Man Flu Meals

So this week I've been struck down by the ever evil Man Flu, a real pain as it has coincided with me doing a lot more cooking than late (due to a trip to what is probably my favourite place in London, Borough Market).

Monday saw me take down a pork chop bought from the Ginger Pig - if you've never tried some of their produce then you really should, I once drove to their farm shop in Pickering (I was though living in Leeds so it isn't quite as random as it sounds) to pick up a steak and ale pie. Whenever I'm at Borough Market I stare at the Ginger Pig's little deli section, working out if I can justify spending £5.50 on a warm cornish pasty or whether I deserve one of their outrageously large sausage rolls. This one was of the rare times I didn't give into gluttony. Anyway, I roasted the chop (with a lot of fat to ensure moistness and flavour) with pears, some parsnips and potatoes - this was put together with a lemon and rosemary marinade. Not bad, should have cut the potatoes into a smaller size or par boiled them though.

Tuesday; monkfish night. I got to Borough Mkt late on Saturday and to my surprise every fish stall had sold out of monkfish, I had no idea it had become so popular (I did though pick up some awesome prawns which we had as part of a drunken midnight thai curry feast on Sat). So first of all I had to go to Selfridges, the man flu was hitting me hard and the central line is no place to be. So I went to the chemist there to pick up something to make me feel better, £15 later I had some apparent magic cure which came in 6 little test tubes. Well, they helped a bit but they weren't exactly silver bullets and for the price you may as well stick to Lemsip style products.

Anyway, I then went and bought some monkfish from the food hall - £10.45! I thought this fish was cheap as chips, what the fook happened? Obviously I bought it. I have a failing in Selfridges food hall, much like my one at Borough Mkt, I can't go there and just buy one thing. I found an excuse to pick up a little thai cake, with sweetcorn and spices, good even with man flu. Oh and I also randomly bought some Marmite rice cakes, I've not knowingly bought rice cakes before but put Marmite on there and bang, I'm making the purchases of a female dieter.

The monkfish was cooked in a foil parcel (it should be banana leaf but that would have meant a trip to the thai super market in Putney and I'd spoilt myself too much with Borough Mkt and Selfridges in the space of just a few days) with coconut milk, lime juice, garlic, ginger, chilli and coriander (there should have been lemon grass as well but I forgot to buy it), served with rice to, as Jamie O puts it, mop up the juices.

Wednesday; spaghetti with anchovies, lemon juice, garlic, chilli and pangaritata (breadcrumbs fried in extra virgin olive oil, thyme and garlic). Surprisingly enjoyable and some of the flavour managed to by-pass the man flu.

Este noche; chicken red thai curry with sugar snap peas, mmm. Lime juice I believe is crucial to thai curry, it makes all the difference to the flavour. Now, as I type I think this meal may have finally quelled the man flu beast (it got so bad today I actually had to leave work during the afternoon), fingers crossed.

So some good cooking just a shame I couldn't enjoy all the flavours. Interestingly I appear to have lost a few pounds, now whilst I haven't drunk or smoked this week I've eaten a lot and I haven't made it to the gym once, so I suspect it will pile back on in the coming days or failing that the Autumn rugby internationals start next weekend, so the Guinness will put the weight back on!