What to expect when you're in love

About 6lbs.

My husband and I had an albeit brief, but very sweet reunion and the lbs I was stripped of previously, due to being busy without time to eat properly, slowly crept back on as we made up for the last few months.We hibernated away against the cold winds eating comfort food, or going out for meals or even better ordering pizza and Chinese (separate occasions!)

I suddenly had someone to cook for and take care of so Good-bye tin opener-Hello apron and saucepans, and scales and whisks and..oh the joy and satisfaction of feeding someone.

We also decided to throw a party and initially it was going to be a buffet thing but then I had the ingenious idea of buying a murder mystery pack. It wasn't until the man from Amazon delivered it that I realised it had to be a 3-course dinner format. Fine. Except it was 12 people *gulp*.

OK, so the theme was 1940's, set in Casablanca which was under Vichy rule so the menu was going to be French. I played the part of Edith LeGrandbutte, wife of the Mayor, used to be a dancer in Paris and slept with anything that had a pulse! I was feeling the French theme and decided to go with a simple menu of Pate, Beouf Bourginon and Tarte au Citron. With a cheeseboard thrown in for good measure (all french of course) and chocs from Hotel Choclat (where else?)

Shall I let you into a secret? I cheated. I bought EVERYTHING in except the Bourginon. But to my credit, it was a Gordon Ramsey recipe and plus, I had a vegetarian course to deal with and made that from scratch (it was a cream cheese, pea and tarragon pie if you're interested). I even bought in the Dauphanois Potatoes, hee hee. But come on, I wanted to enjoy the party and not be a slave to the stove, and surely that is the essence of being a true domestic goddess- knowing when it's right to make from scratch and knowing when to cheat instead of being smug!

The day after the party, my husband and I took a journey down to Cornwall. We stayed in the most amazing cottage and I can't say where because I want it to remain 'ours'-selfish I know but it's already fully-booked for this year and I want to go again next winter! We took a trip to Padstow and made my husband fork out 22 quid for fish and chips at Rick Steins fish and chip shop. Two cod and chips, two drinks, curry sauce (for him) mushy peas (for me). Pricey. BUT the fish was the best I ever had, the chips on the other hand were not. Cooked in beef dripping they should have been delicious but they weren't fresh due to a quiet lunch time. I did get to see Rick though, unfortunately I was too involved in working out what was in the home-made tartare sauce to notice and he was out of the door as I looked up, a mouth full of mushy peas and chips making it impossible for me to gush words of admiration at him. Oh well, maybe I'll write and tell him his chips were bad.

Cornwall also means pasties and clotted cream, fudge and shortbread-so all in all I am need of a gym. It's OK though, Absence makes the heart grow fonder and in my case, the appetite disappear. I am feeling fragile and emotional so I am going to remedy that by making a yellow split pea soup. I think that yellow is good for the soul, it being connected to the sun and we all know sun means good times, so I am making a golden soup to warm, nurture and nourish:

Yellow Split Pea and Frankfurter Soup

by Nigella Lawson

I onion

I carrot

I clove of garlic

I stick of celery

2-3 tablespoons of vegetable oil

1/2 teaspoon of mace

500g yellow split peas

1.25-1.5 litres of chicken or veg stock

2 bay leaves

8 frankfurters

1. Peel all the veg and garlic, cut into chunks and whizz in a food processor until finely chopped.

2. On a medium heat, warm the oil and then tip in the blitzed veg. Soften but do not colour (about 5-10 minutes)

3. Add the ground mace and stir, add the split peas and stir again so they are all glossily coated. Pour over the stock and the bay leaves, bring to the boil.

4. Once it is boiling, cover and turn down to a simmer and cook for about an hour-until it is sludgy and tender. Add more stock if you need to.

5.Taste for seasoning.

6.When ready to serve, chop the frankfurters, add to the soup and warm through for 5 minutes.

As Nigella puts it, not an elegant soup but a near-perfect one. And very cheap, especially as it serves 6-8 people. I would also like to plug Knorr stock jelly. Unfortunately it is Marco Pierre White who gets paid a pretty penny, not me, to say what I'm about to: They are fantastic and any self-respecting DG should have them in her stock cupboard.