29 December - salmon with coriander pesto

It was another HFW recipe for lunch - chachouka is a mix of slow-cooked onions and peppers with tomatoes and spices, then an egg cracked in the top. I added a few chickpeas that were in the fridge and they went pretty well for a hearty lunch.

When I bought fresh coriander for yesterday's curry, the smaller packets were looking a bit yellowy, so I ended up getting a big bag. To use it up while it was still green and perky, I made up a batch of coriander pesto made with garlic and pistachios. I teamed it up with some plain salmon fillets and a pile of fresh veg; carrots, green beans and tenderstem broccoli. The pesto was really tasty and looked great against the pale pink of the salmon.

21 July - scallops with minty peas and apricots with pistachios

I've just realised that I'm a whole week behind with this blog, so I thought I'd better sit down and have a catch-up! So, a week ago today ... Tris was out for the evening, so I bought myself a handful of scallops from the fish man, them pan-fried with a bit of pancetta and ate them on a pile of crushed minty peas ... you can't beat a classic combination!

I'm not generally a big fruit fan, but I'd seen some apricots the other day and I was drawn to pop them in my basket more by the lovely colour than anything else. This evening, I got round to cooking them up for pudding. I cut them in half and baked them, covered in foil, with a spoonful of sugar and a splash of orange blossom water. Then I had them with a dollop of Greek yoghurt and a few chopped pistachios scattered over the top. It was an idea borrowed from Nigel Slater's Kitchen Diaries and proved really delicious.