spring rain and routine and salad

I've come to the conclusion that boys are stupid and girls are crazy and sometimes if your weekend has been punctuated with conversations that can only be described as surreal (some involving spooning, some involving nervous laughter, some involving cider, some involving salad) then you may find on a grey, raining Monday that you crave the structure and routine of a standard working day. You look forward to the gym, and you're comforted by a day in the office, with a semblance of control over who you talk to, and a reasonably reliable set of events to navigate.

After a delightfully mundane day, once you get into the kitchen, you're reminded of a few things. The catalyst that started the blog. Your desire to create tasty and simple dinners without pressure or fanfare. Your love of layer cakes. Your ability to do exciting things with chicken thighs. That warm satisfaction that you have created a delicious healthy meal. And although you always favour flavour above presentation, you enjoy plating up dinner and eating it on the couch in a comfy warm jersey and with the usually hatred-inducing trash TV on in the background. It's familiar, and feels like a strange time warp thinking back to a year ago, and two years ago, and many of the months in between. 

It ended up being sweet relief to get out of work last night though, and the aforementioned gym session was met with the enthusiasm of someone who'd had pancakes and pinot noir for dinner the night before. And whilst sometimes the gym can reinspire and reinvigorate, last night enthusiasm was not forthcoming on the treadmill. All I could think about was cake and dinner and i could not get past the overwhelming craving to get in the kitchen. 

And to accompany my mundane Monday mood and the persisting spring rain, some tasty fresh spring flavours were had for dinner. Thanks to Claire and her Mum for the big bag of lemons, currently brightening up my fruit bowl. 

Qunioa salad with roasted tomatoes and lemon chicken

I'd never cooked the ancient grain Quinoa before (and apparently it's pronounced keen-wah, but I'm not judging you) - but I'd heard you just cook it how you would rice. So I did! I cooked probably about a cup of the dry stuff, available in the bulk bins at the supermarket. It's light texture resembles couscous once cooked, but it gives a healthy-tasting nuttiness without the weight of brown rice (which can sometimes be a little heavy). It's perfect as a salad base, I swiftly found out. 

I took 3 ripe tomatoes and cut them in half and drizzled over some garlic and rosemary infused olive oil, some rock salt and some balsamic vinegar. I cooked them at 180*C for ages. 

For the chicken, I used a skinless boneless breast and cut it into cubes. In a bowl I added some fresh thyme, some lemon zest, some lemon juice, salt and olive oil. I then panfried it to ensure it got really crispy. I added some more lemon juice and reduced the heat for a bit until it was cooked through. 

I wasn't going to, because I realise my addiction is bordering on silly, and the fact I do it all the time is stifling my creativity, however, I roasted a head of broccoli with olive oil and chilli flakes. I feel guilty because this is so repetitive, but I couldn't resist. Delicious! 

In a bowl, add the cooked quinoa, some baby spinach (rocket would work well too), the chicken, some feta cheese, the tomatoes chopped up a bit and some sunflower seeds. We served it with a dollop of garlic hummus on top for good measure.  The lemon-tomato combo made this an especially flavoursome and satisfying dinner. Post gym perfection!

I then made just about the prettiest cake I've ever made, but more about that shortly x