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.

4 December - roast pork belly

We headed round to the Deco Lounge for brunch today - lounge eggs (poached eggs on toasted muffins with hollandaise) with smoked salmon for me.

I'd planned to make moussaka to use the aubergines that came in Friday's vegbox, but when I got to the butcher's, they didn't have any lamb mince. Lacking any other inspiration and not feeling up to trudging off to find it somewhere else (still very coldy), I had to come up with a quick change of plan. I got a piece of pork belly, which I slow-roast simply with some carrots and onions thrown in the roasting pan towards the end. We had it with some simple boiled cabbage and some gravy made from the pan juices. It wasn't bad, but although the pork was nice and tender on the inside, it was a bit too crunchy on the outside for my liking and just generally not really what I'd been in the mood for.

23 November - cheesy leeks and chicken with sumac

To use up a couple of leeks I blanched them, mixed them with some cheese sauce and a few bits of bacon and popped them in the oven for a bit. Tasty and warming.

For dinner I tried out a recipe from last weekend's Observer magazine for roast chicken with sumac. I bought some sumac powder for a recipe a while ago and have hardly used it since, so I thought I'd give this simple chicken dish a go. It wasn't wildly exciting, but with some cabbage and carrots, it made an interesting twist on a midweek chicken supper.

7 November - pate on toast and roast chicken

Since we had some really yummy pate as a starter at the Kensington the other day, I've had a bit of a fancy for pate, so today I picked some up for a simple lunch. To go with it I made up some very quick red onion marmalade; gently fried up half a sliced red onion in some butter until it softened (about 10 mins), then stirred in a teaspoon of dark brown sugar and a splash of balsamic vinegar. It worked quite well, although I think I let the onion crisp a bit more than I should have done. With some toast and a few vegetable crisps, it made a nice lunch.

Knowing that it was going to be a bit of a busy week this week, I did a roast chicken this evening, so I can quickly cook up the leftovers without having to plan and shop too much over the next few days. To go with it, I combined some leftovers from last week - some cabbage still looking good after a fortnight in the fridge (!) and the rest of the packet of chestnuts I bought for the stuffed mushrooms. I briefly blanched the shredded cabbage, then fried up a few bits of pancetta in a pan, added the chopped chestnuts and the drained cabbage, just long enough to combine all the flavours. It all sounds a bit much for a week night, but with no spuds, the chicken and cabbage made a lovely Monday night supper.

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 ...

25 October - squash bruschetta and chicken with cider

Inspired by Hugh and his veg the other night, lunch today is butternut squash and goats cheese bruschetta. While I was cooking up the veg last night, I popped the rest of the squash and half a red pepper in the oven to roast. Today I warmed both through in a pan with a bit of melted butter, tipped them onto a couple of slices of nice toasted bread (from Hart's), added some crumbled goats cheese, a few chopped walnuts and popped it all under the grill to melt the cheese a bit. Well, worth a bit of forward planning!

There were still some mushrooms from Friday's vegbox in the fridge that needed eating, so I made up some chicken cooked in cider with mushrooms, potatoes and cream - based on a Nigel Slater recipe that's a regular favourite. Served with some plain boiled cabbage, the sauce is both creamy and tangy.

15 October - a ploughmans and slow-roast pork

After a morning watching sport on the telly again, we went out for a wander and some lunch down by the harbour. We headed to the Pump House for a couple of gourmet ploughmans; Tris had traditional cheddar, but I went for mackerel pate that came with beetroot salad, apple, leaves and a lovely big hunk of bread, all presented on a big wooden board. It looked great and the pate was delicious.

Dinner was inspired by Lorraine Pascal's Home cooking made easy - slow-roast pork cooked all afternoon, with a handful of roast veg (carrots, parsnips, shallots and garlic) and some cabbage, plus of course, some gravy made from the pan juices. I was a bit dubious when the joint came out the oven looking a bit dry, but once it'd been rested for a bit, it just pulled apart with a fork - wonderfully juicy and tender and with some great crunchy crackling.

27 August - roast chicken

A busy day of marking was rounded off with a good old-fashioned roast chicken, cooked with butter, garlic, a bit of sage and some lemon, the juices boiled up with a glass of wine to make a lovely sharp gravy. We had it with a bit of cabbgae, some little carrots, a handful of beans and some simple boiled potatoes to soak up the gravy. As good as ever.

25 August - sausage and cabbage

I had some cabbage to use up and for some reason had a fancy for some sausages, so came up with a dish that involed 'roasting' the sausages with some pancetta and whole cloves of garlic, then adding the shredded cabbage with a splash of sherry and a bit of chicken stock and popping it back in the oven. After about 30 mins, it came out looking promising ...

At this point though, Tris texted to say he was going to be late. Thus it went back in the oven for another 20 mins or so on a low heat, but sadly then came out as a rather shrivelled, burnt, unappetising mess. Bit of a "dinner in the dog" moment!

21 August - nicoise light and creamy chicken curry

Back home, it was a nicoise "light" for lunch (no potatoes), after that huge breakfast, out in some beautiful afternoon sun.

Then in the evening, I went for an old favourite creamy chicken curry recipe from Madhur Jaffrey with spicy cabbage. Managed to get just the right balance of creaminess, spice and kick - always good.