12 September - aubergine parmigiana

After a meaty few days, I fancied something veggie. With the wind and rain lashing down though, I wanted something warming and comforting, so I went for an old favourite based originally on an Elizabeth David recipe for parmigiana. I sliced, salted and fried an aubergine, then made up a basic tomato sauce with an onion, a bit of garlic, a tin of tomatoes and some chopped basil. Then I layered the aubergine slices with the tomato sauce and slices of mozzarella in an oven dish, topped it all with grated parmesan and baked for about half an hour. It came out gooey, bubbling and full of flavour and went down well on with a few simple boiled potatoes.

8 September - couscous salad and spaghetti bolognese

Another great 'salad' for lunch - this time couscous with some roast squash and pepper, tomatoes, a few bits of bacon and a bit of the sauce left over from last night's chicken - really yummy!

We had a simple classic for dinner; spaghetti bolognese. This is something that's slightly different every time I make it and is inspired by a number of different recipes, including a classic Italian Elizabeth David recipe and a more recent one from Hugh Fearnley-Whittingstall. Tonight it was quite a fresh, tomatoey version with fresh basil.

• Gently fry a chopped onion in a mix of butter and olive oil until soft, adding some chopped garlic and a few bacon bits.
• Add minced beef and stir until browned.
• Add a glug of milk and bubble until almost gone - this was an idea from HFW and gives it a slightly creamy feel.
• Do the same with a glass of white wine.
• Stir in a tin of chopped tomatoes, salt, nutmeg and some chopped basil.
• Bubble away for as long as possible, at least an hour. Then serve with spaghetti (or tonight linguine actually) and a good pile of grated parmesan.