NY Eve Goose & Dry January

I admit this blog's title seems a little strange but bear with me. Just I have 2 items on the agenda to discuss!

Well I hope you all had a wonderful New Year's Eve whether it was a quiet one or party heaven. I like to stay in on NY, get all cosy and cook. I set my hair in rollers, made it big, shoved in a fake flower and roasted goose in the oven. We had this last year and it was so delicious. Feeling a bit fed up of the usual roast potatoes and veg, I gave the beautiful bird an Eastern vibe. My Jamie magazine featured goose rubbed with 5 spice and stuffed with clementine, ginger and rosemary. The house smelled incredible while it was cooking and wish I could have captured it in an airwick!

Juicy Goosey!

I put some goose in a Thai green curry and some shredded in hoi sin sauce both served with fragrant jasmine rice and lovely veggies such as shiitake mushrooms, beansprouts, greens and carrot cooked with chilli, garlic and ginger. My fave herb coriander was sprinkled over everything and let me tell you it was succulent and delicious. I'm just sad there's none left.

Wish there was more

So with it being January and in my last blog post I discussed resolutions and goals, I wanted to share with you another additional goal I decided to undertake last night. As previously mentioned in the health aspect of my life, an ongoing commitment is to keep my weight and body healthy. Alcohol is part and parcel of this so it didn't get a special shoutout. However today it does.

Last night Mr V and I had a romantic stroll to our local country pub for a couple of early evening drinks. It was lovely and after a couple of glasses of rioja we strolled back home again. I was thinking that those 2 glasses of wine were delicious but I'd be knocking the vino on the head for a while as part of my health commitment. So once home, I had a little browse on Twitter. One tweet by Nutrition Rocks mentioned something called Dry January. Intrigued I looked into it since it felt timely given what I'd been thinking.

Dry January is part of an awareness campaign by Alcohol Concern to encourage us to have a break from the booze for the month of January. It's not suggesting we're all alcoholics by the way! For me, I know that a couple of glasses midweek after a hard day can feel like a real comfort yet the day after I feel haggard and that is so not what want to be. I want Dita Von Teese flawless skin from a vanity point of view and enough energy to get through the day let alone hit the gym. So as a lover of a challenge I've signed up and I'll donate some cash saved from going out or drinking in to the charity. I'm all about the long term commitment to goals rather than one off's so I'm not backtracking but in this case if I was going to cut down why not just give it up for a month and support the cause?

And I'll find it tough as I adore a robust red with my meals and a cheeky Sunday afternoon vino with my roast. I'd rather have a glass of red over a bar of chocolate any day! However the benefits will be worth it and unfortunately I've witnessed in my family the destructive and heartbreaking effects alcohol can have and I'm keen to support Alcohol Concern with their campaign. So I'm raising my glass of iced water to you all for the New Year! Anyone fancy joining me?
Love Vivi.x