Refried beans and burrito folding 101...

Ok, let me get the burrito off my chest & I will give the Mexican thing a rest for a little while. But you have to try the burrito. It is just so far away from greasy heavy stodge-o-rama burritos you may have had in the past (unless your Mexican in which case this wont taste like your Mama's but try it anyway......) it would be a tragedy if you didn't try it. Not that I am given to hyperbole or anything..........

The beans do take a couple of hours to cook, but it is a very low maintenance couple of hours, just check the pot and top up with water if needs be, nothing too stressful. And the result is just so much better than canned beans you wont go back. They freeze beautifully, so make a batch & stock up. I warn you, nothing makes refried beans look good, but the taste more than compensates.

Refried Beans (frijoles refritos)-adapted from a Tale of 12 Kitchens by Jake Tilson (GREAT BOOK!)


 I use black turtle beans, they don’t need soaking, which I am never organised enough to remember, and cook in about 1 ½ -2 hours. The beans are also delish just cooked and thickened, without refrying, topped with sour cream and some grated cheese.
This makes enough for 6 burritos

1 cup dried black turtle beans
4 cloves of garlic
½ tsp oregano
½-1 dried chipotle chilli (or use a canned chipotle in adobe sauce)
1 onion finely chopped
1 tbsp oil (in Mexico they would use lard!)
2 tomatoes chopped
Salt

In a large pot simmer the beans, garlic, oregano, half the onion, and the chipotle chilli in plenty of water (I used about 4 cups) for 30 minutes.

Add the oil, and continue cooking for about another hour, until the beans are soft. Top up with hot water when they are getting low. Add salt once the beans are soft (not before, or the skins toughen)
In a small pan fry the remaining half an onion with the chopped tomato, until the onion is soft. Add a ladle of the beans and some liquid to the frying pan, then mash using a potato masher. Add this mix back into the pot of beans and stir it in, the bean mixture will thicken up

At this point you can serve the beans with sour cream, salsa and cheese, or remove the chilli, add a splash of oil to a larger frying pan and tip all the beans into it. Add chilli flakes if you want it hotter. Mash with your potato masher, and cook gently until all the liquid has evaporated and you have a thick bean mix.

Use in burritos, tostada or serve with rice and salsa.

Burrito with corn and courgette

A few years ago I started adding corn fried up with chilli and spring onions to my tacos. Then I came across a recipe in Thomasina Miers fantastic Mexican Food cookbook, which adds courgette to the mix. This is really lovely and fresh, and the refried beans and feta cheese add substance

For 6 burritos

1 Tbsp oil
1 can of whole kernel corn, drained (or fresh cut from the cob in season)
2 courgettes, diced into 1 cm cubes (or thereabouts!)
1 fresh red chilli
3 spring onions
Salt & fresh ground black pepper
Handful of chopped mint
Handful of chopped coriander
Squeeze of lime juice

Refried beans
Chopped tomato
Feta cheese
Avocado (optional)
Fresh flour tortillas of flatbreads
Sour cream to serve

Heat the oil over medium heat in a fry pan and add the corn, courgette, chilli and spring onions, with salt and pepper to taste. Fry for 5-10 mins until the corn is starting to colour, and the courgette is cooked. Take off the heat and stir in the mint and coriander, along with the lime juice. Taste and adjust the seasoning to suit , I like plenty of lime and chilli.

To assemble the burrito, take your tortilla, and spread a couple of tablespoons of the bean mix in the middle. Top with the corn mixture, chopped tomato, a crumble of feta cheese and chopped avocado if you like it cooked (I don’t!)

Fold the two edges together, then bring the bottom flap up to form a pocket. Fold forward to encase your filling completely.

Place in a dry non stick pan over medium heat, and cook each side until golden brown. You can also do this in a sandwich/Panini grill, which makes these a great lunch option for work. You will make everyone in the lunch room very envious, and the food police will leave you alone as they don't really smell very strongly

Take off the heat, slice in half diagonally and serve with sour cream, and salsa and guacamole if you like.

You can also add chopped cooked chicken, beef, pork or prawns to this, if you want more protein, but the beans do make it quite substantial.

The Iroquois call corn, beans and squash the Three Sisters, believing they only grow really well when planted together. The beans, which need support, grow up the corn, in turn stabilising it, and fix nitrogen in the soil for the following year’s crop. The squash provides mulch coverage, retaining moisture in the soil, and also spiny protection for the corn and beans. When eaten together the corn provides carbs, while the amino acids in the beans, which corn lacks, form protein, which when combined with the squash create a balanced diet without the need for meat. This is my attempt, peas instead of beans, and no squash, as my half barrel isn't big enough......

