Emma’s love for sprouts was tested this week after some six-legged friends made a shock appearance in the kitchen, but luckily didn’t make the table!
• BRUSSELS sprouts were my all-time favourite vegetable. Until this week. Some households barely even tolerate a sprout on the menu at Christmas but I’m their biggest cheerleader all year around, or at least when they’re in season.
I love them as a side with a regular dinner, shredded up in salads, or in a winter coleslaw, there are so many ways to enjoy this little ball of deliciousness. You can imagine my horror, then, when the following unfolded last Thursday ... So, there I was about to serve up dinner when I noticed these little flecks floating about in the saucepan of sprouts. I didn’t have my glasses on, as they were on the missing list. Situation normal. Anyway, as I squinted at the pot I presumed they were just bits of the leaves that had come away in the cooking process. Not so. Having retrieved the specs (from my head) it was pretty obvious that the sprouts had come with some lodgers on board – little insects, and quite a lot of them. Obviously I had washed the sprouts, in fact I had even halved them to speed up the cooking process as we were running late, but I hadn’t spotted the bug(gers). There they were floating on their backs, little legs akimbo, RIP, dead ... just like my appetite.
I have a very strong insect phobia but had to keep a lid on my reaction (which was to start screaming and throw up), or the family would have seized that as a reason to never again eat a vegetable. Instead I muttered something about them being ‘gone off’ and the relief on everyone’s faces was palpable (I’m the only sprout fan in the family). I’m as keen on organic veg as the next but this was one bit of protein I didn’t need. Everything green and with leaves is off the menu here for a bit. Frozen veg are just as nutritious, right? Or baked beans?
• Staying on the food theme, I’ve started to keep a food diary. It’s less cringe-worthy than the diaries I kept during my teens, but I’d probably be just as embarrassed if anyone read it! All the experts say it’s a useful tool if you’re trying to track what you eat, which I am. I’m a terror for hoovering up the leftovers, in particular crusts, which as well as the sprouts, are something else that are very undervalued. But an extra mouthful here and a morsel there has added up to some very bad habits and some unwanted kilos!
Organic veg is all well and good, but make sure to wash it properly or you might find some unwelcome guests at the dinner table. (Photo: Shutterstock)
I’m only about a week in so far, and I’m finding it ... mainly tedious. The temptation to eat the crusts and not log it is strong. I’m reminded of my teachers back in Leaving Cert who’d say: ‘Sure I’ve done my Leaving Cert, you’re only fooling yourself if you don’t put in the work.’ They were right. It takes at least a month to build new habits so I’ll stick with it, even if I’m more interested in Bridget Jones and her ‘Dear Diary...’ entries. I haven’t seen the film yet but am very much looking forward to it as all reviews point to it being fab. Something to look forward to.
• While I haven’t made it to the cinema, like half the nation I was parked on the couch for the first episode of the new series of RTÉ’s Home of the Year on Tuesday night. I love the show even if it’s as predictable as myself.
I think I need someone like judge Amanda to come and visit to scare ... sorry. encourage, me into doing all the house jobs I put on the long finger. I think by anyone’s standards it’s probably a bit lazy to still have naked light bulbs hanging when you’ve been in a house for seven years. What can I say? I’m slow to commit.
Mid-term now will see me get loads done (I think I said that last mid-term too!).
• Speaking of being slow to commit, I’m coming under fierce pressure from the smallie to get a new dog. It’s been over a year since our poor Darcy passed on and we’re emotionally ready to welcome another four-legged pal into the household (so long as it’s not an insect) even though I’m just not sure how my nerves will hold up. I’d love to get a canine that is up to speed with the house rules, and instinctively knew what annoyed me: that would be peeing and pooping inside, scratching and biting, and whining or making any noise after 10pm. Specifically the scratching is what gets to me. We’d never forget Darcy but we couldn’t even if we tried thanks to all her little (and not so little) marks on the doors and glass. She was certainly the persistent type, who left her mark and with nails to die for.
On the plus side a dog would get me out walking, I don’t really have any good shoes for them to destroy anyway and the evenings are getting longer. Sure they’d even eat the crusts for me.
Seems like I’m out of excuses. En-wuf said, let’s do it!
