23.08.08: Imposter saag paneer

She made Saturday nite at home awfully cosy with Our fave saag paneer, starring halloumi as paneer, with Geeta's papaya orange chutney quietly shining in its supporting role. A soopah salad of radishes, avo, toasty pumpkinseeds, carrot, and lamb's lettuce drizzled with Nigella's wasabi lime dressing made for a pretty, well-balanced plate.

SHE SAYS: There's something about piling a spicy, rich curry on the fork with lots of crunchy salad that makes everything seem right for a little while. I suspected the M&S halloumi would be best for this dish, and it did indeed keep its firm texture, release perfect saltiness, and add the merest hint of mint to the proceedings.

HE SAYS: This dish has a lot going for it. The halloumi is so saltastic and moreish and the spinach, mild and creamy without the cream, so the overall effect is so satisfying. With a big dollop of chutney on top adding a little shweet spice to the plate, I was one happy camper. I am so enjoying our current craze of julienne carrots and delish toasted pumpkin seeds smothered by the always tasty dressing, which manages to intensify all that it covers - including some rice, which didn't mind a bit. In fact it made for some interesting unexpected mouthfuls.

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.

10.08.08: cod with green bnz, corn and pesto

This recipe from Real Simple has one-pan convenience, healthfulness, and a different (for us) veg combo going for it. Pan-toasted halloumi, plain beetroot, avo and spinach/watercress added richness to the Sunday nite proceedings.

HE SAYS: The cod was an unusual diversion for us (used to be dirt cheap, a lá fish n' chips, now a posh and expensive fish) and I enjoyed its subtle flava and flaky consistency, no need for breadcrumbs and deep frying. The veg medley was also pretty tasty and fresh, no cream or butter necessary. The corn was especially edifying naked and, give or take one or two glugs of white wine, it needed no more thrills or bacon to embellish it. Talking about bacon, the halloumi from M&S was very nice, the texture was firm, the squeak factor was high, the salt content reasonable and the hint of mint deducible. Overall, far better then Tesco's own version and a close second behind Waitrose's offering. I found the beetroot in the salad sans sweet fire or lime marinades tickled my taste buds a trifle too. Who knew?

SHE SAYS: Top Tip: add 1/4 cup white wine to the pan instead of the water the recipe calls for; it's an easy way to add a little extra flavour and sophistimication you won't want to miss. Although I was happy to spoon in some ho-made pesto I had handy, I do think the veg would be great even without it, as long as you add the vino and some capers. The cod had lovely delicate flavour and decent texture, though I almost overcooked it. Vinegary beetroot without the usual dose of sugar from the brand-flavoured varieties held up pretty well, but the nite really belongs, as always, to the bacon of cheese, this time from M&S. It seemed firmer and released less liquid than other varieties - would be great in my saag halloumi.

29.07.08: Big Salad

Yep, it's the return of the Big Salad, in a more manageable format, with the bacon of cheese, boiled prawns, panfried leftover polenta, radishes, celery, avo, julienned carrot, chives, gem lettuce and an inspired last-minute add-on: capers. Nigella's nose-whooshing wasabi dressing finished the plate.

HE SAYS: The halloumi was the star of this salad, not to insinuate that the rest of the ingredients were below par, but come on, grilled haloumi is the supreme cheese. Second to the cheese was the shrimp which were boiled enough but not too much and the grilled polenta a close third, it was crunchy and light, whatz not to like? I really enjoyed this meal, will have to do again sooner rather then later. Mmm halloumi, damn you, I can't get you outta my mind.

SHE SAYS: Well, I still complicated things a bit more than I intended to by frying up the polenta, but I hated to see it go to waste - and it was worth it, turning the cold gel-like mush into hot, irregular corn fries to give us a tasty little starch filler. I savoured the salty, toasty halloumi slowly - honestly, I think halloumi would be on my death-row last meal menu (glad we sorted that out already). Plenty of crunch, with avo adding a touch of creaminess, plus the refined je ne sais quoi of the capers - this was a salad I would gladly have anytime, anywhere.

