26 March - lamb's lettuce and chilli

I've had some lamb's lettuce growing under fleece all winter, but with the recent burst of warmth and sun, it's really started flourishing, so I thought I'd better start picking some.

I mixed it into a hot salad of new potatoes, green beans, tomatoes, chorizo and a poached egg.

While I was away over the weekend, Tris had made up a big pot of chilli which meant that I didn't have to worry about shopping and cooking for this evening, which was really nice as I was completely wiped out after my week away and had a load of other stuff to sort out.

25 March - spicy goats cheese

With my flight not until late afternoon, I was rather at a loose end today. I'd completely run out of steam and spent the morning milling around the city, not quite sure what to do with myself. I'd decided to have a long lunch before I headed to the airport, but feeling a bit uninspired, I wandered round and round, not sure what I was in the mood for. I was just starting to get fed up when I came across Tron Bar and Kitchen - the cafe part of a theatre, tucked down a little side street. As soon as I walked past, I knew it was just the place I was looking for - light and airy, friendly but not too noisy. It was a short menu, but I had no trouble settling on Cajun goats cheese crostini with some chips on the side. It was a big slice of goats cheese in a spicy cajun coating melted in a bit of toast and served on some (non-rocket!) salad. Followed by a good pot of tea, I was able to sit for an hour plus watching the world go by until it was time to go and find the airport bus and say goodby to Glasgow.

24 March - a rubbish salad and spicy Asian beef

Conference over, I stayed on in Glasgow to spend the day with a friend who came down from Perth to meet up. The weather was glorious and we had a lovely day mooching about, chatting and exploring the city a bit. It was just about warm enough to eat lunch outside, so we grabbed a table at Cafe Rouge. It was a great spot, but sadly my butternut squash and red pepper salad turned out to be a huge plate of rocket with just a tiny sprinkling of the main ingredients on top - really disappointing! It was a good job I'd ordered some chips on the side to keep me going.

At the end of the day, we found ourselves over in the West End, so we went into Soba, a noodle bar, which I think had been mentioned earlier in the week. We arrived quite early and it looked fairly quiet, but was apparently already fully booked - a good sign! They did find room for us to eat in the bar next door though, which was a bit noisier, but still a cool spot. I had some really delicious Foshan Five Spiced Beef - strips of beef in a lovely spicy sauce with mushrooms and greens. A great end to a grand day out.

23 March - Carluccio's and a picnic tea

It was my last day at the conference and after coming out of my last session around midday, I decided to walk back into the city centre from the conference centre along the river. The sun was shining and it was a lovely walk, but by the time I got back into town, my feet were getting achy and I was distinctly hungry! So rather than trog around looking for somewhere to eat, I headed straight to an easy favourite; Carluccio's. I had a really nice saffron risotto with Italian sausage - sounds an odd combination, but went down really well with a nice glass of wine :)

I couldn't be bothered with another microwave dinner, so just had a bit of a picnic supper; walnut bread, humus, beetroot salad and crisps while I caught up on some bits and pieces of work.

22 March - microwave curry

Today's been another fairly full-on day. I was giving a presentation this morning, then just grabbed a jacket potato for lunch. By the time I left the conference around 6.30, I was absolutely shattered so was quite happy to just head back to the apartment for an evening in and an early night. I didn't have the energy to think very far about supper, so I popped into M&S again and picked up another microwave meal - this time a chicken curry. It wasn't bad with a glass of wine, although the whole apartment now smells of it!

21 March - scrambled eggs and garlicky greens

I started today with my first attempt at scrambled eggs in a microwave. Although the apartment does have a small hob, there's only one rather large pan, so I thought I'd try my hand with the microwave instead. The result - actually, not bad scrambled eggs after a good bit of stirring.

Knowing the lack of interesting lunch options at the conference centre, I picked up some couscous salad in Sainsbury's on my way in to see me through another busy day. Then it was out again for the evening, this time for supper with a fellow freelancer and an in-house editor who we've both been working for. Luckily the editor is based in Glasgow so was able to take us somewhere a bit different, in the trendy West End. It actually turned out to be a Zizzi's - a familiar chain, but actually quite a funky location. I went for roast pork belly, which was lovely and tender, and better still was served on a huge pile of garlicky spring greens - who says the Scots don't do veg!!!

