Eating, its ups and downs, the number three

So my tooth was PULLED OUT. Things you don't want to hear a dentist say: "do we have any other pliers?" Things you don't want to see a dentist do: shake his head and suck his teeth like he's a plumber looking at a boiler installed by cowboys. Turned out that what I thought was a loose bit of filling was actually a THIRD OF THE TOOTH that had split all the way down to past the gum line. How come I was in no pain I don't know. Anyway the dentist took out the loose bit (in five seconds) and the unloose bit (in the next half an hour of insane Marathon Man escapades, as well as THREE nerves. What business does a tooth have with THREE nerves? Excessive. It's a bit of rock for mashing up food, not a clitoris.

Anyway he told me horror stories about how much pain I would be in, but I have had only very mild soreness since. In fact a selection of flea bites acquired the same day had given me much greater physical unhappiness.

I got more Gousto stuff. One day I will stop boring you with my cooking adventures but remember that before this year I could cook like two recipes and one of those was a bit rubbish.

Easy Lamb Biryani

They're not lying; this is almost supernaturally easy to make. I am a big fan of dishes where rice is mixed in rather than a side thing so I don't know why it took me so long to try something like this. It was tasty, a dollop of natural yogurt gave it a somewhat Stroganoffy vibe. I will probably make it on the reg.

Moroccan Chicken with Lemony Couscous

Ah, ras el hanout, that magical wondrous powder that turns a fairly basic chicken stew into the most delicious thing you can possibly imagine. This is utterly lovely and adding lemon zest to the couscous rounds off the overall spiciness nicely.

Speedy Spaghetti Bolognese

I must admit, I got annoyed with this one. Some of the time-saving ideas are silly - grating directly over a pan just means more mess to clear up later and saves a matter of seconds. Portions were huge (a perennial issue) and I prefer to drain fat off mince to stop it being too greasy but that wasn't possible as the mince was added too late in the recipe. I am still on the lookout for the perfect spagbol recipe. Yes, I know it is the one thing that everyone can make but I've never found a recipe that quite hits the bullseye.

Fish Nuggets With Asian Dipping Sauce

This was the wildcard one this time; I'm not a big fan of sugar snap peas which do not live up to the promise of any of their three words, but it was satisfying to blacken their skins in a hot pan. Take that, nutritious object! The blandness of basa was helped by breadcrumb coating and a spicy, oily dip. Also I made the three most perfect rice mounds you've ever seen first time, using an old china teacup that was probably a parental wedding present. Photo (which was taken for a Gousto win-a-box competition) attached.