june

Stuffed peppers, olives, boar sausage

Steak with black pepper; red pepper, chilli, tomato, garlic; rocket; culurgionis and butter

Culurgionis are a Sardinian pasta, fig-shaped parcels of potato and cheese

Strawberries and chocolate

I halved half the strawberries. The rest I chopped and cooked a little with sugar. Then chopped 4 squares of chocolate and melted this in, and added a small bunch of wild mint leaves, chopped. Mixed in the strawberry halves and topped with mascarpone

There is plenty of wild mint growing by the roadside

Lunch: Ate out

Dinner: Risotto with peas and ham

Radicchio, caramelised; lentils and tomatoes

Lunch: Tagliatelle, ricotta, mint

Dinner:Ate out

Pork steaks stuffed with breadcrumbs, herbs, garlic; fried then finished in oven; courgettes; farro and onion

Baked apricots, pine kernels, cream

Scampi, tomatoes, risotto

The SMA has a good, if somewhat terrifying, selection of fresh fish. The scampi were not cheap, but they were truly excellent. I shelled them and made stock from the shells for the risotto

Figs, caramel sauce, ricotta, mint

The figs were dried. The mint works well, cutting through the richness of the caramel

Ate out

Ricotta and saffron ravioli, garlic and chilli

Lentils, tomatoes, pine kernels

Aubergine with herb crust; farro with onions and peas

Sliced and fried the aubergine, then finished in the oven

Wild strawberries, ricotta, mint

Apricots and rice pudding

Lunch: Ate out

Dinner: Ate out

Back home

Lunch: Sautéed squash, lime pickle, couscous; cos salad

Back to good old British cooking!

Dinner: Asparagus, bacon, purple and white potatoes; cos with avocado oil

Poached peaches, lemon curd yoghurt

Prawns and mushrooms, tomato, tamarind, chilli; baby corn and red pepper, basmati rice

1 tbs tamarind – this is too much

Gooseberries and cream

Sardines with lemon, capers, onion marmalade, toast

Sautéed squash, puy lentils, tomatoes, mint, chilli, garlic; black and white potatoes

Asparagus risotto, watercress and bacon

Cherries in Kirsch, toasted almond cream

2tbs ground almonds, toasted, 1 tsp sugar, 2-3 floz cream, whipped

NCG mushroom soup, truffle oil

Venison steaks, sauce of stock, red wine, crème de myrtilles, cream, shallot, garlic, mushrooms; carrots boiled then fried, new potatoes

Cod; fennel, tomato, Pernod; new potatoes

Mango with white rum

Lunch: Spag with fennel, tomato, olives

Dinner: Lambs’ kidneys in black pepper, sherry and sherry vinegar; split green peas with chorizo; chicory with caramel; new potatoes

Cherries with sauce of morello cherries, chocolate, cream and Kirsch

Lunch: Sandwiches (T) and Spag with tomatoes etc (C)

Dinner: Ate out

Waitrose chevre and onion tarts

Aubergine, red pepper, mozzarella stacks; baked tomatoes and basil; ciabatta

Felafel with beetroot and pomegranate

I made the felafel from scratch, and they were nice but they are a lot of work

Pork fillet roasted in vine leaves and garlic; celery gratin; sautéed potatoes and rosemary

Ate out

Chevre and yoghurt cheesecake, balsamic jelly, mint leaves, toasted pine kernels

Butter beans, celery, smoked cheddar; sautéed potatoes

NCG spicy chickpea and squash soup

Pork burgers, sauce of tomato, chèvre, white wine, courgettes, rice

Lunch: Spag with the remains of the pork fillet

Dinner: PARTY

The theme was vaguely North African / Middle Eastern

Nibbles: Olives, dolmades, peppadews stuffed with baba ganoush, hummus and bread

Charlotte made the hummus

Barbecued chicken pieces, merguez

I marinated the chicken in spices and pomegranate molasses but mostly they ended up like all barbecued chicken. The merguez are from Adey’s farm; highly recommended

Tomato, cucumber, shallot, cilantro salad

Tabbouleh

Chickpeas, squash, with tomatoes and spices

I cooked 500g dried weight chickpeas, 2 medium butternut squash. I ground something like 6 tps each cumin and coriander, 1 tsp fennel, 3 large cloves garlic, half tsp cinnamon, maybe some ground ginger, half a red chilli. About 1/3 went for the chicken marinade. I made a marinade with yoghurt for the squash and roasted the pieces. The rest I cooked with a small tin of chopped tomatoes and an onion, for the sauce.

Red peppers stuffed with saffron couscous, toasted pine kernels, preserved lemon

Green lentils, broad beans, artichokes with lemon and thyme

Courgettes agrodolce : sultanas, pine kernels, anchovies

Desserts:

Figs stuffed with ricotta and mint

Apricots stuffed with spiced rice pudding (saffron, cardamom, cinnamon, orange flower water, candied lemon peel)

Dates stuffed with toasted walnuts

Lunch: Tomato and cucumber and tabbouleh

Dinner: Peppers and couscous; chickpeas and squash

Apricots with rice pudding

Dolmades, stuffed peppers, olives

Lentils, beans, artichokes with yoghurt; tabbouleh

At Diana and Martins’

The courgettes, and tabbouleh with tomatoes and cucumber

The figs with ricotta

Gazpacho

Chicken strips in spiced yoghurt, fried; the lentil stuff and tabbouleh with tomatoes

Ate out

Lunch: pasta with zucchini agrodolce

Hooray, the last of the party leftovers, except for what’s in the freezer

Dinner: chorizo, sauce of clams, roasted tomatoes and rose harissa, polenta cakes

The chorizo was a cooking chorizo. For the party I had rather overstocked on tomatoes, and before one lot went too off, I had roasted them, puréed and sieved them. The rose harissa is the Belazu jar, and very nice it is. I also added a cube of frozen pork jelly.

Rack of lamb, morels, spinach and garlic, sautéed potatoes.

Lamb: browned 2 mins each side in frying pan, then in the oven for 15 mins (middle of oven at gas 7, so probably about gas 5), then to rest. 4 dried morels, soaked then fried. Gravy : 2 cubes of stock, morel soaking liquid.

Spinach and garlic : had roasted about half a small head of garlic. Cooked another big clove (fresh garlic) in butter, then added I suppose about 2-3 floz cream, nutmeg, then the roast garlic purée. Cooked till thick. Cooked the spinach, drained off some water, added the garlic purée.

The potatoes were Maris Piper, and they really suck up oil when you fry them. Desiree are better in this respect.