Hello, how has your week been?
Mine has, needless to say been largely taken up with having my new hip installed. I got back home at lunchtime and have just enjoyed the most delicious afternoon sleep, in fact I have been told that I need to be having a couple of hours in bed every afternoon for the next two weeks which as far as rehabilitation advice goes is ticking all my boxes! I’ve written before about not always being either a great sleeper or napper, and while it may simply be the analgesia allowing me to sleep I must share a Spotify playlist I’ve been listening to which I feel is helping enormously, it’s called Binaural Beats: Deeper Sleep and frankly it creates the sensation that my brain is melting in the most wonderful way. I mean maybe my brain is borderline liquid most of the time, but I definitely think it is worth a try if you struggle with sleep too.
I won’t bore you with orthopaedic adventures, suffice to say that it’s in and I know that within a few days I’ll be more mobile and less uncomfortable; I’m grateful to have been able to have it done.
On Monday and Tuesday I took part in Reiki One training; until February this year I had never had a Reiki treatment and though I was pretty unsure what it was all about I did have a couple of sessions after my foot surgery as I feel the need for some gentle care somehow, not massage, but something. In fairness I was probably a bit cynical about it initially, but I am nothing if not curious and try hard to be open minded; I came away from those sessions feeling genuinely rejuvenated in some way and when the opportunity to learn more presented itself I felt drawn to do so. In truth it was absolutely fascinating, a bit woo and ultimately rather reassuring; I’m not going to write an essay on Reiki but its basic values of kindness, gratitude, hard work, avoiding anger and trying not to worry resonated with me. I’ve definitely always believed in some sort of energy which we can feel in certain situations and places, and Reiki goes some way in explaining it. I’m adding The Biology of Belief by Bruce Lipton to my reading list for a scientifically oriented viewpoint.
I should take a moment to update you on the fish in freezer situation; having confessed last week to being persuaded (strong armed) into purchasing a large quantity of prawns I felt duty bound to use some of them last Sunday when we had an absolutely lovely family lunch party here in the garden, in the actual sunshine! At Summer Camp
gave us a wonderful demonstration of a few recipes from her book Andaza, and fully embracing the idea of heartfelt/intuitive cooking I used her prawn recipe as a starting point. I had almost all the ingredients and winged it on others, but the spicy, tomato sauce enrobed prawns were unanimously declared utterly delicious and worthy of reprise.With kind permission from Sumayya I am sharing the recipe below, ‘though if prawns aren’t your thing I’m sure it would be equally delicious with chicken or maybe even some firm veggies such as aubergine if you’re a non meat eater.
’s food memoir ANDAZA, a memoir of food, flavour and freedom in the Pakistani kitchen is published by Murdoch Books (2023) and available from Bookshop.org along with other retailers. I like Bookshop.org because you can nominate a local bricks and mortar bookshop to receive a percentage of the profit if (like me) you can’t easily get to it.Nani Mummy’s prawn karahi - Sumayya Usmani
Prep time: 10 minutes
Cooking time: 15-20 minutes
Serves 4
Ingredients:
2 tablespoons ghee (or 1 tablespoon unsalted butter and 1 tablespoon sunflower oil)
1 heaped teaspoon cumin seeds
1/2 teaspoon nigella seeds (kalonji)
1/2 teaspoon carom seeds (ajwain) optional
1cm (1/2 inch) ginger, finely grated
4 large ripe tomatoes, coarsely grated, skins discarded
2 tablespoons concentrated tomato puree (tomato paste)
1/4 teaspoon turmeric powder
1/2 teaspoon Kashmiri chilli powder (or other chilli powder or paprika)
salt, to taste
450g (1 lb) shelled, deveined fresh raw prawns
To Garnish:
juice of 1/2 lemon
2.5cm (1 inch) ginger, cut into fine strips
2 tablespoons chopped coriander (cilantro) leaves
1 green chilli, deseeded and finely chopped
Method:
Place a wok or frying pan over medium-high heat and add the ghee. When it is hot, add the cumin, nigella and carom seeds (if using) and fry until fragrant, about 1 minute.
Next add the ginger and fry for 10-15 seconds, until fragrant, then stir in the tomatoes. Lower the heat slightly, add a splash of water and keep stirring until it starts to simmer. Add the tomato puree, turmeric, chilli powder and salt.
Keep cooking until the sauce thickens and the oil begins to rise to the surface, about 7-9 minutes. Once this happens, add the prawns and cook, stirring, until the prawns turn pink, about 3-4 minutes. Be careful not to overcook the prawns, or they will go rubbery.
Turn the heat off, add the garnishes and cover, then leave to infuse for a minute or so before serving.
Bon apetit!
With that I wish you a healthy and happy weekend, I’m hopeful some of this makes sense and apologise if it doesn’t - we’ll blame the drugs!
With love, Vxx
Glad to hear that it sounds as though the procedure went well. May you recover now in leaps and bounds. (Possibly not the best phraseology) Ceri
Oh my goodness. Those prawns look to die for!! Glad to hear you’re home safe and sound, new hip in situ. I’m going to try the playlist when I’m struggling for sleep 🩵