Plum crisp

Knowing that I may be disappointed by the curry I saved this beauty for tonight.  The crisp was lovely and set off the sharpness of the, in this case, damsons. A very satisfying pudding.

A tomato curry

I've been dreading making this all month - well all year really.  I mean, really, a tomato curry?  What's the point?  But make it I must, so make it I have.  The vegetarian boyfriend liked it but for once the daughter and I agreed on it being a bit meh.  I wouldn't make this again.

Mushroom parpadelle

Last night I was entertaining a friend whose absolute favourite dish is mushroom parpadelle, so I saved this one to make for her.  Whilst it was not the same as the beautiful offering in the restaurant we frequent when on holiday in northern Tuscany (how could it be?) it was still good.  In a very man v food way my friend told me how she could pick out each individual flavour, occasionally getting a hit of Parmesan and so on.  Whilst it doesn't sound like a great dinner party meal it worked for us. 

An almond and plum crumble

I love this time of year - I always associate September and October with crumbles and I love Nigel's take on it.  The crumble tasted so biscuity it was delicious - this will definitely be entering my permanent repertoire.  I made this last night and had a portion for breakfast this morning - it was the king of breakfasts!  

Roast pork sandwiches

I had a problem making this as my pork belly took longer than Nigel had recommended to cook through, which meant that I ended up burning the onions - a great shame because they smelled amazing and the edible bits tasted amazing.  Hey ho.  Apart from that, this was as wonderful as you'd expect.

Grilled squid with thyme and lime

So simple to make, it made me wonder why I never had before.  

A wonderfully moist, fresh plum cake

And wonderfully moist it is.  This is such an interesting cake because the walnut flavour really comes through (which I love) and there is a real sharpness to the plum (which I also love) - no sooner was this cake out of the oven than it was almost all gone so it wasn't just me who approved. 

Courgette and Lancashire cheese crumble

As Nigel says in the book there is a definite nod to the 1970s here, but is that necessarily a bad thing?  We all really enjoyed this - astonishing given the fussiness of my daughter.  The cheese flavour came through perfectly even though there was relatively little in there.  If I make this again I would be tempted to add baked beans on the side, transporting the eater straight back to 1975!

Baked mushrooms with tarragon mustard butter

I had these as recommended in a bap, making it into the most delicious of veggie burgers.  Oh my, this was good! 

Baked lamb with tomatoes and rosemary

I have jumped ahead a few days, seizing the opportunity to make lamb again whilst my daughter is out.  My butcher had run out of neck chops so I gambled on normal chops (I've no idea what part of the lamb a run of the mill lamb chop comes from and, to be frank, I'm not going to over think it) which worked absolutely fine here.  This is very much my kind of cooking (as simple as it gets, roasted in one pan) and my kind of food (the cooking process turning the veg sticky and sweet) so it's very much a yes from me tonight.  

August is complete

For me, this month's highlight was the grilled chicken with garlic and lemon butter.  I can't believe that I only have a month left (plus those few dishes that I wasn't able to get the ingredients for) - what am I going to do with myself?  What's that you say? Kitchen diaries 2? Mmm ...

Orange yoghurt water ice

And finally (and only 3 weeks late) this refreshing delight.  I had not been looking forward to having this at all, due to my general yoghurt indifference, but I need not have worried as Nigel came through for me again.  The citrus flavours here almost made me feel that I was injecting vitamin c directly into my bloodstream - which was much more pleasant than I've just made it sound!

A salad of red mullet with lime and ginger

This is the kind of thing that I would never have considered making prior to tackling a year of Nigel and it would have been my loss.  I loved the vinegary sharpness of the sauce and in particular the way the onions responded to it.   I'm late making this as I wouldn't dream of making it for the daughter so it was today's lunch whilst she's at work.  

Bread and tomato salad

If I must eat salad then this is exactly the kind of salad I must eat.  The bread was a lovely addition and the anchovies a subtle flavour hit.  This could become a regular side dish in this household, which is praise indeed - thanks Nigel.

Seared beef with mint and mustard dressing

Wow!  This was amazing.  Obviously the cut and quality of meat makes a massive difference to a dish and this fillet did not disappoint.  The beef melted in the mouth and the dressing was a perfect accompaniment.  I had to give the joint about 7 minutes longer than that recommended by Nigel as it was in my opinion too raw rather than perfectly rare.  Beautiful and I would definitely make again.