I am full of cold, which explains both the lateness of this post, and the freezer-heavy, carb-heavy meals this week. I had been putting the sneezing down to hayfever, but then E started sniffling too, and I added a headache, and now it seems more like a cold or flu. Add all that to a new dishwasher delivery, and consequently, a kitchen in disarray, and the meals for the last few days have been particularly low-effort.

In the good patches this week, I have been doing some planning for E’s second birthday party, now only a week away. She is starting to have a bit more of an idea what this involves, but is still far from being able to demand anything in particular, which is a very happy place to be. I have already made two layers of sponge for her birthday cake (with a bit of toddler ‘help’), as well as cheese scones and some cream cheese pastry for the tea to go with it. To be honest, as long as there is cake, balloons and raspberries, she will think it’s the best day ever anyway. It’s important to keep perspective!

Recipes:

• Roast chicken over rice with cinnamon – Five O’Clock Apron (excellent, and made brilliant fried rice from the leftovers)
• Great-grandma Turano’s Meatballs (with rice and tomato sauce)
• Buttermilk birthday cake – Nigella ‘Feast’
• Wholewheat cheese scones – Delia’s Complete Cookery Course
• Cream cheese pastry – Delicious magazine April issue
  • all stashed in the freezer for next weekend

Without a recipe:

• Beef stew from the freezer, with potatoes and broccoli
• Fish tacos
• M&S fresh pasta with parmesan
• Tesco pizza
• Rhubarb fool
• Fried rice with chicken, egg and vegetables

Reading:

• How Deb Perelman (aka Smitten Kitchen) organises her kitchen cupboards
• Heidi makes a bold claim: the best pizza dough ever (really want to try this one out)
• 40 years ago, a randomized study tested a low-saturated fat diet to reduce cholesterol. And those on the diet died earlier than those who weren’t on it.
• Food52 tries to track down the origins of one of its most pinned recipes – Crockpot Brown Sugar Balsamic Glazed Pork Tenderloin. This is really interesting: this recipe ‘went viral’, mostly from having a good name, and a good photo, it seems.