CLEMENTINE AND OAT MUFFINS

November was a whirlwind. We went to work, came home, checked orders and emails, addressed envelopes (not to self: buy printer), wrote customs forms, filled out postage certificates, went to sleep, woke up, carried parcels to the post office, went to work, came home, checked orders... and, somehow, just over four weeks after launching the book it sold out. I can't really process it; how many times we went to the post office, the idea that it is now sitting in homes all around the world, that we did it.

In those four weeks we ate too many meals on the sofa but in the few days after the last parcel was sent we sat at the table again. And, when Sunday came, I pulled out a new book, went to the bowl that has been filled with clementines for a few weeks now, we both eat two, sometimes three, every day at this time of year, turned the oven on and baked. We had scrambled eggs for lunch, clementine and oat muffins in the afternoon and roast chicken for dinner.

2ND NOVEMBER

I can't concentrate today.

We woke up this morning to emails asking when the book would be available.

We drank coffee and added the stock to the website and now sales are coming in.

Thank you to everyone for your support, I get a little misty eyed thinking about the retweets, the facebook posts and the lovely congratulations card from our friend Claire, and now, seeing people from all over the world buying the book, well it's a little overwhelming. So, for now, I'll just enjoy this feeling, I'll stop, eat one of the flapjacks I made on Monday night and enjoy this moment.

QUALITY OF LIFE

We've been working on something this year.

Once upon a time we thought we might open a bookshop, a beautiful space with open shelves. But then, we talked about the shop and we started to talk about publishing our own books to sell in the shop and, as time went on, we stopped talking about the shop and just talked about books.

For the past year most of the talking has been about this book.

We've been working on it with Brian for almost a year and now, even though it still doesn't quite feel real, we're ready. We have a website and next Wednesday, the 2nd of November, we'll start to sell the books. The first edition is limited to 500 copies. We love it, we hope you do too.

ON CARROT CAKE, BIRTHDAYS AND A FINE WEEKEND

We spent the weekend before last in London with friends.

We knew that dinner plans had been made, we knew we would have a chance to chat and walk and laugh and eat and see an exhibition.

What we didn't know was that the sun would shine for almost the entire time, that we would sit outside drinking coffee, that we would eat a Lebanese wrap on a park bench, an Ottolenghi cake on a street in Notting Hill. We didn't know that that we would eat some of the finest fried eggs we have ever tasted, that that doughnut would be talked about for the rest of the day. It was a grand way to spend a weekend.

And when we got back it was Chris's birthday. We drank coffee, ate lunch at Broughton Deli (ham, gruyere and onion marmalade crepe for me, ramen for him), walked into town. That evening we toasted to 32 with Chris's parents and with the promise that on Saturday we would do the same again with his parents, sister, brother-in-law and now almost two year old niece.

On Saturday I woke up, turned the oven on and started grating carrots.

I meant to use the food processor but sometimes tired brains and food processors do not go well together so I pulled out my fine microplane and I grated.

And grated.

And grated.

It took a little longer than I bargained for.

But, and this is crucial, I think I'll stick with it for future carrot cakes. Without the thick strands of carrot the texture was light and the sponge brightly orange. The cake cooled as I stirred the icing, tasting as I went and ending up with a pleasantly cream cheesy icing, slightly sour, not too sweet.

Carrot Cake
From Breakfast, Lunch and Tea: The Many Little Meals of Rose Bakery by Rose Carraini

I used two 20cm (8 inch) tins instead of the one 23cm tin specified and found that the baking time and icing quantity were just right.

unsalted butter, for greasing
4 eggs
225g caster sugar
300ml sunflower oil
9 medium carrots, finely grated
300g plain flour, sifted
1 teaspoon ground cinnamon
1 rounded teaspoon baking powder
1/2 teaspoon bicarbonate of soda
1/2 teaspoon salt
150g finely chopped walnuts

For the icing
125g unsalted butter, softened
250g cream cheese
1/2 teaspoon natural vanilla extract
50-75g icing sugar, depending on how sweet you like your icing

Preheat the oven to 180°C/350°F/Gas Mark 4.

Butter a 23cm (9 inch) cake tin and line its base with parchment paper.

Beat the eggs and caster sugar until they are light and fluffy but not too white and meringue-like.

Pour in the oil and beat for a few more minutes.

Fold in the carrots and then the flour with the cinnamon, baking powder, bicarbonate of soda and salt. Finally fold in the walnuts.

Pour the mixture into the prepared tin and bake for about 45 minutes or until a knife inserted into the centre comes out clean.

Remove from the oven and cool the cake in the tin before taking it out.

To make the icing, beat the butter with the cream cheese for a few minutes until the mixture is smooth.

