This weeks new recipe was halloumi, pasta and garlic bread, which we ate on Tuesday.

• Dice and fry some red onion and red pepper.
• Boil pasta.
• Slice and fry the halloumi, just enough to soften it without completely melting it.
• Mix the pasta and vegetables together then stir in a dressing made using equal quantities of lemon juice and balsamic vinegar.

On Wednesday we had stir-fried vegetables and noodles. We cheated slightly and used packets from the supermarket. I sliced and fried a tuna steak from Marks & Spencers. It was possibly the best tuna steak we have bought. It was very fresh and had a much 'cleaner' taste than normal. I guess sometimes it's worth paying slightly more for ingredients.

Tonight's tea was baked cod (again from M&S). I cooked a simple vegetable risotto as accompaniment:

• 1 onion, 1 small leek, ½ courgette, 2 cloves of garlic, chopped and fried.
• 1 cup of risotto rice
• a pinch of mixed herbs
• 2 cups of chicken stock.
• When the risotto was cooked, I stirred in 1 heaped tablespoon of low-fat cream cheese. This is much healthier than adding a knob of butter but it gives the pasta a nice creamy texture.

Some photos of our recent hamster babies.

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