

Some party time recipes
I've spent the morning, no - most of yesterday afternoon as well, making marmalade from a gift of home-grown mandarins, from friends, and a whole lot of lemons that I had in the fridge - 12 assorted jars seen here being the result. It's very satisfying when you get to this point, although there's always the worry it won't set, although this time I think I marginally worry about the opposite - too set. Anyway it's left me feeling lazy, so I thought I would just provide a few
Nov 17, 2025


Bagatelles
Bagatelle: "a thing regarded as too unimportant or easy to be worth much consideration." Oxford Languages So yes 'bagatelle' is a French word for a trifle: "The French word bagatelle , from the Italian word bagatella , means a trifle or little decorative nothing." Wikipedia And this is an oddments post - full of trifles. A bagatelle trifle is also a specific French Canadian dish of which the magazine Saveur says "The typical bagatelle in La Beauce is a child's delight o
Oct 27, 2025


Scacce ragusana
"a bit like a lasagne crossed with a focaccia and pizza." Lorraine Elliott/Not Quite Nigella This is just one of those short posts,...
Sep 6, 2025


A question about shepherd's pie
On Sunday we had shepherd's pie for dinner because I had leftover lamb from Friday. Whenever we have a roast and have leftovers we...
Aug 26, 2025


Leftover roast lamb - Jamie to the rescue
"Lamb leftovers are slightly trickier to use up than beef or chicken. The meat is very fatty, which makes it unctuous and flavoursome...
Aug 22, 2025


Leftovers of leftovers of leftovers
David has more or less insisted I write a blog about last night's dinner because he loved it so much. He also said I should write down...
Jul 24, 2025


A tangle of roots
"sometimes we need to fill our lives with a little more whimsy than a rich, rotting mound of compost" One Green Planet This post has...
Jul 7, 2025


Filo tarts
"I think of filo pastry as edible wrapping paper. Something in which to hide fragile fillings, such as feta cheese and thyme leaves,...
Jun 7, 2025


Shopping, the fridge and the freezer
Why do I do what I know I shouldn't? We are eating leftovers for dinner again tonight, which is OK, if a little boring. But there are...
Jun 1, 2025


Those pesky egg whites
"Any time I am using egg yolks for a recipe, I keep the egg whites in a cup and put them in the fridge for later. Later never comes and I...
Mar 26, 2025


Leftover pizza
"Some like it hot Some cold I like it room temp" u/eboj-dm/reddit I'm reviving that reddit haiku about leftover pizza, because I really...
Mar 17, 2025


Loose ends
Loose ends: things that still need to be done or explained" Cambridge Dictionary At loose ends: Unfinished details, incomplete...
Mar 15, 2025


A waste not, clean-up kind of day
"the sort of cooking that allows the cook, quite justifiably to feel rather pleased with themselves." Hugh Fearnley-Whittingstall It's a...
Feb 16, 2025


Lemon peel
"when the whole kitchen is filled with the scent of grated citrus the effect is startling. Slightly steamy, warm and bitingly fresh –...
Jan 26, 2025


Blown away by kataifi
"Kataifi is a string-like pastry that's technically not filo, but let's not mince words - just pastry." SBS Food Even a bit like fairy...
Jan 13, 2025


Gravy soup? Why didn't I think of that?
"This is the fridge's finest hour" Nigel Slater I've given up for now ignoring NIgel and Yotam - it's just too hard at this time of the...
Dec 27, 2024


Sundries
"various items not important enough to be mentioned individually." Oxford Languages Christmas approaches and begins to dominate, so life...
Dec 21, 2024


A small triumph
"For some reason, leftover omelettes always come out way tastier than by-the-book ones." atto_del_fatto/reddit First thing to say - I...
Dec 17, 2024


Cheese rind umami
"Basically, if it comes to a boil, you might as well add rinds." Rebecca Firsker/Today For a year or more, probably more, I have indeed...
Dec 8, 2024


A croissant wormhole
"You know why the French hate us so much? They gave us the croissant. And you know what we did with it? We turned it into our...
Nov 13, 2024

