This time of year – despite the falling temperatures and falling leaves – is a favourite time for me as a cook, and glutton. And figs are one reason why. Beautiful, black Turkish figs – with their soft, edible dusky-leather jackets, and their tiny crunchy seeds – are my favourite fruit of autumn. I know this sounds …
seasonal recipe
On-my-soapbox alert! Corn is contentious. Not the sweetcorn that we eat – and the only corn crop grown in the UK – but the corn that has infiltrated our lives in some very non-food and non-nutritious ways. In the US, where it is by far the most-grown and most renumerative crop, field corn is used in manners various and sundry: …
Can I entice you with a recipe that apparently induces fainting? Sounds rather alarming, doesn’t it? The famous Turkish mezze dish, Imam Bayildi, translates as “the Imam fainted.” From pleasure or shock, we know not. But really, who doesn’t want a bit of that?
The conservatory and spare room are piled with Rachel’s boxes and bags: split-new cooking utensils, tea towels, pristine winter boots, Italian coffee maker, erm, Sriracha sauce. By next weekend these bags – that are really quite annoying me – will be emptied into a new home, a new chapter of life. And I will be a …
I often get funny looks when I suggest this at my weight management groups and my cancer nutrition classes. No one quite rolls their eyes, but I do feel a collective will not to laugh; a suppression of an exasperated “you’ve got to be kidding me.” I eat tomatoes like candy. At least at this time of …
If it is hot where you are, eating cool foods and sipping iced drinks will be high on your agenda. Ice lollies are always a hit – whether bought or made; whether you are young or old. Why not keep it healthy and fun by making these all-fruit ice lollies? It’s a hectic weekend for …
Happy 4th of July! Once again, a holiday sneaks up on me and I am here, at the last gasp, tippy tapping away trying to write a relevant post. My excuse is that as an ex-pat American living in the UK we of course don’t celebrate the 4th. While the US is celebrating getting away from …
Despite my advanced (advancing?) age I love Instagram. Any downtime (standing in a queue, riding the bus) I will scroll away on my phone, staring happily at hazy beaches peopled with the lithe and the tanned; folks’ daft dogs coming way too close to the camera; style parades of impossibly impractical shoes and smart city shorts. Sigh. …
I’m feeling inordinately chuffed with myself. I, who am normally fairly immune to the charms of cakes – hormonal fluctuations notwithstanding – not only broke out of my comfort zone and yesterday made a cake, it was only ruddy World Baking Day. How zeitgeist of me.
As a tangential follow on from my last recipe, I give you another wrap. Of sorts. Like the kimchi avocado lunch wrap, this is also a bit briny, punchy and crispy. But completely different. And no need to do any advance prep, or visit an Asian market. In fact this throw-it-together crunchy, spicy crab parcel is perfect for …