Need full concentration as today I will be cooking braised steak au poivre for tomorrow's meal, subject to Carole coming back with the correct ingredients necessarily in the right order.

Yes chef!

Thanks and all done, in the oven for 90 mins. Mussels tonight, all I will do is clean them as usual, then enjoy.

It was delish even in Carole's thoughts. What she likes about not having to cook every meal is that I pick recipes which she wouldn't have thought about or done differently. Of course I am aiming at simplicty, time spent etc and of course things that pleasde me, but luckily we have similar tastes except fennel, liver, and some weird herb that is used in Indian and other cooking. Odd name to it.

Jar of Mussels big Avacado (stoned and halved) cooked shrimp,
serve with pasta.
That weird herb find out what its called, please

I'm doing macaroni cheese for tonight any tips

Where it just came from in my tiny mind but it did - Star Anise.

Daft thing is I loved aniseed balls as a kid and enjoy Pernod but not in cooking, or Carole's cooking.

Dear Masterchef,
I'm the same about aniseed in cooking. In particular the recipes which use Pernod in a sauce for fish (usually bass). Yuuuuk!!
But I do quite like a pastis as an aperitif.
Star Anise (spice not herb chef) is in many Asian recipes but doesn't seem to swamp the other flavours.
TP

Dear Commis chef, I agree but get back to scrubbing those spuds, then peel the onions.

Homemade Cornish Pasty and beans tonite. Could be a windy evening

Sounds smashing in both ways.

I think we're eating at the pub after the hash (Not corned beef)

Nice piece of Salmon and a big sprinkle of fennel seed
just the thing for fish

I used to make a really good corned beef and potato pasty

I just had chicken with fresh veg and a glass of wine by way of celebrating...............

Lost a stone in January on my diet.................. the bad news it's back to the diet tomorrow to lose another 21 pounds

Vegetable curry cooking as we speak. As Dry January has now finished (we made it!) I can have a glass of something with it. Beer or wine? If wine, red or white? Takes some thinking about this drinking business.