Should old acquaintance be forgot, And never brought to mind?  Should all acquaintance be forgot and all times past? Not for me, I'm all for fresh starts and new beginnings, but you can't rewrite history.  I'm content and happy with my life these days, looking forward to 2014 and stretching myself, a little, maybe... ;-)

Feeling festive! I'm not very good at this "selfie" lark! Ha ha ha, or should that be Ho Ho Ho!
Detoured to my sister's on the way home tonight, had a little catch up over a coffee.

It's my birthday!    BBE and I love to travel, eat local dishes and then try and recreate them at home.  As a special birthday treat I spent quite a few pounds on ingredients to make this Norwegian speciality.  We ate it in Oslo earlier this year.  It was on the menu everywhere we went, and we loved it!  We used the recipe on Nordic Nibbler,  but with different fish.  We used a mix of cod, salmon, smoked haddock, prawns and scallops. It turned out pretty tasty!



Ingredients to serve 4 -6

• 2 ltrs good quality fish stock
• 2 carrots, diced into ½-inch cubes
• 2 celery stalks, sliced
• 1 small celeriac, diced into ½-inch cubes
• 1 parsley root (or parsnip), diced into ½-inch cubes
• 125g cod fillet (skin and bones removed) cut into 1-inch cubes
• 125g halibut (skin and bones removed) cut into 1-inch cubes
• 125g salmon (skin and bones removed) cut into 1-inch cubes
• 125g monkfish tail cut into 1-inch cubes
• 125g fiskepudding (or homemade fish dumplings. Optional)
• 1 tbsp plain flour
• 300ml double cream
• 2 tbsp good quality red wine vinegar (to taste)
• 1 tbsp sugar (to taste)
• Salt and freshly ground white pepper
• A handful of chopped chives to garnish

Method

1. Bring the fish stock to boil in a large pot
2. Add the chopped vegetables and simmer for 5 minutes
3. Whisk the flour into the cream and add to the soup, and bring to the boil
4. Add the sugar and the vinegar gradually and taste to get the right balance between sweet and sour
5. Add the fish and fiskepudding/dumplings and simmer until the fish is just cooked (around 6-7 minutes)
6. Season to taste with salt and freshly ground white pepper and sprinkle with some finely chopped chives
7. Serve with lots of crusty white bread to dunk in the soup

I've been out for a meal tonight with BBE.  We went to a local steak house that serves Chateaubriand for two, the included side dishes are delicious too, we had a bottle of  Amancaya Malbec Cabernet Sauvignon, to go with it.  BBE needed a little nap before going out tonight but he is doing really well in terms of adjusting to the time difference.

BBE is back.  He is shattered and went to bed early.  His first question to me was "Where is my Misfit?"   Well, dear reader, I broke it!  Oops!  The large framed print I collected 2 Saturdays ago was accidently knocked over and the glass broke.  I took it back to the Framing Cottage last Saturday.  BBE was mystified looking for it around the house and wondering where it could be! Oh dear...
Tigi Cat is pretty underwhelmed that BBE is home.  She seems happy as long as someone is feeding her :-)
BBE wasn't hungry tonight, too tired, and I've booked a restaurant for tomorrow night, so I'd best get cooking and freezing a few things! I need a good nights sleep myself first though.
It's good to have him home x

BBE is back tomorrow!  I am tracking his flights on Flight Aware, an App on my phone.  I am really looking forward to seeing him, of course! I have over-shopped in an attempt to have some of his favourite things available to eat over the weekend, he probably won't even be hungry after his long journey!  and I'd quite like to go out on Saturday night!  You can tell I'm excited by the number of exclamation marks I've used in this post!

