London's Winter Run

This time last year MOH and some friends set out on the London Winter Run, running 10k around the capital's streets raising money for Cancer Research UK. A year on and he was back on the streets taking part again, this time without his running buddies due to injuries and one even moving to another country - which is a bit drastic, if you ask me.

So earlyish on Sunday we headed into town to be ready for his start time of 9.38; it was that light drizzly rain which, while it's good to run in, wasn't much fun for supporters. Thankfully because of my lingering cough I was excused from the hardcore supporting and my only job was to hold his bag. And take photos.

The run started in Trafalgar Square headed off towards Holborn and then towards St Paul's and the City before heading back and ending on Whitehall. We did the obligatory pre-run photos and then set about finding out where we should be.  

Trafalgar Square was filling up and the fountains were proving popular as a stretching aid.  With the warm-ups done and MOH's starting wave called he headed off towards the start line. 

There was plenty going on in the square so I had a wander and soon found some St Bernards - real and less real.

And it seems that the London fox - a well known, and not always loved creature - was also taking part.  

I worked my way to the start line wondering if I'd spot MOH - I didn't. 

No surprise really, when you see just how many people there were waiting to start. The snowmen were doing their best to entertain the runners, generously dishing out hugs and posing for photos.

The rain continued, and with MOH's wave started there was only one thing for it. Breakfast - the cafe's close to the start were pretty full but just along The Strand I ducked into Paul. It turned out to be an inspired choice as I had a clear vantage point as the runners returned and headed to the finish. 

Of course, once again I didn't spot MOH go past and met him as arranged in the pub nearby where he welcomed the espresso, mini croissant and the pint of beer that was waiting for him.  He was rather chuffed with his time too completing the 10k in just 49 minutes - the fastest he'd run for a while. He tells me this is an eight minute mile, which sounds pretty good to me.

He enjoyed it, liked the course and didn't even mind the rain. It seems his mission now is to encourage me to take part next year - because yes, he's already signed up for next year. He'll have his work cut out though, while I don't mind running - well I don't think I'd mind it if I got past the first few weeks of running, I'm not a fan of organised running so it's very unlikely I'll be running alongside him next year on the day.

I much prefer the job of looking after the bags!

Dinner & Lunch: A reduced cooked chicken

The other weekend we were in our local supermarket looking for inspiring sandwich fillings for our lunches the following week, when we spotted a cooked chicken reduced to £4. Realising it was way cheaper than the sliced chicken "designed" for sandwiches and even cheaper than the chicken thighs we'd usually buy, it went straight into my basket. Don't get me started on why that is...

Our plan was to use it for lunches, but to use it more quickly than we would a non-reduced chicken or one we'd cooked ourselves. Making soup and freezing that seemed a good option, and would bring a welcome change to sandwiches again...

The next day I set about making some stock from the carcass to form the base of my chicken and vegetable soup. I used this recipe - Chicken Garden soup -  by Jamie Oliver as my guide, but through circumstances such as a lack of celery and parsley adapted it by including coriander stems and other aromatics instead.  Along with the stock ingredients I added a couple of whole unpeeled garlic gloves, an inch or so of ginger, half a red chilli (unchopped) and a couple of star anise. 

The rest of the recipe was pretty much the same, except I excluded the spinach as I wanted to freeze the soup and I thought it might go a bit slimy. And it turned out well. I was surprised when this £4 chicken made four portions of chicken and vegetable soup, and two 500ml of chicken stock which I've also frozen for use another day.

There was clearly too much chicken to use in the soup, so I used the chicken breasts which I'd removed in a single piece in fajitas, along with red onions and red and yellow peppers. There was still enough meat for sandwiches and I mixed up some quick Coronation Chicken for these - see my recipe below. Then we finished the last of it off in a chicken and broccoli frittata. 

For £4 that chicken provided a lot of meals, and I was reminded how easy it can be to "cook once, eat twice" at times - even if we didn't actually cook this chicken in the first place!  

Clearly though it was the day for bargain chickens, as in my local butchers he was selling three small chickens for £9.50, so I've a feeling I'll be sharing some more Dinner & Lunch ideas here in the forthcoming weeks.

My Quick Coronation Chicken

2 tbsp light Mayonnaise
2 tbsp Greek yogurt
1 tbsp Korma curry powder (or to taste)
1/2 tsp Cinnamon
Ground black pepper (to taste)
1 tbsp Mango chutney
Sultanas (to taste)
Flaked almonds (to taste)
Shredded cooked chicken

Method

Mix the Mayonnaise, Greek yogurt, curry powder, cinnamon, black pepper and mango chutney together and check it's to your taste before adding the sultanas, flaked almonds and cooked chicken. Ensure the chicken is covered in the sauce and serve in your roll, sandwich or wrap.

Makes enough for four sandwich wraps

Enjoy! 

What's your favourite thing to do with leftover chicken?

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A new dining room table is on its way...

Yes finally.  And you're right, it has taken a while.

The table we've chosen is one I've shared here before. But did we opt for a zinc topped table, a concrete table, the gorgeous wooden table (Love This #57)  from the Ideal Home Show or the white glass table (Love This #58) we saw at Grand Designs Live?

Remember we had that list of criteria too,

• wooden, or preferably a wooden top and metal legs,
• those legs should be offset and not directly under the corners of the table (because I think this makes the table look blocky and bigger than it actually is),
• a mismatched approach to chairs and one length to be bench seating.

Well the criteria was no help whatsoever, as we've ordered the white glass table from Grand Designs Live!

THE DINING TABLE WE'VE ORDERED, WHICH ISN'T WOOD...

It is beautiful, but it isn't wood.  And it does have the legs at the corners (and not offset) but they are set on the diagonal, so they don't look blocky. Now all we need to do is wait for its delivery.  

So why did we choose this one?

The first time we saw this table, back in May we were impressed with its sleek lines and the clever way it extended. Then we walked away confused as we thought we wanted a wooden table. We both liked this glass table straight away - and that's unusual in itself, as we usually have different tastes.

After the show we really didn't think too much more about it. Until in September we went to another show at the Excel - The Homebuilding and Renovating Show, and we saw it again. We also saw that concrete table that was briefly considered too (imagine the breakages that could wreak) and once again we left the show both liking the same table. 

There had to be something in this. Thinking about it more carefully, the things we liked were: 

• Its extend-ability - it easily extends by one metre, in two half metre increments,
• Its whiteness! Our kitchen-diner can be a dark room, sandwiched between the conservatory and the main living room with no natural light of its own. The white glass will, we hope reflect light into the space, and brighten the room a little. 

And mostly we liked that it fitted with the style of our decor. So after lots of measuring to see which size we should order, some more umming and ahhing and then with the January sales on, last week I took the plunge and ordered the table. 

Now, I just have to be patient for the next 6-7 weeks. Oh, and find some chairs to match, as we didn't like the chairs we'd seen with it before, and the gorgeous ones in the picture are no longer in the showroom. And let's face it, it's taken us this long to decide on the table, so we're not going to buy the chairs unseen now, are we?

The chair hunt has begun and I've a feeling it will be less tricky than finding the right table has been, but more on that soon.