1) I’m lucky enough to live very close to where I work which means that most days I’m home by 6pm, I usually start preparing dinner shortly after I get home and then Fred either assists or takes over when he arrives home.

We both enjoy cooking together and find it relaxing so neither of us see it as a chore, having a blog helps too as I hate to see the same picture at the top of the page for too long.

We’ll often batch cook meals at the weekend and freeze those so if we don’t feel like cooking when we get home we can find something from the freezer.

I’m a big fan of the fish finger and they have made an appearance on Dinner Diary but I tend to eat them for lunch at the weekends so they don’t always feature

2) There are quite a few meals or variations of old favourites that appear regularly: Thai curry/stir-fry and roast chicken being two that spring to mind. I read cookery books like novels and there are also a number of food blogs that I read daily that provide continual inspiration. Neither of us spend every free hour browsing for recipes but you’re not far off!

3) We’ve actually imposed a ban on the purchase of any new crockery as we’re now completely overloaded. A lot of it is boxed up and in storage and just our favourite pieces are left out. We have a number of mis-matched plates and dishes that we’ve collected over the years so not everything you see is part of a set, a bigger kitchen would be wonderful though.

Have three questions!

1) How do you find the time/willpower to cook a meal fresh every night? Sometimes I just want to stick some fish fingers under the grill and sit on the sofa and wait for them to cook!

2) How do you not end up having the same meals every week? OH and myself enjoy cooking but when it comes to going to the supermarket on Saturdays we end up buying the same kind of food each time. I am astounded that for Jan and Feb you didn’t cook the same meal twice - do you spend every free hour browsing for recipes?

3) Where do you keep all that crockery? Evidently we need a bigger flat

Keep up the good work.

Let us know how the lamb works out if you get round to making it.

G

I’ve just discovered your website and am in seventh heaven! I am naturally nosey (always checking out people’s baskets in the supermarket) and love reading recipe books, so this is the perfect option for me! I also feel inspired to cook several of your recipes - especially the lamb stuffed with couscous.

Sarah

I think you’re right about the sunshine, we’re relying on stodgy comfort food a lot at the moment but you make a good point about other ways to warm yourself up!

I’m a big fan of both Delia and Nigel. I know they’re not everyone’s cup of tea but I’ve never known a Delia recipe to let me down yet which is so useful when you’re trying something new or cooking for others. I don’t cook a lot from Nigel’s books but I enjoy his writing style. I haven’t got his new book yet, have you?

Come back soon, it’d be good to hear how the trout turned out and what else you’ve been up to in the kitchen

G

I really like your website.
I bought two lovely fresh whole trout today and was wondering whether to roast them uncovered or bake them in foil, so I did an internet search and found your recipe for roast trout with roasted vegs.
I like the roast veg idea - it looks very Mediterranean (yes I know it’s not summer, but I could do with some sunshine on a plate today!) and I happen to have some red and yellow peppers, red onion (and white wine) already.
I love cooking - I’ve found books by Delia Smith and Nigel Slater to be my favourites, and your recipes are simple good food of a similar style.
Thanks for the inspiration

Rebecca

I’ve really been enjoying your blog too, it’s great when something new and interesting pops up.

Thanks for adding us too.

G

Thanks for your kind comments

We use a Canon Eos 350D to take the pictures. We don’t set up any lighting or use a flash; we just use either the daylight or our normal kitchen lighting, depending on how bright it is.

When the light is low, we use a 50mm fixed lens with an f-stop of 1.8, which is good for low light, but does mean that a lot of the pictures look similar. When the lighting is better, which is usually in the summer when the sun is still out, we’ll use a slower zoom lens to get some different perspectives.

We should invest in a tripod really, which will make some of it a bit easier as we can use longer exposure times when the light is low. And maybe some not-too-expensive flash accessories. But too much playing around with all of that will mean that our dinner will get cold before we get to eat it, so it needs to be fairly simple!

Hmm I think I’ll put some of this up in the introduction above

I’ve just had a look through your dinner diary and I have to say that you guys are doing a great job. The photos are very professional and yes, the crockery really adds something. Actually, I’ve been doing a similar thing for about 10 weeks now but only on Facebook. Let’s just say it’s in the beginning stages but then again, so is my cooking! Just wondering if you wouldn’t mind telling me what kind of camera you use and do you ever set up lighting?

Keep up the great work.

Regards,

Lee