February Book Update

This year, I'm just going to keep track of books I read as I go through the year - not worrying about how many books I have waiting to be read or anything like that. So each month's roundup will just be a picture collage showing the books I've read, with a running tally for each month. I think I'll break down new (to me) books and re-reading as well. And maybe pick a favourite each month. This could change as the year goes on... Once again, I'll set my goal as 100 books - it's about what I have time for, more or less.

So, in February:  new (to me) books read: 6; books re-read:  0
Favourite Book in February: Heart of a Samurai by Margi Preus

in January:  new (to me) books read: 6; books re-read: 3
Favourite book in January:  Once Upon a River, Diane Setterfield

• I read a book I picked up in the charity shop by an author I've enjoyed before (History of the Rain by Niall Williams)
• I read the second in a series that Alex recommended to me, which I've been enjoying (The Rose Cord, JD Oswald)
• I read a couple of children's books which I've had in a stack waiting to go to my classroom (Tiger Heart by Penny Chrimes, A Pinch of Magic by Michelle Harrison, Heart of  a Samurai by Margi Preus)
• I read one book which was passed on by a friend a while back (The Collini Case by Ferdinand von Schirach)

I didn't have as much time as I might have liked for reading this month, despite my week off, as I was involved in a lot of things which required me to deal with them in the evening, which is my main reading time. Hopefully, March will be better.

29/2/20: Beetroot and Coconut Curry

This was a recipe suggestion in the leaflet with our veggie box, and I thought it was a nice thing to try to use beetroot a little differently (usually we roast it, which I love). This was nice - and the sauce that the tomato and juices make with the rice was excellent, but it's a little too much beetroot just on its own. Would be really nice as one dish of several curries, for a little more variety. But the curry spices work nicely with the beetroot. 

Book 15: Heart of a Samurai, Maggie Preus

This was great - a children's book based loosely on a true story (it's about a real person, though some of it is imagined).  Fascinating!

Book 14: The Collini Case, Ferdinand von Schirach

This was passed to me by a friend, and was very good. Not quite what I expected - I think I expected more of a legal thriller, and this was different, though better for it. Don't really want to say too much as that would be a spoiler, but it was an excellent read.

Dinner, 26/2/20: Pea & Courgette Fritters

...as if there weren't enough pancakes yesterday... These are a savoury fritter (but very similar in some ways to an American style pancake) with grated courgette and peas. Often, I use feta in them, but I didn't have any, so this time I just used other cheese. Still nice!

Dinner, 25/2/20: Broccoli with butterbeans and pinenuts, carrots

This was another nice way to use broccoli - the recipe used purple sprouting broc, but I cut the calabrese broc really thinly so it would work similarly. It was very tasty, with a nice contrast of textures.  We didn't need a big dinner, as it was pancake day, so we knew we'd be gorging on pancakes for dessert...

Dinner, 24/2/20: Black Bean Burritos

Always popular - with or without cheese and sour cream, depending. Vegan friendly!

Dinner, 23/2/20: Goat Cheese and Pesto Canneloni

Book 13: Heart of a Samurai by Margi Preus

Another children's book - this is one that Alex read ages ago, and when we recently cleared out his bookcases, it seemed like it might be age-appropriate for my class.  I really enjoyed this - it's based on a real person, a 19th centuary Japanese fisherman (boy) who gets stranded by a storm, and then rescued by an American whaling ship, and spends time working on whaling ships and living in the US - he's believed to be the first Japanese person to set foot in mainland America.  Anyway, an interesting story, well told. 

Dinner, 21/2/20: Stir Fried Veg with Noodles

In a week where I've not been in for dinner at all (due to helping with Gang Show) it was nice to have a night where I could cook and eat at home. Still went to Gang Show, but tonight, as an audience member rather than a backstage helper, which meant I didn't have to be there at 6, but rather, after 7.

Book 13: A Pinch of Magic, Michelle Harrison

Another children's title - I have a pile waiting on the side, which I want to read before taking into my classroom, and as I'm a bit tired at present, they are a good alternative to heavier adult fiction.  This was a nice story of magic, in an unusual way, mixing past and present, and I enjoyed it.

