Today food has been on my mind all day. We get an organic box every week of fruit and veg, and I found a brown paper bag of weird things in it, left over from last week. I felt a bit like those children on Jamie Oliver's programme about school dinners who didn't know what a carrot was, ie a bit silly, but I decided there was no point at all in not knowing and throwing it all away, so I swallowed my pride and gave them a ring. Mystery solved - apparently they are Jerusalem artichokes. And the woman at the veg shop probably had a good laugh at my expense :-))) I need to google what on earth to do with them now.
Later, I made a cake. I remember when I was a teenager, and a militant feminist, flicking through an old be-ro recipe book from the 1960's and being horrified to read that women were supposed to feel satisfied by making food for their families. How shocking I thought, how unliberated, women were expected to be slaves and chained to the kitchen, how dare anyone suggest I could ever be made happy by such a thing? ..... until, that is, I grew up and found it to be true. I love cooking for my family. So I made a cake, and yes, I licked the bowl clean afterwards. I usually spend a couple of days a week cooking up a storm with the contents of my box, I've also made a shepherd's pie today - and I feel better than if I'd spent a month in therapy followed by a week of spa treatments!
Speaking of all things food related - last night I realised that my thighs felt HUGE compared with a few weeks ago. I suspected that this might have something to do with my craving for cake which has persisted all winter, and it has to be cake, not biscuits or anything else. So I jumped on the scales and sure enough I've put on 4 pounds, and it must be all on my legs because my new jeans are looser round the waist if anything. As people who know me would admit, I could probably do with it, as long as I don't do it every three months, I'm now at the bottom of the acceptable range for BMI I was always underweight before.
I'm actually heavier now than I have ever been at any point in my adult life apart from when pregnant or immediately postnatal. Yet when I was in my late teens, pre any babies, I used to fit size ten jeans, now I need a six. Ho hum.
2 comments:
Good for you, giving them a ring to find out. That took some bottle. I don't think I've ever cooked those. In fact, I read somewhere the suggestion that every week or so you buy a fruit or vegetable you've never eaten, and try it. How was it in the end?
Jerusalem artichokes are gorgeous, but they can be a pain to peel (because they're so knobbly). Think of them as a bit like a potato or a parsnip and that should give you a clue what to do with them. You could make an extra special shepherd's pie with mashed JAs on top (mash them with the end of a rolling pin, they're tougher than spuds and one of those delicate spud mashers probably won't cope). Make Jerusalem artichokes dauphinoise, or JA soup, or roasted JAs. They have a lovely flavour, hope you enjoyed them whatever you did with them.
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