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Regular readers will know that 2 months incommunicado can only mean depression. This was unexpected, confounding, as it did, the seasonal cycle my mood swings follow at their most stable. But then, this year's upswing had hit 3 months earlier than in 2007, and the premature downswing was similarly early. I had feared that it'd be downhill all the way until next spring (9 months!). Fortunately I've pulled out of the most disabling depression 2 months after I falling in, just like last year's regular cycle again.

In the end it was cooking that pulled me out of it. I made up a shopping list for a few of my favourite recipies and dragged myself out to make a big trip round the local shops. The immediate result of this was that my arms felt they'd been pulled out at their sockets, but a plateful of my variation on Pan-fried calf's liver with bacon, lemon and cavalo nero made it all worthwhile. (I use chicken liver because I can't find calves' liver; and I've substituted ordinary white cabbage for cavalo nero.) This modern variant on liver and bacon meets bubble and squeak was an immediate favourite. Liver's not for everyone, but chicken liver's melting, almost creamy meats mean that it's the cabbage which gives the dish its toothsome bite. For the sauce, creme fraiche brings a fresh note to the classically rich butter and wine sauce, this little lift then made a kick with the addition of lemon juice.