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This weekend’s planned camping trip to Whitstable had to be cancelled because of the shitty and weirdly biblical weather we are having this summer. So I found myself on a Sunday afternoon at the beginning of August wanting nothing more than to curl up on the sofa in a dressing gown and eat comforting wintery […]

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Blogger-D was lucky enough to have a free work jolly to Le Café Anglais last Christmas and said the food was some of the best she’d ever tasted. Blogger-R unfortunately has yet to be offered such a generous perk and so has had to content himself with making this - Rowley Leigh’s ’signature’ dish of […]

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I came across this Loyd Grossman recipe whilst driving my decrepit G4 along the Information Super Highway. Obviously Mr Grossman recommends we use one of his jars of special authentic Italian-style tomato pasta sauces, but (equally obviously) if you’re taking the time and trouble to cook a meal from scratch, what’s the point?

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Another recipe from the mighty Yotam Ottolenghi. Perfect for an anniversary meal. x

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This recipe involved the dazzling debut of our latest item of kitchen equipment - a Black Iron Omelette Pan bought for the bargain price of £7.60. It came from Dentons Catering Equipment Ltd - a magnificent shop crammed with professional quality cooking gear and definitely worth a pilgrimage - providing you can tolerate the multitude […]

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Regrettably, and I feel unreasonably, Tower Hamlets Council won’t let us keep sheep on the balcony so making our own feta cheese is out of the question. We do however have a healthy and ever-expanding mint plant and so at least were able to locally source half the ingredients in the title.

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It was in the Guardian magazine and looked tasty and wholesome which is just the thing when you wake up on Saturday morning feeling less than complete and utterly narked by the complete idiocy of the London electorate in voting for an upper class Tory idiot cos he made them laugh on the telly and […]

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What to do with a squash, that eternal question. Should I bake it, fry it, foam it, render it into a mere suggestion as accompaniment to something less orange, or should I take the soup route. Like the silk road but gloopier, the soup route will inevitably involve stock, garlic and onions, the very essence […]

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The front page of Ken Livingstone’s campaign website is frozen in pre-election time with the simple message ‘Don’t vote for a joke. Vote for London’. Shamefully, it seems Londoners (or at least the 45% who could be bothered to get off their arses to vote) fancied a bit of a laugh. Anyway, this depressing result […]

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Regrettably the dodgy photograph below does not do this recipe any justice. Even the desperate and clumsy application of random photoshop filters has failed to give an impression of the deliciousness of this dish.

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For those of you not in the know and unwilling to look it up on Wikipedia, paneer is a cottage cheese used in South Asian cooking. It can either be crumbly or in block form, doesn’t contain rennet and so is completely vegetarian, and refuses to melt when heated. It has a good texture but […]

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Working until 7 on a Friday is never what I would class as fun. And when there’s a gig to go to then even less so – a gig with a 10pm curfew too. So I got to the pub at 7.30, inhaled two pints of Pilsner Urquell and then to the gig. The Only […]

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In the U.S. the sweet potato is incorrectly referred to as a yam. But there again it’s the land where they call aubergines - eggplants, courgettes - zucchini, biscuits - cookies, jam - jelly, jelly - jello, and torture - water boarding. That said, it’s not technically a potato either. It’s sweet though.

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WARNING: In order to prepare this dish you’ll have to master the subtle art of crumbling feta cheese. But don’t worry, if you find this daunting and would like guidance, there is a website to help you. If you need help with grating the courgette or holding a spoon then I’m afraid you’re on your […]

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On 14th February I became the privileged owner of this ‘Imperia Raviolamp 12′ ravioli mould. It’s made from lightweight anodised aluminium with an enameled steel base and stands on four non-slip rubber feet. It comes complete with a miniaturised rolling pin turned from the finest Italian beechwood. This weekend I took her out for a […]

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If your experience of a Cornish pasty is eating a near frozen Ginsters in the car park at Heston services, then refresh your palate by giving this recipe a go. Actually Ginsters pasties contain plum jam and are very good … but give this a go anyway.

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I realise the photo below looks like an unappetising plateful of deep-fried Spam fritters, however they are actually a tasty full-fat medley of oat biscuits heavily laden with blue cheese.

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It must be Christmas soon. Walk past any eatery at lunchtime and you’ll witness the depressing sight of work colleagues sitting around tables self-consciously wearing party hats…having fun. Not having to suffer this annual humiliation is one of the benefits of being freelance. Speaking of Christmas, this year I’ve decided to make, or rather […]

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My sister gave us a pair of homegrown, slightly hen-pecked squashes this weekend. Whether the culprit was Dolores, Fifi, Jolene or Daphne, we’ll never know.

Roj Blake models the ‘Item du jour’ in rebel chic. A bat-winged action-jerkin with ruched cuffs, peek-a-boo neckline and casual below-paunch cummerbund. Generously tailored in easy-care non-shrink chantilly, this garment offers […]

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‘Dear Mr. Vernon, we accept the fact that we had to sacrifice a whole Saturday in detention for whatever it was we did wrong. But we think you’re crazy to make us write an essay telling you who we think we are. You see us as you want to see us. In the simplest terms. […]

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And then there was this other time when we had a cabbage in the veg box. Observant readers might notice a pattern of veg box-related dinners, indeed dinners built round one vegetable have become a regular occurrence. Not a bad thing as it makes you seek out new ways with seemingly old/tired/well trod/uninspiring ingredients.

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Last week a report by the ‘World Cancer Research Fund’ found that among other things, bacon gives you cancer. The media gave this saturation coverage. At around the same time the German-based ‘Energy Watch Group’ concluded that global oil production peaked back in 2006. This barely got a mention.

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Being English we claim not to be programmed to celebrate 31st October with pumpkins and ghoulish tales of the night, however I went trick or treating as a nipper back in the 80s and disagree with tedious naesayers who claim that the celebrating of Halloween is nothing but yet another blind import from the evil […]

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If your local shop permits I advise a decent cider for this recipe - so put that White Lightning back on the park bench and try something tasty like this Henney’s Frome Valley Dry Cider.

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It has to be said that the avocado is one of my favourite vegetables (sorry fruit), so much so that whenever asked to supply a username for a website, I invariably type in RicardoAvocado. However, I had never cooked one having always assumed that it would turn instantly to an oily green liquid as appetising […]

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So it was Saturday lunchtime, some drinks had been drunk the night before and we were in need of food. There were eggs, there were fishfingers both of which have been known to feature in the weekend repertoire, but there were also potatoes and cheeses, and it so happened that the latter were to […]

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