Now there's a meal...

They do say that sometimes it's the simple things that bring the most pleasure. I like to share my culinary experiments with you all from time to time but for supper tonight I tried something I've not eaten for ages. No fancy recipe or gadgets required this time either.

Having left the office late and driven back through the pouring rain, I decided to call in at the local Chinese takeaway on the way home, forgetting that they close on Tuesdays. Fortunately, there is a chippy next door which I'd been meaning to try and it suddenly struck me that the last time I could remember eating fish, chips & mushy peas was about 16 months ago.

That one time (no, I've never been to band camp), one time last March was when an impromptu stag night involved a stop at the Seaway chippy in Cleethorpes for a delicious piece of cod with chips and mushy peas, all of which we've still recalled and remembered fondly as recently as last week.

As a rule, Grimsby folk won't eat cod, "bottom feeders", "full of worms", you'll hear them all cry, but frankly I prefer the taste and the alledged worms can only mean additional protein. I don't originally hail from Grimsby anyway (despite having lived in the area for 38 years or so) so I'll settle for being a Southener who doesn't know any better.

No cod tonight, but the haddock was certainly full of flavour and big enough to have given Captain Ahab a couple of decent flashbacks; the chips were a perfect balance of fluffy potato in a wonderfully crisp casing and the mushy peas were made from real peas that didn't glow in the dark during the drive home. Amongst my kitchen toys, I've deliberately avoided getting a deep fat fryer so this was a real treat.

Diet? What the hell. Like all good diets, mine starts again tomorrow...