Days 327 - 324 - Really enjoying the 'craic' at work

Well, another week has come and gone. Having every Monday off seems to make the week pass so quickly! Enjoyed this week again at Saffy's. Although not the busiest week we've ever had, it was a lot of fun. Each week we get to know all the staff and customers a little more and it's a really good place to work.

On the food side of things, I'm still trying to work out what works and what doesn't, but we're getting there! I'm still making mistakes though. This Sunday, one of the starters was mixed meats with rocket and Parmesan. We didn't sell a single portion of it! I think we need to simplify the starters a little more. In the 6 Sunday's we have done, only the pate has really sold well. Looks like I'll be making one this week!

Away from Sunday lunch, we have put a couple of specials on that have sold well...

I'm going to keep the lamb on again and the rib eye this week and see how things go...

Not got much else to report for now, but I'll be back soon!

Take care all and thanks for reading

Jimbo

Days 313-326 Weight update, a few piccies and life in general!

Well, it's been a while! I think it's 2 weeks since I last blogged! Although not an excuse, we are working some seriously long hours and to be honest, most of the time when we get home, I really can't be bothered to sit down and type this drivel!

We are really enjoying the new kitchen, even with the long hours. It's just so nice to have no more stress and worry etc. In a strange sort of way it has done us good to have struggled so hard for the last 3 or 4 years as now we can really appreciate having a few quid at the end of the week. We still have some debts to pay off from the previous restaurant, but at least we can make a dent in it now, whereas before it was just getting bigger and bigger. 

There is also the added bonus of having one day off EVERY week! So, even though we are working 2 more nights a week than we used to, we get a whole day off every week now, which is great. Again, to most of you, only having one day off a week would be a drag, but to us, it's like a holiday! Usually on our one day off we have to go and do all the things that we couldn't do while at work, but today, we have nothing to do except enjoy the sunshine and do nothing! Well, apart from typing this blog! It's so nice to be able to sit in the garden with a glass of red, some cured Spanish cheese, a few olives and a couple of crisp bread thingys, whilst I type.

 I say it's so nice, but it would be easier if I didn't have to use this ridiculously rubbish netbook! I bought it about 6 years ago and basically since the day I bought it, it has been a pain! The keys on the keyboard are playing games with me, it cannot find the wifi signal, there is no disc space on it, even though there is nothing installed on it, so here I am with another keyboard plugged in to it, typing this in 'notepad' as I cannot install word or anything similar. When I have finished typing I will have to copy and paste it, hardwire it to t'internet and hope that I can send it to myself as an email and then copy and paste it again onto a word document on the PC, to then use it on my blog. One word.... Painful!

Work has been going well considering it's mid February, and this week has been pretty busy. Although Sunday was only 'average', the rest of the week has been pretty good. I had an idea on Wednesday night to do a bit of an eating challenge during the football. In homage to the Food network program 'Man v Food', I decided that as Manchester United were playing Real Madrid in the Champions League, we would do a 'Man U v Food' challenge! The challenge was to eat 2 triple bacon cheeseburgers with chips and homemade coleslaw during the first half. It was a bit disappointing that no one tried it, but here's what 1 burger looked like....

 There was some live music in the bar on Thursday night which bought a few extras in and that seems to be a permanent fixture now, so we will see how that goes over the next few weeks. We're getting more and more of our old customers coming across town to see us at Saffy's, but there's still a few who spend some of their time here and some in England that don't know we've moved. A prime example of this is we took a booking for Saturday night for a party of 4 at 8pm and wondered why they hadn't turned up. We then realised that they'd probably gone to the old place!! We need to get into the habit of asking people if they know we've moved when they book!

The brewery that Saffy buys a lot of his stuff from very kindly donated some new garden furniture this week, so we are on a mission to spruce the courtyard up a bit and make it a 'sexy' place to sit. We need to paint and tidy up a bit, but now the weather is back up to about 20C, I think that people will want to sit outside again soon. That will double our seating and hopefully stick some more much needed wonga in my pocket! 

