roast vegetables and chicken

well, the tests were all fine, apparently. the stomach lining is inflamed but no hiatus hernia, no gall stones, and definitely nothing sinister. it's a relief, to say the least. it was all marginally unpleasant, with a bit of gagging and spitting and snivelling from having a long tube shoved up your nose and down your throat but nothing that terrible really. i tried very hard to remember the gastroscopy but midazolam works a treat and it's all gone a bit blurry. i do remember being wheeled back to the bay on a trolley, which was quite exciting. it was all over really quite quickly and i got a cheese sandwich, a cup of tea and an amazing view across london bridge at the end.

apparently having been sedated makes me inacapable of cooking (i assume they worry you'll set fire to yourself) so r takes over tonight. he makes the easiest, tastiest dinner you can imagine, and one that will clear your fridge of forgotten vegetables too. i think you can put in whatever veg you want in it but a couple of things are probably essential - red onions, for the sweetness when roasted, and tomatoes, for their acidic kick. red peppers are nice, as are courgettes. make sure the courgettes are sliced thinly though - large chunks just end up being watery and tasteless. normally, we a few whole but squashed cloves of garlic are great but r forgets to do it this time. it's not a disaster - it tastes fine as it is. in terms of other veg - aubergine might work but i can never quite get the timing of it right so it either overcooks to the point of being hard and tasteless, or it's raw - and raw aubergine is pretty horrible. we wilt some spinach in it at the end and mix it all up. you could also add things like toasted pine nuts or crumbly goats or feta cheese if you wanted to make it a bit more substantial.

a couple of chicken breasts (one from a midget chicken, seemingly - have a look at the photo) in the oven that have simply been oiled and seasoned for the last 20-25 minutes and you have a great dinner without too much effort.