17 November - fishcakes and lamb with pesto

I used the bits of leftover cod from last night to make a couple of simple fishcakes for my lunch today with the rest of the (out-of-season!) peas on the side. While I was out on the terrace snipping some chives to go in the fishcakes, I was looking at the few carrots I tried to grow back in the summer that never really came to anything. I pulled up what was left and came back in with a handful of the most miniature carrots you've ever seen to add to my peas!

I was totally uninspired about dinner and as I wandered down the veg aisle in Sainsbury's, the only thing that caught my eye was some baby leeks - must be a thing for small veg today! Anyway, they seemed like something to go in a meat and two veg kind of supper, so I went for a favourite standby of lamb steaks with fresh, homemade pesto (I knew there was still some basil in the fridge). I was still a bit unconvinced when it came to supper time, but there is something quite therapeutic about making pesto and as soon as I'd dipped my finger in it, my tastebuds perked up. In the end, lamb and pesto with baby leeks and a blob of mashed parsnip turned out to be spot-on and exactly what I wanted after all!

26 October - more bruschetta and pasta with pesto

It was another HFW-inspired bruschetta recipe again for lunch today, this time broad beans boiled, podded then swooshed around with some melted butter and garlic before being blended to a paste. I spread the paste on toast, crumbled over a bit more goats cheese and this time a sprinkling of fresh mint. Another great combination and a great colour!

I was going to do just simple pasta with fresh pesto this evening, but decided to add some gently fried red pepper and courgette to make something a bit more substantial. It seemed to work and the pesto was spot-on - leaving that fabulous rounded taste in your mouth long after you've cleared your plate ... mmmm!

20 July - minestrone and leftovers stew

Last night, I made up a pan of the minestrone we made on the Bordeaux Quay course last week, or at least from the recipe sheet I brought back, which was a bit different. I made it early so Tris could take some for his lunch, but when I took the lid off the pan at lunchtime, it looked a bit grey and unappetising. Thankfully, it tasted much better than it looked, especially with a good dollop of homemade pesto!

For the minestrone soup:

• Gently sweat some finely chopped onion, leek and carrot in olive oil.
• Add some sliced garlic, pancetta and finely diced potato.
• Add a good pile of fresh broad beans and some sliced tomatoes.
• Add enough chicken stock to easily cover the vegetables and some broken up pasta (I used linguine snapped into short lengths).
• Simmer for 20 mins or so.

Note: I really should have blanched the broad beans first and slipped them out of their skins - a bit of a faff, I know, but it really would've been worth it.

For the pesto; chop up a big handful of fresh basil, a handful of toasted hazelnuts, some crushed garlic and a grating of parmesan. Add a good slosh of extra virgin olive oil and a squeeze of lemon.

We were meant to be going out to a comedy event this evening, so I hadn't got anything in for dinner. By the time Tris got home though, it was absolutely tipping it down with rain and I really couldn't face an evening sitting in a cold, damp tent, so I bailed out and he took his brother instead. That left me at home with an almost empty fridge. After a bit of rummaging through the cupboard, I made up a stew with chorizo, lentils, tinned tomatoes, a leek and a bit of carrot. The result was another rather unpromising-looking bowl of splodge, but it was actually really tasty and warming on a chilly evening.

15 July - roast lamb and pesto

After last night's lamb taster, I fancied a bit more tonight. There wasn't much in the way of decent chunky steaks at the supermarket, so I went for a small joint instead to roast. I'd intended to make the meat last over a couple of meals, but after I'd carved up enough for a decent serving each, there wasn't really enough worth keeping, so we ate it all! I'd brought home a small pot of pesto from last night's workshop (although, I think probably not the one I made as they got mixed up), so this made a nice fresh sauce to pour over the lamb. Together with some roasted new potatoes with rosemary, a bit of tenderstem broccoli and some green beans, plus a glass or two of chilled rose, it made a rather decadent Friday night dinner.

14 July - italian cookery course at bordeaux quay

For my birthday, my friend Ange passed on a spare voucher for the cookery school at Bordeaux Quay, so this evening I went along for an Italian Provincial Cookery workshop. I went to another workshop there, on Spanish tapas, last year and thoroughly enjoyed it. Like then, this evening was really more interesting for the little hints and tips picked up from seeing a professional chef at close quarters than the actual recipes. Last time, I completely changed my chopping technique and this time, I think it was a better technique for crushing garlic that I think'll stay with me.

The evening started off with a demonstration - linguine with crab and chilli - looked quite good, but perhaps a bit too crabby for my taste!?! Then we moved onto some fresh pesto - made with basil and hazelnuts (as pine nuts are super-expensive and difficult to get at the moment). I've made my own pesto before, but it was really good to learn a bit more about balancing the flavours and the result I mixed up together with my partner was great. We then made a chunky minestrone soup which was served with a good dollop of the pesto on the top - really tasty and one to remember for summer lunches.

Next came more herb chopping, with a salsa verde to go with some lamb. It was a bit ironic that I'd made a salsa verde just back at the beginning of the week, but again interesting to see the balance of ingredients suggested for this one.

After polishing off our efforts with a glass of wine, the evening finished off with some delicious lemon polenta cake. Unfortunately, we'd run out of time for a proper demo, but there was "one he'd made earlier" to taste and the recipe to take home and try.

All round, a really enjoyable evening and a few culinary nuggets of inspiration brought home with me. Thanks, Ange!

9 April - lamb & pesto

After a day out in the sunshine, I wanted a simple but tasty birthday dinner, so fell back on an old favourite. I had lamb with Mediterranean vegetables/ratatouille and fresh pesto at a Bristol restaurant, River Station, several years ago and I've been recreating it in various forms ever since. Today it involved some lamb leg steaks, griddled until stripy and caramelised on the outside, but still pink in the middle, served with roasted red peppers cut into strips and cherry tomatoes roasted with a little garlic, then all topped with a splodge of fresh pesto. The pesto wasn't freshly made by me, but from the Waitrose chilled cabinet rather than the nasty stuff you get in jars.

On the side, we had some green beans and rosemary roast potatoes; new potatoes boiled for 10 minutes, then squished slightly so that the skins split and then roast for probably 20 minutes with some olive oil, sea salt and a scattering of chopped fresh rosemary. All washed down with several glasses of Veuve Cliquot - you can't beat birthday bubbles!

I'm not sure the photo really does it justice - I'm definitely going to have to work on my food photography!