13 March - soup and tapas

I finished off the rest of the carrot and coriander soup for lunch today, then was out with a friend this evening at the Lido. Lots of chat and laughter over a couple of glasses of wine and some tapas.

28 January - montpellier chapter, cheltenham

We'd planned a grand day out to give us something to look forward to amongst the January greyness. We got the train to Cheltenham and had booked for lunch at a trendy hotel, the Montpellier Chapter. The restaurant, which has Simon Hopkinson as an advisor, got a good write-up in the Guardian, so we had high hopes for a cool, buzzy atmosphere and some good food. When we arrived at 12.30 though, there were only two other couples in an otherwise completely empty restaurant and we were all stuck in a corridor-type area rather than in the main body of the restaurant, which looked like it was set up for a big group. I was a bit disappointed to be sat in a rather unappealing corner in a draught, but expected that things would perk up when 'the others' arrived, possibly for one. I had some nice scallops to start, although the orange zest in the topping was a bit over-powering for my liking. By the time our mains arrived, the other couples had left and I'd overheard from one of the waitresses that they were actually gearing up for a big group for afternoon tea later in the day - leaving us as the lone diners in the corner of a completely empty restaurant - chilly, soulless and distinctly uncomfortable!! Our main was very good, we both had pork fillet and pork belly with creamy mash, red cabbage and apple sauce - all very well cooked and delicious. We chatted a bit to the waitress at the end of the meal and she apologised that we hadn't caught them on the best of days. I guess it was just bad luck and there wasn't an awful lot they could have done about it - except perhaps seated us in a slightly comfier spot. Thankfully, we had a great afternoon's shopping afterwards though and a good stop for tea and cake at the Swallow Bakery before we headed home.

In the evening, we didn't really need a proper meal, so I made up a few tapas-style dishes to pick on instead - warm tomato and basil salad, beetroot with toasted walnuts and some fried potatoes topped with chorizo and sliced red pepper.

30 November - an omelette and tapas at the lido

I peeled and chopped too much potato for last night's curry, so I cooked the excess and used it for a lunchtime omelette along with some chorizo and cherry tomatoes.

A bit of a tickle in my throat yesterday has turned into a full-blown cold, but I still went out to meet a friend at the Lido for the evening. It perked me up no end to get out and have a bit of a chat and a giggle, but my tastebuds have gone on strike and I don't have much appetite, so picking on a bit of tapas was about as much as I could manage.

12 November - tapas and a huge pork steak

It was Saturday lunchtime tapas at the Lido again today - humus, squash and feta salad and some posh ham - a great relaxed start to the weekend.

For dinner I got some pork steaks from Ruby & White, which turned out to be absolutely huge. I did some cream and tarragon sauce and we had them with a small splodge of potato and parsnip mash and some spinach. As I was cooking them, and struggling to squeeze them both in a large frying pan, there was talk of leaving some meat to have cold tomorrow, but somehow we managed to clear our plates after all!

11 October - a jacket potato and late tapas

With some fresh figs in the fruit bowl that need eating up and some ricotta in the fridge, I decide to pair them for lunch; after all figs generally go well with white cheese (goats cheese, mozzarella ...). I go for a jacket potato with the ricotta dolloped on the top and the figs on the side. The ricotta's a bit too runny and tasteless though to be up to the job and even with a good grinding of sea salt, it doesn't really work with the figs. Oh well, you live and learn ...

I'm out early evening and drop into the Lounge on my way back about 9 to meet up with Tris and a couple of friends. It's a bit late for a proper meal, but a bit of tapas goes down well with a glass of wine.

2 October - simple garlic chicken

Having come home to some unexpected late summer sunshine, we went out for lunch at the Lido. We sat outside, enjoying the sun and the atmosphere with cooling glasses of citron presse and a nice selection of tapas: humus, babaganoush, Greek salad and fried chorizo, plus of course, hunks of their delicious fresh bread. A great way to ease back in!

Usually when we've been away, we're craving some kind of food, often vegetables. This time though, we felt like we'd had a bit of everything while we were away and couldn't think of anything obvious that we'd missed. Being particularly tired after almost two days travelling back, I just opted for something simple - chicken thighs slow-cooked with herbs and garlic, with some new potatoes, creamy leeks and a handful of beans still just about going on the terrace.

13 September - tapas @ the lounge

We were back at the Lounge this evening, meeting a friend for a drink. It was Tapas Tuesday and after the yummy tapas the other day, I went for minty peas with feta, sweetcorn fritters and five-spiced shredded pork, which had a nice kick to it. Perfect picky food with a couple of glasses of white wine and good company!

26 April - tapas at Porthmeor beach

We ventured into St Ives in search of a lunch with a view and found a perfect spot at Porthmeor beach cafe - which as its name suggests, is right on the edge of the beach with great views. I think we'd both had some sort of seafood salad in mind, but ended up with fishy tapas instead which absolutely hit the spot; cajun squid with aioli, salt cod croquettes, fried halloumi with crushed peas and pomegranate (a surprisingly yummy combination!) and aubergine salad. plus some bread with roasted garlic - mmm! Another lovely long lunch in the sun with a glass of wine ... this is what holidays are all about!

Dinner back at the cottage was pan-fried chicken breasts with a simple cream and tarragon sauce, some beans and new pots.