Thursday and Joe's pasta

Joe does not handle illness quite as well as I do (ha!), and has got in a huff about having a runny nose and a sore throat, bless, so is making me do today's blog post even though it is definitely his turn!  Typical men hey?

In his infinite logic however, he did insist on cooking dinner tonight, and rustled up pasta with pesto, spinach, chicken and mushrooms.  It was a pretty good effort, which would have been well accompanied by a glass of wine, but we resisted the booze again - hurrah! 

Pasta with pesto, spinach, chicken and mushrooms

Wednesday - Circuits and Chicken

I REALLY couldn't be bothered, but I attended by first ever fitness class today - circuits! I had no idea what I expect but it was actually pretty good and I am glad I went. With the marathon looming ever closer, it seems that I need to strengthen my 'core' - ie/ abs and stuff. A quick look at my belly will show that I eat well, so I'll never be ripped but that has never bothered me - I just want to get round 26 miles in one piece.

So I'll be going again next week, and I'll be doing my best to convince Jo to come with me. I am sure she will blog about her thoughts in due course!

She has a pretty bad cold at the moment - poor little lamb! But I will never allow the food standards to drop, so while I was out getting sweaty, Jo slaved in the kitchen making a deliciously moist roast chicken with braised vegetables in a sherry sauce and roast potatoes....today is also our 3rd consecutive day off the booze, not a record for us yet but it's getting there!

The chicken. Leftovers for lunch!

Vegetables in a sherry sauce

Roast potatoes

All the good stuff

Tuesday - Back to Work!....Boo

After having such a hefty time off work, for some reason Tuesday and being back to work rolled round very quickly!  We both had a proper back-to-school feeling on Tuesday morning - struggling to get out of bed, do anything at any sort of speed, or feel remotely enthusiastic about the day ahead!  It probably didn't help that it was blowing a gale, pouring with rain, and bloody dark.  God, I hate January!

Anyways, much like the first day back at school, being back at work wasn't actually so bad!  It felt like everyone was still waking up from hibernation, but I'm sure that won't last!  Joe and I are both now struggling with disgusting illnesses too, but hey ho...  I do at least know how to make myself feel better - spicy stir fried turkey with cashews and green peppers and stir fried noodles with pak choi and broccoli.  Lots of leafy greens, ginger and chilli - the perfect way to blast out a cold!  Still no booze too....how very virtuous!

Turkey with cashews and green peppers

Stir fried noodles, broccoli and pak choi

Monday - Marathon Training & Poussin!

In May I am running my first (and possibly last) Marathon in Edinburgh and too be honest I am quite looking forward to it! This time in 2011 when I first pulled on the running shoes I literally couldn't run more than 10 minutes without stopping and wreching!!! I haven't got a great track record of keeping things up once I start (the blog is a joint effort) but for some reason I have kept running.....so with the training starting I ran my furthest distance so far - 14.1 miles which I was pretty pleased about. Still a way of 26 miles but it's a start!

As a reward for my efforts, Jo made one of my favouite meals - Poussin (this time with a spiced orange sauce) with chips and a salad....a scrumptious final day of the holidays meal!

New Years Day 2012

It's now Tuesday and we have been neglecting the blog. I suggested to Jo that we make it a weekly round-up of our meals but she was adamant that wasn't going to happen.....foodandbiscuits is a daily blog and that is what it will continue to be! The boss has spoken so it's time to get us up to date!

On New Years Day we woke up with no hangovers after our very tame but very enjoyable New Years Eve. We pottered about and watched movies....I Love You Man followed by the Girl With The Dragon Tattoo at the flicks followed by The Beginners; all good movies!!!

It was my turn in the kitchen, and after all the food over the festive period I wanted to keep it simple with turkey kebabs, cous cous and a simple salad....just the ticket!

Saturday - New Years Eve (Jo Girl)

Joe and I had a brilliant Christmas period on the Wirral and in Edinburgh, so it was a sad goodbye on New Years Eve when we headed back on the train to Leeds.  After such a busy few days, a low key night was definitely in order - a few drinks and some nice food close to home!

Me and Tom - who is clearly much more photogenic than me!

A post train snack - excellent cheese and crackers, courtesy of Cousins Rosie and Tom and Uncle John - really good cheese!

So close to home we did indeed go - to Sweet Basil in Roundhay!  Rock on!  But it was a good way to spend new year - tasty Chinese treats and some wine - great stuff.

We decided the least we could do is go a bit "off-piste" and not order our usual choices!  We also steered clear of the Thai dishes, as we have Thai food so often.  So for starters we had the lettuce wraps with minced chicken and stuffed crab claws.  The lettuce wrap was quite possibly the largest starter I have ever seen - a iceberg leaf full of chicken and mushrooms - with more leaves on the side!  It was really tasty, although challenging with the chop sticks.  The crab claws were stuffed with crab and prawn meat and deep fried.  It was a little underwhelming compared to the lettuce leaf, but still a good shout.

Pre-dinner rose bubbles

The obligatory prawn crackers

Stuffed crab claws

Lettuce wraps with chicken

For main courses, we went for sizzling fillet steak with green pepper and black bean, and peanut and chilli hot bean sauce with chicken, and some fried rice (a new year treat for Joe!).  The sizzling fillet was really good - lots of beautiful soft steak with a punchy sauce, juxtaposed with crunchy green peppers, and the chili hot bean chicken was a great match - equally hefty, packed with burning dried red chillis, fiery ginger and a sweet and savoury sauce. 

We gave the desserts a miss (sorry Hunter Pig!) - despite our intentions there was simply no room for the banana fritters we had promised ourselves.  We strolled home and settled down in front of Match of the Day, celebrating a crazy day of football with a limoncello and a whisky - starting our party-animal 2012 as we mean to go on!!

Sizzling beef with green peppers and black bean sauce

Chicken and peanut chilli hot bean sauce

limoncello and whisky - cheers to a new year!

Friday - Last night in Edinburgh

Our final evening at Chez Barcroft was with the Gebbies and lots of fun they are too! Dinner was appropriate for the occasion, with an array of party food and home made treats that allowed for maximum time to catch up with everyone prior to our departure the next day......They was was too much food to have all the photos on the blog, but take my word for it that it was quite the feast!

Prawns with chilli sauce

Mini pork pies - especially for Joe!

Mini Baked Potatoes

Chicken skewers

A trio of fish

Dessert - mini millionnaire shortbread and popping candy rice crispy cakes!