20 March - a skinny burger and a long evening

It was the first day of the conference today and after a morning of sessions and meetings, I realised that I had two publishers' "do's" to go to in the evening and decided to take a tactical afternoon break. Typical conference evening do's tend to involve drinks and a few tiny nibbles, so I used my break to have a good solid lunch to carry me through the rest of the day. The conference centre food options were pretty limited so I headed back into Glasgow city centre and just went for one of the first restaurants I came across - Darcy's in the Prince's Square shopping centre. I went for a "skinny burger" - not as healthy as it sounds, just a burger served without a bun, perfect for me as I never eat the bun anyway. It came with chips and salad and I had a side order of beetroot and humus to go with it. The burger was a little bit 'plastic' and unexciting, but the chips were good and the beetroot (roast with thyme, I think) was really delicious. So all round it did the job pretty well. I'd arrived fairly late and by the time I'd finished, it was getting on for 3pm, by which time it seemed that most of the staff had knocked off!! I'd intended to follow up with a coffee, but after nearly 20 mins of trying to get someone's attention, I gave up and had to go up to the bar to ask for my bill - needless to say, I didn't leave a tip!

As predicted, my evening of schmoozing involved drinks but little in the way of nibbles, so I was glad I'd stocked up earlier. By the time I headed back to the apartment around midnight, it was too late to think about eating, but I did pick up some eggs from a late-night corner shop ready for a decent breakfast to satisfy my grumbling stomach when I woke up!

19 March - in Glasgow

I flew up to Glasgow today for a week at a work conference. I'm staying in a serviced apartment in the city centre - it's not quite as cool as the flat I had in Brighton last year, but it's not bad with everything I need, including a little kitchenette.

I arrived after 6 to wind and rain, so I only ventured round the corner to M&S food to stock up on a few bits for breakfast, along with some microwave Chinese and a bottle of wine. Quiet evening unpacking and getting ready for a busy week ahead.

18 March - a Mexican brunch and chicken stew

I had a bit of a Mexican-Irish brunch today! It consisted of some fresh spicy tomato sauce, tinned refried beans, a poached egg, some yoghurt, but all on top of an Irish soda farl! Not bad, but the soda farl didn't really go ...

Tris was out for the day, so I made myself a quick and easy supper using leftover roast chicken. I cooked up an onion, some chestnut mushrooms, then added the chicken in some chicken stock (made from the chicken bones, of course) and a bit of cream. It could have been a pasta sauce or a pie filling, but I served it with some garlicky mash and called it a stew!

17 March - roast chicken and the last cavalo nero

I dug up the last of the cavalo nero on the terrace today to free up the container for some new spring planting. It had rather gone to seed, but I managed to get enough decent leaves to put it together with some spring greens to make a 'mixed greens' side to go with some roast chicken. I did the chicken in a bigger roasting dish than usual to make space for some roast carrots, which turned out to be a bit too big for making up the gravy so that it came out tasting rather 'watered down' - will go back to the old dish next time.

16 March - a new scrubber and wild food

Today's new addition to the kitchen was a new vegetable scrubber. I'd been using a very cool wooden and bristle brush that I got while in Berlin a few years ago, but it was really on its last legs. I've gone for something completely different this time, with a much more modern plastic version. It doesn't look quite so classy next to the sink, but when I tried it out on a lunchtime carrot, it came up clean and shiny in no time, which I guess is the real test! It was a variation on a student staple for lunch, tuna and pasta, bit with some grated carrot, sweetcorn and a honey and mustard dressing.

