12.10.08: Goulash with mixed leaf salad and leftover black bnz

On the last night of eating apart, He decided to visit his ma's and dig into some hearty beef goulash with white rice and a mixed leaf, olive, cucumber and red onion salad.

HE SAYS: It's been a while since I've eaten beef, and I really enjoyed tucking into the slow- cooked chunks that melted like butter on the tongue and the fantastic tomatoey, peppery gravy surounding them. The mixed veggies, including carrots and celery (much like a soffrito base), help create the intensely flavoured roux. Not a big fan of plain white rice but didn't mind that much. The salad was okay, red onions are a treat as She hates them in salad and they also make my breath stink like red onions, funnily enough.

Meanwhile, She was immensely grateful to arrive home (hungover and fragile) to the readymade bowl of black bnz and cheery salad accompaniment he'd prepared and put away the nite before.

SHE SAYS: Really perfect food to come home to, esp as my last couple of evenings were far too free of legumes and raw veg. Agree with assessment from last nite that it was not as flavourful as some batches, but it really didn't lessen my enjoyment of the creamy spoonfuls punctuated with juicy, silky corn kernels. Crunching down on radish and crisp leaves was rather a relief as well.

08.10.08: Red prawn and mango curry

He whipped up the weekly red prawn and mango curry made with butternut squash and sweet potato, courtesy of Nigella Express. A mixed leaf, tomato, olive, Apetina cheese and physalis salad tried to muscle in on the action.

SHE SAYS: Soothing, sweet, tangy and yet mild - a soothing bowl of sumpin' sumpin' to offset yet another trying workday. I appreciated the generous coconut milk content, and he got the rice nice and tender this time. The lightly marinated Apetina-garlic-olive combo was mighty pleasing, too, though it's somehow not as salty as the plain variety.

HE SAYS: I was back to the easy pre-cubed squash and and sweet potato variation tonight and I am not sure if it made too much difference in taste compared to the chopping-your-own version we've had of late. The consistency was definitely more soupy then we've recently had, that's for sure. I may have put a touch too much fish sauce in (again) but the depth of flavour was good and spicy. A welcome return of the Apetina with olives provided the salad with a special guest segment enjoyed by all.

25.09.08: Fusion broth with grilled chicken

She cooked up the fancy chicken noodle soup from The Naked Chef, complete with bok choi, rice noodles (and some bean thread ones, too, since the rice noodle supply was low), dry-grilled chicken breasts, and copious ginger slices - remembering, this time, the final dash of lime juice. Nigella's wasab lime dressing stood by to pep up a mildly indulgent salad of radish, mixed olives, avo, and leaves.

HE SAYS: The ginger in this nice hot and fragrant soup certainly helped clear my sinuses while the fantastic grilled chicken hit the spot. The bean thread noodles were just as tasty as their rice counterparts and the added lime managed to add a fresh tanginess to the bowl. The wasabi dressing delivered its usual punch to the salad, poured over the delish radishes and olive mix.

SHE SAYS: Dry-grilling skinless chicken breasts is, I now believe, the only way to cook them. The bbq-fire aroma alone is worth it. This time I turned down the heat after browning both sides, added a small amount of water (whoa, steam!), and covered it to cook the chicken thru instead of high-heating them into near-petrification. Miscalculated the amount of soy sauce I added to each bowl at the end, overwhelming the light and faintly tangy broth with briny intensity, but it wasn't quite ruined, and leftovers will remain nicely balanced. Salad was moreish with the double-whammy of olives and avo, plus the wasabi coating - no one can say we don't get our good monounsaturated fats!

30.07.08: Quorn, fresh tomato-olive sauce, pesto gnocchi and snap peas

Bit of a mish-mash tonite: She was taking it easy with 2-minute gnocchi rolled in her freezer stash of ho-made pasto, a quick flip of lemon-pepper quorn escalopes in the pan, and snap peas zapped in the m-wave...but the thought of a dry quorn cutlet sticking in the throat sent Her to the store for some tomatoes and raiding the fridge for remaining garlic-stuffed olives (not to mention tipping in a little red wine) to make a fairly quick sauce. Salad of mango, beetroot and moz balls nestled in rocket leaves nearby.

HE SAYS: The gnocchi was tasty because of the yummy pesto but succeeded in putting me on the bloat boat bound for Stodge City and consequently I temporarily sport a more rotund profile. I enjoyed the special tamater sauciness over the top of the chi-qourn cutlets best, and the snap peas offered another fresh and crisp escape from the starchy gnocchi. The salad also was a fruitilicious and zingy addition to this food cruise.