I can't get warm tonight.  I feel sorry for BBE coming back to this weather and work on Monday.  I know that's mad; I shouldn't really be feeling sorry for him, after all he has just had 2 weeks away in the sun, whilst I have been in work and the cold! I think the contrast just makes it worse for him.  If it continues to be this cold I'll light the coal fire in the lounge over the weekend.  That's one of the good things about the cold, lighting the fire and making it nice and cosy!  Also enjoying some hearty food, casseroles, curry, chilli, PIE!  Maybe even a proper pudding with custard!  
Just heard that Nelson Mandela has died, he was 95.  R.I.P

Met a friend after work for a long overdue catch up.  It was so good to see her and her bump! We talked about a range of subjects that one or both of us is passionate about including work, family, health, travel and holidays (past and forthcoming), Yoga, food choices, diet and nutrition, cats, HS2, and all the problems in the world! It was great!
Talking of HS2.  I am against.  I have yet to be convinced that it is a worthwhile investment.  The journey time saved is small from London to Manchester or Leeds and not worth the disruption or the astronomical cost for the time saving achieved if it does ever get approval beyond Manchester and Leeds.
This article is a good starting point to read more:
http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/business-16467903

Another busy day at the office.  I went to my Slimming World meeting straight from work.  I've put on a pound *sad face*.  No great surprise.  My eating has been somewhat haphazard this past week!  I will stick to it for the next few days, well at least til BBE is home.  Not long now!
I've made some leek and potato soup, I had it when I got in from work. I'm going to try and keep a pot of soup on the go.  I used to always make soup.  I have fallen out of the habit. I used to make a lovely homemade chicken soup with a nice kick of chilli and plenty of garlic.  Mmmm, I must make that again.  Other soups I used to make include Butternut squash and sweetcorn, and broccoli with stilton; well with any leftover strong cheese I had in the fridge really.  There is a soup that I ate in Oslo earlier this year and would like to make one day, This recipe from Nordic Nibbler looks like a good Fiskesuppe to try.
I wonder what BBE will want to eat when he gets home?  Soup?! Steak and chips maybe?

I forgot to tell you about my night out in Manchester!  It served as a reminder to me of why I don't go out in Manchester!  That's not as bad as it sounds.  I'd love to go out in Manchester more, but public transport from where I live into Manchester is difficult, mostly time consuming!  So I either stay in Manchester or drive.  I don't usually mind driving, but on this occasion I got stuck on the M602 for 40 minutes as it was closed whilst an accident was recovered!  This does seem to happen often.  Then I went round in circles looking for a parking space.  Finally parked in a dodgy looking underground car park, which turned out to be fine and really convenient!  Not free like on street parking is after 8pm though.  C'est la vie!
So, walked in 40 minutes late, there were 5 people already there.  3 guys on one side of the table and 2 girls on the other.  I took my seat opposite a guy I'd never seen before, and was chatting away to everyone,   when I was tapped on the shoulder by BBE's brother!  He was there with his wife and the little flowers (their 2 daughters).  Serendipity!  We had an impromptu and all too brief catch up.  Lovely.

I'd only made the effort to go out because people from work were going to a restaurant serving East Asian cuisine which I love! Tampopo.  So not such a coincidence as we all love South East Asian Cuisine!

3 out of the six people were driving and no one stayed out very late.  I gave one of the girls a lift home as it wasn't much out of my way, and more to the point I liked the company getting out of Manchester and knew where I was going once I'd dropped her off!  I really would so much prefer to travel by public transport for a night out in Manchester.

I was shattered when I got in and went straight to bed.  Sunday was a quiet day.  I had a long lie in, made brunch.  Went to Mum and Dad's.  Got some groceries.

Busy day in work today.  A new guy started.  He sits opposite me, but I was hardly at my desk today.  I first met him over 15 years ago!  Time flies.  We know a lot of people in common, but they are all people I haven't seen for years.

Went to Ikea on my way home tonight and had their meatballs and chips!  Not part of my diet plan, I was hungry though!  I walked round for nearly 2 hours after that.  I bought some battery operated Christmas lights, I'm excited to light them up!

When is something that makes you cry a good thing? When it's this heart warming and poignant 48 minute long film.  Put some time aside to watch it.  I started crying at 4 minutes in and was sobbing at 6.  The saga of the geese, oh no!  The man at 28.54 "if it doesn't come together at 1 o'clock it will be a total disaster".  BBE takes getting the dinner on the table for 1 o'clock very seriously too!  

Christmas in a day