I have a kitchen again! I HAVE A KITCHEN AGAIN! Okay, there are a few bits of snagging still to do, and half of my kitchen ‘things’ are still in the living room, but we’re getting closer to the end of that tunnel. It’s been coming up to three weeks of refurbishment and I was sick to death of it all after 48 hours, when the novelty of eating out had worn off and I realised that everything was covered in a perpetual layer of dust, however many times I cleaned it. Andrew’s tipping point arrived when he realised that you can’t hear the telly when the kettle is boiling in the living room.
So after spending the weekend cleaning and organising my kitchen cupboards (and I know there are other people, like me, who LOVE doing that kind of thing!) I was able to make myself a Sunday lunch of slow roasted pork belly, plus I stewed rhubarb, made a rhubarb and angelica crumble, and a malt loaf. I also gave myself caffeine palpitations by re-introducing my lovely Nespresso coffees into my diet.
So that means I can plan this week’s meals, which is desperately necessary considering what the combination of eating crap / eating nice food at restaurants but too much of it, plus wine / eating my mega Easter egg has done to my belly. It was never pretty, but it’s even less pretty now, as I have been using the kitchen situation as an excuse to eat pretty much what I want. It has been fun as well, but if I don’t sort myself out right now (and obviously I have been saying that for 3 weeks as well!) I’ll be regretting it when the weather finally improves.
So, I am going to have a couple of detox days at the start of this week, to remind my tummy what it’s like to be comfortable instead of stuffed – that means lots of fruit and miso soup while at work, and then lots of healthy veggies for dinner. My mum is visiting on Wednesday and has requested prawn and chilli pasta for dinner, so I’ll do that with a big salad and some bread to mop up the juices. On Thursday Jo and I are continuing our Alphabet Adventures at Charlotte’s house so that we can meet the newest member of our team – baby Henry! Friday and Saturday should be relatively quiet, and then we’re at a friend’s baby’s christening on Sunday.
So, here’s what’s on the menu this week:
- Monday – vegetable stirfry, with leftover pork belly
- Tuesday – chicken breast, tenderstem broccoli and asparagus (potatoes for Andrew as he doesn’t like either of those greens)
- Wednesday – prawn and chilli pasta, salad, and maybe something cheeky for pudding …
- Thursday – E is for … ? in our next Alphabet Adventure
- Friday – salmon with leeks and cream cheese in filo pastry
- Saturday – sausages, jersey royals, veg
- Sunday – christening reception
You can find out more about meal planning At Home with Mrs M.
Great meal plan! I haven’t done mine this week, but our fridge is looking really bare so it’s hard to get inspired. Do you cook extra so that you have leftovers the next day for lunch?
I’ve been eating heavy lately too so had a huge salad for lunch. I might have overdone it though because its’ almost 5pm and I’m still full from that salad!
I usually do cook enough for leftovers the next day but try to give them to my boyfriend and I have salads instead (trying to be healthier). But sometimes there is just nothing better than leftovers – especially spicy dishes which improve in flavour over the next couple of days. Must check out your blog for salad recipes then – I like the idea of staying full for that long!