9 June - slow-cooked lamb and frogspawn

Today was soup again for lunch; this time a creamy cauliflower soup, perfect for a slightly damp, chilly day.

Sadly, the cold and rain drove us indoors for dinner this evening, but a hearty dish of slow-cooked lamb with swede and potatoes warmed us up after a busy afternoon snapping outdoors. A huge glass dish of lumpy white stuff arrived for pudding that none of us felt quite sure about. Venturing the first taste, my instinctive description was that it felt a bit like frogspawn, which didn't really inspire the rest of the group to try it! It was actually a chilled creamy pudding, a bit like rice pudding, but made with barley instead and although we were all a bit uncertain about the texture on first taste, it grew on us and with a fruit sauce made from cherries and strawberries, we all ended up with a good bowlful.

8 June - home-smoked salmon by a fjord

For the next five days, I'm on a photography course, based in a fantastic wooden lodge right next to a fjord; Hardangerfjord. Our host and chef, Jarle (below), is cooking us three traditional Norwegian meals a day. Breakfast was a spread of bread, cheeses, jam and eggs, then lunch was hearty pea and ham soup.

For dinner, we were outdoors at a long wooden table in the lovely evening light. We started off with salmon that was home-smoked by Jarle's mum and had to be the best smoked salmon I've ever tasted. Served in lovely thick slices with soured cream ... mmmm! Then there was pollock cooked with loads of veg and served with boiled potatoes. And of course, a glass of Jarle's home-brewed cider to wash it all down!

24 April - 2 Fore Street

Lunch today was a simple bowl of pea soup with some toast on the wonderfully sunny little terrace in front of the cottage - location, location, location!

Armed with a booking this time, dinner was at a little restaurant in the middle of Mousehole; 2 Fore Street. We weren't sure what we fancied when we went in, but it was one of those meals that turned out to just hit the spot perfectly! I had chicken liver pate to start and Tris had crab on toast - both tasty, but not too heavy. Then we both had sea bass. On the menu it came with braised fennel that neither of us like, but they were happy to swap it for asparagus. The fish was delicious served with a subtle roast-tomato sauce and prawns, plus the asparagus, some spring greens and the most delicious Cornish new potatoes on the side. Altogether, couldn't have been more perfect!