So it would appear that blogging is a holiday only activity for me now. I can’t apologise any more for my infrequent posting but I’ll try my best to not disappear completely.

I suppose the reason for my lack of writing is three-fold. Firstly, I spend most of my day talking, generally saying the same thing over and over again in various different ways, phrasing and rephrasing over until I’m convinced I’m never going to get through. After a day like that, my brain loses the ability to produce any more words.

Secondly, spending time doing after school stuff with the kids is far preferable to spending time alone in your poky little studio flat and finally, it’s hard to get motivated when you rarely have anyone to cook for. The last point makes the biggest difference. I really need to invite more people over for dinner.

However one thing recently proved to me that, at heart, I am definitely still a foodie. That was the look on my mortgage broker’s face when I put down my anticipated food budget for next year. Aprroximately three times the average. Whoops. But,then again, good quality food costs money and I’d much rather have this swordfish…..

than that extra glass of wine in the pub on a Friday. Let’s face it, if I had that extra glass of wine I probably wouldn’t be capable of cooking properly and I’d probably convince myself to have a skanky chinese take-away. I’m sticking with the swordfish.

The real gem in this meal was the sweet and sour potato salad. it was a first for me but definitely one to become a regular. It’s Sicilian in origin, simple to make and a light reefreshing accompaniment to the fish.

Garlic and Mint Marinated Swordfish with Sweet and Sour Potato Salad

• 1 swordfish steak
• 10-12 finely chopped mint leaves
• 2 small cloves garlic, made into a paste
• the grated zest and juice of half a lemon
• olive oil
• salt and pepper

1. Cut narrow slashes into each side of the steak, just a few millimetres deep and about 1 inch appart.
2. Season the steaks with pepper- leave the salt for just before cooking the fish
3. Mix the rest of the marinade ingredients with just enough oil to lightly coat the fish. Brush this over the fish and leave to marinate for at least two hours.
4. Shaking off any excess marinade from the fish, griddle it on each side for about two minutes, depending on the thickness of the steak. I aim for the fish to be just pink in the very centre.
5. Take it off the heat, wrap in foil and allow to rest for about 5 minutes. Serve with chopped parsley, lemon for squeezing over and the potato salad.

For the potato salad

• 4-5 new potatoes, cut into small cubes
• half a small onion, sliced into thin rings
• 1 level talespoon caster sugar
• 2 tablespoons white wine vinegar
• 1 heaped tsp capers, well soaked and drained to remove as much salt as possible
• 1 tablespoon sliced black olives

1. Sauté the potatoes in the olive oil over a high heat until crispy on the outside. Turn the heat down and add the onions and cook until the onions are soft and the potatoes are just cooked through.
2. Stir in the capers and olives,
3. Dissolve the sugar in the vinegar. This will be the salad dresing, so taste it and adjust quantities to your taste.Add this to the potato mixture, stir well, bring to the boil for just a minute, then remove from the heat and allow to cool to room temperature before serving.