The shorts are running around like idiots and every screen in the house is on – two tvs, two pcs and an Xbox – it’s no surprise I rarely get to read the papers any more – today’s are still sitting by the front door in their wrapping getting increasingly nervous that I’ll fail to give them the attention they deserve…

I’m clearly on a roll as I manage to cook something noteworthy for the kids lunch today –

Lamb meatballs with linguine

Take half a kilo of lamb mince and mix it in a bowl with olive oil, ground cumin, finely chopped red chilli, plenty of salt and pepper and a good handful of chopped herbs – I used basil, rosemary, thyme and mint. Form the mince in balls the size of a small apricot, fry them and set aside in a saucepan, then fry an onion and two cloves of garlic, finely chopped, and add to the saucepan. Now add a tin of chopped tomatoes, a teaspoon of caraway seeds and sea salt and ground pepper to taste. Let it all simmer for about 30 minutes.

In the meantime, ten minutes before the meatballs are ready, boil a pan of linguine until al dente. Finally drain the linguine and add to the meatballs, along with another handful of chopped basil (you can also add tabasco at this stage if you like it spicy).

Serve all together with a big dollop of soured cream…