12 Years of Blogging and a Life in Food

It’s the blog’s 12th birthday today. I published my first post on 25 July 2011: The Single Gourmet Traveller & Greek Aubergine Salad. I’d recently returned from a lovely solo holiday to Greece and decided to write a blog about travelling and eating alone, with a particular emphasis at the start in finding places where […]

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A Taste of Twickenham 2023

There had been posters in the windows of shops and restaurants for weeks advertising A Taste of Twickenham – a foodie trail and chance to find out about some of the other things the town had to offer. I made a mental note of the date, let the family know, and told the two eldest […]

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Keep Calm and Carry On Baking

I know some people get worried about cooking for me because of the blog. I always assure them that I only blog about the successes in my kitchen, not the disasters or even near disasters. However, I thought I’d write about the weekend’s near disaster because it might be fun to do so and to […]

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Stein’s on Staycation

It was a late celebration for my birthday last month. My daughter Nicola couldn’t be with me then due to Covid restrictions (she lives in Worcestershire; I live in London) and this weekend was the first time I’d seen her – and her 2½ year old son Rufus – in over five months. Definitely celebrations […]

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Four Hens and Some Very Special Eggs

Meet (left to right) Gwen, Mildred, Maud and Gerty. My daughter and her wife recently got four hens. They live in a 16th century farmhouse in Worcestershire, at the end of a long unmade-up road surrounded by farmland. They’re not farmers themselves, but at their home they’ve created a wonderful bucolic living space where they […]

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Eat Out To Help Out

I’d heard about the government’s ‘Eat out to help out’ scheme to encourage people back into restaurants but hadn’t thought through whether and when I might actually take advantage of it. Then I found myself participating twice by accident yesterday! It started in Richmond in the morning. I’d taken my two little grandsons (5½ and […]

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When ‘Drinks’ Became the New ‘Dinner’

If ever we doubted the importance of social interaction, then the last five months of pandemic living has highlighted our basic need to connect and meet with others. From the grim early days of isolation within our houses, we’ve slowly stepped back out towards our more social selves. But we’re still a long way from […]

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Now We Are Nine!

It was as I was publishing my last post with the red mullet recipe that I noticed a message from WordPress congratulating me on my blog’s 9th anniversary. Yes, it the blog’s birthday!! I was too busy to cook the blog a birthday cake (and in truth, there’s no one around at the moment to […]

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My Lockdown Week in Food (2)

As the lockdown continues we find ourselves adjusting to some extent in a number of ways. I don’t mean it’s easy and we all want it to end, but being in a constant state of panic is neither sustainable nor healthy. Some light relief is needed at times! Whether it’s a lovely walk in nature, […]

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Cooking in the Age of a Pandemic

The pandemic is teaching us many things, and for me highlighting what’s really important in my life. My family of course are by far and away the most important thing. But food is important to me too; it always has been and I’m sure will go on being so. Yet what’s highlighted now is my […]

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