I Wanted...I bought...I made

 Friday - Valentines Day! After an early screening of Her we shall come home to supper of grilled steak and salad and a glass of serious red wine. food of lurrrrve!
Breakfast was juice - beetroot, pepper, orange leftover from the fruit loaf, carrots and a pear then yoghurt and rhubarb for the man and a slice of fruit loaf and coffee for me. Win/win! 

Dearie me but it's wet out. Stroke of sensible genius I wore my shiny pink raincoat to the market - just easier than wrangling umbrellas and bags and stuff. Borough was quietish in the wet, started at Neals Yard for milk and yoghurt - £3.90 Then Ginger Pig for eggs and a most magnificent piece of steak - £13.60 Across the other side I bought chocolates from L'Artisan - £2.50 and wanted smoked salmon paté but Muirren only had smoked salmon, bought some £5 At the Comte stall I bought a tub of rillette - it was so good last week and saw they had Mont D'Or and I could not resist - £15.50 - so Saturday supper will be this bliss of a *bucket* of melted cheese At Gastronomica all the heart shaped cheese was goat's milk - the man no like goat's milk cheese - so I bought a sizeable hunk of truffled Pecorino and a Bosina - £14 Wandering over to find Bread Ahead I noticed Northfields had homemade pork scratchings - I can never resist - £1.50 A raisin loaf and a sourdough stick when I got to the bread stall - £5 Watercress and mushrooms from Paul Wheeler veg stall - £4.40 and a hot scotch egg for my lunch from Roast - £3 - £68.40 but well spent for a Valentine feasting weekend!

Dinner was indeed the food of lurrrve!

Saturday - toast I guess, the man is working, stir fried noodles for supper
Porridge, yes! for breakfast with lots of coffee but late, so the man didn't work - YES!
Went to the market at Oval for carrots, radish and fennel for salad later - £2.90
Went to visit the lovely Anna in her new place at Stratford - Westfield was BUSY with people wandering about but in fact not that many people inside the actual shops - had lovely cake and nespresso then a plate of nibbles - rillettes, olives, truffle cheese on our return. Dinner was very simple - smoked salmon with a crisp salad dressed with peanut butter miso and lime, gorgeous

Sunday - more toast, I guess, the man is working, pot roasted beef with mash and veg
Had cut the raisin bread in two and stuck it in the freezer so rescued one half and had that with butter and coffee and papers for a leisurely start. The man disappeared to the office. Bought a cabbage, carrots, beetroot and peppers at Brixton £2.40 Went to the Canton for Sunday lunch, mega busy so waited ages for a very fine porchetta, roast potatoes and buttered leeks  Dinner later was a snack plate of olives rillettes etc

Monday fish cakes and salad
Muesli breakfast
I bought pears from Nour Stores £1 and a couple of bread rolls from Di Lieto - 60p - for lunch with peanut butter, dinner was beef and mushroom cobbler with the top rib beef from the freezer from before Christmas topped with Pecorino and thyme scented cobbler served with steamed carrots and buttered cabbage

Tuesday lamb curry from the freezer with rice and vegetable side dishes
Carrot, ginger, pears, pepper and beetroot juice, muesli and coffee for breakfast, the man took a small tub of cobbler and veg for lunch, I went to Borough for milk - £1.70, clementines and carrots from Paul Wheeler - £1.40 and had salami - £2.80 - from Gastronomica - on a roll from the freezer for my lunch.

Had a couple of unhappy bananas that needed using so made indulgent muffins with chocolate and peanut butter - gave them to the man for the office so no temptation for me!

Dinner was a repeat of last night as that was very good indeed

Wednesday I'm out so the man shall have a treat, possibly soup from the freezer and nice bread
Juice for breakfast with muesli and coffee, the man had more cobblers for lunch and I had grilled sausages from Moen - £1.70 - what can I say it was bleak and I fancied something I didn't have. Also went to Sainsburys and bought misshape carrots, anya potatoes and butter £4.19 Who says supermarkets are cheap?
Was home in the evening so for dinner I made a gorgeous tortilla with spinach and potato and served it with carrot and fennel salad dressed with the rest of the miso/peanut thing from Saturday

Thursday lentils and greens topped with a poached egg
Had no beetroot for juice so made it with pears, celery, ginger, lemon, carrots and the sole remaining pepper - gorgeous flavour but the man hated the colour - too orange.

