

Eggs - what's in a name?
"The variations on this simple dish are infinite" Robert Carrier Indeed they are and it is perfectly easy to become completely confused...
Feb 5, 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


Nostalgia and the 'caff'
"I’m really genuinely terrified that we are losing for ever the caff. And I mean that very specifically: the caff not the cafe ......
Jan 29, 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


The umami battle of the 'mites' (mar,vege,pro,aussie...)
"Marmite is a British icon. Vegemite is an Australian icon. Since Brits and Aussies have sporting rivalries, mischievous senses of humour...
Jan 12, 2023


Twelfth night
"On the twelfth day of Christmas my true love sent to me A partridge in a pear tree." It's Twelfth Night. Well the day that my family...
Jan 6, 2023


First recipe, first book
"The only way to eat superb Indian food, with a guarantee of variety, quality and freshness of ingredients, is to learn to cook it for...
Jan 2, 2023


Bubble and squeak
"As kitchen recycling goes, this is probably the most useful of all, neatly dispensing with those most difficult of leftovers." Nigel...
Dec 15, 2022


Mint sauce(s)
"when done right, mint sauce is the key to turning casual summer dinners into something special." Salon.com I spent the morning weeding...
Dec 5, 2022


Battenberg cake
"its appearance is a convenient shorthand for a world rapidly vanishing in a puff of Yardley’s lavender." Felicity Cloake I'm not sure...
Dec 4, 2022


Baked apples - so many ways
"All millionaires love a baked apple" Ronald Firbank This all started with a purchase of a big bag of i'Mperfect apples from Coles by...
Nov 26, 2022


Genteel sandwiches on the lawn
"Everything tastes better outdoors." Claudia Roden It's such a beautiful day - you can almost imagine that summer is actually on its...
Nov 7, 2022


Charter pie
"the 'Charter'. Was it sweet or savoury? Was it in fact food at all?" Jane Grigson It begins with this man - Parson Woodforde a Norfolk...
Oct 5, 2022


Good things = kippers
"Eat with horseradish sauce, good bread and a poached egg - if you fancy - and tease every last morsel from the spine bones and head. ...
Sep 27, 2022


National cuisines and in defence of the English one
"A tapestry and patchwork quilt that embraces the best of the old traditions as well as the newer additions to our repertoire, which are...
Sep 2, 2022


Piccalilli
"Traditionally, yellow. A radio-active yellow. And I think, in the interests of nostalgia, it needs to be like this. Otherwise there's a...
Aug 10, 2022


The impossible sponge cake
"It is my belief that no cake should be taken too seriously. Which is probably why I yawn at the baking-perfection police. Those who...
Jul 1, 2022


There's no such thing as Brown Windsor soup
"Colour fades as flavour deepens." Nigella Lawson This is Jamie Oliver's interpretation of Brown Windsor soup (with pearl barley). The...
Jun 24, 2022


Vindaloo - sweet and sour, not hot
"A Goan vindaloo is not the mind-blowingly spicy curry as it has come to be known in the UK, but a rich, hot, slightly sweet and sour...
Jun 14, 2022


Plain is yummy - two tarts
“Plain fare gives as much pleasure as a costly diet" Epicurus (341?-270 BC) A few Guardian newsletters ago there were two recipes for...
May 27, 2022

