I’m starting to get in the festive spirit so a packet of Mr Kipling mince pies caught my eye as I was food shopping the other day. I thought about buying the no doubt exceedingly tasty cakes until I remembered the British Hen Welfare Trust’s feather campaign and … didn’t. You see the charity is …
How to make exceedingly good free range mince pies Read More »
The humble pallet; what a brilliant, versatile and (perhaps best of all), free material. Of course they can also be used in a myriad of ways in the home but today I want to look at some of the easiest methods for their use in and around your garden or allotment. First off, getting hold …
Pastry is one of the easiest things you can make. I’m talking short-crust here. I once made puff pastry and what an absolute arse that was. Unless you happen to have a ridiculous amount of time on your hands then some …
We have some builders in and they are being very helpful and considerate. There’s no god -awful mess and they’ve even been washing up their mugs. Perhaps best of all there is not a single ‘builder’s bum’ in sight anywhere. I am most thankful (and relieved) and decide they deserve some muffins with lots of …
As I scraped my sorry arse out of bed this morning, reluctantly because it was pitch black outside, I can’t say I felt exactly enthused about the time of year. I felt more like cursing. Then as the daylight broke (finally) and the outside became illuminated in a misty, almost magical morning light, I started …
I love sushi and I love making it at home. Although I’d definitely say ‘goodness me no’ to a spot of Japanese blowfish carving; the truth of the matter is you don’t need to be a sushi master to make (or indeed James Bond to eat) some of this delightful fare. Sushi rolls are particularly …
It’s a classic saying among gardeners with a bit of a wilder edge that ‘weeds are just plants in the wrong place’; and I try and accommodate any plucky intruders as much as I can. Overlooking their pushy ways if I think they bring something to the garden, and some of them do, especially the …
There’s nothing new about musicians and pop stars moving out to a large pile in the countryside once they’ve made it. It’s actually incredibly common; Paul McCartney. Robert Plant, Alex James … they’ve all done it. Former 5ive rapper, Abz Love and his girlfriend Vicky Fallon however have done something altogether different. In the BBC 2 series Abz …
I wrote a wee while back in my Guardian blog about kicking back and letting plants grow on more than you might do otherwise. Well, these past weeks I’ve been having fun discovering some whopper vegetables as I forage through the more overgrown areas of my plot. These hidden giants have been secretly putting on …
What better place to start than with a food staple that seems to get an awful lot of peoples’ knickers, speedos (or whatever undergarments you favour whilst cooking), in a bit of a twist. There are whole books on the subject and most recipes come with such complicated instructions you’d be forgiven for thinking that …
