My Favourite Three P's

I really do like to eat and one of my favourite dishes has to be any combination of  my Three P's: Pork, Potatoes and Peas or Pork, Peas and Pasta.  Some lovely pork shoulders or chipolatas seasoned and sliced  with garlic and butter...yum.

Well, at a regular gathering recently for us women at re:view and our ever-growing base of friends, one friend walks in looking amazingly slim and trim (nearly back to pre-baby weight).  After a fun game of guessing how she did it--no, she wasn't with a tape worm, and she did't catch the ever-elusive-but-highly-sought-after tummy bug--she told us about her secret weapon...a book of all things! (and, for the record, she did not eat the book)

"Stop Counting Calories & Start Losing Weight: The Harcombe Diet" by Zoe Harcombe teaches its followers to lose weight and keep it off by following three phases of eating designed to keep the hunger bug at bay and reduce your cravings.  Thus, one can stick to it and eventually lose weight. Phase 1 is just five days long and is similar to the popular Atkins Diet.  It kick starts your body to a new way of eating.  From what I've seen of friends who've done it, very short and effective.  Phase 2 brings in more variety of food and continues the war that started in phase1 of attacking the three food cravings which the book focuses on, namely Food Intolerance, Candida and Hypoglyceamia.  Phase 3 continues the work of phase 2 but with even more freedom of foods.  Harcombe calls it cheating without gaining weight (I'm still a bit fuzzy on this one, but I already like the sound of it).  By this point, I assume one will have already gotten used to a new way of eating and having seen the impressive results (weight loss, feeling great, lots of attention from the husband) know what works for their body.

I've seen the proof in others who have followed in our pioneering friends' footsteps and joined the Harcombe bandwagon.  What appeals to me is that, save the first phase, there are no restrictions (!) to what youcan eat, nor are there any quantity restrictions (!!).  Instead, this diet gets one to think of things like GI and how one mixes carbohydrates and fats and proteins...or rather how one doesn't mix the three-hence my goodbye speech to my favourite Three P's.

Also, as the good old metabolism slows down to snail pace and the love handles and back fat start to take prominence, the Harcombe Diet promises to be the one that will totally revolutionize the way I've been looking at food and provide me with a way of eating for life without completely missing out.  I'm not one to go on diets, but wish me luck as I embark on this one..many a friend have gone before me and I look forward to it.  Look out for a future post titled 'My Favourite Two P's'!

Table for One

It takes a certain amount of thick skin to walk into a restaurant, a proper one and book a table for One. Yes that's right, I'd like a table for one, no I'm not expecting a friend or a date or some other random companion, just planning to eat a nice meal, with a glass of wine on my own.
With an hour to kill before a play I decided to go and eat at a  restaurant and found my experience suprisingly comfortable. The waiter who welcomed me was very polite and showed me to my table, there was none of this removing the second chair or shouting to his colleagues that there was a loner in the house that we often find in films. Infact I found another lady also eating alone albeit with a newspaper for company. There was probably a slight unease on my part as I found it difficult to take my time and savour my food and wine alone. There are no conversation fillers to go with the slow and deliberate chewing, no comparing notes or eating off your companion's plate. I found myself eating much quicker and was quite eager to get the bill. The other diners were also completely oblivious or maybe even indifferent to my dining experience and I probably could have stayed there for much longer without any issues whatsoever.
Things have clearly moved on and eating out alone need not be a dreaded experience. Obviously its preferable to share a restaurant experience with friends or partners but should you find yourself alone and keen to enjoy proper food, then fear not, pop into any restaurant and book a table for one....as loudly as you please. Then sit down....take your time and enjoy!!

Carluccio's Penne Giadiniera

I love Italian food so admittedly I'm a little biased but the first time I tried the Penne Giadiniera at Carluccio's, I thought I was in heaven! This dish is simple but so incredibly tasty and satisfying, large penne pasta drizzled with olive oil, copious amounts of garlic and grated courgettes. Topped with little balls of crunchy spinach deliciousness. This dish is so satisfying and the beauty of it is that you can have it with a vegetarian friend as there's not morcel of meat or fish in sight.

And that's not all folks, Antonio Carluccio sets the charitable standard for other restaurants by donating 50p from every dish of Penne Giardiniera to Action Against Hunger, the humanitarian charity that works in over 40 countries helping families to feed their children and build a sustainable future.

