Marinara Sauce and why I subscribe to the NYTimes
I subscribe to the New York Times – food and recipes section. “Why on earth would you do that?” I suspect some are thinking. “You don’t even live in America!” Well apart from the recipes – that are generally very good – it’s the food ie comments that attracted me initially and have kept me subscribing for a few years now. In the UK most of the leading newspapers publish recipes, with comments. More often than not the commentators come out with clever quips, get into tussles with other...
read moreRed Pepper and Chilli Jam Recipe
Image – Red Pepper Garlic and Chilli Jam When I visit Seraphina on the Isle of Wight I always fit in a trip to The Garlic Farm. They have a good restaurant and a wonderful little shop packed full of foodie delights, and of course garlic in all its forms. This is where I had my first taste of their Red Pepper, Garlic and Chilli Jam. I put two jars straight in my basket. My Red Pepper, Garlic and Chilli Jam is inspired by their delicious savoury jam. It is such a versatile preserve – spread on oatcakes with a little cheese on...
read moreThe Best Ever Veggie Burger
Image: Best Ever Veggie Burger I have yet to meet a true carnivore that doesn’t love these burgers. Initially their faces fall politely but within a munch they are grinning with relief. And that’s the point -meat eaters often think that veggie stuff will be bland and just too ‘vegetable -y’. They also worry that veggie food will not give them enough protein to sustain them. Actually these burgers pack a protein punch. They also combine a significant amount of the veg for the day. Apart from this, they are absolutely...
read moreFresh tomato salsa recipe. How to turn your party leftovers into treats
This is my second recipe in the series of how to turn your party leftovers into something delicious that you’d actually like to eat. This is a fun challenge and everything has been great so far. I was faced with a small bowl of sliced tomatoes left over from the party. There were loads of whole tomatoes too but they can easily be incorporated into other dishes or even frozen in bags – no need to blanch – to pop into stews during the winter when no home grown toms are available. Normally a bowl of sliced tomatoes that could be turned into...
read moreLettuce soup recipe. How to turn your party leftovers into treats
This recipe is for a light, fresh tasting summery soup that is delicious either served hot on a chilly day or chilled on a warm summer’s night. This is the first in a series of recipes that are designed to use up the food that’s left over after a party. Of course if you are faced with a glut of lettuces this would be a perfect recipe for those too. If you think about lettuces for a moment it’s surprising that a vegetable with such a large range of varieties, textures and flavours is generally just served as a salad or bunged into...
read moreRecipe for oven braised celery – how to love/hate celery
Celery is so good for you. Apart from many other benefits it helps to lower blood pressure naturally. Danny suffers from high blood pressure but actively avoids celery. Even when I buy a delicious blue cheese and munch it on beautifully prepared sticklets of washed and de-strung celery to try and tempt him to give celery a go, he reaches for the crackers to enjoy his share of the blue cheese. “I just hate celery. The crunchiness, the strings – everything about it. Yuk!” It was an impasse until I introduced him to stove top braised...
read moreEasy recipe for Yorkshire puddings – the puffiest in the world
I’ve always been rather proud of my Yorkshire puddings. But this recipe new puts my usual offerings totally in the shade. These puds puff up, keep their shape and are 100% guaranteed to be a success. I was given this recipe by a checkout lady at Tesco many months ago. It is such an easy, no fuss recipe that I didn’t even bother to write down the measurements of ingredients. This weekend I decided to finally test it out. I put the trays into the oven to heat up. It’s well known that the secret of great Yorkshire puds is to have the fat or...
read moreRecipe for Fiona’s vegetarian cheese and potato pie: delicious hot and even better cold
“What is that wonderful smell, Conchita?” I had just taken my potato and cheese pie out of the oven when Danny arrived back from a day in Birmingham. I knew that he would have already indulged in some fast food so I took a chance this afternoon and worked on a new recipe for cheese and potato pie. Although this is supposed to be very filling, Danny might consider this a snack, as he does pizza. I wonder if he’s the only person in the world that regularly asks for chips as a side dish for pizza? “I did have a burger but give me a shout...
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