Week 31 – birthday celebrations at 9 months pregnant

Andrew celebrated his 41st birthday in the week, and it was a very different one from previous years what with me being less than a week from my pregnancy due date (18 July). Almost all of our NCT pals have had their little ones and that’s really brought it home for us that we don’t […]

Week 30 – stocking up the freezer for baby

Because I am a greedy pig, one of the things I was most looking forward to about maternity leave was stocking the freezer with meals in preparation for when our baby arrives. The thought of having a freezer stocked with healthy meals which simply need to be defrosted and heated fills me with happiness, so […]

Cookbook challenge – Nigel Slater: beetroot and goats cheese, pork and lemons, rhubarb marscapone tart

I am writing this just after watching the first episode of a new cookery programme by Nigel Slater. As always I am struck by how genuinely nice he seems, and how much I’d like to go around to his house for dinner. In fact, years ago we used to live near to him in Highbury […]

Cookbook Challenge – Jamie Oliver’s Comfort Food: irresistible pork buns & potted custard

When I originally started my Cookbook Challenge I said it was because I wanted to avoid always picking recipes from my favourite stand-by books, generally by Nigella and Jamie. But when Andrew is picking the book each week and happens to have seen a TV show with Jamie Oliver making ‘irresistible pork buns’, there’s not […]