I take very little active advantage of PJ's absence. No wild parties, nights on the town, or trips to the Banana Bar for me. During these long trips, I'll line up a few things for the weekend, but I quite enjoy having the place to myself. In particular, it's a time to catch up on my reading -- and I've been remarkably slack about this for the past few months -- and crappy romcoms.
Where I do "suffer" most is the food. While I'm a strong advocate of cooking well for yourself (and often do), PJ's absence has coincided with a bout of good weather, and nothing kills my appetite like the heat. I end up grazing for an evening, picking at this and that from the fridge or the cupboard, finishing up tubs of ice-cream, or just having a bowl of cereal. Last week before PJ left, for example, I made calzone on Monday and then a truly stunning fish dish from Nigel Slater on Tuesday, consisting of red mullet fillets marinated in olive oil, Noilly Prat, saffron and mint and then gently baked in the oven. This week, I've had hummus with veggies (Monday) and more hummus with veggies, accompanied by Indian rice flour spicy pancakes with mango chutney and the remains of a pack of nacho cheese bugels (Tuesday). I'm thinking of it as a temporary health regime -- a way of losing those stubborn kilos that have attached themselves to my thighs -- although the home-made gingernut biscuits (top recipe from Delia) and the mini Bounty Bars are working counter to my aims.
Oh well, just one more week to go. In the meantime, I'm reading my cookbooks and noting recipes that I want to try when my chief tester and dishwasher-loader is back home. Normal restaurant service will resume shortly.
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