03.07.08: Peasant salad with squeaky cheese

She was a blur of prep-in-motion: boiling, slicing, pan-frying, roasting, peeling and whisking to put a feast for the eyes as well as the tummy on the table. Physalis, roasted red pepper, gem lettuce, watercress, radishes, jersey potatoes, green tiger tomatoes, halloumi and a boiled egg all took a bow as the powerful lime-wasabi dressing stood by.

SHE SAYS: Immensely satisfying, if a bit too much work for a Thursday. You can't go wrong with the halloumi though this cheap Tesco variety was not as tasty or springy in texture as some others we've had. Not a hint of mint, either - points deducted! The fresh roasted pepper was a treat I wanted each forkful to deliver, so I did my best to cut it into small enough pieces. It esp complemented the halloumi and the potatoes.

HE SAYS: Salad days are here again. Quite an indulgent variety tonight with the bacon of cheese - halloumi - and the boiled egg and potatoes. Still, mighty tasty, and smothered with the hot and tangy dressing it served us well as a main and salad course combined.

18.06.08: Lemon chicken nite

While She was out, He did the lemon chicken and rustled up a salad complete with radish, leftover halloumi panfried, avo, and physalis.

HE SAYS: Probably the most satisfying of our regular meals, this one keeps us coming back for more. Maybe it's the jammy lemons or the the roasty-toasty 'tators? Whatever it is, it adds up to a one delish of a dish. The salad was a halloumi fest with lots of squeaky noises emanating from every bite, what's not to like?

SHE SAYS: Very tasty with nice crisp skin and tender chicken, but not so jammy on the lemons or crips on the taters (though, being jersey royals, they had plenty of deeply potatoey flavour). Salad leaves were a little past sell-by, but I found enough good bits to hold the whole thing together, despite what He says. Halloumi was a little overdone, echoing last nite's theme of 'a bit tough'.

17.06.08: Chickpeas with rocket and egg

Nigella's chickpeas and rocket, without rice, but with a nice boiled egg on top, plus a salad of young mustard leaves, cherry tomatoes, avo, boiled prawns (prawns!) an the last-minute star of the show, Nigella's wasabi lime dressing.

SHE SAYS: Always a convenient, wholesome option, but I couldn't get the chickpeas to develop that velvety texture I prefer. Wonder if the organic ones we use now are less prone to the velvety thing? Firmness seemed to be a theme: I boiled the prawns too long, which detracted from the aura of 'extra special' we wanted to add to the salad. But my quick mixin' of the wasabi dressing lifted it all up to another level of flava-flav and made us wonder why it took us so long to make this green goddess of a dressing again.

HE SAYS: The chick peas like she said were a little on the tough side, still tasty and not at all musty like some other canned verities can be. The salad dressing was wonderfully tart, zesty and hot at the same time, could have this more often and same goes for the prawns, nish touch.

14:06.08: Veggie Indian nite

Spicing up a Saturday nite: She prepared the much-loved saag paneer with the even-more-loved subs of halloumi for paneer, and filled out the plate with a too-good-to-be-true microwave recipe for eggplant curry. Since it was the weekend an' all, She pushed the boat out with ho-made raita, our favourite lime pickle, and some mini-poppadoms. An ultra-quick salad with pre-peeled pomegranate seeds provided cooling crunch.

HE SAYS: The saag went up against the eggplant curry and won convincingly. The eggplant dish was a not really a curry but a dry flavourless impostor, and well, I ate what was on me plate like a good boy but didn't feel the need for seconds. The saag, on the other hand, performed beautifully as per usual, I say it was a fix. The salad was a mixture of tart and aromatic, I have noticed that pomegranates have a nice horseradish-y aftertaste to them - discuss.

