Mother's Day

It was Mother's Day on Sunday. Unfortunately I couldn't go home seeing as I work full time these days, but as my girlfriends mum lives quite close we made dinner for the family. We had mozzarella and tomato puff pastry tarts to start. For main we had duck breast, with a blackcurrant and red wine reduction, celeriac and potato dauphinoise, braised red cabbage and asparagus. And for dessert we had tiramisu. It was really lovely and we were really pleased with how it all turned out. 

Lamb Tagine

Lamb & Aubergine and Red Pepper Tagine, Moroccan Cous Cous, Chunky cucumber, tomato, red onion and mint salad, Pitta Breads and Yoghurt.

Courgette & Feta Pasta.

Gino D'Acampo courgette, feta and balsamic pasta with salad. 

Recipe can be found at http://ftb.coinsdata.co.uk/home-maker/first-home,-first-meal/fusilli-con-zucchini-alla-scapece

Roast Belly of Pork

Roast belly of Pork with Fennel Seeds on a bed of root vegetables, herbs and garlic.

Roast belly of Pork, roast potatoes, glazed carrots, creamed leeks, celeriac, parsnips and cabbage.

The Punch Bowl Inn and The Daffodil Hotel

For her birthday I surprised the girlfriend, by taking her away for a night The Daffodil Hotel in Grasmere. The hotel was really nice, the bed was huge and the views were lovely. Grasmere also seemed like a really lovely place, with some really quaint shops and restaurants. Unfortunately we were only there for one night, but we would definitely go back to the area.

We didn't eat at the hotel (we had a sandwich in the bar, which was nice) as we had been to The Punch Bowl Inn for a celebratory lunch. The food was lovely, I had butternut squash soup to start, followed by the duck; and the girlfriend had black pudding to start, and the same main course. It was a really lovely place. Cosy and quaint, and the food was really tasty. Below are a couple of pictures of our starters.

So, we have had a lovely couple of days and a really nice birthday weekend. It has certainly helped to blow away those January blues. The only problem is that now, I just want to go on holiday again!

January Blues

It's 2014. And we have that January feeling. Trying to lose the Christmas weight and a bit more. It's the girlfriend's birthday on Friday though and we are going out for lunch, so that will be a nice excuse for a feast. Going to try and keep the blog a bit better this year. One of my many New Years resolutions. I've decided to try and use it as my online recipe book, because it's too upsetting when recipes disappear from the internet (ahem BBC).

Tarragon Chicken

Roasted chicken breast with the skin on, sweet potato wedges, salad and tarragon salsa verde. 

Nigella Lawson recipe, more info in the recipe section.