Sweet potato quinoa salad

One of things I love about cooking is that paradox of nostalgia and newness. For example, I write this blog whilst munching on a warm, slightly crispy tortilla with Marmite. The reason I eat Marmite on tortillas rather than on toast like normal people, is because when I was in the Himalays aged 17, we ate ate marmite and chapattis every morning of our trek over Pin Parvati Pass. By the end of the 14 days I couldn't stand the sight of them, but now... It's the nostagia, clearly. At the other end of the scale we have this salad I made last week, which I've never made before but, from experience, knew was going to work

It's a blend of 3 different types of quinoa - red, black and pearl. You can get a ready mix in (some) Waitrose, with home grown cherry tomatoes and chillies (luckily I have a man who grows these, because I still haven't quite got my head round that part), toasted almond flakes, coriander and cinnamon sweet potato (roast the chunks of unpeeled sweet potato in the oven with olive oil, honey and cinnamon). The dressing consists of lime juice, mild olive oil and fish sauce. We ate it with southern fried chicken a bit like this one, but with more spices in the marinade. Yas says the trick is to add a little a bit of cornflour to the flour and breadcrumbs and the oil you fry them in should be hot but "not too hot". Having made this chicken about 5 times in a row now, he's the expert

My vegetable patch

I just have to tell you a little bit about my garden, and specifically about the vegetable patch. As a novice gardener, I am excited about every tiny thing that happens there. A few weeks ago I planted peas, broad beans, courgettes, pumpkin, radishes and garlic (I believe that garlic may keep the bugs away). Tiny little seeds went into the ground - have you ever seen a courgette seed? - and now things are sprouting. It feels like a miracle. The thing is, obviously, you know that that's how things grow, but until you experience it, it seems like a far away process with no bearing on your daily life. Now it's happening to me and I am filled with wonder. I realize that I am starting to sound like someone who is having a baby when I talk about it, but I can't help myself

My garden is only small - the size of a large room - but for a first garden it's perfect-sized. Today, I went out there just to put my washing out and ended up staying for an hour. I noticed that the vegetable patch was being overtaken by weeds, so I started taking them out. Then, I realized that a nearby shrub was shading the broad beans from the sun, so I started cutting that back. I can't tell you how good I feel about these small acts. I'm still a bit clumsy - being new to the whole thing, I do sometimes injure a plant by stepping on it or accidentally pulling at the wrong root. Spending years on public transport has made me weirdly over polite, so I apologize to worms and other "good" insects. I must be a bit of a sight, but I don't care, it just feels so good to be in touch with the earth. This is totally bringing out my inner hippy

Ministry of Food exhibition at the Imperial War Museum

Last weekend was pretty perfect

Amongst other things, on Saturday I went to the Ministry of Food exhibition which has inspired me to grow my own vegetables. I have toyed with the idea before, but now it's going to happen. I even raked my whole garden yesterday in preparation for the sowing, despite the rain, a killer hangover, and the fact that it me an hour to find my shoe!

I am not the most green-fingered person (that could be the understatement of the year right there), but I am hoping that when it comes to growing things that I can eat, things will be different. I'm trying to be optimistic about it anyway

I wasn't sure what I could actually grow at this time of the year, but this poster has kindly answered that question...

It was great to see how vital food was to the war effort, as that's a part of history that's often forgotten about. Unsurprisingly, this period also had a very positive impact on the nation's health too. Although, being crazy about sweet wrappers, I also loved the part when rationing came to the end, and sweet shops ruled

Pretty wrappers...