I love London’s impressive and varied food culture, I really do. But what’s a greedy girl to do when she tires of eyeing up sourdough, dosas and dirty burgers? There’s nothing I love more than to see what other people are scoffing in other parts of the UK. I happened to be Newcastle-Upon-Tyne last weekend, […]
There’s something about the current UK heatwave that’s making me dig out the French Provencale recipes I ate as a child when we used to spend scorching summer holidays in Marseilles with my family. When I rub the leaves of the basil plant outside and it smells so strong it could almost be skunk, I […]
This recipe was a happy accident. I was running around the house like a nutjob trying to get everything done before friends rocked up for dinner – clear bombsite, wash felt tip beard/moustache off my daughter (she did it to herself, not I), chisel porridge and spaghetti sauce off wall etc. Then I thought, oh […]
When it’s hot and you feel lazy, who can be bothered to make pastry for a quiche? Not me. Here’s a great recipe for a pastry-less one – it hails from the South of France, from my Aunt Jeanine. It absolutely bloody rocks. A bit of context first, because I do like a chat. The […]
Weirdly, I’ve never made my own homebrew before. Until now, the only encounter I had with homemade booze was when I was a student sharing a house with five mucky blokes, one of whom regularly bought wine and beer kits from Boots in an attempt to save money. The ‘wine’ he produced would invariably be […]
I am now so very thankful we decided not to turn our front garden into a statue and music themed arena. I had grand plans of having some kind of tasteful bronze cast of myself and my husband, placed onto a plinth (perhaps depicting us on our wedding day), then enhancing this with a ‘Waltzing […]
This week I allowed myself a really self-pitying moment: I realised that it has been at least six months since I’ve allowed myself to sit in a cafe with my daughter. She isn’t even two yet, and taking her anywhere that requires her to sit still for longer than a whole minute is literally right […]
I am about to allow local Transition Town volunteers to grow fruit and vegetables in my front garden. People walking past will soon be able to see a profusion of runner beans, salads and exotic herbs growing next to our ancient, gnarled rose bushes, whereas almost everyone else on my road has neat front gardens […]
You never know what you might have to wear at a British barbecue. It could be T shirt weather, or you might find yourself pulling on a pair of woollen tights and a full length Gabardine coat. Having enjoyed great weather all week, we fired up the barbecue on Sunday, but everyone was shivering so […]
Minx-like Italian dessert alert! Black coffee granita is a really easy and elegant pudding that’s perfect for serving at the end of a summery meal as it’s very light and won’t have you busting out of your clothes. It’s like a mega-easy version of a sorbet, or a posh slush puppy in a glass, […]
Toast & Butter 