Travel tips-Restaurant reviews-Recipes
I’ve always had a bit of an addiction to good bread. I can remember as a toddler standing with my grandmother at her local bakery (she looked after me while my mother worked) waiting for their shop to open and taking home a still-warm bloomer loaf with poppy seeds on top. In Italian delis in […]
Read MoreI had a really lovely time in France at the beginning of the week and very much enjoyed eating good French food again, but once home I slipped back into my default cook status in the kitchen and started cooking Italian food again: Polenta with Aubergine, Tomato & Pine Nuts, making a huge ragù yesterday – […]
Read MoreI recently met up with one of my blog followers, Di, who also writes a blog about her experiences of living on the canals of France (see Foodie Afloat), which has a wealth of wonderful information for anyone travelling in France. Di and her husband have recently given up sailing the barge and now have a […]
Read MoreWe had a very traditional Christmas dinner with turkey, stuffing and all the usual accompaniments, but as Rachael is vegetarian, I wanted to think of a nice alternative for her, and something also quite special. The initial plan was to bake Rick Stein’s ‘Horta Pie’ from his Venice to Istanbul book. Horta are wild greens […]
Read MoreI was at the local Twickenham Farmers’ Market last Saturday and saw a ‘Seriously Italian’ stall selling fresh pasta. I’ve bought their pasta before and it truly is ‘seriously good’ as well as ‘seriously Italian’. There were a few interesting filled pasta choices but in the end – after consultation with Jonathan – I went for […]
Read MoreI’d been looking at a recipe in Rick Stein’s Long Weekends book of shallots stuffed with lamb, cinnamon and pine nuts and thought it sounded wonderful. So, with plenty of time to cook today, I decided that’s what we’d have for supper tonight. I also decided to cook some vegetables stuffed with rice, tomato and herbs for […]
Read MoreMoussaka is one of my family’s favourite dishes and I make it quite often. I’ve also got into the habit of making enough to put together a couple of small individual ones to freeze. Making moussaka from scratch is quite a long job so having one ready for the oven stored in the freezer is a […]
Read MoreThe house is quiet. Jonathan, Lyndsey & Freddie are living with me temporarily in between house moves. But they’ve gone off to Cornwall for a holiday and so I’m cooking for one again. I took a supreme of chicken from the freezer this morning (a chicken from the farmers’ market, jointed by Jonathan). He’s been […]
Read MoreI was working near Richmond Bridge this afternoon and when I finished, I decided to walk across the bridge into the town centre. Partly to do some shopping but also because it’s just one of the loveliest parts of London and with the sun shining, the sky clear blue, I didn’t want to just go home but […]
Read MoreWhen I was in San Sebastián last week with Annie, we had a wonderful porcini mushroom and chestnut risotto in Bar Simirimi on our last evening, having seen it being prepared the night before from our kitchen-side seats. We both said it was something we’d have to make at home and tonight that was just […]
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