Monday Monday

Bleurgh. It feels like a Monday, doesn't it? And my morning slump probably hasn't been helped by a basic lack of decent food opportunities over the weekend. We ate well - do you really think we'd starve?! - but with no roast or serious baking going on, it felt like a very different weekend. Still, with lots of errands completed, a bed ordered and the new TV (wibble) worth all the hassles of a Tube journey with a HUGE box, it was at least constructive if expensive.

There were a couple of foodie positives though. A little trip to Meera's, our local Indian snack shop, resulted in a glorious Bel Puri. Even the annoyance of finding no natural yoghurt in the fridge was appeased in decadent style, with the discovery of last week's double cream lurking at the back of a shelf. It was still good, so we mixed it with a couple of spoonfuls of mango chutney. So it's not exactly the authentic experience. Sod it. It got through some leftovers, added a sweet and creamy edge and added to a perfect TV snack.

Yesterday was a little better. We're doing a bit of freezer-clearing again - amazing how much leftover meat you can build up from three months of roasts - but managed to squeeze in a quick visit to Ally Pally's farmers market for a toasted cheese (a pretty decent imitation of Bill Oglethorpe's Borough Market toastie), a slab of very good carrot cake and some of Jason's excellent coffee plus a new discovery. We had a lovely chat with Alan Rosenthal of Stewed and tried a few of his "soul nourishing" slow cooked products. Yes, of course you can make your own stuff at home, but diaries don't always allow it and what we tried - particularly the Persian Chicken (with sour cherries and walnuts) - was excellent. We took home a pot of the chick pea, pumpkin and feta cheese with a view to mixing in some of those leftovers one night this week. More on that when it happens...