SO much has happened in this time, I don’t know where to begin or how much to tell you, but here is a bit of the story of my dramatic life!

• I felt that I was spending more time creating blog posts, commenting on posts, checking for new recipes than actually going out and having fun. This was making me quite unhappy so I decided to stop blogging for a while.
• I was really unhappy living in Enfield, I never went out life was so routine, there was a lot of focus on exercise in my life, I felt trapped and unhappy.
• My boyfriend at the time of all my previous posts is now my EX boyfriend and I am SO much happier!
• I have a new boyfriend who makes me SO happy, life is so more laid back, I laugh more, I go out more, I feel like I have so many more friends. I am HAPPY!

Another major change is that I have moved from Enfield, to my parents house for 3 months and now am living in Hertford with a random person I met through Spareroom.com – life is SO different! I’ve only been living here for 3 weeks but I love it so much. My new boyfriend has come round so much more than when I was living at home, I have so much freedom, I’m closer to work and I have rediscovered my love of cooking and baking again!

I haven’t done very much in the past 3 weeks but tonight I baked 12 cupcakes (samples for my friends wedding – hope to have pictures soon) and some Oat and Raisin cookies from The Hummingbird Bakery Cookbook. I don’t want to repeat the recipe as it will be plagiarism but if you want it please buy the book, I can’t recommend it highly enough!!

I won’t be updating this blog every day and maybe not every week. I am slowly getting back into cooking and baking so if I have something new to share with you I will! I hope you stick around and enjoy the recipes I will post!

Me sprinting towards the finish at the Race for Life – 29.31 mins oh yes!!!

The cakes I made for work’s second attempt at a 20th birthday party – Summer Upside Downer from Baking from My Home to Yours and a Pound Cake from the same book, sandwiched with jam and covered with icing. For the one I made last time see here and here. I also made some biscuits covered with whipped cream and a strawberry half – these went down a treat – and a swiss roll filled with whipped cream and raspberry compote.

The director of our company making a speech at the party.

My view of the England vs Slovenia match at the party – the bush was huge!

Free ice cream at half time from a real ice cream van – I had plain ice cream with chocolate sauce and a flake – NOM!

A new piece of furniture for all my baking stuff. It is a trolley with wheels at one end so I can drag it into the kitchen for more work space. I’m so pleased that all my things are out of the box, maybe I’ll use them a lot more now!

We watched the England vs Germany match in the pub and were so disappointed that we lost. I saw this poster on one of my friends Facebook profile and thought it was brilliant! (Not sure if you will understand this if you aren’t from the UK!)

It was my sister;s graduation from Reading Uni on Wednesday so I had a half day at work then met up with my family to see her graduate. It was a good day and I was so happy to see them all, even if it was for a day.

I hope you’ve liked a pictoral post today and thanks for sticking around to see if I would make a return!!

I will be checking out your blogs when I can and commenting, there just won’t be much going on here!

Helen

NOM!

OMG it was delicious! Tim had two of them (without the cheese) and declared that they were homemade versions of the Egg MacMuffin you can get from MacDonalds! I bet my versions are slightly more healthier for you…I hope so anyway! I also had a cup of coffee and a little bit of chocolate after that. It was much needed. I thought that it would hold me over until dinner but I was so wrong. I was soooooo hungry by about 5pm!

Even though I had a busy day, I still made dinner – what a good girlfriend I am! I am so glad that I chose to make Chicken Vegetable Pot Pie as it was the perfect thing to eat and quench my hunger. It has all the ingredients that I love – chicken, vegetables and pastry! The pastry is so the best part of this dish. The top layer is crunchy and the layer on the bottom is so soggy, just the way I like it! (Hope you don’t think I’m too weird!)

This meal takes about an hour and a half to make so is the perfect thing to make at a weekend. The prepping of the vegetables takes the longest but once that’s done you just stick the pie in the oven and leave it to cook. The recipe below serves 4 – 6 people but as usual I cooked the full recipe! Tim had two MASSIVE portions and I had two medium sized portions – we both had extra pastry! I definitely loved this meal, it was so worth all the effort!

This x 2!

