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I really like the Good Mood Food Blog, I love the book ( I bought 5 of them as Christmas presents, and use my own regularly) and I envy Donal's photography and styling skills.
Donal is organising a "Twinner Party" for tomorrow. The menu and 2 of the recipes so far are up on the blog.
I am going to shop and cook tomorrow and hopefully produce this three course meal for 6.
The idea is that I tweet as I go along but as I don't have the technology on my phone actually reporting on my progress may be a bridge too far.
I hope The Princess will help. Cutting up Crunchies and whizzing digestives in the food processor is just her thing. I plan to show her the pics online and print the recipes with her tonight, once the rugby player has gone off to training.
I am hoping this will lift me from my post holiday cooking lethargy. I did try 2 new recipes from Nigels Slater's Real Fast Food this week though (more of that another day)
No plans for tomorrow?... You do now!
A warming one for the month that is in it!
Download Abbeyfeale January 2010
sheet available free in Toddy MacMahon's Butchers Abbeyfeale.
sheet available free in Utensils, Horan's Fruit and Veg and Health Food Stores and Seamus O'Sullivan's Butcher Tralee.
Same recipe but different local information.
Don't forget that you can buy your utensils from www.utensils.ie no matter where you are in the country and meat from www.sulmeat.com
Oat and Vanilla Shortbread Cookies from Rachel Allen's Bake book are delicious (I highly recommend this book, click here to see why). Maison Cupcake has used this recipe too (Click here for recipe) and given good tips so I just wanted to add that the last time I made them I made double the recipe.
I baked one batch then and cut the remaining dough into cookies, laid them on a tray, and instead of putting them in the oven put them in the freezer. Once they were frozen solid I put them in a lidded plastic box. Recently we were visiting friends so I heated the oven to 180C, popped my frozen cookies on a baking tray and baked them for 20 mins, cooled them on a wire rack as usual (I have great new stacking ones!) and put them in a box. No mess and fresh baked cookies ready to go in the time it takes to eat a sandwich and get ready to go.
I will be doing this again, it gave me a short lived illusion of being an organised domestic goddess - it was a nice feeling while it lasted!
I have taken down the decorations, the tree stands bare in the sitting room waiting for the rugby player to have a moment to remove it.
We have amassed a small colourful collection of decorations which the children have made in their creche, I am delighted that i remembered to write the year and the child's name on each before putting them away. Even from last year to this year their skill level has increased, so it will be nice to record their decoration making progress.
The decorations are all back under the spare bed in their plastic boxes until next year.
I am working from home this morning, putting the finishing touches to this months recipe sheet and contacting the retailers to see how December's offering went down - well, it seems - thankfully!
The Rugby Player, Princess and Happy One are gone back to work, Montessori and creche respectively and were all happy to do so. Our house is unbelievably untidy. Presents haven't found a home yet. The decorations no longer look festive, just cluttered and day trips and nights away have filled the hall with detritus but with the exception of filling the washing machine as soon as I hear a cycle end I have stuck to my cleansheets work as the house work will wait.
Last year I made 2 resolutions which I stuck to throughout the year this was the first time ever I managed that and I think the reason was that they weren't "new" year resolutions at all. I held off until the end of January and when everyone was back in their routine and the last glittering bauble had been banished under the spare bed and the last box of chocolates demolished. Only then I quietly and determinedly started menu planning every week and I am proud to say never missed a week, except when we were on holidays. I have posted about it before here. I'd thoroughly recommend it.
The other reason for success was that I really wanted to do it and it actually made my life easier and saved us money.
My second resolution was more personal and that was to manage to put some scrape of make up on everyday, I hope this improved my appearance marginally but most importantly it improved my self esteem and an extra few minutes spent on myself everyday was a lovely indulgence.
As the Cleansheets household are off on holidays next week. There is barely time to clear the hall, put away the decorations, do the laundry and pack this week, let alone take up any new habits so I will be making no resolutions for now. In a fortnight or so when routine has returned and I have time to decide what I really want to do (or not do) this year I will change my world, at least a little part of it! So if you've already fallen off the wagon of resolve, let it go and jump on again when life has returned to "normal!"
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