What amazes me is how they figured that out, thousands of years before chemistry sets and NZ Gardener? Is there anything more fascinating than food, I think not.......

Baja fish taco, gringo style..........

Lets lighten things up shall we? Summer is coming, and this recipe is a great option for those days when you want something full of flavour, but still light, and quick to prepare. I can whip these up in about 15 mins. This is also a top option for the BBQ, as the fish can be cooked and the tortillas warmed really easily on  a grill. If you are like me and cant eat anything handheld without wearing a portion of it, this taco, made from a soft tortilla rather than a crunchy corn shell, is also a lot easier to manage (or wear a bib?)

I have adapted the recipe from an episode of a great Australian show I saw a while ago called Food Safari. It was actually talking about Californian food, even though confusingly Baja California is the northern most state of Mexico. I tried to take notes as I watched, shorthand not being my forte I'm not sure how close this is to the original but we like it. The cabbage salad may seem odd, but it provides a great crunch to contrast with the soft fish, creamy sauce and zingy chilli. Try it and see.

Baja Fish Taco (adapted from Food Safari-American episode)

A small piece of snapper per person (or any white firm fleshed fish you like)

2 Tsp oil
Squeeze of lime juice
½ tsp cayenne pepper
Sprinkle of salt
Sprinkle of chilli (fresh or flakes)

Place your snapper on a plate and sprinkle over all the rest of the ingredients

Grill, BBQ or fry your fish until just cooked, then serve in a soft warm flour tortilla with the cabbage salad, some chopped tomato (or salsa) and the Baja cream, yum!

Cabbage Salad

Simply mix together finely chopped cabbage, sliced red onion, soaked in lime juice for 5-10 minutes to soften, and chopped coriander with a good sprinkle of salt. I also add fennel and radish when I have them for extra crunch.

Baja Cream

Mix together the following to taste (enough for 4 fish taco)

3 tbsp sour cream
2 tbsp thick plain yogurt
½-1 chopped fresh chilli to taste (or use chilli flakes)
Good pinch cayenne pepper
Squeeze of lime juice
Salt

Fresh tomato salsa

Simply mix together the following, tasting until you are happy with the zip factor

4-6 tomatoes, cut in half and scoop the seeds out, then chop roughly
1-2 cloves of garlic, finely chopped
½ -1 red onion, skinned and finely chopped (I don’t like huge chunks of onion) If you don’t have red onions, use spring onions
Big squeeze of lime juice
Chopped fresh chilli, red or green
Pinch of sugar
Chopped coriander
Salt & pepper

I made these at my Mexican cooking class last week, where they were a hit. Mexican food can have a bit of a reputation for being heavy, meaty and cheese rich, however that is more Tex Mex food, real Mexican is lighter and spicier, very deliscious..........my lovely friend Mairi over at  Toast , who was kind enough to take these pictures, made Watermelon-Raspberry ice for her Mexican fiesta at the weekend, which I was lucky enough to be invited to. Supper yummy, and would make a great finale to a summer meal, Mexican inspired or not.

I thought I would share my radishes with you............real, live, not yet consumed by snail ones, very exciting!

No that isn't my attempt at flower gardening, or quarrying. It is our soon to be constructed (by professionals  so will hopefully be done without mortal injury or divorce) decked entertaining area complete with pizza/smoking oven. I am so excited, it is worth the look I get from the back neighbours everytime they drive up our shared driveway and wonder what I have against rock gardens. Alot actually. For one thing they don't seem to produce anything I can eat, and for another I cant sit in one on a sun lounger sipping a cocktail while cooking a pizza. Nuff said.

Finally in the spirit of blogging honesty I will share with you entry number 7566 on the Plum Kitchen Roll Call of Honour-Making A Tit of Herself Again.

I drove into Ellerslie this afternoon (yes, I should have walked but I can never remember what time the Post Office closes) to return some clothes and visit the butcher. I was walking back to the car I'd unlocked remotely,  mentally ticking off jobs done and wondering if Feline Fusspot would eat the only cat biks I could find at Four Square when I noticed a scratch and small dent on the drivers side door. I was cursing as I jumped in, chucking my shopping onto a packet of cigarettes on the passenger seat and breathing in a massive wiff of fag smoke..........I dont smoke? Confusion for a nano second until I realised I was in someone elses car........