Said it looked like school pasta sauce!

Muesli and coffee was fine. Steamed potatoes and carrots for the last of the cobbler for the man's lunch and we are off for an adventure for dinner tonight to try the new Camberwell Arms, pub reopened with food guidance from the Canton - have heard great things!

Spent a lot this week - £87.19 -  though still have the Mont D'Or - Friday supper sorted!

Essentially followed no plan at all past Friday - ie DAY ONE for the food week! Partly as a result of the random shop - had thought we'd do more nibbling but having the smoked salmon was a good nudge to try the peanut miso salad dressing which was a richly decadent treat. Had suggested beef and mushrooms with mash to the man but he said Cobblers! and he was right. Worked v well with steamed veg for a few days and it took a large piece of meat out of the freezer - can't believe I still haven't got to the end of the freezer treasure...

The tortilla was a good idea and used up the other half of the original veg to make a really pretty salad

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

The only baking this week was my very first loaf of soda bread

Friday night we are out for birthday drinks and some fun. Went to Androuet in Spitalfields and it was very good indeed.

Saturday I think we might have takeaway Chinese for lunch for whatever reason! Decadently had another sit down meal - dim sum at Bright Courtyard after a decidedly unsuccessful attempt to buy a new duvet cover. I washed a pink shirt with the old - formerly white - duvet. Lunch was most fine, I had read about the restaurant in an article by Fuchsia Dunlop. Delighted to find a new place I'd never come across before, though Baker Street is not really a regular haunt.

Saturday night grilled pork chops - from the freezer - and lots of veg from the organics stall at Oval Market.

Sunday lunch at the Canton, gloriously fabulous porcetta in such enormous slices that we took the last of it home, though the man still managed a little cream topped chocolate pot. Mad a spinach pie for the evening - tentatively freezer related as I have some filo needs using. Bought more filo as well as spinach and spring onions in Brixton, feta and eggs from Borough, and a Spanish tomme from the new Lidl that's opened round the corner, which worked really well.

The spinach pie was a very fine dinner Sunday night but also great cold in lunchboxes with roasted peppers and fresh cucmber and lasted till Thursday quite happily.

Monday King Lear, started early so I made some roasted onions and peppers for serious sandwiches with the leftover porchetta and some fresh rocket. Felt underwhelmed by the production after expecting great things, didn't quite work.

Tuesday beef pot roast and mash - chinese takeaway and some good Cote du Rhone.

Wednesday I'm out so the man shall have a treat - was cancelled so we had salade nicoise by request of the man - bought lettuce in Brixton but otherwise had everything in, even some crusty bread in the freezer.

Thursday - soup and cheesy buns - actually soda bread that I made after being inspired by this week's perfect. Used yoghurt from the corner shop, not buttermilk as I couldn't find it anywhere. The rest of the stuff I had in the cupboard.

At the market I also bought coffee - sad to hear they currently have no Indonesian which I've been loving for the past few months - £13 for Costa Rican beans instead, bought Artisan chocolates for the lovely sister in law - £6,  eggs and one pork chop from Ginger Pig - £10 even, milk and half a St John fruit loaf from Neals Yard - they now stock very little St John bread so it was a real treat to snaffle even half a loaf for weekend breakfasts - £4.15. Also bought lots of veg from Brixton for the insatiable beast of a vegetable juicer - another £7 (approximate)

I Wanted ... I Bought ... I Made

Without doubt the achievement of the week - I actually cleaned out the whole freezer, discarded all those little unlabelled packages that seriously could be illegal body parts they were so random, chipped out the ice from the icetray water overspill and washed all drawers and shelves. My freezer is now a thing of beauty - to me at least - with a couple of  meals already to eat and a finite amount to use up before I revert to my old ways.

Next week may well be time to clear the pantry drawers. Or maybe not.

