1. Sometimes the most surprisingly impressive meals are the unplanned ones that you concoct in the pan relying merely on your instincts. Last weekend I returned from Brockley Market with a bulb of aromatic fennel and a punnet of Olive Branch's juicy fruits mixed with garlic and rosemary, which I felt certain could be combined to create a dish epitomising the spirit of Mediterranean cuisine.
Sure enough, when fried together with rich sausagemeat and a little lemon juice, these ingredients united to produce a perfect balance of flavours, which were soaked up by fluffy couscous. I've promised to write these notes up properly for Olive Branch's Recipe Tree soon, so keep your eyes peeled for the full recipe.
2. Congratulations to Joy the Baker, whose fantastic blog turned 5 this week! Joy's site is a constant source of inspiration for me, not simply in terms of appetising recipes but also for guidance on how to produce articles that are both informative and entertaining. Each week Joy and her maj Tracy (aka Shutterbean) make my gym workouts more enjoyable with their hilarious "real talk" podcasts, and I still can't believe that I was lucky enough to meet Joy in person when she visited London last year. So thank you Joy, for encouraging us budding food writers to keep going, and I look forward to the next five years!
3. Having finally recovered from my cold, I've been filling my plate with turbo charged "power foods" this week. Whenever I tuck into a bowl of vibrant vegetables like this I always feel better, but this hunch is now backed up by the latest scientific research. Prawns are said to improve your mood; ginger, tomato and chilli all boost immunity; and creamy avocados tick both of these health boxes plus increase fat burn as well. Broccoli also keeps you trim whilst fending off the flu, and light quinoa ensures you're feeling happy as well as full once you've polished off this bowl of goodies.
4. And now for the exciting announcement...my boyfriend has spent the past year developing a series of music tuition apps for the iPad in his spare time, and the first of these is now available to download! Rhythm and Fills with Mike Dolbear is the definite app for aspiring and experienced drummers, and also includes exclusive behind-the-scenes footage of Mike coordinating the spectacular 1000-drummer performance from the control room at London's 2012 Olympics opening ceremony. I'm so proud of my man for this awesome achievement; as if I needed any more proof that he's a total superstar genius!
5. Whenever we visit Gourmet Burger Kitchen I covet my boyfriend's milkshake order, but never order my own for fear of its calorific content. But I had a TGI Friday moment and decided to treat myself to the Oreo shake before our date night at the movies. Crunchy bitter chocolate biscuit had been blitzed with thick ice-cream into a freezing luxurious elixir that was a halfway house between a drink and a dessert...needless to say that popcorn wasn't required for the movie that evening!
6. The Hairy Bikers are back (and still looking much slimmer), advising us all on how to conjure up exquisite restaurant-quality dishes in our own kitchens. For me the highlight of the first episode was their trip to two-Michelin starred pub the Hand and Flowers in Marlow, where culinary giant Tom Kerridge taught them how to whip up a spicy cauliflower soup and a tender pork belly roast. Watching Tom whipping up a storm here reminded me of his outstanding 6 course tasting menu at The Cube, and made me even more eager to experience his hearty dishes again in the future! I'm also setting my TiVo to record Tom's top tips for the best roast on BBC2's new reincarnation of the classic magazine show Food and Drink this Tuesday.
7. Poor #littlecat appears to be carrying the weight of the world on his shoulders here! You wouldn't believe from looking at this photograph that he's really the boss of our little flat...
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