I nearly rammed the door into a passing bus in my hurry to grab my bags and exit the vehicle. From the way he nearly wet himself laughing I'd say the guy at the bus stop opposite realised what I had done, as I threw the shopping and remaining dignity into (my) car, and drove away as quickly as possible, thank goodness for tinted windows.......

Save an idiot and lock your car doors people!

Snowballs in Spring.....

How cute is a cupcake? I know, every man & his canine are doing them, but they are a lovely alternative to a birthday cake, and provide a higher icing to cake ratio than a normal slice (ok, I am not sure this has actually been scientifically proven, but should NASA ever take on the job I am sure that would be the finding...)

I recently catered a friends parents joint 80th birthday party, and thought snowball cupcakes would be the perfect sweet finale. They look fab, and are easy to make with a hand held beater. A vanilla cupcake laced with lemon zest, containing a teaspoonful of tangy lemon curd, topped with sweet marshmallow frosting and coconut, I want one of these on my 80th birthday please.......with champagne thanks.

Snowballs (recipe adapted from "Cupcakes!" by Elinor Klivans)

Vanilla Lemon Cupcakes (makes 24 normal sized cupcakes)

2 1/2 cups plain flour

1 tsp baking powder

1/2 tsp baking soda

1/2 tsp salt

3 eggs

2 cups sugar (yep, these are sweet little cakes!)

1 cup canola oil

2 tsp vanilla paste (or extract)

grated zest of a lemon

1 cup sour cream

Pre heat the oven to 180C

Sift the flour, baking powder, soda & salt together into a bowl.

In a large bowl eggs and sugar together until pale & thick (I use my Kitchen Aid but a hand held beater would be fine) With the beater on low add the oil, vanilla and lemon zest, beating until well mixed. Add the sour cream and mix in. Add the flour mixture and beat gently again until all the flour is combined. Pour into 24 lined cupcake cases, filling about 3/4 full, then bake for about 20 mins, until they are pale golden and a skewer poked into the middle of a cake comes out clean.

Cool, then scoop out a tsp of the cake crumb, and fill with a tsp of lemon curd (passionfruit or lime curd is also perfect here, you need something with a tang to counter all that sweet) and top with the following frosting, and a sprinkle of coconut.

Marshmallow frosting

3/4 cup of sugar

1/4 cup water

2 egg whites

pinch of cream of tarter

1/2 tsp vanilla paste (or extract)

Put the sugar, water, egg white and cream of tarter in a heatproof bowl over  a saucepan of barely simmering water. Don't let the water touch the bottom of the bowl. Using an electric beater, beat the mixture together until it forms a fluffy thick white frosting, this takes about 5-7 minutes. Remove from over the water, add the vanilla and beat for another couple of minutes, where it will further thicken and cool. Swirl all over your cupcakes in generous swirls (cupcake icing is no time for restraint......) and top with the coconut. Hose down yourself and the kitchen, which will somehow have managed to acquire sticky frosting and coconut all over it..........or maybe that's just me?

I also made sticky honey soy chicken wings, zucchini muffins with smoked salmon (recipe here), chicken and walnut mayo sandwiches, ham and brie sandwiches and hummus...........

oh and of course, sausage rolls! I make mine using my butchers best pork bangers, skinned and mixed with onion, seasoning and fresh parsley. So simple, so retro, so good.

All of the pics above were taken by my lovely friend Briar. Not only can she operate a camera with more confusing buttons and knobs than a space shuttle, she fits in photography around being a clever clogs lawyer and mum to a gorgeous little girl, cooking and  having a better garden than mine. Oh and she is great fun too.

I know, overachieving tart.....

Speaking of gardens, I thought I would share with you my latest garden disaster, in case you are having a rough day and would like to feel superior. Please admire my sad little courgette plant, after a dawn raid by the local snail community............I tried in vain to cox it back to health but the little buggers had eaten all the fresh growth.....my revenge was a liberal does of Quash, firmly shutting the gate as the horse gallops down the road..........

I was chatting to one of my sisters this morning, she lives in Kerikeri, far north of Auckland, where they get more sun and hence an earlier start on Spring crops. She had been talking on the phone to our Mother (whose garden at the moment is quite spectacular, Ma's fingers are green to the bone, what happened to me is still a mystery) and commented her radishes had grown really well. Mum paused for a second then responded "well anyone who cant grow radishes cant grow anything". They get sun in Northland, but also the odd shower of rain on parades...........

