Gallbladder III - Memory of a goldfish

So I'm on holiday, the doc gives me strong painkillers, tells me to lay off fatty foods, lay off spicy foods, take it easy, and if I develop a temperature, come back or go to A&E - not good to have an infected gallbladder.


I live on sachets of instant porridge for a few days and gradually feel better. Friday night, there are six of us in residence, and I manage to make fresh crab linguine. I'm definitely better and the rest of the holiday passes off without major digestive incident.


Sat Sept 12 and we're back from hols. I feel normal. I go back on the 5-2 diet and for a couple of weeks all seems right with the world. I forget the agonising pain and general misery I suffered on hols. I'm in a good mood. I'm still avoiding bread, so still avoiding butter. I still haven't put this together in my mind. I am an idiot.


So it's Friday Sept 25th. Weekend coming up and I feel great. For supper I make tacos: blisteringly hot chilli with mince, kidney beans, chilli oil, lots of guacamole, sour cream, grated cheese etc etc. Lovely
Saturday, four of us go for a 10 mile walk and feel so smug that we take ourselves off for a few ridiculously strong cocktails, followed by a curry. This is no ordinary curry house. It is a curry house run by a madman. Conversation goes like this:
Me: Yes can I have a lamb madras...
Madman: Oooh no you don't want that. Let me make you something special
Me: but I like lamb madras
Madman: trust me, this will be fantastic
Me OK, and can we have a sag bhagi
Madman: Oooh no you don't want that. I've got something really special I know you'll absolutely love. You like things spicy?
Me: I do (what did the doc say? Was it lay off spicy foods?)
Madman: fantastic, Leave it to me

Are you ready to order now?
And so it went with everyone round the table. Result: Well, it was delicious but my curry was ridiculously hot and very rich, and if it hadn't been for the quart of bourbon sloshing round my system from the cocktails, I probably would not have touched it. We also had one of his so-called specialities, the tarka dall, which was absolutely delicious: unctuous and rich. At the end of the meal, there was a bit of the dall left in the serving dish and it had gone absolutely solid. Like a block of butter. I realised with a slight queasy feeling that the reason it was so delicious was probably because it must have been at least 50% ghee/butter/palm oil/axle grease/ Christ knows what.


Sunday: day of rest. No ill effects so far, and for some reason woke up really hungry. Made myself a breakfast treat of scrambled eggs with plenty of butter on buttered toast with tomatoes.
Lunch: The missus has gone out. I have a look in the fridge. Hmmm, a few chicken livers. I give them a sniff. Probably on the edge. Should I throw them out? Seems a bit of a waste. I am sure I can make a passable dish with them, So I fry up streaky bacon, garlic, onions, chicken livers, plenty of mustard, balsamic vinegar. Not bad.
Supper. I am making Spinakopita, a greek dish of filo pastry layers filled with spinach, grated cheese, feta cheese, ricotta cheese, fresh mint and dill. I put a pastry sheet in a baking dish and pour on melted butter. Another layer more butter. Another layer more butter. Five times, In goes the spinach, Another 5 layers of filo and butter. Very tasty. Is that a slight twinge I can feel? Perhaps a spot of indigestion. Must have been the muesli I had for breakfast


WHAT WAS I THINKING???