Continuing as I mean to go on...

I fear I may have bitten off slightly more than I can chew taking on this blog when life is so hectic. I started my new job as a Regstered Mental Health Nurse just this week and whilst I am enjoying I immensly and relishing the new challenges it is also extremely draining both physically and emotionally. At the same time I am also settling back into life living alone and continuing to fight off the eating disorder demons that have very sneaky ways of trying to play with my mind. I have however been able to fend them off so far.

I am also determined not to let my newfound hobby fall to the wayside and so would like to end (and begin) the years of 2010/11 sharing with you some of the meals I have rustled up for myself this week.

As I have said it has been very busy and I have had little time to plan and think about what I am going to eat in advance. Therefore most of my meals so far have been concoctions of whatever I happen to have in my kitchen. So far this week I have enjoyed :

Curried chickpeas and kale...

 Stir Fried Tofu and Kale...

Rounding up the year with one of my favourites...

Green Curry

All of these were of course prepared from my own secret recipes ;) and I hope to be able to share these with you as soon as I have another spare moment.

For now a very Happy New Year and may 2011 bring many blessings! 

What's in a name?

I thought I would offer up some of me musings on the title of this blog. Many who know me will know that I have spent the last two years or so recovering from Anorexia Nervosa, during the acute phase of which my meals consisted of mainly porridge cooked with water and apples. This self denial that originally stemmed from a desire for health ultimately resulted in desperate unhappiness, extreme social isolation and near death.

Since I have been endeavouring to regain my health (and my life!) I have embraced many changes including the realisation that an exciting and varied diet is not only necessary for physical health and vitality but also mental wellbeing and contentment. Food is so much more than an every day necessity, it can bring pleasure to an otherwise mundane daily routine, it brings people together – eating with other people is a social and emotionally bonding experience.

This is never more evident than during the current Christmas festivities – the time of year when food is clearly more than physical nourishment and is enjoyed in the companionship of our closest friends and family. Being able to enjoy this experience and a healthy relationship with food is an essential and integral part of the human experience.

This blog will be a record of my life as I continue in this journey of rediscovering the joy of food and remembering how to enjoy life whilst eating more than porridge for dinner.

The Icing on the Cake

I'm aware that I am starting this blog as a bit of a cheat as I am home for the holidays and have many more resources at my fingertips (namely a fully equipped kitchen!). However I couldn't resist posting a few pictures of the culinary delights I created today.

We are currently in the season of hibernation - eating and sleeping, in my mind at least, are all that matters. I therefore spent the majority of my day in the kitchen, my main task being decorating the Christmas cake whilst knocking up a delicious warming bowl of leek and pumpkin soup for lunch.
The ingredients:

 

 Blended and topped with delicious goat's cheddar...

Some months ago I cooked the cake and have been lovingly 'feeding' it weekly in the hope that my very first attempt will be almost as delicious as my mother's. And here is the final product:

I just hope it's as delicious as it looks!...

New beginnings

So here goes my first attempt at a blog. I've been spending a while thinking about what the topic could be - my first thought was food but my head cried "Not another food blog!" (but anyone who knows me will know I spend an inordinate amount of time musing on food and various culinary expeditions. So my next thought was a record of my journey starting my new job as a newly qualified mental health nurse, however I realised there may be little I could write about due to issues of confidentiality.

I have recently been thinking a lot about the impact my life has on the environment. Do I do enough to contribute to my bit in 'saving the planet'? How do I travel? How do I eat? How do I clean? Do I recycle enough? So came another thread to consider in the topic of my blog.

Coupled with the fact that I have just moved into a cozy one roomed flat in South London in order to start in my new job there appear to be many things I could blog about, so until I have established a definite answer my conclusion is that I will write about my life transitioning from student to "responsible adult" ;) , trying to live as ethically and environmentally friendly as possible with limited ways and means. From time to time I'm sure I will also post many recipes for wholesome, seasonal and ethical food. Hence the title that it is possible to eat cheap wholesome food and live off more than porridge!

I look forward to seeing how things will turn out...