If you want to drink the best-tasting smoothies ever, in the funkiest bottles, then Innocent drinks is the place to visit. Rob and I found these in Newcastle airport, of all places, and were appalled by the cost, but amazed by the taste! So far the favourite is blackberries and blueberries, but I'm now on the lookout for the seasonal smoothie...

Dublin is a weird place, foodwise. You'd expect some Irish fare...but it's just too cosmopolitan for its own good. Couldn't find a restaurant or pub selling a decent Irish stew anywhere - all the menus had one Italian dish, one burger, one Mexican dish...it was all a bit of a mish mash (and decidedly light on the mash). We did have a fabulous Lebanese meal, but that' s not exactly what you got to Ireland for...

I can also claim to have drunk my first half of Guinness. It was surprisingly nice, for a girl who doesn't really drink much beer. Although the creamy bit on top was the best part...

More Indian food last night...now there's a surprise! This time at Sachins, on Forth Banks. Good, but when the decor's better than the food, you have to worry. It's self-consciously gone for the upmarket market...but the service, and the food, doesn't really reflect that. Although what upmarket Indian food should taste like, I don't really know. If anyone out there does, then please tell me!

Bizarre combinations that taste really good: Part 1
Marmite and strong cheddar cheese
Branston pickle and scrambled eggs
Peanut butter and banana

Check out the sushi multimedia page, complete with colours and sounds... If you've never eaten sushi, you can listen to what it sounds like!

Do they ever stop eating on Sex in the City? For four very thin women they sure lunch out a lot. And eat chocolate cake...

Speak of the devil, Saturday Kitchen returned. And I slept through most of it. Which is what happens when you're up far too late on a Friday night watching Buffy. You have been warned....

I've succumbed to the annual temptation, and bought a pot of custard. I know it's downhill from then on, and the addiction to Bird's finest will take hold, but I couldn't resist. Did you know the stuff has been around since 1844? Must be why it tastes so nice....mmmm, no messing about with stodgy puddings - what you need is a bowl of pure unadulterated yellow custard, freshly made.

Another year, another kitchen. Well, that was the theory. But the dividing wall between the kitchen and dining room still has to come down, the units need to be ripped out, and THEN we can go and buy the oven that we've been dreaming of....(and find ourselves a kitten, but that's a whole other obsession...)

Was it just me, or were there no good cookery programmes on over Christmas? When all you've got to watch is Celebrity Ready Steady Cook, it's a bit of a poor do. Will somebody bring back Saturday Kitchen, please?

I can totally recommend bypassing Christmas dinner altogether. Although in our case it was enforced (no oven proves a bit of a problem for doing roast potatoes and turkey - and NO they don't taste the same in the microwave) we thoroughly enjoyed our steamed dim sum from the local Chinese supermarket. Doughy buns, little prawn parcels and minced pork parcels were all chucked in the steamer, and came out 12 minutes later. Together with lots of dipping sauces (you think we'd pass up a chance for chilli sauce?!) and steamed pak choi it was a meal to remember. For all the right reasons.