You might have noticed I have had a wee break from my blog. It has been a funny few weeks, I have changed jobs, had some rather worrying news and attempted a "staycation", a holiday at home. This was not exactly a success, instead of coming back from a beach in Fiji relaxed and slightly pink (my version of a holiday tan....),  I have a very clean house (even the windows!), and a desire to book a beach break imminently...........actually we are off to Sydney to visit another sister in January so I can look forward to that.
In the meantime I will sit in the sun with my book, finished Vanda Symon's Overkill, great book, am now attempting a Lee Child thriller, not usually my scene but he seems very popular so will give it a go........

Creamy mustard chicken supper.

It isn't curdled. Really, it isn't. OK, it is a tiny bit, but it didn't affect the flavour at all. This is a super tasty chicken dinner, it just wont win any prizes for beauty. Since I myself am not likely to grace the catwalk any time soon, I am prepared to cut my dinner some slack.
This is an easy supper, the sauce is whipped up in minutes, then poured over chicken breasts and the whole lot bunged in the oven while you relax with a glass of vine and Antiques Roadshow...........nice.

Basically this is an adaptation of a Nigel Slater recipe I read on the Guardian website at work, printed, then forgot to take home. The following is based on what i could remember from the original. Turns out it was meant to have bacon in, and no lemon, but I think my adaptation is just fine, cheers Nigel.

Creamy mustard chicken (adapted from Nigel Slater)

Serves 4

8 skinless boneless chicken thighs
200 gram tub of cream fraiche
2 tsp Dijon mustard
1 heaped tsp wholegrain mustard (if you only have one or other mustard, just use that)
2 cloves garlic, peeled and chopped fine
2 tbsp chopped fresh thyme (or use parsley or tarragon if that's what you have)
Big squeeze of lemon juice
Salt and fresh ground black pepper

Pre heat the oven to 200C. Place the chicken thighs in an oven proof casserole dish. Mix together all the other ingredients and pour over the chicken. Put in the oven and cook for 30-40 minutes until the sauce is bubbly and the chicken is cooked

That's it. I served the chicken with steamed potato's tossed in some butter and dill, and asparagus  boiled in salted water for a couple of minutes, and drained. Both vege, though plain,  were lovely with the mustardy creamy sauce. The dish isn't as rich as you imagine due to the sharpness of the cream fraice and lemon. The chicken stays moist and tender, but with a crust, which I love.

I went on a brilliant writing course this weekend, with Joan Rosier-Jones through the University of Auckland's Continuing Education department. I am working on a novel (about food, how surprising.....) and it was so cool to get inspiration with a great group of like minded people. Although when we did mock promo interviews it was noted my arms waving about every time I opened my mouth to talk would be annoying for viewers. I thought it would be a cunning distraction from the 5 kg the camera adds that I can ill afford. I suspect I may be made for radio........
Reading a fab book at the moment, by New Zealand author Vanda Symon called Overkill. I started reading it last week after a trip to the Library during my lunch hour, and struggled to get back to work. Cant wait to find out who did it........

Gorgeous eggplant/aubergine dip......and a tiny piece of advice

My little heart skipped a beat the other day when I saw shiny firm glorious eggplants (or aubergine if you are posher than me, which is entirely likely...) at the food market on a 2 for $5 deal. Maybe this means I need to get out more, or am simply very easily pleased , or both, but I fairly skipped up to the counter.

I adore eggplant, and we eat plenty all spring and summer. The texture is great, be it grilled until tender on the BBQ or grill, fried with loads of garlic and tomato, or as in the following recipe, a delish smokey dip. Whatever you do with eggplant, give it plenty of seasoning, and do cook it well, a half cooked eggplant is grim indeed, it needs to be soft and melting........

The following dip is a simplified version of an Ottolenghi recipe (yes, again!) , from Plenty. It is easy, tasty, and has already become a fav in our house, try it.
Please don't let the Pomegranate Molasses put you off, I found this at my local supermarket, but any specialist food shop or Middle Eastern shop should carry it. I FINISHED my last bottle, it didn't just sit there until I threw it out......... It is fab in dressings, and I have a glorious red pepper and walnut dip it really peps up, I will post the recipe as spoon as I dig it out of my overflowing recipe box....if you cant find it, I would try some tamarind paste/water which is available at any Indian store....

