Let those plates drop I say!

12th June 2015

Replace fear of the unknown with curiosity.

So it's Friday and I have no rush in me this morning at all, I have some paperwork to do but then I'm slowing down to the speed of life, I really need to, I feel a little like I'm trying to keep all my plates spinning!  If you've not heard that saying before, think of the circus act where the plate spinners have a dozen spinning plates on the end of poles and he runs back and forth trying to keep them all spinning, if any of those plates slow down too much, they're going to fall and smash!  Might be fun to watch but stressful to do, especially if you replace 'performer' with your name and replace the 'plates' with all those things you've got to get done, all those responsibilities in your life - work, family, health, yep this week I feel like one of those circus performers, running from one thing to another trying to keep it all going.  Today, I've decided they can spin themselves or smash!  I need a break.  Because ultimately if you focus on one plate too long, no matter how important it might feel, you'll find others crash to the ground and if you try to keep them all spinning, you're more than likely to be the one that crashing to the ground from utter, complete exhaustion.

So today, whatever's on my plate is going to have to wait because me and my mom are going to have some quality time or I'm in danger of burning out, apart from my meeting in the morning, I'm doing jack all weekend other than pottering about in my house/garden and chilling out, recharging my batteries and getting back to me.

We can take it all too seriously can't we, and ultimately none of it really matters, a year from now will half of what's stressing us matter? Nah it won't, we'll have forgot so much of what we've been doing but you never forget those amazing times you spend with loved ones. 

If you've got the Timehop app on your phone that reminds you on what you've done in previous years, hopefully it's full of wonderful memories of fab times had and not doom and gloom comments about how hard your day was!   If yours is full of the latter, it's time to change what you focus on and what gets your attention - everybody has days that suck, we don't need to dwell on them, just like a bad diet day, draw a line, move on, don't give it your headspace.

Yeah, I'm looking forward to continuing my book, the girl on the train, I'm getting into it now, and I've got another one ready to follow that too.  Apparently there's thunderstorms forecast - I don't care, I can chill indoors or out, plus I have a massage to look forward to later - YAY, me days are the best days :) bring it on!

Anyway, back to food!  Aubergines are only 49p in Aldi this week, so if you have a few spices already in your house, you could make this Keralan Aubergine Curry for a cheap vegetarian meal and only 4pp per portion!  Instead of serving it with your typical portion of rice, why not try something new like Quinoa, it's a great wheat-free alternative to starchy grains.  With twice the protein content of rice or barley, quinoa is also a very good source of calcium, magnesium and manganese. It also possesses good levels of several B vitamins, vitamin E and dietary fibre.  It's good for you in loads of other ways too and I have to say I think it's delicious!  60g of dry quinoa is 5pp, I've been buying the Merchant Gourmet Red & White Quinoa (Ready to Eat) which is 7pp for half the packet, worth it though.   

So here's the recipe;

Keralan Aubergine Curry

(total recipe 8pp)

Serves 2:
2 aubergines
a pinch of salt
1 onion
a fat clove of garlic
2 tablespoons oil (8pp)
1 red chilli or a pinch of the dried stuff
1/2 teaspoon turmeric
1 tsp cumin (ground or seeds)
1/4 tsp English mustard
zest and juice of half a lemon, or a tablespoon of bottled lemon juice
1 x 400g carton of chopped tomatoes
a fistful of coriander, to serve

Cut the stems from the ends of the aubergines, and pierce the skin all over with a sharp knife or a fork. Pop into a mixing bowl or saucepan, and cover with cold water and a pinch of salt to draw out the natural bitter flavour. Leave to stand for 20 minutes.
Meanwhile, peel and finely chop the onion and garlic, and toss into a medium pan with the oil. Sweat the onions on a very low heat, stirring to ensure they don’t burn or stick. Finely chop the chilli and add to the pan, or pinch in your dried flakes. Add the turmeric, cumin and mustard, and stir to cook the spices a little.

Remove the aubergines from the water, cut into chunks and add to the pan. Stir in well to coat with the now-spicy oil, add the lemon juice and zest (if using), and turn the heat up to medium to brown the edges of the aubergine. Pour over the chopped tomatoes and simmer for 15 minutes, until the aubergines are tender.

Finely shred the coriander and scatter on top to serve.

(recipe from http://agirlcalledjack.com/2014/05/28/aubergine-and-chickpea-curry/)

Sounds good doesn't it! I might make it Sunday, as I'm not going shopping today!  I'm not doing much of anything today. 

Catch ya tomorrows BeYOUtiful.