I have half a jar of piquillo peppers and they are the defining ingredient for Friday. I will get some chorizo from Brindisa and some rocket and ciabatta and we will have a home made version of the famed Brindisa chorizo roll for dinner. Yum.

We are away for the weekend, after hot porridge for breakfast! so I think a simple wild mushroom risotto - there is stock in the freezer and some shredded chicken will be a simple and welcome supper Sunday night. Weekend was lovely but couldn't be doing with the faff of cooking when we got back so a tin of French confit goose, sausage and beans was warmed in the oven with a sprinkle of panko crumbs for the full cassoulet experience. Most fine it was too!

Monday we are seeing Happy Days at the Young Vic.The man was under the weather so the tickets were returned and we attempted dinner at the Canton. Sadly the menu was a choice of chopped goat vindaloo or cauliflower cheese with cornichon. Disappointed we returned home for a quick pasta of rocket, chilli and pine nuts, not bad. 

Tuesday I think lamb curry with a tub of spiced stock from the freezer will be good with rice and ginger raita. I had made leek and potato soup from carcasses I made into stock which I then divvied up into tubs and stuck it in the freezer, thereby using more space than the original chicken bones.

But I think it is a sign of progress that I actually defrosted one and we had it Tuesday night, after salami and olives to start and cheese and crackers to round out the meal. Very fine.

 Wednesday oat 'risotto' with spinach and bacon - hock stock, bacon, freezer. Actually made a huge batch of lamb curry Tuesday and - again - put most of it into tubs for the freezer and cooked one lot with rice from the freezer alongside a cucumber raita and red onion sambal and it was divine.

Thursday cassoulet - from a tin in the cupboard we brought back from France last trip just to vary the freezer theme! This was Sunday's dinner so Thursday becomes not oat but pearled spelt *risotto* with spinach and bacon. and it was glorious

Shopping for the week started at Borough Friday with milk and yoghurt from Neals Yard was £3.95, chorizo from Brindisa at £11.90 is a lot but most of it is in - you guessed it the freezer!, Bought olives from Turkey - luscious kuru sele for £3 and chocolates and misshapes from Artisan a bargain at £5.50. £5 bought me a plain stick and a ciabatta from Bread Ahead - who are advertising for staff, not surprising really as the 2 guys they have currently seem to have a private competition going to see who can sell the least bread in a day. Two soft cheeses s gifts for the man's parents and some truffle mortadella with a spur of the moment purchase of a jar of basil also for the man's folks at Gastronomica was £13.50. Another cheese for us £5.50

Early in the new week a trip to Brixton Market got me diced lamb for curry - £16.90 but it will make 4 meals over the next month or two. Lots of fruit and veg for juicing, plus spinach for risotto, cucumber and onions for curry side dishes, rocket for pasta was another tenner. Not a bad week really but no eggs or coffee and not many lunches made either!

This Week I Wanted, I Bought, I Made

Feel I did okay on the starting to use stuff whilst actually still having some new and interesting food last week, though many things didn't quite materialise. Undeterred I have a plan for the week, actually using some of the leftover plan from last week!

Friday night I think cold collation with little olive choux buns. Ha! How about cold collation with fresh crusty bread from the market? Was good but the bread was much better as toast next morning.

Saturday the man is working so will continue the freezer theme and have pheasant braised with celery and mash for a tasty end to his day. Really good dinner, the pheasant sauce is finished with cream - from the freezer - and egg yolk for a sumptuous sauce. 

Potatoes are heritage ones from Oval market, and purply blue all the way through. Looked *interesting* tasted great. Sunday I really fancy lasagne - I have a tub of white sauce, a block of Pecorino and some beef mince in the freezer and tomatoes and pasta in the cupboard. Served with a big green salad, think it will be lovely for lunches too.

Thoroughly yum.

Monday I fancy soup, probably broccoli and sesame which I've been wondering about for a little while. This is where it started to fall apart - managed to develop a full on head cold that somehow is not going anywhere. So, luckily, there was lasagne already made, and a fine tea it was.




Tuesday omelette and salad, went for the blackeye bean salsa - so glad I did, it was really good - with roasted onion and green bean salad and some tasty Ginger Pig sausages.

