Slow Roasted Lamb Shoulder

Slow Roasted Lamb Shoulder

You won’t believe how simple Slow Roasted Lamb Shoulder is. Yes, it does take four hours to cook, but you really can just put it in the oven and forget about it. This is a classic roast lamb dish although, with meat this tender, you …Read more

Fennel, Apple, Orange, Lemon, Ginger & Mint Juice

Fennel, Apple, Orange, Lemon, Ginger & Mint Juice

If you’re new to juicing, this Fennel Apple, Orange, Lemon Ginger & Mint combination is a great one to start you off as it’s really light and refreshing. Although I usually try to include lots of vegetables in my homemade juices due to the high …Read more

Rhubarb, Apple & Ginger Jam

Rhubarb, Apple & Ginger Jam

Rhubarb, Apple & Ginger Jam is so good I hope it’ll encourage beginners to get jam making and become a favourite of old hands too. Great not just on buttered toast or scones, this medium-sweet, tart and slightly spicy homemade jam is perfect over yogurt …Read more

Green Gazpacho with cucumber, avocado & mint

Green Gazpacho with cucumber, avocado & mint

Green Gazpacho? Maybe purists would take exception to me calling this refreshing, raw cold soup gazpacho. That’s because, unlike the Spanish original, it isn’t based on tomatoes. Instead, I’ve used cucumber, avocado and yellow pepper, which I find much less acidic. Perfect for a hot …Read more

Picnic Bread with roasted vegetables, sun-dried tomatoes, salami & cheese

Picnic Bread with roasted vegetables, sun-dried tomatoes, salami & cheese

In this post, inspired by a favourite picnic food from the past, I create an easy recipe for homemade bread studded with roasted peppers, onions and garlic plus sun-dried tomatoes, salami, cheese and basil. This flavour-packed bread is great to take with you on a …Read more

Classic Sultana Scones

Classic Sultana Scones

Classic Sultana Scones are so quick and easy, yet always feel like a treat. Serve with double or clotted cream and jam, or simply spread with a generous amount of butter. I think a recipe for Classic Sultana Scones should be in every cook’s repertoire.   …Read more

Roasted Spiced Vegetables with Tahini Dressing

Roasted Spiced Vegetables with Tahini Dressing

This post is the third in a series where I show you how meals based around roasted vegetables, accompanied by a range of tasty mix and match dressings, are a great way to help you reach your recommended daily intake of fruit and veg. In …Read more

Blueberry & Mint Smoothie

Blueberry & Mint Smoothie

I’ve just discovered my new favourite smoothie for hot summer days: blueberry and mint. I love blueberries and I love mint so it was a no-brainer that I would like this one, but I wasn’t quite prepared for just HOW GOOD it was. We’d been …Read more

Carrot Cake Oat Bars: spicy carrot cake flavour in a fraction of the time

Carrot Cake Oat Bars: spicy carrot cake flavour in a fraction of the time

Carrot Cake Oat Bars have all the spicy flavour and moist richness of carrot cake. But are made in a fraction of the time. Studded with sultanas, nuts and coconut, with the scent of orange and spice, Carrot Cake Oat Bars are so easy. Eat as …Read more

Crusty homemade bread with no kneading

Crusty homemade bread with no kneading

Crusty Homemade Bread with no kneading is perfect for bread making beginners. Perhaps you want to make your own bread but think it’s too difficult? Or maybe you struggle to fit traditional bread making into your day? In this post I show you that getting …Read more

Pressure Cooker Beef Brisket served three ways

Pressure Cooker Beef Brisket served three ways

Brisket of beef is an economical cut of meat that’s full of flavour. But bringing out the best in it usually requires long, slow cooking over many hours. In this post I show you how to reduce that time to just an hour using an …Read more

Pupcakes: Homemade Dog Friendly Cupcakes

Pupcakes: Homemade Dog Friendly Cupcakes

Pupcakes are no added sugar, dog friendly cupcakes. With natural ingredients like carrot, courgette and apple they’re a tasty treat for your pooch. In this post I’ll also show you how to make sugar-free toppings based on cream cheese.     I’m really not much of …Read more

Hot cross buns: easy, no-knead recipe

Hot cross buns: easy, no-knead recipe

Who doesn’t love Hot Cross Buns at this time of year? With their roots in Britain’s pagan past and its celebration of the return of Spring, making a batch of these fruity and spicy buns isn’t difficult, even if you’ve never made bread before.   …Read more

