A Varied Diet

A few years ago , somebody or other recommended eating 40 different foods a week and I remember trying , and discovering that it was perfectly possible but a bit of a nuisance , really . Dozens of boxes of grains , seeds , cereals , nuts and pulses filled the cupboards and made me feel oddly guilty . And did a handful of capers and some chopped parsley really count as two separate items ?
Every now and then I'm prompted to try it again , so  when I saw Quaker's Multi Grain on the supermarket shelf  it seemed worth widening my porridge-bound breakfast horizons . Oats , rye and barley !

If you've not yet tried it  ..... in a word , DON'T.
If you really must have a go , ignore the cooking instructions entirely . Instead , unless you're smaller than a Borrower , mix  two  sachets of the stuff with extra water and bring to the boil , stirring ... you're aiming for the consistency of runny honey ... cook for 4-5 minutes , only letting it thicken/solidify at the end . Eat with lots of cream . Or , better still , throw it away and keep the cream for something nice .
I'll go back to making porridge my grandmother's way , soaking the oats overnight in water and then cooking slowly with a pinch of salt . A ham on rye sandwich for lunch and chicken soup with pot barley for supper will provide me with all three grains digestibly .

But I inadvertently discovered an instant answer to the 40 A Week quest when I grabbed a tuna and tomato sandwich at a station buffet on Tuesday . It tasted unremarkable if rather mayonnaise-y  . BUT , when I read the list of contents I was astonished to see that it had 53 ingredients ! To be fair , 4 were water and 5 were E numbers but even so ... one of these a week and I could give up the whole attempt to include amaranth and goji berries in normal meals .

Anyway , if I'm in need of a change , our local supermarket has just started stocking chocolate covered grasshoppers ...

 

though the reviews are mixed .

Sometimes Matchy-Matchy Can Be Recommended

I know that  'matchy-matchy'  is fashion death these days and one doesn't see many twin-sets any more , with or without pearls , but I have to say that having matching eyes again is rather nice . The second cataract has been removed and depth perception has been restored . Bliss !

No more gingerly tapping round with one's foot before going down unfamiliar , badly lit stairs  .... though now I absentmindedly grope for my specs instead , till I remember that I don't have any  at the moment . Once I've had a checkup I'll get some new ones , less strong and less like jam jar bottoms .

But of course , looking decidedly co-ordinated hasn't always been a no-no  . Whole families went in for it ! From Hebden Bridge ( left ) to Belgium ( right ) it was considered very smart .

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I caught the last half-hour of Gilles Porte's Autoportraits on TV5 Monde this week . So I've found a bit for you on YouTube , in case you haven't seen it . It's quite long ... every time you think it's finished , they show a bit more ... but it'll give you time for another cup of coffee ... and the children's faces are wonderful . Such concentration !

Sunshine , Pink Tea and Runny Cheese

Now that I have a day to myself each week , the world's grown a bit and I can go to Groningen again  for a couple of hours .
Just long enough to wander past the museum and through  the town enjoying the sun , finding odd corners and  playing the 'what would it be like to live in this street ' game

Rummaging for second hand CDs in the recycling shop to play at least once ... the soundtrack from a French film about Seville

and Verdi's Il Trovatore with Leontyne Price this time  , both to be played again .

A 'Seventies relic which I bore off in triumph , much to the surprise of the junk shop's owner  ... "It doesn't go any more " he warned . Good , these always had a deafening tic and only a masochist would repair it  but I couldn't resist it for a Euro , could I ?

 Treating myself to a quarter of exceedingly fruity Apple and Hibiscus tea and a cheerful Father Christmas tin to keep it in , lest the whole flat smells of it .
Buying good bread , runny cheese and tiny sweet tomatoes  for supper and running to the train clutching a ham baguette . Putting my feet up in the evening with that morning's paper and a cup of gorgeously pink hibiscus tea .

 Nothing earth-shattering ... just fun .