Sweet Potato crust fish pie

The plan for this year was to blog about food at least once a month, hopefully more. Idea's have been constantly flowing, but I've had a lot of things stopping me. I cook and bake when I'm happy, and the last couple of months haven't been the happiest. They've been extremely sad.
Since I came back from competing in Nice and displaying a very dismal show of jiu jitsu and crying on the mat after receiving the worst news possible the night before about my dad being so ill, I spent every day at the hospital with my dad, up until the 21st July when he passed away around 5am.
It has devastated our family and left a huge gap in our hearts, and my mum has literally lost her other half of 42 years of marriage.
You often hear when someone passes, people saying 'They will always be with you'. It's true, I feel my dad around me all the time. I speak to him, ask him for help, laugh when I think of him (he was a very funny man) and even hear him comforting me when I burst in to tears when I'm doing something completely normal like sweeping the floor.
We talk about him all the time, even when eating dinner, we will say "Dad would have like this dinner." "Dad loved green beans, but hated carrots!"
Food definitely brings a family together.

My dad inspired me to be as sporty as he was and have a love for sports. As he got older, he preferred watching sports, but I like the fitness side and to get involved. I think that's why I have accepted Jiu Jitsu so much and gone completely full force in to it.

Me at Dad at Niagra Falls

Time doesn't stand still when you lose someone so close, you have to make yourself get on with things. There were some nights that I just couldn't bring myself to go and train, so I stayed on the sofa and chatted with my mum all evening and cuddled Maemo. It's so easy to get in to a depressive slumber and shut yourself away from the world, but this is life, this is what it's all about. People have commented quite a lot about how strong I have been through this time. I've had my mum and my brother, plus a loving family and good friends to bounce off.
We are all under the same contract, so while we are human's, we need to let our spirits make the most of the enjoyment we can have here on earth.

At the top of Koh Phi Phi, Thailand

Things are relatively back to normal now with work, training and socialising. But there is one thing thats changed.... Me! I don't know how to describe it, but I feel the change. My heart has a huge gap of sadness, but our loss has made me stronger.

When my parents came to the European Championships in 2013 to watch me compete

A jiu jitsu friend of mine has been raising money to send herself to the World masters this month. Sophie Walters from RGA Mill Hill has had some wonderful support from her black belt instructors and team mates, and together they organised 3 seminars to help her raise the money.
On Sunday 9th August, I attended the seminar at RGA Mill Hill in North London. I partnered up with Shelley Antonio and was taught some take down set ups by David Onuma, half guard from Chris Heard and the perfect triangle in No Gi by Daniel Strauss.

With David Onuma 

The legend that is Daniel Strauss

It was a brilliant afternoon, all in aid of a lovely, humble and superb jiu jitsu competitor, Sophie Walters. The World Masters is on Saturday 26th September in Las Vegas. I would love to have gone myself, I had the money, but the registration had closed early once the  event was full.
There is always next year to get myself focussed and mentally prepared for such a bit competition, and I certainly will be a lot more organised about getting my registration in early next year.

UK Women in BJJ supporting Sophie

Good luck to Sophie and all the other British competitors who will competing. I will be eagerly awaiting the results.

Good luck Sophie!

Every now and again, something so tongue and cheek comes up and makes us laugh hysterically. I've most certainly needed this lately, so it was a pleasure to see that The Awkward Shaka had used my photo for one of the 'news' features on the website.
You can see it here:
The Awkward Shaka

They also have a Facebook page too, so like and enjoy the page for important 'news' and features that will keep you in fits of laughter.
The Awkward Shaka Facebook

It's always nice to give something back in Jiu jitsu when you have learnt so much. After 4 and a bit years of training, you acquire a lot of techniques. So it was lovely to have been able to arrange a ladies training session at our gym in Felixstowe. It was a small session, with just 4 of us, but we went over problems and hurdles that the ladies face when it comes to making their techniques work.
After 90 minutes of drills and techniques, we did some hard sparring to finish off.

Messy hair, but we don't care

Awesome training in Felixstowe

As soon as I got home from Felixstowe, I showered and got in the car and drove with my mum and Maemo down to Spain. We stopped a lot and had two night in the car sleeping, but it was ok. It was nice to be there, but as it was my dad's home with mum, you could certainly feel that he was missing.
I helped my mum with her market stall, we went for coffee with friends, and I got in two training sessions with the team at RGA Malaga at the Costa del sol fighting fit academy.
Pablo Cabo is the head instructor there and we went over basics, but put a lot of detail in to getting everything perfect with them. I love details in jiu jitsu!
Each time I visit Malaga, the team make me feel so welcome and I have made some really lovely friends there. I went back the next night for some No Gi taught by Santeri Lilius. It was ADCC rules, so for the first time ever I had learnt how to do a heel hook. I loved it. We did straight foot locks too and plenty of drills and loads of sparring. I was exhausted at the end. The heat is incredible there, and it wasn't even the hottest month of the year.

Marta, Luna & Jolie

Luna has been training the same time as myself, I see her in competitions and we follow where each other is in the world. We are the same belt and it's so nice that we have been progressing together for these years. It's always a pleasure to train with Luna, and also Marta from Malaga. They're so much fun and brilliant jiu jitsu women.

Now for the food!
I'd like to say this is my recipe, but my mum introduced it to me and made it while she was here in England. My dad loved it, so I thought it was very fitting that I blog about it this time.

Ingredients:

2 pieces of filleted fish. We used 1 cod and 1 salmon
1 Large sweet Potato
4 Eggs
1/2 cup of milk
Spinach & Kale
Grated Mozzarella
Nutmeg (Optional)
Coconut oil

Method:

Pre heat the oven to 200 degrees Celsius
Cut the sweet potato length ways and slice in a food processor. If you don't have one, cut in thin slices will be just fine. It just takes a little bit longer.
Grease a quiche dish with coconut oil, then place and cover the bottom and side of the dish so there are no gaps.
Place in the oven and cook for 20 minutes. The sweet potato would have started to soften.
While it's in the oven, beat the eggs and milk in a bowl.
Cut the kale and spinach in to small pieces and add to the mix. Chop the fish in to pieces and add to the mix too, and nutmeg if you wish.
Take the Quiche dish from the oven after 20 minutes and add the mix to the dish, then sprinkle grated mozzarella over the top, and place in the oven for a further 20 minutes or until just turning golden.

Let cool for 5 minutes and serve with some lovely french beans or veggies of your choice.

Enjoy!

Thank my mum for the recipe when you rub your bellies.