Garlic Breath Salad Dressing

Here's my problem with posting recipes that are 'mine' as it were.  I'm not a measuring kind of person.  I tend to just blob stuff in until it looks about right (unless I'm baking, because the basics in baking are SCIENCE!).

Onto the salad dressing.  This is base of this recipe started life as a free recipe included with my Jamie Oliver Flavour Shaker.  Then I messed around with it.  It's delicious on both green & potato salads - just don't expect to be able to talk to anyone without having them recoil in garlicky horror until after you've brushed your teeth a few times.

You will need:
1-2 large cloves of garlic
white wine vinegar
dijon mustard
olive oil
sour cream
salt & pepper

Peel the garlic.  If you have a Flavour Shaker, bash the living jahosiphats out of the garlic in there.  If you don't have a flavour shaker, you can use a mortar & pestle to turn it into garlic mush.  Failing that, dicing it super-insanely-fine will also be adequate.
Put your mushed up garlic in a bowl (or leave it in your shaker and just pour the remaining ingredients in there). 
Add about 3 kitchen teaspoons (not measuring spoons) of olive oil, 2 of white wine vinegar, about 1 of dijon mustard and a giant heaping kitchen tablespoon of sour cream.  Beat all the ingredients together (I usually just use a fork) until well combined. 
Add salt & pepper to taste.
Pour it over your salad and enjoy your newfound ability to repel vampires simply by opening your mouth!

Remember that all the measurements above are approximate and feel free to make substitutions!  I've used yogurt or mayo when I was out of sour cream (or if you were fancy-pants, you could use creme fraiche).  Cider vinegar & red wine vinegar are ok too (slightly different flavours and colours, but no harm done).  I've even added a giant blob of honey to make creamy honey-garlic dressing.

I hope you like it!

Random Pregnancy Facts I've Learned So Far

This baby's due date is rapidly approaching.  It is both exciting and terrifying to think about how much life is going to change when they finally decide to show up.

Here's some random things about pregnancy that I've learned so far, that aren't common knowledge.

1) Morning sickness is a misnomer.  It's more like random-anytime-throughout-the-day-nausea-and-throwing-up.  Not nearly as cute sounding as 'morning sickness'.

2) Morning sickness affects everyone differently, and can be different from pregnancy to pregnancy.  Some people don't get it at all (lucky ducks!).  Other women are so sick they end up in hospital for the entire pregnancy.  I just felt like I was seasick 24 hours a day for the first 3 and a bit months.

3) As your stomach gets larger, you may experience localized belly button pain or itching.

4) Your ankles, like the shallowest of friends, are very likely to abandon you before the end of the pregnancy.

5) Yes, it's really, really weird to feel the baby move, especially at first.

6) Depending on where the placenta attaches, it can affect how soon you feel the baby move.  If it attaches anteriorly (the side where your stomach is), it'll likely be much later, since the baby will be facing toward your spine and internal organs, where there aren't as many nerve endings.

7) Your feet may permanently change shoe size.  On the upside, if this happens to you, it means that you'll get to buy new shoes!

8) You may or may not experience food cravings (weird or otherwise) but most women definitely experience strong smell and food aversions.  Cooking meat is apparently a very common aversion for many women.

And my brain has now tapped out.  Goodnight!