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We lunched at the Kings hotel, which I recommend, in Chipping Campden. We chatted up the bartender who introduced us to the classic, if not cliche, British spirit – Pimm's #1. He suggested we try it with Lemonade and of course, we deferred.

I returned to New York on Saturday evening with a certain restlessness and a hankering for the Village. Despite the higher prices of food in the area, J* and I made our way to the lower east side. We missed the last showing of Too Much Light Makes the Baby Go Blind at the almost too-cool-for-school KGB, so wandered over to a restaurant nearby called Candela, Candela. The joint is an interesting mixture of Cuban and Italian cuisine.

In the end I abandoned the french cookbooks... and went Australian. The wonderful Margaret Fulton has a souffl� recipe that works, everytime. It isn't as heavy as the other recipe's and I will only have to run 3 times my usual distance tomorrow to work it off.

TThis post is in response to a post over at Oh, the Joys, where readers are asked to submit a recipe for “something with vegetables” and it must be “fresh.” The starter recipe on OTJ is for “Jackass Gazpacho” (recipe name is apparently an inside joke with OTJ) and my comment to her was something to the effect that it did not resemble at all the gazpacho that I make, and have made over the years, based on nearly a quarter of a century of living in Spain. And as much as I hate to say it, the gazpacho I have had in restaurants here in the U.S. has one big fault: it tastes like tomato juice.

This is the best and most authentic Mexican food I’ve had outside of Mexico. I asked about their ingredients and they say that they import their ingredients from Mexico as there are no good equivalents in the UK or Europe. Which is true, and this considered I’m surprised that their prices are really quite reasonable. They even sell some Mexican sauces and pickles to take home.

Weight watchers is treating me well. I'm actually really prepared for it this time as my fridge and pantry are already stocked with a good aresonal of good food. Pretzels instead of chips, low fat items instead of regular, and let me tell you, Newmans Own Light salad dressings are fantastic. Of course Balsamic Vingaratette is pretty basic, but I'm excited to try the Sundried Tomato one this afternoon. I've got a HUGE file of weight watchers recipes that a fellow BBC (babycenter.com) mom gave me so I'm hoping that will help me keep recipes healthy and portions under control. Gum is my friend :) Keeps the mouth busy :)

This week, I bring you one of my all-time favorite slow cooker recipes. It’s incredibly lip-smackingly, plate-lickingly good.

NThe Silk is also Vanilla flavored and goes with the vanilla almond cereal. I guess it’s good for you but with the nutrition pyramid and dairy products we’re supposed to need I always thought that regular Milk was good for you.

Several sea food platters and bottles of Bordeaux later I felt fit to continue my journey. Had I originally intended to drive to the ferry from Spain to Morocco as quick as possible my taste for the fabuluos things the French cuisine has to offer changed that.

Sometimes, when I am feeling less than glamorous (like today) the idea of baby food seems almost right, but not quite. Bubble 'n' Squeak is my version of baby food. Obviously it is easier if you just happen to have a whole pile of vegetables left over from your Sunday roast, but as that isn't the case today, I have to make it from scratch. It takes time, but it is worth the wait. I have even seen Bubble 'n' Squeak appear on the menus of several upmarket restaurants in the past few years, so it seems it is back in vogue. A good thing too.

A couple of nights ago I wasn’t sure what to make for dinner. I had two boneless chicken breasts and I wanted to broil them or bake them, but I needed to give them some flavor. It was then when I remembered a conversation I had with my friend Miguel Cane when he told me about this salmon he prepared with granola. That gave me an idea about what to cook for dinner that night. At first I wasn’t sure about the outcome of what I was doing but the final result was a delicious Broiled Chicken Granola which recipe I share with you today.