Wednesday I'll use the tub of spiced lamb stock from the freezer to make curry with rice and spinach raita. Met up with the lovely niece of the man for a fine dinner at A Wong - go there if you can. Thursday I'm out so the man can have more curry, it's a good one to eat again. Still feeling bleeeuuugh! so soup it is, rocket and potato from a lovely recipe by Anna del Conte.

Went to Borough with a reasonably short list of things to buy. Only needed eggs from Ginger Pig, at £1.50 it's the least I have ever spent there! Milk @ £1.55 from Neals Yard, another lowest spend I think. Gastronomica has reorganised the layout - sort of easier to find lovely things - so bought Napoli salami and it was simply wonderful, when the man and I first met we used to have Napoli sandwiches on Saturday for lunch and the first mouthful reminded me so much of that happy time. Also bought some coppa, and a big slice of a cow/goat/sheep milk mix from a large round, made by the same producers who make the gorgeous rocchetta and La Tur. Cost £13 all together. Then to find bread - there is a newish baker that is actually based in the market and they sell from a stall Thursday - Saturday. Bought a big white tin loaf that was slightly disappointing fresh but seriously good toasted. £3, not a bad price. Went to the parma ham and mozzarella shop and they now sell a couple of other hams as well so had 100g of a cooked ham with fresh herbs, lovely in a sandwich for lunch £4. Finished the shop with rocket, sugarsnaps and celery from the fruit stall at the front that is neither Chegworths or Ted's Veg but is very good, and supplied by Tony Booth, a recommendation, surely. Was £3 though wish it was more versatile.

Great packaging, no?

Through the week bought more milk and needed onions and garlic, sausages for Tuesday night, green beans and veg to juice.

This Week... I Wanted, I Bought, I Made

And truth be told probably found it in the freezer or the drawer in need of using up. New Year, isn't it, and I really do need to clear the stockpile of  lovely bits and pieces, so for the next month at least they are my starting point. I am determined to be good.

So, Friday we shall have grilled pork chops (freezer) with mash and carrots and peas, a meal I really lovely for its simplicity and how gorgeous it is on the plate and in my mouth. Already this plan has gone to pot! Woke early with jetlag and changed my mind to Viet beef and noodles for Friday supper. Went to the market and Ginger Pig had sirloin on the bone for £8 each - as I asked for a slice of rump for noodles they offered me these instead - with the offer of cutting me rump if I really wanted some. Didn't! So I had nothing for dinner - remembered bacon and peas in the freezer so it was pasta - using tiny little ditali from the cupboard so very quick - with bacon, onions and peas with a little creme fraiche.

Saturday we may start the day with porridge as the man and I have been to Oz where the sun shines practically daily so our blood is warm and our bodies are surprised to find themselves back in the dark dank winter chill of  London. Off to Suffolk for the weekend, there was a change of plans so breakfast was toast from a loaf from the freezer and dinner will be the fabulous steaks with a simple salad. Still thinking dal - lentils in the cupboard - and rice with roasted spiced cauliflower when we get back Sunday night, as it's an easy thing to put together and works a treat cold for lunch. Even without going away it was a good idea, specially with the pretty purple rimmed  heritage carrots in lunchboxes.

Monday we're at the Royal Court to see the Beckett trilogy, so dinner out somewhere. Tuesday we shall have a Vietnamese style vegetable curry - I have tofu sheets in the cupboard and an open book on fresh veg as the fridge is post holiday bare. Actually had a little of the steak left from Saturday so made Viet herbed noodles topped with stir fried steak and it was gorgeous. I really enjoyed making this salad, actually called bun in Vietnam which I do find slightly confusing. The salad is a mix of shredded lettuce with sprouts and cucumber and herbs that goes into the bottom of the bowls undressed - no jokes please about naked buns!. The cooked fine rice noodles go on top and then the stirfried meat goes in on top of  that. I made a couple of little bowls of condiments which is what really made the meal - spring onion oil, toasted crushed peanuts and a bowl of nuoc cham, a hot/sweet/sour chilli sauce. Once all three were added you toss the whole lot together and it was amazing. Also made me realise what I should have been doing in Vietnamese restaurants when I've always felt slightly disappointed to be presented with this.

