We have been having a hard time lately. In our idyllic cottage in Devon, we more often have reason to celebrate than to slump around like Eeyores. But that is what we have been doing for the past week - all four of us. One has a cut throat (literally), one has work overload, another of us has unreasonable overtime and the last one of us has toilet troubles.

Plus, it's grey and dreary and we can't go to the beach in the rain. There, I'm done grumbling now. Sometimes it feels good to talk. And there is plenty of the good stuff on its way to brighten things up. Like my birthday (which is very soon indeed, but I won't tell you when, because of ID fraud and things.) (Oh yes, and take this, everyone who mocked me when I left Facebook 'cause of fraud: SOMEONE IN LONDON IS USING A FAKED-UP VERSION OF OUR CAR! With a fake numberplate and all. I know because I have been receiving his parking penalties. Who's laughing now, doubters? Me! Okay, not so much.). My birthday, on which I am hoping to be ridiculously spoilt. Um, then there's Valentine's, and as an unashamed romantic this is just an excuse to festoon the house and pets in red ribbons and paint chocolate on every plate. And guess what else? A birthday trip to Harrods soon, too. Mmmm....

See, there's so much good stuff, when you pause and think on it. In the meantime, in case you are living in a house of Eeyores, here is my recipe for White Chocolate and Pistachio Cookies, oh so buttery and oh so smartly irresistibly i-can't-only-eat-one delicious. You can feed these to anyone you like, no matter how posh they are. Oh but please be careful to just-cook them: they are best pale and tender.

love, a not-so-grumpy-after-all-me.

BUTTER COOKIES WITH WHITE CHOCOLATE AND PISTACHIO

3oz butter
2oz caster sugar
4oz self-raising flour
2oz white chocolate
1oz pistachios

Vanilla pod (optional)

Cream the butter and sugar as well as you can before your arm starts to hurt. Sift in (or just tip) the flour and stir it with a fork, gently amalgamating. The mixture will look fairly crumbly. Never mind: on a chopping board, set to the chocolate and pistachios, chopping to rough chunks. Add them to the bowl, with the vanilla seeds if you have any. Bring the mixture together gently with your hands: it will start to stick together as your warm hands melt the butter a little. Form into balls - about 12 - and flatten on baking parchment-lined sheets. Bake at 160 degrees for 10 minutes and cool on a wire rack. If you happened to have a tube of gold lustre in the drawer, it would look terribly graceful brushed over the tops when they come out of the oven. Or, just shovel and munch: it doesn't matter much.

Cooking for St David...
Happy St David's day! Here are some favourite ways with leeks, goat's cheese, lamb and cake... stalwarts of Welsh eating...

Leek & Goat's Cheese Quiche
Make up a batch of wholemeal pastry (Weigh out 4oz wholemeal flour, 4oz plain flour, and a pinch of salt; rub in 2oz butter, 2oz vegetable fat, and add iced water to mix) and pop into the fridge while you prepare the quiche. Soften 2 leeks (washed and chopped) in a frying pan with a dab of butter, then season, and set aside to cool. In a jug, whisk 2 eggs with 2tbsp grated cheddar or parmesan, 100ml double cream and 100ml milk, seasoning generously and adding chives if you like. Now assemble the quiche: roll out the pastry to fit a 20cm flan tin, and scatter the leeks over the bottom. Carefully pour on the egg mixture, scatter 100g crumbled Welsh Goat's Cheese over the top, and slide into a moderate oven. Bake for about 40 minutes, then rest before serving.

Roast Squash with Leeks and Pine Nuts
The squash is an easy all-in-one dinner: just cut in half, then scoop out and discard the seeds, and also cut out some of the golden flesh - cube it and set aside. Put the squash shells on a roasting tray, drizzle with olive oil and sprinkle on some salt and pepper. Roast for around 30-4o minutes, until tender and golden. Meanwhile prepare the filling: saute the cubes of flesh with 1 chopped leek, stir in 1tbsp Parmesan, and continue to fry until toasty. Cram the filling into the cooked squashes, scatter pine nuts and extra Parmesan over the top, and return to the oven for 10 minutes to get gold and crunchy on top. Straight from God's land to the fork!

Rustic Goat's Cheese Bread with Thyme
I have this baking in the machine as I type! I can't wait to eat it this evening with the roasted squash (above). Delia offers a hand-baking recipe for goat's cheese bread with thyme which is already a favourite in our house (with the addition of potato - it's bliss!), but I'm afraid work demands a less time-demanding recipe at the moment!

