Baby it's cold outside

{Gnocchi, tomato and mozzarella melt}

When you thought that Spring was on its way, it comes as a huge shock to wake up to minus temperatures and 'the beast from the east' who managed to dump a huge amount of snow pretty much all over the UK.  Just as I was getting my head round some lighter eating, my stomach was craving warming, bulky food that would sustain me through the bitterly cold day.  No, I didn't want crisp salads or spring veg risottos, I wanted hearty soups and warming stews, usually with a good dose of carb added in (mostly I managed to resist the carb overload).  I spent a happy few hours on a snow day evening, trawling through some cook books that I haven't looked at for a while, creating our weekly menu before heading out to shop for it all.  For more recipes that comfort the soul, have a look here and here for more inspiration, including classics such as mac n' cheese, mince and dumplings and fish and chips.

Gnocchi, tomato and mozarella melt

I'm not going to lie.  This is carb/calorie heavy and is billed as 'hangover food' but it works so well as a cold day supper and super easy to prepare.

You will need:

1 packet of gnocchi

packet of cherry tomatoes, halved

ball of mozzarella

basil leaves

- melt a tablespoon of butter and some oil in a frying pan and when frothing add the gnocchi.  Keep turning it from time to time until it turns golden and crispy on the outside

- add the tomatoes and cheese and resist the temptation to keep prodding and moving it about or your cheese will form a big gloopy lump

- tear over the basil leaves, salt and pepper and put your pan on the table and tuck right in.



Maybe it's the northerner in me, but I don't think you can beat a roast dinner when it comes to eating for comfort and pleasure.  When I was growing up meal times were family time and Sunday dinner was the icing on the week's cake.  So, perhaps I love a roast because for me, it also symbolises sharing, talking and laughing with the people I love the most.  Lamb isn't everyone's favourite roast due to it's high fat content, but when it's slow cooked for 4/5 hours, it takes on a succulent, sweet intensity that melts into your tastebuds.  Here's the recipe that I use:

 Roast lamb with flageolet beans

You will need:

whole shoulder of lamb

lamb stock cube

rosemary, finely chopped

garlic cloves, sliced into slivers

two tins of flageolet beans

chicken stock cube

small amount of double cream

- crumble the lamb stock cube with olive oil until you have a runny paste, before adding the rosemary

- prick the shoulder and insert slivers of garlic into the gashes

-spread the paste over the shoulder and put into the oven at 150 degrees c for four hours

- take the lamb out of the oven, cover with foil to rest and start on the beans to accompany the lamb

- putting the beans in a pan, crumble in the chicken stock cube and heat the beans gently

- when warm, add the cream and warm through before spritzing with a small amount of lemon juice to cut through the richness

- pull the lamb apart with two forks and serve on a large platter on top of the creamy beans

I usually serve a big pile of green veg with this - purple sprouting broccoli and green beans are a favourite in this house.

I'm not a pudding person at all, but if I am going to eat a pudding it has to be robust and filling.  Again I think of the puddings I ate as a child - and my mum wasn't a pudding cook either - but Saturdays and Sundays were for classic English puddings - castle puddings, lemon meringue pie and treacle tart were often on the menu, but the pudding I loved the most was one my paternal grandmother used to make - Eve's Pudding.  Made with bramley apples from the trees in their garden, it was the highlight of our lunches when we went for Sunday dinner, and is still a nostalgic favourite of mine now.



Food for me is all about family, sharing and love.  When someone I love is sad, I cook for them, when someone is ill, I cook for them, when someone is happy and wants to celebrate, I cook for them.  What are your go-to's when you're feeling nostalgic or want to make something delicious and warming? I'd love to hear...

Photos:  Sasha Wilkins, Friends, Food, Family

Phone Addiction - and how I'm working to stop it

So, here's the truth, I think I may be addicted to my phone.  Here's a few scenarios - how many do you recognise? So I'm watching tv but in reality, I've also got half my attention on my emails that I'm scrolling through with one hand - what happened? Noooo, now I'm going to have to watch that TV programme again as I missed the crucial bit; 3am, can't sleep so I reach for my phone and scroll down through Instagram feeds, or peruse interiors on Pinterest and suddenly realise it's 4.30am and I haven't had nearly enough sleep; sitting in a coffee shop waiting for a friend and before I know it, phone's out and I'm scanning social media, checking my messages and scrolling through WhatsaApp.  Even worse, I look around and see couples sitting having coffee together, but they're both on their phones, not even speaking to each other.  I don't want to become that person, I really don't.  Sometimes I catch myself manically scrolling between all the social media apps and precious time has elapsed and I have absolutely NOTHING to show for it; not only that but it doesn't make me feel good!  In fact, quite the opposite.  Often it leaves me feeling that my life isn't as gorgeous or insta worthy, or my photos aren't as good, or my home isn't as glamorous, that my hair isn't as shiny as that person on stories and so it goes on.  Social Media can be such a product for good, but it needs to be carefully managed or before you know it you have a serious habit that's hard to break, a compulsion that becomes an anxiety if you don't look every few minutes.

I'm not sure I can actually remember what it's like to not check one of my devices, phone, laptop or ipad on rotation.  So, I've been mulling this over for some time and taking myself in hand in other ways to try and improve my quality of life - getting my nutrition sorted with the help of the wonderful and ever practical  May Simpkin,  taking my meditation and down time seriously with more exercise and regular slots with Calm, but how was I going to start on  decreasing my time on technology, specifically my phone and ipad?  Louise Parker, who runs her own business, The Louise Parker Method has spent the last 20 years encouraging her clients to live their best life and advocates the four pillars Think Successfully, Live Well, Eat Beautifully and Work Out Intelligently.  One of her biggest pieces of advice in the Live Well section is that we all take a 'digital detox' everyday, at least 90 minutes before bed.  This has several benefits - firstly it helps to stop the frantic scrolling, but more importantly it helps you sleep better.  Ah, my old friend sleep - where have you gone?  The science behind this is that screen-light stimulates your brain and prevents you from feeling sleepy, it's also a total time-drain.  We need more time, not less of it.  Louise Parker recommends that you shut your phone away out of sight, or even better in a different room. 

So, what steps have I taken to sort out this little addiction of mine?  Well, I went and bought myself a real old-fashioned alarm clock to start with - off Amazon and it looks like this.  I have to confess, the first morning when that alarm went off it was SO LOUD and wasn't the gentle waking I was used to with the sweet birdsong from my iphone, and then I couldn't find the off switch!  But, it was a start and I've stuck with it.  I'm not saying that I've got this sorted - baby steps, and I'm not saying that I never want to look at social media apps again, but what I do want, is to enjoy the individual accounts that I follow and love and take my inspiration and LEAVE the site.  It's not easy, my brain is conditioned to reach for the phone, to have the constant stimulation, so it's definitely a work in progress...BUT, acknowledging my dependency and taking some small steps to control my usage, I know I'll be happier and crucially, more present in the moment as it's happening. 

If you'd like some more tips on how to make some simple changes to your phone/ipad use have a look at these.  I've implemented quite a few of them and it's made a big difference. 

I'd love to hear if you have had similar thoughts and any tips for how you manage and control your app addiction?  Let me know in the comments below...