31st December - a year of new recipes

I set myself the challenge of cooking 50 new recipes in 2012. I've never thought of myself as a natural or adventurous cook, and my repertoire of family main meals had been whittled down with fussy children and was looking rather pathetic. Initially inspired by the 'My Daddy Cooks' book (which I'd got in autumn 2011), I set about doing my ocado order with recipe book in hand and bookmarking recipes as I found them online. I'm really chuffed to have made it past the 50 milestone (albeit not far) and there are a good half dozen of these recipes that have become regular favourites, and at least the same again that we'll be repeating every month or two. Mission accomplished, then - and funnily enough just like when I'm looking back at my photo a day mosaics, just looking at these photos of dishes brings back memories of what we were doing that day and who we were eating with as well as how it tasted.

 

1. 3rd January - Imam Bayildi, 2. 10th January - quickest home made pizza ever, 3. 14th Jan - vegetable spring rolls, 4. 18th January - veg casserole with dumplings, 5. 1st February - beef, guinness and mushroom casserole, 6. 2nd Feb - ramen noodle soup, 7. 18th Feb - nutella banana mini muffins, 8. 21st February - leafy brittany pancake, 9. 23rd Feb - chicken and tarragon hotpot

10. 9th April - hot cross buns, 11. 16th April - mild lentil curry with cauliflower, 12. 22nd April - turkey and cranberry meatloaf, 13. 30th April - bg-'s lentil stew, 14. 3rd May - Turkish menemen, 15. 7th May - chicken & cauliflower biryani, 16. 14th May - one pot veggie curry, 17. 17th May - marinated chicken and spiced green lentils, 18. 21st May - plum clafoutis

19. 28th May - sloppy joe beef buns, 20. 29th May - chinese lettuce wraps, 21. 30th May - minced beef wellington, 22. 11th June - black bean mole, 23. 12th June - chocolate cherry cookies, 24. 18th June - sausage jambalaya, 25. 23rd June - golden banana loaf, 26. 25th June - dotty banana fairy cakes, 27. 26th June - curried potato pasties

28. 30th June - toad in the hole, 29. 3rd July - moussaka, 30. 9th July - warm lentil, tomato & halloumi salad, 31. 19th July - chicken & leek pie, 32. 23rd July - red white & blue battenberg, 33. 26th July - butternut squash with quinoa, feta, basil and mint, 34. 14th August - savoury muffins, 35. 15th August - indian dosa, 36. 5th September - cheesy stars

37. 13th September - sausage, potato and pea casserole, 38. 15th September - sweet potato, greens and red onion tortilla with garlic mayo, 39. 17th September - pasta and borlotti bean soup, 40. sep19_0057, 41. 20th Sept - baked chickpea and butternut squash rice, 42. 25th September - meatzza, 43. 2nd October - baked pumpkin gratin, 44. 17th October - Henry's cowboy baked beans, 45. 20th October - lamb and aubergine casserole

46. 27th October - self saucing jaffa pudding, 47. 3rd November - arachnophobia, 48. 6th November - tumbet, 49. 6th November - savoury flapjack, 50. 7th November - refried bean quesadillas, 51. 13th November - school dinner goulash, 52. 17th November - red onion chutney, 53. 19th November - stilton and chutney rarebit, 54. 4th December - simple spinach curry, 55. 31st December - white bean hummus with tomato and basil salsa

Done