Referring to this post, my one and only bedroom became empty. I then decided to get a really good bed for myself as I'd been sleeping on a sofa bed in the sitting room for all these years, suffering from mild but constant back and shoulder ache.
Everyone who knows me is probably fed up having to listen to my unromantic bed story. Finding a perfect (for me) mattress became a main mission in life. I tried everything to gather information - internet, numerous visits to stores, jumping around on countless beds, and talking to knowledgeable friends and shop assistants.
My first eureka moment was when one shop assistant said, "People have a misconception that soft beds are bad for you. It comes from their experience of sleeping on old and wonky beds in hotels and their friend's spare rooms. The key element is your weight. If you are light you want a medium to soft, and if you are heavy you need a hard mattress." Mmm..logical. Why didn't I think of this before?
The next 'Bingo!' was when a friend of mine told me about organic beds. We have organic food and organic clothes, but organic bed?! Oh, yes! Err..this is going to be a long story, so I will tell you about it in the third instalment in this trilogy.
(for the lamb)
2 3-or-4-bone rack of lamb, French trimmed
3 tsp Dijon mustard
6-8 cherry tomatoes on the vine
(for salsa verde)
handful of mint and parsley each, chopped
1 tsp Dijon mustard
1 clove garlic, minced
2 tsp capers, chopped small
1 tbsp red wine vinegar
2 cornichons, chopped small
2 anchovy fillets
3 tbsp olive oil
(for the vegetables)
10 baby new potatoes, sliced into thick coins
1 big or 2 small carrots, cut into small chunks
100g runner beans, thinly sliced diagonally
1/2 spring cabbage, sliced thickly
a handful of frozen peas
a large knob of butter
1 tsp lemon juice
Preheat oven to 220C
Prepare the veg first. Bring a pan full of water to boil. Add some salt and boil potatoes and carrots. When a wooden skewer goes through (2-3 minutes), fish them out and keep them on a plate. Add the runner beans, cabbage, and frozen peas into the same pan and boil for just 1 minute. Drain them and set a side.
Mix all the ingredients for the salsa in a bowl or simply blitz them in a blender. Season it with salt and pepper to taste.
Season the lamb with salt and pepper. Heat some olive oil in an oven-proof frying pan and add the racks of lamb. Brown all over and take them out on to a plate. Pour the fat in the pan onto them and smear them with mustard. Return the meat into the pan, sit the tomatoes on the side, and put it in the oven for 14 minutes.
While the lamb is cooked put all the vegetables and butter in a large pan. Heat through, season with salt and pepper, and squeeze the lemon juice.
When the time is up for the lamb, take them out of the oven and smear with salsa verde.
Serve with the veg like in the pic. If there's any juice left in the pan of meat just pour over the whole dish. Sprinkle salt and pepper and swirl some olive oil, if you like.