I was in a rush today so made a very simple breakfast of Jumbo porridge oats, soya milk and water.  I stirred in a tbsp of the almond butter I made with cinnamon and coconut which goes perfectly with porridge.  Cup of tea and off to Harvey’s swimming lesson and then Ramsgate.

Breakfast was 9 WW points.

I took Lara and Holly to Ramsgate as they were doing the changeover for me – thanks girls, you did a great job.  Harvey’s friend Lucas came as well so while I was busy checking the house, they could amuse themselves which they did.  Give 2 boys a football and a patch of garden and they are happy!

At lunch time the boys and I walked round the corner to Waitrose and chose a selection of sandwiches, drinks and crisps.  I had a cheddar and celery sandwich and a bottle of water.  I forgot to type the details on the packet in to the WW website which is a fantastic feature so you can get an accurate points calculation.  So I estimated 10 WW points for the sandwich.  I rarely have a sandwich for lunch as they seem to use up a lot of points and are not that substantial but sometimes needs must.

After lunch I took Harvey and Lucas out for a walk around the harbour.  At the base of Jacob’s ladder is a charming little old church called “Sailors Church”.  It is unlike any other church you see as it is built in to the cliffs.  It is very small and inside are several models of boats.  In the picture below, the church is on the ground floor of the brick building to the right of the ladder.  In the rooms above and in the building next door, the “Smack Boys” used to live when they were on shore.  The Smack Boys were young boys, as young as 10, who worked as apprentices on the fishing smacks.  The Home for Smack Boys was used as accommodation for the young boys from 1881 to 1915.

The little church is well worth a visit if you are ever in Ramsgate.

If you have good eyesight, you can read ‘The Ramsgate Home for Smack Boys Founded 1881’ on the front of the building in the picture below.  Our house is the third in from the right.  It has grey walls and a red roof and all the windows are open.

We walked around the harbour wall to the lighthouse at the end.

And then I took them to the beach where the water was just irresistible.  How different life is for these 2 little boys, who are nearly the same age as some of the youngest Smack Boys were when they were sent out to work on the fishing smacks.

Dinner was nearly a disaster but it turned out very well.  I was going to cook another vegetarian meal but we were all hungry and fancied meat tonight.  I went to the village shop and bought 4 chicken breasts which I intended to wrap in some parma ham that needed using up in the fridge.  But when I took the parma ham out, sell by was 3rd August and it didn’t smell too good.  So having failed the sniff test, it was thrown out.

So now what could I make?  It was 7pm and we were all hungry.  Eureka!  Pesto chicken.  I haven’t done this before but I sometimes cook a bland piece of fish in sun-dried tomato pesto which is delicious.  So it should work with chicken.

To make Red Pesto Chicken:

• Place the chicken breasts on to a baking dish
• Put a heaped tsp of red pesto on top of each breast and spread it so all the chicken is covered.
• Cover with foiled and place in oven at 140 for half an hour.
• After half an hour, remove the foil and put back in the over for about 15 more minutes.

When it is cooked, most of the oil is in the bottom of the pan.  It is delicious spooned over the chicken when you serve it  but if you are low on points, leave it in the pan!

NB: Pesto has cheese in it.  Harvey, who is dairy intolerant, has been given pesto so many times because people do not realise it has cheese in it.  I had some vegan pesto in the fridge which he had and enjoyed, so I guess this dish works with green pesto as well as red.  But I prefer red.

The Ocado Cavalry were due at 8:30pm so I took all the vegetables that needed using up out of the fridge.  While the chicken was cooking, I chopped them up, mixed them with 2 tbsp Rapeseed oil and salt and put them in a large baking dish.  I cooked them in the oven for about 30 minutes, turning them about twice so the veggies on top don’t burn.  Most vegetables can be baked/roasted but tonight I happened to have:

red onion
a courgette from the garden
celery
cauliflower
a large field mushroom

It was delicious and the cauliflower seemed particularly tasty.  And the chicken was great.

I wonder what the Smack Boys used to get for dinner.