Author: Wattle

Beef and apple rissoles make a nice change to the many lean meat meals that are necessary when trying to reduce weight, or trying to maintain a lesser amount of weight. They are not too difficult to prepare.This year I am going to reduce the amount of minced beef in the mixture from 600 grams to 500 grams. This will be a cunning way to reduce the portion size of the meat and hardly even notice that it has been reduced. Add in an egg, salt and pepper, raw or dried sage, a finely chopped onion and a finely chopped apple. Take small handfuls of the mix and roll them on a floury surface, smoothing them down so they aren’t too high, (about one and a half centimeters high) and fry them for 12 minutes on each side in a lightly buttered frying pan. This recipe still gives four serves, just a slightly smaller four serves.

It would be very tempting to place the beef and apple rissoles in between two slices of bread and call them a “Hamburger” wouldn’t it? Try not to be tempted, I am going to resist the temptation and serve them with the contents of my culinary BFF (Best Friend Forever) vegetable steamer. Today’s steamed vegetables are cauliflower, carrots and peas. A small amount of oven fries potatoes will complete the meal. The table will be set with a bottle of tomato sauce, and blue serviettes.

The tomato sauce seems to come out so often this month that I am strongly considering leaving it there. Perhaps I could look for a nicer container for it.

A very good aspect of having a pie for breakfast is that if it is bought hot from the bakery it acts as an excellent hand warmer on the walk home.

A not so good aspect of having a pie for breakfast is that it is not as filling as an egg and shortcut bacon on toast would be. I seem to be looking for lunch earlier. I will see if including an extra breakfast orange makes up the difference.

There is an old saying, “An apple a day keeps the doctor away.” I’d like to add to it. “A group of apples a day keeps the weight away.”

The size of the group of apples a day depends entirely on how the winter is being coped with. I am fairly sure that the amount of apples eaten would be more on a rainy day, a windy day, a cloudy day, and particularly on a cold day. That is exactly what to strive for. Perhaps the size of the group of apples is decreased because there is temptation to experience more “Junkly” than “Apply”? A mixture of both is the most likely outcome.

What might help to brighten up the middle of the winter is the task for Apply. For each bath or shower use a clean towel, always choosing a different colour than the one used previously. A portion of the money saved from not smoking can be used to finance the increased hot water account, so indulge with extra baths or showers, trying out various different bathroom products. If there is a mirror in the bathroom only look at what is not there anymore, remember the weight that used to be there, admire the new smaller shape.

An outing to a plant nursery to find an appealing fern that adores the wet, steamy conditions of the bathroom will also be on my task list this year. Some sort of decision will need to be made regarding Wattle’s law of conservation of towels. Throw out the two oldest, grungiest towels and purchase two new, soft luxurious ones.

It does seem fairly safe to extend the old saying a bit more: “A group of apples a day for several Applys (and a few Junklys) keeps a lot of weight away!”

Since the bathroom scales are only used once each month sometimes happy surprises may occur. I am very pleased with my weight reading of 75.0 kilograms for Pearn 2019. It appears that there was sufficient walking done to balance out the shifting house feasting season plus the week of cautious eating pearfection.

The amount of caution in the month of July is variable. Certainly is is not a month of culinary discipline like Januberry or Mayndarin. The first July after giving up cigarettes we called “Apply”. Other July’s we have called it “Pie” or “Junk-ly”.

When choosing themes it is necessary that some of the months do include favourite foods, even notoriously fattening foods like chocolate, cheesecake or crisps because it isn’t realistic to never eat them. Imagine that, never eating them never ever again. You are right, surely no one could have that good an imagination? Eating them sometimes is a very good idea. Over a long period of time just like other foods, even lettuce, less of the indulgent foods are wanted as well. The portion size of them gradually reduces.

This month’s eating theme for me incorporates my favourite breakfast… meat pie with tomato sauce. This year I am going to have a meat pie with tomato sauce for breakfast each second day. This compares to having this breakfast each day in the past. I am guessing that this breakfast type each second day will be enough for my current body shape.

I am also going to make sure that the presentation of my meat pie with tomato sauce is as good as I can make it. On a plate with a serviette and to be eaten at a table.