Have you ever been a pincushion?

No?

Well you can't have been pregnant then!
Gush all you want at the concept of "oooh, the baby's kicking" until you have stray elbows, knees, feet, head and hands prodding, poking and generally stabbing at you from the inside. Then lets see how cutesy it is!

Okay, so it is cutesy. But not all the time and not just when you thought you had managed to get into a comfortable sleeping position.

For those first timers (like me) it becomes an interesting intellectual challenge to actually spot the first obvious movement. Was that gas? Is that just my lunch moving along?
Ooops, sorry. I should have warned you. Becoming pregnant has pretty much disintegrated any barrier to discussing bodily function, of any kind. I didn't think I'd end up being like this - can I blame the hormones please?

Anyway, back to the stray elbows...
Our first sighting of Miss OhWailyWaily was at about 12 to 13 weeks, where I christened her "Bounce". I know it's not a gushy motherly nickname for a baby, but it was very, very descriptive. When you are that tiny, with that much space, it is very easy to put on a miniature Cirque du Soleil performance for the ultrasound. And she did.
Now as space is getting tighter, she still feels the need to perform acrobatics while she can. Unfortunately for me this often occurs around bedtime, and she is apparently not quite as agile in a smaller environment - hence the elbow to my side and the foot to my bladder.

I am also becoming convinced that the odd poke and prod is designed specifically to get me to change my position so that she can have more room. Either that or she is practicing her trampoline routine using my insides for the purpose.

I am reliably informed that this will only get worse as she gets bigger. Oh Joy!
And, being the bookworm that I am, I have also read that an energetic baby can manage to crack your ribs with a well timed and placed kick.
Did I mention that Madam is energetic and proddy? Hmm, I'm keeping my fingers crossed for my innards to make it through in one piece.

So the next time someone tells you their baby is kicking, feel free to be gushy but keep a faded and slightly ghostly image of the Alien trying to emerge from John Hurt's stomach in the back of your mind.

Welcome to the Motherhood !

;)

Creamy Potato Soup with Crisp Prawns

Also known as:

Minestra di Patate con i Gamberi

Recipe by: Valentina Harris
Source: "Slow: A fast track to relaxed eating."
Serves: 4

This is a luxury version of potato soup, though it can also be made using squash for a different, sweeter flavour. For a lighter version, simply boil or steam the prawns, then peel and add to the soup.

Ingredients:

For the soup:
3 large shallots, sliced
4 tbsp extra virgin olive oil
500g (1lb) floury potatoes, peeled and diced
600ml (1 pint) vegetable stock
200ml (7oz) double cream
500g (1lb) raw shelled prawns, headless, deveined and rinsed
sunflower oil for deep-frying
sea salt and freshly milled black pepper

For the batter:
40g (1 3/4oz) plain white flour
5-6 tbsp water
1 egg white, chilled

Method:

Fry the shallots in the oil for about 4 minutes, then add the potatoes and stir together for a couple of minutes. Pour in the stock and season to taste. Cover the soup and leave to simmer for about 20 minutes, or until the potatoes are completely falling apart.
Pour the soup into a food processor or blender and whiz until smooth, adding a little vegetable stock if too thick. Return the soup to the rinsed out saucepan and season to taste, keeping it warm over a very low heat.

Meanwhile, to make the batter, whisk the flour and water together with a pinch of salt to form a thick paste with the texture of melted ice cream. In a separate bowl, which the egg white until it holds a stiff peak, then gently fold this into the flour paste.

Heat enough oil for deep-frying in a heavy based saucepan or a deep-fat fryer until it reaches 180-190C / 350-375F, or until a cube of bread browns in 30 seconds. Dry the prawns thoroughly. Working in batches to avoid over-crowding the pan, dip them into the batter to coat them thoroughly, letting the excess batter drip back into the bowl. Drop them into the hot oil and fry until crisp and golden brown. Drain thoroughly on kitchen paper.

Bring the soup back to the boil, then take the pan off the heat and whisk in the double cream. Pour the soup into 4 heated soup bowls and drop an even number of the hot, crisp prawns in the centre of each bowl of soup. Sprinkle with a little pepper and serve.

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Ratings Out of 10: John 6.5, Lynn 7

Life changes

I've been absent for a couple of months, but that hasn't meant a quiet life.
No, it hasn't been work that has taken over the chunk of my life that had been otherwise devoted to self-indulgence in trying out the blog experience.
It is something smaller, but immensely more important.

And now that we are officially half-way to completion, it seems fair enough to mention on a public blog.

There will be a little Ohwailywaily joining the family, and I am hoping that there will be no living up to her Mum's chosen nom de plume.

So if things remain a little quiet around here for a bit, you will at least know it is because big old life changes are happening that interfere with mere fun like this.

And maybe I will find enough interesting tidbits to set up a new category of entry, but I promise not to become a baby-bore !