Chicken Vegetable Pot Pie (Serves 4 – 6)

• 300g potatoes, peeled and diced
• Small butternut squash, peeled and diced
• 2 onions, chopped
• 4 chicken breasts, diced
• 50g butter
• 100g flour
• 240ml milk
• 700ml chicken stock
• 1 tbsp basil
• 1 tbsp oregano
• 4 carrots, peeled and diced
• green beans
• peas
• two sheets puff pastry

1. Place the potatoes and butternut squash in a pot of water and boil for 15 – 20 mins until soft. Preheat the oven to 180C/Gas Mark 4.
2. Place the onions, butter and chicken in a large pot and cook for 15 mins / until the chicken is cooked through.
3. Add in the flour, turn the heat down and cook for 3 mins.
4. Add in the milk, chicken stock, basil and oregano and turn the heat up. Allow to boil and thicken.
   

   Stock, Milk, Sauce

5. Add in enough green beans and peas that you want, along with the carrots and boiled potatoes and butternut squash. Stir together and add more water if too thick.
6. Place a sheet of puff pastry on the bottom of an ovenproof dish and prick with a knife / fork.
7. Pour the chicken vegetable filling into the dish, distributing it evenly.
8. Place the second sheet of puff pastry over the filling, crimping it at the sides to seal. Brush all over with some milk.
9. Cook in the oven for 40 – 45 mins. Enjoy!

So yesterday I prepared myself for the race. I set out all that I needed to take with me – water, iPod, spare shoes, a towel and my camera. I also stapled, we had no safety pins(!) my runners number and message to my t-shirt.

My race number

My message - Running for Hanne Manson (Tim's mum who has beaten cancer) and Dorthe Nielsen (Tim's Aunt who has cancer) and all others suffering today - Keep Strong.

I was so nervous last night as this would be my first proper race, I didn’t quite know what to expect……

So this morning I got up and had my staple breakfast for a run – peanut butter on toast.

This is such a great breakfast to have before running as it doesn’t sit heavy in my stomach and fuels me well. I didn’t get really hungry until we were driving back from the race. After breakfast I put on my running gear and got my things together and we were off!

It took us ages to find a parking space as all the roads near the park were closed and police were standing in them to make sure no-one parked down them. Once we finally found a place to park we walked up to the park. There was such a lot of pink on show!! Here are a few pictures to give you an idea of the atmosphere:After a quick warm up we were split into three groups: runners, joggers and walkers. The runners group was meat to be for people who would run all the way and aim to do it in under 30 mins. I decided to go in this group as I knew that this is what I wanted to do. Let me tell you though, so many people in this group did NOT run all the way, some were walking before the 1km mark!! I wasn’t too far back in this group and crossed the start line about 15 secs after the start of the race – I timed myself on my iPod so I could get my actual time.

The actual race was so good – we ran through the woods and then out onto some grassy area, it was very multi-terrain! It started off ok with a run down a long road, followed by running downhill – yay! I did feel that I started off quite quickly to keep up with some of the people around me. I was worried that I had set off too quickly but I was feeling ok…..that was until the hills started! I powered up the first hill but had to stop for a short walk at the top to rest! It was draining! That was about 15 mins into the race so I thought ‘oh that’s good, I’m about halfway’. I hadn’t seen any markers as I was running so didn’t really know how far we had actually gone. But around the next corner was a marker – 3km. I made it there in about 17 mins so was pleased that my 30 min goal was still on.

The grass area was great as it was downhill for the majority of it so I got a bit of a break there and passed a lot of people. But the worst was still to come! As we ran down the hill there was a marshall telling everyone their positions, I was no 76! I was so pleased. He also said that there was 500m to go…..so not true! That was the longest 500m I’ve ever run, it was all uphill! I had to stop again as I felt very dodgy all of a sudden, too much water I think, so was passed by a lot of people. However, when I could see the finish line was close I started to run again and did pass a few of those that had passed me. The finish line was the start (if that makes sense!) and we had to run round a corner onto the road. When I turned the corner I could see that the time said 29.38 so I sprinted down the final 100m or so!! I had to get under 30 mins! When I crossed the line their timer said 29.45 mins but as I stopped my iPod my actual time was 29.31 mins!!

I am soooooo pleased that I achieved my goal of running 5km in sub-30 mins. I wasn’t too sure about this goal when I got there as there were so many people, I thought they were going to hold me up. But I did it! I think I was definitely in the top 100 runners, not bad for a race with about 5000 runners in! I crossed the line extremely sweaty and in need of a lot of water!

My medal!

We got given a goody bag and a commemorative medal when we crossed the line. (God I look bad in this photo!) I then met up with Tim’s parents and Tim for pictures (oh great!) and a stretch down. I think I will do this next year as it is a great course and a fantastic atmosphere. It is also in aid of a brilliant cause – Together we will beat cancer!

