20.11.08: Blk bnz with a pear and tomato salad

He escorted this ole fave to the table. Herby blk bnz with avo were the headline while the pear, tomato and shredded beetroot salad offered moral support.

HE SAYS: Lots and lots of fresh coriander was duly chopped and placed in the pot for this batch (about a handful or two over the normal quota) and the result was herbtastic. Unfortunately I cooked up brown rice instead of the silky smooth palenta that we've come to know and luv, making it feel a little heavy on the tum. Still, a satisfying bowl of wonderfulness was had by all two of us. As for the salad - lovely, pear is the new radish this week for me.

SHE SAYS: Truly excellent batch o' bnz. Adding lots of coriander is one of the keystones of aromatic black bnz (selectively pureeing to release full flavour is the other), but he took it to a new height tonite. It really was too-too. I did wish we'd had polenta, though - perhaps you've noticed we're a little riced out this week? Wasn't sure how tomato would take to pear, but they traded sweet for acidic well enough.

17.11.08: Magic lentils with pear and tomato salad

She quickly whipped up the magic lentils tonight consisting of coconut dal with spinach plus brown rice with all the usual spices. A pear and tomato spinach salad pushed its way into the spotlight.

SHE SAYS: What He says.

HE SAYS: Creamy - check. Spicy - check. All round yummy - check. Another great batch of the splendific magical lentils. The salad weren't half bad neither (you can't beat a nice, ripe pear in a salad, that is fo' sure).

01.10.08: Lemon chicken

He fired up the oven and cooked up the family fave of lemon chicken with the garlic green bnz, exquisa 'taters and lemon slices. A salad of watercress, spinach and rocket with avo, tomatoes, beetroot and sunflower seeds looked up from the rim.

HE SAYS: Ummm, not one of my best efforts, in fact it was a tad watery. I may have added too much oil and not enough salt. The garlic was representing and livin' it large but got a little burnt on top of the chix. The potatoes were not as fluffy as other varieties we've tried, either. The beetroot was as good as I remember (from a few days ago), it being, stil,l one of my fave salad veggies along with it's peppery pal, the radish.

SHE SAYS: Really, same as He said - it was oddly watery, and the lemons weren't v. jammy - but still pretty good and garlicky, nonetheless.

27.09.08: Leftover soup and open-faced bagels

After being generously plied with an excellent pork-roast lunch by friends in the afternoon, we had little energy or appetite for full-on evening dining, so splitting the one bowl of leftover fusion broth and topping up with an avo-tomato bagel half seemed just the ticket. He added another bagel half with Marmite and a slice of mature cheddar just to be sure late-nite hunger pangs would not interrupt a dreamy sleep.

HE SAYS: With ma belly half full this assortment of tastes managed to fill in the blanks of dinner with opposing flavas and textures. It was nice to have a second helping of the great soup from earlier this week and the avo and marmite bagel combo helped tip the balance of washing up vs. taste and satisfaction strongly in the latter's camp.

SHE SAYS: Just enough, and nourishing. I think I've said this before, but this soup is not the kind of thing that improves with a nite or two in the fridge - the flavours and consistency are too delicate to develop much. Still good, and with the highly-prized quality of being a heat-n-eat option. Plus, avocado on toast with a bit of salt has been my idea of perfect food since 1993 - and the addition of some rich cherry toms only gilds the lily.

12.09.08: Quorn and fresh tomato-veg sauce, and enchilidas mole

Just another flash in the pan: the lemon-pepper quorn escalope smothered with a fresh tomato and veg sauce, plus leftover sweetfire beetroot and spinach & watercress salad.

SHE SAYS: If you think Hers looks a little bland, well, your eyes don't lie. Despite application of white wine to pan, and a nice-looking veg medley, the typical quorn concoction was surprisingly ho-hum. Of course, the chicken-fried steak quality of the quorn still came thru, but its savoury influence was dimmed by the factor. Not the comfort food vibe I had in mind!

HE SAYS: Just down the block where I'm staying is this fantastic veggie restaurant, Mother's cafe and It was there that I indulged in the enchiladas mole. Consisting of lots of black bnz, Monterey Jack cheese and rich and savoury, gravy-like mole sauce smothering a corn tortilla, it was aided and abetted by brown rice and a generous scoop of fresh guacamole. The bnz were especially nish, creamy, a little spicy, rich and moist with good sauciness. It's hard eating by oneself but when you have food like this it helps distract you from the loneliness.

