The movies would have us believe that childhood is a series of adorable and wacky Home Alone moments. That’s why it’s the movies. It’s fantasy. The reality is usually simpler, and less spectacularly Christmasy. Looking back now, I never realised…
Creamy Lemon Gnocchi with Chicken
Big tip for my younger self – be at peace with buying home-made gnocchi at the market. World’s best shortcut (apart from puff pastry) when you want something fast. (It also freezes well, and cooks from frozen.) And if you…
One Sausage, One Tomato, 100g Pasta, Meal Deal
This is exactly what it is. Per person, one sausage, one tomato, 100 grams of pasta, parsley, parmesan, salt and pepper. Sounds too easy to be true? Walk this way. The pasta may not look like it’s coated in sauce,…
Easy Spice Lamb Backstrap Dinner
Before we get to the easy spice lamb backstrap dinner, let’s talk about the elephant in the room. The vast majority of dinners cooked by home cooks day in, day out, aren’t Instagrammable. They’re nutritious, simple, practical, and hopefully quick….
The Sweet Potato Salad Spot
Hands up who knew that the sweet potato was cultivated before the white potato? That Columbus pretty much introduced them to Europe? That sweet potato was considered an aphrodisiac, hence why extremely popular with serial philanderer Henry VIII?? Well, I…
Oranges and Sunsets Poems
Posting these purely for the love of oranges and sunsets. Brought to you by the colour orange. Oranges Come buy my fine oranges, sauce for your veal,And charming, when squeezed in a pot of brown ale;Well roasted, with sugar and…
The Tomato Tart You Can Take Anywhere
I come from a generation that inhaled the sweet-basil promises of the book Under The Tuscan Sun which ensured that, for rest of our lives, we’d indulge in the fantasy of starting afresh in Italy, renovating villas, pressing olives, and…
Jelly Shots and A Poem
I’ve only made these once, and every time I see this photo, I’m reminded of Covid lockdowns. These red, white and blue jelly shots were a novelty treat, enjoyed in September, 2021, to mark a football match. Our city was…
Celebrating Citrus Haiku in the 1600s
Food and poetry go together. Like emotion and metaphor. Like appetisers and champagne. Like boogity-boogity-boogity-shooby-shoowop-shabop (name that tune!). I so much enjoyed celebrating melons in the 1600s, I’m doing it again, celebrating citrus haiku with Japanese poet, Basho. lemon flowersrecalling…
Jammy Fruit Puff Pastry Tarts
These fruit puff pastry tarts are my absolute everyday go-to, when I have no time, but my brain is “Oooh, perhaps we might like some dessert?” Very much like Homer Simpson’s: “Mmmmm, pie????” Don’t judge me – yes, another puff…
Stolen Green Vegetable Tortellini Salad
When I was a kid, the only tortellini I ate were floating in a bowl of barszcz (beetroot soup). They were a chewy-slurpy dumpling in a wonderfully sweet and sour concoction, and with a dollop of sour cream … even…
Cheeky Tinned Fruit Pineapple Salsa
Fresh pineapple is summer holidays, and lazy days, and cocktails, and moonlit nights, and pina colada, and getting caught in the rain. Not to mention, there’s something saucy about salsa. But I’m not even pretending I used fresh pineapple! 😂…
