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Toasted Sandwiches

Back home to East Yorkshire and we were at mum and dad's to collect Kasper and have tea. After the cooked breakfast, cinema snacks, McDonald's and wedding buffet yesterday we were more than happy with toasted sandwiches and the final of The Apprentice.

McDonald's

The wedding thing mentioned yesterday doesn't start until this evening so we had a child-free day to fill. By 10.30am, we had got up, eaten breakfast, gone for a swim, been in the jucuzzi and tried out the sauna, such is the way time seems to stretch when your little one is elsewhere. We both missed him terribly so kept busy and made like a couple of teenagers with a trip to the cinema followed by a McDonald's in the afternoon. Tea was a wedding buffet but it was too dark to capture on camera. You'll have to make do with a particularly unflattering shot of me enjoying my milkshake earlier instead.

The Countryman, Daventry

We were in Daventry for tea tonight, staying at a hotel in nearby Staverton ahead for a wedding do we're at tomorrow.

We arrived late, about 8.30pm and asked for a recommendation of there to eat from the hotel receptionist. She directed us to a pub in the nearby village so we headed there. Weary after our three hours on the motorway, we were delighted to receive one of the warmest ever welcomes from the landlord who sorted us out with a couple of drinks during our short wait for a table.

The food - lasagne for me and duck for James - was excellent, a real treat after our long journey. Washed down with a lovely bottle of red, we retired happy but missing our boy who is with his grandparents.

Fish and Chips (Stuart's of Driffield)

The weekend is here early as we're both off work tomorrow and there was never a chance of us doing anything else tonight than picking up a nice bottle of white wine and some fish and chips from Stuart's of Driffield as featured on this blog previously. There may also have been a dessert, but like a Secret Eater, I am not about to record that here in the hope it doesn't go to my hips.

Roast Pork Leftovers

Yes it was a bit of a faff to produce a roast dinner on a week night yesterday but the benefit today was that I simply had to pop the leftovers in the microwave and I'm not going to spend longer writing this entry than that.

Roast Pork with Onion Gravy and Crackling

This is going to seem mad after all the gorgeous weather but it disappeared as quickly as it arrived and today's temperatures called for something hearty. As we missed our usual roast dinner at the weekend, I decided to do one today, a task made easier by Kasper's willingness to sit and play at the table while I peeled all the vegetables. I cheated with the gravy a bit, using Bisto browning but there where meat juices and onions cooked with the joint in there too so it maintained a lovely homemade flavour. The cracking was also a triumph, crisp, salty and moreish. I put it back in the oven after removing it fro the meat for carving while it cooled down and this helped produce the excellent results.

Special Spaghetti (from frozen)

This weather just keeps getting better and better and it's far too hot to be slaving over the stove - it was enough to have the oven belting out for the fry-up yesterday so I turned to the freezer for something quick and easy. I found the frozen portion of the Special Spaghetti from the other day and served it up with some store cupboard fusilli and garlic bread, also from the freezer. As the nights are light and Kasper is finding it hard to sleep in the heat, I let him stay up late and we all had tea together, a rare treat.

A rarer treat was the bottle of Peroni each which we enjoyed after Kasper had gone to bed, making the most of the balmy evening by sitting outside on the decking to sup it. Alcohol is normally contraband from the house during the week but just look at how lovely it looks! Worth breaking the rules for.

Fry-Up

Another sweltering day so I thought I'd make like a typical tourist and have a full-English breakfast. It would have been lovely to eat outside in the sun but we're lacking proper outdoor furniture so had to make do inside with the doors open. No hassle to prepare - most things just shoved in the oven aside from the scrambled egg and a satisfying start to the day. Not tea, of course, but our main meal of the day in this case with Market Mix leftovers to nibble later.

Market Mix

One of great things about living in Beverley is the weekly Saturday Market and today we took advantage of the array of food stalls there to get a few bits for our tea. The haul included calzone, fresh bread, cheese and olives, perfect fodder for what has been a scorching day. We were lucky enough to spend the afternoon lounging about at the outdoor pool at the nearby David Lloyd gym where it felt like we were on the Med - apart from the Hull accents of course - and the evening's spread was pretty authentic too.

Domino's

Knowing I would be tired after a rare night out yesterday, I took the wise decision to get a takeaway today and opted for one of our faves - a Domino's. In the interests of mixing things up a bit, I added a dessert to the menu for a change, plumping for the cookies. They were warm, gooey and soft and mercifully low in calories - just 158 for two - about on a par with a Kit Kat and you can't get those delivered to your door.

