Post the Twenty-eighth (in which our heroine has that Friday feeling)

First week in the new job over, a woohoo!  Friday has ever been my favourite day of the week, and I'm feeling particularly content today, seeing as I have a week of a real job behind me.  I know it's early days, but I'm very happy with the move.  The company is great, the people are lovely and there's just a really nice vibe about the place.  It's like a different planet to my last job.

There were a fair few sore heads going around the office today, yesterday being Cynical Marketing Ploy Arthur's Day.  For my non-Irish readers, this is an annual celebration of all things Guinness.  You can buy tickets for a venue or just go to your local and raise a toast to Arthur at a minute to six (1759 being the year Guinness was founded).  And in fairness, while it might be a marketer's dream, Diageo donate all the proceeds from the ticket sales to the Arthur Guinness fund, and this year they were donating an additional €5 for everyone who checked-in to Arthur's Day on Facebook.  Plus, y'know, it's an excuse to go to the pub.

I may have celebrated a bit too enthusiastically, however.  I spent the day with my eyelids at half-mast and a second pulse in my temple that was probably disturbing the person in the next office.  I had also drunk a litre and a half of water by 11am, and I haven't been to the bathroom yet.  I may very well give my bed a little kiss when I get into it tonight.

And now for the world's clumsiest segue, where I just bring the food in apropos of nothing.  Needless to say, I cooked nowt last night, as I was too busy laying the foundations for my hangover.  So this is Wednesday's dinner.  I had rehearsals for a cabaret-thing I'm doing next month on Wednesday night, so I didn't want anything too heavy - nothing worse than having to dance with a big sticky-outy belly flopping around in front of you.  So I decided to try and replicate the chicken & chickpea salad from Le Bon Crubeen, which my sister Clo mentioned on the low-carb post from a week or two ago.  It's actually nothing like that salad, though.  I marinated my chicken overnight in yoghurt, garlic & lemon zest, cause I vaguely remembered something about lemon & yoghurt from the menu the one time I was in Le Bon Crubeen.  Turns out their chicken is actually lemon & thyme, and they dress the salad with spiced yoghurt.  Ah well.  It was still delicious, and worth sharing, imo.

Lemon-yoghurt Chicken & Chickpea Salad - serves 2

2 chicken fillets, cut into strips                          Couple of tablespoons natural yoghurt
2 cloves garlic, crushed                                    Zest of a lemon
Bag of baby spinach                                         Tin of chickpeas, drained & rinsed
Medium onion, sliced                                        1 red pepper, thinly sliced

1. The night before, mix your chicken with enough yoghurt to coat, add the zest & garlic and a bit of salt & pepper.  Mix well, cover and stick in the fridge til tomorrow.

2. Preheat your grill to full whack, or get a griddle pan nice and hot.  Cook the chicken for a couple of minutes each side, being careful not to overdo it.  While the chicken is cooking, plate up your spinach leaves, chickpeas, peppers and onions.  Arrange the chicken on top, and commence nomming.  I squeezed the zested lemon and dressed my salad with that, but you could also mix the juice with half as much olive oil and use that.  I just don't like oily salad dressings.