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It goes without saying that we all can do with introducing some more healthier elements into our weekly eating habits by including seafood in our diets on a more regualr basis. Statistics show that consuming seafood on a basis of three times a week can vastly improve our health; seafood is great for the brain, is very low in cholesterol and has all those healthy omega oils that our bodies need.

But how it affects you is all in the cookin’. Are you ready to get your friends around for a seafood cook off?

Maybe you are like me in that you have never been all that fussy about eating seafood; fish, oysters, clams…it’s all about the smell and the taste - right…? then I have one suggestion which could change your whole perspective on the way you view les fruits de la mer - take a look at www.GreatAmericanSeafoodCookOff.com and you will find the inspiration to change the way you eat forever.

I have, and my favourite recipe by far is Shrimp and Andouille Cassoulet by Chef Brian Landry and it is all the way from the French-inspired cuisine heaven that is Louisiana.  This is a seafood dish which combines the well known French andouille sausage as well as the creole spices and fat shrimps of Louisiana - the cassoulet is the staple dish of the Languedoc region in France with it’s hearty inclusion of beans and vegetables. The only difference here is that instead of the usual canard (duck) you have the shrimp taking pride of place. This is French cooking with a US twist !

Just looking at the recipe there is nothing I can say that would change about it - except that I would serve a lot of crusty bread torn into chunks for soaking up the juices afterwards. What I like about this is that the chef uses local and regional ingredients in the recipe and this is very important; the French always stick to local ingredients for their regional cuisine and this makes all the difference to the food.

Seafood which is caught locally and cooked on the day promises to be as fresh as possible; I recommend to anyone who wishes to become a seafood eater to visit a restaurant where the chef uses the local catch of the day - choose a dish which contains the ingredients that appeal to you the most and then judge for yourself. When it is cooked fresh and with style and imagination there is no better food for you to eat.

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We have just spent some time staying at my partner’s parents house; they have a very nice little house in Northern Ireland but I noted whilst there that their lifetime habit of being thrifty has produced serious knock-on effects which is affecting their quality of life in their old age.

Being Scots the word thrift is well ingrained in them and I have to say it would not hurt for many people nowadays to learn the meaning of the word…but you can take it too far.

They saved and worked very hard to buy their little house back in 1962 and it is both their security blanket and refuge from the modern day world. Unfortunately their habit of hanging onto every penny and pound they have has meant they have ignored doing basic maintenance on their home over the years. 

The toilet cistern takes 45 minutes to fill as instead of a steady flow there is more of a slow drip-drip; the roof leaks in the kitchen; there is damp around the walls as they are afraid of cold drafts and refuse to open any windows to let fresh air in; their carpet - though well cared for over the years - is nearly 50 years old and both looks and smells like it.

The front door does not lock securely either and the one frypan they have is so old that the cooking surface is peeling. But trying to convince them to spend some money and update some features falls on deaf ears - ‘the hoose is fayne’ they say. We don’t think it is and I am sure that their insurance company would hesitate paying out should any problem occur through the above issues.

Thrift is good - but responsible spending is as well.

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