16.11.08: Breakfast 4 dinner

She put on her pinny and served up some brekky in the evening. On the plate were: pork n' apple chipolatas, black bnz, plum tomato and balsamic vinegar salsa, cheddar cheese omelet, plain bagel and a fig and carrot mixed leaf salad.

HE SAYS: Always somewhat of a treat to do a great switcheroo with the meals. The tomato salsa thang was incredible, very tangy and morish. The blk beans were from a box of dried flakes that we brought over from our trip to the States. They were pretty good, a little soupy, but next time we'll add less water and all will be right with the world.

The chipolata snausages never let us down, and as always they were tasty but We did miss the maple syrup which is their perfect accompaniment. The omelet was good and cheesy and best eaten in combination with the bagel, so I tried to construct a breakfast sandwich by towering all the ingredients on top of one another but feared a collapse. Quickly rethought my plans and carried out a controlled demolition, eating each ingredient one by one. Luckily no one was harmed.

SHE SAYS: Aah, yum. Brekky really is the perfect dinner, esp when there are apple-packed, sage-kissed chipolatas to be had. I slathered the sweet-tang tomato salsa (just tomatoes and balsamic vinegar cooked down in the pan after the sausages) all over my bagel slice and took it slow. Agree with Him about the bnz - will do better next time, but still amazed by how nice they are. I wouldn't consider them a replacement for my aromatic black bnz, but they make a great snack or quickie side dish. Ashamed to say I was too full for salad and had to have mine next day!

12.08.08: Grab bag

It was a nite of separate ways, so He dashed together a pastrami bagel with mature cheddar and grain mustard, while She later roamed the aisles of Waitrose, feeling uncharacteristically uninspired to cook, and settled on the Halloumi Cheese with a Warm Salad of Beans and Lentils in a Tomato and Basil Dressing.

HE SAYS: Tesco's pastrami is not bad and I have finally found a bagel there that is also not bad either. The photo shows it open faced but I squished both sides together in order to gobble it up quick before I dashed out the door.

SHE SAYS: 'Deliciously Different', my derriere. Fortunately this readymade entree tasted slightly better than it smelled - there was a disgusting burnt odour billowing up from the plastic tray. The butterbeans and lentils were tender and quite good; the tomato water - I mean, dressing - was forgivably bland. But they made halloumi cheese taste bad. That takes some doing. The painted-on charcoal stripes tasted like they look: badly burnt. At least there wasn't much cheese to choke down, just a couple of skinny squares. We won't get fooled again.

08.05.08: Fridge raiding and frozen pizza

Working late unexpectedly led to a fend-for-yourself scenario. She considered stopping in at M&S, but realised there was plenty enough in the fridge to make such a £6-£8 detour unnecessary. A toasty white bagel spread with baby avo and leftover sundried tomatoes on one side, plus marge, Marmite, and one perfectly soft-boiled egg on the other fit the bill.

Later, He popped into Waitrose on 'is way home and picked up a salami, ricotta, and olive pizza for this unusually diversified dinner. (No, She wasn't jealous. Really.)

HE SAYS: Well, this was my first convenience food experience of the year and it was, yes, disappointing. The double zero flour boasted in the ingredients didn't help elevate the crust's brewer's droop, flaccid and lifeless; no amount of extra minutes added to the recommended cooking time helped. The salami was nice and the olives added a little something but I was left with a feeling of ennui after the last mouthful. Apparently this pizza won an award in some chilled pizza contest, the cheek of it.

SHE SAYS: Much more satisfying than the packaged sandwich and salad scenario I was contemplating on the bus. Something about a boiled egg on Marmitey toast after a thoroughly disgusting day is just naturally, deeply soothing. The avo-spread half was just as tasty in its own way, with the salty tang of the sundried tomatoes adding just enough flavour. Then too, the satisfaction of a good improv added its own seasoning, if you know what I mean.

18.01.08: Out to The Prince Albert Pub

This had 'mistake' written all over it, in four different typefaces on the menu cover alone. I can only assume we were weak with hunger and tired of plodding about in the drizzle to cave in to pub Thai food.

SHE SAYS: Chicken Pad Thai is normally the thing that can't go wrong in even the grimmest Thai establishment, but this tasted like gym socks. And what was that bizarre lattice on top?? We're guessing egg or batter, but tentative tastes proved inconclusive. Gave up after eating 1/3 (hungry).

HE SAYS: I was starving, which led me to think my Prawn Pad Siew was not so bad. Very heavy on the salt and light on authentic (any?) Thai flavour. Should've gone for the fish 'n' chips, another contender that nite. Oh well...

A toasty bagel with avo and salad made up for the Pad Thai quite nicely. Is it any wonder we eat at home most of the time?