19.08.08: Black bnz with grilled corn palenta and salad

She took the new fave of black bnz 'n' polenta one step further towards gourmet by grilling a few ears of corn and slicing the roasty kernels into the mix. The usual avo accompaniment was green with envy (heh, I say, heh). The remains of last nite's salad fluffed up with more leaves, the last few grilled asparagus, radishes and a couple of big o' strawberries had to wait their turn.

HE SAYS: She did a great job grilling the corn to add a new dimension to the polenta, nearly like corn grits which I luv. The bnz were also more then up to par: smokey and herbie, very nish yes. The salad's strawberries tasted great with the leftover grilled asparagus from last night.

SHE SAYS: The added steps - overseeing the roasting and stripping of the corn - tired me out a bit, but the result has almost convinced me it's worthwhile. I savoured the bits of crunch and added flavour along with the thick texture, hot spice and herby kick of the bnz, though the polenta still needed a dab of marge to come to life. The crispiness and variety of the salad helped my tummy turn away from thoughts of another main-plate helping - but only just.

18.08.08: Crispy duck with plum sauce and asparagus

He riffed on the Perfectly Cooked Crispy Duck from Cook with Jamie, including carrots and onions in a five-five spice caramelisation, made the three-grain rice, and prepared more grilled asparagus (hey, it was buy-one-get-one-free, and We don't even pretend to resist free gourmet veg). Salad of soft lettuces with physalis, cherry toms, radishes and avo stood by. Special guest: some five-spice and star anise plum sauce She made on Sunday.

SHE SAYS: The meat was perfectly tender and the skin tres crispy - call it the bacon of duck, if you will, I crunched my share of it. Asparagus with lemon squeezed over were a very suitable complement to the rich skin and spicy-sweet sauce. Salad was a welcome calmer after all the gastro-excitement, though the physalis did its usual tangy best to provoke the tastebuds.

HE SAYS: Pretty easy one to put together: slice a few veggies, stuff with an orange, coat with five spice, honey, and fresh ginger, and stick in the oven. 2.5hrs later, hey presto! A pretty crispy duck. The veggies were a little on the charred side but overall I was happy with the crispy to tender ratio. The plum sauce added some delicious, sweet and tangy chutney topping to the mountain of rice, duck and veggies. Also spooned over some duck fat for an added yum factor. Salad was made all the more fantastic with the crunchy, peppery, French breakfast radishes.

PS: You want plum sauce? I'll give you plum sauce:

- 10-12 plums (note: these were also on sale, down to 85p for six!)
- 5 Tbs sugar
- few pinches five-spice powder
- two Tbs soy sauce
- tsp chili powder
- a few whole star anise (optional)
- good splash of water
- orange zest (optional)

Pit the plums and chuck in a pot with the sugar, spices and water. Bring to a boil, then simmer with the pot mostly covered* for 30-40 mins, until the plums have mushed down and the mixture is all glossy, occasionally stirring and pressing down the plums with the back of a spoon. Add more water if needed along the way. Zest over some orange peel, if you have an orange lazing about.

Heck, you can even skip pitting the plums and just pick out the pits at the end (along with the bits of star anise, if you can be fussed). This is my preferred route, since I get to savour the bits of plum pulp clinging to the pits as I spoon them out.

Makes about 1.5 cups of sauce. Don't save it just for the duck - it's the ultimate yoghurt, cereal and toast topper!

*If you reeeeeallly want to peel the plums, take the plums out with a slotted spoon once they've boiled and the skins have broken, remove the skin, and plop your naked plum back in the pot. But the flavour and texture are marvelous without this extra step, and I'd only advocate it if you have trouble digesting edible fruit peel.

17.08.08: Pork piccata, potatoes and spinach

Sunday can't get much tastier: the pork version of Ramsay's veal piccata, lush with capers and créme fraiche, made boiled potatoes and spinach steamed with nutmeg feel like swank restaurant fare. The salad borrowed panache from some asparagus grilled earlier for lunch, plus radishes, leftover lime-zest beets, and lots of curly, spicy watercress.