Roasted Vegetables with Feta Dressing, Walnuts, Pumpkin Seeds & Crispy Kale

Roasted Vegetables with Feta Dressing, Walnuts, Pumpkin Seeds & Crispy Kale

This post is the second in a series where I want to show you how meals based around roasted vegetables, accompanied by a range of tasty mix and match dressings, are a great way to help you reach your recommended daily intake of fruit and …Read more

Roasted vegetables with mix & match dressings

Roasted vegetables with mix & match dressings

This post is the first in a series where I’ll show you how roasted vegetables, accompanied by a range of tasty mix and match dressings, are a great way to help you reach your recommended daily intake of fruit and vegetables. In this post I …Read more

Johnny Cash’s Chili & an earworm: welcome to the Columbo Bowl Chili Cook-Along

Johnny Cash’s Chili & an earworm: welcome to the Columbo Bowl Chili Cook-Along

My contribution to the Columbo Bowl Chili Cook-Along, celebrating the publication of Cooking with Columbo. There’s a word for the effect on my brain of watching Swan Song, episode seven of season three of Columbo: an earworm. An ear worm is a piece of music …Read more

Rabo de Toro: Spain meets Staffordshire in a rich Andalusian oxtail tapas dish

Rabo de Toro: Spain meets Staffordshire in a rich Andalusian oxtail tapas dish

Winter is traditionally the time for slow-cooked stews, and oxtail with its rich flavour and soft, silky texture teased out by long cooking, is understandably a contender for this sort of comfort food. But for me, oxtail evokes thoughts of warmer climates; specifically the southern …Read more

Kale, Spinach, Apple, Celery & Lemon Juice

Kale, Spinach, Apple, Celery & Lemon Juice

The first time I made this Kale, Spinach, Apple, Celery & Lemon Juice I was rather new to green juices and smoothies and a bit dubious about how it was going to taste, despite its beautiful deep emerald colour. With a hefty dose of our …Read more

Alcohol-free drinks for Dry January: smoothies, juices & mocktails

Alcohol-free drinks for Dry January: smoothies, juices & mocktails

If you’ve seen my post about Dry January you’ll know that I’ve set myself the goal of drinking no alcohol for a month. In that post I talked about how I’d recently found that deeply ingrained drinking habits, developed from a young age and which …Read more

Cranberry & Orange Scones with Orange Butter

Cranberry & Orange Scones with Orange Butter

Cranberry & Orange Scones are so quick and easy. To make them, I take the classic British  fruit scone and give it a twist by using dried cranberries soaked in orange juice plus orange zest. To make them even more orange-y, serve them with a …Read more

Parmesan & Cheddar Biscuits

Parmesan & Cheddar Biscuits

Parmesan & Cheddar Biscuits might just be the best cheese biscuits you’ve ever tasted!  Intensely cheesy and buttery, but so light and melting. Great as an indulgent nibble or wow your guests by serving with drinks.     These cheesy biscuits as so good that …Read more

Thai Spring Rolls with Pork & Prawns

Thai Spring Rolls with Pork & Prawns

Thai Spring Rolls with Pork & Prawns are crispy, crunchy, and absolutely delicious. Inside is the perfect mix of rice noodles, mushrooms, prawns, minced pork, carrots, bamboo shoots and beansprouts. All flavoured with garlic, chillies, coriander and fish sauce. Fantastic with some sweet or hot …Read more

Turkey, Sage & Cranberry Dog Biscuits

Turkey, Sage & Cranberry Dog Biscuits

Turkey, Sage & Cranberry Dog Biscuits are an easily made Christmas treat, full of natural ingredients that your pooch will love.     I’ve posted quite a few Christmas recipes for us humans, including Mincemeat, Mince Pies, Panettone Bread & Butter Pudding and Turkey Stock. …Read more

Spicy Lentil & Coconut Soup

Spicy Lentil & Coconut Soup

Spicy Lentil & Coconut Soup is creamy, warming but with fresh, vibrant flavours. In this easy but satifsfying soup, red lentils are simmered with tomatoes, vegetables and spices then made creamy with coconut milk. To finish, whole spices are fried and stirred through the soup, …Read more

Turkey Stock made in an Instant Pot electric pressure cooker

Turkey Stock made in an Instant Pot electric pressure cooker

Although I’ve put this post in the ‘recipes’ category, it’s hardly a recipe at all. To make turkey stock, or any other meat stock really, it’s simply a case of putting the bones plus any scraps of meat, skin and fat plus selected vegetables in …Read more