The Return of Herblog.

Hello Peeps.

Sorry I've been MIA these past few months.

The main reason behind my hiatus from posting has been my Appraisal.  Yep folks, I've been busy churning out the world's biggest poo that is my Annual GP Appraisal, all so that a self-congratulatory, condescending, so-called colleague can patronise me and check I've done my homework properly at the end of the day...... PUR-LEEEZE.  I did not spend 5 years in medical school and countless SHO night-shifts for this s**t!

As you can tell, I'm not the biggest fan of this process.  But the powers that be, with all their infinite wisdom, think that this is what makes me a better doctor, especially after You Know Who did You Know What (read: Shipman, not Voldemort).  Don't get me wrong, I do feel that there does need to be some form of formal objective assessment of all doctors at the end of the day; I just don't think this is the way to do it.  In the wise words of a certain Eric Cartman: "This is a pile of tree-hugging, hippy crap."

If I did come away with anything useful from this process, it's that I need to organise my time a lot better.  I lost my old filofax so was on the lookout for another, but something that was more fun as well as practical.  Cue my latest acquisition....

My Kate Spade Brightspot Avenue Debra Agenda.  Bit of a mouthful, but look how purrr-dey!!  (Sadly, I don't think this is available on the Kate Spade website anymore).

Yep- I've gone all Old School, and am now back to writing down dates, deadlines, lists of things to do.  I need to see at a glance what I need to do for the day, month and even year.  Somehow using the calendar on iPhone just doesn't work for me.  I need to write it all down....

The other thing that we've started doing as a family is actually sitting down with Little H at the table and eating dinner together.  With the hours that Mr H and I put in, it's often difficult for all three of us to eat at the same time, but we've been making more of an effort, and it is starting to pay off dividends.  Little H is eating better (and I truly believe that he eats better at nursery because he sits down with all his other friends), Mr H and I get to eat earlier, which means we have more time to ourselves after Little H is tucked up in bed.  Plus we don't go to bed feeling bloated on a full stomach.  Good news all around.

Hopefully with these little tweaks, I'll be a little less negligent with this blogging lark!

Cracking my spine.

No, not literally (as if!)

I mean "Wreck this Journal."

 If, like me, you've been living under a rock, you may not be aware of this book.  Let me enlighten you...  Wreck this Journal by Keri Smith is a bit of a novelty in that it encourages creativity and thinking outside the box, using (often) bizarre suggestions to fill and destroy pages within the actual book.  You are only limited by your own imagination, and what you aim to be left with is your own unique journal, essentially a "work of art."

 One of the first tasks (and one I personally hate doing) is to crack the spine of the book.  Here goes....

Ouch!  OK, so it may have been painful at first, but actually it was quite liberating.  Talk about living life on the wild side!  I just realised on the back cover that at some point, I'm going to have to mail this journal to myself.... oh boy (sigh).

I think this book is meant to appeal to all ages, but I think teens may enjoy this the most.  Either way, at £6.47 on Amazon, I think it would make a cool stocking-filler for Christmas.  I'm quite looking forward to seeing how my journal shapes out.  I may even get Little H to contribute some of his Crayola handiwork...

Recipe for roasted butternut squash and chorizo soup

This is what autumn/winter means for me, food-wise.  Deep bowls of nourishing, warming, tasty soup.  This particular one with roasted butternut squash and chorizo is so good that even Mr H, who hates soup (?), is a complete convert.  It's quite a thick soup, so it's a good one to have as a meal in itself with crusty bread (or bacon butty if you're feeling extra greedy).  You could use pumpkin instead of squash, I suppose; it's a good way of using any leftover pumpkin if you've carved any Hallowe'en lanterns!  We like to have a bit of fiery kick to our food, so I've listed the ingredients as I would make it, but please feel free to adjust the dried chillies/chipotle paste to taste.

This recipe probably has about 6 generous greedy portions.

Ingredients:-

1 butternut squash, peeled and chopped into 2 or 3-inch chunks
250g of chorizo, peeled and roughly sliced
4 fat cloves of garlic, crushed
1 large onion (red or white), roughly chopped
2 cans of borlotti beans (pinto or butter beans would work also)
approx 2 cups (1/2 litre) of chicken stock
olive oil
a good pinch of dried crushed chillies
salt to taste
1/2 jar of chipotle chilli & smoked paprika paste (really handy and delicious ingredient for soups/chilli con carne- you can get this in Tesco in the World Food aisle, but if you can't find it, then you could use smoked paprika/add in extra crushed chillies instead)

Method:-

• Heat the oven to Gas Mark 6 (200 deg C, 400 deg F)
• Add the squash to a roasting tin, drizzle with olive oil, and toss so all the pieces are covered.
• Sprinkle on the crushed chillies, and half the crushed garlic, salt to taste.
• Roast in the oven for about 40 mins, or until the squash is tender.