HE SAYS: A winter-warmer-comfort-food-esque dinner in August - with the summer we've had it's not so strange. The pork was tender and perfectly seared on both sides, and the gravy was so moreish with the capers adding that extra rich deliciousness, I thank the lord for those spuds which helped mop up that tasty elixir of life. The asparagus injected the salad with bold, salty chargrilled yumminess that played well with the can't-be-beat beets.

SHE SAYS: It's that Sunday dinner feeling...kinda brown, kinda roasty, kinda salty, kinda creamy...offset by some virtuous veg. I'm always a little concerned about cooking pork and tend to nurse it along to a cardboard consistency, but this batch retained a nominal tenderness. The sauce was a little thin compared to previous efforts, but pooled nicely throughout the plate. Potatoes and spinach made excellent sauce conveyors, and the potats themselves had a nutty, sweet flavour (charlottes?).

06.07.08: Magic lentils, coleslaw and asparagus

She took it fairly easy with the ever-reliable magic lentils plus last nite's coleslaw topped with grilled asparagus.

HE SAYS: These lentils I likey a lot, so much taste, so little washing up. Coleslaw was good second time round and the asparagus added a surprisingly simple and inspired element to the plate. Thumbs up, forks down.

SHE SAYS: The coconut dal never disappoints - this batch was creamy and satisfying, with just the right smidge of bitterness from the curry powder, plus a refreshing ginger kick. Man, raw cabbage sure is filling! I wouldn't say the coleslaw got noticeably better overnight, but it didn't suffer. I happened upon the little pack of asparagus in the fridge and didn't want to waste it, so a quick heat-bath under the grill with swabbings of olive oil and salt 'n' pepper brought out its sweet, starchy quality.

25.06.08: Peasant salad with hot salmon flakes

Gettin' fresh: She pulled together a peasant salad of boiled Maris Bard new potatoes, grilled sweet peppers, asparagus, radishes, soft-boiled egg, and Jersey Jewel tomatoes, then flaked over some hot-grain-mustard-coated smoked salmon. Nigella's wasabi-lime dressing took it all onto another plane...

SHE SAYS: Feasted me eyes as well as me tastebuds on this one. The dressing and salmon gave it just enough piquant qualities to keep my tongue a-tingle, while the soft egg made a subtle, velevty accompaniment for the asparagus. I'll have to say it again - the MB new potats are exquisite simply boiled and put to fork, plain as you please. Did I almost forget the Jersey Jewels? Biting into one whole rewarded me with a burst of just-plucked tomato-stem tang. Well worth their non-sale price during a time when most tomatoes are half their usual price.

HE SAYS: This was a big salad...and a nice one too. Who says salads are for wimps? I found this very satisfing with the protein element of the salmon and egg, and the tasty potatoes definitely filled me up just like a hungry man meal. Could do this salad thing for dinner again and maybe add some beetroot next time for good measure.

14.04.08: Salmon, asparagus and the last red cabbage

She made a pretty plate: salmon poached and then broiled with rosemary, thyme and dill; boiled asparagus; and the very last of the big batch of red cabbage from the freezer. Pear, grape and blue cheese salad bore witness to the scene.

HE SAYS: Firstly, a minute's silence for the last of the red cabbage...it seems like only yesterday I was chopping like a madman, 3 cabbages and a load of granny smith apples, boiling and reducing for what seemed like days, stinking up the place in the process. Well worth it I believe, I think it yielded 12 portions which have intensified in flavour over time in the freezer and given us a quick and easy side dish to a variety of meals in a pinch. The salmon from our local fishmongers was nicely poached with herby flavours, didn't mind making room for the extra piece from Her plate either. The asparagus was nice and al denté, not grey and boiled to death like my childhood experiences of same veg. Salad, oh salad, how we like the way you keep suprising us with your persistant tastiness, oh yeah.

SHE SAYS: It was one of those very rare nites when I was off my food (turned out I was on the verge of my usual change-of-weather lurgy). Though the salmon was perfectly fine, fairly flaky and fresh-flavoured, I gave most of it to Him, picked at my blameless asparagus, and dutifully spooned up my portion of tangy red cabbage. I made better progress on the salad, as the pungent blue cheese proved irresistible in partnership with the sweet, fresh fruits.