Travel tips-Restaurant reviews-Recipes
There’s been a lot of gardening going on. My own garden is quite small but it’s surprising how much time it takes to tidy it after winter and plant some new shrubs and replant pots. I’ve also been helping Jonathan in their much bigger garden over the past two weekends. The young family are still a […]
Read MoreMany countries have a form of bread salad. The Italians have panzanella; in Lebanon and other Middle Eastern countries you will find fattoush; while many salads, like Caesar Salad, contain croutons – fried bread cubes. I was introduced to Dakos by Liquid Gold Cave when I did an olive oil tasting course last year; it was […]
Read MoreIt’s hard to avoid at least a little overindulgence at Christmas and as the festivities die down, I can’t help but crave for something fresh and healthy. Thus, I decided to make a fattoush at lunchtime today. I’ve made a variation of this Syrian/Lebanese bread salad from Moro East many times with aubergine and pomegranate […]
Read MoreI love figs. They’re such a gorgeous exotic fruit: deep grown-up colours, a soft fragrant centre and, when ripe, a heady perfume that excites the senses. Their sensuous quality was most famously described in Ken Russell’s 1969 film version of DH Lawrence’s Women in Love when Alan Bates (playing Rupert) explained to a table at […]
Read MoreI used not to like halloumi; I found it often too rubbery. But my family love it so much it’s become a favourite on the barbecue and I’ve slowly come round. And when I discovered a wonderful Cyprus halloumi cheese in Waitrose (yes, Waitrose again, but I promise they don’t pay me!), I decided that […]
Read MoreI know I must seem a bit slow in jumping onto the burrata bandwagon. It’s been the foodies’ darling for a few years; has sat, pride of place, on many an Italian restaurant’s menu, but the fact is … it’s still hard to source. Well a good one. And in Twickenham. Despite our ‘Little Italy‘. […]
Read MoreIt’s a rare thing for something so obviously ‘healthy’ to appear on these pages. In fact it’s a couple of years since I posted my Sensational Antioxidant Salad. And since that was also in January, I guess I’m just caught up once again in the ‘let’s be healthy in January’ crush! In my defence, should […]
Read MoreI wrote yesterday about making Imam Bayildi and how I’d wanted to recreate the lunch I had in Istanbul three weeks ago on my first day there. I’d chosen to have just a couple of meze – appetisers – with some Turkish pide bread for a light lunch. The spinach was wrapped in lots of […]
Read MoreThe first time I encountered a kohlrabi was a few years ago when I used to regularly have a vegetable box delivered by Riverford Organic Farm. I’d seen them before but had never actually bought one so I was a bit flummoxed by what to do with it. I was pleased to discover a recipe […]
Read MoreIt was hot – I’m not complaining after this long wait! – and I was busy with lots of work, so I wanted something simple and fresh for supper. I bought some lovely large prawns from Sandys, the local Twickenham fishmongers. They were labelled ‘Never been frozen’, which probably put them ahead of the ones […]
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