No oven from this afternoon, all the crockery and cutlery is packed, and there's virtually no food. Roll on Saturday! I suspect we'll get very fed up with takeaway...

Long time no see - house packing and new job has thrown a bit of a spanner in the works. But I do have news of momentous importance - the best meal to be had in Newcastle, no less. Went to the McCoy Brothers restaurant on the first level of the Baltic last Friday, and was incredibly impressed. The food was fantastic - roasted hake wrapped with parma ham, slow-braised pork with black pudding mash...and the starters were equally good. Excellent service, minimalist decor, and one of the best views in the city. Goodness only knows what the restaurant on the top of the Baltic is like - the waiting list there runs until March for a Friday night seat....

Having looked at the prices on Le Manoir aux Quatre Saisons, my bank account is seriously not going to be happy. £99 for the Menu Gourmand - better start saving now. If I put a pound or two in a jar each week, then I just might afford it sometime next year...

I'm having a bit of a love affair with baby spinach at the moment - I'll eat it in anything. It's great instead of lettuce in salad (in fact my favourite sandwich at the moment is pitta breads stuffed with baby spinach and a slice of the mustardy welsh cheese whose name escapes me) and just stirred into things at the last minute so that it wilts. Don't think it's possible to eat too much spinach - it never did Popeye any harm, so it must be good for you. There's loads of recipes I want to try, once we've moved house and I have a kitchen again...

Raymond Blanc - il est magnifique! Honestly, the man was amazing. He talked us through three recipes - fricassee of wild mushrooms, duck breast with chestnut and tamarind, and a chocolate fondant pudding. We got to taste the food at the end, and it lived up to all expectations. I'm not keen on duck normally, but that one was fantastic, with the sweetish sauce.

The enthusiasm of the man for food was what surprised me most (not surprisingly he had a go at the government for their new calorie-counter proposals) and his ability to work a crowd and convey that enthusiasm. It was also interesting to see the speed at which he worked, and the use that he made of his assistant, Nurden, who did a lot of the constant stirring and keeping an eye on things, taking orders in a mixture of english and french. Top marks to Fenwicks for enticing Raymond up here to talk to the masses. I'm now such a fan that I want to go and eat at Le Manoir aux Quatre Saisons. My bank account may not be too happy about this....

Clearing out my computer at work, and trying to make sense of all the links I've collected to good and interesting food sites. There's loads, but it's definitely the chilli ones which stand out....new job soon, which hopefully will leave me with enough time to go to the BBC Good Food Show. Sounds like my idea of heaven - loads of suppliers, tastings, demonstrations...can't wait.

In fact, more foodiness tonight. We're going to see Raymond Blanc doing a demonstration and tasting at Fenwicks. Should be interesting...

Missed the last Saturday Kitchen at the weekend, due to some ridiculous scheduling. Why was it on at 1pm rather than 10am as normal? Grrr. I was looking forward to seeing the dishes Michel Roux cooked...

Is there a great sell-by con? I have to say that like everyone else, I occasionally stretch the sell-by dates on my food, unless I'm cooking something that might get eaten by Wulfrun or Jane. Apart from eggs. They're in the bin as soon as the date appears.

Had a play around with whatever was in the fridge yesterday, and came up with a new recipe - baked rainbow trout with a leek, mushroom and ginger stuffing. Here's the ingredients:

2 fillets of rainbow trout
1 leek, chopped
a handful of mushrooms, chopped small
one slice bread (toasted)
a clove of garlic
fresh ginger (how much depends on how hot you like it)

Fry the leek, mushrooms, garlic and ginger together in a little oil. Once the leeks are soft, stick the mixture in a food processor with the bread, to make a rough paste (if you've chopped the leeks fine enough to start with, and use breadcrumbs, you might not have to do this bit!). Take one fillet, skin side down, and spread half the paste along the fillet. Roll up, and place skin side up in an oven proof dish. Repeat with fillet two. Drizzle both fillets with olive oil, sprinkle with black pepper and salt. Bake in the oven (180C) for 20 minutes.
I ate mine on a bed of peas, mange tout and a little broccoli. I guess as it's gingery it would go quite well with noodles...

Ever thought it possible to have too much coffee? Toomuchcoffeeman knows how you're feeling...