10 September 2014

Food, glorious food

Hey m'dears!

Apologies for the silence- I've spent the last week or so in a pastry coma!

I started my new job on Thursday so my brain is filled to bursting with ideas, new information, questions, and 80's pop lyrics (well, some things never change!) so this post is probably going to be less loquacious* and more photo-heavy than normal. Let's start off with a shot of my new desk and admire my (totally unnecessary but oh so beautiful) stationery purchases, shall we?



Obviously, all of this learning has required plenty of brain fuel, so it was a happy coincidence for me that Brighton Food Festival was being held last weekend. We nibbled our way around the free samples, scooping up an armful of rather delicious fare along the way for an impromptu picnic and some mid-week snacking too. Our first purchase was a pair of scotch eggs so large that I'm pretty sure we were drawn to them by their own gravitational pull. 



Tom opted for the spiciest, meatest option on offer to scoff on site (and on sight), while I snapped up the Moroccan veggie version to eat for dinner with a side of roasted veg (in a bowl all the way from Morocco, to make it more authentic).



We also hefted home a chocolate twist pastry thing which was LITERALLY over 1 ft long. It didn't even fit in my bag! We *might* have shared the whole thing for breakfast the next day. And Tom wasn't that hungry, so the split might also have been 70:30.... Oops.


To give some scale-  that's a DINNER plate.

My belly has also recently been treated to:

A HUGE burger (involving four kinds of carbs and two kinds of cheese) from The Hartington, accompanied by a lovely trip down memory lane because it was our "local" during our final year in Brighton. 




A rather tasty pie, which contained 93% of my recommended daily limit of saturated fat. It tasted heavenly, which is rather ironic given that it's definitely knocked a few years off my life expectancy. 



Tea and biscuits, as a carpet picnic on a rainy afternoon. Note that I chose the room with green carpet, to make it more realistic:



A glass of wine, complete with flamingo. Proof that I'm hilarious after half a glass of wine...



And a bowl of mushroom soup topped with homemade parsnip crisps. Which totally balances out all the overindulgences. 



Between that and a walk along Brighton seafront to get to the food festival I've basically spent the last week at a healthy eating bootcamp!



On a side note, has anyone else noticed the weird my-jeans-feel-awfully-tight phenomenon going on recently? No?

Katie xxx

*A bit of trivia for you - I learned the word loquacious from Francis Boulle of MIC fame.

24 comments:

  1. As someone with precisely no need whatsoever for folders, paperclips, or other study paraphernalia I still can't go into Easons without buying a few things. Which is why I'm currently using post-its as bookmarks in a bid to make use of everything I've bought. It pleases me to know I'm not the only one :) That looks like some good eating (particularly that chocolatey-pastry-scrummyness. Oh and that tight jeans thing? The tumbles dryers are shrinking them. True story

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    1. You're definitely not the only one! Even if those files sit empty for the next six months (although I doubt very much that will happen!) they're still pretty enough to *almost* justify buying them. The chocolate pastry thing was IMMENSE. If humans were allowed to marry food, I would totally have married it. Although I'd've been a widow before my wedding night :p

      Oh good- glad it's not me. Now I just need to find out who's been sneaking my jeans out of the house and putting them through a tumble dryer! haha xxx

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  2. The word loquacious is a magnificent one.
    I want the death pie, is it ok that I want the death pie?
    I also want all the stationery but I'll settle for the death pie.
    I went out with my colleagues for a lunch this week to a carvery where I scoffed not one (nor 2,3,4,5 or 6) but 7 roast potatoes. Met with looks of revulsion and admiration from those I work with.
    So yep, my pants are tight too.
    M x

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    1. It is more than OK you want the death pie. It's made my Pieminster- get involved. To be honest, there was a Higgedy pie involving feta and sweet potato which looked more delicious, but had even more fat in it than this one!

      Isn't seven the standard portion size for roast potatoes?! xxx

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  3. oh yes, I'm suffering tight jeans... too much tasty food is out there in the world for greedy people like me to consume.... I'm paying for it now though, I feel so fat!

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    1. I'm sure you're not- and from the photo of you recently walking through the woods 1. I know you're not and 2. It seems you're going on lots of lovely walks to counteract the food. Plus, putting on weight over winter is thrifty- it saves on heating! xxx

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  4. Hope you're enjoying your new job! All that food looks scrumptious. x

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    1. I am thank you Anna :) It's really full-on but I'm relishing the challenge! xxx

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  5. Surprisingly, the disease hasn't spread here yet despite eating my body weight in skittles, celebrations and other sweetie over the past week. I am, however, very spotty!! 3 big spots on chin!!.
    All your exertion sounds great!!! How kind to provide Mr Flamingo with a red pool! X

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    1. I hope your spots have made themselves scarce! You should try and bottle your metabolism- you'd make a fortune :)
      xxx

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  6. Okay, this was not a good post to read as I'm approaching putting my sorry pizza (best before yesterday) in the oven.
    Oh how I miss Francis.
    xxx

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    1. I know- what has happened to him I wonder?! I hope your pizza was delicious! xxx

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  7. Oh man, this post has made me hungry.... you eat some really delicious food!

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    1. I certainly try to- although it's nothing compared to your home baking! xxx

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  8. God bless the Boule! I miss him in the recent series :(
    FOOOOOODDD! so much foood! Glad it was a pastry related coma and nothing more serious! ;)

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    1. I know! The newbies definitely aren't as good as the original cast - bring back Frances and Ollie I say! Thankfully all of my regularly-occurring ailments seem to be bakery related :p xxx

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  9. Katie clearly you are a most excellent dinner companion and anyone that finds a flamingo in their wine glass is my kinda gal. Also, you are correct, it is illegal for bloggers not to love Autumn the most ;)

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    1. Thank you for your sweet compliments - I'm certainly the perfect companion for someone who doesn't mind sitting opposite a person with a chin covered in gravy who refuses to share their pudding (even though the menu said it was "for two"). Tom's a lucky guy :p xxx

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  10. Man, I love stationery... What's the new job? Have you disclosed this? Is it food related? That burger looks amazing. xxx

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    1. I'm still working for NHS admin, but now as a Project Manager :) Not food related, thankfully- I would eat all the stock! xxx

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  11. Well, I reckon a pastry coma has to be the best sort of coma to be in! And what else do people go to food festivals for, other than to eat all the samples?
    Hope your new job is going spiffingly well! I know you won't need any good luck with it as you're amazing anyway! :-) xxx

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    1. I honestly don't know. I might start a food festival called Free Lunch Comprised Of Tiny Snacks. It's going great so far, thank you :) xxx

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  12. Yup, a whole load of tight-pants happening over here at the moment too! Just telling myself I'm encouraging my winter fat (although I still potentially have a bikini holiday to get past first so it's not a good lie to tell myself!) I mean, I've just eaten dinner and this post has literally made my mouth water. No dessert anywhere in sight either!

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    1. No dessert?! Can I post you some? Encouraging winter fat is legitimate any time of year I reckon :) xxx

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