A week in the life...

A "Swedish" Meal, All The Dogs In Essex and Board Game Induced Rage

It's Sunday!!!!!!!!
It may seem a bit odd to have this level of excitement as despite returning from travelling over a month ago, I am yet to find full-time employment ergo my weekdays aren't taken up with early morning starts and long days of arduous work. However, I am determined to maintain my enthusiasm towards Fridays, Saturdays and even Sundays, that way if when I do eventually find something, I'll be in the right state of mind for 9 till 5 life. It makes sense doesn't it? Yes, it does *reassures self with a cup of tea*. That's another thing about being unemployed, I am slowly morphing into my Nan, whereby I've started filling a lot of my time with what is known as 'pottering' as well as becoming dependent upon tea for sustenance. Just in case any of you don't know, 'pottering' is a term used for spending your time completing tasks of microscopic importance such as updating the phone book or dusting behind the radiator. Why?! No-one ever looks behind there! Anyway, in-between job hunting I have also tried to keep myself as sociable as possible in order to keep my mental tact in state. Here are some of the things, people, places and of course food that have made my week (Just in case you were interested).

A Place For Dog Lovers

Look at that face.

Last Sunday my friend Katy invited me to an event that I didn't even know existed, Essex Dog Day! This brilliant occasion takes place once a year and involves people from all over the county taking their dogs to the grounds of Crix, Hatfield Peverel, an old Georgian house located off of the A12 in Chelmsford, for a day filled with shows, demonstrations, competitions and special attractions revolving around all things canine. There's also a ton of stalls heaving with doggy delights including: chew-toys, collars, bones, treats, baskets and even goods from a canine bakery. All money raised is donated to local charities (e.g. dog's trust) and in the last four years that Essex Dog Day has run, an impressive £210,000 has been raised. Not too shabby.

'Honestly, I'm just happy to be here'.

Whilst we were there, Katy entered her beautiful lab-spaniel cross 'Inca' into a couple of the competitions and although she didn't win any rosettes, she definitely enjoyed herself and got to meet a whole host of interesting breeds including: a huge St Bernard, an adorable 3-month old spaniel puppy and a poodle that was dyed pink... well, this is Essex. The day was lovely but it did make me miss my dog 'Tally' (she's not dead, she just lives in Devon with my parents) and part of me wished she could have been there as well. But then I remembered that Tally's an antisocial bi*ch and pretty much dislikes any other form of life getting up in her face, so actually it's probably best that she wasn't there.

I just can't even.

Beethoven, still going strong.

'If you love me, you will kill me'.

Cooking For The Fam-a-lam

In other news, my brother Luke and I recently attempted to cook a three-course meal for our grandparents, dad and sister last Tuesday. Luke likes to take a very authentic approach when choosing a menu and after scanning his spreadsheet (yes, spreadsheet) of three-course meal ideas based on cultural dishes from across the globe, we settled on Sweden as our source of inspiration. After picking up some ingredients and spending a morning hardcore meal prepping, we ended up serving our family the following dishes that I tweaked to boost the nutritional factor:

Starter: Gravlax med Hovmastarsas... Who is it?
Cured salmon with lemon and dill mustard sauce on rye bread. Well, we decided to use smoked salmon and as we couldn't find rye bread, we settled for a soya and linseed loaf. The sauce we made was tasty but it definitely had some kick, enough to make my sister nearly cry. If choking your guests is good dinner party etiquette then we were well on our way to getting full marks (I like to pretend we're on come dine with me...). We also added a bed of water cress for texture and color.

Main: Kottbullar med Janssons Frestelse... I'm sorry?
Swedish meatballs served with a breadcrumb topped potato dish. We leaned up the meatballs a bit by using turkey mince instead of pork and made the gravy with reduced salt stock and some cauliflower white sauce (adapted from the white sauce used in my tuna pasta lasagne) before thickening it with a little cornflour. For the potatoes we simply mashed them up, added a little almond milk for creaminess and topped with a sprinkling of breadcrumbs and a little cheese before grilling for optimum gooeyness. We also served up some steamed asparagus and tender-stem broccoli topped with some homemade mixed berry compote. Unfortunately, we had to cook the main after we had finished the starter, which meant that there was a bit of a wait between courses, so when we did bring out the food, it was gone before I even thought about getting a photo of the finished dish. Chances of winning the £1000, sliding...

Tastes better than it looks...

Dessert: Rabarber Smulpaj... Come again?
A dish very similar to rhubarb crumble, although we couldn't get any rhubarb and we weren't really sure on the difference between the Swedish topping and regular crumble. Therefore, in the end we just made a plum, apple and almond crumble with a low fat topping using unsweetened apple sauce in the place of butter and truvia in the place of sugar. We also served this up with some home-made custard with an almond milk base. This was definitely my favorite part of the whole meal and I liked it enough to probably post the recipe on the blog in the near future, I mean who doesn't like crumble? It's pure comfort food. *Looks in the mirror and sees Nan staring back*.

Nom.

It was a great way to spend the evening with the family, eating well and drinking some glorious red wine. It was also Luke's last night in Essex as the next day he and dad went back to Devon (dad lives there with mum and Luke is currently studying at Exeter University), so it was a perfect way to say 'sod off and see you at Christmas'.

Catching Up With Pals

I've also had a great time this week, meeting up with lots of chums and enjoying some friend-therapy. It's honestly the best kind, you don't have to pay anything and they sometimes provide snacks. On Thursday, I met up with my close friend Ellen (also known as Freckly face, Hag, Water-ellen, Smellen and 'It's not easy is it?'). It was a simple coffee date in Starbucks, who on a side note now offer coconut milk in their drinks as a non-dairy option! My mind couldn't cope with this news and after trying it in my cappuccino, I can definitely vouch for its supreme creaminess, supreaminess. Anyway, back on topic, Ellen is one of my closest friends and offers the best advice that helps keep me grounded, therefore it's always a pleasure to spend time with her, she's a great gal. After our coffees we trundled around Debenham's home section for a bit, pretending that we both had enough money to shop there and that we actually owned our own property. One day...

Later that evening, me and my friend Amy went over to Katy's house for a session of board gaming. Yes we board game, we board game hard. Do you even board game bro? After eventually figuring out the rules of a new version of monopoly (it only uses cards) we got going and even though it's the taking part that counts, something about card games always makes me lust for blood. Things got even more intense after Katy whipped out the London game, an oldie based around the London underground tube system. You know it's old because the metropolitan line is nowhere in sight. This game always causes stress as whenever you want to change lines, you have to pick up a card which basically either sends you to a completely different place, sends everyone else all over the board or closes down a station. However, despite the complications, it's still really fun and during our escapade, we indulged in lots of pizza, chocolates and sweets. Treat of the week.

Overall, It's been a great week, despite still being unemployed but no matter, I will carry on. What else can I do? I'm British. That's literally all we do. I'll hopefully put up some more recipes next week and in the mean time I hope you've had a fantastic seven days full of family, friends, fun and food and even if you haven't, don't worry next week is about to start. Remember, enjoy the little things, savor every experience and look forwards not backwards (unless it's over good memories). Right, before this becomes some sort of ineffective life coaching session, I'm going to clear off. Nan has made Ham and Pea soup for lunch. Don't mind if I do.

Happy eating,

Alex :)