Made this up after buying a nice piece of locally caught freshwater trout. I think that it would be even better if you were to hot-smoke it. Apply the rub between two and twelve hours before cooking.

Mix up the following then rub on to the flesh of the fish (enough for four servings):

• 1 tbsp sea/rock salt.
• 1 tbsp black peppercorns crushed.
• 1 tbsp ground cumin.
• 1 tbsp ground coriander.
• 2 tsp caraway seed.
• 2 tsp dried tarragon.
• 2 tsp dried thyme.
• 2 tsp chilli powder.
• Zest of one lemon.

To drizzle on top when cooked melt some butter in a pan, add the juice of the lemon you used above, a pinch of salt, one crushed clove of garlic, and a handful of chopped coriander. Simmer for a couple of minutes.

Enjoy!

This was our dinner last night. There's nothing particularly original here, but it was damn tasty. There are no pictures, so you'll have to take my word that it looked great.

First chop the veg for roasting. Anything that roasts well will work. I used sweet potato, squash and courgette. Stick it in the tray, with some oil, garlic cloves, salt, pepper, and ground cumin and coriander. Put that in the oven to roast and prepare the rest of the meal. When you remove it to serve then stir in a large handful of roughly chopped coriander, it tastes great and the green looks great with the orange of the veg.

Next prepare the lamb. Make patties from minced lamb, chopped fresh mint (half the bunch), the juice of half a lemon, chopped red onion, and finely chopped garlic with some spices: ground cinnamon, coriander, cumin, garam masala and chilli powder. Grill or barbecue the patties (or make them in to kebabs if you like).

Chop the other half of the mint, and add it and the juice from the rest of the lemon to some fresh yoghurt. Then stir in a little maple syrup and a little Cajun or jerk spice. Add only a little at first then add more to taste. You're aiming for the sweetness and spice to be very subtle and to soften the yoghurt flavour.

Serve with toasted pitta and shredded gem lettuce.

Thanks to richb I found this recipe for "Jerk Pork Burgers with Green Apple Slaw", and they are fantastic. The Slaw is particularly good, I'd really recommend you try it, even if it does sound a little weird.

Unfortunately, it appears as though "The Bell", a pub just round the corner, no longer serves food. No matter how good a burger is, I'm sure there's no way it could be as good as a Bell Burger. It seems I'm stuck spending the rest of my days trying in vain to recreate that marvellous piece of meat technology.

I came up with this the other day. It's pretty rich and indulgent, but not too hard to make. The lamb could perhaps do with something else, but I can't think of anything at the moment.

• 4 Lamb steaks
• New Potatoes if in season, otherwise any small potato.
• 4 Carrots
• 2 Red onions
• Bunch of rosemary
• Garlic cloves
• 2 glassed of red wine (a small bottle is fine). A good hearty one if possible
• Gravy powder
• Thyme (dried works fine)
• A knob of butter
• 3 Tablespoons Brown Sugar

If you can prepare the lamb the day before it will be better, but a couple of hours is fine. Place the lamb steaks in a small container. Take a third of the rosemary, and snap it a couple of times and place it in with the lamb. Next bash open the garlic cloves (there's no need to peel them first) and add them. Get your hands in there and rub both in to the meat, mixing it up. Next add a glass of wine, cover and leave to marinate.

About an hour put some oil in a baking tray and place it in the oven to heat up. Brush the potatoes clean then drop them in the hot oil, add some salt and pepper and snap the remainder of the rosemary and drop that in. Put them back in the oven.

Next brush the carrots clean (you can peel if you like), and chop them in to batons. Then quarter the two onions. Melt the butter in the frying pan over a hot heat. Add the carrots and onion, and stir fry for a few minutes. Then add the sugar and keep stirring. After a while you can turn the heat down to a medium heat. Keep stirring regularly, as they will like to stick.

After about 15 minutes place the lamb under the grill on a medium heat. Make up a serving of gravy in a saucepan, adding one more teaspoon of mixture than suggested. Add the second glass of wine, and put on a low heat on the hob.

When the lamb is cooked to your satisfaction then remove the potatoes from the oven and plate up. Next add the carrots and onions, and finally the meat. (I like to stack the ingredients here). Finally tip the juice from the meat in to the gravy and turn the heat right up and stir for one minute. Finally pour a little gravy on each plate and serve.

Enjoy!

I had left it late, but luckily there was a table free for us. I was told it was South-American food, but I was surprised at how little influence there appeared to be. There were hints in the food, but the decor, music etc. were very subtle. They did serve Super Bock though, which I hadn't had since I was in Portugal a few years ago.

The menu was fantastic though. I have never been so spoilt for choice. I decided to start with king prawns in a lime, ginger and parsley sauce. They were absolutely delicious, the sauce was perfectly balanced with the high-quality prawns.

After that Hannah had the swordfish, which was wonderfully cooked. I meanwhile had, (I love saying this), roast duck on a bed of pancetta-infused borlotti beans, served with orange and mango sauce and red onion marmalade. The duck was cooked to perfection, and the beans were delicious. The highlight however was the sauce, which was very rich, but not over-powering, and left you wanting more after each bite.

I was surprised, as the portions that we were given were quite generous for an expensive restaurant, but they also bought out a tray of potatoes and vegetables. These were all delicious, but I couldn't eat many. This removed the feeling that I normally leave a good restaurant with; the feeling that it just wasn't enough.

Isla had insisted that I tried the Crème Brûlée. It was actually strawberry Crème Brûlée, and I'm glad that I had it even though I might not have had a desert at all. Hannah refused to have a desert, but I forced her to get the white chocolate and cardamom mousse. It was equally fantastic, and quote unexpected.

I was thoroughly impressed with the evening, and while it wasn't cheap I will definitely be returning if another special occasion crops up.