Sharing a love of good food - recipes from my kitchen - eating out - great producers & suppliers
Recipes suitable for vegetarians. Some are completely plant-based, others may include egg and dairy.
Orange Shortbread Biscuits, light, buttery, and with a hint of citrus, are an absolute delight. Enjoy them with a cuppa or as a crunchy accompaniment to desserts like panna cotta and ice cream. Or make as a welcome gift. So easy, you just whizz up the …Read more
Cheese & Chive Pancakes, a savoury version of Scotch pancakes or drop scones, make a great breakfast, lunch, or snack. The simple batter of flour, milk and an egg plus mature Cheddar, Parmesan and fresh chives, is whisked together in seconds. Drop spoonfuls onto a …Read more
Ginger Oat Biscuits are crispy, crunchy, sweet, and buttery, with the warmly spicy flavour of both ground ginger and stem ginger. A cousin of digestive biscuits, the combination of oats and wholemeal flour gives a lovely rustic texture. Neither hard like traditional ginger nuts, nor soft …Read more
Waldorf Salad is an easy classic. At its simplest, just crunchy apples and celery in a mayonnaise dressing, these days it usually includes walnuts too. In my version there’s also plump raisins (substitute halved grapes if you prefer) and a dressing that’s lightened with natural …Read more
Baked Oat Pudding with Apple & Cinnamon is a super easy dessert with a taste and soft texture you’ll love. It combines rolled oats, grated apple, optional sultanas, brown sugar and cinnamon with milk, eggs, melted butter and a touch of vanilla. The result is …Read more
Rye, Spelt & Sesame Crackers are crispy and crunchy, with an earthy, nutty flavour. With no yeast, no kneading, and no proofing, these easy homemade crackers are ready to eat in little more than half an hour. With rye, spelt and white flours plus sesame seeds, …Read more
Spicy Roasted Parsnip Soup is warming in both senses of the word. A steaming bowlful is just what’s needed on chilly days, plus its spice will bring a warming tingle to your taste buds! Roasting the parsnips first, with a generous amount of my special spice …Read more
Flaky Cheese Crackers are a melt-in-the-mouth snack and are perfect as a nibble with drinks. Layers of light, cheesy pastry are created by a simple technique of folding grated cheese into rolled out, buttery dough. Cut into whatever shapes you like, brush with beaten egg and …Read more
Mincemeat Christmas Tree is a stunning looking but deceptively simple tear and share bread. With fruity mincemeat between layers of lightly sweet, buttery dough, it’s a great alternative to mince pies. Made using my overnight, no-knead bread method it’s really simple too. Bake in just 15 …Read more
Stirato is a rustic, Italian-style baguette whose name means ‘stretched’. Made with just bread flour, salt, fast-acting yeast and water, it has a crispy crust and open crumb. With this easy, no-knead recipe you’ll get great-tasting bread for very little effort. Just mix up the dough the …Read more
Quick Pickled Cucumber is an easy pickle that’s ready to eat in a few hours. You can flavour the light pickling liquor however you please. Here I’ve used fresh dill and mustard seeds for one jar and warmly spicy Aleppo pepper in the other. Without …Read more
Potted Cheese is an easy, no-cook, traditional British cheese spread that’s perfect on crackers, biscuits, crusty bread or toast. Cheese and butter are simply combined with your choice of herbs and spices plus a touch of booze. You can make it with a single cheese such …Read more
Chocolate Coconut Crunch is an easy, egg-free bake with a biscuity chocolate-coconut base and rich, melted chocolate topping. With simple ingredients, it can be put together in ten to fifteen minutes. Just melt some butter then stir in flour, cocoa powder, desiccated coconut, sugar and …Read more
Fig & Fennel Sourdough is lightly sweet and spicy. Made with my easy overnight, no-knead method it’s great for both beginners and experienced bakers. I love it sliced and spread with butter, toasted or not. With no added sugar, I think its semi sweet flavour …Read more
Moroccan Spiced Baked Stuffed Squash, filled with spicy tomato sauce and chickpeas, finished with a drizzle of tahini sauce, makes a sensational vegetarian or plant-based main course. A Moroccan-inspired mix of cumin, paprika, ginger, turmeric, cinnamon and chilli gives a warm, mild heat. To make …Read more
Fruit & Seed Flapjacks fit the bill whether you’re looking for a healthier sweet treat or an energising snack. The slow-release energy of oats is combined with apple and bananas, your choice of dried fruit and seeds, plus tahini or nut butter. Many flapjacks have …Read more
Lentil & Walnut Loaf is an easy, tasty, and nutritious vegetarian bake. Tinned lentils speed up the prep so you can get this herby, chewy loaf in the oven in around twenty minutes. Bake for an hour and serve hot with roast potatoes and veggies, or …Read more
Nasturtium Capers, with their piquant flavour, are an easy homemade alternative to capers. In fact, they’re not related to capers at all. They’re simply the pickled seeds of a colourful and common garden plant. Look among the leaves when your nasturtium plants have flowered, and you’ll …Read more
Mushroom, Cheese & Bacon Oat Bake (and its veggie incarnation with nuts instead of bacon) is a tasty, easy and economical dish. Which I think makes it perfect for weeknight dinners. Meeting a challenge set by Totally Locally, I was able to source all the …Read more
Baked Banana Sponge Pudding is old fashioned comfort food that everyone will love. Except, unlike the sponge puddings of old, this one doesn’t need to be steamed for hours and hours. This simple but delicious baked pudding needs just forty-five minutes in the oven. For very little …Read more
Spinach Dal is a nutritious, economical and tasty soup or curry inspired by Indian dal palak. Based on yellow split peas, with whole and ground spices, a little tomato plus lots of fresh spinach, I think it’s a wonderfully vibrant mix. In a final flourish, cumin …Read more
Do you have a glut of homegrown tomatoes to use up? Or maybe you’re looking for recipes for those market, veg box, and shop-bought tomatoes? In this post you’ll find a dozen of my favourite ways to use tomatoes. I only have a few pots …Read more
Fruit Tea Loaf is a traditional sweet treat that’s adaptable to whatever dried fruit you have and whichever spices and flavourings you like. It contains no added fat (other than a little in the egg) but is delicious spread with butter. Perfect with a cuppa or …Read more
Apple Butter is a traditional and concentrated fruity preserve which doesn’t actually contain butter. Apples, along with water, sugar and spices, are cooked into a thick puree until they become caramelised and jam-like. For a bittersweet flavour, I include cider, but you could just use water …Read more
Panzanella is a simple but delicious Italian salad of tomatoes, bread, and onions. Wonderfully refreshing, it’s dressed with extra virgin olive oil, red wine vinegar and basil. My version includes multicoloured tomatoes plus red onion, cucumber, celery, and a little garlic. I like the salad …Read more