A visit to Carluccio's is highly recommended, aside from yummy Italian dishes in the restaurant, each branch has an adjacent deli which serves up anything from fresh olives to huge scrumptious meringues to diving slices of carrot cake topped with a cream cheese icing. But if geography prevents you from visiting the restaurants located all over the UK and Dubai, then try making this dish yourself. The recipe can be found on their food blog. http://www.carluccios.com/our-food/blog/food/my-first-blog-item

If your creation makes your mouth water, you can just imagine how much better it will taste when you try the real thing made by the Italian master chefs and how much better you'll feel knowing that you're satisfyng your taste buds and your social conscience.

Who is Jimmy Choo?

I have read so much about the amazing Ms Tamara Mellon, the genius behind Jimmy Choo that I was convinced that Jimmy Choo was a made up name rather than infact the name of the Malaysian designer who should be credited for these amazingly sexy shoes that have helped many women rediscover their inner goddess.
Imagine my surprise after reading countless articles about Tamara Mellon and her unshakeable confidence and style, the former shopgirl who founded Jimmy Choo 14 years ago to come across an article in my local magazine, Le -Limited Edition about the real albeit small in size Mr Jimmy Choo.
I must have read dozens of article which give absolutely no credit to the man whose name we so love to wear. Jimmy Choo OBE is of Chinese descent, he made his first pair of shoes aged 11 and graduated from Cordwainers Technical College in London Borough of Hackney. He co-founded Jimmy Choo Ltd with Tamara Mellon in 1983 although we'd never know this reading the glossies. Apparently the two fell out in 2001 and he later sold his 50% share of the ready to wear company but still works on the couture range.
Whilst I appreciate the appeal of a sexy feisty businesswoman who seems to have been the brains and certainly finance behind the brand, we still have to give credit and kudos to the man whose creativity and name has left so many of us in awe of this smokingly sexy brand.
Here's to you Mr Choo and your fabulous shoes!

My heart strings have really been pulled with John Lewis' new TV advert set to Billy Joel's beautfiul song, 'She's Always a Woman'. At first I couldn't figure out it's magic hold over me or why I identified with it so much (why, on God's Green Earth does it reduce me to tears each and every time?). But I finally put my finger on it and realised that it speaks to the many stages that women go through in life. I smiled to think how my parents lovingly cared for me when I was only little and totally dependent on them...the fabulous college years...falling in love...having the bambino's...raising said bambino's.

It makes me realise how one must live in the present and that my life is going as it should be--the fun bits and the less than fun bits.

Apparently, John Lewis has a lifetime commitment to me. I never knew it, but I believe they just may do.

CHRIS OFILI



I was completely consumed by Chris Olifi’s new exhibition at the Tate Britain. Immediately drawn to vibrant colours and intricately ornamented paintings bringing together over 45 paintings from the mid 1990s to the present. Ofili’s pencil drawings and watercolours left me gazing in a trance. He built up his international reputation through hard work underpinned by his cultural beliefs and drawings from a wide range of influences from Zimbabwean cave paintings and blaxploitation. He moved to Trinidad in 2005 and adopting a simplified palette suggests to me that Ofili’s extraordinary talent for simplicity and emotional depth resonates through his current exhibition.

The highlights for me were Blue Riders 2006 (oli, acrylic and charcoal on lined 278 4 x 200.2). Confronted by this deep blue sensory overload sent shivers all over. Followed by The Upper Room (installation of thirteen paintings) The more you study them the more they leave you wondering what more can he offer us.
A must see exhibition www.tatebritain.co.uk

YABBA AFROBEAST FUNK

For the past four years this culturally diverse group "YABBA FUNK" have been working the London underground club scene creating a huge following from the young to the old no sitting down in your seats. They draw influences from Alhaji K Frimpong, Fela Kuti, Oscar Sulley but to name a few. You may ask what do the group stand? In the words of their commander and chief Richmond Kessie "we want to revive Afrobeat with a twist and get people dancing again" For those of you who are unfamiliar with the term "Afrobeat" its roots lie in Ghanaian and Nigerian sounds from the 60s and 70s as well as funk, broken beat and jazz.

"YABBA AFROBEAST FUNK" is on general release definitely one for your collection!!