september

Beefburgers, peppers and chilli, courgettes, pasta

WR orange and choc tarts

fried courgette salad with Lessino cheese and mint, sumac

potato and celeriac cakes with mushrooms and chestnuts; lettuce salad

lamb "kebabs" in vine leaves with lemon, green beans, bulghar with spring onion and garlic

chestnut and pumpkin creme caramel

cooked a 1cm slice of squash in milk, made custard with 1 egg 1tbs sugar, some cream; blended in 6 chestnuts and the cooked quash and some wattleseed, softened 1 leaf gelatine and dissolved that in, dash of rum too. 8floz total. made caramel and poured into 2 little pudding moulds with some pumpkin seeds, then put some of the custard in, then later the rest when it was beginning to set. when i tried turning them out, the seeds and a fair bit of caramel were still stuck in so I dunked them in a pan of simmering water. anyway it was nice but the caramel dominates

ate out

Lunch: Spag with saucisson, tomatoes, cream

Dinner: pigeon breasts, green lentils, cauli cheese mash, new potatoes fried

Lunch: spag with pigeon stock, porcini, cream

Dinner: sardine escabeche with salad

lambs kidneys with ras, green lentils, new potatoes

cauli with sesame, thyme, sumac, olive oil

fried cods roe (from a tin), salad with white miso dressing, new potatoes

Colin's away so I'm trying out strange stuff. Not too keen on the tinned roe - I like the fresh stuff. White miso is delicious and is truly the flavour of the month.

salad with smoked nuts

noodles with bean sprouts, peas, spring onion, miso, cod roe

fried bean sprouts with sesame

lentils, sweet potato, tomato, onion, cauli, quite a lot of chilli, cumin; rice

very obviously clearing out the fridge. a bit rubbishy really

polenta cake with squash, walnuts, gorgonzola; watercress

Colin's back so we celebrate with one of his favourites : polenta yippee

sweet potato cake, mascarpone with dried orange peel ginger Cointreau

Pigeon breasts, puy lentils with ground dried lime, ornage peel, allspice; watercress

cavollo nero with onion, saucisse, lentils, fried potatoes

Lunch: egg noodles with cav nero, miso, chilli

Dinner: YP carrot fennel and orange soup

Haddock, pea and cream puree, pak choi, new potatoes

Lunch: potato burger, spag ..

I had 2 lunches because I did the Chippenham half.

Ate out

Thai curry with crab, those funny mushrooms and sweetcorn

"fru" cheesecakes

Faggots, onion gravy, split peas, spring greens with onion, fried potatoes

Faggots were made by Gurneys, from Ledbury or somewhere near there. They are good. Potatoes were the red-skinned sort and they fry well

Grilled peaches, mascarpone, amaretti

Dhal, greens with chilli, ginger, garlic, yog; fried masala potatoes

I added some of the p-seed oil to the dhal and it's nice. Colin ate out.

"fru" cheesecake

Ate out

Grilled aubergines and cilantro; peppers-tomato-chevre-chilli; ciabatta

raspberries, cream, shortbread

Lunch: sandwiches in the car park at Asda, Merthyr

I could say we "ate out". I wonder why I mention these rather grim meals, such as the burgers and other stuff gobbled during and after sporting events, when we don't say anything about the fine dining. I suppose we think it is funny. Particularly this occasion, as we'd just been telling Michael we have lunch in gastropubs when we go cycling. Actually this was not the worst "meal out" we have had this year. Asda sandwiches are ok. Quorn lasagne is not.

Dinner: Ate out

This time, truly fine dining.

Lunch: Ate out

Spag with chicken livers and cream; spring greens with miso and chilli

Potatoes with peanut-chilli sauce, tomato-chilli-mint salsa, cauliflower fried in batter

Japonica quince curd, toasted brioche

Simon

Roasted peppers with salt cod filling

Slow roast lamb, olives, rosemary, thyme, garlic; haricots; little gem salad; potatoes

very simple, very delicious

Sweet potato cake and spiced mascarpone

then Simon went to fetch Amelia. So we hid ...

Cerney pyramid goats cheese

YP Beetroot and horseradish soup

Fillet steaks, parsley-parmesan-garlic-breadcrumb crust; wine and cream sauce; broad beans, rosti

Spag alla norma, rocket

Sweet potato cake, mascarpone with orange zest and Corsican clementine jam

Lamb, cauli with zaatar, tabbouleh

Lamb leftover from tues, I heated it, the veg was room temp but it worked.

Rowanberry mousse, almond crunch

This wasn't exactly a recipe from Dessert but it had given me the idea. We actually have a rowan in the garden but it has yellow berries. I'm sure they taste the same but the Welsh hills were full of alluring red berries. It also gave us the excuse to stop and pick some on the last horrible Roman-road climb last weekend. I think I had about 3 bunches and made a puree, boiling them up with 2 tbs sugar and a little water. Added milk (which I'd scalded, with a bit more sugar) about 2-3 floz. 1.5 leaves gel. Cooled until it set. Some cream, whipped, then it all had to get whipped up together anyway cos the puree was too set. Mostly filled 2 little pudding bowls. It's a reasonably firm set so maybe could get away with less gel, but it wasn't too hard. I toasted some ground almonds with a little sugar as a contrast. This was all really good.

Lunch: spag, onion, anchovies, olives, tomato

Dinner: Ate out

Lunch: Debbies and Keith's

in honour of Connie's birthday

Dinner: crostini with peppers, tomato, chevre

MPW Chicken and orzo soup

Sweet potato, gorgonzola gratin; green beans; croutons and fried walnuts

Haddock, saucisse, mushrooms, tomato; spinach, potatoes

Orange and cardamom ice cream, shortbread

5floz cream and 1 egg. Zest of 1 orange, cardamom, and 2tsp orange liqueur. I thought the orange dominated so maybe next time shift the balance

Lentil and broc soup, with peanuts and chipotle

Linguine with clams, peas, cream , bacon, saffron