h2g2 The Hitchhiker's Guide to the Galaxy: Earth Edition

The continuing adventures of having an oven, after a year or more without one continue.
Also, I think, partly due to my concentration having improved, and energy levels too, I'm just able to spend more time cooking, and in particular, concentrate enough to think and plan ahead somewhat, rather than automatically returning time and time again to dishes I can cook without needing to think...

So, for a complete change tonight, made Cottage pie, for .... the first time since... oo, before 2014 possibly a long time before 2014
it was gorgeous - served traditionally with pickled red cabbage, and, of course, some HP sauce
looks like I've made enough for four or six portions, we'll find that out for certain when we dish up tomorrow's dinner from what's left in the cast iron large casserole/oven pot

In order to make it sufficiently high protein, yet low calorie, this cottage pie, a first for me, was made with chicken mince.... - at about 106 KCal per 100 Grams, its a lot lower cal than either beef or lamb

500 G chicken mince.
2 very large onions (250 G)
2 carrots (about 220 G)
a couple cloves garlic, minced, a few cumin seed, and black pepper, plus a little salt, rosemary and oregano.
1200 Grams potatos.

Wasn't quite sure at one point that it would all fit into the big cast iron pot... but luckily it did - the mash ended up pretty near the top

Breakfast today was two hard boiled eggs, on multigrain bread, toasted, with a little olive spread.

lunch was the same bread, again toasted, with a tin of mackerel fillets on it

Saw my nutritionalist, today, for the final time... - I've been 'signed off', as, in her words, a 'success'... yet again they want to do a case study on me... - I'm starting to think I'm the only person these 'health', 'nutritions', 'fitness' people ever see BMI is now, virtually in the OK level (I think they've got my height a bit wrong actually, which would just make me in the right area now with the added couple CM height in the B|MI calculator )

Gym tomorrow morning.
Ten pin bowling tomorrow night...
Then up at 6 AM, in order to get my drugs in me, in time to allow me to eat, and get the important drugs in me, in order we can get an early bus to hospital; to have the 24 hour heart monitor fitted.....

Back to hospital Thursday morning, similarly silly early, in order to have it removed; then we can go to the gym Thursday; I don't fancy going to the gym Wednesday, with the heart monitor fitted, as I'd not be able to shower/bath afterwards

Hoping I get to use the escalator backwards step treadmill thingy tomorrow at the gym again, and maybe more interval training on the elyptical or regular tredmill... plus some weights... - Still struggling a bit with exercise ATM, due to this cold, and consequently having to be on increased steroid dose

Just had a long epic bath, another Lush jelly bath bomb, plus a ton of magnesium salts, and some Rose oil bath oil coconut shampoo, coconut conditioner, then mint moisturiser stuff on my legs (as I'd shaved them), and some almond moisturisor for face, chest arms, etc - if I had a sence of smell at the moment, I'd tell you what chocolate bar I smelt like

Went to the spicegate shop on the way home from the nutritionalist this afternoon, got another couple KG bulghur, plus replacement spices/herbs and the potatos and carrots we didn't have in for the dinner tonight... supper soon then bed, up at 8 in order to have time to take all the drugs, before gym at 10.30

My local "British" pub (in Texas) offers a "shepherd's pie" that's actually cottage pie, but the locals don't know from cottage pie so shepherd's pie looks better on the menu.

So, if shepherd's pie is lamb, cottage pie beef... what's chicken? In the States were pretty fond of chicken pot pie, but that doesn't have mashed potatoes.

Chicken Cott' Pie?



Oh, and don't let the doctor take BMI too seriously. It's not scientific. It works OK when looking at the statistics of people in general, but not for individuals. It only applies usefully to certain body types. It gets thrown off by using the square of one's height. It definitely doesn't work for me. I've got a long torso and short legs, so while I'm only 5'10" I've only got a 30" inseam. I've got as long a torso as my friend who's 6'2". When I was in college and rather underweight (the cafeteria food sucked), my calculated BMI at 175 lbs put me at obese. In my PE class we measured my body fat percentage at only 7%, hardly obese. I'm definitely obese now, but the BMI puts me as morbidly so and I highly disagree with that.

The recipe sounds delishious - but then what recipe doesn't

I bought two flat today. Could be plaice, could be flounder. I haven't checked yet. Very cheap anyway. Might have fallen of a truck

(No, not really. I just know a guy who knows a guy who knows a fisherman ...)

