green apple sorbet

lamb, rosemary and red wine stew

3 January 2012

If it’s grey outside, or if you are full of cold, or just a little bit miserable with the January blues, then you NEED this stew. The rich, unctuous sauce and the melting meat will warm the cockles of your heart. It is so easy to make (provided you can wait patiently for a couple […]

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more-than-miso broth

1 January 2012

If you overindulged during the festive period and have made it your resolution to be pin-thin/make your body a temple/blah blah blah by February, might I suggest that instead of embarking on a crazy crash diet, you employ a simple formula? Something along the lines of: porridge for breakfast, soup or a sandwich for lunch, […]

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last supper (of 2011)…including best-ever yorkshire pudding

31 December 2011

One final blowout before the obligatory January health kick. Roast pork with crispy crackling…mmmm! I can’t claim the credit for cooking the meat. Or indeed for those crunchy golden orbs of roast potato. Instead, I was in charge of making the yorkshire pudding. My favourite recipe comes from The River Cottage Meat Book (a fantastic […]

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chicken satay skewers

30 December 2011

My sister served this at a party recently and as I was roped into helping to cook it, I felt it was only polite to ask for the recipe (that, and the fact that it was absolutely yummy). There is something about the unctuous combination of peanut butter and coconut milk, with just a hint […]

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jewelled prosecco jelly

26 December 2011

After a huge Christmas dinner, the last thing I want is a heavy pudding. This dessert is light, refreshing, and the perfect palate-cleanser. It would also work beautifully at a New Year’s Eve party, especially since the prosecco retains its fizz if you keep all your components cool and chill the jelly quickly enough. I think […]

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Jamie O’s mince pie cookies

23 December 2011

Yep, Mr Oliver has done it again. The perfect thing when you fancy deviating from the standard festive pie, either because you prefer a slightly different pastry-to-fruit ratio or just because you’re THAT unconventional, these cookies are an absolute winner. Serve them still warm from the oven, or box up a few batches and give […]

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hot spiced cider

20 December 2011

My local pub serves the most delicious hot spiced cider in winter. In an effort to replicate it, I thought I would give the recipe in Jamie Oliver’s 2011 Christmas magazine a try. Not quite as scrumptious as the pub version, but tasty nonetheless and perfect for warming up when you get home from hours […]

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chocolate and cherry blackforest trifle

14 December 2011

I have been (quietly) obsessing over trifle for ages, in particular Nigella’s chocolate cherry variant. Last weekend I finally got round to making it – well, a version of it – and it was such a roaring success I thought it was worth sharing. The original contains a plethora of ingredients, including cherry jam, cherry […]

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French apple tart

2 November 2011

I think we can all agree that I have been shockingly bad at updating this site of late. But we don’t need to dwell on it. Absence makes the heart grow fonder and all that…if indeed anyone actually noticed. I should probably orchestrate some kind of ‘relaunch’ to mark the occasion, but instead I’m giving […]

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supper for seven

10 May 2011

A group of friends and I have a sort of informal supper club going. You know the kind of thing…every month or so we exchange emails and texts in a frenzy of diarising and subsequently convene at someone’s abode for a home-cooked feast. The host plays chef and everyone else supplies bottles, after-dinner chocs and […]