G on my Chest - The Garlic Master

What a difference a few days can make to the world, to my emotional health and sanity.

Thursday morning.

Dismal backyard view - what's that white stuff?

This morning.

Almost bbq weather in London today!

It's amazing. I almost did not recognise the place. And there was this strange yet familiar looking yellow orb in the sky all day. Fantastic. Pity I could not go outside and enjoy it. I swear, by the time I am done with this Masters degree, I will loathe every brand known to man. God...these assignments are insane. I got 2 hours sleep last night, woke up this morning, took a shower, had some breakfast while realising Muse was on one of the music channels all day (I love Muse) and then came back up to this f#@!y. lol. I am such a sucker for progress.

But I also made another disturbing discovery.

It finally hit me - the reason I am single.

Yes. I love garlic. If you asked me to give up chocolate for a week, I could do it. Wine, in this weather, it would be a challenge but on a normal day, yes, I could give it up. Garlic? It would be near impossible. I was sorting out my groceries and realised I am a garlic master.

I got garlic bread, soft cheese with garlic, garlic and onion pasta sauce, a new bottle of garlic seasoning, and of course fresh garlic. Let's not forget my new favourite snack, Boursin garlic and herb cheese. It goes great with sauv blanc and Ritz crackers. Really good.

It's not the most romantic fetish, I admit but it has health benefits and with just a bit of garlic you can avoid using loads of salt and fat in your cooking. My cousin attempted to cook a curry one day without garlic and I was beyond alarmed. I mean, the mainstay of a good chunkay* is frickin' garlic. I keep telling this dude he has been living in this country for way too long.

It's also part of the reason he is now moaning and groaning as men are inclined to do when sick. He's got a cold, not pneumonia but you would never believe it the way he is carrying on. But while I make fun of my Sainsbury's pasta drawer, I also try to eat well, with a fresh soup, a fresh salad or legumes or high protein and fresh juices. So it's the tropical cousin - who is "enjoying" her first winter ever, who wakes up at 5am to brave the British breeze at the bus stop to get to class, who sleeps 4 hours or less on many a night, completing inane assignments - who is fully alert, healthy and perky. And it's the British by proxy cousin, who has been here for 20 years, who is battling the winter germs. Maybe if he ate some garlic-infused fresh meals, a  fresh salad ever so often, instead of Tesco's cole slaw and a pasty for dinner, then he would be as super as I am.

By the way, I was walking through the mall one day and was ravenous and got myself a Gregg's cheese and onion pasty, which to my non-Brit friends is like a cheese pastry. It was without a doubt, the nastiest thing I had ever sunk my teeth into in my life. After suffering through 2 bites of this thing I had to throw it in the bin - waste of my  £1. I think it was the cheese. I am used to NZ cheddar in my cheese pies and I am not sure what this was, but it was not a fun experience. It was oozing and white and ugh.

Maybe next time I will pay tribute to cheese, something else I don't think I could live without - unless it's in a cheese and onion pasty.

p.s. However, the cheese and onion twists at M&S and Tesco - awesome!!!
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*chunkay - (the process of adding heated oil infused with cooked garlic; process of frying aromatics and spices in oil - a process especially associated with preparing curry in Trinidad and Tobago)