For example, I recently bought a new dress and a friend of mine commented on how nice it was. Rather than just saying a polite ‘thank you’, I waffled on about how I was walking through Marks and Spencers when I saw it, how I ummed and ahed whether to try it on or not, was the colour right for me, should I or should I not buy it, together with the fact that I had a gift voucher so it really didn’t cost that much anyway. I was exhausted by the end of my explanation; I can’t imagine how my friend felt! I do it all the time. Rather than just accepting a compliment I have to either justify it, or find some fault with it. Even when the little voice inside my head keeps telling me to stop talking, I keep on going. I’m sure I am not alone in this, apparently most women do it. What can be done? One way is maybe to pause for one second, not easy I know, and just accept it. So the next time someone offers you a compliment, try your best and pause briefly, say a polite ‘thank you’ and accept it in the spirit it was given.
I’ve recently being watching the series the American Actor Stanley Tucci did in Italy, which I thoroughly enjoyed. Italy is my most favourite place to visit, I just love it there. When you go to Italy one thing you will notice is that they love their own food and don’t really have a need to try other cuisines. The other thing is that a lot of their recipes are very simple and use very few ingredients. Take for example spaghetti bolognaise, here in the UK we want to put all kinds of ingredients in it, but the basic recipe uses very few.
With that in mind, as we are coming up to asparagus season, here is a simple recipe I found on BBC Good Food for an Asparagus Cream Pasta.
- Cut off and discard the woody ends of one bunch of asparagus. Then neatly cut the tips away from the stalks. Keep the tips and stalks separate.
- In a small saucepan, bring 142ml tub of double cream and 2 peeled garlic cloves (left whole) to the boil.
- Take off the heat, remove the garlic, then set the pan aside.
- Cook the stalks in boiling salted water for about 4-5 minutes until tender, drain, then tip into the cream with 50g grated parmesan.
- Blitz with a hand blender until smooth.
- Cook 250g tagliatelle according to pack instructions
- Throw in the tips of the asparagus 2 minutes before the end of cooking time
- Gently reheat the cream, drain the pasta, then tip into a bowl with the cream
- Toss, then divide into pasta bowls.
- Top with parmesan shavings and serve.
Written by Jane Ferguson
Jane worked in the food industry and ran her own successful business for six years called ‘Pink Leaf Catering’. She loves trying new recipes, and believes that delicious healthy food need not be complicated or take hours to make.
Author: JANE FERGUSON
Jane Ferguson worked in the food industry and ran her own successful business for six years called ‘Pink Leaf Catering’. She loves trying new recipes, and believes that delicious healthy food need not be complicated or take hours to make.
