We're celebrating the divine diversity of Middle Eastern food this week. We'll be having seven courses including beef meatballs with broad beans & lemon, poached pears in white wine & cardamon.

We've been drawing influences from the foreign students who have been staying with us, who have come form Bahrain and Georgia. We've been reading 'Jerusalem' by Yotam Ottolenghi, amd watched his recent TV series. We're liking the big salads, the grilled meats, the aubergines,…

YO31 secret diners club, Bon Vivants, and The Tin Duck are having a collective 'Supper club' this weekend. It'll be fab to get together with everyone and share ideas and tips. I'm doing the starter, with pan fried pheasant breast served with my take on blue cheese and walnut salad, with chopped dates (from our Bahrainian student lodger), and a honey and lime dressing.

I'll get some pics and post them next week.

The next YO31 secret diners club meal will be on Saturday 3rd November. So far I'm making mini Yorkshire puddings with Thorganby roast beef, gravy and horseradish. Hoping to find some wild horseradish locally. I'm also doing brushetta (Italian, I know) made with flour from 'Yorkshire Organic Millers', Spaunton, which is north west of Pickering. They do a great range of Soil Association Organic flours. On that will be black pudding, probably from Murton farmers market, some local soft blue…

I'm writing down the recipes for tomorrow, so that they're all in one book - my classic eastern european car book! There's Trabants, Ladas, Moscovitchs, and Fiat 126's on the cover (yes I know Fiat are Italian, but you get the idea). I watched a you tube clip about making carrot flowers, because I wanted to put some in the salad. Basic ones are quite easy. Then I watched one about making proper roses. It took an expert 10 mintues to carve, and required a very high level of skill. Think I'll…