

The challenge of feeding families
"Family dinners are more often than not an ordeal of nervous indigestion, preceded by hidden resentment and ennui and accompanied by...
Oct 7, 2023


Write, repeat; write, repeat ... chicken and leek pie
"There is repetition everywhere, and nothing is found only once in the world." Johann Wolfgang von Goethe Feeling a bit uninspired - a...
Oct 3, 2023


Venice leeks and what's for dinner tonight?
"Perhaps no one ever gets to know Venice as much as they remember her, recall her from an episode in some other dream." Marlena de Blasi...
Oct 1, 2023


A nifty writer's block idea
"When, after all attempts, there is no recipe to make, I’ll write about what I find on the relevant page or pages. Heck, it may be too...
Sep 23, 2023


Lush - Welsh food
"Lush is a word you describe for the tastiest Welsh food over your nan’s, ... Lush is a Welsh term of endearment. If you ever visit...
Sep 22, 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


Cabbage, potatoes, Portugal, soup - basic
"I have written this book to introduce Portuguese dishes to cooks in this country, rather than to tell them what to eat in Portugal." ...
Sep 19, 2023


Orzo or rice? with chicken
"an urgent need for dishes that served to soothe rather than excite. " Nigel Slater Nigella gets top billing again - this time with her...
Sep 16, 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


Classic - apple pie
"Good apple pies are a considerable part of our domestic happiness." Jane Austen The first thing to say is that this is a first recipe...
Sep 10, 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


Too many onions - what to do?
"I wonder how many of you, when it comes to cooking your next meal, will start it by peeling an onion?" Hugh Fearnley-Whittingstall Well...
Sep 8, 2023


Capsicum (peppers) and pasta
"The most suitable type is the variety you have, and the right quantity of it: quanto basta (or how much is enough), which is both a...
Sep 7, 2023


Words from Rachel Roddy
"sgargarozzare, which my wine-selling friend Antonio defines as: “To consume or throw back with joy, and with no intention of stopping.” ...
Sep 6, 2023


Fruit toad in the hole - Clafoutis
"This seemingly simple recipe baffled me for many years, as I endlessly ended up with a leaden duffer of a pud, so much so that I quite...
Sep 2, 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


The Country captain dispute(s)
"I have yet to find two explanations for the name of this dish that agree!" Madhur Jaffrey Or two recipes that more or less align come...
Aug 31, 2023


Bitter sweet - chocolate mousse memories
"No matter how many new desserts come along, the classic chocolate mousse is rarely met with anything but delight." Nigel Slater This is...
Aug 30, 2023


Deliciously English
"sometimes it takes years of looking at other countries to realise how wonderful your own actually is." Jamie Oliver I'm sort of killing...
Aug 28, 2023

