I’m not feeling the love for anything or anybody at the moment. 

The temperature is dropping rapidly and as you all know – I don’t do the cold very well.  It seems as though I go through a serious brain freeze whenever I get cold or get a cold (which I have too).  The weather is bad, it’s pouring with rain and winter has really set in.  Unfortunately (or fortunately) I’m not sick enough to get the full service of having my family run after me so I still have to be creative BUT I’ve lost my mojo.

Ok so I realise that I need a good healthy dinner! 

Now you have to understand that my children have been raised to eat absolutely everything…..or starve (never let it be said that I don’t give them options) but I have a son who loves vegetables and a daughter who loves salads.  Always a bit of a dilema in winter.  My husband has requested something with spinach, my daughter has requested pasta and my son has requested lots (as in lots of food – in his words….he is trying to grow) and I am looking for something healthy to make me feel better.

So dinner tonight is going to be Pasta with chicken, mushrooms, spinach & brocolli.  Sounds good but how to combat the drama of the spinach that my daughter has decided that she doesn’t like?

Definitely go for the comfort dessert factor!

I know – Malva Pudding always does the trick in this family but they’re all on a major health kick at the moment……

So I did what everybody else does when they run out of ideas – GOOGLE and found this recipe but the question is …..

if I add some orange juice to the sauce – will it count as healthy?  My children think that chocolate is a food group because it contains milk so this could work!

Then I remembered that I’m not feeling the love for anything or anybody at the moment and decided that it was all about ME!  I want malva pudding and I was quite happy to eat it all if nobody else wanted (yeah right…..like THAT was EVER going to happen in my family

Anyway the orange juice = healthy idea stuck and let’s be honest … as decadent as Malva pudding is ………this is just pure and total extravagent debauchery.

Malva Pudding

Cake (Pudding):

• 1 cup sugar
• 1 egg
• 1 tablespoon apricot jam
• 1 cup flour
• 1 teaspoon bicarbonate of soda
• 1 teaspoon baking powder
• 1/4 teaspoon table salt
• 1 tablespoon butter
• 1 teaspoon white vinegar
• 1 cup milk at room temperature

Sauce:

• 1 cup whipping cream (not whipped)
• 6 ounces unsalted butter (3/4 of a cup)
• 1/2 cup white sugar
• 1/2 cup fresh orange juice
• 1/3 cup of Cointreau / Orange Liqueur

4) The pudding is meant to be swimming in sauce. However, you can pour over half the sauce, then reserve the rest in a sauceboat and serve seperately.

5) The pudding keeps for at least 5 days in the refrigerator. To reheat. place  each portion for about 20 seconds in the microwave, then let it stand for 30 seconds for the heat to even, before serving.

6) Serve with extra sauce, cream or custard

Well my feelgood comfort food and the reason for my next diet is in the oven at the moment.  It is without doubt worth every mouthful of the extra time that I am going to have to spend in the gym.  There’s a smile on my face in anticipation already