The weekend I turned 30.....{Fish Pie Stew}

Well I made it to 30. Amazing! I had a fantastic weekend with lots of fun and laughter and I can honestly say I feel very blessed to have so many wonderful people in my life.

So now that the celebrating is over its time for me to put my head down and overhaul my lifestyle a bit. I have been trying to loose weight for so long and I always put it off or had an excuse. Time to get focused and get exercising!

This is a new-ish recipe that has become a really nice staple evening meal. I started off by making the original but I've changed it around a bit to make it a really nice alternative to fish pie, It's also much less time consuming so there's that as well...

Fish Pie Stew 

Inspired from the recipe here 

1 tbsp coconut oil

1 onion, chopped

3 sticks of celery, chopped

1 garlic clove, crushed

175ml white wine

300ml chicken stock or vegetable stock if you prefer

1 tbsp cornflour, mixed to a paste with 1 tbsp cold water

200g raw prawns 

300g fish pie selection (the one I used had smoked haddock, cod and salmon)

small bunch flat leave parsley, chopped

300ml half-fat crème fraîche

150g new potatoes, already boiled and slightly squashed with a fork

heat the oil in a large frying pan and cook the onion and celery until soft. add the garlic and cook for another minute them pour in the wine and simmer until most has disappeared. p

our in the stock and cornflour mix and simmer for 5-10 mins, stirring often until thickened. season, then add the fish, new potatoes and most of the parsley. simmer for a few mins until piping hot, then stir in the crème fraîche. serve with a sprinkling of parsley. you could have this with some bread, but I find that the addition of potatoes makes this plenty filling. 

To be a woman...

 

 

This blog is fundamentally a cooking blog and a blog about food. However, It is also a place where I can write what is on my mind or my heart.

 

Today is International Women's Day and I thought it was important to mark that. I am always aware of how lucky I am to have been born into a time and place where being a woman does not make me a 2nd class citizen, where I am not constrained by certain expectations, rules or a culture that does not allow women to flourish.

 

I am very aware that I came from a line of strong women who have always encouraged me to do exactly what I wanted to do. I am blessed with two strong minded and intelligent sisters and also a brother who absolutely, positively affirms and nurtures our strength and independence as females.

 

I am blessed to have the love of a man who totally believes that I can do anything I put my mind to and never feels threatened by any success I achieve. A man who I have chosen to love and to spend my life with without having to sacrifice my independence or integrity.

 

I am proud to work for a charity that fights tirelessly for women's rights throughout the world and everyday I see amazing examples of women positively changing and evolving their families, their communities, their governments and lets face it the world.

 

As some guy once said "with great power, comes great responsibility" and yes we do indeed have a responsibility. We have a responsibility to be bothered to go and vote, to engage with society in a positive way, to educate and equip ourselves and to be positive role models to the future generation. We have a responsibility to actually understand what being a feminist is and to "own it" and realise its not always about burning bra's and shouting the loudest.

 

We still have a long way to go to achieve gender equality worldwide, but I like to think slowly but surely we are getting there.

 

International Women's Day

 

Happy International Women's Day