulfilled!!

This is me:

 Fat Dormouse (but hopefully, getting thinner!)

I live in a tall house in the middle of a small village in France:

Here it is, decked out in 2012 for the Queen's jubilee!

We moved here in 2005 and now Mr FD is working as a Web Master for a French company and I am teaching English in various places and for various companies and to various ages. We live in the middle of Les Monts de la Madeleine. 

Here is a photo that Mr FD took of our village - you can just see our house. If I knew how to add arrows I would, but I don't. There! More info about me: I'm a Techno-Idiot! It's Mr FD who keeps me on the straight-and-narrow!
We have no children but we do have 4 cats. I'm a cat fanatic.

 This is Bib, when she arrived here in 2012 - a tiny kitten rescued from the Michelin R&D site where I was working. That box that she is sitting on is truly no bigger than 15 cm x 10 cm. She was only about 6 weeks old when I rescued her!

This is George, squeezing through the banisters to come and see us. He's a hunking great piece of cat now.

And here is George, his sister Millie, and Pomme all sharing a little Entente Cordiale.

I have two blogs: this is mostly about food, (and cats!) what we eat, our menus for the week, and my efforts to stick to the 5:2 way of eating. I also add rather too many LOL cats photos here too! I love food - I enjoy cooking and I am a true Gourmande - that doesn't really translate into English, but basically means "Someone who enjoys their food"! I love sharing recipes, and links to other sites, and hope that I might inspire others who are not so enamoured with cooking to give it a go.

I'm not very techno-minded (see above) so it's not all flashy-whizz-bang recipes with photos of every step. But they are recipes and menu plans that anyone can follow - I'm a rather busy working person, who enjoys trying different food. We don't often eat the same thing because I'm always trying something new! I am a great fan of the Hairy Dieters

and use a lot of their recipes.

So, in order to give you a flavour of what my blog is about, here are my menus for this week:

TODAY: Hairy Dieter Beef in red wine - I ca't find a link to this, but here's a link to the ingredients. Basically, brown the meat, add the shallots and bacon, then other ingredients. Then cook slow and long!

MONDAY: Sweet potato and bean cakes:

• 1 sweet potato (about 200g), cut into cubes
• 400g can red kidney beans, drained and rinsed
• 3 spring onions, finely sliced
• small bunch of coriander, chopped
• 1 tbsp chipotle paste
• 2 tbsp sunflower oil
• 2 tbsp mayonnaise
• juice 1 lime
• 1 Little Gem lettuce, torn
• ½ cucumber, halved lengthways and sliced on the diagonal
• 1 carrot, halved lengthways and sliced on the diagonal

1.      Microwave the sweet potato on High for 6 mins until tender. Lightly mash the beans, then add the potatoes, 2 spring onions, coriander, chipotle paste and seasoning. Mash a little more until the potato is combined. Shape into 4 cakes.

2.      Heat the oil in a non-stick frying pan, then fry the bean cakes for 4-5 mins each side.

3.      Meanwhile, mix the mayo, lime juice and seasoning in a bowl. Add remaining onion and salad ingredients and toss well. Serve alongside the bean cakes.

TUESDAY: (5:2 day) Spiced chicken and cous-cous Because it's a 5:2 fast day we won't have so much couscous, and I've got less chicken than is specified. I may bulk out with more vegetables.

WEDNESDAY: I have fairly recently taken up line dancing, on a Wednesday evening, after I've finished teaching. I get home late, so it's up to Mr FD to prepare dinner. Sometimes he will prep something, sometimes it's from the freezer. But tonight, I'm thinking I might support local entrepreneurs: on my way home I pass a new pizza van that has set up - so I think this week I will buy a couple of pizza on the way home!

SOURCE: fornobravo.com

THURSDAY: Hairy Dieter's Home Made fish fingers - basically 600g salmon fillets, dipped first into a mix of 1 tbsp flour + mixed herbs + lemon zest, then into yoghurt (NOT beaten egg), then into 50g breadcrumbs and baked ( 600g salmon for 4 people. 300g for us two) We'll have these with chips and homemade coleslaw.

FRIDAY: It's another 5:2 day. I'm teaching and don't get home until 7.15 so Mr FD is in charge of cooking. However, if I have time & feel generous, I might prep the meal beforehand. Today it is Hairy Dieters Coconut Prawn Curry

SOURCE: goodtoknow.co.uk

So there you are! A flavour of what this blog is about - food and cats.

And I hope you'll be back sometime again soon. Please also go and visit my other blog: The View From the Teapot (I'm about to write my Grow Your Blog post for that too!)
If you've read this far, you'll be pleased to know there's a Giveaway too! I have a jolly pop-up book about cakes (it's in French, but it's fun)

If you leave a comment, with some way of contacting you, then I'll enter you for the draw - I'll draw it on Feb 14th - just right for Valentine's Day!