Eggplant Dip (based on Burnt Aubergine with Tahini recipe from Plenty)

2 Eggplant
2 tbsp of tahini paste
1/4 cup of cold water
1-2 tsp pomegranate molasses
Squeeze of lemon or lime juice
1 clove garlic, crushed
2 tbsp chopped parsley (coriander is also great, and mint)

Prick your eggplant a couple of times with a knife, and place on a baking tray lined with foil or baking paper (if you are using foil make sure the shiny side is up so it reflects the heat). Place under a hot grill for 45 minutes or so until the skin is black, and the eggplant is collapsing. This sounds nuts, but you are not eating the skin, and this burn imparts a lovely smokey flavour to your dip. Trust me.

 When the eggplant has cooled down a little, split it in half and scoop the soft insides into a colander.

You can biff the skin, it has done it's job.

 I know it does not look terribly appealing at this stage, but bear with me.

Let the eggplant flesh drain for about 20 mins or so, and place into a bowl with the rest of the ingredients. Mix together, then taste and check the flavour.

The pomegranate gives a lovely sweet sharpness, while the tahini adds depth, adjust adding a little more or less depending on how you like it.

We have had this a couple of times recently, once as a yummy creamy topping for lamb pita pizza's....

and once as a delish side for some lamb kibbe patties I made, experimenting with bulgur wheat. I have not perfected this recipe yet, but when I do I will post it toot sweet........

On another note entirely, can I offer you a friendly piece of advice? If you are tired, and cooking Mac n Cheese, because you require comfort food, and a recipe you can make without actually engaging your brain, BE AWARE! Testing your little pasta shapes for al denteness can result in a hidden pocket of boiling water bursting out and dribbling down your lip and onto your chin..........this can then result in much swearing, burning, tears before bedtime and general unhappiness. And some clown at work asking if you have a cold sore. No, I have a severe pasta burn............and it isn't funny pal.
Lets be careful out there.

Chicken breasts, the black pants of food?

Excuse the slightly odd analogy, but as I cleared out my wardrobe to make way for Spring , I counted four pairs of black trousers, enough for every day of the working week (and jeans for casual Friday) .........yawn! I know they are not very imaginative, but that dependable go with most things, make me look slimmer (has science ever actually proved this, or is it an urban myth?), wont show the odd mark reputation, make black pants boring but omnipresent. A bit like chicken breasts.

I stood by the poultry counter at my local supermarket the other night and watched (I pretended to be checking my shopping list, lest I look like a total weirdo....). Chicken is the first meat you come to after produce, and my is it popular. How many shoppers had visions of excitement further along with beef or lamb I could not tell , they capitulated at the first sign of a skinless boneless breast. It is curious because lets be honest, no one thinks yippee, pale, prone to dryness piece of very mild tasting flesh for dinner, rock on! This isn't steak or oysters, or lobster, it wont offend, but it does not really scream yum, does it?
So how to introduce the wow factor, this is the Black Pant challenge........

I think a big part of food is texture, so for me, adding crunch in the form of a crispy coating is a no brainer. For this may I suggest Panko? The link takes you to a neat little You Tube clip showing how panko breadcrumbs are made. Panko originated in Japan during WWII, when bread dough was cooked using electrical current rather than heat, then ground, to produce a light, flaky crumb, that cooks like a dream, and produces a lighter crisper coating than traditional breadcrumbs. A bag lasts for yonks, is not very expensive, and is available at my local supermarket. Otherwise try an Asian store.

I have mentioned in a prior post about bashing out your chicken breast, to get an even texture and thickness. At the risk of repeating myself, it really is worth doing. Just shove the meat in a small plastic bag, and bash with your rolling pin, or something similar like a wine bottle . This gives you a nice even thickness to cook, and saves dry indigestible ends while you wait for the thicker part of your meat to cook through....

Take your flattened meat, and coat with the following crumb mixture. This is enough for 3-4 chicken breasts

Herb and cheese crumb

2 cups Panko crumbs
2 tbsp chopped herbs, I used thyme, rosemary and parsley
1 tsp salt
1/2 tsp black pepper
1/4 cup grated Parmesan cheese

To crumb I set up 3 plates. One with about a cup of seasoned plain flour, one with a beaten egg and one with your crumb mixture. Dip your chicken in the flour to coat, then into the egg, and finally into your crumb mixture, making sure all the meat is covered.
It sounds much more complicated and messier than it is, the whole process for three chicken pieces took me about three minutes, and the meat can be coated in advance and left to sit in the fridge before you fry it off.
To cook heat a frying pan big enough to hold your meat in a single layer, and add enough oil (I use Canola, but whatever oil you like would be fine) to just coat the bottom of the pan. Heat on med until the oil is hot, and cook your meat for about 5 minutes per side, until the crust is brown and crispy and the meat is cooked through.

