Bird-brained and Wood Pigeon.

After almost a year of living in Kent, I finally got a referral to a Gastroenterology consultant at Kent and Canterbury Hospital.  Until now I had been driving the 2 hour journey to Buckinghamshire because I was worried about the consequences of leaving my brilliant consultant there.  It turns out that I shouldn't have been so concerned, there is more the one fantastic doctor working in the NHS.  (Please, don't blame me for being pessimistic - I've had some real clunkers in the past.)  My new consultant (and gastro nurse practitioner) are incredibly thorough and effective - in the 4 weeks that I have been under their care they have treated my iron deficiency anemia with a blood transfusion and a series of iron injections, discovered folate-deficiency anemia and started a folic acid regimen, diagnosed a protein deficiency, and have scheduled a gastroscopy to investigate the reason I don't seem to be absorbing these essential minerals. Oh, and are changing my treatment from Infliximab to Adulimubab.  Phew!

Being anaemic has caused a variety of symptoms, the obvious tiredness, shortness of breath, dizziness, and palpitations are one thing; but nothing has prepared me for the constant loss of concentration!  So far today I have started to saute onions and completely forgotten about them - until the smell of burning reminded me, and left my lunch to go cold.  Cupboards are left open, jobs are half-done, television shows end and I have no idea what happened...  I'm not even sure what day of the week it is most of the time, and this is with treatment!  I do hope that normal brain function returns soon - I've been reading the same page of Bram Stoker's Dracula for three weeks now and I'd like to finish it soon.

Despite all of this, I have managed to keep up with my try-new-things-in-the-kitchen resolution.  This week, pigeon.  Wood Pigeon to be exact.  Not much unnerves me in the kitchen; I can gut fish, joint rabbits, prepare offal, but the frailty of these tiny birds threw me.  I wasn't sure how best to cook them, concerned about overcooking them, unsure if I should joint them, or keep whole, wondered if I should roast, braise, grill or fry.  In the end, I roasted them whole, then removed the breasts and served with boiled potatoes and watercress, with a white wine and roasting-pan-juices reduction.  I found pigeon meat to be a little too strong for my liking, but Husband loved it.  And, it turns out that he has been taking photos of my food with his camera-phone, so I can actually post some evidence of this meal!  I used the leg meat to make a pasta sauce with slow roasted tomatoes, balsamic vinegar, capers, parsley, garlic and olives.  The sweetness of the tomato and saltiness of capers cut through the game-y richness and I enjoyed this far more than the first meal. Of course, the carcasses made a wonderful, dark stock.

"That's too special to just serve with pasta!" (according to Husband).