Mentioned to another friend that I might season some Mornay Sauce with chopped parsley and boil some potatoes to serve with these , but then he told me of a recipe that made me change my mind:

Build a kind of lasagna with layers of potatoes, chopped red onions and filets of cod. Pour Mornay Sauce over the whole thing and decorate with a few slices of tomatoes. Bake in the oven.

I still have some cod in my freezer and will try this recipe. The flat will "only" be fried in butter on a pan and served with - er - well, something else

I went ten pin bowling for the first time the other night. I bet you can get a better score than me. I don't think I need to go again.

I've had flounder wrapped in tinfoil, liberally sprinkled with lemon pepper and rosemary and broiled or cooked on the gas grill. Excellent and so simple.

Alaska halibut is also a flat fish, but an unually large and symetrical one.

Tonight's batch cooking, 1 pound of bacon ends, cut with scissors to bite sized bits, cooked with a pound of minced collard greens in a minimum of oil till barely done, drained of fat and put aside, 3 cups of long grain white rice, parched in oil till lightly browned, boiled in 6 cups of water till light and fluffy and ready to gel, 3 tbsp powdered basil, 1 tsp turmeric, 1 tsp coarse ground black pepper, pre-cooked bacon ends and collard greens stirred in, covered, heat cut and allowed to steam under its own heat, gel and cool.

Savoy salad can be substituted for collard greens.

Served with soy sauce.

Makes ~ 1 gallon, American.

MMM... those all sound good

Well we got three meals, I.E., six portions from the chicken cot (age) pie two evening meals each, and we had the last of it for lunch today after we got back from hospital, via a trip into town on the way back, to buy some pyrex oven dishes, and go to Lush; the sign on the door proclaiming it reopened today... to find it not open

now befit with the heart monitor thing... struth... its like the 1990's, 2000's and 2010's never happened... - the tech of it I mean... 'small pocket device', way way bigger and heavier than any current mobile phone, yet, a device with a single function to record the data from the three wires plus pads on my chest and the cables... I wonder if they could make them any less flexible, and thereby any more annoying to constantly rub, be in the way and catch on everything managed to not rip any pads off though.. yet

tonight's dinner will be roast broccholli and carrots, and that is to go with a pilaf of bulghur with onion garlic pork and things (uses up the broccholli and carrots that needed using )

Absolutely freezing here today I've drunk so much herbal tea to try stay warm.... stupid neuropathy and hypothyroid, making me feel the cold, something I never used to be bothered by at all - there would be a suitably boiling hot scented magnesium salted bath tonight, but of course for the fact I can't with the heart monitor on in otter news... I'm not sure there is any otter... Gym tomorrow once the monitor is off

Was totally exaused last night, by the time I'd done ten pin; think I overdid it at the gym earlier, had to take some extra steroids before bed as I was vaguely feeling like consciousness or at least what passes for consciousness thesedays, was failing quite epically... brain fog, distant, dreamy, muscle fatigue, slow movements etc., etc., an extra 1 MG prednisolone seemed to work, and we had an early night anyhow, in order to get up at 6 AM, so I could take the liquid levo... wait half an hour have coffee.... wait a further half an hour, have food and take morning steroids, and thence get the bus at 8 ish, to get to the hospital before 9

The nurse had played with my chest before sadly not in that* way, only just she'd done some ECGs on me previously

Down another five pounds to 117 at weekly weigh in weight loss clinic yesterday.

Physical therapy today and Friday.

- I'm pretty static of late on the weight front, but I can't really drop too many more calories a day as I'm already quite low, so I guess I do need to increase my cardio at the gym, and perhaps lay off a bit of the weight lifting and stop any more muscle bulk adding to my weight I'd still love to drop another 7 - 14 Lb, and get down to 12 stone again, but now my body shape has changed so much, with the weight lifting, I'm not sure how sensible a goal that is tonight for dinner.... no gym today, I just felt too rubbish, light headed, dizy and very brain foggy, despite taking 5 MG prednisolone this morning I guess this cold or whatever it is, is activating my immune system a lot more than I'm conscious of will try make gym tomorrow instead got the cardiac heart monitor off this morning, and back to hospital (well, William took it back to drop off at the hospital whilst I sat at home, waiting for my first drug to have its allotted 'empty stomach' time, before I took the steroids) just had a very very long epic bubbly scented, magnesium enriched bath,