Life has a new zip and zing.  Not sure if it’s the new eating regime or mounting excitement for our big trip north.  Either way I’m celebrating and determined not to be disappointed if Air New Zealand laugh at my miniscule bid to upgrade under their latest scheme to raise a few extra dollars and test the tolerance of their loyal customers who have to date enjoyed upgrade privileges.

There is nothing like a deadline to galvanise my efforts.  Domestic Executive HQ has been a veritable hive of activity of sorting, tidying and cleaning.  Having the prospect of house sitters to stay has prompted my nesting instincts even if they are regular visitors and know how things are normally. The bassets are bored with the “retraining” as increasing amounts of the house become no basset zones although excited by the increasing amounts of basset nosh being cooked and stashed in the freezer so that their creature comforts don’t change that much. It’s only a matter of time before Fortnum recognises the big black boxes coming out and stuff being packed into them to send him into a sulk.

One thing that has become more noticeably changed in the last week is my taste buds.  Denied the high levels of processed sugar my palate seems to have been cleansed and everything seems to have a stronger taste.  Natural sugars are the most noticeable – it’s a long time since an apple really tasted so sweet and cheese so very creamy.  Nuts are nuttier and vegetables have a subtle textures and flavours I’d never previously noticed.  Even the tea tastes different, and not in a good way.  Or perhaps it was just a duff box of teabags. Wine has taken on remarkable new characteristics that make drinking it an even more pleasurable way to pass the time.

I gave up junk chocolate some time ago, preferring instead a small piece of a large block of high grade chocolate.  Luckily high cocoa content chocolate is permissable but sugar laden but ever so tasty chocolate treats are not. For all the sugar cravings are subsiding those pangs still knock on my head frequently so I thought a little treat wouldn’t go amiss in a no sugar kind of way.  The wonders of the Internet brought me heaps of options but I plumped for an intriguing Almond Coconut Fudge recipe which I adapted to use a natural sweetener with low GI meaning that we would get all the sweetness without the sugar rush.

As with all recipes it needs a little more finessing but for a first attempt it was very good.  I’ve never made coconut butter before either so that in itself was quite an adventure.

My camera is getting an MOT in readiness for the big trip.  So this is taken with my trusty iPhone.