Dinner, 17/2/20: Roast Squash, Broccoli Salad, Salmon

The broccoli salad here, which I searched out as we've had a lot of broccoli in our box lately, and I was searching for something different to do with it, is from Hugh Fearnley Wittingstall's book Veg, which was given to me by a friend.  It's a lovely Asian style salad, really nice, and went well with the squash, which I roasted with five spice powder and sesame oil, and the salmon, where I used a teriyaki merinade.

Be More Eco 5: Veg without Packaging...

In addition to trying to buy unpackaged fruit and veg at the supermarket (harder than you might think) or the local greengrocer (a bit more successful), we get a weekly veg box (and a fruit box).  Very little in the box comes in packaging. The cherry tomatoes you can see peeping through are in a cardboard punnet, and mushrooms come that way as well and a lot of the soft fruit comes in punnets - mostly cardboard, even the blueberries now, though the lids are still plastic. It's getting there.  Otherwise, there's not a lot of packaging - potatoes come in a paper bag to help reduce the spread of dirt, and salad leaves (though not whole lettuces) still come in a plastic bag. Compared to what you'd get in the supermarket, it's a big improvement.  The large cardboard boxes are reusable and are collected back each week when a new delivery comes. They claim to use them ten times, but personally, I bet they are good for many more deliveries than that.

The farmers' market offers most of its fruit and veg unpackaged - and even where punnets are used (e.g. the sprouts and new potatoes shown at the front of this photo) aren't given to you in the punnet - when sold, they'll tip them into a paper bag (or your own bag, if you like). 

Dinner, 16/2/20: Parsnip (and carrot) Pilaf

This was tasty - the rice is cooked with grated parsnip as well as having the roast parsnips on top. I didn't have quite as many parsnips as the recipe called for, so I added some carrots to the roasting tin. The sauce is herbs and citrus juice. Yummy!  Recipe from BBC Good Food.

Book 12: Tiger Heart by Penny Chrimes

Picked this one up in Waterstones recently as a potential book for my classroom book corner, and I enjoyed it. It was a nice change from the more traditional magic/magical realism you find in a lot of children's books (wizards, witches, faeries, etc). A good story.

Dinner, 15/2/20: Sweet & Sour Crispy Tofu

This is from the cookbook Bosh!  and we've had it before - it was a request from Geoff, and he's right - it's really tasty. I love the sweet and sour flavours and the homemade dish is so much less cloying than you often get in a takeaway. 

Book 11: The Rose Cord, J D Oswald

Second in the series. I'm glad there are five because a) I can't really see how it's going to resolve in three and b) I'm enjoying them. 

(borrowed from Alex)

Book 10: History of the Rain, Niall Williams

I've read several Niall Williams titles before, and am always pleased with them, as he writes well, and very lyrically. I enjoyed this extra because of all the literary references, though it did take me a long time (for me) to read it - not sure why, perhaps just tired in the run up to half-term. 

(purchased in a charity shop in New Malden, 27 Dec 2019)

Dinner, 14/2/20: Thai Curry with Hearts of Palm

Served this with noodles this time (often we serve it with rice) and this time, it had both pork and chicken in it, as I had one chicken breast and a small piece of pork fillet in the freezer, waiting to be used. Put in some extra chilis, in addition to the curry paste (yellow was what I had in the fridge), which made it extra nice.

Dinner, 12/2/20; Ravioli with Artichoke sauce

These ravioli were from the farmers' market, two different types (one with roasted beetroot, hence the red). I made a sauce with olive oil, lemon juice, garlic and artichokes. Yum.  Plus we had a big salad.

Dinner, 11/2/20: Cauliflower, Broccoli & Blue Cheese Soup

This blended soup was made from lots of leftover bits and pieces which were in the fridge - the stems from the cauliflower and broccoli, if you are only using the florets, the leaves from the outside of the cauliflower (sometimes I roast these, sometimes not) and a few other bits and pieces.  No point in all these things going to waste!

Dinner, 10/2/20: Prawn and Courgette Curry

This was a nice prawn curry; I added courgettes to bulk it out and make sure we had some veg. Yum. 

Dinner, 9/2/20: Potato, Cheese & Onion Bake

This is essentially a gratin, but I added extra onions, as we had a bit of a glut. Really lovely and creamy. Served with a large salad on the side, this was comfort eating of a high order.

