Sunday, 31st August 2008 - Day 7

Breakfast/Lunch - Salad with a tin of tuna with Light Salad Cream

Tea - Tin of Beer and a few broadbeans

Dinner - Chicken Porridge, a few pieces of roast meat (from HK), and 1/8 piece of mooncake

Mark's lunch which he cooked himself; and he cooked a portion for Hazel too. We shared a tin of baked beans amongst us.

Weight Loss - Too chicken to step on the scales today

Yoga - No

Sat, 30th Aug 2008 - Day 6

Breakfast - Watermelon

Lunch - Corn on the cob (steamed)

Dinner - THIS (see below)

Weight Loss - ??? (it will take a brave woman to step on the scales today)

Yoga - Yes
Tonight, we had a celebratory meal consisting of:

Steak - plain juicy ribeyes

and sirloins

served with H.O.T proceedwithextremecaution English Mustard

I REALLY need to polish up my presentation skills.

Roast pototoes - no ordinary roast potatoes I'll have you know; I added onions, garlic, carrots, bacon, rosemary, breadcrumbs, olive oil & salt/black pepper.

Salad - Just greens with a homemade dressing - Minced garlic/shallots, grainy mustard, Dijon mustard, salad herbs, parsley, balsamic vinegar, olive oil, s&p.

A riot of colours.

We even had a Fresh Fruit Cream Cake after dinner and here are the kids, resting after their meal.

p.s Excuse me, my bed calls
p.p.s. For regulars here, my MUM arrives tomorrow - so what does that mean? Home cooked Cantonese food, wantan noodles, braised meats, slow-boiled nurturing soups, steamed chicken, etc, etc, etc, etc.....
p.p.p.s. Is my goal slipping further and further away?

Fri, 29th Aug 2008

Chicken Chasseur

Saw a recipe in one of my old cookbooks,

and here is my adaptation.

This is a great dish for a dinner party as you can cook it hours/or a day in advance and there are no last minute preparations to stress you out. The sauce is extremely rich and tasty with tons of hidden vegetables.

1. Wash chicken drumsticks and thighs and trim off excess fat. Season lightly with salt & black pepper and brown on high heat.

2. Keep aside. In same pan, brown chopped bacon & onions, add diced carrots and mushrooms. Add some butter, and 2 tablespoons of flour and stir till mixture is thick and brown. Add dried parsley and tarragon.

3. Add half a tin of chopped tomatoes, some Bisto chicken gravy granules and 2 cups of water. Simmer gently until tomatoes are meltingly soft and liquid is thickened, adjust seasoning.

4. Lastly add browned chicken pieces and simmer until chicken is tender. Serve with mashed potatoes, pasta or rice.

p.s Somewhere between no. 3 and no. 4, I realised that I had forgotten the white wine, so I reduced about a cup of Riesling with garlic to about 3 tablespoons and added the reduction to the sauce.

Wm & PT had beef rendang made from an instant mix (Brahim's) and pandan Bario rice. The rendang was made with rump steak and hey, for a packet mix, it was pretty good. If you are rushed for time or simply can't be bothered to pound & grind spices, etc, then use a packet mix by all means. (I had a tiny piece with a teaspoon of rice).

Fri, 29th Aug 2008 - Day 5

AT LAST, AT LONG LONG LAST.

Woke up this morning feeling a teensy bit lighter so sped off to a yoga class before work.

Breakfast: Tiny piece of chocolate, cup of cold tea

Lunch: Vegetable Soup with Fishballs and a poached egg

Dinner: Kangkong with sambal, small portion of Chicken Chasseur with tablespoon of pasta, watermelon

Weight Loss - 1 kg (YIPPEEEEE!!!! - am I going to reach my target of 2 kg loss by SUNDAY 31/8??)

Yoga - Yes

Thurs, 28th Aug 2008 - Day 4

Breakfast - Tomato and salted vegetables soup with fish slices, bean sprouts and small amount of rice noodles

Lunch - 4 teaspoons tuna salad & soya bean milk

Tea - Small handful of dried cranberries

Dinner - Chive Omelette (with 2 egg whites/1 yolk) with chilli oil /some Spinach with garlic/some Lady Fingers Sambal & an orange

Green Tea throughout

Kids had sizzling tofu with minced chicken/mushrooms & egg & spinach

Mum and kids demonstrating how NOT to eat at a family table; noses firmly buried in respective books.

WEIGHT LOSS - NIL (this is getting to be a joke)

Yoga - No

Mark's breakfast kolomee with fried fish fillets.

Gawd - I am so depressed - WHY is the weight not shifting!!!! WHY?