Wednesday omelette with black eye bean salsa - got a bag of beans already cooked and frozen. Bun was so good last night defrosted a chicken breast and cooked it with ginger and lemon grass and made the noodles again to use up the herbs and beansprouts I'd bought for last night, 

 Thursday I really fancy spaghetti with a simple tomato sauce with lots of Parmesan and a big salad. Instead it is vegetable curry to use the other half of the cauliflower and the last of the beansprouts and a tin of coconut milk from the cupboard.

At the market I bought coffee from Monmouth - £12.50 then went to Ginger Pig and bought the steaks and some eggs - £17.50. At L'Artisan du Chocolat I bought a bag of misshapes for the man £2.50 and, after asking a guide where to find them bought olives from the recently moved Fresh Olive stand £3.50. At Gastronomica I bought a lovely piece of Pecorino £9.20 - while I was being served a woman came and asked to try the provolone, I was amazed to see her simply stuff it in her mouth as she walked away without so much as a thank you. Milk and yoghurt at Neals Yard - £5.05 and I was done, except for the hot chorizo roll from Brindisa - a delight at £4.95

Bought more in the week, creme fraiche for the pasta at the Lidl newly opened round the corner. Lettuce and carrots from Oval farmers market, and cauliflower from Brixton farmers market as well as spinach and coriander, cucumber, lemons and limes, passionfruit, clementines, ginger, chillies, lemongrass, beansprouts and Thai basil from Brixton market.

Thursday I got a new vegetable juicer, possibly a mad notion given how difficult it is to buy decent veg but I've been hankering for juice lately. So went to Brixton again and bought beetroot, carrots, peppers, apples and more ginger, theplan being to have juice every evening when the man returns from hunting and gathering instead of beer. We'll see how that goes!

I made as well a chocolate mud cake from a recipe in the Graun only because, you understand, I had salted butter and lots of chocolate in the fridge. I used passionfruit instead of limes and it was gorgeous to eat and a big hit when the man took it into work. Think he may regret sharing so generously.

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

After last week's setbacks, this week might still need to be a little gentle. Friday a little fish a cold collation of lovely things from Borough, Saturday the pork chops with the braised fennel from last week lamb chops with new potatoes, Sunday ham and eggs potato salad not eggs! Monday chicory roasted with cream and pancetta ham and salad as the man was now very ill and giving me a lot of retrospective sympathy for my flu last week, with salad obv! Tuesday lamb casserole ma po tofu and rice v spicy v nice, Wednesday tofu and greens steamed eggs and steamed peppers, more rice, Thursday aubergine and something fennel and pasta bake!

At Borough I bought a piece of smoked gammon and some lamb neck chops at the Ginger Pig - £28.30

Milk, yoghurt and bread at Neals Yard - £9.70

Melon and new potatoes from the organic veg stall £4.70

A hard unpasteurised sheep/goat cheese and a robiola that was not a rocchetta but rather a soft creamy cheese from Gastronomica - £12

Peppers from the veg stall out the back - £1

Smoked bass from the Sussex fish stall - £3

Olives from Borough Olives - green ones with tarragon and kalalmata's - £5.60

Eggs from Lizzie at Wild Beef who is off on holidays this week - £3.70

Strawberries from Tony - £2.50

Spent £70.50

Am off to France for a week. Normal service will resume after that!

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

Chicken roasted with peppers

Friday I think will be fishcakes that we didn't have last week - a couple of fillets of salmon simply fried with a lemon sauce and shallow fried potatoes. Saturday I think some asparagus in one form or another lasagne, Sunday drunken chicken and spicy noodles chicken roasted with peppers and chorizo after a day out beekeeping.

But then I got hit with the flu that is currently doing London - boufff!

Monday tofu and greens I struggled to make tuna salad, Tuesday lamb stew but a delicate thing - the man made omelette and salad! Wednesday steamed pork and eggs - lentils with a poached egg and yes I had eggs, Thursday curry - a good generalised idea! It will be noodles as I finally feel a little better.