• Next, in a large pot, brown the chopped chorizo.  (No need to add extra oil, as the heat will render the tasty paprika-infused oils from the chorizo, and this should be enough to fry off the remaining ingredients.)
• Add the onion and remaining garlic and fry until softened.
• Add the chipotle paste and stir until the onion/garlic is coated. 
• Add the roasted squash, stock, and beans.  Stir then cover and leave to simmer on a low heat for about 30-40mins.
• I then check for seasoning (I don't usually need to add any extra salt as the paste would already be salted, and no need for extra ground pepper!)
• Blitz the mixture in the pot using a hand-held blender to your desired consistency, or you could leave to cool and use a food processor (be careful!).  You could even just serve as it is: chunky and hearty.

This is my favourite soup in the whole world, and I like to enjoy it slobbed in front of the TV.  Try it.  I guarantee, you will never buy ready-made soups again!

My Top 5 Horror Movies

Every now and then, especially at this time of year, I like to watch a good scary movie.  Not the gory, blood-thirsty slasher movies.  I'm talking about the edge-of-your-seat, peep-between-your-fingers, keep-looking-over-your-shoulder, afraid-to-go-upstairs-on-your-own type of movie.

Mr H thinks I'm a crazy, sad fool, but I think that it's only human nature; deep down, we all like a good scare every once in a while.

So here are the Top 5 movies that are guaranteed to scare me s**tless (pardon my French) this Hallowe'en.

1)  The Exorcist (Director's Cut, of course):  I remember when this first came out on video and somehow, we managed to have a copy of this on Betamax (so showing my age right now- if you don't know what Betamax is, ask your folks/grandparents!).  This movie had been banned for some time soon after its theatrical release in the 70's (presumably because of the shocking content for its time), and I remember my parents banning me from ever touching that video, let alone watching it (I was only about 4 or 5 at the time- no brainer!)  Fast forward a decade or so, and my older cousin and I managed to dust off this copy and watch it for the first time.  The images from this film were burned into my memory for days after.  True, the effects are quite dated now, but the fact that the horrors in this story all happen within a seemingly happy home, to an innocent child, still leave me unnerved.  To this day, I will never watch this movie on my own (even the DVD cover gives me the heeby-jeebies).  How's that for a lasting impression?!  This was the first horror movie to be nominated for an Academy Award for Best Film, and deservedly so.

2)  The Omen (1976 version):  US Ambassador's wife has a stillbirth and unknowingly adopts the Anti-Christ in his place.  One of the original Satan-spawn movies and arguably the best of them all.  Gregory Peck is brilliant as always as Ambassador Robert Thorn, Lee Remick's eyes portray their terror superbly and Harvey Stephens manages to cut a piercing stare as Damien.  Add in a haunting Oscar-winning score, and you've got yourself one scary movie.

3)  The Shining:  I know some Stephen King purists hate the film as there are some deviations from the novel (equally brilliant), but I love it.  Jack Nicholson takes on the job as an off-season caretaker at an isolated hotel that gets snowed in during the long winters.  Joined by his wife and young psychic son Danny, he soon falls under the influence of some supernatural presence and descends into madness...  This film really does convey the isolation and claustrophobia of being trapped.  Memorable scenes include Danny riding around the corridors on his tricycle and stumbling upon the spooky twins (twin girls still freak me out a little!),  Room 237, and of course the famous "Here's Johnny!"

4)  The Blair Witch Project:  This was the original "lost footage" film, and still the best.  Low-budget (take three people into the woods and scare them witless), yet big-grossing.  I remember it being brilliantly marketed with a great website, which somehow blurred the lines between fact and fiction.  This movie, to me, is a great lesson in the power of suggestion; some deliberately blurred shots, or lack of camera-feed with ongoing soundtrack, and just let your over-active imagination fill in the rest.  Genius.

5)  Paranormal Activity:  Again, another low-budget movie that went on to do well on theatrical release.  A couple decide to video the unusual happenings within their home with increasingly disastrous consequences.  It took me five viewings before I could actually watch this movie right to the final scenes at the end (without having to peep from between my fingers).  I could actually feel myself getting more and more tense physically and psychologically with every minute of watching this.  To this day, I cannot sleep with my foot poking out from under the covers...

What will you be watching this Hallowe'en?

Skyn Iceland skincare review

A few weeks ago, I indulged in a little beauty hauling in my local M&S after they revamped their beauty hall.  One of the products I picked up was the Quench Kit for Thirsty Skin (£34) by a skincare brand called Skyn Iceland.  Just so you know, I tend to have fairly boring normal skin with the occasional outbreak at that time of the month, but I do like to use richer products at this time of year.

For those newbies to the brand (myself included), their products are "specifically formulated to treat the effects of stress on facial skin using pure and potent natural ingredients from Iceland."  They are free of parabens, sulphates, mineral oils, phthalates, synthetic fragrance and dyes.  Oh, and they're 100% vegan and cruelty-free.

