I decided to support my immune system with a big dose of vitamins today and I found I was craving citrus fruits.  Consider this to be a citrus blast against the cold I have been battling for several days now.

I added kale too for additional vitamins and minerals. 2 oranges, a pink grapefruit, a satsuma and kale, all chopped up and ready for juicing. Hopefully this will help. 2 poached eggs on one slice of toast for breakfast.For lunch I was in the mood for something spicy so Lara and I made a Thai green chicken and prawn curry which was delicious.  Apparently it was very flavourful and garlicky but it seemed bland to me because my tastebuds are dulled.  Harvey declared it to be one of the best meals of the year!

It took a while to prepare, just because of the preparation of the sauce but it was easy to prepare and then simple to cook.  The recipe I used came from a book called ‘Chicken’ by James McNair.  I didn’t follow the recipe exactly so I am giving you the recipe as we made it.

Chicken and Prawn Green Thai Curry

Ingredients (serves 4)

Green Curry Paste

Half a red chili
3 shallots, finely chopped
5 garlic cloves, peeled and crushed
1 1/2 inch piece of fresh ginger, grated
1 stalk of lemon grass, chopped
2 tsp lemon zest
1 tsp fresh shrimp paste (we didn’t have any so used anchovies)
2 tsp ground coriander
2 tsp grated nutmeg
1 tsp ground cumin
1 tsp freshly ground black pepper
1/2 tsp freshly ground cloves
1/2 tsp fennel seeds, ground
1 tsp salt
1/2 cup chopped fresh coriander
1 can of coconut milk

1/4 cup oil ( we used a mixture of sesame and coconut)
4 chicken breasts, sliced thinly
Large handful of king prawns, shelled
3 tbsp fish sauce
Fresh coriander

Method

Combine the curry paste ingredients in a food processor or blender and chop until well mixed and as smooth as possible
Heat 2 tbsp oil in a frying pan, add the prawns and then the chicken and saute until lightly browned.
Pour over the sauce, add the fish sauce and simmer for 12 minutes.
Serve over rice, garnished with fresh coriander and red chilli

We had a pudding tonight.  A mighty fine albeit very simple pudding.

This pot of jam is without doubt the most expensive pot of jam I have bought in my life.  Cloudberry jam, bought in Stockholm.  It is something of a delicacy there, served warm over ice-cream.  I saw it in restaurants but didn’t try it so I brought some home to try instead.  Unfortunately I calculated the SEK 199 incorrectly and thought it was about £1.99 whereas it was closer to £19 !!!  Yes, £19 for a pot of jam !!!!!!

Cloudberries look a bit like small yellow raspberries.  They are sought after but expensive because they tend to only grow in the wild in Northern Sweden.  They are quite fussy about where they grow as they need acidic soil on high boggy ground.  They are found in water-logged areas in mountainous areas of Sweden so have to be hand-cultivated. Provided the soil is right they are extremely hardy and can stand temperatures down to -40°C.  They have a very short growing season of July to early August.

Cloudberries are quite tart hence they tend to be sold as jam rather than fresh.I served the cloudberry jam, warmed through gently, over clotted cream ice-cream with some flapjack.

It was delicious, but probably not justifiable of the hefty price tag!