January - time to detox.......

January 3rd - and feeling more stuffed than the Christmas turkey and very unlikely to wear my skinny jeans before oh shall we say a month..I decided that today was the day to start the annual new year detox....but wanting to break into it slowlyI decided to start with a nice but gorgeous chistmassy gourmet salad for lunch; pecans, persimons, pears and toasted pecans see below for recipe)..not sustainable, not eco or carbon friendly but defintely delicious and nice smooth transition to a more strict detox starting tomorrow. The salad leaves at lunchtime were however sustainable...straight from my mother in laws garden packed this morning before she put me on the train for Paris.

But maybe she was feeling guilty and partly responsible for the button on my jeans not fastening? Since Thursday evening we have been well and truly spoiled; champagne, scallops, oysters, local cheeses, smoked salmon - but the highlight for me was a WILD Hare Ragu that she served up on Friday and again on Saturday...I had never tasted anything quite like this..I wasn't expecting it to taste so gamey, the smell alone permiated and took over the kitchen the whole weekend. This was knocked back with an equally "wild" and earthy Georgian red wine that we had picked upduring the summer holidays and followed by my mam's very special christmas pudding complete brandy butter....by the time we had left the table it was to dark to even contemplate walking dinner off...which was just as well given that I had to be practially rolled into the sitting room...where I just about had room for one or two dark chocolates from La Bussiere, Limoges' most reputed chocolatier.

Life does not get much better than this....but sadly payday is nigh...back to organic carrot, parsley and apple juice tomorrow morning....but until then..just one more chocolate.

Pomegranate, persimon, pear and pecan nut salad for 2:

1 persimmon (Kaki)
1 pear
1/2 pomegranate
12 pecan nuts -toasted
1/2 lime
mixed salad leave

dressing: 2 tablespoons of balsamic vinegar, 1 tablespoon walnut oil, teaspoon of french mustard,


Qarter & cut persimon & pear lengthways and place in below, squeeze juice of half lime over. Mix in the seeds from the pomegranate.

Whisk ingredients together for the dressing. Toss salad leaves in dressing.

Place salad leaves on plate and top with the fruit and then the pecans.