25 April 2012

Dosas – Southern Indian Pancakes

My parents have recently come back from a wedding in Southern India and they have been to one of my favourite regions, Kerala.  They were blown away by the delicious food and already miss the flavours of their staple, the dosa.  At about the same tim...

17 April 2012

Pretty Little Rich Cake

It was Sophie’s birthday the other day.  We went out en famille for a Chinese meal at Sweet Basil in Kirk Hammerton.  Sophie wanted a strawberry cake, so I felt like trying something a bit old-fashioned.  Before Bird and Dr Oetker independently came...

28 March 2012

Sophie Grigson Cookery Demonstration At The Oak Tree In Helperby

On Monday 26th, we had arranged a cookery demonstration by Michael Ibbotson (who owns the acclaimed The Durham Ox); they have, also, recently taken over The Punch Bowl in Marton cum Grafton and breathed life back into it and are developing a reputati...

19 March 2012

A Better Version Of Simnel Cake Than My Last Attempt

A year or so ago I made a simnel cake, but it came out rather squat and a tad heavy. The squatness was easily remedied with a smaller baking tin, while the texture was improved through using a lighter recipe with more eggs. I have, also, used an id...

25 February 2012

Delicious (Though I Say It Myself) Orange And Earl Grey Cake

17 February 2012

Some Recipe Ideas For Laura Santtini's Alchemical Larder Ingredients

I have been asked by several people to give some starting ideas for the various goodies within Laura Santtini's Alchemical Larder box that we provide to Fortnum & Mason, Harrods, Harvey Nichols and Selfridges amongst others.  So while there is a...

23 December 2011

Give Some Time And Make Some Christmas Sweets

In this festive period, we have been asked out to various families for drinks, or the kids out to parties.  And the question always is what to give people in a period of giving.  So yesterday, the kids and I spent a happy day making sweets, much as w...

17 December 2011

Recipe For Nurnberger Christmas Cookies - German Lebkuchen

Following on from the spekulatius blog, we have been having fun trying to make German lebkuchen cookies.

18 November 2011

The Perfect Cuppa

The other day I listened to James May chatting on Radio 5 Live about the new series of Man Lab and in it he discussed the perfect cup of tea. As in everything in life, I agreed with some of what James May said, but disagreed with other parts, for exa...

06 November 2011

Lamb Stew With Rosemary & Lemon

I was pottering around the shops the other day and their was some good looking shoulder of lamb.  They called out to me "Cook me, take me", so I asked the butcher for them and popped them in the basket.  Back at home, I found some lemons that need us...

18 October 2011

Blending Breakfast Teas (Part 3)

So how to get us started? Well, I decided to start at the end first and to work backwards, so I tried to work out what were the types or styles of tea that we wanted to come out with as products. Basically, we were looking for light, medium and stron...

06 October 2011

Blending Breakfast Teas (1)

I have been doing some research while trying to create a range of Breakfast Tea blends to complement our very popular English Breakfast Tea.  This has partly been a matter of curiosity as I like, in a slightly anoraky way, reading old books on tea, s...

06 August 2011

Two Fish Shops - Craster And Seahouses (19 & 20 July 2011)

01 August 2011

Two places for tea – The Old School House and Galloway Activity Centre

I seemed to spend the first week of our holidays driving a triangle from Loch Ken to Cream O’ Galloway at Rainton and then to Kirkcudbright, ferrying our kids from activity to activity.  We did manage to break for tea a few times. 

22 July 2011

The Better Supermarket Beefs In The UK - More Thoughts On Burger Making

For the supermarkets, I have reviewed their offerings (see below) and made an initial selection of meats, going for beef from Booths, Sainsbury's, Tesco and Waitrose. 

15 July 2011

Some Rules For Better Beef For A Better Burger

These are some more technical thoughts on the type of beef you are after, over and above the right breed and farmer.

12 July 2011

How To Prepare The Meat For Your Burger

But the key to the recipe is the meat. You should not just get the nearest pack of mince that you can find, but should go to a proper butcher and get the mince made for you using the right types of meat.  The best beef for a burger comes from the top...

08 July 2011

Starting Out - The Basics For A Simple Homemade Burger

Some time ago, I started a quest for a great burger, then stopped that search as things at Steenbergs gave me less time than I had needed.  But I think I am ready to start that hunt again.