On to my weight! You may have all realised that I have not been posting updates over the last couple of months. I had not really been able to get over to 'The Beauty Box' for my weekly weigh in, (sorry Heather), so to be honest, I haven't really had an idea about my weight, apart from the fact that I felt a little heavier. I found some scales on offer at Lidl a couple of weeks ago and thought it best to buy them so that I could monitor my weight once again. Oh dear....! Since my last official weigh in in early December, I have gained 6 pounds. Part of me is a bit shattered that a lot of the hard work has gone to waste, but there is a part of me that thinks that it could have been worse. Baring in mind that since probably late November I have done no exercise at all, (apart from the odd walk on the beach in the mornings), and although I haven't been pigging out, I haven't been that careful with what I've been eating, it could have been a lot worse. At least I have stopped the rot now and my head is once again in the right place. I can't actually believe that in about 5/6 weeks time, it will be a year! I know I will be nowhere near the 6 stone I was trying to lose, but anything over 3 stone will be a small achievement and I can push on again for the other 3 stone. At the end of March the pool should be warm enough again to swim in, so that will help the cause. I need to get back into my exercise regime. It sounds a bit weird, but I actually enjoy it! It's just a case of not coming home at 10pm and flopping in front of the telly to watch the recordings of Eastenders and Corrie, but to watch them while exercising. That was the whole ethos behind buying the exercise bike and the cross trainer in the first place. Having them sitting outside in the conservatory is no good for motivation! So watch this space for weight loss news. I might just say nothing until the year is up and let you all know the yearly total... We shall see ;0)

As I have had to do this all a little arse about tit, it has been difficult to insert pictures in the correct places, so I'll just shove them down here for you to look at. Some of the food over the last couple of weeks at the bar.....

Mushroom soup with a cheese and bacon crouton

Some 'pinchos' for the darts team

A goats cheese, bacon and walnut salad with honey dressing

Caesar salad

 Honey roasted gammon

Sunday's 4 meats

Bread and butter pudding with chocolate

Slow roasted 'fall off the bone' lamb shank

Simple pasta with roasted red peppers and cherry tomatoes

Well, that's it! I think I've said enough for now. No doubt as soon as I hit the 'publish' button, I will remember something else, but I will just add it on to the next blog. Let's hope it's not another 2 weeks away.

See you all later, and as always, thanks for reading!

Jimbo ;0)

Days 306 - 312 A few pictures for you to look at...

So, another week has passed and things are still going well at Saffy's. Considering its Jan/Feb, the two quietest months of the year, we can't complain.

Although we didn't quite scale the heights of last week, it was another decent Sunday. The final total was 39 covers, which although was 20 short of last week, it was only 6 short of the Sunday lunch total. Strange this week as the only orders we had were for Sunday lunch. Last Sunday we had orders for breakfasts, burgers, sandwiches etc.

I made a Greek salad for one of the starters, the other being home made mushroom soup, and once again I was very pleased with the amount of people who ordered it. I had made some hummus from scratch and served it with pitta. Here's a peek at it...

Now, I know that most of you don't get as excited by silly foody things as me, but I feel I need to share this with you. I can't believe that I have been cooking for this long now without even thinking about doing this before. Although I've used this method to get that yucky bit of stalk out of tomatoes, I had never used it to get the watery goo out of the middle of a cucumber before. It saves cutting the cucumber down the middle and scraping it out with a spoon. Here it is... Just a simple apple corer....

I knew it wouldn't excite you that much, but it does it for me!

A few of this week dinners for you to have a look at......

Firstly, just a simple pasta with basil, pine nuts and Parmesan...

...and an omelette I made in the middle of the week by using up some things in the fridge that needed eating. I used some shredded red cabbage, some sliced mushrooms, spring onion and coriander. Here it is in stages...

Gotta tell ya....., it made a very nice change from the bog standard omelette. Give it a try, you'll be surprised!

I made a Thai inspired broth in the week with ginger, spring onion, prawn, chicken, noodles, coconut milk, chilli, coriander and a little chicken stock. The picture below does not do it justice...

I started going for a walk before work this week and I thought I'd share some of the sights with you...

Strangely, I'm quite enjoying my morning walks and think they will continue for some time!

Well, that's about it for now, I hope to have some more riveting news for you soon. Otherwise, I will just keep on spouting this rubbish to you all!

Take care, speak soon

Jimbo