With everything that has been going on in the life of Rachel Darling lately, by the time my shift came to an end at 2pm on Friday, I was totally ready for a quiet night in! On top of Uni, work, learning French (I have to write a post about this soon!) swimming and the ol' social life, I have also been doing a 28 day Hot Yoga challenge! By Friday I was a week into it and I will admit- I was tired! I have been keeping up with my running and swimming during the challenge, and while I feel ok now, the first week was pretty exhausting!
I couldn't wait to have a quiet Friday night in- I had a French soup recipe I wanted to try (yes I know I am a French try-hard) and also wanted to cook something for Hannah's going away party (more on that later!)
So, after putting some bread mix into the bread machine, I went for a run to soak up some vitamin D and fresh air after being inside at work all day. The weather has FINALLY improved, and although it is still cold, we are getting some sunny days that are perfect for running and walking in my hooooood :)
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| The best part of cooking- when the onion meets the pan! Love that smell! |
So, as I was saying, I had a French Soup recipe I wanted to try, and I had all the ingredients ready to go...including a bottle of white wine- which also topped up a couple of glasses as I cooked! Nothing better than cooking with a glass of wine while listening to the sweet croons of Etta James! Perfect Friday night in...
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| Fresh flavours are the best flavours- and I always overload them. When it comes to spices I usually ignore the recipe- I like intense tastes, and this soup was no exception- full of fresh bay leaves and thyme. |
I ended up making vegetarian 'sausages' for Hannah's party. The recipe came from one of Mum's cook books and they were mainly pumpkin and lentils. Pretty tasty!
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| White wine- some for the soup, some for me! |
I was craving some warm crusty bread to go with my soup- it was cold outside and had started to rain, so I honestly couldn't think of anything better! But it took a little longer that I thought..and that is where the problem started.
Because the bread was still another 40mins from being ready, the soup started to get too thick. I turned the stove off, but it was already a bit thick for my liking. I had had initially put about 2 cups of wine into the soup, and had a glass to drink while cooking, but there was still about a cup left in the bottle. So, thinking I would't want it to go to waste, I used it to thin the soup. I don't know if I didn't cook the alcohol off for long enough after that or if there was simply too much wine in the soup- but after a big bowl of it (it was totally scrumptious by the way) I was a tad drunk! Even my brother said he felt the alcohol after having some...whoops! So my quiet night in turned into a slightly drunk one!
I think because I am sweating so much during my daily yoga classes, the alcoholic soup had a bigger effect on me than it should have- especially the next morning! I had to work and I felt like I had been out partying all night! I thought it would only last the morning, but by the afternoon I was feeling dizzy and light-headed! I was so excited to meet Gabi (who has been away for 13 weeks!) for a coffee, but when I got there I decided a veggie juice and some food would be the best thing for my head! I did recover slightly after this, but figured out later that I was lacking in salts and minerals- so I drank lemon and salt water for the rest of the day and felt a lot better!
It was so good to see Gabi again- if only for a short time before she left again- that little jet-setter! We went to a cafe on Queens Street in Croydon.
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| I was excited by this little painting as I walked towards the cafe... |
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| ...and on my way back I was even more pleased by the other side! I miss France :( and one Frenchman in particular... |
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| The amigos- taken on Han's new polaroid camera! |
That night it was time for me and my vegetarian sausages to get to the twins house for Hannah's going away party! She is going to Indonesia to study for 6 months and Soph and I will miss her soooooooooooooo much! While I am sad about this, I am also so excited for her (and a tad jealous, even if I only just got back from my own exchange!) because I know what an amazing experience she is about to have! Soph, Han and I have been friends for so many years, and it is never nice to be apart. But being the adventurous, travel-loving three that we are, we have come to realise that it is a thing we will have to get used to and embrace. We know that things never change between us, and that home is when we are together! I wish my little HanBan all the best of luck, and can't wait to see her when Philippe and I go to visit!
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