Farfalle with Savoy and Pumpkin

Another wonderful vegetable that is coming into season is the Savoy cabbage. Not the sad pale white cabbage that falls to sock-smelling pieces as soon as it is cooked, but the delicious bouncy dark leaves that can be plunged into boiling water, or quickly fried, and still retain their savoury bite and nutty aroma. It also lasts forever, even out of the fridge... and it takes a long time to eat a whole head! Tonight's recipe was borrowed from Jamie Oliver, and then edited by the SO into his own version.

Ingredients:

• a quarter of a pumpkin
• a few rashers of bacon
• 1 clove of garlic
• a handful of thyme, leaves stripped
• 5-6 large leaves of Savoy cabbage
• 250g farfalle or other pasta
• a big chunk of Parmesan

Cube the pumpkin and roast for 30-40 minutes, until soft and golden. Shred the cabbage into fine strips. Slice the bacon thinly and fry for a few minutes until cooked; add the garlic and thyme, cook for a further minute, then add the shredded cabbage; cover and cook for five minutes, shaking or stirring every so often to prevent it sticking. Meanwhile, cook the pasta according to its instructions, or until al dente. When the cabbage is tender (but not overcooked!) and the pasta is done, drain the latter and serve topped with the former, the pumpkin, grated Parmesan, black pepper and (as Jamie would have it) a glug of very nice olive oil.

Roast Chicken and Oranges

Oranges are coming back into season, which is wonderful as they're simply delicious here. We're still eating the chicken - we don't eat a lot of meat in each meal! With a little blanched, shredded Savoy, and a generous serving of tiny roast potatoes, a wing and a thigh each are just right.

Telecon Tuna

Tuesday night is telecon night; in summer I have time to cook as Cambridge aren't on daylight savings, but in winter the call starts soon after I get home, so usually super-Man does the cooking. This time he stir-fried some Chinese vegetables with ginger, garlic, soy sauce and sesame seeds, prepared some fragrant Thai rice, and topped the lot with a perfectly-seared tuna steak. I had to mute the microphone to enjoy this properly :)

Chicken Soup

Slowly on the mend from the bad belly - Zumba was very hard work with my stomach complaining and cramping for half the class. What better to soothe it than a homely chicken soup?

French-ish Salad

Back from Bangalore with a bad belly >.< Luckily my wonderful husband knows that after a long trip, all I want is vegetables and water; this French-ish salad and a little pumpkin scone were delightful!

Pasta with Tomatoes and Butternut Squash

This is a huge fallback recipe for us - in fact for my whole family. The basic flavours are all there: tomatoes - sharp, squash - sweet, bacon - umami, Parmesan - salt, and herbs for depth and I guess any bitterness that one might want in food! It's really easy to put together, especially if you have leftover sausages and/or roast butternut squash or pumpkin lying around in the fridge, as we frequently do. But I'll give the recipe 'from scratch' assuming no shortcuts.

Ingredients:

• one small, or half of a large butternut squash, or equivalent amount of tasty eating pumpkin
• a good handful of fresh rosemary or oregano, cleaned and chopped (or 1-2 tsp dried)
• a couple of sausages, or 5-6 rashers of bacon
• four ripe tomatoes, or a tin of chopped tomatoes
• five cloves of garlic
• a chunk of Parmesan cheese

Cube the butternut squash, and if you have time, roast it in a 180C oven for 40 minutes tossed in the herbs and a little vegetable oil, until golden and singed at the edges. If you don't have time, just cube it and toss with the herbs. Grill or fry the sausages or bacon until cooked, then cut into bite-size pieces.

Chop the tomatoes (remove the skins first if you're picky). Heat a little olive oil in a large frying pan and crush in the garlic; fry over a low heat for 30-50 seconds until golden and fragrant. Add the chopped tomatoes and stir. If you didn't roast the butternut squash, add it now, and simmer for 5-10 minutes until the tomatoes have softened and reduced into a sauce. This is also a good time to cook your pasta.

When the sauce is cooked, add the cooked sausages or bacon, and roasted butternut squash if you didn't add it earlier. Warm through, and serve over drained pasta, which you can toss with a little pesto or crème fraîche if you like.

Crepes

A wonderful way to start the weekend - although taking the time to make them after Zumba and a shower was an exercise in patience! I used to use Delia's recipe but nowadays I just chuck a load of ingredients in a bowl and whisk them all together at once, then thin it out with water as needed. Ingredients being: three eggs, about 3/4 cup of flour, about the same again in milk, a tbsp ish of vegetable oil, a tsp of sugar and a pinch of salt. Toppings are more important! My favourite combinations are:

• Peanut butter and banana slices
• plain white sugar and lemon juice
• maple syrup and crème fraîche

And I had a cup of tea while making them. YUM.