17 March - roast chicken and the last cavalo nero

I dug up the last of the cavalo nero on the terrace today to free up the container for some new spring planting. It had rather gone to seed, but I managed to get enough decent leaves to put it together with some spring greens to make a 'mixed greens' side to go with some roast chicken. I did the chicken in a bigger roasting dish than usual to make space for some roast carrots, which turned out to be a bit too big for making up the gravy so that it came out tasting rather 'watered down' - will go back to the old dish next time.

29 January - roast chicken and homegrown cavalo nero

I'd bought some humus to go with last night's tapas which we didn't eat, so that made a simple lunch today with a bit of pitta bread and some chopped carrot.

I was back on the painkillers today and not feeling much like cooking or eating, so it was a simple roast chicken for dinner with garlic, some roast new potatoes and home-grown cavalo nero still growing on the terrace. All delicious and comforting and just what was needed.

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.

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.

3 July - roast chicken with lemon, sage and garlic

I didn't consciously plan to cook a Sunday roast, but roast chicken is a a regular favourite and it makes sense to cook it when you've got a bit of time to potter around. It was a fabulously sunny afternoon, spent mostly out on the terrace doing some gardening and DIY, so it was nice to have a meal that I could pop in the oven then just wander in occasionally to check. I usually do variations on the same theme with roast chicken; sometimes I use butter, sometimes olive oil and the herbs vary too thyme and sage both work well though.

• I mix some chopped sage with some slightly softened butter and a bit of finely grated lemon zest. I smear it all over the chicken and pop it in a roasting tray. I slice a lemon in half, put half inside the chicken, then squeeze the other half over the top and throw the shell in the tin.
• I roast it for an hour and a bit (depending on the size), in a hot oven (c.200C) basting occasionally and adding a few whole, unpeeled cloves of garlic about half an hour before the end. If you put them in from the start, they just go brown and shrivelled.
• When it's cooked, I take the chicken out and leave to stand covered in foil, while I make the sauce. I put the pan on the hob and add a glass of white wine, stirring up the sticky bits from the bottom, and squeezing the lemon shell and garlic.

The moist white chicken with the sharp, rich sauce is great as usual. Today we have it with more home-grown mangetout and some carrots, plus some new potatoes to mash into the juices - yum!

30 April - roast chicken and a broken timer

The culinary news of the day was less about the food and more about the sad demise of my timer. It was a frankly rather naff plastic timer in the shape of an apple, but it was given to me as a birthday present by a friend a couple of years ago and I've become rather attached to it. So when I twisted it round rather absent-mindedly as I was cooking dinner this evening, I was horrified to hear the crack of plastic and find half a timer in each hand! I did try and fix it back together again, but a couple of little bits had snapped off inside, so it was RIP apple timer!!

Back home again, we've started a new 'regime', to try and lose a few extra pounds gained over the winter and no doubt not helped by the frequent eating out over the past week or so. It was roast chicken for dinner, but rather than slathering it in butter as I usually do, today it was just drizzled with olive oil, a scattering of thyme leaves and a squeeze of lemon juice - with one half of a lemon stuffed inside the bird, the other thrown into the roasting tray. Then halfway through cooking - estimated without the aid of my timer! - I threw some unpeeled and slightly squashed garlic cloves in too ... I've learnt not to put them in from the start because they just dry out and burn to a crisp.

When the chicken was cooked, I took it out to rest, poured the oil out of the roasting tray, then popped it on the hob. I added a slurp of wine, stirred up the sticky bits from the bottom, squeezed the lemon and the garlic cloves and let it all bubble up to make a wonderfully rich, sharp gravy. Served with boiled new potatoes and some spring greens, it tasted every bit as good as the usual buttery version.