Liberated and Reduction

This week it’s a) verbal ramble, b) Giant cous cous recipe,

Until the last couple of years I have never had long hair.  (Long to me is anything below the ears!!)  So I grew mine to shoulder length and Wednesday went to the hairdressers and had a load chopped off.  Freedom!  Liberation! Thanks Irene.   Felt literally light headed.  So am now convinced that nice as long hair looks on others, it is not for me.

So now I am looking for other things to “cut down” on.  This rationalisation started a couple of weeks ago when I took some books to the Hospice Book shop.  “Some books” in this household makes no dent in the vast collection we have, but I am going to look at my share of them and see if I can reduce them.  On the craft front I am trying to reduce the stash I have by actually knitting it rather than admiring it and musing over what it would be nice to knit with it. 

I am also trying to reduce the other bane of my life, weight.  If I look at a doughnut it decides to make a friend of me for life and never to leave my side, ever.  So not looking for a drastic reduction, but am trying to at least maintain rather than increase.

Inevitably in this situation I am struck with hunger pangs, illogical urges to eat all hours of the day and night.  Battle of the bulge aint the words.  Once I have decided to “deprive” myself of all that lovely choc, cakes, home made bread etc, they suddenly become life’s “must haves”.  Perhaps I should try reverse psychology and try and kid myself to eat everything and hopefully I will lose the appetite!

Finally the last reduction is going to be the amount I blog each time.  So if I do a podcast review I will not be doing a recipe as sometimes I think the content is rather heavy.  So this week it’s a recipe that ends the entry.

Giant cous cous Recipe*

Fed up of chasing grains of tiny cous cous round the plate?  Then try the giant stuff!

I prefer these small perls to the grain type.  It can be a side dish, or served say with rustic bread.  Tonight I am having balsamic beetroots and chips with mine!

You need: about 100g giant cous cous, 2 red peppers (I roast my red peppers and take the skin off, but it is not necessary as the pepper can just be chopped) , 6  spring onions chopped into circles, 6 cherry tomatoes quartered, cucumber -, use about 4 inches of peeled cucumber diced, handful of grapes halves  or a peach destoned and chopped . Fresh mint leaves which can be torn into pieces if the large sort. Seasoning,  Dressing.

Prepare the cous cous by adding hot water into which a stock cube has been added and simmer 6 mins. Then add and thoroughly mix the remaining ingredients:

For the dressing it is best to keep this light, say a splash of balsamic vingegar rather than drenching it in the heavier salad dressing combo of olive oil and white wine vinegar.  But each to their own its best to only put on a little and then taste.  One can always add dressing, but never take away.  (Like haircutting really isn’t it!)

*As always this is a suggestion rather than exact instructions, so if only the normal cous cous grains to hand its fine to use that.