February 26

FISH PIE (THERMOMIX)

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I can’t abide leftovers. By that I mean, I do hate things sitting in the fridge and not being used only to be chucked away when they turn into ‘whew…what’s that smell’ when you open the door. So the dozen or so cooked prawns still sitting in the jellied stock from my ‘Shrimp ‘n’ Grits’ […]

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February 23

GRILLED POLENTA WITH SHRIMP, LARDONS AND MUSHROOM BROTH

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My lunch date was enviably pretty – and slim despite her successful career as a food writer and cook, so you may think I wouldn’t be predisposed to affection. However, on looking at the concise menu at The Lockhart – London’s latest paean to Southern cuisine – she posed a question that utterly bewitched me. […]

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February 13

Fennel seed and Parsley crusted Pork with Courgette Risotto

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I’m in a new relationship. We’re still in the getting-to-know-you phase…finding out what each other likes, being very careful to make sure each other is happy, wondering where it’s all going… I’m feeling really positive about it. It’s quite exciting really. I can’t wait to get home in the evenings, just so we can spend […]

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January 04

BAKED VACHERIN MONT D’OR

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So, I’ve been away for an age. I found myself in the UAE, shuttling between Dubai and Abu Dhabi, serving up what skills I have as TV producer to the good people of the GCC. Cooking was involved of course and in what little spare time I had, a modest amount of eating. I was […]

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July 28

FISH SCENTED FRIED TOFU WITH CELERY

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There can’t be many ingredients less loved than tofu and celery. I don’t share the loathing. Celery is one of those long lasting veggies that can survive the singleton’s fridge. Ready fried tofu I buy at my local Thai supermarket and keep it in a zip loc for a couple of weeks. I really like […]

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July 12

BURRATA & PEACH SALAD/SOUPE AU PISTOU

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Herbs – a painful ingredient for the single cook. They add so much, cost a fair bit, but often end up as guilt-inducing slime in the fridge. I know, I know, they’re SO easy to grow even in a window box but who am I kidding? I have my work cut out keeping the geraniums […]

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July 10

GRAIN STORE KINGS CROSS

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It’s rare to find a restaurant that isn’t just blazing a trail but striking the match that will set the new path itself on fire. The kind of place that led one world-famous chef two nights ago to declare, ‘Why the fuck didn’t I think of this first!’ In the fast moving world of feeding […]

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June 18

WILD HONEY REVIEW

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I’ve been altogether too sociable to do justice to one of the initial aims of this blog, but for that I will not apologise. Deliberately shunning the company of others just to fulfil the parameters of a web diary would be akin to giving up a decent lover because you’d bought new batteries for the […]

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June 11

INDONESIAN RECIPES – Part 4 – Beef Rendang

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Bali is a Hindu island, and while they don’t hold the cow in quite such high esteem as their Indian cousins, you won’t find many Balinese eating it regularly. The Sumatrans and Javanese however, love a bit of buffalo, which is the meat you should use to make this dish if you can get a […]

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June 10

INDONESIAN RECIPES Part 3 – Martabak (Padang Stuffed Pastry)

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I’m sure most cultures have their equivalent of the late night kebab crave that many people experience. I have to say, I’m not one of the many in this regard. I can put hand on heart and say I’ve never had a takeaway pitta pocket of mystery meat, chili and raw onion after a night […]

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