Moroccan Mussels, Tapenade Toasties and Cucumber Salad

Meal 105 - December 8th - Moroccan Mussels, Tapenade Toasties and Cucumber Salad

Well the good news is, Lolz overcame her sickness in time for a festive trip to York. Foodie highlights included Fat Rascals and afternoon tea at Betty's (those who are not of a northern persuasion or have never been to York will obviously have no idea what I'm talking about). The bad news is, I am now drastically behind in my attempt to get this challenge done before big ben strikes midnight on January 1st. I've got 15 meals to do in just 24 days. Since we still had many of the ingredients left over from last weekend, Lolz bravely agreed to give the Moroccan mussels a go (with a fresh batch of mussels of course) - how unlucky would you have to be to get food poisoning twice in 8 days?!

White Fish Tagine, Carrot, Mint and Clementine Salad

Meal 83 - October 8th - White Fish Tagine, Carrot, Mint and Clementine Salad

I've recently started a new job which brings with it many perks. One is that I earn more money. Another is that I get home in time to watch Pointless. I can also now make it to the fishmongers before they close on a weekday. So why not kick off a new era of 15 minute meals with a good old fish dish?

Moroccan Bream, Couscous, Pomegranate and Harissa

Meal 79 - September 25th - Moroccan Bream, Couscous, Pomegranate and Harissa

A weekend away forced a brief hiatus on my 15 minute meal challenge but it was nonetheless a weekend with several noteworthy events of the culinary kind. We were headed down to Cornwall for my sister's wedding and being a journey of several hundred miles, we stopped en route several times. The first stop was at a service station in a town called Wincanton, for petrol. We popped into the adjoining Morrison's for a bit of liquid refreshment and I couldn't believe what I saw. Let me just explain first of all that Wincanton is a small town with a population of about four thousand. According to the Wikitravel website, it's third most popular attraction is the A303 bypass. Morrison's, meanwhile, is generally regarded a fairly downmarket chain of supermarket. And yet in this Morrison's in sleepy Wincanton I was greeted by an array of fresh fruit and veg to rival even the finest supermarket we came across in the Loire Valley a couple of months ago. It even had a little sprinkler system to keep the produce refreshed.

Crackin' Crab Briks, Couscous Salad and Salsa

Meal 61 - July 27th - Crackin' Crab Briks, Couscous Salad and Salsa

I'm not going to beat around the bush here - this was a f*cking disaster. Allow me to set the scene...

Quick Lamb Tagine, Pan-Fried Aubergine and Cumin Crunch

Meal 58 - July 17th - Quick Lamb Tagine, Pan-Fried Aubergine and Cumin Crunch

Being the busy city dwellers that we are, it's been hard to find time lately to cook many 15 minute meals, let alone write about them. The summer has finally arrived in London and with it has come a variety of social events and al fresco temptations. I guess it's lucky I'm not doing 30 minute meals!

Lamb Meatballs, Chop Salad & Harissa Yoghurt

Meal 27 - March 20th - Lamb Meatballs, Chop Salad & Harissa Yoghurt

Increasingly lately, my 15 minute meals seem to be coinciding with running - at some point I may have to do some kind of analysis to see if there is any correlation between distance run and the score that Lolz gives me. Today's run was particularly arduous as I nearly got run over by an Audi pulling out of a driveway. I also encountered more fast runners than normal and so, desperate as always not to be overtaken, my pace was a little quicker than normal. So any effect that running has on my cooking skills was likely to be exacerbated today.