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.

18 December - omelette and roast veg

When I asked Tris what he fancied for lunch today, he suggested an omelette. It was a chunky, sort of Spanishy affair, with some cold boiled potatoes, red pepper and a couple of mushrooms, plus six eggs and a handful of parsley - still going on the terrace. I cooked it in a big frying pan then popped it under the grill to finish off and it came out looking good and went down nicely with a good dollop of homemade sweet chilli and tomato jam.

We were out socialising early evening, but after working all weekend, I was knackered, so I came home early. Having expected to eat out, I hadn't really got anything in, so supper was cobbled together from leftovers. I still had some rather sad-looking roasted squash and beetroot, which I heated up in the oven together with some fresh red onion and garlic. I piled the veg on top of some couscous and scattered over a few bits of goats cheese and fresh coriander and the result was really quite good.

30 November - an omelette and tapas at the lido

I peeled and chopped too much potato for last night's curry, so I cooked the excess and used it for a lunchtime omelette along with some chorizo and cherry tomatoes.

A bit of a tickle in my throat yesterday has turned into a full-blown cold, but I still went out to meet a friend at the Lido for the evening. It perked me up no end to get out and have a bit of a chat and a giggle, but my tastebuds have gone on strike and I don't have much appetite, so picking on a bit of tapas was about as much as I could manage.

25 May - an omelette and chilli

After spending the weekend with Jo who has a couple of chickens in the garden, even though I didn't have any of their fresh eggs while I was there, they were obviously still on my mind today, so I had an omelette for lunch. I hate any runny bits in omelettes, so I always cook mine in a small frying pan and flip them rather than folding them to make sure all the egg's cooked. I threw in some cold potatoes, button mushrooms and lardons; a classic combination. For me, any eggy dish cries out for ketchup, but I finished off the last of the tomato and chilli relish instead - must make up another batch some time.

While I was away, Tris had made up a big pot of chilli con carne; his signature dish! And as we were both out early evening, it was perfect to come back to, heated up with a bit of rice and some fresh guacamole. I seem to make guacamole a bit differently every time - today, it was a mashed avocado, a crushed clove of garlic, the juice of half a lime, a bit of salt and a big handful of chopped coriander - a really fresh herby one that worked well with the rich chilli that'd been maturing for a couple of days.