

Mundane to trendy and back to mundane
"blandly milky, comfortingly stodgy, and just the thing to use up all the staling half loaves left hanging around by Christmas guests who...
May 21, 2023


Kitchen satisfactions
"A kitchen is a good place to be, almost always the best place in the house." Michael Ruhlman This is my kitchen. I love it. It's one...
May 12, 2023


Stewing - when, how, what?
"Believe it or not, there are no right or wrong ways to make stew" Pip Spence on the Jamie Oliver website I'm planning to make a beef...
Apr 15, 2023


A recipe a method or just an idea?
"the possibilities are endless." Gourmet Traveller Last night we had friends to dinner, some of whom were vegetarian, so vegetarian was...
Apr 1, 2023


Pickled onions - ancient or modern?
"Pickle a big batch, put them on everything." There are the ones in the jar - brown and whole, and the ones in a dish - sliced, pink and...
Mar 23, 2023


Do as you're told
"Do what you're told and everything will be alright" Norman Jewison When it comes to cooking it's a dilemma. Do you do what you're...
Mar 6, 2023


My ten go to dinners
"Most households have an average of 10 go-to meals on rotation." Alice Zaslavsky In Alice Zaslavsky's book The Joy of Better Cooking,...
Mar 2, 2023


Fear of failure
"Relax into the rhythm, release any expectations of perfection or outcome. Go with the flow, take a breath, and remind yourself: I've...
Feb 28, 2023


Lessons from a family feast
“If you can eat with mates or friends or family, I mean, it's such a brilliant thing isn't it? If you feel really rubbish and you have a...
Feb 20, 2023


Three good things on a plate
"It always feels less overwhelming when you remember that you're only 1-2-3 steps away from making a memorable meal." Alice Zaslavsky...
Feb 14, 2023


Baking sole with Jamie
"If I've learnt anything from the Italians about fish, it is definitely 'less is more'" Jamie Oliver It's lucky dip time because it's...
Feb 13, 2023


Loaded
"A look at restaurant menus makes it clear — bigger is better! Loaded dishes, jaw-dropping piles of ingredients and personalized items...
Feb 11, 2023


En passant
"if you say something en passant, you mention it quickly while talking about something else" Cambridge Dictionary So not really 'this...
Feb 7, 2023


Mashed potato
"The topic of mashed potato started a heated debate among my colleagues. Half of them insisted it had to be creamy, buttery and have...
Feb 1, 2023


Whim whams
"This kind of thing is more a delicious mouthful at the end of a meal, than a pudding." Jane Grigson It's not the end of a meal - I'm...
Jan 27, 2023


Salmagundi
"The word salmagundi may be derived from the obscure 16th century French word salmigondis which means disparate assembly of things, ideas...
Oct 29, 2022


Cooking - the only thing unique to us
"Once fire was discovered, the instinct for improvement made men bring food to it. First to dry it, then to put it on the coals to cook."...
Oct 26, 2022


Is it possible to keep it simple - and cheap?
"Simple is easy to get wrong" Neil Perry It seems that Catalonia is the flavour of this week, because here I am about to talk about a...
Oct 22, 2022


The evolution of preserved lemons
"Preserved lemons are not great if you have a short attention span." T. Susan Chang/NPR Kitchen Window I have bookmarked this rather...
Oct 7, 2022


Washing up
"until you turn them on, a dishwasher is just a cupboard you hide the mess in, it’s still a very handy cupboard." Jay Rayner The...
Sep 26, 2022

