A Weekend To Forget (And Learn From?)

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It has been a weekend that has left a slightly unsavoury feeling in my mouth. I had managed to contract a nasty fever already on Thursday (a national holiday), but still went to work the next day. I suppose having a 39 degree fever and expecting to have no consequences was a bit daft, though I knew there would be few children there. I also wanted to help finish of the construction and erection of a greenhouse that had been started last year.

At the end of the day I was exhausted. I was also in a Friday mood, so I had some wine when I came home. I ended up falling asleep early and waking up the next day with high fever, staying in bed until the afternoon. I eventually decided to cleave out of bed and made some food while Jo was in the middle of a massive tidy mission.

I do not know what I was thinking, but I took my ability to walk around as a sign that I could drink again. Which I did. A lot.

Sunday morning was horrible. Not because of a hangover, which I did not have, but because the effect the alcohol had on my nerves, already beaten down from being ill so many days. It felt like I was close to having a panic attack, and the short walk I took to assuage this just ended up giving me the sweats. The hypersensitivity I was experiencing was not helped from my excursion, as pangs of pain, numbness and aching back worsened my mental situation. Even after taking medicine, it took me about an hour to reach an acceptable state.

As bad as my own mental health may have been, I feel just as bad because I really did not see the family this weekend. I don’t think they minded – they were all busy doing other things – but I definitely think I missed out on an otherwise sunny couple of days.

On A (Gluten Free) Roll

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Not only two blog entries in one day, but another success in the kitchen. I found a recipe for Creamy Tuna Pasta today, and, with a few modifications, it turned out very nice, thank you.

I used an 85g bag of vegan tuna, bog standard tomato purée instead of sundried tomatoes, halved the amount of peas (though will omit them in the future to make it child friendly, and did not add any capers. Oh, and the fresh parsley became a smidgeon of dried parsley. I don’t know what semi-dried tomatoes are, but took sun-dried tomatoes instead. Didn’t seem to hurt the overall dish.

350g fettuccine or spaghetti
2 tbs olive oil
1/2 onion, chopped
2 garlic cloves, crushed
1 cup (250ml) thin cream
2 tbs sundried tomato paste
425g can tuna in oil, drained
1 cup (150g) frozen peas
1 tbs chopped flat-leaf parsley
100g semi-dried tomatoes
2 tsp capers, rinsed, drained

Method

Cook pasta in boiling salted water until al dente. Drain and toss with half the oil.

Heat remaining oil in a large frypan over medium heat, add onion and cook 2-3 minutes or until softened. Add garlic and cook for 1 minute. Stir in cream and paste, add tuna and peas. Heat gently for 1-2 minutes. Stir in half the parsley with the tomatoes and capers, add pasta and season. Stir until just heated through. Serve sprinkled with remaining parsley.

A Double Success In The Kitchen

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Unusually, I have succeeded in creating and recreating two very tasty recipes this afternoon. First off, I made some creamy “chicken” and mushroom pasties, which would have been difficult to mess up, thanks to the shop bought puff pastry. The filling was mild enough for both daughters to test and then ask for more. I was reasonably confident that at least one of them would appreciate it, but to have all family members on board exceeded my expectations.

Whilst the pasties were in the oven, I attempted a Mediterranean quinoa salad with capers, from the raw food book “Crazy Sexy Diet”. I did not have any lemon zest, capers or leek, and threw in a stem of steamed broccoli which was looking sad in the fridge. The result was a resounding success. Both Jo and I loved it, despite having three times more garlic than stated.

3 cups cooked quinoa
1/4 cup olive oil
3 tablespoons dill
3 tablespoons capers
2 tablespoons lemon juice
1 tablespoon lemon zest
3 tablespoons lightly roasted pine nuts
3 cloves chopped garlic
2 tablespoons finely chopped leek
Salt and pepper

Mix all ingredients together. Serve warm or cold.

The Time We Did Not Go To Örebro

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We were supposed to join our friends, the Färdig family, in a joint mission to Örebro today. The idea was that we take a van big enough for the two families plus a load of vegan footware, so that Nina could sell some at the vegomässa that takes place there on this day. We did a similar thing last summer, going a little further afield to Oslo, which we all enjoyed immensely, even though the van we hired broke down on the way back.

Sadly, the trip was not to be. Around four hours before intended time of departure, Nina received a phone call from the preschool her son goes to. Her son had fallen foul to an ear infection and was in a lot of pain.

The news that we were cancelling the trip left us all disappointed. We had planned the weekend many months ago, which included a night at a youth hostel. Food had been made and packed, beer and wine put aside for our arrival in Ôrebro. Freya took the news worst, but tears became shrieks of joy when we arranged that Nika could come for a sleepover.

Kom Igen Zelda, kom igen!

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Zelda went to her first football training this evening. There were over one hundred and fifty children there, so it was split into two sessions, which meant she was in a small group of eight girls, all the same age. Frederik and Olle were her trainers, both very pleasnt and calm young men, and she listened well to their instructions. Naturally, she was a litlle bit cautious in the beginning, when they practiced foot skills, though she looked like she enjoyed herself immensely when they started dribbling the ball from one goal to the other.

I have never seen her playing football like this before, and she was actually quite good. Most importantly, she was smiling lots, and even made a new friend. It was wonderful to see her in action, dressed in her newly acquired Adidas track suit (a fetching blue, sine the only alternative that Jo could find in the shop was pink).

Considering the number of children, the whole thing was exceptionally well organised. We only hope that the next seven weeks of training are less windy. The way the weather has been behaving the last few months, that is not a given.