My culinary adventures continue! Thanks to Ma Snook’s generous birthday gift of a delicious subscription, I always have lots of food pr0n inspiration lying around. Tonight I made Belinda Jefferey’s “Rotolo,” which (as she herself admits) is really just a glorified chicken meatloaf. It starts with chicken mince, to which you then add tiny cubes of salami, an onion, fresh thyme and parsley, garlic, two types of mustard, and grated parmesan. Then comes the fun part – mushing all that up with your hands. Next you’re supposed to add a beaten egg, milk, and breadcrumbs, but I switched to cream and no breadcrumbs (to keep it low-carb). The mixture is spread out on a piece of baking paper and then layered with mint, ham, and smoked cheese. The whole thing is rolled up (like a jelly roll) and then covered in bacon. (How many animals are we up to yet?) Then it gets baked in the oven. YUM. I was absolutely thrilled when I saw how closely mine resembled the picture in the magazine! It was pretty darn tasty too, and very filling. We’ll be having the leftovers tomorrow…

When I stayed with my sister in LA last month, I was very inspired by the Mom-like way she planned out the menus for the week and then did one big shop for just what she needed. I know; it’s not like this is a hugely novel idea. But we’re lazy and we never plan, and I’d always end up coming home and surfing through recipes fruitlessly while bingeing on whatever was in the fridge. And unless the Snook felt like cooking something, we’d end up eating out or having takeaway and feeling useless. Well, not any longer! I’m proud to report that we’ve instituted a new plan and managed to stick to it for over a week. I’m responsible for Monday to Thursday, and the Snook handles the weekend. Last week I made turkey stew, burritos, veal steaks and veg, and moussaka, while the Snook went with burgers, fish fillets and veg, and shepherd’s pie. Which brings it ’round to me again… and I decided to step it up a notch: Curried Mussel Soup from Ainsley Harriott. Okay, firstly I chose it because the Snook hates Ainsley. He just really gets on his nerves. And I think that’s funny. Secondly, I’m still working on my seafood phobia, and I figure that knowing how to cook it can only help. So I stopped in at the DJ’s Food Hall after work for a kilo of cleaned, de-bearded mussels. The soup itself is really easy to make and it’s super low-carb, which was a bonus. I steamed the mussels in white wine until they opened, and then drained and shelled them (reserving the liquid in the pot). The soup had lots of aromatics: shallot (I had to use red onion), fresh ginger, chili, and garlic. We had some lovely saffron from Herbies in there as well. In the end, I managed to eat about half my bowl. I’ve gotten to the point now where it isn’t the taste of the seafood I object to. I mean, this tasted good! But mentally, I still have a block when it comes to eating slippery, scary-looking sea bugs. It’s like I can feel them churning in my stomach. No matter though; the Snook was happy to polish off my share as well as his own. I figure it’s just a matter of time and repetition until I can join him.