Just Tired

I don’t know why but lately I’m feeling tired again to the extreme. Alright, I don’t sleep very well either. But that’s something I’m used to, so why is it so much more different now than normal.


After breaking up with my boyfriend I went into a downer again, but managed to get out of it. Too bad that he kept making contact so it became a big struggle to stay out of that depression mode. But other than that I was just doing great. I loved doing another job next to my own for a couple of days, although it was extreme busy handling both jobs at once, but it kind of boosted me. At the same moment I started to do inquiries for a new mortgage and looking forward to my trip to the UK to have a party with my friends there. So pretty good I would say. All I can think of now is that it might have been too much, but it sure doesn’t feel that way. Just tired, a bit down because I want to feel more lively, but not a depression. And since I’ve been there I know how that feels.

Problem now is that by feeling me this way I’m not really willing to do any socials events anymore. One thing I have to watch out for! So I decided yesterday to just join my friends on an annual trip we normally do at Pentecost.

And today I just wanted to cook again. I do normally cook but then simple. Not that it wasn’t simple this time, it was just time consuming. Cajun style pork filet, with spinach covered with a poached egg and real English bacon and some roast potatoes. It was great and although I normally would eat more, it really filled me up. Which made me feel tired again, but I guess that is to be expected. And afraid to fall asleep on the coach I decided to clean up the kitchen again, since it looked like a war zone, and take a shower. At the moment I felt a little bit more alive again, so it was time to wright this blog.

Eurovision

Last weekend I was in the UK with two friends, to visit my English friends for our annual Eurovision party. So on Tuesday we left on time. Really on time since we had 1 ½ hour to spend before boarding the train. One of my friends who sails a lot, once has been in a harbor in France near Calais. So we went there to have our lunch on the beach and did an almost 1 ½ km trip to the end of the pier and back. We even could see Dover from there.


The next day we went shopping in Reading since I wanted to go to SportsDirect, a shop with cheap sports clothes. The shop wasn’t there anymore which was bit of a downer for me, but one of my English friends told me there was another big one near Sainsburys. After some shopping a beer on a terrace we went off to the mega store and I finally bought me my Lonsdale tracksuit and some shirts, shorts and underwear. That evening my two Dutch friends with whom I travelled with, cooked a lovely dinner. Don’t ask me where I all put it, but I ate a lot!!

Saturday we didn’t do much. I went for a small shopping trip with one of my English friends and helped him with creating his outfit for the evening. That evening we went to the Eurovision party which was great fun.

On Sunday a walk by the cannel and diner out in the Red Lion, this is one of my favorite pubs over there at the moment.

Home on Monday, except for the place we had lunch I try to forget as much as possible of that trip. We normally have lunch in the train from Dover to Calais, this time we had so much room behind the car, we started a picnic in the train. That was really funny.

Diner Club

Yesterday I had the “Diner Club” kickoff, which meant I had to come up with a diner for seven. Me, being called mister bacon head, absolutely adores Bacon. So it was clear that it would be the main ingredient for my menu. First problem is finding English like bacon in the Netherlands. My mate was friendly enough to go to a butcher and asked for English cut bacon. With that bacon I started to make bacon croquets last week. A recipe I came up with earlier this year when I was making croquets in England. It took me Monday and Tuesday evening to make since you first have to make the ragout and let that cool for a few hours.

But what do you serve with bacon croquets? That answer came from England as well. My friends made me grilled potatoes once which I really liked and go fine with the croquets. My mate came up with the idea of serving them with carrots and sucker snaps. So with the main course ready, what do you use as starter? I asked my English colleague what a typical starter would be in England. He cam up with shrimp salad which I at first found kind of boring. But over a beer in the pub with some friends, of which one used to be a professional chef, I came up with the idea of making a shrimp salad with crunched bacon over it. He came with the idea of serving it in a lead of serving it in a leaf of iceberg lettuce filled with some rucola and then the shrimps and crunched bacon.

Finally desert, that was easier and would be an old time favorite of mine. A French toast made with sugar bread and ice-cream.

Now you think, alright we’ve got a many. But we were not ready. One of the guest is a big one lover and instead of cooking he offered to the sommelier. So now I had to tell him my kind of weird menu and he had to come up with some wines.

Yesterday it all came together. I cleaned the house and went shopping. My mate arrived a bit later but that was no problem since I already had done most of the shopping. We started to prepare as much as we could before the other 5 arrived right on time. The whole evening went perfect. My mate and I were really working on time and together. The people loved the food and all by all a perfect evening.

The next party will be by the end of June and be held on an island if the weather is good enough. But I do not have to worry about that one.