While my darling and always voracious wife S and I love nothing more than spending a whole day together working our way through a slew of recipes, the reality is that this kind of cooking can really only happen on the weekend. And even then, being able to block out a whole Saturday or Sunday is becoming increasingly rare. What’s more common these days is coming home dog-tired after a long day of work, raiding the fridge, and tossing whatever we find into a large pot, before heading up to our room to change and shower. If all goes well, a couple of hours later, we’ll have something hot and satisfying to dish into our plates and fill our bellies.

Fortunately, S and I also regularly stock our fridge with essentials from Huber’s Butchery and Tekka Market, so we usually have some pretty nice cuts of meats, veggies, and a supply of good quality stocks from which to put together our weekday suppers.

We’ve also become pretty adept at whipping together some pretty tasty one-pot meals. One of my favourite recipes is a lovely braised lamb and kale dish from Sam and Sam Clark of Moro fame. Another is a Japanese curry made with some nice choice cuts of brisket and some veal stock. We also love Nigel Slater’s coq au riesling (or as we often make it, a coq au gewurztraminer). A recent addition to our one-pot wonder repertoire is an Asian-inspired pot au feu that combines the best elements of Vietnamese pho and the classic French dish.