Bocca di Lupo

After nothing short of a fiasco, we finally got the corner table we wanted at Bocca di Lupo. We did our usual trick of demanding pen and paper from the waitress in order to spodishly finesse our order. I voted for the fried bread with speck and squacquerone cheese - mostly because I liked the sound of squacquerone - and pork and foie gras sausage with faro. Delicious beyond words was Artichoke a la Giudia - a perfect heart of the veg deep fried to crispiness but unctiously soft in the centre. Seven or 8 plates later and still, Archie, Ol and I were hell-bent on tasting the Sanguinaccio: a pudding paté made from pig's blood and chocolate, which you spread thickly on slices of sourdough. http://www.boccadilupo.co.uk/

Paul Smith's autumn collection at London Fashion Week was right up my street.

It'll be months before it's warm enough to wear this pretty frock, as it's not really the kind you can team will wooly tights and a cardi... I love that it hangs like a sack of potatoes but is made from the sweetest Liberty print. It looks like it would get all nicely creased after one wear and, in my book, all the best dresses have pockets. http://www.tulipandnettle.com

February malady

Gently warm some calvados in a pan, over a low heat. Pour into a glass and sip slowly: a soothing and delicious remedy for a sore throat.

Winter salad

Purple sprouting broccoli with walnuts and pecorino

Purple sprouting broccoli

Walnuts, shelled and chopped into big chunks

Extra-virgin olive oil

Maldon salt and black pepper

Pecorino cheese, sliced into thin shards

Sourdough breadcumbs

Cook the broccoli in a large saucepan of boiling salted water for 3 minutes. Drain well, and tip back into the hot pan. While the broccoli is still hot, slosh on some olive oil, and sprinkle with salt and pepper, carefully coating the broccoli. Sprinkle over the walnuts and cheese and gently fold together. Decant to a serving plate. Fry the breadcrumbs in butter, until golden, and scatter over the salad before serving.

Beautifully serene, inspiring and nicely scruffy-round-the-edges photography of the new spring collection at Cabbages & Roses. http://www.cabbagesandroses.com/

Moccasins

A break in the February downpours is my excuse for channelling Pocahontas and donning these suede moccasins. http://www.newlook.co.uk/