Detox

As surely as a hangover follows a night of tequila and red wine, January is detox month. If I had a nickel for every time I'd heard that word this week, along with variations on "I'm not drinking til April", well, I'd have enough for a small coffee.

Truth is, I'm in the same bloated, too-tight-pants boat. Blergh. Although there was a distinct lack of boxed chocolates, frosted cookies and mixed nuts, the foie gras - goose -- pommes dauphinois - Champagne - whiskey extravaganza was over the top. And I drank enough booze and slathered enough bread with butter to be feeling the after effects. And it wasn't cheap either.

And so a few weeks of restraint have come into effect. To satisfy the duelling guilt trips of over-eating and -spending, step 1 involves eating less meat. I'm devoted to my luxury butcher, so even a pork chop is by no means a cheap meal. And his pork chops come with a respectable edge of fat.

So I returned to 2 favourites from my vegetarian days: Spicy Peanut Noodles with Egg and this, Chipotle Black Beans with Lime and Feta on Cornbread.

To celebrate a week of restrained eating, the Brit is roasting a very happy-looking wedge of pork belly for dinner tonight. That's ok, right?