31 March - a day out in Bath

We had a day out in Bath today. It being a busy Saturday, I didn't expect to get into the petite Cafe Shoon, so was pleasantly surprised when we got a table. I had a delicious serano ham, fig and mozzarella salad - three of my favourite ingredients on one dish!

After a hard afternoon's shopping, I wasn't feeling like doing much cooking, so we picked up some lamb with mint and balsamic crust from Waitrose - you can't go wrong with some garlicky spring greens and rosemary roast new potatoes.

2 March - the first asparagus and roast lamb

After the success of my chilli wrap earlier in the week, I went for another wrap today, this time grilled harissa chicken (just a grilled chicken breast brushed with harissa paste) with avocado, grilled red pepper and mayo. I made the mistake of popping the wrap under the grill to warm, because it was already on, but it just went crispy- d'oh! Thus it didn't actually 'wrap' very well, but still a tasty filling nonetheless.

I went into Ruby & White to get some lamb fillet for supper and while I was there spotted the first English asparagus of the season, from the Wye Valley. It was extortionately expensive, but as we were celebrating (a new work contract), I decided to go for it anyway. It was well worth it too ... a simple plate of lightly boiled asparagus with a bit of melted butter to start with a glass of bubbly was about as perfect as it gets! I used a Nigel Slater recipe from the Kitchen Diaries for the lamb, marinating it in a gloop of fresh mint, garlic, anchovy and olive oil, quickly roasting it whole, then slicing it thickly. We had it with some rosemary roast new potatoes, green beans and the rest of the champagne ... great start to the weekend!

3 September - steak and homegrown tomatoes

We grabbed a quick lunch on our way out to do stuff at Rocotillos, a great little diner nearby. We had a simple bacon sandwich and one of their fantastic milkshakes - banana, made with real bananas, of course!

The tomatoes from the terrace are coming thick and fast now and tasting really great, so dinner tonight was planned around a big warm tomato and basil salad. Served with fillet steak and rosemary roast new potatoes, the tomatoes were just perfect!

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.