Pizza Express

Another reason why I had made a huge pot of bolognese for tea last night was that I knew I was eating out today and wanted to leave an easy tea for James and Kasper. I was headed for Pizza Express for a farewell meal for a colleague leaving the company after more than four decades of service. This was a night went the food was secondary to the company and I'll remember it not for the pizza and Peroni, but the hilarious and heartfelt words said about our retiree. One of the joys of working in journalism is the people you get to work with and it was a great honour to be part of this send-off. As I said, it wasn't about the eating but I must give credit to the staff at the restaurant who allowed us to take over the top floor of the building, put up daft posters, laugh loudly at the brilliant speeches and spend ages working out the divvying up of the bill.

Special Spaghetti

James having put together a decent meal last night, I thought I'd better up my game a bit this evening so took advantage of one of Kasper's mega-long naps to make spaghetti bolognese from scratch. I always do make my own sauce but decided to make an extra effort today, adding diced pancetta, organic courgettes, and a rich beef stock to make it a bit more memorable.

The real trick is to let the whole thing simmer for absolutely ages though - mine was on the hob for at least two hours this afternoon, resulting in a really deep flavour. We served it with wholewheat pasta to compliment the robust sauce and some salad. It was only lacking a hunk of crusty bread to mop up the juices but James had taken the rest of the loaf from last night to scoff at work. Not so hunky.

Bit of a result for me, tonight's tea as I won in a game of who would blink first when it came to putting something on the table. It was a baking hot day - the first truly summery weather so far this year and I really could not be bothered to think of anything to eat. James kept ringing and asking what we were having and if Kasper and I had been to the shops but I kept giving vague non-commital answers and he eventually cracked, offering to go to Tesco on his way home to pick something up. Even after this promise, he rang again to tell me he was leaving the office and suggesting I think of something in the time it would take him to get from there to the supermarket. I didn't waiver though and when he called again I said it was up to him. This is where it got dangerous as during a period when we were living apart due to a house sale, he once bought cabbage instead of lettuce but undeterred, served it raw with some fried mince and called it food. He didn't let himself down this time though, bringing home gnocchi, a ready-made sauce, a bit of salad and some crusty bread. I'd never had gnocchi before but loved it, especially with the sauce, even though it was quite similar to what we'd had on the chicken at the weekend.

Burgers

An inspired search of the freezer revealed a forgotten packet of burgers which made for a brilliant Monday night meal. It also meant using up some of the leftovers from Taco night (lettuce, tomatoes, etc) and FA Cup night (plastic cheese and frozen fries) although I still had to chuck away a lot of sour cream which didn't get used before its best before date. Still a thrifty tea though and tasty at that.

Sunday Lunch (Toby Carvery, Willerby)

After our failed mission to eat at the Toby Carvery in Willerby last week, we thought we'd try again on our way back from a long journey to a christening in the Midlands. We arrived there at about 5pm and expected it to be quiet - too late to catch the lunchtime rush but too early for those arriving for tea. Apparently not, it was still extremely busy- there must be Michelin starred places where it is easier to get a table. But James and I'd not eaten lunch - we'd left before the post-church buffet - and Kasper had only had a cheese sandwich in the car, so we decided to sit out the 20 minute wait. It passed quickly and we no-sooner settled than jumped up again to get in the queue for the carvery. I was a bit concerned how we would manage holding Kasper's hand, keeping him away from the hot food, and carrying three plates of roast dinner. However, we weren't offered a separate plate for Kasper - just a bowl with a Yorkshire pudding in - the idea being he could share some of the monstrous portions on ours which seemed sensible and certainly easier on the pocket. The food itself was lovely - fresh seasonal vegetables, tender meat and tasty gravy but overall, the experience was stressful. The restaurant was baking hot - thanks to the heat radiating off the carvery area and, as I mentioned, there were lots of people. The service was friendly enough but we ordered some drinks at our table which never arrived and weren't mentioned again until we decided to leave and no longer wanted them. It was clear that it had been a busy day and that meant everything felt a bit fraught, despite the very best efforts of everyone. Had there been a more relaxed atmosphere, we would have stayed for pudding but it was just too much and we came home. I felt as though it would have been easier for me to cook my own carvery at home, complete with choice of four meats and eight vegetables but the experience hasn't put me off, it's just that this branch seems to be something of a victim of its own success, becoming slightly overwhelmed on Sundays. Therefore, we'll make our next visit a midweek one, it's cheaper then too!

