Dinner, 24/11/18: Sticky citrus chicken with carrots (Alex cooking)

Sarah and I were out for this one, as we went up to Camden market - it was just the guys eating.  They chose this despite the fact that we're having roast chicken tomorrow. Looks tasty - we've had it before, so I'm pretty sure it was.

Book in

Picked up in the charity shop while browsing around - looked like a nice collection for winter...

Dinner, 23/11/18: Pizza night

Sarah is home for the weekend, and we haven't had pizzas in a while, so it was about time for them again. Yum.

Dinner, 20/11/18: Thai green chicken curry

This was ok, but not nearly spicy enough for us - we do like a curry with a bit of zing to it. It's a different recipe to what I normally use, and just a bit bland.

Dinner, 19/11/18: Tomato, Chickpea & Cumin Soup

This was really tasty - don't think it's one we've had before. It was really thick and very warming. And yummy.

Book in

A birthday present - the fourth in the series, which both Geoff and I read. Originally, we weren't going to buy it in hardback, but as Waterstones was obligingly offering it for half price...

Book 94: If We Were Villains, M L Rio

I picked this up in Waterstones a while back when it was one of the recommended books of the month, and then picked it up yesterday to start reading. Spent most of today just sitting reading it - great book, really enjoyed it. There will be inevitable comparisons to Donna Tartt's The Secret History (though more in setting than anything else, and the fact that it's got a lot of literary references, though in this case, pretty much all Shakespeare).  Just a really excellent story with great characters and an ending that works, whether or not you are surprised by it. Really can't say much without giving it away, though there are a few Shakespeare plays (like Pericles) that I wish I knew better while reading this. 

Dinner, 18/11/18: Chili (Geoff cooking)

Because tomorrow is my birthday, I decided it was someone else's turn to cook today (and because I cooked a lot yesterday for my party) - Geoff makes a mean chili and this one was very good, though it probably would have been a bit spicy for Sarah, if she'd been here. And of course, if Liv was here, it wouldn't work either, as it has meat in it and she's now officially a vegetarian...

Dinner, 17/11/18: Annual Birthday Feast

Bad photo as I snapped it quickly on my phone before we ate, but we had Griddled Celeriac with Salsa Verde; Aubergine, Chickpea & Fennel Bake; Vegetable Biryani; Cucumber Salad; Peri Peri Potatoes & Sweet Potatoes; Butterbean Jalfrezi.  Chocolate Sorbet with forest fruit coulis and fresh fruit for dessert - no photo of that! Everything vegan and gluten free (I have friends with various restrictions...)

Book 93: Flood Child, Emily Diamand

A children's book this time, a post-apocalyptic novel in which much of England is under water, people are afraid of technology (though not in Greater Scotland) and nasty pirates abound. I enjoyed this, though perhaps more could be made of the technology issue than is really done in the book. Regardless, it was a gripping tale of kidnapping and escape and I think my class will enjoy it. 

Dinner, 16/11/18: Ham & Leek Canneloni

Easy to make, using fresh lasagne sheets for the canneloni, rather than tubes. Yum. 

Book 92: The Last of August, Brittany Cavallaro

A Sherlock Holmes pastiche (sort of) - the story is based on characters who are supposedly the descendants of both Holmes and Watson - teenagers. This is the second book in the series and they are good fun. Highly improbable and full of angst; quite satisfying, really. Aimed at a young adult audience, but when has that ever mattered?

Dinner, 14/11/18: Linguine with creamy tomato, rosemary & caper sauce

Dinner, 13/11/18: Chickpea and Spinach Curry

We have this pretty regularly, in as much as we have anything regularly in our house. We all love it and it's easy, so it ticks all the boxes.

Book 91: Exit West by Mohsin Hamid

This was a great read. Short but very lyrical and extremely topical (about immigrants), though I can't quite imagine how our current world leadership would cope with the basic premise - "doors" opening up from poor & war-torn areas randomly into other parts of the world. But it's not all political - it's also about love and finding yourself and being kind and being human. The best kind of book. 

Dinner, 11/11/18: Meat & potato pie, mashed root vegetables

This is from the Hairy Bikers' pie book and tastes excellent, though the filling could have been cooked a bit longer to make the potatoes a little softer.  On the side, all the various bits of root veg I had in the house from using a bit of one thing or the other to cook with (e.g. three small parsnips, half a swede, part a couple of sweet potatoes, and so forth) - really nice mash on the side. 

Book 90: Magpie Murders, Anthony Horowitz

 I tried, for a couple of days, to read a book which was recommended during a Facebook discussion about crime fiction (Ice Princess by Camilla Lackberg) but found it really badly written (clunky) and formulaic - can't be 100 per cent sure the writing part is the fault of the author, as it was in translation, but as I've read lots of books in translation which read beautifully...  Anyway, gave up in frustration and turned to something I knew would hold up; Anthony Horowitz can always be relied on to write well, and this double murder mystery (there's a book within the book) was no exception. Good fun.

Dinner, 10/11/18: Butternut squash, cauliflower & lentil korma

This one is from my traybake book and it's done in the oven, which makes it pretty easy. I chopped up the stalks and leaves from the cauliflower and crisped them up in the oven, then threw them in on top as well.  It was tasty and easy.

Dinner, 6/11/18: Piri Piri Prawns

I served these with rice and some courgettes on the side, but this is a photo of the prawns still in the dish. This was extremely yummy - nice and spicy without being just about the heat.

Dinner, 5/11/18: Artichoke and lemon pasta with rocket and olives

A quick weeknight pasta dish, which we've had lots of times before.