What Everyone Should Eat for Lunch

I've recently stumbled upon a lot of spare time.

To cut a long and boring story short, I decided to abandon my uni studies for this semester because the degree I have been doing for the past year and a half has only caused me lots of angst and stress for all the wrong reasons (I have made great friends though). Instead, I decided to do something I've been wanting to do for ages and apply for design courses at various other uni's and will, fingers crossed, start fresh at the beginning of next year. But until then, I'm cruising...

Which will sound amazing to some, but this is somewhat unfortunate for me because I'm not the biggest fan of spare time. I like to be doing things. I don't know whether this is a good attribute or not and I've definitely tried to fight it over the years but all my attempts have failed.

On the plus side I now have the time to make lunch. And I mean like a proper, sit down in the sun, with a plate of lovingly prepared food, lunch. I guess there always is a silver lining!

Roasted Cauliflower with Tarragon Mustard Dressing
(serves 1 - but I eat a lot)
Roasted cauliflower is amazing. Seriously. Something about adding heat and a bit of burnt crust turns this bland, boring vegetable into a flavour explosion. And carrots are so good at the moment, roasting them only intensifies their sweet flavour. This would also be good as a side dish.

1/2 a head of cauliflower, cut into big florets
1 carrot, cut in half and halved lengthways
Olive oil
1 tablespoon chopped fresh tarragon or 1 teaspoon if using dried tarragon
Few leaves of fresh parsley, roughly chopped
2 teaspoons dijon mustard
1 teaspoon seeded mustard
little bit of lemon zest
1 teaspoon verjuice, or white wine vinegar (in this case add a smidge of honey into the dressing too)
2 teaspoons olive oil
Salt and plenty of pepper

Par cook carrots in the microwave until just soft (don't do this to the cauliflower as it cooks through in the oven). Place cauliflower and carrots on a baking tray, drizzle lightly with olive oil and bake in a hot oven for about 10-15 minutes until soft, crispy and the carrots are golden.

Meanwhile to make the dressing, whisk all of the ingredients together and season to taste.
When the vege is cooked, put into a bowl while still hot and pour over the dressing. Eat warm!

Vertigo, Sharks and Tabbouleh

My dad is learning how to fly.

...An aeroplane, of course. Last week he said to me that it will be great when he get's his pilot licence because he can, wait for it, "take me on scenic flights above the ocean!".....Are you kidding me?

I have two great fears in life - heights and deep ocean water. And for that reason, this aeroplane trip will never happen. Sorry Dad. I'm sure it would have been great and everything but I can guarantee you I will spend the whole flight with my eyes closed, clutching your arm so tight you may not even be able to fly the plane. We may crash. It would never end well for us both.

While I was in Thailand in January I semi-conquered my fear of deep seas. After a failed snorkelling attempt in Vietnam that involved a lot of water retention and scratches on Tom's arm, I got to Thailand and was determined to get in the water... and stay in. I forced my lovely friend Steph to hold my hand as we jumped off the rocking boat into the dark water. I forced her to hold it as we swam a few metres from the boat. I forced her to stay nex to me as I could hear the faint drum of oncoming shark music in my head (you know the one). I clutched Steph tighter. My throat constricted and I started manically laughing in terror. People who were gaily snorkelling around me stopped and stared at the commotion.

I floated and waited for the shark to lurk up behind us....

Shockingly, nothing ate me. Just lucky, I guess....In the end I calmed down and had an awesome time swimming around amongst the fishes and coral. Though not as much fun as Bridget who actually CHASED AFTER A SHARK (what a freak).

Which brings me to my next tummy wrencher - Today I semi-conquered my fear of heights by going rockclimbing. And by going rockclimbing I mean slowly crawling my way up the easiest green coloured runs on the walls, constantly looking back down to the ground for re-assurance. A girl of about 12 scuttled up the wall next to me, not forgetting to pause and giggle at my shaking arms.

However, I have managed to demolish my fears without facing premature death. Next I'll be climbing off cliff-faces, just you wait...

Tonight, to celebrate (just because I can always find a reason to celebrate with food), I made my favourite snazzy tabbouleh, which is only snazzy because it features posh pistachios and lush pomegranate seeds.

I've never fully understood why people buy tabbouleh from supermarkets when it's so insanely easy and cheap to make at home. And what's more you can muck around and chuck in extra goodies to spice things up a little.
No bulgur? Use quinoa, whole buckwheat or cous cous. Wanna be extra healthy? Add some crunchy pumpkin seeds or pepitas. And experiment with dressings - I added the leftover pomegranate juice to a traditional lemon/olive oil mixture for a change.

Anywho, I think the point I'm trying to make here is to try different things (foods and experiences) even if they intimidate you, or you may get eaten in the proccess.

Pomegranate, Pistachio and Green Olive Tabbouleh

2 cups roughly chopped flat leaf parsley
1/2 pomegranate
1/2 cup lightly toasted unshelled, unsalted pistachios
a few sprigs of fresh mint, chopped finely
1 lemon
1/2 cup burghul
about 20 sicilian green olives, roughly chopped
3 spring onions, sliced thinly
2 tablespoons olive oil
Salt

Boil some water and, in a bowl, completely cover the burghul. Leave to soften for 5 minutes, and drain when the wheat is cooked through.
To de-seed the pomegranate - before cutting in half, get a rolling pin or something of the sort and bang on the fruit quite forcefully a few times. This action loosens the seeds inside so when you cut the pomegranate open the seeds can be shaken out easily (be careful though, pomegranate juice is bright red!). Reserve some of the juice in a dish to combine with lemon juice, olive oil and salt to make an easy dressing.

In a bowl add the chopped parsley, mint, olives, pomegranate seeds, toasted pistachios, burghul and spring onions. Pour over the dressing right before serving and enjoy.

I had this salad with garlic lemon roasted chicken and a side of hommous, but it's just as good eaten on it's own...