a regime....

Mulling over a regime. Trying to eat less.

Two friends - both from the East where frankness is common - bluntly told me that I looked "fat". Aaah! The dreaded word. The first acquaintance gave me recipes that evoked healthy eating and then made me aware that none of her family were over-weight. The other friend took one look at me and asked me what had happened. Then in the same breadth asked if I had any biscuits to eat? Thankfully there were none in the house.

Years ago I used to weigh myself with a cookie in my hand and when my Dad asked me what the reasoning was, I told him that if I had lost some weight, I could celebrate and if I hadn't, I could feel better by eating something sinful.

So a regime is what I am on now.

Pish Pash

Today I wanted a warming meal for supper.

It was chilly all day and rainy .

The fridge had various leftovers but I was tired of eating those again and remembered a recipe for a risotto with red wine and rosemary that I had not tried out. As I read through the recipe, I saw that it was good for stirring in left over chicken, meats and vegetables. Just the ticket!

Apparently, this risotto is made in the Piedmont area with Barolo wine. I don't bother with those niceties any more. Whatever red wine is at home is what I use - open or to be opened. I am not running out to scour out for the exact bottle of wine. I used to do those things years ago and wasted a lot of money in the bargain - this special herb, or that one ingredient - what a waste! I find that one can compromise just as easily.

This risotto was simply made with shallots, a bay leaf, fresh sprigs of rosemary and red wine. One change was the addition of some hot home made chicken/wine stock which softened the sharp taste of the rice as it was cooking. At the end, I added cut up roasted chicken, grilled asparagus, a handful of salad greens, a teaspoon of mascarpone, salt and pepper, cilantro (here the Piedmontese will be turning in their graves!) and a sprinkling of Parmesan.

This warming meal reminded me of pish pash which in Indian households could mean the advent of something delicious on the dinner table or something curiously strange. In this case, the bowl held plump grains of wine colored rice glistening among the wilted greens, shreds of chicken, sprinkles of cheese. Loaded with flavor, it was a dish worth repeating.