Got the day off to myself….one way to kill those Monday blues! The exhaust on the van is in a bad way so I’m up early and dropped it off at the local exhaust depo. I knew from several calls over the last week it wasn’t going to be a quick fix. I seem to remember as a boy the exhaust depo having rows and rows of exhausts to pick from whereas now it’s all ordered as and when required. Don’t think Amazon have cornered the 1-click exhaust market yet.
So I’ve popped round the corner to a local café, nice and empty. I’m able to pick the seat nearest the radiator which I’m not quite hugging. I’ve ordered the wrong kind of coffee hoping for a mug rather than an espresso with a drop of water added. Which is what I seemed to have received…a long black. Have to admit though the taste and zing is a good jolt to a cold Monday morning. I was about to plug my own tunes in, however the Beatles are playing in the background which is a nice tonic to the pop music I’ve been playing lately.
In terms of a weekend in review, it was a day of travelling on Saturday, finishing off the cheese we had left over for tea with a couple of tins of soup from the cupboard. Returned back from the Peak District with a 101 things rattling around in my head, the joy of a break and stepping off the hamster wheel for a few days can do that for you.
Sunday a more leisurely affair. I’m keen to embrace the more flexitarian approach to living so the weekend saw me dabbling with a corn and cauliflower soup from Anna Jones book. A long with the inspiration for a squash and sweet potato stew. I took one of the frozen curry pastes I’d had sitting around in the freezer for ages (I’m embarrassed to say Feb) and sweated it down (ice and all, bit of oil, the stalks from the greens. Added a can of coconut milk, a small squash peeled and diced into bite sized pieces, same for a couple of sweet potatoes. Topped up with a little water, brought to a simmer for 20 mins, then added a can of drained black eyed beans that I’d crushed a little. Which did a great job of thickening the stew. Simmered a little longer and then added some shredded leaves to wilt. Served in a bowl, topped with some diced feta.
….Monday and I’m thinking what to start with first!