

"Comfort food stepped up a bit"
"Deb is a firm believer that there are no bad cooks, just bad recipes." GoodReads You can probably tell it's a mildly uninspired day -...
Nov 26, 2023


Hot and crunchy - black pepper
"as with olive oil, salt and other basics we once considered boring, pepper is going gourmet." Jon Henley/The Guardian "Hot beans on...
Nov 25, 2023


I need a bigger table
"Christmas is coming the geese are getting fat." nursery rhyme This is a roast goose. It used to be what we ate at Christmas, but I...
Nov 16, 2023


More than potatoes? Irish food.
“I would make the argument, not that it is ‘meh’ but that there isn’t much of it. We do not have a sophisticated cuisine – we just...
Nov 15, 2023


Fried pizza - leftovers 4
"a small amount of ingredients go a long way with pizza" Jamie Oliver But I can't resist and always put too much on top and so my pizzas...
Nov 2, 2023


Solving the leftover problem - 1
"The main flavouring ingredients should be well spiced and piquant; they can vary according to the taste and skill of the cook." Jane...
Oct 29, 2023


From world's worst to best - Scotland
"Scotland has undoubtedly gifted us with the weirdest and most wonderful combinations of foodstuffs the world has ever seen." Rosie...
Oct 21, 2023


Normandy apples and cream
"The best thing I know between France and England is the sea." Douglas William Jerrold Last week was a guru week and it was Jane...
Oct 16, 2023


Apples from Winton
"Passing time adds false memories and modifies real ones." Stephen King Eons ago I studied geography as one of my three A-level subjects....
Oct 13, 2023


Tamarind can do anything
"the optimal blend of umami and tang" Marion's Kitchen One more thing from the Black Cake book - tamarind. Well in the book it was...
Oct 12, 2023


Tradition and black cake
"Tradition is only about what people have or have not done. It's not about what they are capable of doing. And it's not about what they...
Oct 11, 2023


A-Z
"Chaos was the law of nature; Order was the dream of man." Henry Adams This is a kind of postscript to my recent post on language as part...
Oct 6, 2023


L'apéro
"People who wish to discipline the sexual organs should avoid drinking those artificial concoctions which are called 'aperitifs'"...
Sep 26, 2023


Life, the universe and everything on your plate
"Food is never just something to eat." Margaret Visser This plate is some 5000 years old. It's from ancient, ancient Egypt and depicts...
Sep 24, 2023


Cabbage rolls from long ago
Once upon a time I sat in this very spot and gazed upon the Mostar bridge. Well I am 90% certain it was in this spot - although, when I...
Sep 20, 2023


Salted caramel
"Its popularity may come from its effects on the reward systems of the human brain, resulting in 'hedonic escalation'". Wikipedia Is this...
Sep 15, 2023


Sainte Ménéhould
"I only wish I could have cooked it for her, as I know it was one of her favourites. We would have drunk a bottle of old Rhone with it....
Sep 14, 2023


History in a kind of pancake - or flatbread, maybe even chips
Cecina, Asfrisciolata, Socca, Turta, Turtellassu, Fainá, Torta di ceci, Calentita, Panisse, Panelle, Pizza a caballo ... so many names...
Sep 9, 2023


India and potatoes
"Potatoes seem to have become the roots of Indian cuisine, but India's relationship with potatoes is a little over 300 years." Armaan...
Sep 4, 2023


So retro, so English and so unavailable
"The prominence that American food has gained within the last century has led to redcurrant sauce being partially replaced by cranberry...
Sep 1, 2023

