Personal feasts

Something bloody to keep iron levels up on a night out - something fresh for the day after.

I walked to the butcher for some pork belly and a steak. The pork belly I'd share, but the steak I wouldn't. When I left home, I decided I'd have to allow myself to splash out on the luxury of some good rare meat on a monthly basis. Perhaps psychosomatically, I feel like my body craves red meat if I have been lacking it. I was born in the wrong era - should be living in a cave wearing sheepskin and waiting for my husband to bring me raw meat. Well, I got my steak this week, and ate it pink as could be - obviously - all mixed up with mustardy new potatoes and salad, feeling slightly silly as everyone around me ate...something else.

And secondly, a new find in my excellent local Chinese fishmonger. I chose mackerel because it is cheap but also because I really like it. There are a few ways of cooking it I've been meaning to try, one being this oat-rolled version by Valentine Warner. I ate it wish the rest of my baby gem and finished off the Dijon mustard. This was probably the best thing to eat with a headache watching a grim BBC drama.