Ratatouille

I’ve had my mum’s ratatouille many times, so I figured this would be a good recipe to try. From Rukmini Iyer’s The Green Roasting in, we have Oven Baked Ratatouille: Slow Cooked Courgette, Aubergine, Peppers & Tomatoes. 

Should have taken an hour and 10. Took me over 2. This was partly because I wrongly assumed I had canned chopped tomatoes in the cupboard, then had to nip to Aldi. I used ground garlic, not cloves, and regular parmesan, not vegan. No idea how easy that is to find, but it certainly wasn’t in my local. I took a guess at weights of a lot of the ingredients, which were under 100g. My manual scales weren’t going to be accurate. I also used brown breadcumbs, not white as advised. 

Again, not a favourite, but a fine dish.

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Tenerife '25 Day 4

24/5 Saturday 

 Lunch and cocktails at the resort bar.  

My mate Bini, a local DJ, moved out to Tenerife years ago and plays in the bars along the strip, so I managed to get out to see her with a couple of family members. Suffice to say, more cocktails followed. Great catchup and house music. Magic bar and Rejoyce bar later were the venues. 

Quiet bar area. It’s no Magaluf. Not that I’ve been there since 2010.

Tenerife '25 Day 3

23/5 Friday 

Beach day. Tapas lunch in Linares II. Tea in El Brezal steakhouse. Chicken soup, Entrecote Steak (medium rare) and apple pie. 

Viking boat tours. I'm doing this next year fo sho.

Apparently they serve you from under the table

Aperitif

This is where the lava flow stopped in I believe 1798

 

Tenerife '25 Day 2

22/5 Thursday 

Breakfast in Pistachio. French toast and green matcha. Lunch at the hotel bar. Jacket potato and chilli. Tea in La Cofradia. Garlic prawns, chicken stroganoff (which I belatedly learned had mushrooms in, to which I’m allergic) and apple pie. Washed it down with an unnamed – probably blended – whisky and ice.

Tenerife '25 Day 1

21/5 Wednesday 

Holiday with immediate and extended family. My family have been going most years for quite a few now. I went in 2012 and haven’t been back, for whatever reason. Last year I realised I could have spent a week with my toddler relative, and missed out, so I made a plan then to come this time, and plucked out a few activity ideas we could get involved with. 

This year there was absolute chaos at the airport. Our plane, like many others, was hugely delayed due to a Max Plane GPS system issue in the Ryanair planes, apparently. The planes weren’t up to scratch, we were also told, although whether that was in relation to a separate issue we don’t know. Limited communication. We boarded the plane at Manchester Airport then had to get off again. Departure time was 12:30pm. We weren’t in the air til 8:10pm, including 2 hrs sat on the plane on the tarmac. 

Made it to the Los Claveles resort about midnight if I recall. 

We’re hoping for some reimbursement from Ryanair. Those comedy Instagram posts quickly lost their humour.

Meetups are BACK

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After a few weeks away from the Meetup events scene, I’m uploading a few here and there. 

I’m starting with some simple Happy Hour drinks in The Northern Quarter’s Pen and Pencil, with the Manchester Nightlife group. Friday night from 9. Good deals on spirits, Prosecco and beers. Maybe we look around a few other bars too. 

I’m planning to run some meetups with Manchester Psychology Social Group too over the coming weeks, although when and where is still a struggle. I need somewhere open in the evenings, serving affordable healthy food, not too dear and not too loud, with no alcohol that can take a table of perhaps 6 people. Our previous venue Hinterland fit the bill perfectly, but they have a big events roster on and they no longer have the room. That said, a lot of those events are quite psychology – related, so I might run some meetups to those. 

On the blog: 7 Tenerife posts (1 for each day due to mass amounts of multimedia that I can’t be bothered choosing from, so you can have loads), more psychology posts – recipes and a dieting project - and several roundups.

Leek Orzotto

Next up in Rukmini Iyer’s Green Roasting Tin: Quick Cook Leek Orzotto with Asparagus, Hazelnuts & Rocket. 

The 3 supermarkets I went to didn’t stock hazelnuts, so I used jalapeno peanuts instead. The leeks also came in a pack of 3, so I bunged in an extra to bulk it up. Asparagus spears came in 500g, not 400, so all that went in. This one should have taken 30 mins. Took me an hour and 15. 

The orzo was the standout ingredient, and I guess it was the stock that brought it to life. The veg, as always, I tolerated. 4.5kg to lose at the time of writing (7/3/25).

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