In no order whatsoever:

Home-baked white bread: enthused by a conversation with a baking-mad friend, I arrived home determined to make a loaf, which I haven't done for years. I'm a wholemeal woman, but all there was in the cupboard was white flour. Undeterred, I used the Cranks quick wholemeal recipe. I can't find it online to give you the link, but this wholemeal bread recipe from Delia Smith is similar: no kneading. Half a slice hot from the oven was delicious slathered in butter, and it made excellent toast with peanut butter the next morning.

Home-baked wholemeal bread: Can you see a pattern here? The day after I made the white bread I wanted to complete my original intention, so bought some new yeast (the lot that raised the white loaf was three years old!) and wholemeal flour. Same recipe, with the addition of some black sesame seeds sprinkled on top. Same delicious result: this time toasted with banana spread on top.

Affogato:We went to a local Italian restaurant for the first time and enjoyed traditional service from distinguished-looking Italian-speaking waiters, in a dining area fragranced by fresh lilies. Just before our complimentary lemon liqueur, me and my OH shared an affogato (Italian for drowned), which is usually a scoop of vanilla ice cream with an espresso poured over. Ours was slightly more spectacular: layers of coffee and ice cream in a tall glass, topped with whipped cream, and a little surprise lurking a the bottom: a spoonful of condensed milk. Nom nom nom.

Cauliflower 'rice': If you're cutting carbs or calories, cauliflower is often recommended as an alternative to rice or mash. Just boil or steam, then season and mash with a little milk or low-fat cream cheese. I tried it with a flavourful aubergine and tomato sauce and it worked really well. The cauli flavour wasn't really noticeable and the texture not too dissimilar from rice or lumpy mash. And it counts as another one of your five a day, unlike potato.

Mojitos: In the interests of tidiness, I'm working my way through our drinks cupboard. No, not quite. I was inspired by the budget-minded programme 'Superscrimpers' where mojitos were recommended as a cost-conscious party drink. I realised I had a bottle of rum and some limes... All you do is put crushed ice in a glass, cut half a lime into thirds, squeeze in the juice, throw in the lime pieces, add a few mint leaves, add a shot of rum and top up with lemonade (classically it's soda but this way you get sweetness without adding sugar and having to stir it in.)

The five best things I ate last week

What have you enjoyed eating or drinking this week, at home or on holiday?