After the high that was the food, the football was very disappointing. It was like England never turned up and looked like their hearts weren’t in it. Everyone is blaming the manager for playing people out of position, we are so not going to win the World Cup. I picked England in my work sweepstake as well so that will be £20 I don’t win!

Anyways, onto the highlight of my day yesterday – Overnight Oats! I can’t believe it has taken me so long to try them, they were delicious. I mixed together my base on Thursday night – 1/2 cup oats, 1/2 cup milk, 1/2 cup fromage frais.

Oats, Milk, Yogurt

Mixed together

Oooops, spillage! I then covered the mix and left it in the fridge overnight. The next morning I was so excited to see what they looked like and had a quick peek before I got in the shower! The mixture was definitely larger as the oats had soaked up a lot of the moisture.

In the morning

I topped my oats with a banana and a handful of chopped almonds. That combo is definitely a winner! The oats were very creamy and the almonds added just the right amount of crunch. Next time I might up the amount I put in at the start as it didn’t really hold me over until lunctime. Maybe more oats are needed!!

So onto my eats. Breakfast today was a repeat of Tuesday but with a twist – Oats with two Weetabix on top and a sprinkling of Cheerios.

This is fast becoming another cereal favourite of mine. I just love how the oats and Weetabix soak up all the milk and become creamy. Then the Cheerios give just the right amount of crunch. The only bad thing is that it doesn’t keep me filled up until lunchtime. Maybe because there isn’t enough oats – gotta get more oats!

I was absolutely starving by 1pm but wasn’t able to have my lunch as I went on a little shopping spree…..don’t worry bank account it wasn’t for me, it was for my best friend at home. It’s her birthday on Monday so I got her a few presents that I’m going to send to her in the post.

I got her the 3rd Twilight book (I know she loves Edward!), a card, some cute bracelets, a hairband and some cool socks. It doesn’t seem like much but I can at least send this in the post so she’ll have it to open on Monday. Not sure whether to wrap them though or as they will be in an envelope I don’t need to……

When I finally got back to work I devoured lunch – a chicken salad sandwich, a banana and a little pot of mixed nuts and raisins. Oh yes, a normal lunch for me!

After work today I went to the gym and once again it was heaving! All the treadmills and cross trainers were full so once again I did a bike workout. I was a bit disappointed as I was hoping to do some ellipticalising (if that’s a word!) for 45 mins. But my bike ride was actually knackering! I think it was because I rode on Tuesday so my legs were still a bit tired. I did 30 mins, alternating between level 4 and 3 (five mins on each) and covered 11.4km. I then jumped on the only free treadmill to do a five minute cool down. I ran at 8km/hr for 5 mins. My groin was actually ok which is good, it did twinge a bit but after the first minute I didn’t really notice it. I left the gym feeling very very sweaty and like I had done a good workout.

I then rushed home to a DELICIOUS dinner – half a Cornish pasty and half a Steak and Stilton pasty with mashed potato, roasted red onion, butternut squash and parsnips and onion gravy (god that was a mouthful!) All of this was lovingly prepared by Tim (thanks baby!). He did all the peeling of the veggies by himself as I was in the gym. He said he felt like he was a chef!! I am going to let the pictures tell the story of this delicious dinner!

Left: Steak and Stilton on left, Cornish Pasty on right / Right: My portion

I can’t get over how good this was! We were originally going to have vegetarian haggis with mashed potato and roast veg but there was none in the shops booo. So Tim decided on the next best thing. The pasties were truly delicious, especially the Steak and Stilton one as you could really taste the Stilton. Love the cheese! My portion was quite huge actually and I did leave some of the veggies so I had room to finish the pastry and mashed potato! Ok so pasties aren’t the most healthy of foods, and this isn’t the most healthy of meals, but I was so hungry after the gym I devoured it and loved every bite!

For lunch I had something a bit different to what I usually have – Ryvita wafers with cheese slices and tomato. After my carb fest yesterday I wanted something really light for lunch. I had four wafers with half a slice of Danish cheese on each and two slices of chopped tomatoes.

It was a really nice lunch, even though the cheese had sweated a bit! It was nice and light and I had room for the rest of my lunch – a banana and a pot of mixed nuts and raisins. I feel like I’m being really repetitive with my lunch, but the banana / nut combo really works for me. Apologies if you are tired of the same thing!

For dinner I made Butternut Squash Risotto. Last time I made this I didn’t roast the butternut squash pieces for long enough and Tim complained that they were too hard. So today I made sure they were perfectly roasted! I was really pleased with it today as the rice was nice and creamy. It was really filling though, maybe the rice still expands in my tummy!