We were booked for dinner at the Pump House - a bit of a late birthday dinner for Tris. We'd eaten in the bar before, but it was our first time in the restaurant and it didn't disappoint. They focus on local, wild and foraged food with a modern twist and clearly know what they're doing. I started off with baked duck egg with wild garlic, wood blewits and brioche - the wild mushrooms were fabulously woody and made a simple egg something special. Then we both went for venison - actually roast saddle of Mendip fallow deer - served on a stained glass window style plate of different sauces - a green wild garlic sauce and an orangey meribelle plum one, then there was spicy red cabbage on the side. The venison was rare, tender and tasty and the whole dish worked really well ... yum!

15 March - chickpea salad and pasta with salmon

Along with some leftover couscous from last night, I made up some chickpea and pepper salad for lunch with a bit of soft goats cheese on the side.

Tris often says that we don't have much pasta for supper, mainly because it tends to be one of my lunchtime staples. So this evening I consciously went for a pasta dish - smoked salmon and leeks in a cream sauce.

14 March - an omelette and Moroccan vegetables

Inspired by some leftover cold potatoes in the fridge, lunch today was an omelette. I fried the potatoes, adding some pancetta, onion and red pepper, then the eggs. It was a bit of a tricky flip, but finally came out in one piece.

For dinner, I did another variation on the five-vegetable couscous I've done before. This evening, I only managed four vegetables; red onion, pepper, carrot and leeks, plus all the usual spices, cooked up in a broth and served with lots of fresh coriander and couscous. It came out, as usual, looking like a rather unexciting pile of boiled veg, but looks can sometimes be deceptive and it was as delicious as ever with all those lovely spices and just the right chilli kick.

13 March - soup and tapas

I finished off the rest of the carrot and coriander soup for lunch today, then was out with a friend this evening at the Lido. Lots of chat and laughter over a couple of glasses of wine and some tapas.

12 March - lamb and beetroot salad

I finally used up the last of the chilli today for lunch on a baked potato with a dollop of plain yoghurt to tame the heat.

The vegbox always arrives with a little recipe leaflet. I usually have a glance through it, but only occasionally get inspired to try them. This week I spotted an idea for lamb and beetroot salad with a pumpkin seed and chilli dressing. You whizz up some toasted pumpkin seeds with chilli, garlic, lemon juice, parsley, mint and olive oil, then you use half the slush to marinate a couple of lamb leg steaks and keep the other half as the dressing. I made up a salad of spinach, roast beetroot and blood orange, then fried the lamb and sliced it on top. For the dressing, the slush looked a bit thick, so I added a bit more olive oil and it worked great. The dressing was really tasty, with just a nice bit of chilli kick in the background and the combination of the beetroot and orange in the salad made a really nice change.

11 March - a warm salad and more chicken

Lunch today was a nice warm, tasty salad of potatoes, spinach, tomatoes, red pepper, a bit of chorizo and a poached egg.

I had the usual issue with cooking/shopping for one - I got yesterday's chicken thighs in a pack of four, so I was left with chicken again for supper. Trying to come up with something that would be quite different, I made some chicken and chickpea stew with spring greens. It's a Sophie Grigson recipe that involves putting some of the greens in the stew itself, then frying up a few leaves finely shredded to go on the top. It's a bit of a faff, but the crunchy topping is quite fun and less tricky with such a small amount.

10 March - carrot soup and slow-cook chicken

I got a huge bag of carrots in the vegbox - I'm sure I didn't order a whole kg, but maybe I wasn't paying attention - so the obvious choice for lunch was some homemade carrot and coriander soup. Today I used a Covent Garden Soup Co recipe, which was dead simple:

• Gently fry a small chopped onion and some garlic in butter.
• Add c. 200g peeled and roughly chopped carrots, together with 500ml chicken stock and a grating of fresh nutmeg.
• Simmer gently until the carrots are tender.
• Whizz in a blender and return to the pan.
• Stir in c. 50g grated carrot, some chopped fresh coriander and a glug of single cream.

