30 March - prawn noodle soup

After using up the last of the chilli on a jacket potato for lunch, I fancied something a bit lighter for supper. There was some pak choi in the fridge, so I went for a prawn version of the Asian-inspired noodle soup that I often cook.

• Bring about 500ml vegetable stock to a gentle boil, add some chopped red chilli and a smashed stick of lemongrass.
• Add some raw prawns and simmer until they turn pink, then some chopped pak choi and a sprinkling of fresh coriander.
• Season with a dash of soy sauce, fish sauce and fresh lime juice.
• Served spooned over some cooked noodles.
  
  

It came out with a great zingy flavour - really tasty, but fresh and light too. It must've been good because Tris couldn't resist slurping up the last dribbles in the pan!

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.

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.

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.

14 December - a slow food day

I'm still full-on with work and we were heading down to London this evening, so lunch was a quick bit of leftover chilli and supper was half a chicken sandwich on the train.

11 December - eggs again and Tris's chilli

It was eggs again for lunch today, but this time poached on toast with a bit of spinach - kind of eggs Florentine, but without the hollandaise.

After huffing a bit this week about doing all the shopping and cooking, Tris made chilli for supper this evening with a bit of rice and guacamole. It's always good and all the better for not having to cook.

31 October - cheese on toast and beef chilli

With fresh Turkish figs still in season, I bought a lovely crusty sourdough loaf from Hart's this morning to make some goats cheese on toast with figs on the side for lunch.

There was a chunk of beef from yesterday in the fridge which I somehow fancied slow cooking. I stopped in Smith's on my way to the supermarket to flick through Thomasina Miers' Mexican Food Made Simple. I really ought to buy a copy, but for today, I settled for just memorising a recipe for beef chilli. It's a pretty long list of ingredients, but I think I managed to get home with them all still in my head it more or less the right proportions and order!

• Blend an onion and a couple of cloves of garlic.
• Brown a chunk of beef on all sides in a pan- I used about 150g topside - and remove.
• Fry some chopped cooking chorizo in the same pan, then add the onion and garlic mix.
• Add a tsp cumin and a tsp allspice, a few cloves, a cinnamon stick and a bay leaf.
• Stir in a couple of chopped red chillis, a few bits of jalapeno (from a jar), a splash of balsamic vinegar, a squirt of tomato ketchup, some dried oregano and half a tin of tomatoes. Stir it all around to cook for a while, then return the beef and top up with about 150ml water.
• I transferred the whole lot to a casserole, covered it with foil and popped it in a low oven (150C) for a couple of hours.
• Towards the end, stir in half a tin of borlotti beans.
• When you take it out, break up the beef with a fork into shreds.

The result wasn't particularly photogenic, but it tasted absolutely fantastic! All the flavours came together wonderfully to create a real 'surround-sound' kind of taste that lingered long after the last mouthful! Rather than rice or tortillas, I served it with some cubes of roast sweet potato and a blob of guacamole.