7 March - smoked haddock fishcakes

For lunch today I grabbed a Higgidy quiche with some salad on the side. Then in the evening, I cooked some homemade smoked haddock fishcakes; a few smoked haddock fillets poached in milk, then flaked into some mashed potato. We had them with a pile of purple sprouting broccoli and a dollop of creme fraiche mixed with some chopped tarragon. Simple and tasty without being too heavy.

8 August - smoked haddock fishcakes

Lunch today is rather unoriginally chicken and sweetcorn soup, using much the same recipe as the creamy chicken stew from the other night, but this time without the leeks and with much more stock to make it, well, soupier!

For dinner, we have smoked haddock fishcakes. I simply poach a couple of smoked haddock fillets in milk with a couple of bay leaves, then mix up the flaked fish with some mashed potato and a bit of chopped parsley. I mould the mixture into 'cakes' (two each), dust them in flour and fry them carefully for a few minutes on each side. I make up some sauce from a bit of white wine bubbled with some more parsley, plus a splash of cream and some of the milk that the fish was poached in. It's not spectacular, but a tasty enough supper for a Monday night, with some fresh peas and carrots.