For supper, I decide to have a go at 'roasting' chicken in the slow cooker. I tossed some sliced red onion and whole garlic cloves in a little olive oil and spread them on the base of the slow cooker. I put a couple of chicken thighs on top, squeezed over a bit of lemon juice, then threw in a few lemon slices, some fresh thyme and rosemary and cooked the whole lot in a hot oven for 90 mins. I rather expected the chicken to come out a bit anaemic-looking, but it had actually browned quite nicely and was wonderfully juicy and tender. Served with the onions and garlic spooned on the top and some spring greens and purple sprouting broccoli on the side, it made a really healthy-feeling, tasty supper.

9 March - a jacket potato and leftover chilli

I got some baking potatoes in today's vegbox, so lunch was a good old-fashioned jacket potato with tuna mayo and a big pile of salad on the side - can't be beaten!

Tris has gone away for the weekend, so it was a solo supper of some of the leftover chilli con carne, this time with sweetcorn fritters. The chilli was possibly even better for being a few days old and the fritters were yummy as usual.

8 March - a chowder and orzo with mushrooms

I'd kept back a bit of the smoked haddock I cooked yesterday and the poaching milk to make some chowder for lunch today. I sweated some leeks with a few bacon lardons, then added some diced potato, the milk and some vegetable stock. After simmering that for a while, I added the haddock and a bit of chopped parsley. I think the stock was a bit salty which together with the lardons was a bit much, but otherwise, not bad.

For supper, I used a Hugh Fearnley-Whittingstall recipe for orzo (rice-shaped pasta) with mushrooms. I used a whole carton of mini portobello mushrooms and it came out with a lovely earthy, mushroomy flavour.

7 March - smoked haddock fishcakes

For lunch today I grabbed a Higgidy quiche with some salad on the side. Then in the evening, I cooked some homemade smoked haddock fishcakes; a few smoked haddock fillets poached in milk, then flaked into some mashed potato. We had them with a pile of purple sprouting broccoli and a dollop of creme fraiche mixed with some chopped tarragon. Simple and tasty without being too heavy.

6 March - slow-cook chilli

I recently got round to getting Thomasina Miers' book Mexican Food Made Simple. I'd already made a few recipes from it, including this one, using a combination of her website and recipes copied onto scraps of paper in Smiths! So it was nice to be able to try this one out properly using almost all the right ingredients, including chiles de arbol from Otomi our local Mexican shop in Clifton. It's a chile con carne made with big chunks of stewing steak instead of mince, which you slow cook along with a load of spices, tomatoes, chorizo and borlotti beans, then pull into shreds with a fork. It takes a bit of time to get the ingredients together, but then you just pop the whole thing in the oven for 3 hours and leave it to do its thing. I was a bit wary about how spicy it would come out and went easy on the chilli, but the result was spot on - hot enough to have a kick, but just within my tolerance levels with a bit of creme fraiche (a substitute for sour cream as I already had some in the fridge).

I'd intended to make some guacamole to go with it, but cut into the avocado to find it'd gone brown. I managed to salvage a few chunks and mixed it up with some tomatoes, fresh coriander, lime juice, olive oil, sugar and salt to make a kind of salsa instead. Together with some simple boiled rice, the whole thing made a great meal.

5 March - roast cod and apple crumble

After another wrap for lunch (the packet needs using up!) with some cold leftover lamb from Friday, I did some simple roast cod wrapped in pancetta for supper. I did the creamy leeks with butterbeans again to go with it - a good combination.

I'd had a real fancy for some pudding. I'd hoped to get some rhubarb, but there was none to be found, so it was apple crumble instead, with custard, of course!

4 March - bacon sandwiches and chow mein

After some top bacon and avocado sandwiches for lunch, we headed home and I cooked up some quick chicken chow mein for supper - chicken marinated briefly in soy sauce and five-spice powder, spring onion, pepper, mushrooms, carrot and noodles.

3 March - the Rising Sun

Today we went down to visit my parents at their new place in Somerset. To celebrate the move and my Dad's birthday, we went out for dinner to a pub called The Rising Sun in West Bagborough. Rather annoyingly, I had a horrible dizzy spell just as we arrived (bit of an ear infection, I think, affecting my balance), so I spent most of the meal wishing the room would stop spinning and trying not to move my head too much! Which was a shame, because the food was really good. I had some chicken liver pate to start, then a huge chunk of lovely tender roast pork belly.

