Thursday, January 28, 2010

Of cars and craziness

I have decided that Prius drivers are the new BMW drivers - but what makes them worse is not only do they not seem to have indicators and like to undertake, they also seem to have a holier than thou attitude because they are doing their "bit" for the environment. I wonder what else they've done? Of course it annoys me even more that they don't have to pay congestion charge.

(brief interlude as I panic as I think I forgot to pay mine yesterday and go off to check)

I had forgotten to pay. Luckily remembered before the barstwards could fine me. Am coveting a cute Fiat 500 - they are v popular but ideal for driving around the narrow streets of London and much easier to park. I do love our Audi, but would love to be able to parallel park in smaller spaces.

Have been really busy at work - the early mornings and late nights are tough (and are going to be harder as I start to have 6 am clients but have jiggled my hours and will have wednesdays off. Of course some of those are going to be absorbed by the adoption workshops. The first one is next week and I'm quite nervous about it as it's really looking into if adoption is the right thing for you and talking about dealing with your fertility. I think I am pretty much over it but it will be hard to go through the process of talking about it again.

But after that, assuming everything is ok, the next lot sound really interesting - talking about different children and scenarios and challenges that we might face. Of course the annoying thinig is, that it clashes with my pilates training and so march is going to be a tough month, trying to be in several places at once. It's all a bit overwhelming but we will manage. I guess we just have to be a little more organised!

Wanted to add a shout out for my friend's shop www.quirkyboutique.com  - some lovely lovely tattoo inspired cards and jewellery and other fun things, arrives beautifully presented.

Z

Chicken and mushroom Risotto for 2

The lovely Wendy asked me to post my recipe, so I will!

Ingredients

1 tsp olive oil
1 large onion chopped
2 cloves of garlic
250 g mushrooms (the brown ones)
75g aborio rice
200 g cooked chicken (left over from roast!)
1/2 tsp dried thyme
125 ml white wine
hot chicken stock (around 750 ml)
grated parmesan (about 20 g)

Sweat the onion and garlic in the oil and add the mushrooms, cook until the mushrooms start to soften. Add rice and stir until the rice starts to glisten. Add the chicken, thyme and wine and stir until wine is absorbed. Keep adding stock and stirring until the rice is al dente. Season with salt and pepper to taste. Add half the parmesan. Serve with a green salad, and top with the remaining parmesan and ground black pepper.