What a week, the implementation went to plan but a BAU issue hit the ropes. Confusion reigned, the support rota kicked in as it was felt it was weekend related and caused me to get called out. Then ensued a roller coaster of tiredness. I was on high alert for the next few nights causing me quite a bit of angst. Cancelled a camping trip, too tired and depressed to contemplate hitting the hills. Add to this the eldest who was in self isolation because he happened to sit next to a pal at the cinema who’s just been confirmed COVID positive.
Fortunately I’ve still taken the days off we were going to take and we decided to play tourist in our own town. Caught up on a bit of shopping and found a new book shop Topping & Co, which was just an amazing find and wish I’d known about it sooner.
We had lunch out just the two of us for a change. The Olive Branch Bistro Edinburgh and couldn’t resist trying the:
- Crispy shredded duck leg, watermelon, pomegranate, orange salad with dukkah and passion fruit
- Roast aubergine, pepper and spinach katsu curry, coconut rice and dukkah flatbread
- Cheese cake of the day, Dark Chocolate and Baileys
Today as I write this the sun is shining through the window (it was supposed to be raining) and my sons PCR test has come back negative. A sense of normality is resuming in my mind as I take it easy and think about the day.
With the rollercoaster of the working week my excuses for not tackling any of Grannies box of recipes seem valid. I’ve not really got myself in the frame of mind for writing full stop although amazingly I did finish the header for a soup recipe that has been keeping me sustained for the last couple of weeks. Definitely a keeper and a recipe for life.
I’m a big fan of a hearty soup and this one I come back to time and time again. It’s very versatile and great for tweaking in relation to any vegetables that might be left over in the fridge. Initially it started off as bacon and lentil and then I found a chilli languishing with the carrots. Mainly because the supermarkets don’t sell single chillies and so with a little ginger and some mixed spice it became a spiced lentil soup. Then with a little leftover chicken from the BBQ I added another tweak to make bbq’d chicken soup. Mainly keep to the core and then add your own touches and enjoy playing with it.
As we meet over coffee we are heading into the last week of August, which means autumn is definitely approaching for us in the northern hemisphere. I’ve been thinking about what I might like to achieve as the new academic year starts. It feels like a good time to knuckle down to something. I managed to pick up a couple of music books for some fresh inspiration on the piano. There are a few new cook books taking my eye, but I need to really hit the ones I’ve already got and promised to study. I’m going to try choose 3-5 and really get the most of them rather than just turning the pages and looking for the next!
The #WeekendCoffeeShare is an informal weekly link-up hosted by Natalie the Explorer that serves as weekly heart beat and sort of of a mind-dump. Helps me reflect on my week, with a list of achievements, thoughts and rambles normally whilst drinking a beverage probably listening to music.
Oh cookbooks. I had another 3 mysteriously arrive during the week (how exactly does that happen?) that I need to sit down, read, and maybe even cook from.
Good luck with the new recipes, I’m an intro junkie….always need to read from the start! Enjoy.
I’m the same – read them like I’d read a book & then come back & cook.
Glad to hear your son’s PCR test came back negative. I shall try your lentil soup recipe when the weather is cooler here. Thank you for joining #weekendcoffeeshare.
Thanks Natalie and hope you like the recipe if you give it a try.
Glad the Covid test was negative.
Thanks Quentin
Good news about your son’s test result. We are very much locked down here in many places in Australia and sadly, this will remain until there are far more of the populations fully vaccinated. We are and that is something. Denyse #weekendcoffeshare
Glad you are Vaccinated. I know of folk who still got Covid post vaccine but at least the symptoms were over in a day or so. My heart goes out to folk in Australia, its a really hard time.
Yay for your son’s PCR test being negative! I can totally feel the rollercoaster ride this past week has been, it shows in your post. Hope next week will be better.
Thanks Astrid. Onwards!
Hey EC. As a peer IT guy – I feel your pain and had my own dose of it this last week. I enjoy some cooking but for escape and comfort from work, I prefer my keyboard and story creating. I was so jammed up last week that I got 2 stories started and out the door last week. The plum tree was again featured in one as its fruit was targeted by a certain squirrel and my morning took an unexpected detour.
But your BBQ chicken and lentil soup. . . . mouth watering here and it’s only quarter after 8am here.
Where’s my soup mug?
Plenty of soup here, just about to put another batch on for next week 🙂 Your a writing machine, will be over in a few mins to see what you’ve been up to!
Your lunch sounds wonderful, and hurray for little book shops! Stay safe.
I’m dreaming of my next visit to the little bookshop….need to do some reading though! Thanks for popping by.
Sounds like a nice “stay-cation’. covid and the variant are one the dangerous rise here. So much so, that after our little shopping foray today, we’ll be making the choice to stay home, again as much as possible. Our hospitals are full of children/youth who can’t get vaccinated yet. I fear we will lose too too many before it’s done.
I understand, I get quite anxious being out and about. If we do we try to get out early when it’s less busy. Stay safe.
Hooray for staycations, negative COVID tests, and soup! And I was just thinking about it being the beginning of a new academic year, and how that’s often a cue for me to learn or try something new. Cheers!
Definitely a marker in the sand for me this time of year….good luck with your plans.
I’m going to look into trying the lentil soup. I had lentil soup yesterday, I have it every now and then, and it’s always fun to try new recipes. We eat a lot of legumes at our home.
And yes, it sometimes is a lot fo fun being a tourist in your own city. I tried that a few time while living in Las Vegas. Staying at hotels there are rather cheap, and I tried that several times all by myself, when my daughter saw her dad, just to do something fun.
Have a great new week, (without Covid)
I love trying new recipes. your lunch out sounded good too. Sometimes I think it’s easy to forget all the things that are in our own backyard
Making soup tomorrow with an old fashioned broth mix. I love buying recipe books and just reading them, marking what things I want to make and then marvel that I thought I would have the time and energy to make some of the things…..
Definitely my way of putting creativity into life, enjoy your soup!