31.08.08: Lamb burgers in pitas with carrot fixin's, grilled broccoli and tomato-mozzarella salad

Going for the grill: We finally managed to bring Her favourite Saturday treat, the lamb 'hetties' from Twickenham Farmer's Market, back to the nest for home consumption. Hetties are burgers, made with a mix of herbs and exceptionally fresh lamb - like maybe two days in from pasture- and one stall at the market flips 'em fresh off the grill into white buns for instant enjoyment with apple or tomato chutney. We have no idea why they're called hetties, but we bought some patties, panfried them up, then tossed in the sliced, blanched broccoli for a few good stirs to soak up the flavour-flav.

A carrot salad, based on this recipe (but without the grain and seeds) stuffed in the toasty pita rounded out the action, with sultanas, mint, fresh coriander, orange juice and a plop of ho-made harissa (yes, it's back thanks to yesterday's double-team, double-batch sesh!). Tomato, mozzarella and pea shoot salad loosened up with some olive oil brought a softer touch to the plate.

SHE SAYS: The best sage-y, rosemaryish flavour comes thru in every mouthful of the ever-lovin' hettie. I was afraid maybe I didn't cook these enough as they were quite pinky inside despite a good while in the pan, but the ones at the market are fairly pinky too, and these were delish. They're so fresh I don't think a little underfrying would matter. Broccoli finally tenderised and absorbed a good bit of hettie flavour, and improved with a little lemon sprinkle. All other salads did their job of moistening and sweetening and palate cleansing...all good, but a little too much prep for Her liking on a Sunday eve.

HE SAYS: Very tasty lamb burgers with a fantastic citrusy carrot salad, yum. The broccoli added some fibre but also benefitted from being grilled in the pan juices, increasing their depth of flava and making them not too firm and dry. The moz salad created a light, fresh finale to another rainy and grey Sunday.

20.08.08: Quorn with fresh veg and tomato sauce

Despite at least one previous protest against making fresh tomato sauce, She did it again, adding a green pepper and aubergine for filler and finishing with shavings of parmesan reggiano. (It didn't seem such a task this time, not sure why.) Crisp quorn patties and a salad of carrot, fresh 'healthy living' mozz, physalis, and rocket didn't exacty play second filler either.

SHE SAYS: I enjoyed this probably more than I should - it was merely good, with contrasting crisp quorn coating and rather mushy veg, but the sweetness of the tomatoes and the treat of my fave fake chicken hit a little-kid note of appreciation in me. The 'healthy' mozz had surprisingly good stringy, pull-apart texture and mild milky flavour - better than I expected and a good foil for the tangy physalis.

HE SAYS: The homemade sauce once again delivered: I thought the aubergine was nish and tender, the tomatoes not too shweet and the green peeper still a little crunchy. Maybe I would've added a wee bit of vino into the mix but it still turned out tickling ma tastebuds good and plenty. The salad was another crunch fest, what with the carrot making a return after a short break. The moz was happy to see its new pal again but missed Ms Beetroot rotten.

06.08.08: Black bnz with moz and tomato salad

He whipped up yet another batch of those good ol' black bnz, this time with polenta and paired it off with a salad of tomatoes, avo, radishes and some moz for good measure.

HE SAYS: The bnz were up to scruff tonight and came thru on the herby and smoky front, a big bag of coriander was used to full effect, every stalk and leaf was rounded up and accounted for. I added some parmesan cheese to the grits just for kicks but the added flava was mostly hidden by the mound o' bnz. The salad was a hot and cool affair with the moz, avo and tomatoes providing the cooling quality and the radishes and wasabi lime dressing delivering the mustardy intense heat (which went straight up my nose and ignited my tear ducts). Thus, I proceeded to cry like a baby (tears of joy, people. Tears of joy).

SHE SAYS: The black bean reformation continues to deliver the down-homey yet fabulously fresh delight one needs to repair the damages of the day's living. Agree with Him that the parmesan indulgence was somewhat subdued, but added a note of richness nonetheless. Loving the wasabi dressing, but do think the v. subtle charm of fresh moz is overwhlemed by the shouty tongue-pleaser.

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.

24.07.08: Black bnz with red salad

He oversaw the construction of the regular herby black bean staple and completed the strawberry, beetroot and tomato salad to spec, deadline and budget.

HE SAYS: The beans this time lacked a little chipotle kick but made up for it in the extra herbalicious category (using the big bag of coriander to full effect). I was concerned the combo of crimson vegetation would clash, badly, but the salad was a red sea of sweet deliciousness, I shall never doubt the power of team strawbeeto again, I swear.

SHE SAYS: I can only concur. Fully, madly, truly, deeply.