At Borough I started at Neals Yard for milk, bread and yoghurt - £10.40

Then a chicken and some pork chops from Ginger Pig as they had no neck chops but have promised me some this week - £22.65

Salmon from Furness - £6.70

Asparagus from Organics - £6

Lovely fat green olives from Borough Olives - £2.80

Chorizo from Brindisa - £9.70

Eggs from Wild Beef - £3.40

And Chegworth now have their own shop, a cut out bit left over from where Elsey and Bent were next to the Brindisa bar, it's nice, and they will be trading Monday to Saturday. I bought strawberries and cucumber - £4

I have discovered Solstice at Greensmiths down on the Cut near Waterloo, bought some good veg from them, potatoes and fennel and a lovely melon - £6.10 - am wondering if it is a good option now for most of my weekly veg

Spent £71.75

But no recipe post this week but more next week as I am on the way to recovery!

I wanted..I bought...I made

A quick list on the back of an envelope, transferred here later. Friday mussels pizza muffins as the carb content of a cold collation on a wet and stormy night, Saturday the lovely Vicki is celebrating her birthday and we are all out to dinner at the Canton Arms. Sunday burgers and salad slow roasted ham hock with onions and steamed potatoes. Monday turkey noodles. Tuesday steamed eggs and peppers, Wednesday we are at the theatre and Thursday there will be fishcakes with sorrel sauce as I have been reading about fishcakes and wondering about sorrel sauce as I have a pot in the garden burgers and rice salad as I have a recipe for salad I'm wondering about!.

Friday afternoon was wet and cold and horrible at Borough. I started at Neals Yard and bought milk and yoghurt, and a st john stick £10.65

Then coffee from Monmouth - £12 - coffee prices are rising

From Harriet's organics I bought garlic, carrots, potatoes, radish and a beautifully scented melon for £8.90

A fennel from Turnips - £1.30

Strawberries and lettuce from Chegworth - £4

Cheese from Gastronomica - a soft cow and a hard sheep - £10.80 and later in the week some braesola £4.50 for a sandwich before the theatre

Eggs from Wild Beef - £3.40

Tomatoes from Isle of Wight - £3.50 - wildly expensive but so very good

Black and green olives from Vahid plus some sundried tomatoes for muffins - £8.60

That was all £76.15 - a lot in a week without buying fresh meat

Bought other things too - cabbage and bananas round the corner, and butter, chocolate and cherries to make a cherry ripe cake to celebrate Vicki's birthday

For anyone interested in what's going on with traders and trustees at the market this is a good round up Turns out the building that the trustees have agreed to be built by Network Rail for the new market front is all glass, and so unsuitable for fresh produce. Odd, at the very least.

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

We have not much on this weekend, but I already have a sweet smelling canteloupe from the local Portugese bakery and can think of nothing better than some ham and cheese to go with it for a simple Friday dinner. Saturday asparagus lasagne couldn't wait, had to have the roast beef with - simply - chips and watercress for a most divine dinner, Sunday beef made pizza muffins and salad to share with David after a pint at the pub. Monday noodle salad pork and noodles soup, Tuesday steamed pork and eggs omelette with steamed aubergine salad as well as fennel and radish salad for crunch, Wednesday we are off to see John Cooper Clark at Meltdown, Thursday a little tomato pasta. I know I definitely need garlic and coffee, and will go early to get me some bread!

Was at the market by 11 - not bad! Started at Neals Yard and they did still have bread! Bought a lovely white sourdough as well as milk and a couple of tubs of yoghurt - £11.20

Coffee from Monmouth - £11.50

Then to Ginger Pig for a forerib of beef, expensive but a truly remarkable piece of meat. John cut me a thick piece of richly marbled meat and chined the bone for easy carving. A beautiful thing! Also got some chicken carcasses to make more stock - £23

Then to Harriet's organic stall for carrots, potato - one enormous one to go with the beef! cucumber and a couple of heads of garlic - £4.80

From Turnips I bought fennel and breakfast radishes - £3.80

Bought some butter from the french dairy stall, the kind with big flakes of salt in a rich and creamy butter - £2.70

At Chegworth I could not resist the divine scent of the strawberries, 2 punnets for £3

Parma ham from the parma ham and cheese company - £4.90

Tomatoes from the Isle of White, they are very good at the moment - £3.60

Eggs from Wild Beef - £3.40

Tarragon olives from Borough Olives, an old favourite - £2.80

And then, just as I was finishing, the skies turned black and lightning rent the sky. Rain came down like a solid wall, just running across the road for the bus had me drenched. Squelched home having spent £74.70

Went out later to retrieve the umbrella I had very cleverly left the previous day in a cafe in Pimlico and bought watercress from the veg stall there and cheese from Rippon Cheese, a really interesting shop. Also bought peppers and aubergine and a bunch of basil locally.

