All power to those of you who are abstaining from booze, meat, treats, caffeine, etc. Andrew and I are not, for two main reasons. Primarily, life in a pandemic is miserable enough, and these nice things bring us pleasure. But also I still have a tonne of food leftover from Christmas, and I prefer not […]
Dinner
The best intentions – week 1, 2022
I read an interesting idea when I was doomscrolling through twitter the other day … when setting resolutions or intentions for the new year, choose things that add to your life rather than take away from it. What a nice idea hey? So that is what I have decided to do. More blogging I have […]
Simple tomato sauce for pasta – new recipe
A really simple tomato sauce with pasta is a pretty wonderful thing. But as is so often the case, ‘simple’ is not necessarily ‘easy’. But in this case, you are in luck, as this sauce is both, although it does require 40 minutes on a low simmer to get the flavours working. This recipe is […]
Week 7 2021 meal plan – heading into half term
A couple of weeks ago, I thought to myself that half term would not really make a huge difference to us: we’d still have to find ways to entertain Ioan and still work our full time jobs. But by the end of last week, both Ioan and I were well and truly sick to death […]
Week 6 2021 meal plan – a freezer dive
So, it turns out that I need to plan my week’s menu before I order my shopping and get it delivered, otherwise I end up in a situation like now where I have to do a few days of freezer dives to get dinner sorted. I don’t know if freezer dive is a real expression, […]
Week 5 2021 meal plan – a bump in the night
Headbutting a door … a bump in the night Our week started with an anniversary meal on Monday, followed by the usual monotony of lockdown, and ended with (quite literally) a bump in the night. Specifically Ioan’s forehead bumping into the side of his bedroom door at midnight (apparently he was trying to get to […]
Week 4 2021 meal plan – an Indian banquet with Kanishka (review)
I know it’s hard to believe as I look so incredibly youthful (joke), but Andrew and I have now been going out for 25 years. The anniversary is today (25 January, also Welsh Valentine’s Day, coincidentally), and I do have a very special anniversary meal I will be cooking tonight (I’ll tell you about it […]
Week 3 2021 meal plan – read the recipe properly
Whole lamb shoulder, not diced lamb shoulder My grand plans for a lovely lamb hotpot on a cold wintry day (a Cookbook Challenge from The Pie Room by Calum Franklin) were foiled by the fact I didn’t read the recipe properly, and didn’t buy the correct ingredients. I read 2kg lamb shoulder, immediately decided to […]
Week 2 2021 meal plan – and home school horrors
Working from home with a four year old Well it was never going to be easy, was it? But I won’t complain (too much) as the companies we work for are being very understanding, allowing us the flexibility to work and look after Ioan, and that’s not the case for everyone. Ioan is thoroughly enjoying […]
Three ingredient easy cheesy pasta for kids – new recipe
I say this three ingredient easy cheesy pasta is for kids, but it’s very tasty so perfectly suitable for adults too. The pasta has a rich cheese sauce made directly in the saucepan you have cooked your pasta in, meaning less washing up … always a bonus in my house. What are the three ingredients? […]