SHE SAYS: Figured I'd use up that second pack of gnocchi we froze, but I'm not tempted to get it again - it becomes mush within a minute, and I thought it might disintegrate as I stirred in my pesto. V. filling but not v. nice, tho' the pesto was tangy and savoury enough. The 2-minute snap zap is highly recommended - the peapods emerge crispety-juicy and bright green. And how I do luv the quorn, esp with this sooper-easy sauce - no choppin' and not so much stirrin'. Salad was sweet and spicy, but I ws already experiencing the great potato expansion and couldn't finish.

08.07.08: Lemon chicken

Ain't no fight about lemon chicken nite: He did the honours with the garlicky green bnz, jersey royal potats, whole lemon slices, and the chick-chick-chick-chick-chicken...plus a salad of vine tomatoes, garlic-stuffed olives, and avo.

HE SAYS: Got to luv that lemony goodness, yes sir. I thought tonight's rendition was especially pleasing. I chopped the garlic a little coarser and was a little conservative with the oil and lemon juice, thus reducing the liquid ratio a tad, keeping things crunchy and not at all soggy on the bottom. The salad did its job of a tasty distraction, the olives helped keep the tang theme alive to the end.

SHE SAYS: Mmm-mmm good - never lets us down, but some are better than others and this was a winner. Good crunchy-to-fluffy ratio on the potatoes, and excellent chicken: crisp and juicy. Lemons not as jammy as some other times, but still tempting.

26.06.08: Black bnz

Herb heaven: nothing like the coriander- and cumin-packed black bnz spooned over brown basmati and wild rice, topped with avo and (this time) a dollop of creme fraiche. Salad of chopped lemon-and-garlic marinated olives, Apetina, whole radishes, Jersey jewel tomatoes and watercress appears to be yearning to jump into the bean bowl to mix up the ultimate taste extravaganza.

HE SAYS: Though the beanz were up to their usual great standard I thought the créme fraiche detracted from the intense flava and I quickly regretted the generous helping I spooned into my bowl. I have to hand it to the M&S fresh (ish) stock which once again helped the rice and also the beanz reach their potential yummy-ness despite the créme debacle. The radishes made their farewell appearance for this week in the salad bowl with Apetina playing a blinding set as their support act.

SHE SAYS: What can I say, I've seem to have hit on the recipe for magic bnz. Addition of even more fresh coriander than usual - two big handfuls, with stems, roughly chopped - may have turned up the mmm volume even higher this time. The creme fraiche was gilding the lily, we only tried it b/c it was left over from the risotto. Salad was salty and cool, with good satisfying crunch from the remaining radishes. I think salad is as filling as bread, as part of a meal, even when it's not spiked with cheese and olives...

12.05.08: Prawn and veg stirfry

Mixin' it up on a Monday: babycorn, carrots, Chinese cabbage, brocca, green onions, chili flakes and prawns tipped over rice noodles face of with a leaf salad dotted with avo and olives (come of them garlic-stuffed!).

HE SAYS: Long time since we had this, I enjoyed the baby corn which was blackened a little, giving them a sweet overtone but the rest of the veggies got lost among the strong flavour of soy sauce. Harissa was an unorthodox solution to this problem and notched it up from a 5 to a 7, while the salad's lemony garlic olives shot it from a 7 to an 8, in my humble a-pin-onion.

SHE SAYS: It had that hot-wok grilled flavour I was going for, but it was otherwise a little bland and improved mightily with a small dose of my ho-made harissa. Rice noodles were blameless and the salad encouraged casual picking out of the zesty olives.

15.04.08: Black bnz and salad

Wholesome filler: She gave her refomulated black bnz a second outing, and used some leftover sun-dried tomatoes and kalamata olives to liven up a salad of rocket and crunchy chicory and tatsoi leaves.

SHE SAYS: Pretty good, but without the depth of my last batch, and I know why; I forgot to add two tsp of chipotle paste. Will have to adjust the recipe. Salad was nice and sharp in flavour to complement the mellowness of the beans, adding crunch from the chicory and bite from the rocket.

HE SAYS: Nice healthy comfort food, definitely hit the spot. Agree it wasn't as good as last time but still heads above anything found on this continent. Salad again was a winner, with the surprisingly tasty sun-dried tomatoes from the unreliable Tesco's deli counter.