Recent Posts

RAWR Café, Bar & Kitchen, Hanley

RAWR Café, Bar & Kitchen, Hanley

I’d been meaning to try RAWR Café Bar & Kitchen in Hanley for a while now, spurred on by their delicious-sounding, fresh-looking dishes that keep popping up on my Facebook page. One recent Saturday, we’d a few hours to spare after dropping the dog off for a …Read more

Spiced Fruit Sourdough

Spiced Fruit Sourdough

Spiced Fruit Sourdough uses my easy, overnight, no-knead bread baking method to create a loaf full of rich flavour. Dried fruits are steeped in honeyed black tea and orange zest and folded into a spiced dough made the night before. Using the soaking liquid in …Read more

Late summer tasting menu at The Lighthouse Restaurant, Boylestone

Late summer tasting menu at The Lighthouse Restaurant, Boylestone

It was fitting that we ate this particular tasting menu at The Lighthouse Restaurant on the last official day of summer, the eve of the Autumnal Equinox, as the theme of the menu was ‘late summer’. Although we’ve eaten at this very well-regarded restaurant in the …Read more

Moroccan-style Spicy Mutton Stew

Moroccan-style Spicy Mutton Stew

This Spicy Mutton Stew is inspired by the tagines of Morocco, but I’ve resisted the urge to call it a tagine. As you’re probably aware, that name comes from the conical pot it’s traditionally slow-cooked in. However, my spicy mutton stew isn’t cooked in a …Read more

Roasted Sweet Potato Hummus

Roasted Sweet Potato Hummus

Roasted Sweet Potato Hummus is a smoky and spicy alternative to classic hummus. Chunks of sweet potato are roasted with spices such as cumin, coriander and fennel seed before combining with the usual chickpeas, tahini sesame paste and lemon plus a hit of smoked paprika. …Read more

Rice with peas, broad beans, griddled artichoke hearts & mint

Rice with peas, broad beans, griddled artichoke hearts & mint

Sometimes, the most unprepossessing store cupboard and frozen ingredients can turn into an unexpected delight. That was the case last week when I created Rice with Peas, Broad Beans, Griddled Artichoke Hearts & Mint. I’d spent a fair bit of time developing my recipes for …Read more

How I fell in love… with an Instant Pot pressure cooker

How I fell in love… with an Instant Pot pressure cooker

A number of recipes on my blog use an Instant Pot pressure cooker, so I thought I’d better let you know here what they’re all about. I think it’s an excellent product with lots of uses, so it’s well worth having one if you’re an …Read more

FoodFest 2017 Newcastle-Under-Lyme

FoodFest 2017 Newcastle-Under-Lyme

FoodFest is being held in Newcastle-Under-Lyme this weekend and I went along on Saturday morning to see what it was all about. There’s still one day left, so here’s a quick tour of what you’ll find at FoodFest. FoodFest is a community group based in …Read more

Harvest Dinner at Denstone Hall

Harvest Dinner at Denstone Hall

Denstone Hall is an award-winning farm shop and café  on the border of Staffordshire and Derbyshire, set on a family-run farm. I was aware of their wonderful farm shop with its array of local produce – including groceries, cheeses, fresh vegetables as well as a stunning deli and a butcher’s …Read more

Roasted Onion Sourdough with Flaxseeds & Toasted Bulgur

Roasted Onion Sourdough with Flaxseeds & Toasted Bulgur

Roasted Onion Sourdough has the wonderful combination of fresh baked bread with roasted onion and a subtle hint of sage. Nutty bits of flaxseed and bulgur wheat give texture, while a blend of rye, malted and white flours give good flavour without the loaf being …Read more

Autumn dinner for ‘Harvest Home’

Autumn dinner for ‘Harvest Home’

Although it’s felt like Autumn’s been coming on a while now, it doesn’t officially start until 22 September. This is the 2017 date of the Autumn equinox when the sun is exactly above the equator so that day and night are of equal length. The …Read more

Cinnamon Plum Cake with Hazelnut Crumble Topping

Cinnamon Plum Cake with Hazelnut Crumble Topping

Cinnamon Plum Cake with Hazelnut Crumble Topping is perfect with a cup of tea or coffee. But also makes a lovely hot dessert served with cream, custard or ice-cream.     When I was a child, the house next door to my grandma’s had a …Read more

One pot chicken with apples & creamy cider sauce

One pot chicken with apples & creamy cider sauce

This easy one pot chicken dish is great comfort food. Browned chicken thighs are cooked in a buttery, cider cream sauce, made slightly tart with apples and smoky from good bacon Potatoes are cooked in the sauce to make a one pot meal, but it would …Read more

Sourdough Beer Bread

Sourdough Beer Bread

Sourdough Beer Bread is made by simply using beer as the liquid in your sourdough bread dough. Using my no-knead, overnight method produces a well flavoured bread with a hint of beer, a good crust and the classic holey structure of a sourdough. As I …Read more

Spiced Roasted Butternut Squash & Garlic Soup

Spiced Roasted Butternut Squash & Garlic Soup

I love butternut squash. And with a chilly, rainy autumn definitely arrived here in the UK, a warming soup made from this naturally sweet member of the cucurbit family is a welcome sight on many restaurant menus or home dinner table. But I find that …Read more

No-knead sourdough

No-knead sourdough

In this post I share my easy method for wonderful homemade no-knead sourdough bread. Let time do the work of developing gluten by creating a wetter than usual dough and letting it ferment overnight. In the morning, bake in a heavy lidded pot that will …Read more

Griddled avocado with balsamic-roasted tomatoes, chilli, coriander & mint salad.

Griddled avocado with balsamic-roasted tomatoes, chilli, coriander & mint salad.

I’ve never been one for keeping up with trends so I was very slow on the uptake when everyone started going crazy for avocado toast. But, unlike most trends, I think there’s a very sound reason behind this one: the flavour & texture combination is …Read more

Sunday lunch in the New Forest: review of The Red Lion at Boldre

Sunday lunch in the New Forest: review of The Red Lion at Boldre

During a recent long weekend staying with friends in Hampshire, we were taken for Sunday lunch to the Red Lion, a stunning 15th century pub at Boldre in the New Forest. The Red Lion is rightly proud of its use of local suppliers & seasonal …Read more

So Thai in Leek

So Thai in Leek

It’s great when you share something you love and find that others love it too. Which I guess is the main aim of this Moorlands Eater blog. But it was with a little trepidation that we introduced some friends to So Thai in Leek when we …Read more