goats cheese nirvana

Just realised I forgot to say a BIG THANK YOU to all my visitors from the last chemo! Lay awake last night paralysed with horror at this omission, so thank you very much to Jen, Matt, Jenny, Sophie, Shal, Dave, Laura, and Emily (and anyone I've forgotten but I think that's everyone). Also a massive thanks to Laura for bringing not one but TWO magazines, and Dave for bringing Green&Black's chocolate...oh my. Mille grrrrazie my dears.

Also I think I forgot to mention that I received 200 smackeroos from the wonderful CLIC Sargent as a care grant for having cancer and being under 25...this was very well received and is now in my holiday piggy bank! As I am going to the South of France with the lovely Caroline and her mummy - SO EXCITED! Just for a week from the 19th to 26th June, as I have nothing else to do whilst waiting for PET scans...

Now then, I hope you all ran along to Jesmond Methodist Church to sign up for the Bone Marrow Register if you were within a 10-mile radius of it! hmm hmm. If you couldn't make it then don't worry, I'm sure there will be lots more clinics to go to next year.

Right, now I can talk about some food, which I'm sure is what you were waiting for. I have been extraordinarily blessed in that I got to eat goats cheese not ONCE but TWICE in the last two days - oh yeaaah. With two Carolines! The first time was on Monday with my friend Caroline (she of the upcoming France trip SQUEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEE) and we decided to make a goats cheese soufflé from Nigel Slater's Kitchen Diaries. Oh I love that man... Here is the recipe because it needs to be spread worldwide and eaten joyously. Great for coeliacs because it needs no flour.

a little butter
65g freshly grated Parmesan
2 large eggs
150g soft English goats cheese
50 ml/a splash double cream
1 tbsp chopped thyme leaves

1. Set the oven to 200°C and lightly butter 2 shallow ovenproof bowls - pasta bowls are ideal, or soup bowls. Dust them with a bit of the Parmesan.
2. Separate the eggs, putting the whites in a bowl big enough to whisk them in. Mash the goats cheese into the egg yolks, then stir in the cream, chopped thyme and a seasoning of black pepper and a teeny tiny bit of salt.
3. Whisk the egg whites until almost stiff, then fold them "firmly but tenderly" into the cheese mixture, using a large metal spoon.
4. Lastly fold in all but a couple of spoonfuls of the grated Parmesan.
5. Divide the mixture between the 2 buttered bowls and scatter over the remaining Parmesan. Bake for 10 -14 minutes, by which time the centre should be lightly risen and creamy inside, and the top golden-brown.
6. Serve immediately with a green salad to accompany. Caroline and I made one up and dressed it with pistachio oil from Vom Fass at Fenwicks - yum yum.

Was only just recovering from just how good this was when the second Caroline - my godmother - had me round for lunch. She roasted cherry tomatoes in olive oil and assorted fresh herbs, then grilled 2 rounds of creamy chalky chèvre and served it all with bread (gluten-free for meeee) and salad. And she puts balsamic vinegar on the goats cheese. Mmmmmmm. I'm never going to get bored of this stuff....

No pictures as a) I STILL have no camera even though Father said it would arrive yesterday fo' shizzle and b) I eat my goats cheese too quickly. SO instead I shall just put up all the Interrailing 2008 goats cheese salads. (I wish I was interrailing right now instead of waiting around for chemo #6 and poking my neck lump anxiously.)

Stockholm, Sweden
the £15 salad...never go to Sweden unless you're rich.


Amsterdam, Holland - #1


Amsterdam, Holland - #2
in Puccini's cafe


Bruges, Belgium
this might have been the best one - bacon and caramelised apples....mmm.


Leuven, Belgium

Now you realise what Georgina had to put up with for a whole month: a travelling companion with an irrational obsession for goats cheese who insisted on taking photos of every meal... well she bore it stoically and is an angel.

Onto chemo side effects! Same old, same old to be honest. Now I feel pretty much normal again - went for my second run (4ish miles) this week last night and kept up a reasonable pace the whole way round. My first run on Sunday was really quite slow and I stopped a fair bit, partly because my lungs were about to explode and partly because my legs were turning to jelly. I blame bleomycin - I can practically feel it fibrosing my lungs eeek! Some of this is psychological I think - the sergeant major part of my brain is yelling "GET A MOVE ON YOU LAZY FAT LUMMOX", then the pathetic part thinks ooooh I'm having chemo, I shouldn't push myself...and I end up stopping and the sergeant major shoots himself in fury.

That worrying insight into my schizoid runner's brain aside, I feel pretty fine and dandy. My mood gets better as the side effects improve and I'm not such a little madam to be around. hurrah for non-grumpiness! Oh good, the grandparentals are here - will sign off now as have burbled on for long enough.

OOH one last thing - 3 of my fellow Hodge-fighters (Lorraine, Brooke and Diana) have had awesome news this week so congrats to all you guys! I hope I can stay as positive as you have!