This week has been patched together, bits and leftover pieces stretched and sewn at the edges to fit as much as possible. E has been sick, and sleeping poorly as a result. This means staying home, going to bed early to comfort her, sitting with her while she naps – and then trying to fit in all the business of the week in the little gaps. So lots of planned things went out the window – including work! And a few day’s dinners were downgraded to simpler options to fit in. This week has, perhaps appropriately, been Jamie Oliver-themed. I don’t think any other British cook has put as much effort into getting interesting weeknight dinners on the table. I’ve made a recipe from the new Jamie Oliver Superfood series, and bookmarked the fish tacos for this weekend. I haven’t bought the book yet, but I’m tempted.

Recipes:

• One pan tomato pasta – a good technique, but does need fairly constant stirring to stop the pasta sticking to the bottom of the pan, which isn’t always easy with a toddler around.
• Griddled steak with peppers – Jamie Oliver’s Everyday Super Food
• Fresh Borlotti beans – with sausages – from Jamie at Home

Without a recipe:

• Vegetable korma – with a Spice Tailor sauce
• Various leftovers for other meals – curry and rice, courgette parmigiana with leftover beans.

Reading/Listening:

• I really enjoyed the Food Programme on jam, with Diana Henry – made me desperate to get into the kitchen and make some, despite my cupboard full. It’s also made me slightly obsessed with mulberries, just as they’ve all finished fruiting. She also has a guide to making jam in the Telegraph.
• Ruth Reichl is one of my favourite food writers, and this profile in the NY Times to promote her new cookbook paints a picture of her country life, post-Gourmet.
• Another American food icon, Alice Waters, is profiled by Molly Wizenberg of Orangette to celebrate her National Endowment for the Humanities award.
• Meatballs are my new favourite thing – easy to make in batches and freeze, easy to reheat, and can be baked instead of fried to make things even easier. The courgette and turkey meatballs from ‘Jerusalem‘ are on my list to make this weekend, and these ginger pork meatballs in coconut broth from Shutterbean look delicious too.
• I have a glut of carrots and of courgettes at the moment, which demands some baking this weekend. The Little Loaf reminded me about the carrot, apple and pecan crumble muffins from the original Ottolenghi book. This recipe for chocolate courgette loaf, with chunks of chocolate and walnuts, looks very good. And I’d like to try the Garden Cake in Justin Gellatly’s book, Bread, Cake, Doughnut, Pudding, which includes both carrots and courgettes, along with lots of walnuts and orange zest.
• If you have a glut of plums, Thomasina Miers’ flourless plum upside-down cake looks good.