Chickpeas, Carrots, Courgettes and Snap Peas

I spent the last nine days in London and had the pleasure of seeing many friends for the first time in years. We don't travel through London regularly, so it has been eight years since my husband and I were there together. Most of my friends asked about this blog, since my food blogging was at its peak when we were living in London and I was cooking for them. My change in job has led me to blog very little these last few years, but I still enjoy cooking (and eating) healthy food.

While in London I bought the new Yotam Otoolenghi cookbook, Simple. I have cooked several Ottolenghi recipes before -- they were delicious and inventive, though not simple. The recipes in this new cookbook contain fewer ingredients, are more quickly produced, and are easier to make ahead. I am really excited about trying out many recipes!

I arrived home and had to rustle up some food for myself (Anthony is staying on to work in London another few days). This meal was inspired by a recipe from the new book, but the welcome-home emptiness of the fridge meant that most of the ingredients were substitutes.

Pumpkin Pasta with Walnuts and Lemon

This unusual dish caught my eye because of the combination of ingredients I wouldn't have thought went together: walnuts, pumpkin, cream, sage, and citrus zest. I can perhaps imagine putting three of these things together (pumpkin, cream, and sage, maybe; or walnuts, pumpkin, and sage) but all of them at once sounded delicious.

Combinations like this characterise Yottam Ottolenghi's recipes for me. They are unexpected puzzle pieces that you suddenly know will fit together perfectly into an incredible dish.

Seaweed, Ginger, and Carrot Salad

After a recent knee injury, I have started taking swimming lessons. Until last October, I was a keen long-distance runner. Then I had quite a bad injury that put me on crutches for eight weeks. (I wrote about my first social outing with crutches here.) I'm still not able to run, though I have managed to cycle three times in the last few months.

On my physiotherapist's advice, I needed to take up a sport that has a lower impact on my knees. I never learned to swim as a child, so I have just started a series of lessons.