So onto the survey – I found this on Hillary’s blog and thought that I would steal it for myself – thanks Hillary! I love doing surveys as   I think they are a great way for others to find out little snippets about me. This will be my second survey on here, the first can be found here.

Favorite cookie?

White Chocolate and Macadamia from Ben’s Cookies – they serve them just warm….delicious!

Favorite way to eat oatmeal?

With raisins and almonds mixed in and a sprinkling of cinnamon.

Favorite snack?

I have a new found love for 9 Bars! I need to stock up on some more.

Favorite sandwich combo?

Tuna, sweetcorn and mayonaise with cucumber slices and lettuce.

Are you a vegetarian?

No way, I love my meat way too much! I do try to eat vegetarian once in a while as I do think that too much meat is bad for me, especially red meat, but I could never not eat meat again….think of all the roast dinner I would miss out on!

Favorite vegetarian product?

I don’t really eat vegetarian products like tofu or tempeh…….maybe couscous if that counts!

Favorite yogurt?

I love Tesco’s Fromage Frais, so creamy, but I also like the luxury yogurts, especially the strawberries and cream flavour.

Favorite fruit?

Tough one….bananas, apples and strawberries are all on an equal footing here!

Favorite dried fruit?

Not a big fan of dried fruit so I would say dried cranberries / craisins. They are great added to baked goods!

Favorite veggie?

Another tough one, I love nearly all veggies (except for carrots…eww!) but I especially love courgettes, mushrooms and butternut squash.

Favorite comfort food meal?

Anything with pasta! It is quick and easy and I can add my favourite comfort ingredient to it, cheese!

Favorite restaurant?

We don’t really eat out a lot but I do love going to Bella Italia as they have a great range of pasta and pizza dishes and some fab desserts.

Favorite beverage?

You can’t beat a nice cool glass or orange squash in the morning – I’m such a child!

Favorite way to take your coffee at home?

With milk and preferably a slice of cake on the side!

Favorite cracker?

Not majorly into crackers…..do Ryvita’s count?

Favorite dessert?

The toughest question of them all! I love: cheesecakes, crumbles, ice cream, anything chocolately or lemony….the list goes on!

Favorite condiment?

Definitely sour cream, I love piling it onto my plate when we have chilli!

Favorite way to eat tortilla chips?

With tomato sauce, jalapeno peppers and a lot of cheese melted over the top a.k.a. Nachos!

Favorite fast food restaurant?

I really don’t t eat fast food but I suppose Subway probably counts towards this. I only have this about once a year, if not less!

Do you watch the food network?

Nope, I can’t get it on my TV…probably a good thing otherwise I would be glued to it all day!

Favorite food network show?

See above!

Favorite salad combo?

I love a good Caesar salad, not the best for you, but grilled chicken and bacon with salad are a match made in heaven.

Favorite bagel?

Smoked salmon and cream cheese – so posh!

Do you like cream cheese or peanut butter on your bagel?

Definitely cream cheese.

Favorite bar?

I don’t go out to bars really as they aren’t my cup of tea but I do like relaxing in pubs with a cold drink and good company.

Favorite peanut butter?

Anything crunchy.

Favorite almond butter?

Have never had it (shock, horror!)

Favorite cereal?

Another toughie….I love oats, hot and cold, but also love granola, Shreddies, Weetabix, Shredded Wheat….our cereal space is packed!

What milk product do you use on your cereal?

Semi-skimmed milk

Favorite nut?

Brazil nuts, especially covered in chocolate!

Favorite candy?

Not a big lover of candy, much more prefer chocolate in any shape or form!

Favorite ethnic food?

Indian, I love a good curry.

Favorite tea?

I hate tea!!

Favorite indulgence?

Chocolate for sure! I usually pick a Galaxy bar as it is so creamy.

Do you like margaritas?

I’ve never had one!

Do you like pickles?

Nope, disgusting!

Are you into spicy food?

Yes, definitely. I don’t like really really spicy things but a bit of a kick is fine with me.

Favorite way to eat a banana?

Au naturel – normally!

Favorite way to eat an apple?

In a crumble or pie!

Favorite apple variety?

Golden Delicious

Are you good at eating with chopsticks?

No, horrendous!

Favorite fruit juice?

Orange (no bits!) or mango and passionfruit Innocent smoothie.

Favorite alcoholic beverage?

Gin and bitter lemon / Gin and tonic.

Favorite tropical fruit?

Pineapple.

Hands down favorite food ever?

How can I choose, I love so many things! I’m such a foodaholic!

