Fennel, lemon and chilli salmon

Frying fennel seeds, black pepper and chili in the pan, then adding the salmon skin-side-down to give it a nice crust and keep the fish tender, then adding lemon juice and steaming it the rest of the way through. This was served simply with a fennel and lemon mayonnaise, boiled new potatoes and a salad with carrot shavings and steamed peas, and a rice vinegar dressing. Zesty and aromatic, with flavoursome spuds.

Spelt bread, cream of leek and celery soup

The title mostly says it all. Recently have been using spelt flour in the bread maker instead of wheat. Based on a recipe the Romans used, the 7000 year old grain is combined with olive oil, honey to give a delicious and creamy loaf. The simple vegetable soup was very refreshing and honest tasting.

Thai style chicken and mushroom paella / gooseberry fool

Chicken drumsticks and mushrooms cooked in a coconut, curry, ginger and lime sauce then soaked up with rice and sugar snap peas. The addition of curry powder to the conventional thai cocnut gave it a really nice and different flavour. The use of the darker leg meat and the mushrooms added to the richness of this dish.

Pudding consisted of a cooling gooseberry fool, the sharpness of the gooseberries nicely cutting through the cream.

Gourmet chops!

After watching Masterchef, I got a bit carried away with this one. I marinated the lamb chops in Lea and Perrins, Colman's mustard and black pepper, then coated it in flour and pan fried until nice and crisp. Alongside this I made an apricot, date and red wine gravy, creamy vegetable spelt and a pea puree topped with sauteed leek. Good fun to test the presentation skills!

Veggie Curry Fest!

After a somewhat cold and wet walk in Pollock park, we needed a warming dinner. Making a big batch of squash, potato and spinach curry served with a yellow split-pea daal and wild rice certainly did the job! The next night we had the left-overs served with sultana rice and an Indian snack selection - brilliant!

Zesty Asian Salmon and Noodles

Keeping the flavours fresh, we made a lime, ginger, chilli, garlic and soy marinade for the salmon, then cooked it in a wok until the skin was nice and crisp. Throwing in some courgettes, peppers, onions, and carrots, we made a vegetable noodle dish to serve it with.

Goat's cheese, pepper and onion tart with apricot and nut cake

A delicious goat's cheese and pepper tart with caramalised onions provided a fantastic veggie option when served with boiled new potatoes (oiled and salted) and a salad with rice vinegar dressing.

Using the remaining pastry we whipped up some blended almonds, walnuts and hazelnuts with an egg and some sugar, pouring it over a layer of tinned apricots and baked for half an hour.

Moussaka and Chocolate Orange Torte

A pork mince and aubergine moussaka with a nice crispy yoghurt and egg topping, delicately flavoured with caraway seeds and cinnamon.

We were so impressed with the previous torte that we decided to repeat it, this time infusing it with orange zest and Cointreau!

Allspice pork chops with squash rice

A Caribbean inspired pork dish, using onions and spices for the pork, mixing squash with wild rice and served with spinach.

Duck and clementine salad

Raising the fancy stakes, we used up some bargain freezer fare, with some duck breast we'd got reduced from Tesco. We realised over the winter period we'd hardly eaten any salad, namely having broccoli and/or peas for our greens, so we were keen to get a different source of nourishment! Keeping the flavours simple (I didn't even add any herbs, spices or chilli!) we opted for a warm salad. Pan-frying the duck-breast to get the skin nice and crispy, we added in some roughly sliced potatoes and got them nice and brown too. Courgettes were also softened in the pan and everything was seasoned just with salt and pepper. Just before serving we made a clementine and soy dressing, which was fruity but not overpowering, something that an orange sauce can often be. The zesty flavour cut through the richness of the duck and potatoes and made a nice dressing for the leaves. An exellent warm-winter salad. (served with our Adnams copper-distilled gin which has a complimentary hint of orange and cinnamon.

Bacon and banana

An old favourite that my Dad used to cook me, now a comforting and satisfying combination. The mixture of salt, sweet, sour and spicy in one dish is unusually good - the fried bacon and bananas are mixed into a classic tomato and chilli sauce & we served it this time with gnochi and garlic peas. So good we made it for lunch again the next day!

huge bowls of soup!

Knowing that I had a few days off during the week, I felt compelled to try a new recipe and make something that would last us for several lunches. So whilst looking on the guardian website I came across an article about the lack of pulses used in our kitchen. So I bought a bag of the humble red lentil and began making a huge pile of soup.

Smoked paprika red lentil soup, with (the recipe suggested bulgar wheat which we didn't have so substituted for) cous cous, topped with a dash of creme fraiche and a sprinkling of mint.

Curry and cake

A pre-concert dinner with a friend - we made a 'quick and easy' curry which made us late as we forgot to put the rice on! Haddock cooked with green chilli, mustard seeds, lemon and coriander, plus an array of other spices served with green pea massala and rice. On the way to the concert we scoffed some of Ellie's delicious chocolate torte - a rather triumphant new recipe never tried before.  It was a very simple mix of melted chocolate, butter, sugar, eggs and cocoa, baked in the oven for 30 mins and then left to cool. Yummy!

Kedgeree

An alternative take on the traditional kedgeree (smoked haddock, rice and egg with Indian spices), instead using coley, rice and egg, plus potato, okra and fresh coriander. A very satisfying dish made using chat masala spices and served with mango chutney and chili sauce to cut through it. The addition of the okra (aka ladyfingers) is especially recommended - a great Asian green which adds an unusual texture.

Tuesday Tortilla

After a hard days work we felt like eating and making something easy but tasty that used up some of the leftovers in the fridge:

MENU:

Beetroot, spinach, mushroom and potato omelette

No wine!

Warm spiced bananas with rum and raisin ice cream

Bread and Jam

Barleycorn bread with honey and sesame seeds, using the Christmas breadmaker - left it in a bit too long and burnt the crust a bit, but it actually lent a very nice bitter sweet flavour to the bread, delicious on its own or with the usual toppings!

Saturday Brunch, walk, dinner

Last Saturday, before going out on a walk to Carbeth, we made drop scones for brunch. We used up the left-over bolognaise starter for a savoury and then had raspberries, homemade yoghurt and honey for dessert. The drop scones were a really nice alternative to the usual pancake and making them with wholemeal flour gave them a great texture and made them feel slightly healthier.

After a long walk all afternoon in the crisp Scottish air, we felt like some good warming comfort food, so used up some veg with a pack of the boned chicken thighs we got from the farmer's market the last weekend. Topping it off with some pears stewed in the left-over raspberry juice from brunch.

Menus

Brunch: Wholewheat drop scones with bolognaise sauce and cheddar / raspberries, homemade yoghurt and honey

Dinner: Chicken, celeriac, carrot, potato, cream and tarragon stew with homemade herby dumplings.

Pud: Pears stewed in raspberry juice with cream