Boy am I glad that’s over. January is the hangover after the party, the unpacking of a suitcase after a holiday, the washing up after a three course dinner party. In other words, it’s rubbish. It’s the month that no-one wants, the unwanted accidental child that you just have to learn to live with. Actually, I find February even worse but I can come to that later.
January has been great for food though. Firstly, I’ve been able to eat all the naughty treats leftover from Christmas. The remnants of a Terry’s Chocolate Orange and some Twiglets are still lurking though. What is it about certain foods that can only be eaten at Christmas? Then I had my birthday, which obviously meant chocolate cake. I also finally bought the first Deliciously Ella book, only a year late, and it has changed my life. OK, maybe not my life but it changed my bank balance as obviously I insisted on buying all the fancy ingredients from it straight away. I’ve got the second book now too which has just been released and I love it already so expect more from that.
Here are some of my favourite things in January:
- I’ve been loving rice bowls this month. I won’t bore you now as there is already a whole post dedicated to the recipe but they’re great to take to work as they fill you up and you can mix and match the toppings each day. I always like things like this for lunch. I’m not a big fan of sandwiches and only really like smelly sandwich fillings like cheese and pickled onion which doesn’t go down too well in the office.
- Smoothies. Particularly green ones. I had a couple of these after Christmas to try and get my skin and digestive system back where it should be and actually became a bit addicted. I know this sounds strange and a bit ‘look at me I’m a health guru’ (I’m totally not) but it’s true. I really like them and miss them if I go without for a couple of days. What on earth has happened to me?
- Hummus is another thing that has been frequently shovelled into my face this month. I’ve made loads of varieties and actually I’ve grown bored of it now so will likely lay off it for a bit. I’m in a sort of chickpea induced coma.
- Deliciously Ella’s raw brownies. See previous post, I really can’t gush about them anymore. Just try them and thank me later.
- Maple Cinnamon Pecans. You have to try these. Tip a packet of pecans into a baking tray, drizzle over 2 tablespoons of maple syrup, a teaspoon of cinnamon and a good pinch of sea salt then bake for 10 minutes. Amazing.
- I have been enjoying blogging more than I could have even anticipated. I’ve loved sharing recipes and thoughts and it’s so nice to have people reading my posts and enjoying what I’m writing. Thank you to everyone who has read any of my posts this month!
I’ve lived in the comfiest pair of M&S pjs and got myself back into liquid eye liner this month. But that’s not really relevant.
If you missed any of January’s posts, you can see them all here:
Recipe Review: Nigella Lawson’s Lemon Pavlova / Recipe: New Year Green Smoothie / What I Ate in a Day #1 / Recipe: Sea Bass with Sweet Chilli Veg and Noodles / Recipe Review: Nigella Lawson’s Nutella Cake / Recipe: Blueberry Breakfast Pancakes / My Thoughts on Dieting / Recipe: DIY Rice Bowl / What I Ate in a Day #2 / Recipe: Beef Brisket Chilli / Recipe Review: Deliciously Ella’s Raw Brownies / Recipe: Balsamic Onion Hummus / #Foodporn: Episode One
the gammon kitchen 