2 March - the first asparagus and roast lamb

After the success of my chilli wrap earlier in the week, I went for another wrap today, this time grilled harissa chicken (just a grilled chicken breast brushed with harissa paste) with avocado, grilled red pepper and mayo. I made the mistake of popping the wrap under the grill to warm, because it was already on, but it just went crispy- d'oh! Thus it didn't actually 'wrap' very well, but still a tasty filling nonetheless.

I went into Ruby & White to get some lamb fillet for supper and while I was there spotted the first English asparagus of the season, from the Wye Valley. It was extortionately expensive, but as we were celebrating (a new work contract), I decided to go for it anyway. It was well worth it too ... a simple plate of lightly boiled asparagus with a bit of melted butter to start with a glass of bubbly was about as perfect as it gets! I used a Nigel Slater recipe from the Kitchen Diaries for the lamb, marinating it in a gloop of fresh mint, garlic, anchovy and olive oil, quickly roasting it whole, then slicing it thickly. We had it with some rosemary roast new potatoes, green beans and the rest of the champagne ... great start to the weekend!

1 March - courgette pasta

Sometimes the simplest, made-up dishes are the best and today's lunchtime pasta was one of those. Courgette, bacon and a small blob of cream stirred into some penne pasta ... yum!

This evening, I was out with friends at the Lounge. I went for the chicken and chorizo salad, mainly because it's usually not very salady - chicken, chorizo, peppers and potatoes. It was clearly a different chef on tonight though because it arrived as a huge dish of rocket (which I hate!) with a few bits of chicken and chorizo on the top - very disappointing :(

29 February - veggie curry

Another veggie dish tonight, this time a Southern Indian vegetable curry from Anjum Anand's Indian Food Made Easy . It had lots of yummy veg - potatoes, carrots, courgette, green beans and cabbage - and plenty of spices, but somehow came out a bit disappointingly bland. At least it felt healthy though ...

28 February - a chilli wrap and chicken with mushrooms

For lunch today I used up the leftover mince from the bolognese and some borlotti beans from last night to make a quick chilli:

• I fried up some onion, garlic and yellow pepper.
• Added the beef mince + a pinch of allspice, cumin, chilli and a stub of cinnamon stick
• Once browned, I tipped in some tinned tomatoes, the borlotti beans and a bit of fresh coriander

I made it up into a wrap with a few spinach leaves and a dollop of yoghurt - great lunch!

This evening, I just had a fancy for a basic "meat and two veg" type supper. I pan-fried a couple of chicken breasts and then in the same pan made a creamy mushroom and tarragon sauce to pour over them. Served with some new potatoes and cabbage, it was just what I'd been after.

27 February - shakshouka and stuffed peppers

There was a tasty-looking recipe in yesterday's Independent magazine for shakshouka - fried onions, peppers, chorizo, spinach and tomatoes with an egg broken in the middle, then sprinkled with sumac powder. It was a slight variation on a dish I've cooked before and a really tasty lunch.

After lots of meat and fish while we were away, we were both craving some veg. For supper I cooked a Hugh Fearnley-Whittingstall recipe of peppers stuffed with beans. For my stuffing I cooked up onions, garlic, tomato, mushrooms and borlotti beans with some spices and dolloped it inside a couple of long red peppers. Served with a bit of garlicky yoghurt and a spinach salad, it really hit the spot.

26 February - resetting our bodyclocks

The last few times I've flown long-haul, I've tried to avoid jetlag by not eating at all on the journey back, then having whatever the appropriate meal is when I get home. Apparently, it's meant to reset your bodyclock. So after an overnight flight back from Miami, then train to Bristol, we arrived home at lunchtime and had some nice simple soup. It was a bit of a lazy afternoon and we managed to hold out until usual dinnertime for some spaghetti bolognese. We both slept really well and seemed to be more-or-less back to normal the next day, so it looks like the food trick worked.