february

Lunch: spag with chorizo, cream, paprika

Dinner: WR chevre and red onion tarts

Pork tenderloin, olive-caper-tomato "crust", tomato and chilli sauce, courgettes and fried potato

Dhal, peas, rice

This was the day the big snow started. Colin had been away on the train and was delayed. At times like this only dhal will do. I put a small amount of star anise in the masala.

Beefburgers, mushrooms, sauce of mustard, cream red wine, new potatoes

Cherries in kirsch with cream and amaretti

Anchovies on toast

Borscht with soured cream

Parsnip tarte tatin, kale in garlic and cream, mash

2tbs sugar caramelised, seseame seeds, 2 parsips parbolied, half onion softernd, pastry 1of butter and 2 oz flour. It stuck a little bit to the tin, oherwise worked well

xmas pud and brandy sauce

Ate out

Lunch: Marinated anchovies, potatoes, salad

Dinner: Scallops, chorizo and garlic, PSB

Confit of duck, Italian lentils, salad, rosti, Seville orange sauce

We do not yet feel we have to make marmalade though we do roast coffee, blend out own cereal and of course make bread. I fancied doing something with a Seville orange and a websearch turned up some suggestions. I made caramel with 2tbs sugar then added the zest and juice of one orange, and a dash of Sherry vinegar. It's sticky and rather bitter but intense. I used a small amount with some stock as sauce. We discussed the fact that duck a l'orange makes sense but seems to have gone entirely out of fashion in the UK and we wondered what has replaced it.

Breakfast: bacon tomato and smoked chilli jelly

Lunch: spag with gorgonzola and PSB

Dinner: Duchy pumpkin and red pepper soup

Pork fillet, black pudding, sauce of cream and quince liqueur, fried potatoes, peas

Risotto with courgettes, pepper, fennel, mushroom, olives, tomato, saffron

Poached pears, cream, amaretti

Fried aubergine with ginger garlic chilli soy

WR meatballs, swagolini pasta

Oxtail, pearl barley, january king cabbage and garlic

Ginger cake, cream with seville orange caramel, gingerlumps

Pointy pepper roasted, filled with couscous, salted lemon, fried seeds

Chickpeas with fennel, fennel seed and star anise; roasted tomatoes with balsamic, focaccia

I made the dough last night, a fairly wet dough like ciabatta. I cooked it 20 mins but it needed more.

Ate out

Lunch: Pasta with cauli, bechamel with cheese

Dinner: Roast chicken with potato stuffing; roast leeks; morels; gravy with cream

Dinner was a little late because I'd been faffing around with the cheesecake and the oven thermostat is being grumpy. Colin was told to go away and stop hovering around the kitchen, so he goes upstairs and orders another book in retaliation.

Lemon cheese cake, roast rhubarb, gingerlumps

Recipe from Nigel Slater's book. I think I made half quantities last year; the full version feeds 12, so the freezer's full of it now.

Lunch: spag with sauce of onions, cauli, cream and cumin

Dinner: WR pear and stilton tarts

Cod in Parm ham, haricots with porcini and truff oil, spinach, roasted baby potatoes

WR haddock chowder

Beef in Guinness, red cabbage, mashed potato

Salad of rocket, sweet potato, brie, red pepper with chilli, sesame

Pineapple in coconut milk, rum, chilli with Duchy ginger biscuits

Hummus and toast

Pasta with chicken, parma ham and cream; spinach and onion with sherry vinegar

Ate out

Soup of savoy cabbage, spelt, chicken, saucisson, chilli; with toast

Chestnut pave, cream

Lunch: spag with mushroom sauce

Dinner: At Chris and Phillippa's

Lunch: spag with olives, anchovies etc

Aubergine with red pesto, baked tomatoes, rocket salad, ciabatta

Mango fried in butter with rum I think

Apricots in Moscatel, yoghurt, amaretti

Lambshank in red wine, butterbeans, breen beans, new potatoes

At Mark and Navah's

MPW beef and OP soup, toast, steamed PSB

Pancakes, chocolate sauce, cherries in booze

Spring rolls with carrot, beansprouts; oyster sauce

boring

Shitake mushrooms in ginger-chilli-garlic-sesame-mirin-soy sauce; stirfried PSB, beansprouts, spring onions, rice

Ate out

Lunch: soba noodles with carrot, spring greens, beansprouts in Thai curry

Dinner: mushroom and porcini soup

Chicken legs in stock and red wine, spring greens with saucisson and chilli, potato gnocchi

the chicken was from the roast 2 weekends ago. I made the gnocchi