Dinner, 8/2/20: Spiced Parsnip Bubble and Squeak

I've done this before using shredded sprouts, here we did it with Savoy cabbage. It didn't hold together as a cake, on this making, perhaps because I used some carrots instead of just parsnips (which mash up more), but no matter, it was still tasty. Served with a light tomato sauce. 

Dinner, 7/2/20: Carrot & Chickpea Tagine

Served with couscous - a nice easy dish if you need to use up a surplus of carrots.

Dinner, 5/2/20: Bang Bang Chicken

This is one of Alex's favourite dishes - chicken with cucumber, spring onion and a peanuty sauce.  As it was his birthday, we decided to have it!

Dinner, 4/2/20: Vegetable Jalfrezi

A nice vegetable curry - yum!

Dinner, 3/2/20: Curried Carrot Fritters, Brussels Flowers

We've had these a number of times now - they are very tasty and are an excellent recipe for using up carrots, if you end up with a glut.  I confess, I've never made the fully vegan version, and just throw in an egg instead of the flax seed, for binding. But I'm sure the fully vegan version is great, too.  When I have carrots with tops, I use the tops in the fritters, this time, I just used various herbs I had knocking around.    Recipe here.

Dinner, 2/2/20: Roasted Squash with bacon & feta, cabbage

I love a bit of roasted squash - I had forgotten how much until we started getting an interesting variety of squash in our veggie box (not just the butternut which seems to be the mainstay of British supermarkets, and which, don't get me wrong, is fine, but...).  So consquently, I've been inflicting a lot of it on my family during this squash season. This one is a red kuri, from the farmers' market (they just sit there looking so pretty...)

Dinner, 1/2/20: Cod, Swiss Chard, Chips

Now that January is over, there will be a bit of meat and fish on the blog, though we still don't eat a huge amout of either.  However, today I was at the farmers' market and picked up some nice cod, while the Swiss chard was from our veggie box this week. Geoff cooked as I had to collect Alex from rehearsal, complicated by having to go an awkward way due to our level crossing being shut for works this weekend...

Book 9: The Venetian Masquerade, Philip Gwynne Jones

Third in the series, which I enjoyed. It's not as good a series as the Donna Leon Brunetti books, but I still enjoy a crime novel and a novel set in Venice, so I like these.  Finished the very last chapter today, but I'm counting it as a January read.

(bought from Waterstones online, June 2019)

January Round Up

WHAT WAS  FOR DINNER, JANUARY 2020

• 31st: Dinner out at Wahaca (early birthday celebration for Alex)
• 30th: Fend for yourself Thursday
• 29th: Ras-el-hanout Roasted Chickpeas with Broccoli and Halloumi
• 28th: Mushroom & Aubergine Curry
• 27th: Sweet Potato, Black bean and Caramelised Onion Quesadillas
• 26th: Jerusalem Artichoke Soup
• 25th: Lime and Double Ginger Noodles
• 24th: Gnocchi with fresh tomato sauce
• 23rd: Fend for yourself Thursday
• 22nd: Pasta with Potatoes and Sweet Potatoes
• 21st: Stuffed Peppers
• 20th: Tacos de Papas Neuvas
• 19th: Green Bean, Halloumi & Potato Bake
• 18th: Potato Pockets, Squash, Brussels
• 17th: Brussels Sprout & Blue Cheese Mac & Cheese
• 16th: Fend for yourself Thursday
• 15th: Mushroom & Chard Frittata
• 14th: Cauliflower & Sweet Potato Biryani
• 13th: Courgette & Black Bean Quesadillas
• 12th: Spanakopita, Salad
• 11th: Cashew & Veg Stir Fry
• 10th: Courgette & Lemon Spaghetti
• 9th: Fend for yourself Thursday
• 8th: Lentil Shepherd's Pie with Butternut Squash
• 7th: Spinach & Chickpea Curry
• 6th: Peanut Butter & Broccoli Pad Thai
• 5th: Butterbean Stew
• 4th: Roast Vegetables with Couscous
• 3rd: Black Bean Burritos
• 2nd: Vegan Lancashire Hotpot
• 1st: Leek & Cheese Pithivier