Cook 43 new dishes

With a bit of willpower, I’m back into the home-cooking habit. This week, I’ve tried a couple of new classic dishes that I’ve never cooked before – an aubergine parmigiana from Hugh Fearnley-Whittingstall’s Everyday Veg (delicious!) and a perfect macaroni cheese (courtesy of the Guardian).Aiming to whip up a lentil dhal tomorrow.

For some reason, vegetables are really doing it for me at the moment. Can’t wait for the asparagus season.

I’ll be the first to admit that I’ve been pretty rubbish at this goal. I love cooking, but like art class, it’s a bit further down the pecking order in terms of priorities. Last year, I ended up buying a lot healthy-ish ready meals (soup, fishcakes, curries, stir fries), rather than cooking from scratch, which wasn’t great.

I did manage to try out some new tapas dishes for NYE though. Chilli-fried prawns, deep-fried manchego cheese, courgette fritters & broad beans with serrano ham. Tonight, I’m having a go at pork brochettes, aubergine dip and paprika-spiced almonds.

Not sure where I want to go with this goal for 2012. Ideally, I’d like to batch-make meals for the week, but it depends on time. One thing is for sure though, I will continue to buy seasonally and locally where possible. I’ll also keep on checking the labels for low salt and fat. Hoping for a fresher eating year.

I’ve not had a lot of time to cook recently, but I have managed to try out a few new recipes. First, from Jamie Oliver’s 30 Minute Meals – Trapani-Style Rigatoni and Moroccan Lamb Chops. Wasn’t mad about the rigatoni, but loved the chops, especially as they were served with cheese-filled peppers and harissa-swirled humous.

Last night we sampled Delia Smith’s Cheddar-crusted smoked haddock with Jersey Royals and creme fraiche sauce. This was v.tasty, but a little too high on the dairy for us. One for special occasions only.

Today, I’m cooking up a spring-style roast. Garlic and lemon chicken, served with new potatoes, spinach, pea shoots and asparagus (if I can be bothered to go to the shops). A’s rustling up a rhubarb crumble.

A surprised me with a copy of Jamie’s 30 Minute Meals today. I know that Jamie gets a lot of stick, but I’ve really enjoyed the recipes from this show. The ingredient lists are also manageable – the lengthy prep has put me off Jamie Oliver dishes in the past. Can’t wait to get cracking with this when I return from the hike.

Made the Heston Blumenthal’s Waitrose recipe tonight for dinner. It was unbelievably easy to make and extremely delicious. I baked potato wedges to accompany this as a main meal, but it’s probably better as a substantial starter.

no warning, no planning, but I’ve been trying out a fair amount of new dishes this year and they’ve been great so far. Honourable mentions go out to Jamie Oliver’s garlic ciabatta bread and spaghetti alla puttanesca. Ottolenghi’s roast potatoes and jerusalem artichokes with lemon and sage. Tonight I’m trying Delia’s Hung Shao pork with fragrant rice and steamed green vegetables. Hoping that this weekend trend continues throughout 2011 and beyond.