I wanted...I bought...I made

Thinking steak and salad Saturday night - not sure why I'm needing a treat. Treat turned out to be cold collation which was brilliant but, having paid vast amounts of money for the ham from Brindisa I should definitely have served it entirely alone, putting it on a platter with other things dimmed its magnificence a little. When I've saved up enough for there to be a next time, I shall remember this lesson.Fortunately don't need an excuse! Sunday I think roast pork from the shoulder I put in the freezer a couple of weeks ago, with salads warm indeed so we had the pork with beetroot and barley salad and swede and butternut roasted with ginger and chillies and crisp greens from the garden perhaps if the warm weather continues. Monday salad would be good fab warm spinach and bacon, Tuesday I have a spring pasta bake that I'd like to try had the ingredients but went with pork chop noodle soup, lighter in the heatwave!, Wednesday noodle soup out for dinner with friend from Hong Kong, Thursday I will try again for tortilla out again for a slightly odd evening talk at the Barbican then quick dinner after at the Happy Siagon and Friday is too far away and now it's here and I'm planning an omelette with leeks and bread and salad.

Saturday was sunny and bright and so were we. But I faffed about watering pots and putting washing on before we set off for Borough and by the time we got there it was already busy and was more so by the time we left. Told the man about the plan for steak and he said cold collation! So at Ginger Pig - where they have finally given up the struggle to get their punters to queue neatly on one side and are now serving at the outside counter with chicken and the other meat inside - I just bought a couple of pork chops that became noodle soup Tuesday night - £5.27.

Then to Booths for bananas smoothies, leeks omelette Friday, courgette, broccoli meant for my pasta bake but it didn't happen but should be okay till early next week, garlic, carrots, tomatoes lunchboxes - which were £6.50 a kilo this week after being £4.50 last week - a swede roasted for salad, mushrooms, red onion for the salad Monday night and sugarsnaps - £8.20

At Brindisa we sampled all the dried hams they sell - as the man sliced a piece from each one he explained the provenance and diet of the pig they came from. All of them were very good but the stand out one was the Iberico at an astounding £16.50 per 100g. I'm not about to start buying it every week, or indeed month, but as a total treat I decided that was to be my choice for the cold collation and the man agreed. The process works differently to the other stalls, I had to give my name to the man who slices the meat and was told to pay at the cash register and come back after ten minutes or so and then it would be ready. I did all of that and meanwhile bought a chorizo which is still in the fridge -£21.50

Lizzie was advertising ox cheek at the Wild Beef stall, she showed me a piece which was surprisingly fatty and she said though it was fashionable she preferred skirt. I oculd see why but with a bit of summer here for now any slow cooking seems daft so I bought some eggs - £1.50

From Gastronomica I needed a piece of Parmesan and wanted a piece of Pecorino - sampled a couple, one which was sweet with the flowers in the fields where the sheep grazed and one that was younger and chalkier from spring grasses, chose the floral for a change - £12

Bought some chocolates for Sam for birthday and Stavroula to congratulate her on a new job - £4

Then I realised I needed ricotta too for the pasta dish that hasn't yet happened but I found you can freeze it so will make the pasta next week so went to the other Gastronomica and got what I needed £6

Sweet smelling strawberries for the man to make smoothies from Chegworth - 2 punnets £2.50

Olives from the Fresh Olive stall to snack on over the weekend - £3.50

A pork pie Saturday lunch for a change from Mrs King - £5

Bread, milk and yoghurt from Neals Yard - £6.20

And a cottage loaf and a brownie from Flour Power - £3.10

So a hefty £78.77 - lucky we had a spare roast in the freezer!