Midweek miscellany

So, Wednesday already. Bonfire night tonight (although we were out driving on Saturday evening and could see fireworks going off for miles all around). There's a bonfire party at a pub up the road but I suspect it'll be packed out and I'm not sure whether being jostled around with a two-year-old in tow is the best idea. Maybe we'll feel braver later this evening...

November has well and truly arrived, bringing with it plenty of chilly weather and the faintest whiff of Christmas. For me that whiff is Eau de Panic: time to try and save a little money each week to ease the load. We don't 'do' extravagant gifts but I really like to buy some indulgent food from more a more upscale supermarket - ahem - Booths.

Christmas this year will be sad having so recently lost my mum. But it'll be exciting too - Joe will have a much firmer grasp of what's going on this time around and I'm hoping for a snowfall.

Anyway, enough talk of Christmas. Back to the week just past.

I'm trying to lose a bit of weight at the moment. My favourite jeans are way too small and even my looser ones are, well, snug. So it's out with the evening snacking and in with smaller portions, plenty of Asian-inspired food (it just feels cleaner, somehow) and willpower. All that festive eating on the horizon will give me something to keep going for.

The food thing leads me neatly into what I'm currently reading. Cookery books, always cookery books. The local library has a really good selection and I'm trying - for the first time - the Hairy Bikers. First up, their Asian Adventure. Lots of  recipes from Korea, Hong Kong, Japan and Thailand. I'm looking forward to giving some of them a go, as I love sweet and sour flavours, chilli (in moderation) and crunch.

Another of theirs, Great Curries, was borrowed with Jay in mind. He can do the cooking and I'll happily oblige by eating. In moderation.

In addition to books I've got a (secret) Pinterest board on the go with healthy recipe ideas. Thus far we've had a Chinese chicken salad which was zingy and virtuous and last night I gave courgette, feta and spinach fritters with tzatziki a go. They were almost worth all the washing up. And the Magimix is getting some serious workouts too (unlike me).

I have procured a new set of wooden cooking utensils. My old ones are very stained and must be flavoured with the ghosts of a thousand meals past. Joe can have them to play with and I'll use these, currently pristine, ones. I'm sure they'll get beautifully (and indelibly) stained the moment they hit anything tomato-based.

Here they are, styled (I know, I know) alongside another library book: Food From Plenty by Diana Henry. Jay describes it as 'my' kind of recipe book, i.e. lots of pretty photographs to gaze at. Although it's also a very sensible read, packed with good advice on buying food seasonally and using up leftovers.

One of the (few) houseplants I own has fallen prey to mealy bugs. I went and bought some spray today, and repotted it outside in the very, very fresh air. Whilst at the farm shop-cum-garden centre I picked up a few other things: beetroot, waxy potatoes, shortbread and a sweet little pink cyclamen. Another year, another attempt to try and keep one going beyond a month or so.

The weekend was lovely and relaxed and we managed plenty of walking, hence the photographs. I still need to start taking more landscape-orientated images rather than automatically going for portrait. They look better on the blog, I think. And the indoorsy ones here are SOOC (Straight Out Of Camera). You know, in the spirit of 'real' and 'honest' and all that. Truth be told though, I do love playing around with my photos so will continue to do so.

Whatever makes you happy, etc.

I succumbed to the temptation to buy yet more notebooks. They were very cheap supermarket purchases and I've personalised them with rubber stamps. You can never have too many notebooks. The ones I carry around with me are always secured with an elastic band to keep them closed. One of those little habits I have.

And finally, I'd like to say thank you for all your comments on my previous post. It's always good to get people interested and read their views. And thanks to some of those comments I've managed to get my images to a more reasonable size.

Enjoy the rest of the week (and the fireworks).