So - this comes from sumptuous book 'Traditional Breads for your Breadmaker'. In a breadmaker, combine 1.5tsp instant yeast with 2 cups white flour, 1 cup country grain flour, 1tsp salt, 1tbsp sugar, 2tbsp sunflower oil, 50g crumbled goat's cheese, 1tsp fresh thyme, and 1 cup warm water. Set to the 'white' programme... (recipe by Karen Saunders)

If it's cold or rainy and you want some comfort food, try traditional lamb stew - cawl (quick popty-ping version here) and Welsh cakes!

BEST-YET CHOCOLATE CAKE

Under commission to research and write about "making the perfect chocolate cake", I've been living, dreaming and perspiring chocolate cake for the last fortnight. After hours poring over recipes and making a shortlist, at the weekend I managed to make my two finalists for the title of Perfect Chocolate Cake.

Finalist no1 (above) was a recipe belonging to a friend of the family, using a combination of yoghurt and sunflower oil. Having made Nigella's sour cream chocolate cake last year, I was hoping this new recipe would produce a slightly lighter, less intense cake. I swapped the yoghurt for half-fat creme fraiche (which I had leftover from chilli, in any case). After two trips to the shop (forgot the cocoa the first time), I blended everything in the food processor, and put it in the oven. An hour and a half? I was dubious, and checked after thirty minutes. The cake was black on top. Much cursing and oven-fanning later, the middle was cooked, and the edges were blackened. I took a knife to it on the wire rack, and sawed off the black.

It came out okay. In fact, a lot better than okay. The texture was heavy and moist, and the chocolate flavour was excellent. Two things could improve it: one, being spiked and drizzled with a thin coffee syrup as it came out of the oven (like my fabulous lemon cake), and two, being smeared with a milk chocolate ganache. The dark chocolate ganache I chose (an addict to the core, me) was a little bitter.

Finalist no2 fared better. I decided to do a traditional cocoa-flavoured sponge. I inspected recipes by Delia, Mary Berry and Sophie Grigson. Then I decided to make up my own. Basing it on the wonderful lemon cake that always turns out fluffy, I whizzed cocoa, flour, eggs, marg and milk in a food processor and threw it into the oven. It took me 10 minutes. 30 minutes later, the cake was cooked and cooling. I warmed 4floz of cream in a saucepan and melted 4oz of Galaxy chocolate in it. Then I put this into the fridge, and waited impatiently to assemble. Instead of waiting for the ganache to cool properly, I poured it over the cake until it was dripping onto the plate.

Despite the drippy ganache, the result was heavenly. I'd only made one half, since we'd already eaten enough chocolate cake to feed a large family, and nextdoor had received groaning platefuls. Next time I need a chocolate cake, this is the one I'll be making. Medium fat, light and fluffy, relatively easy on the waistline. Perfect!

PERFECT CHOCOLATE CAKE

8oz self-raising flour
3tbsp cocoa
2tsp baking powder
8oz margarine
8oz caster sugar
4 eggs, beaten
10tbsp milk

Method:
Sieve the first three ingredients into a bowl (or processor bowl), then add the margarine, caster sugar, beaten eggs, and milk, and beat until combined. Tip into two well-greased 8” round baking tins, and bake at 160 degrees C for about 50 minutes. Test with a skewer – when it comes out of the cake clean, the cake is done. Cool on a wire rack, and finish with icing of your choice.

d Bleeding Heart Shortbreads d

Okay, so I'm not really a cynic, not when it comes to love, anyway. But what other name do you give to jam-filled hearts? These biscuits were the result of three factors: one, I was given some heart-shaped cutters for Christmas (and everything, from eggs to dog biscuits, has since been heart-shaped). Two, I was given the lovely Apples for Jam for Christmas, which has a recipe for jammy shortbread inside. Three, January makes me feel depressed. These gorgeous, romantic and sugar-dusted biscuits are just the thing to see off the Mean Reds! (If you get the Mean Reds, you'll know what I mean.)

BLEEDING HEARTS (makes 6-8)

2oz butter, softened

2oz caster sugar

4oz plain flour with a dash of baking powder

Merest pinch of salt

Half a beaten egg

Plenty of raspberry jam

Beat the butter and sugar til pale and creamy. Fold in the sifted flour, salt and baking powder, then add the egg and combine carefully. Wrap in cellophane and put into the fridge for half an hour. Preheat the oven to 160 deg C. Roll the dough on a floured board, cutting out hearts and re-rolling the scraps.

Bake for about 10 minutes, watching carefully!

Remove to a wire rack, and sandwich the hearts together with plenty of jam while still warm. Press together, leave to cool, and dust with icing sugar.

The Perfect Margharita

I've been testing and trialling pizza recipes for ages and finally got it right. Crispy, fluffy base, juicy tomato sauce, slices of stretchy mozzarella. Even Steve doesn't mind the absence of meat. Here it is.