I always like carefully curated kits like this; I think they're the perfect way to try out a new brand, without the guilt of wasting much product if you end up hating it.  This one was ideal as it contained all you needed to cleanse and moisturise day and night for a month.

In this kit, you'll receive try-me sizes of their Pure Cloud Cleanser, Arctic Hydrating Balm, Oxygen Infusion Night Cream, and their Icelandic Relief Eye Pen, plus one muslin cloth (although this was about the size of a postage stamp!)

Pure Cloud Cleanser:  Doesn't that sound comforting?  This is a gentle, but effective no-frills cream cleanser.  It will easily take off my all my day's makeup (although I cannot attest to waterproof or heavy eye makeup, as I don't do either).  I think its supposed to smell citrus-y, but I reckoned it smelled like cardboard (!)  Once massaged in, you just rinse off with a wet muslin cloth.  I have to say that my skin definitely felt softer after, not tight, and felt clean.  I used this morning and night, and I have to say that this tube only lasted me a fortnight.

Arctic Hydrating Balm with Cryo-Protective Complex:  I think the word "balm" is a little misleading here.  Although this is meant to be deeply moisturising and used in the day, do not think of this as your typical thick greasy ointment.  This actually feels quite light on, but does make my skin feel nourished and prepped for any makeup.  It didn't really have any fragrance to it either, so great if you have sensitive skin or hate strong smells.

Oxygen Infusion Night Cream:  The texture of this is lovely, like Greek yoghurt!  It has quite a fresh floral scent which soon disappears.  I liked to use this after massaging my face with a facial oil for an extra pampering treat, and my skin felt plumped and glowing the next day.  Nice.

Icelandic Relief Eye Pen:  Comes in a click-pen device with a handy applicator-tip.  Does feel cooling going on, but don't think it really did anything noticeable for my dark circles, or fine lines.  Nothing too special about this one really.

All in all, I thought this was a really lovely fuss-free kit, great for travel (especially in winter), and I think my skin has loved me for it.  I think there's something to be said for keeping your skincare regime quite simple.  With the exception of the cleanser, the products have actually lasted me a month (I'm still going on the night and eye creams).  None of the products have caused me to break out in any way.

Would I re-purchase any of the items?  Well, I do now own a full-size of the Arctic Hydrating Balm.  I think it could be used day or night really, plus I've also got their Pure Cloud Cream (couldn't help myself - like the cleanser, it just sounded so comforting and gentle!)

Have you tried any new skincare brands lately?

The most expensive tomato in the world.....? Probably.

I've been meaning to write about this for ages, and with the clocks going back this weekend marking the official end to summer, I figured it's about time.

Ladies and Gentlemen, I give you the most expensive tomato in the world.

Yes, I know it's just a tomato.  I know it's just green and unripe.  But you see, I've been waiting a long time for this tomato.  Why is it the most expensive tomato?  Because Mr H (being the green-fingered bod that he is) decided that he wanted a greenhouse soon after we moved into our home, so he could start to grow our own.

Three years, blood, sweat and tears, and £800+ later, this is what has been harvested from our tomato crop.

This is all that has been harvested from our tomato crop.

Of course, we have had plenty of aubergines, peppers and chillies (and eaten plenty of ratatouille), but I was really looking forward to tasting our first home-grown tomato; I've been told that shop-bought ones just don't taste the same.

With summer at an end, Mr H has harvested all the produce and cleared the greenhouse, ready to start again.  I, on the other hand, have had to look upon this green beauty every day, willing it to ripen and turn a lovely red, so I can enjoy it in the tastiest sandwich: sliced heirloom tomato with green pesto and mayo (not the low-fat rubbish please).  Honestly, it's the simplest sandwich that tastes so fresh and full of flavour.  If you can get your hands on some (ripe) heirloom or beef tomatoes, I highly recommend it...

Apivita Pomegranate Lipcare

Not long ago, I hauled a load of products from the M&S beauty hall.  Apivita was one of the newer brands purchased.  Since 1979, Apivita was one of the first natural cosmetics companies in Greece.  They claim that all their products have at least 80-100% natural ingredient content.

I'm always a sucker for a tinted lip balm, so I chose their Pomegranate Lipcare (other variations include: blackcurrant, propolis, chamomile, pink rose and cocoa butter).  It contains nourishing beeswax and organic olive oil, has a pleasant fruity scent, and leaves a delicate (read: barely there) tint to the lips.

You can barely see the pink tint on the back of my hand (try screwing your eyes up a little!)  And I swatched this really heavily!

Lack of tint aside, this did feel pleasantly moisturising, but staying power was pretty poor: no more than 2-3 hours, at best.  Another sticking point was the hopeless packaging.  It's pretty flimsy, comes open easily in your bag, and the barrel keeps swivelling back down every time I try to pop this on my lips.  (That's why I had to photograph it on its side).

Would I repurchase?  No.

Now, if only Terry de Gunzburg made a tinted Baume de Rose...