Self-catering - well, a bit restricted, didn't have my usual range of spices and herbs to cook with. Found myself with a large quantity of foodstuffs to carry home - a new bottle of olive oil, a small packet of rice, a large packet of porage oats, a jar of salt. Next time, going to devise a travel pack - small bottle of oil, small pot of salt, a small jar of mixed spice. Evening meals were fried fish, rice, broccoli and leeks. Lunch was oatcakes, salad and hummous. Just can't manage without hummous! For the journey, hummous, celery sticks, dry oatcakes. Some avocados featured - breakfast on the last day, with scrambled eggs, an emergency during the week, and emergency snack in the hotel. Almonds also featured.
The group holiday: this involved lots of careful planning - on the part of the organisers. I phoned them up, sent a list of the foods I can eat, and a list of the NOs, and a MENU (the most useful thing to do, gives the cook a projected outcome for meals). The cook was wonderful; the venue has a policy of making everyone feel at home, and she really did make sure I had plenty to eat at the big, communal evening meal. Breakfast was porage as usual. Lunch was oatcakes, hummous, hardboiled eggs, salad. Whenever we went out for the day, the cook made sure there were eggs for me. For the evening meal, she cooked me a separate dish every night. I ate broccoli, leeks, tuna fish, chickpeas and mixed beans all week!!! and picked up some new ideas. On the last night, she did a fennel leek and celery bake, with steamed broccoli and runner beans, and additional pumpkin seeds. One night there was a bean, leek and tuna bake - with added goat's yoghurt and chopped parsley. I loved the new idea to me of saute'd leeks with ginger. And there was a delicious chickpea herb and lemon bake - the rest of the group had theirs with onions, the cook very kindly did me a separate one without. And there was always salad. The only items I did take were almonds (kept these in my handbag!) and two tubs of goat's yoghurt, which I put in the fridge. One tub does me for the whole week, but I knew people would help themselves, and I didn't want to make a fuss, so I provided two, and it worked! (Not many people are brave enough to try goat's yoghurt - or go back for a second time).
The Hotel Breakfast
This was odd. They didn't offer porage, so I felt a bit short-changed on my breakfast! I ordered two fried eggs, and ate them with some extra butter. Then I took three pats of butter up to my room, spread them onto oatcakes for a second breakfast. But they did supply a pot of hot water and two thick slices of lemon. I didn't feel too embarrassed about eating the two eggs by themselves - my fellow travellers comprised a group of cyclists talking about how much they'd been drinking on their holiday and ordering poached eggs, albeit on toast.
My Lovely Daughter
Cooked chick peas with garlic & leeks, served with watercress. I left the olive oil with her...
Lots of Walking
So, in spite of the fact that I was eating loads of food and never once went hungry, I lost 5lb in weight! A stone and a half since May, and friends are all beginning to notice properly - the ones who've known me since I was slim all recognise I'm back to me old self, which is a real pleasure to have relfected back to me. Please, try this at home!
The Difficult Bits
Watching all the other people in my group eating roasted vegetable rissotto. It was agony! I love rissotto!!! The very big dish of tiramisu being handed around was quite tantalising, though I could comfort myself with the knowledge that it could never be as good as my friend J's tiramisu. A big vegetarian curry on the last night, with glistening naan breads, was likewise hard not to dip into - I was especially grateful for the treat of fennel and celery bake with pumpkin seeds that night, and I'm going to try that one myself.
No food pictures (have you ever tried whipping out your camera and flashing away at a plate of food in front of other people? Yes? I'd rather eat goat's yoghurt!!!) so here is sunrise over a sea...
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