29 October - lunch in Bath, slow-baked sausages & new plates

It was another Saturday lunch out, this week in Bath. We went to check out the recently reopened Holbourne Museum - a funky bit of architecture, but not wildly excited inside. It's got a nice-looking cafe, but it was a bit full of kids, so we decided to head back to town for lunch. Just as we left though, it decided to tip with rain, so we just dived into the nearest place we could think of; the Riverside Cafe, a tiny little place tucked away under Pulteney Bridge that always does good, simple cafe food. I was still feeling a bit coldy and didn't have much appetite, so I went for some plain fried calamari and fries, just what I needed, and Tris had some really nice falafels with salad.

When we got home after a hard afternoon's shopping, I tried out a Nigel Slater recipe from an old OFM magazine for slow-baked sausages, with lots of onions and a sauce including dark beer. Came out quite nice served with some mash and cabbage. The evening's real culinary excitment though was all in the crockery, with beautiful new plates from Toast. It's not the most photogenic of dishes or the best light to show them off, but I'm sure they'll feature again soon ...

28 May - chicken in cider

We had the rest of the vegetable tart for lunch with a few sauted new potatoes and a big dollop of mayonnaise - yum!

The recipe for dinner is based on another Nigel Slater, from an old Observer Food Monthly. I browned some chicken thighs in a pan with some oil and butter, until golden then removed them. I fried a handful of button mushrooms in the same pan, then added about 250ml of dry cider, returned the chicken and brought it to the boil. I turned it down, covered the pan and simmered for 30-40 mins. Then at the end, I added about 75ml of cream and a big handful of chopped tarragon. Served with a big pile of spinach cooked with some wet garlic and some asparagus. Really tasty!

18 May - fantastic crab cakes

I always like the idea of homemade crab cakes, but previous attempts have tended to come out rather wet and collapsed into mush in the frying pan. So I was in two minds about whether to try out a Nigel Slater recipe from last weekend's Observer Food Monthly magazine. I was feeling quite enthusiastic when I bought the ingredients in the morning, but less so when I got to the end of a busy day and couldn't really be arsed with the hassle! I'm really glad I made the effort though because they turned out to be a real triumph - perfect consistency and really tasty, with just the right balance of crabbiness and zing. The pea puree was great too and worth the extra bit of time (and washing up!) it took to whizz up.

So for the crab cakes, I mixed together:

• 100g white crab meat
• 1 stalk lemongrass - chopped soft centre only
• 1/2 chopped red chilli
• small knob of grated fresh ginger
• zest and juice 1/2 a lime
• handful chopped coriander
• 1 finely chopped spring onion
• 4-5 tbsp fresh white breadcrumbs
• 1/2 a beaten egg
• 1 tbsp flour

Then I shaped the mixture into four little cakes and put them in the fridge for half an hour, as per the recipe.

When they came out, they were still a bit crumbly looking, so fearing another frying pan collapse, I redipped them in the rest of the beaten egg and then some flour in an attempt to keep them together. It was an inspired decision as it gave them a lovely crispy outside coating. So then they were fried gently - about 8-10 mins altogether. For the pea puree I just boiled a big pile of fresh peas with some sprigs of mint, drained them and whizzed both to a puree with a splash of olive oil and a hand blender. Served with a few saute potatoes, the result was really as good as anything you'd get in a restaurant ... even if I do say so myself!

21 April - cod with Bengali-style mustard sauce

Today was a bit hectic, but I was determined to find the time for some proper cooking with lots of ingredients before we head off tomorrow for another week in a self-catering cottage. I chose a recipe from last Sunday's Observer Food Monthly magazine by Vivek Singh for fish (the recipe used halibut, but my local fishmonger only had cod) with a spicy curry sauce. I'm never 100% about fish curries, but in this one, you cook the fish and the curry sauce separately and just serve them together, which appealed to me. The original recipe includes three parts, the fish, the sauce and an onion garnish, but after a busy day, I gave up and omitted the garnish.

Fish & marinade:
two chunky cod fillets
a few black onion seeds
a few fennel seeds
salt
1 tbsp vegetable oil

Sauce:
1 tbsp vegetable oil
bay leaf
1/4 tsp black onion seeds
1/4 tsp fennel seeds
small onion finely sliced
1 tsp mixed grated ginger and garlic
1/4 tsp chilli powder
1/4 tsp turmeric
small tomato finely chopped
1 tbsp wholegrain mustard
250ml water
large green chilli slit lengthways
salt
sugar
pinch garam masala
fresh coriander
c. 200ml coconut cream

For the sauce, heat the oil in a frying pan and add the bay leaf, onion seeds and fennel seeds, then the onion. Fry gently, then add the garlic-ginger paste, chilli powder and turmeric. Fry for a couple more minutes, then add the tomato. Cook, stirring and mushing for a couple more minutes. The same with the mustard. Then pour in the stock and bring to the boil. Add the green chilli, a pinch of salt and sugar, the garam masala, coriander and coconut cream and leave to bubble gently.

Mix together the marinade ingredients and rub them over the fish - set aside for 10 mins or so. Then sear the fish on both sides for a couple of minutes in an oven-proof frying pan, before popping it in a hot oven (200C) for just over 5 minutes.

I then quickly wilted some spinach, put this in the middle of a deep dish and surrounded it with the sauce, before putting the seared cod on the top, sprinkling on a little more coriander and serving it with rice in separate bowls.

The verdict? It looked great and although the sauce was quite sharp and seemed a bit overpowering at first taste, it really grew on me. And because the fish isn't cooked in the sauce, you still taste it rather than it being drowned out by the strong sauce. Definitely one to try again, perhaps with the halibut if I can get some next time.