Change of Plans

Yesterday's shopping and meal planning hopes disappeared into the mist with the announcement of job losses at Mr G's place of work. Phone calls, and text messages, and conference calls that told us nothing we didn't already know. Surmising and worst-case-scenarioing all over the place. Interspersed with watching BBC Parliament to see what Boris had to say, and messages from friends and family telling me that people have started going mad again in the shops. I ended up with a stonking tension headache that painkillers did nothing to alleviate. It's looking like a week minimum before we know whether Mr G's job is safe, and if it is safe, what changes will be made to his contract or his hours. 

So changes today, our planned day out went down the crapper, which I was gutted about as it actually turned out to be a lovely day. Instead we spent the morning food shopping and the afternoon organising our pantry. I was up at 5 am making a meal plan and shopping list. Sometimes I long for the fat days. They were so much easier to shop for. Slimming World is a fantastic plan - the proof is in the (lack of) pudding - and there is so much you can have to eat. It's not restrictive, it's in moderation. But if you're not organised, it can be a headache. You can't necessarily just go and make a sandwich or toast if you're peckish. A lot of people snack on cooked meats from the fridge. Not the cheapest thing to constantly have to hand to snack on. Oh, I snack on boiled eggs - if I'm hungry, I can eat a six pack of crisps in the time it takes for an egg to boil. And don't get me started on fruit. Anyway, that's me off on a tangent. 

We were out shopping this morning before 9 am, and actually it was fine. You could just about see the lunacy starting, the toilet roll had been hammered but apart from that, it was really well stocked. I have seen some photographs of empty shelves in my news app, so it's just a matter of time. Just need to pop to the meat warehouse tomorrow, and with the exception of milk, bread and fresh fruit and veg, I'll be done for the next month or so.  

Tonight's tea was RecipeTin Eats Chicken Satay Curry. You ever see a recipe and just have to try it? I'm talking proper food porn here. I know I rave on a lot about RecipeTin Eats, but if you've ever tried any of Nagi's recipes yourself, you will know why. Nothing is mediocre. I've tried Vietnamese recipes, Chinese recipes, Mexican recipes, cheesecake, traditional recipes, salad recipes and oh my God, her kebabs. Her Chicken Shawarma and Doner alone, you would never need to buy a takeaway chicken kebab again. 

I've come to the conclusion that she is an absolute culinary genius, but the beauty is, none of her food is pretentious. She breaks everything down to be so easy, step by step, how-to videos, suggested substitutions, and she takes the time to reply to her comments. I don't know how she finds the time. Take a look at the satay here though, and then tell me that you wouldn't leave your significant other for a plateful of it. I'm not posting a picture of mine here because frankly, my picture doesn't do it justice. It was absolutely gorgeous. 

Instead, I'll post a picture of the cake I made. Everyone is feeling meh. The kids are meh, Mr G is meh, and the best cure for meh is cake. 

We had a small slice each; not only was it very deep, but tooth-achingly sweet. I made the sponge with a mixture of caster sugar and coconut sugar - I've only ever made chocolate cake with coconut sugar, but it worked perfectly with the Dulce de Leche and caramel buttercream. 

Meals for the rest of the week - subject to change and being flipped around of course (as per!)

Thursday: Mexican Avocado Chicken Salad 

Friday: Hot Dogs, Chips and Baked Beans 
Saturday: Tatws Popdy (made with braising steak) and vegetables
Sunday: Prawn, Mango, Avocado Summer Salad 
Monday: Homemade meat and potato pie, peas and gravy
Tuesday: Homemade Chicken Saag, rice and homemade onion bhajis
Wednesday: Cheeseburger Pasta Bake and salad 

Mr G took the boy and my cousin's son to football training tonight, and thankfully, now we're in autumn, training is back at Bangor City's ground from next week onward. He came in and told me that my favourite rugby player has signed again for next season, which I was thrilled about. He said...

Mr G: TJ has signed for next season

Me: Yay!

Mr G: Martin told me, he phoned me while they were training. He said "I bet Shell's having an orgasm now". I said "I bloody hope she isn't, because I'm not with her..."

There was also a nice article about the fans in this week's League Express. Of all the season ticket holders - and bearing in mind we didn't get to use them once this season, because the only game we saw at home was a Challenge Cup tie. 84% have donated the cost of the season ticket to the club for the season, and 16% have asked for the ticket to be transferred to next season. How fantastic is that? Not one fan asked for a refund, not one fan took that money out of the club. The way we looked at it was, we would rather have a club to watch next season, than have a couple of hundred quid back and no club. It really is a family, from the top down, and I miss them all so much. I really feel for these small clubs, rugby and football, because if it's impacting the big boys, then it's going to decimate some of these smaller ones, and it's a bloody shame.