SHE SAYS: I'm now firmly committed to halloumi over saag in the paneer recipe stakes: it's so salty and yummy, and the extra kick from the spices puts me in culinary nirvana. That bogus eggplant curry recipe from the NYT, tho' - f'shame! It was, in a word, icky, with a cardboard flavour and limp, dryish texture. I could have cooked it even longer (already went over the tme suggested), but it wouldn't have improved the flavour. The only good thing to come out of this experiment was learning that you can toast dry coconut by microwaving it. Well, that's neat. But even my raita couldn't make the eggplant worth eating. Normally I'm opposed to packaged pomegranate due to the ripoff price, but the pack I bought was on sale, plus the seeds were ruby red and full of juice, yet taut and satisfying to pop between the teeth. All good.

19.05.08: Lamb steaks with mash, peas, mangetout and shiitake gravy

Comfort food to kick off the week: lamb steaks marinated in a Mexi spice mix and topped with shiitakes cooked in the pan juices and finished with some white wine; Exquisa potatoes mashed up with marge and milk; plaincooked peas and mangetout; and a salad with the remaining halloumi cheese, new fresh bunched radishes, plum tomatoes and lotsa leaves.

SHE SAYS: It was a nice, hearty meal, but I agree with Him that the lamb was gristly and put me off a bit. What is it with lamb right now? Isn't it lamb season, shouldn't it be at its best? The potatoes lived up to the hint of luxury in their varietal name, and the double-pea dish made for a very pleasing, subtle-tasting green veg portion of the programme. The radishes were the real star, though: finally, a little heat to go with the earthy crunch!

HE SAYS: Apart from the lamb being a little too tender, after grilling for a few more minutes it turned out great, although lamb leg steaks are a little gristly, I find. Still, the meal was quintessential rustic French fare. The mash was yum and so were the peas, covered with a little white wine gravy, mmmm... gorgeous!

09.05.08: Quorn, veggie sauce, and halloumi salad

A quick fix: Quorn lemon-pepper escalopes with chestnut and portobello mushrooms, plus aubergine and a Lloyd Grossman roast garlic-basil sauce. Some panfried halloumi pepped up the salad and made it feel more like a Friday nite.

SHE SAYS: Good enough! I could eat Halloumi forever, it really is the bacon of cheese, as He said. And quorn patties are like the chicken nuggets you can have without feeling guilty.

HE SAYS: Veal Parmesan without the veal and Parmesan, yum. Sauce was tangy and the veggies hearty and flavorsome. Halloumi did not disappoint either, we both searched the salad bowl for the last pieces of squeaky goodness after second helpings and found only crumbs which we fought over vigorously.

05.05.08: Chickpeas with harissa and basil, plus halloumi salad

Turning to Nigel for a summery touch, we find something to soak up Her ho-made harissa: a hearty mixture of roast tomatoes and aubergine with chickpeas topped by decadent flags of prosciutto quickly crisped in the roasting pan's savoury residue. On a similar theme, she also toasted up half a block of halloumi for a salady treat.

SHE SAYS: I suspect this one will be a regular. The aubergine was meaty and cumin-infused after its hour of roasting, and the whole shebang made for splendid good eatin'. Tiny tip: I boiled the chickpeas for a while instead of simply adding them after draining and rinsing - makes them a little more velvety, and takes the tinny edge off. Really, this dish doesn't even need the prosciutto on top - just gilding the lily. The halloumi was terribly spesh with its salty goodness, as always, but I think we agree that the Tesco's Finest brand wasn't noticeably better than the bog standard one we normally toss in the basket. If anything, it was a tad bit more subtle - and you may have noticed that subtle is not our bag.

HE SAYS: Mmm, very Morrocan-infused dinner tonite, what with the North African flavoured chickpeas and the delectable squeaky halloumi (the bacon of cheese) with added mint in the salad. All very light and tasty. Let's do it again, soon.