MARGHARITA PIZZA

6oz plain flour
1tsp dried yeast
1tsp salt
0.5tsp sugar
1tbsp olive oil
100ml warm water

Combine the ingredients and mix to a dough. Knead for 10 mins, then leave to rest in a warm place. Return to it after an hour and knead and stretch it into a pizza shape on a baking tray. Cover with a tea-towel dampened with hot water, and put in a warm place (I use the bottom oven). Leave for as long as you can bear (about an hour at least).

Tomato Sauce:
4 large tomatoes, chopped
2tsp balsamic vinegar
Splash water
Pinch sugar
Pinch salt and pepper

Put everything in a saucepan and simmer on a very low heat, for maybe 40 minutes, checking often. By the end it should be thick and almost dry.

To assemble:
Spread the tomato sauce over the pizza, and add some thinly-sliced tomato if you have any left. Slice a ball of fresh, organic mozzarella and put over the top. Finally, grate a scant handful of cheddar over everything. Serve with mixed salad and white wine (capers optional).

LOW-FAT BLUEBERRY MUFFINS

9oz self-raising flour
1.5tsp baking powder
2oz margarine
3oz caster sugar
1 punnet blueberries, washed
Juice of half a lemon
2 large eggs
235ml milk

Makes 12

Sieve flour and baking powder twice. Add the marg and rub gently until it resembles breadcrumbs; stir in the sugar and berries. Whisk together the eggs, milk and lemon juice. Add this to the dry mixture and stir briefly (enough to combine but leaving it lumpy).

Plop into 12 muffin cases and bake at 200deg C for 20-25 minutes. Eat warm with cappuccino!

CREAMY LEMON CHEESECAKE

After much testing, I've finally settled on a definitive lemon (or orange) cheesecake recipe. Cheesecake recipes vary hugely, but this simple baked cake includes no gelatine, no strawberry jelly, no annoyingly gritty zest, and no fancy amaretti biscuits.

We ate it topped with orange chunks, but raspberry coulis would be divine poured over the top. There are lots of oranges arriving in our fruit bag from the farm at the moment, so we will probably be having an all-orange version next!

There is a gorgeous photograph of a lemon cheesecake on the cover of BBC Good Food this month. It is served outdoors, with a glass of white wine - perfect lunch if you ask me.

MAKES A SMALL CHEESECAKE (7" tin)

2oz digestive biscuits, whizzed to crumbs
1/3 cup ground almonds
1oz butter

1lb (400g - two boxes) cream cheese
2/3 cup caster sugar
4 eggs
4floz liquid, made up from 1tbsp lemon/orange juice and the rest double cream

Whiz biscuits and almonds, melt butter and stir together. Press into tin, wrap bottom of tin in foil, and put into freezer.

For the topping, blend the cream cheese, sugar, eggs and cream thoroughly in a processor. It will look sloppy but that's good -- pour onto the base and carefully slide onto the middle oven shelf.

Bake at 140 degrees C (275 F) for up to about an hour, checking often - the centre will be wobbly but just set. Cool in the tin - it will firm more as it cools. The centre will be the creamiest bit!! In fact, I think this cheesecake would benefit from minimal cooking - so will try to catch it sooner next time.

APPLE AND ALMOND CRUMBLE

We all love crumble but Delia's brilliant idea to add almonds turns this into a heavenly version. I made this apple crumble for Steve's birthday last week (we were on holiday) and we can't agree whether apple or rhubarb is better. Play safe, and make both.

Now please excuse me, as I saw a 'rhubarb' sign in our village grocer and am going to HAVE to get some and make this again now I'm reminded of it...

TOPPING
4 oz almonds, flaked or whole, gently crumbled
3 oz chilled butter, cut into small dice
6 oz self-raising flour, sifted
4 oz demerara sugar

FRUIT
3-4 Bramley Apples or equivalent amount of fresh Rhubarb
1dstsp caster sugar

Peel, core and chop fruit; arrange in a deep dish and sprinkle with sugar.

Rub the butter into the flour with your fingertips (or whiz in a processor if lazy like me) then stir in the almonds and sugar. If using rhubarb, you can also add some ground spices such as ginger and cinnamon (up to 1tsp each). Sprinkle the topping over the fruit and press lightly. Nobody cares if some of the apples poke out the top. It only adds to the charm.

Serve with CUSTARD! Beat 2 egg yolks with 1/2tbsp caster sugar in a bowl. Gently heat 200ml single cream with a vanilla pod (or 1/2 tsp vanilla extract). When warm, pour it over the yolks, beating constantly. Tip the whole lot back into the saucepan, and bring slowly to a simmer, whisking like mad, until it's thickened. (If it starts to split, apparently you should plunge the pan into cold water - but mine's never done this.) Allow to cool, whisking, for a minute before serving.