Chicken Caccitore

We headed over to mum and dad's on Saturday to take Kasper to a tractor rally in their village and to watch football later on. It's always a treat for me not to have to cook - much as I enjoy it - and mum did not let us down with a brilliant recipe from the BBC Good Food website. They've had to be creative in their house when it comes to dinners lately as their hob is not working. This has led them to try a few new dishes, including this one which was a great success served with steamed vegetables (done in the microwave) and roasted new potatoes.

Old El Paso Beef Tacos

I love Mexican-style food and thought tacos would make a for a speedy fun Friday night supper. Kasper had some left-over non-chilli chilli out the freezer leaving James and me to enjoy a bit of spicy food. I was that tired that I almost bailed and instructed James to collect a Domino's on the way home but when it came to putting it together, it was actually no effort at all. I used a kit from Old El Paso so just had to fry up some mince, add the seasoning and water and simmer.

Meanwhile, I chopped up some tomatoes and lettuce and got a few other toppings ready, including grated cheese, jalapenos and sour cream. Salsa was provided in the kit. The taco shells themselves were 'stand 'n' stuff' ones with a flat bottom which made filling them easier but possibly more messy to eat. We certainly would not have made dignified dinner party guests as we wolfed them down, spilling bits all over our plates, so even if the table looked like it was set for a crowd, it was a good job it was just the couple of us.

Ridotto Milanese with Herby Chicken

James treated me to a copy of Delicious magazine and I liked the look of the 'slimmed down favourite' feature where they get a recipe which is traditionally calorific and make a healthier version. In this month's edition, it was Risotto Milanese - a vegetarian risotto made with saffron. It was super simple and required few ingredients. Stock is always singled out as key when it comes to risottos - I generally use cubes of the stuff, strangely enough from Boots. They sell it as part of their Baby Organic range and I have been using it since Kasper was born, mainly because it contains almost no salt and seems tasty enough.

Apart from the seemingly endless pouring and stirring to slowly cook the rice, the dish was actually pretty quick to put together. I added pieces of baked chicken breast which I had coated in Italian-style herbs to give it a bit extra and made it in the afternoon - warming it up later for tea. I omitted the soft cheese as the rice seemed creamy enough without it but I did add parmesan and a squeeze of lemon for James and me. James declared it 'delicious', in keeping with the magazine's title and I expect he'll be buying me next month's copy as a result!

Lamb chops, Mint Sauce, Jersey Royals and Runner Beans

British lamb is once again on the supermarket shelves so I thought I'd try Kasper on it to see if he liked it. I never had it much growing up as the thought of it mortally upsets my dad. As a result, I still rarely eat it but fancied a change today so put it on the menu. It was a dead easy meal - chops under the grill for a few minutes creating a lovely almost barbecue-y smell in the house, tender new potatoes in the pan - Jersey Royals of course - and then smothered in butter and some boiled runner beans. I had ordered broad beans but they failed to arrive in the online shop. The mint sauce was also a cheat - out of a jar I'm afraid but still good. Kasper loved it, which was a relief as I had been worried that he might find the meat a bit chewy but as they were pricier organic chops, this didn't seem to be a problem. I've included pictures of all our plates as it reminded me somewhat of the three bears, a small dish for Kasper.....

Goats Cheese and Tomato Pasta

This is a recipe first shown to me by my sister, It's inspired by a WeightWatchers one but her version is even easier. It relies on having a really good goats cheese and tasty tomatoes. I used some of the semi-dried cherry ones leftover from the Jamie Oliver Prawn and Rocket pasta last week. The cheese - from Sainsbury's - wasn't amazing but it was still ok. You just boil up some spaghetti, use some of the cooking water to mix a small amount of vegetable stock - about a quarter of a cube - then stir in with the cooked pasta, some of the cheese and a handful of tomatoes. The cheese should melt slightly, making a creamy texture. I served it with a simple rocket and beetroot salad which goes really well with the cheese. The salad could have used a dressing but I guess that wouldn't have been in keeping with the low-fat theme.

