01.12.08: Pollo alla Cacciatora and cucumber salad

They both craved it, and He made it so. Tonight's Cacciatora episode included a special guest appearance of sliced carrot, and, instead of rice, pearled spelt. The cucumber salad was in reruns from last night and, because of its popularity, destined for syndication.

HE SAYS: Apart from the added carrot which gave it a little more depth of flava and the spelt, which lightened up the bowl, things were consistent from the previous outings. Those outings were great and so was this one. The salad scored high marks too, the dressing having marinated the cucumbers a little more from last night.

SHE SAYS: The mere mention of this dish perks me up; it's positively Pavlovian. I thought the carrot a fine addition for bulk, but could easily do without. The spelt added a smooth barley-like texture to the saucy bowl of goodness. I did find myself sneaking more capers from the jar for a touch of vinegary contrast, but I always do that, just don't always mention it. The salad held up well overnight; I thought the coriander might have sogged out, but it didn't.

Top Tip: pour off the dressing into a separate bowl before storing for laters.

Top Tip Deux: there is no way this dressing needs 2 Tbs of poppy seeds, they just sink to the bottom of lots of liquid. What a waste, esp in a land where they are the devil to find. Would do one teaspoon next time.

19.11.08: Red prawn and mango curry

After He unsettled their taste buds last night, She fell back on the true and trusted red prawn and mango curry made with butternut squash, sweet potato and mango, courtesy of Nigella Express. Adding the surprise elements to the evening were some leftover baby sweetcorn to the curry, and taking the place of the usual brown rice, some pearled spelt. A mixed leaf, avo, carrot and sweetfire beetroot salad appeared before their eyes.

SHE SAYS: I applied some good technique tonite - scooping out the prawns after only two minutes while the mango and lime juice bubbled away a bit longer to establish their flavours - so the prawns were delicate and juicy once reintroduced to the bowl. Plenty of coconut milk (1/3 can more than recommended) ensured a nice, light colour and undercut the fish sauce just enough. Salad was a perfect match in colour and clever counterpoint in texture, with plenty of crunch. Carrot and avo are esp good partners; who knew?

HE SAYS: I never tire of this one. The baby sweetcorn added a little crunchy variety and the pearled spelt was a revelation. Much lighter in texture than rice, subtle but distinguishable flava and it had a similar taste sensation to eating tapioca balls in bubble tea, very cool. Julienned carrots in salad are always a nice touch.

07.07.08: Nigella's chickpeas with accompaniments

She says: this one is jockeying for the provocative title of Easy Dish o' the Year: Nigella's chickpeas with cumin seeds, sherry and rocket teamed up with some pearled spelt, ho-made rose harissa, and a rather perfectly soft-boiled egg, if She does say so. A virtuous salad of leaves, lime-infused beetroot, avo and radish stood contentedly in the shadow of its more glamourous, protein-packed neighbor.

SHE SAYS: Now we know for sure: the non-organic chickpeas take on a far more velvety texture than organic ones - maybe the nons are more processed and therefore softer to begin with? Whatever the reason, non- is nicer and wins out in this recipe. The plump beads of spelt added interesting texture, they were much more impressive mixed in than tasted right out of the pot - v. barley-like. My rose harissa is delish with its obvious floral notes, but doesn't pack the garlicky heat of 'regular.'

HE SAYS: In the last two days we've gone legume crazy and I like it, I like it a lot. As She says the bog standard chickpeas far outclassed their too posh to push organic kind ( a little un-pc to admit out loud in this day and age but I don't care. We recycle, so there). The spelt was delish, much more moist then the brown rice which we usually have with it. The egg on top is an ongoing indulgence but adds to the chewy gooey texture and tastes mmm-mm good. I can't imagine it without now. The rose harrisa took the place of my normal few shakes of hot sauce and so infused the bowl with equal parts heat, fragrance and zing.

30.04.08: Quorn and veggie pasta

Care for a cutlet? She boiled up some (falsely advertised!!) spelt fusilli pasta, stirred up some onion, chestnut and portobello mushrooms, and aubergine, tossed in a bottle of Lloyd Grossman, and mixed it all up, then pan-fried the inimitable lemon-pepper quorn fillets and shaved over some parmesan. The Sweetfire beetroot, watercress, and Apetina salad was lookin' pretty, too.

HE SAYS: Cor, what a nice concoction she served up tonite. Been a missin' those quorn, chicken impostor cutlets, they be tastee. Lloyd, you now how to make some special sauce, not too sweet like those other supermarket posers. I had more then my fair share of the sweet, sweet fire beetroot salad, and let me tell you...it was okay, no...it was special. I luv me some of that ruby red magic root vegetable, bring it on and serve me some, mista.

SHE SAYS: I was horrified to discover, after I put the pasta on the boil, that it was only 30% spelt and the rest was wholewheat, despite being labelled boldly as 'spelt fusilli' only. So it was full of the strong gluten that makes me bloaty as a beachball, and that's exactly what it did. It tasted fine, and my dinner was overall ok - not remarkable, but nice enough. The salad was esp fiery...oo, am I mad!

29.02.08: Roast veggie pasta and salad

She improvised a sauce for the intriguing spelt penne pasta by roasting an aubergine, red peppers, portobello mushrooms and courgettes, then piling it all in a pan with a can of cherry tomatoes, some leftover pesto, a few good dollops of Her ho-made harissa, and half a bag of fresh spinach. A sprinkling of chopped fresh basil and slivers of grana padano topped the main dish, while spinach and Sweetfire beetroot salad ultimately finished the plate.

SHE SAYS: Not bad at all, though for all of those ingredients, the one that really pulled it all together was the harissa. I think I'll just have to make it once every couple of months forever - the minty-spicy-salty combination is incredibly rewarding. V. pleased with the spelt pasta: compared to normal pasta, there's far less of a bloat-boat effect, and the taste and texture are indistinguishable from 'regular'.

Top tip: if ever you decide to make harissa, add a tablespoon of dried mint. I've not seen one recipe on the web yet that calls for this, but it's positively essential to make it mmm-worthy (good old Medina Kitchen!).

HE SAYS: Very nice, spelt pasta was better than whole wheat pasta and tastier than corn pasta. The sauce was a success with the roasted veg and the harissa added the necessary punch.

16.02.08: Cereal and miso soup

We made ourselves a little sick chomping down on deep-fried tortilla chips and spinach-artichoke dip at the Kensington Whole Foods (overpriced, overhyped and over here). It was meant to be a snack to tide us over, but the resulting ick-bloat put a real dinner out of the question. She had some of her new Rude Health spelt flakes cereal with yoghurt and sultanas, and he had a soothing miso soup with spinach. Later we had some some baguette slices with olive oil and salt, plus remainder of the dip (we never learn).


HE SAYS: I really enjoyed the spinach-artichoke dip from Whole Foods, probably too much, as I felt sick all the way home. But after the miso, in a couple of hours I was ready for more, only this time with the fresh-baked baguette.

SHE SAYS: I second the sickie feeling, but those chips were sooo good. My cereal was greatly improved by a handful of sultanas - when they say 'trace' of sugar, they're not kidding. But the yoghurt soothed my tummy enough for some v. enjoyable baguette-dipping later.