NOTE: If you are just here for the recipe, that’s fine. Scroll on down! But hopefully you are okay reading about my week living below the poverty line. 🙂 My week living below the line, on £1 a day, is almost at an end. In a weird sort of way I have almost enjoyed the …
Don’t let the fancy name fool you, tartine is just French for ‘open-faced sandwich’. And I find it easier to say than the Danish smørrebrød, or the Finnish voileipä – the latter of which I have eaten when ages ago I did some work in Helsinki. Cured herring and butter as I recall. I ate it to be polite but …
You may be glad to know I’ve calmed down from my mini Big Food/Big Pharma rant of last week. I got seriously close to popping a vein. I’m just glad I didn’t think of taking my blood pressure at the time of writing. I was a bit worked up, but once my post was edited for …
Muffins get a bad rap. Paraphrasing a British expression about US GIs – used disparagingly during WW2 – they are over-filled, over-sweet and over here. But muffins don’t have to be the gummy-textured, American-style behemoths beloved of overpriced (and over here) coffee chains. They don’t even need to be sweet. And, dear Lord, they can even be …
Do you fancy a little weekend baking? Despite my main oven literally blowing up this past week (cue catering panic), I had a strong urge to bake. Luckily I know that my tiny conventional ‘top’ oven is a pretty efficient baker. While my workhorse fan oven gets (got) the cast iron pots of slow-cooked stews …
One can buy very good bought curry pastes nowadays, but there is just something extra-bright and fresh about a homemade paste. And it isn’t hard to make: I just pop everything into the bowl of my little mini chop thingy* and press ‘on.’ It is that easy.
“Give her a Chelsea bun, miss! That’s what most young ladies like best!” The voice was rich and musical, and the speaker dexterously whipped back the snowy cloth that covered his basket, and disclosed a tempting array of the familiar square buns, joined together in rows, richly egged and browned and glistening in the sun.” …
Imagine flaky pastry, crispy and buttery. Now imagine it enveloping spiced minced lamb, juicy and dripping. Well, you’re not getting that today. But don’t be too disappointed because I’ve got something just as good, but a bit healthier. Naturally.
These probably aren’t going to be the prettiest muffins you will see in the run up to Christmas. If you want pretty – and I’m sure extremely tasty – festive baking, have a look at the world of wonder and fantasy that is Pinterest. I’m crushing on this page in particular. I practically weep at the …
The word English is in quote marks as we here in the UK don’t call this style of muffins English muffins, just muffins. It is somewhat confusing, however, because US muffins – sweet and spilling over their paper cups – are much more prevalent here than the former. But you can’t spread Marmite over American-style …