

Jane Grigson and the apple of paradise
“She thought food was the key to unlocking life,” Sophie Grigson This is one of my First Recipe posts - the book in question being Jane...
Jun 27, 2022


Too easy? Can it possibly be good?
Via his two boys my son gave me a copy of one of The Big Issue magazines, which I confess I never buy. Anyway I flicked through it and...
Jun 25, 2022


Orange peel
"Orange peel has a thousand uses, from marmalade and tea to scented firelighters and DIY kitchen spray" Tom Hunt David has been...
Jun 15, 2022


Carrots and parsnips - but grated
"A latticework of grated carrots and parsnips." Nigel Slater I was rather taken by Nigel Slater's words about a latticework of grated...
Jun 9, 2022


Duxelles - a first recipe
"A few spoonfuls can be used to cut out the early stages of those many recipes which begin with onion and mushrooms sweated slowly...
Jun 4, 2022


Cream - a guilty necessity
"Cream is milk's soul: the sweet, luscious top-of-the-bottle treat." Nikki Duffy/River Cottage Years ago now I made yet another cookbook...
Jun 3, 2022


It's one of those days and I have a ricotta problem
"Ricotta barely makes it as a cheese. Traditionally made from the whey left behind after the curds that will become cheese are removed...
May 20, 2022


Chicken, mushrooms, wine ...?
classic, modern or made up? This was going to be a 'kill three subjects with one post' ramble, but I have now decided to dwindle the...
May 17, 2022


Morsels and dainties
"Life, which is hard, is about small pleasures; it's about what Victorian writers such as George Gissing and John Ruskin used to call...
May 3, 2022


Worcestershire sauce
"Worcestershire sauce, it seems, is out — the craze for umami has come and gone, and entirely passed Worcestershire sauce by." Sam Worley...
May 1, 2022


Carrot cake
"I don’t care what the problem is, carrot cake is the solution." Into the Cookie Jar Started on this a couple of days ago - the day of an...
Apr 29, 2022


Grains in a salad - ancient or new?
"The vast array of grains marketed as ancient—from quinoa to millet to spelt—are, yes, old. Maybe 3,000 years. Maybe 8,000. Who knows?...
Apr 25, 2022


Guanciale - so trendy you can't find it
"Guancia means cheek, and guanciale are the salt-cured pork jowls that hang like pepper-dusted paddles above salumerie (deli) counters in...
Apr 21, 2022


Good Friday, and the Lamb of God
so many questions Let me say up front that I am not at all religious. However I was brought up a Christian - a good Church of England...
Apr 15, 2022


Scraps
"Winging it with what's to hand can be so liberating - flinging in this or that with the joyful abandon that comes from not trying too...
Apr 14, 2022


Vegetarianism then and now
"Time was when a vegetarian was just that: someone who ate no meat or fish, but only vegetable products. Nowadays there are many shades...
Apr 13, 2022


A street library offering and a family saga
"Of course, you’re paying for the view at Watson’s Bay. And if you’re in a retro frame of mind, it might be just what you’re looking for."...
Apr 12, 2022


English ingredients - a maligned cuisine
"Our weather may be unpredictable, but it gives us orchards of beautiful fruit, great soil for vegetables and the most wonderful lush...
Apr 7, 2022


Something with mushrooms - and pastry
"Mushrooms, garlic, butter and thyme. I can hardly think of a better double date. even more satisfying, I think, is when there is some...
Mar 24, 2022


4 common leftovers - no. 3 - salad greens
"If you have any in the fridge, the time to use them is now." Hugh Fearnley-Whittingstall I tend to think that the problem here is as...
Mar 20, 2022