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

Really fancy making a raw mackerel tartare that I learnt to make the other day at a Total day out for a fishy Friday but there was none as the seas had been too rough so I crumbed and fried whiting and had it with jersey royals and salad, definitely asparagus for Saturday simply roasted with steamed potatoes and more salad, Sunday I would like spicy pork with rice and greens big fat pizza muffins after a fabulous lunch at Gastronomica, Monday I'm thinking noodles spicy pork rice and greens, Tuesday perhaps burgers and salad lamb burgers with the fabulous roast vegetable cous cous pictured above, Wednesday omelette with jersey royals the man was out so I made lamb burgers again only better with grated ginger, garlic and chilli and a salad of tiny greens from my garden.The joy of spring. Thursday I'm hoping for dinner out. Disappointed in that - the man is out (again!) so I'm planning pork chop soup which I love.

Borough was fairly tense Friday, a lot of the small traders are really concerned with what's happening with evictions and developments. Flour Power have now been given 30 days notice to quit for being too big?!

John was cheery as ever at the Ginger Pig though, and happily diced me some pork and I added lamb mince for burgers for a cheap total of £12.20

Then to Neals Yard for milk and bread - they now sell St John bread and it is endlessly wonderful - and yoghurt - £9.80

Coffee from Monmouth - £13

Veg from the organic stall - asparagus, a new kind of lettuce which I forget the name of but looks a bit like oak leaf, and some lovely garlic - £8.20

Needed Parmesan from Gastronomica so bought a small sheep/goat cheese as well - £16

Over to the Sussex fish stall to find the seas had been so rough Thursday they had no mackerel - so much for plans! Bought a couple of whiting which the monger kindly filleted for me - a bargain at £2

Eggs from Wild Beef - gone up 20p a dozen as the price of wheat continues upwards - £3.20 but still great value for lovely eggs

Sundried tomatoes from Borough Olives, a while since I shopped there and was served by a delightfully cheerful young woman - £1.90

Lastly olives from Turkey for a change - love their semi dried kuru sele, oily and salty and wonderful - £3

Spent £69.30 in total

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

Fried rice from last weekend - liked the textured colour in this picture

Thinking fish for Saturday a brilliant rendering of a mushroom and spinach sauce to go with cod and new potatoes, lamb roasted for Sunday with an interesting chick pea and sweet potato salad amongst others, and hope to be out Monday home and cold and wet so venison stew from the freezer with mash and peas to bring us cheer. Tuesday will be spring pasta, Wednesday might be venison stew from the freezer kofta from the freezer with a dry curry of aubergine and onion that was a revelation, Thursday we are definitely out and Friday is the start of our holiday. YAY!

Sunny and not very busy - my favourite way to be at Borough. Started at Ginger Pig where John was cheerful to be working in sunshine. Baought a shoulder of lamb - which he kindly cut in half for me - £15

Then to Monmouth for Colombian beans - £12.50

Just milk and yoghurt and bread from Neals Yard - £7.25

Fancied fish - and the Sussex fish stall is slowly building a following with their fabulous fresh catch - bought a whole cod that the monger kindly filleted for me, and having tried a sample of his own smoked bass couldn't resist some of that too - £8

Eggs from a well holidayed Lizzie as well as a pack of beef sausages - £6.44

Couldn't resist a small tub of olives from Fresh Olive - was thinking my usual melange but tasted a few different ones and bought a mixed tub of creamy little green ones and quite small sharp black ones for a change - £3

Home on the bus - spent £52.19 - but veg and things to get