23 March - Carluccio's and a picnic tea

It was my last day at the conference and after coming out of my last session around midday, I decided to walk back into the city centre from the conference centre along the river. The sun was shining and it was a lovely walk, but by the time I got back into town, my feet were getting achy and I was distinctly hungry! So rather than trog around looking for somewhere to eat, I headed straight to an easy favourite; Carluccio's. I had a really nice saffron risotto with Italian sausage - sounds an odd combination, but went down really well with a nice glass of wine :)

I couldn't be bothered with another microwave dinner, so just had a bit of a picnic supper; walnut bread, humus, beetroot salad and crisps while I caught up on some bits and pieces of work.

18 June - scallops with peas, broad beans and asparagus

Right now, we're in that brief but wonderful window where asparagus, broad beans and fresh peas all in season at the same time. They make such a fantastic combination that I couldn't resist cooking a big pile up altogether, draining them and tipping them back into the pan with a good knob of butter and some chopped mint, just to mix. I served them with some pan-fried scallops, slices of crispy pancetta and a dollop of plain risotto on the side. Hard to beat!