She got married in 2008, BD (before diagnosis) and our lovely friend made both the wedding and bridesmaid dress! Which was fantastic and as I was the only bridesmaid I had a big say in the design with only the bride to keep happy and not 10 other bridesmaids!
The sad thing was that my primary concern and design request was that it had to be loose and flowing around the stomach because I had no idea when the puffer fish would emerge. Remember at this stage we didn't know what was causing it but thought it had something to do with endometrosis.
Thankfully for my sister, we both liked 50s style dresses, which fit in perfectly with the theme and allowed for the puffer fish, without everyone thinking I was 5 months pregnant!
I remember the lead up to the wedding, I was so scared that my stomach would explode and I wouldn't be able to fit into the dress, not only that I was worried about being doubled over in pain. I had my collection of pain killers and anti inflammatory's ready on the day in case the puffer fish reared its ugly head.
I was fortunate that the puffer fish did not rear its head on the night of the wedding and everything went off smoothly.
The sad thing is that I had to design a dress to accommodate the possibility of the puffer fish!
Restaurant of the Week
The Arthouse Cafe at Narellan is my recommendation for this week. I have eaten there on various occasions for breakfast lunch and dinner. All meals have a gluten free option (though they don't have any gf toast for breakfast) and the waitress and chef are very accommodating to your needs. I did select the risotto here for dinner and checked with the chef what stock they used, thankfully they make their own stock and the puffer fish did not emerge. The GF symbol on the menu makes selection easier and provides for a more relaxing and enjoyable dining experience.
Recipe of the Day
Lamb in cranberry sauce
This recipe is from taste.com.au, the originally recipe was for lamb shanks but on the advice of my butchers I use Lamb forequarter chops (they are much cheaper and taste just as good)! I have also changed the recipe to cook in the slow cooker at the end (the meat will fall off the fork).
I'm cooking this tonight, so I'll add the picture when its cooked!
Serves 4 adults
Ingredients
1 Tablespoon olive oil
1kg lamb forequarter chops
20g butter
2 tablespoon plain flour
1 1/2 cups chicken stock
1 cup red wine
275g jar whole berry cranberry sauce
1/4 cup fresh rosemary sprigs (I used dried rosemary)
1 tablespoon thyme
Mashed potato to serve
Method
Heat oil in large saucepan over high heat. Cook chops, in two batches, brown on both sides. Remove to plate.
Melt butter in dish until sizzling. Add flour and cook for 1 minute. Remove from heat and slowly add stock, wine and cranberry sauce. Season with salt and pepper and rosemary and thyme and bring to boil.
Put lamb in a slowcooker and add sauce and put on medium heat for 5+ hours.
Serve with mashed potatoes (add cheese or garlic for a twist on traditional mash).
Enjoy