Karahi Chicken Tikka

My mother-in-law's birthday called for a curry night at ours and after a successful takeaway from Dine Bangla shared with her and her husband last month, we decided to go there again. Although I really enjoyed the Bhindi Murgh with Lemon Rice that I had last time, I wanted to try something different so went for the Karachi Chicken Tikka. It didn't say too much about this dish on the menu, other than explaining it is cooked in a particular pan, but when it arrived it had familiar ingredients like tomato and peppers and a medium spice level as promised. I also ordered lemon rice after enjoying it last time. All of us thoroughly enjoyed our meals again but I found my curry settled a little heavily on the stomach - nothing to do with anything dodgy about the curry house itself I'm sure - you only have to look at the reviews on Trip Advisor to have faith in its standards and popularity - more likely the result of combining a rich dish with two glasses of prosecco and a slice of cheescake all eaten rather quickly after a long day.

Sunday Lunch (Hayride)

We'd promised to treat my brother to lunch on completion of the Beverley 10k but hadn't booked anywhere as we weren't sure what his finishing time would be. After a great race, in which he posted a respectable time just over the hour mark, we set off for the Toby Carvery in Willerby. We were confident of getting a table as it was after 2pm but couldn't even get in the car park. We also tried the Millhouse at Skidby on the way back but again, it looked enormously busy. Instead, we headed to the Hayride in Grange Way, Beverley, which we thought was another Toby Carvery. It's actually part of the Fayre and Square chain but as there was room to park and a table for four to be had, we decided to give it a try. Already starving, we didn't spend much time on the menu, swiftly ordering a roast beef dinner for Kasper and me, a large chicken dinner for James and a burger for my brother. I was really impressed with the decor and ambience while we waited, there is a large double-height ceiling at one end of the pub, flagstone flooring and designer lighting. Everything was also spotlessly clean, noticeably the menus themselves - there is nothing more off putting than picking up a scruffy, sticky and stained bit of card to choose your meal from - but there was none of that here. It was also busy - another good sign - and the plates being served to other tables looked good enough. When our meals arrived we weren't disappointed either - plenty of vegetables and gravy served with tasty meat for those of us having a roast and a decent burger and chips at the other side of the table.

A decent meal and at under £30 for all four of us, including drinks, it delivered far more on quality than the price might suggest. Keen to try more, I ordered the profiteroles for afters - just £2.59 - and an ice cream sundae for Kasper (£1.29).

This added to the bill but meant the entire meal still came in at well under £35 - partly because of the all day, every day two for £10 deal which applies to most mains - no booking or vouchers required. Oh, and the staff and service were excellent too. I would certainly go back - if only to try the amazing sounding cookie dough pizza dessert.

John Burton Race Chicken and Spinach Balti and Ruth Watson New York-style Baked Vanilla Cheesecake

We fancied curry but went for something mild as we have my brother staying ahead of his participation in the Beverley 10k tomorrow and I didn't want to be responsible for a Paula Radcliffe type mishap. The curry recipe was from the TV series Take on The Takeaway which saw top chefs cooking in people's homes in a competition against their local curry house, Chinese, chippy or whatever. It really is a super dish and extremely easy to vary the quantities according to taste and however many you happen to have around the table. As I used frozen garlic and ginger from the Waitrose Cooks' Ingredients range, I had the marinade done in about five minutes and because you only have to chop a bit of onion and tomato for the sauce, the whole dish comes together very quickly.

Kasper loved it and it was a great way of getting a bit of spinach, not something we have often, into him.

It being a Saturday, I also decided to do a pud. Packets of Philadelphia were on a half-price deal at Tesco, so I thought it was the perfect opportunity to make Ruth's Watson's amazing cheesecake from her Something for the Weekend book. And I still have a mountain of poppy seeds leftover in the packet I bought the first time I made it. Plus the recipe is so simple, there are plenty of opportunities for Kasper to help out (especially when it came to bashing up the biscuits for the base). Breaking the eggs caused a few tears though, he was quite alarmed when the shell broke through, sending the egg everywhere. Twice.

Ok, it was for none of the above reasons that I made this cheesecake. I made it because this is one of the finest desserts I have ever had the delight to eat. Trust me, I've been to Carneige Deli in New York itself and honestly, this little cheesecake that you can whip up in your own kitchen is better. It's rich, indulgent, creamy and fresh thanks to the vanilla. But if you do make it, please do not omit the poppy seeds, they really are an important factor. Also, make sure to chill thoroughly before serving. And don't be put off by the slightly odd looking brown crust, this is home-cooking at its very, very best.