I hope you have enjoyed finding out more about me. Do fill the survey in for yourself, it would be great to find out about your food loves too.

I started my day with a new sort of breakfast – 2 Weetabix on a bed of oats with chopped almonds and milk. I have bought yet another type of cereal as it enticed me in Tesco on Saturday! I love cereal so much, I love having the choice in the morning.

This was definitely a good choice. The oats soaked up the milk and stopped the Weetabix getting too soggy. They were just right. The nuts added a great crunch to the texture too.

When lunch rolled round I was sort of hungry, so decided to wait for a bit to make a phonecall. I have to get my car serviced and wanted to know how much the garage near me could do it for – £185 is the starting rate, it’s so expensive!

So lunch was leftover pasta from Sunday – Sausage Bake.

Tim did this portion for me and it was huge! I didn’t think I could eat it all but I powered through and manage to down the lot! I was quite full afterwards, so waited about half an hour before eating Part 2 of my lunch – a banana and a pot of mixed nuts and raisins.

After work I went to the gym – it was so busy! Maybe nobody went yesterday, they were definitely here today! I was hoping to get on the crosstrainer but they were all full so I jumped on a stand-up bike. Ever since my visit to Kew Gardens at the weekend I have had a pain in my right groin which gets worse when I’ve sat down for a while. I’ve decided not to do any running until Thursday as I don’t want to make it worse and I don’t want a disappointing run. I set the bike for 45 mins and powered away, covering 16.9km. I kept it at the same level (3) and pushed myself every 5 mins. It wasn’t the greatest of workouts but it was a workout none the less and it got my heart pumping. What sort of exercises do you do when you are ‘injured’? Do you like the change of workout or miss what you normally do?

When I got home I was greeted by the sight of dinner – Pasta Pancetta. This is one on Tim’s dishes and I don’t really know the recipe, I’ll have to get it from him for next time.

Basically it’s pasta mixed with a homemade sauce of cherry tomatoes, a yellow pepper, bacon and tomato puree. It’s delicious served with loads of Parmesan sprinkled on top. As you know, I love cheese and this is a great excuse to load up with cheese!! As I had pasta for lunch I only had one medium sized portion of this. I am feeling like an Italian with all this pasta I’ve eaten today! I really need some veggies tomorrow or something less heavy at least!

My dinner

chicken salad sandwich, banana and a little pot of mixed nuts and raisins.

It was really nice to come home and cook after my bad day, it really helped to relax me. I took out all my anger on the vegetables when I was chopping them! At least this stopped me from ranting to Tim about everything! For dinner this evening I made Chicken, Chorizo and Chickpea. I first made this whilst I was at uni and the method that I have written down is different to how I make it now. The original calls for a lot of different pans, too many to juggle on our small stove, so I now just make it all in one pot. This is so much simpler and in my book, simple is the best!

We haven’t had this for ages and I had forgotten how nice it was. The chorizo adds such a Spanish smoky flavour to it which I love, and the sauce is a great red/orange colour. I also love the veggies in this – red pepper and carrots. Carrots are NOT my favourtite vegetable but I’m happy to eat them with other things if their flavour is disguised! They were quite hard today and this was a nice contrast to the soft pepper and chicken. This recipe is perfect for an overcast day, like today, as the warming taste of Spain really comes through in this dish.

Chicken, Chorizo and Chickpea (Serves 4)

• 1 onion, chopped
• 2 garlic cloves, crushed
• 4 chicken breasts, chopped
• 150g chorizo, sliced then quartered
• 1 red pepper, sliced
• 2 carrots, peeled and diced
• 400g can chopped tomatoes
• 200ml chicken stock
• 400g can chickpeas
• tomato puree

1. Heat 1 tbsp oil in a pan, then add in the onions, garlic and chicken and cook for 10 minutes until the chicken is cooked.
2. Add in the chorizo, pepper and carrots and cook for another 5 mins.
3. Add in the chopped tomatoes, stock and chickpeas and cook for another 3 mins.
4. Add in a good squeeze of tomato puree, then leave to simmer for 15 – 20 mins until the mixture has thickened.

Serve with long grain rice. Enjoy!



Dinner!

For dessert I think we will make a start on the chocolate that Tim bought from Marks & Spencer today. When he text me about work I said I wanted to come home and eat chocolate. Luckily he was passing town on his way back from work so popped in to M&S to get us some. I think he needs it as much as I do, he’s really been suffering with hayfever today. Hope you all have great evenings.

M&S Chocolate - yum!