Add the vanilla extract and icing sugar.

When the cake is cold, ice the top with the icing.

Serves 8-10.

I MUST BE MAD

I had been meaning to make David Lebovitz's brownies for a while. I had printed out the recipe and stuck it in the pile that lives wedged into one of the bookshelves meaning to make them one day, maybe when friends came over, maybe to take to work, maybe just because I needed brownies. I finally made them last night. I lined a tin with buttered foil, I melted butter and chocolate, stirred in sugar and vanilla, beat in a little flour. I baked them for 30 minutes and left them to cool. And then, instead of sitting down with a brownie and a glass of milk I sliced them up, packed them into two plastic tubs, wrapped them up and sent them to my brother for his birthday. All I tasted was a corner that wouldn't fit into a tub, it was amazing, and now all I can think is 'brownie, brownie, brownie'.

Andrew, I hope you enjoy them but, damn, I wish I had kept one for myself.

THE LITTLE THINGS

Painting my nails red on a Saturday morning and still not having any chips by Tuesday.

Picking out six sausages at the butcher and being given an extra one to try for free.

A vase.

Feeling a project coming together.

A book on my bedside table.

Heading to the park to sit on a bench and climbing a big hill instead.

Picking out some recipes for the week from a new favourite.

Quinoa with courgettes and onions
(From River Cottage Veg Every Day!, Hugh Fearnley-Whittingstall)

800g courgettes
a knob of butter
2 tablespoons of rapeseed or olive oil
3 onions, halved and finely sliced
leaves from a few sprigs of thyme
3 garlic cloves, finely chopped
200g quinoa
a good handful of flat-leaf parsley, roughly chopped
a squeeze of lemon juice
50g pine nuts, lightly toasted
sea salt and freshly ground black pepper

Cut the courgettes on the diagonal into 5mm thick slices. Melt the butter with the oil in a large frying pan over a medium heat. Add the onions, courgettes, thyme and some salt and pepper. Cook for 20-25 minutes, stirring from time to time, until the courgettes are tender and starting to turn golden. Add the garlic and fry for another couple of minutes.

Meanwhile, rinse the quinoa well in several changes of cold water and put into a saucepan covered with plenty of cold water and a pinch of salt. Bring to the boil, reduce the heat and simmer for about 12 minutes, or until the quinoa is tender and the long white kernels are coming away from the seeds. Tip into a sieve and leave to drain and steam a little to reduce the excess moisture.

Add the drained quinoa to the courgettes, along with the chopped parsley and lemon juice. Stir well, then taste and add more salt and pepper if needed. Serve topped with the toasted pine nuts.

Serves 4.

CHOCOLATE BANANA MUFFINS

We don't have dramatic shifts when the seasons change round here. No blazing summer sunshine to give way to bright reds and golds, no swimming in lakes and rivers, no endless days of sandals, skirts and suntan lotion. Instead there were a few glorious July days at the beach, daylight lingering until it was time for bed, an August of rain and sodden tourists and now September.

After weeks of trying to dress for summer with a side portion of 'and an umbrella and a jacket and a scarf just in case' it's almost welcome. I've bought new cardigans, a jumper dress and boots. We've fallen asleep on the couch under the blanket that we lugged back from Portland. I'm still trying to get by without socks but as I sit here typing my feet are cold and I'm about to admit defeat.

The food has changed. There are still the salads and pastas that we rely on almost every week but they've been joined by mince cooked slowly with grated root vegetables, poached chicken to keep us in broth and leftovers. I'm starting to think about shepherd's pie. It feels good, I'm ready to hibernate.

And this week, as the evenings started to get darker and the air cooler I wanted to bake, so, on Tuesday, while we pulled together dinner, I mashed and stirred and spooned into muffin cases and later, curled up under that blanket with a mug of tea and a muffin it felt like Autumn.

Chocolate Banana Muffins
From Kitchen: Recipes from the Heart of the Home, Nigella Lawson

3 very ripe or overripe bananas
125ml vegetable oil
2 eggs
100g soft light brown sugar
225g plain flour
3 x 15ml tablespoons best-quality cocoa powder, sifted
1 teaspoon bicarbonate of soda
1 x 12-bun muffin tin

Preheat the oven to 200°C/gas mark 6 and line a muffin tin with papers. Mash the bananas and, still beating and mashing, add the oil followed by the eggs and sugar. Mix the flour, cocoa powder and bicarb together and add, beating gently, to the banana mixture, then spoon it into the prepared papers. Bake in the preheated oven for 15–20 minutes, by which time the muffins should be dark, rounded and peeking proudly out of their cases. Allow to cool slightly in their tin before removing to a wire rack.

Makes 12.