I seem to be a bit obsessed with cooking pork lately, maybe since the success of slow-roasting a huge slab of pork belly at my family's Jubilee weekend celebrations, and add it to my plate at every possible opportunity. I stumbled upon an awesome, simple supper recipe by Waitrose in my recipe file, consisting of haricot beans, black pudding and spring greens, and decided to give it try. With a pork medallion piled on top, naturally. The rich, meaty gravy created by the black pudding is a great partner to the crunchy greens and warming haricot beans.

Chinese Five Spice and Cider...

Whilst perhaps not two ingredients considered a culinary match made in heaven, this weekend we decided to taste some ciders that we'd been given and, at the same time, found ourselves too lazy to venture out in search of supper ingredients. I had lots of pork that needed using up and the makings of a simple Chinese stir-fry, so I ended up making my own version of Chinese Five Spice and enjoying an odd starter of leftover sausages whilst sampling cider with one hand and shaking noodles around a Wok with the other!

I've just spent a delightful, yet very wet, weekend entertaining some lovely London friends and showing them the famous sights and foodie hotspots of Cambridge. Seeing my home city through the eyes of a tourist reminded me of many of my favourite places, old and new, and I loved sharing them with the gorgeous and fun Mr and Mrs C. Making time for a long, leisurely dinner at one of Cambridge's finest eateries was high on our to-do list so we ended a fun afternoon of Olympic Torch Relay celebrations with a visit to d'Arry's Cookhouse and Wine Shop on King Street...



Whetting the appetite with bread and olives

Determined not to waste (or, more likely, nibble on every time I open the fridge) some delicious slow-roasted pork belly, I knocked up a little leftovers recipe on Monday evening. It was the perfect start to a long week and made great use of some great quality meat. 

I love improvising in the kitchen and usually take inspiration from combinations of ingredients in a handful of favourite recipes. My inspiration for Monday's quick supper was from a North African chicken tagine recipe. I decided to use the sweet and spicy flavours with a tomato-based sauce to liven up my leftover pork belly; served on some cous cous with a good hit of red chili, the dish really hit the spot. 

Best of British 

The Boy and I agreed to contribute the main course to a great British feast, prepared in honour of the Queen's Diamond Jubilee which we celebrated with my family in a big house in the heart of Derbyshire. After searching for three kilos of fantastic quality British pork belly, we finally procured a great slab of juicy meat topped with a thick slice of plump fat and skin from Cambridge Farmers' Outlet on Lensfield Road and set about making plans for roasting this bad boy.