The crumb provides a textural elementt that is so lacking in a skinless piece of meat. As a kid who didn't eat the golden crispy skin , before it became the kind of socially unacceptable behaviour practiced alone in the privacy of your own home?? It also provides protection to stop the meat drying out, which can happen over the heat of frying.

I served my chicken with some simply steamed asparagus, a green salad, and a quick mayo, thinned with water, and plenty of lemon juice. Simple, but delicious, and not at all boring!

Easy potato curry in a hurry.......

I have been craving curry for a few days, and I wanted to make the  yummy looking flatbreads over at Pod & three peas . When my vege box arrived, the huge pile of spinach was so fresh looking I knew that had to be in the curry somewhere (and lets be honest, the quicker I use it, the quicker I get a quarter of my fridge space back...). Combine with potato, and you have my version of the Indian classic sag aloo.

Nigel Slater's spinach and potato recipe, in his wonderful vegetable book Tender was the inspiration,  but I fear his tastes may be slightly more austere than mine. I like my spinach well wilted with the potato, and the splash of lite coconut cream (I know, how unlike me to use lite anything, but actually it was fine) gave a lovely creaminess at the end. But if you don't have coconut cream, don't worry, you could use a spoonful of yoghurt, or indeed nothing at all, it will still taste fab.....

Potato and spinach curry

2 medium potatoes (or about 500 grams baby potatoes) peeled and cut into chunks
2 small onions peeled , halved and cut into thin crescents
1 tbsp mustard oil (if you don't have mustard oil, just use canola or olive)
1 tbsp canola oil
2 cloves garlic, chopped
1/2 red chilli, finely diced (OR a good pinch of chili flake)
1 tsp of grated fresh ginger OR large pinch ginger powder
1/2 tsp black mustard seeds
1/2 tsp fennel seeds
1/2 tsp turmeric
Salt & pepper
LARGE bunch spinach (about 400 grams) OR 2 bags of baby spinach
1/4 cup lite coconut cream (optional)
Big squeeze lemon juice

Boil or steam your chunks of potato until tender when you put a sharp knife into them. Meanwhile heat the oils in a frying pan (I use a 23cm for this) over a medium heat and fry the onions for about 10 mins until tender. Add the garlic, chilli and the spices and stir for another minute or so, to get rid of the raw taste.

Season with salt & pepper, then add the potatoes back to the pan, stirring to coat them with the oil mix. Add a cup of cold water and stir again. Place all your chopped spinach on top of the potato and put a lid, or piece of foil over the top. Turn the heat to med-low, and cook for another 10 mins or so until the spinach is wilted, and about half the liquid has evaporated. Stir in the coconut cream, check the seasoning and serve, easy.

I was dealing with an electrician when I got home from work, and realised I would not have time to make the flatbreads, so we has these parathas from the freezer instead. I get them from New World, and they are so easy, just chuck in a heated frying pan straight from frozen, they are done in about 2 minutes, genius!

You might also notice a handful of broadbeans in the curry picture, I picked them fresh, and just chucked them in about five minutes from the end of the cooking time, but 1/2 a cup of frozen peas would also be perfect.

I cant say this is terribly authentic, but it was really tasty, filling and quick to prepare, so I will definitely be making it again....

On a totally different note, I was out walking last night (yep, Plum K is still trying to get leanish....), trotting along at a decent clip and feeling pretty pleased with my efforts, when I was overtaken by a guy with a backpack........... walking home from work! Not out exercising mind, just returning home (I assumed) from a day at the office. And as he whizzed past me he turned, smiling, and reassured me I was "doing really well"........??!

How tragic does a girl exercising have to look, that a stranger feels he needs to reassure her she will actually make it home PRIOR to her coronary, while simultaneously zooming past like she is almost stationery. Keep your kind words stranger, I'm just fine thanks.....my face will return to its normal colour in no time!

Mustering as much dignity as I could in the circumstances I smiled (grimaced) and bid him a hearty good evening..........I might have tried to trip him up but I didn't want to break stride.

Really!