I don’t know whether it’s down to the weather this year – very wet spring and weeks of hot and dry conditions during the middle of summer – but my curly kale is doing incredibly well. I love having it instead of cabbage to complement a roast dinner with loads of roast potatoes and parsnips and oodles of gravy It takes no more than 5 minutes to cook on the hob in a few spoonfuls of simmering water. But surely there must be more to this pretty, frilly leafed green vegetable

So, 2012 has now gone and we're into a fresh year but will "13" be lucky for Spixworth? The jury's still out on that one, but Christmas 2012 didn't turn out too badly even if it was a bit muddly. The saga began on Christmas Eve!

When I initially saw this recipe I thought it was going to add nothing more to the pasta recipes I already had, but having given it a good scan through, I realised it had a little more to it than just chicken and veg in a creamy sauce!