October Unprocessed

How is it the end of another month?  Term's only just started, surely.  But no, payday has rolled around, and it will be October next week.  Fans of the blog will know that that means only one thing:

Hurrah.  This year, I have decided to write down my own simple rules for the challenge.

No Diet Coke.

Less sugar.

Baking my own bread for a month.

If I can buy it as an ingredient (baking powder, caster sugar, flour*), it's OK.

Cook more and menu plan like mad.

Chinese style noodle soup for lunch are OK as they are meant to be horrible.

I will buy bread for the children, as they are super fussy about their sandwiches.  

I feel that this is within the spirit of the challenge, if not the letter.  The letter of the law is far, far too difficult to achieve if you work, have young children, and basically can't be bothered.  I've done it before, and all that happened was that I craved Diet Coke for a whole month, and then didn't want it afterwards.  I didn't feel amazing for doing it, as it's not a million miles away from my normal diet.  We don't really eat processed food as a family - processed meat such as bacon (rarely), chorizo, ham, of course, cheese, milk, sugar, but I read ingredients, and if there are more than five things that I can't pronounce, I don't buy it.  The most processed food in the house at the moment are Jordan's Chewy Bars, that Lucy loves, and I've found a way to make my own which we can do together, so hopefully I can replace those.  Jordan's Chewy Bars, for the record, contain no artificial colourings, flavourings or preservatives, but do have "natural flavourings" which are refined from natural ingredients, and while are OK, can't be made in the home kitchen. 

If you want to know more about this, have a look at this website.  It really is quite interesting, and the most eye-opening thing is just how shit the average American diet must be.

*I looked this up: all UK flour is unbleached (no chlorine allowed), so it is fine to use in the challenge.

Cooking on a Monday

My husband is travelling a lot this week; he gets all the glamourous trips - Telford tomorrow, Norwich on Thursday and Friday.  So I've made a list of things to do and things to eat.  A list that is set in stone and there will be no deviations from the list at all.  

Scheduled for today is a recipe from Nigel Slater's Kitchen Diaries, Zucchini Cakes with Feta and Dill.  He loves a "z" does Nigel, hence zucchini, rather than courgette, but that slight incongruity aside, the cakes are very easy to make and taste fantastic.  Well, the raw mixture does, the cooking will have to wait until Simon has finished his work for the evening.

Vegetarian food for a change.  

For those interested, and why wouldn't you be, we have been into London today, and seen all sorts of things in and around the National Gallery, including a giant blue cockerel.  As Hattie said "Why that chicken there?  Why it blue?"  Modern art does not yet appeal.

Something something Tuesday

I'm tired.  Utterly drained and a bit broken, and I didn't even have a fun night out to cause this feeling of hopeless, helplessness.  Harriet had a nightmare last night, screaming out for me that she was too hot and it was morning time, and she had to get up.  I ended up in bed with her for about half an hour, which was no good for either of us, and finally working out what was wrong when she removed her nappy, threw it on the floor and said it was too wet.  She's learning to use the potty now, and of course she doesn't like the feeling of a wet nappy, and if that means Mummy groping around a dark house at 2:45 in the morning, then so be it.  She went straight back to sleep after a clean nappy and a cuddle, so I've stocked up in preparation for tonight. Being Harriet, she went back to bed at about half ten this morning, just to catch up.

We're having a vegetarian-esque meal tonight; something I cooked almost a year ago, and then have been meaning to make again, but never quite getting around to it.  It was part of the October Unprocessed madness of last year, where I gave up Diet Coke for an entire month, and suffered from the shakes, massive withdrawal symptoms and general undirected fury, but I'm sure that meant that what I was doing was Good For Me, and therefore I should repeat it this year.

The recipe is Chermoula Roasted Aubergines, and it is from a Waitrose leaflet.  If you are interested in different meals, and want something quick and delicious, then this is the recipe for you.  If you don't like aubergines, I concede that it might not be entirely suitable.  

See?  Food blogging at its finest.  And an instagrammed to hell and gone picture to illustrate the meal too.  Albeit from last year.