Wine & Potatoes

"Stuart MacBride has scrubbed toilets offshore, flunked out of university, set up his own graphic design company, got dragged into the heady world of internet, developed massive applications for the oil industry, drunk heaps of wine and created the perfect recipe for mushroom soup. He is the author of the highly acclaimed Cold Granite, also featuring DS Logan McRae. Stuart MacBride lives in north-east Scotland with his wife Fiona and enough potatoes to feed an army."

I just had to share this. I'm absolutely addicted to MacBride's books and when I read the back flap of his novels, I totally laughed. His sense of humor and wit is so perfect, even in a story of crime, murder and mystery.

Find more at http://www.stuartmacbride.com/ and http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Stuart_MacBride.

Spring is Sprung

I think spring is officially sprung in the Land of the Lion. There's even some pretty purple and yellow blooms sprouting in the grass in the parks. The UK celebrates Mother's Day in April, so there have been cards and flowers up for sale like crazy. I had to pick up a few groceries at Tesco today and saw some colorful pink tulips and yellow daffodils and had to have them. They spruce up the flat and put a bit of, er, spring in my step.

In honor of St. Patrick's day this week, I think I'm going to try my hand at a red velvet cake and frosting recipe - all from scratch, courtesy of baker blogger extraordinaire Bakerella. Dun dun duuunnn. I'm not much of a baker but the instructions are straight forward enough and I looked up Asda's web site to be sure they had all the ingredients. Plus, making cake balls will be a new trick that might just come in handy for parties and get togethers. Dominick, Brittany, Emily and Michael will all be back in Aberdeen in time to celebrate with us, so I figured having guests to help us eat the sweet stuff would be a good excuse for making them in the first place!

Photo from Bakerella.com

I still need to write up a blog entry on our fantastic overnight trip to Edinburgh on Saturday. We had such a good time (minus a lot of walking and waiting for a cab for 1.5 hours at like 2am). Here's a couple photos to give you a sneak peek... go on, I know you were dying to see them.

I also created a brand spankin' new recipe for dinner tonight, which I'll do my best to get posted this week. It's good and spicey, mmmm. Lots to come this week, so stay tuned. Happy Monday!

Every Woman Should Have...

Every Woman Should Have...

 ...one old love she can imagine going back to, and one who reminds her of how far she has come.

...enough money within her control to move out and rent a lace of her own, even if she never wants to and needs to.

...something perfect to wear if the employer or date of her dreams wants to see her in an hour.

...a youth she is content to leave behind.

...a past juicy enough that she is looking forward to retelling it in her old age.

...the realization that she is actually going to have an old age and some money set aside to fund it.

...a set of screwdrivers, a cordless drill, and a black lace bra.

...one friend who always makes her laugh, and one who lets her cry.

...a good piece of furniture not previously owned by anyone else in her family.

...eight matching plates, wine glasses with stems, and a recipe for a meal that will make her guests feel honored.

...a resume that is not even the slightest bit padded.

...a feeling of control over her destiny.



Every Woman Should Know...

...how to fall in love without losing herself.

...how to quit a job, break up with a lover, and confront a friend without ruining the friendship.

...when to try harder, and when to walk away.

...how to have a good time at a party she'd never choose to attend.

...how to ask for what she wants in a way that makes it most likely she'll get it.

...that she can't change the length of her calves, the width of her hips, or the nature of her parents.

...that her childhood may not have been perfect, but it is over.

...what she would and wouldn't do for love or more.

...how to live alone, even if she doesn't like it.

...who she can trust, who she can't and why she shouldn't take it personally.

...where to go, be it to her best friend's kitchen table, or a charming inn in the woods when her soul needs soothing.

...what she can and can't accomplish in a day...month...and a year.


~Pamela Redmond Satran

Moovin' Monday: Week 3

Whew, am I tired. Wish I could say it is because I worked out seven times last week and didn't slip up and eat anything bad. But that won't be the case and my honesty policy requires me to confess that I did *not* get in my planned Thursday and Friday workouts last week. :(  Thursday I was miserably ill and Friday was a busy day with friends from Texas arriving that afternoon. (But at least I still got in three solid workouts...) On top of it all, I joined in the fish and chips dinner Friday evening and later had a slice of booze-induced late night pizza - not ideal during the month in which I have pledged to forego fried food! But I'm not getting down because I didn't have a perfect week. We did a LOT of walking while we were in Edinburgh and my legs are definitely feeling it. So at least I didn't sit on the couch and eat bon bons. But between all that eating and drinking we did, I need to work hard this week to make some positive progess. Here's the plan...

Workouts and dinners this week:

Monday - spin class, 45 min/ red pepper chicken and veggies
Tuesday - baked pork chops, salad and corn/squash/pepper veg mix
Wednesday (St. Patrick's Day!) - kickboxing class, 45 min/ chicken fajitas
Thursday - Shred DVD, 20 min/ homemade shrimp fetticuini alfredo
Friday - elliptical, 30-45 min/ Greek chicken with "everything orzo"
Saturday - castle tour & distillery tour with cousin = lots of walking/ dinner out but no chips and fried fish!! :)
Sunday - soup & sandwiches

My Recipes: Chicken Chutney One-Pot

I was so pleased with this recipe and love the medley of fruit with the chicken--plus I actually remembered to take pictures of the finished product--so without further ado here's my take on Rachael Ray's Chicken Chutney One-Pot dish.

•2 pounds skinless, boneless chicken thigh and/or breast pieces, cut into large chunks
•Salt and pepper
•2 tablespoons extra-virgin olive oil (EVOO)
•2 tablespoons butter
•1 onion, chopped
•1 small apple, peeled and chopped
•1/2 cup dried apricots, chopped
•1/4 cup dried cranberries
•1/4 cup dark or golden raisins
(instead of all these separate dried fruits, I had a half-bag of mixed dried raisins and berries and just threw those into the pan)
•2 tablespoons cider vinegar
•Few dashes of ground ginger
•1 teaspoon ground cumin
•1/4 teaspoon ground cinnamon
•1 cup chicken stock
•1/3 cup apricot preserves
•2 tablespoons grainy mustard
•Crusty whole grain bread, for mopping
(added butter, salt, pepper, dried herbs and a light slathering of chopped marinated garlic for some yummy toasted French bread!)

Season the chicken with salt and pepper. In a large skillet, heat the EVOO over medium-high heat. Add the chicken and cook, turning once, for 5 minutes on each side; transfer to a plate.

Add the butter to melt, then add the onion and apple; season with salt and pepper. Cook until the vegetables are slightly softened, about 5 minutes.

Stir in the dried fruit, vinegar, ginger, cumin and cinnamon, scraping the pan. Stir in the chicken stock, apricot preserves and mustard and lower the heat. Return the chicken to the pan and simmer until the dried fruit is plumped, about 5 minutes.(*Note: I may have used a little too much chicken stock and it was a bit watery, so I just simmered a little longer to condense the sauce.) Serve with the bread.