The Union ~ Obsession
Rob Thomas ~ Lonely No More
Nelly & Tim McGraw ~ Over and Over
VAST ~ I'm Dying (Live in Seattle)
The Union ~ Fading Out of Love
The Union ~ Burning Daylight
The Animals ~ Don't Let Me Be Misunderstood
Tanita Tikaram ~ Valentine Heart
Black Stone Cherry ~ Blame It On The Boom Boom
The Fratellis ~ Mistress Mabel
Xtina ~ Can't Hold Us Down
Shakira ~ The One Thing
Rudimental ~ Hell Could Freeze Over
Connie Francis ~ Who's Sorry Now
What a weekend...I'm sore and exhausted..lol..and for the very best of reasons. We are officially putting R & R HQ on the market this week. Yep, finally the sign will be hung and we can start making real plans for the move to the city. But keeping our expectations realistic as so many of our loved ones have felt the need to caution us...we made the decision to move nearly two years ago...and this is not my first time at the rodeo...so I think we are aware what a slow process it can be. lol. I know I will feel a sense of great relief when they come to put that beautiful sign up...a step closer to escaping Helltown.
It's been a holiday weekend here in England which means most people got Monday off of work. Ours started off with our good friend Ann coming over to stay for the weekend and we all worked to getting the house set out as suggested by our estate agent and we only stopped on Saturday night to attend my cousins 18th Birthday party. When we finally stopped Sunday evening to sit and eat dinner together the three of us slumped onto our dining chairs and almost finished our meals with our heads on the table. We were so tired. Yesterday was a different reason to be that tired...yesterday was a day out with ML, Ann, Caz, Dev and Bev with the four legged pooches. It was recently Bev's birthday so it was a belated birthday treat. We road-tripped to the Yorkshire Sculpture Park which is set over the rolling hills of Yorkshire. Sculptures are set against the landscape and the lake and you can take in the many suggested walks or just please yourself and pootle around. I was enchanted by the whole day as Sculpture is one of my passions. I was a trooper even if I do say so myself and made it around almost everything on the lower lake side... I think? Next time I will attempt the upper...but that would've killed me yesterday. My favourite sculpture I saw on the walk yesterday would have to be Barbara Hepworths Family of Man.
After the walk we sat and enjoyed tea and coffee outside and then we took it in turns to visit the Ursula Von Rydinsvard's 2014 Exhibition..pooches not permitted..lol. I had the pleasure of taking my tour around with Dev and we got completely lost in the exhibit as we discussed each piece. I was captivated by UVR's work and my emotional response to some of her pieces will stay with me forever. However vegans beware some of her works include animal products which left me cold but her work with Cedar was just something else. If you get the opportunity to see her exhibition you should..in my humble opinion.
This morning I am sore all over but I really don't care. I know Ann is having muscle issues after making a 100 trips up and down our stairs with boxes and ML is starting the working week on empty and in need of hours of sleep. Even with all of this physical fallout I wouldn't have changed a thing. The knowledge, that the house that hasn't been our home for such a long time, is finally going on the market...the eventual escape to the city..time spent with family...and the day with our friend/family yesterday amongst such a beautiful setting, soaking in the sculpture and stunning landscapes...seeing Bev and hearing about their recent trip to London...Ann's amazing photo memories of the day...all things that make my mind feel peace. A sense that something big is about to change...relief and terror...lol. Worth every bruised, sore, jarred and exhausted joint and muscle in my body. Completely worth it and thanks to every one I shared this weekend with. And I'm sure ML would agree with me..a very special Thank you to Ann...you rock woman!
As you can imagine with all of these things going on there really wasn't a lot of time for kitchen duties but I was determined on Sunday evening I would serve up myself and Ann a good home cooked meal. ML not being able to partake kept to the usual white rice, white fish and cabbage. I had made a salad dressing on the Saturday that needed a couple of tbsp's of coconut milk so had the remains of the milk waiting to be used up. I decided to try out a recipe that was incredibly simple and quick to make, by one of my favourite foodie authors, Mridula Baljekar from her much used The Low Fat Indian Vegetarian Cookbook. I made it in between packing boxes and sorting so it really is very simple to make. I purposely made it in the morning so it would have the day to develop the delicate flavours. I served Ann's with chapatis as she's not the biggest rice fan and I served mine with brown rice. Alongside these I also served freshly steamed broccoli. This dish is comforting and luxurious with the coconut milk sauce and the mix of veggies. The delicately spiced sauce is a delight with a little chilli kick. I had the leftovers last night when I got home from the day out and the chillies had heated up some more and it was almost a different dish..still delicious but just in a slightly hotter way. I could almost kick myself for not trying this one before now...
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| Mixed Vegetables Southern Indian Style |
Mixed Vegetables Southern Indian Style Serves 4
(Recipe from The Low-Fat Vegetarian Cookbook/Baljekar)
225g/8oz/1 1/2 cups potatoes, peeled and cut into 5cm/2" cubes
125g/40z/1 cup cut green beans
150g/5oz/1 cup carrots, peeled and cut into 5cm/2" cubes
225g/8oz aubergine ( I used courgette cut into thick half moons)
400ml/14 fl oz/ 1 1/4 cup reduced fat coconut milk
2 tsp chick pea flour
1 tsp salt or to taste
2 tbsp sunflower or plain olive oil (I used 1 tbsp sunflower)
6-7 shallots, finely chopped
6-8 fresh or 10-12 dried curry leaves
1/2 tsp dried chilli flakes
1 tsp ground coriander
1/2 tsp ground turmeric
Put all the vegetables, except the aubergine ( or courgette), in a large pan and add 300ml/10 fl oz/1 1/3 cup hot water. Bring to the boil, reduce the heat to medium, cover the pan and cook for 5 minutes.
Meanwhile, peel and quarter the aubergine length ways and cut into 5cm/2" pieces. Rinse and add the the vegetables in the pan. (If using courgettes as I did, they go in at this stage)
Add two tbsps of the coconut milk to the chickpea flour, beat until smooth and blend with the remaining coconut milk. Pour into the saucepan and add the salt. Bring to a slow simmer (reduced fat coconut milk will split if exposed to a high heat), cover the pan and cook for 6-7 minutes.
Meanwhile, heat the oil in a small saucepan over a medium heat and cook the shallots for 4-5 minutes until softened. Add the curry leaves, chilli flakes, coriander and turmeric. Stir for 15-20 seconds and pour the entire contents over the vegetables. Stir to distribute then remove from the heat and serve...
Enjoy!
Thanks for stopping by and I hope your weekend was good and your week has started well...
~Red~
NB: This recipe is not mine and therefore I take no credit for it whatsoever. It is the hard work and creation of Mridula Baljekar and hers alone. I thank her for creating another fantastic recipe. ~R~
