I’ve been enjoying BBC’s The Good Cook over the last couple of weeks. I first came across Simon Hopkinson a couple of years ago when I’d noticed his book ‘Roast Chicken and other Stories’ kept appearing at the top of  lists of  chefs’ favourite books or best cookbooks. At the time I’d never heard of […]

It was quite strange to find out in my 20s that what I’d eaten all my life as spag bol was really nothing of the sort. It was ragu and it’s supposed to go with wide pasta. And since I’ve discovered a more authentic version of Bolognese I’d got out of the habit of making […]

[tweetmeme source=”easyteas” only_single=false http://www.URL.com%5D This is my version of a rich, silky Carbonara. A bit of low fat creme fraiche supplies the creaminess so that clearly cancels out any calories from the cheese and bacon. I’m sure that’s how it works, isn’t it? I always keep a few little packs of diced pancetta in the […]

[tweetmeme source=”easyteas” only_single=false http://www.URL.com%5D Here’s a quick recipe for the Czech spice mix from the previous post. It’s hardly a recipe really, just an example of how I use it. Pork fillet is on our menu most weeks for curry, casseroles, pies or cut into steaks, as it is here. I like that fact that […]

[tweetmeme source=”easyteas” only_single=false http://www.URL.com%5D All over Prague, restaurants served delicious richly spiced grilled meats and kebabs. My inner carnivore was in heaven but I couldn’t work out the spicing. There was come citrus, a little chilli, garlic and herbs. Not to be beaten by the mystery I headed for the market near to our hotel […]

[tweetmeme source=”easyteas” only_single=false http://www.URL.com%5D It might be considered a bit boring, but I love anything from the cod family. Thick, flakey and meaty roasted cod crisp battered haddock with chips – thanks to a stint living in Yorkshire haddock’s still my preferred chippy choice. Just typing those words is making me hungry – not helped […]

[tweetmeme source=”easyteas” only_single=false http://www.URL.com%5D I said in my first post of the year that I was looking for ways to eat more fish. Then along came Channel 4’s fascinating and shocking Fish Fight series, raising the issue of widening the repertoire of fish we eat. They’ve already had some great results for their campaign. I struggle […]

There’s been lots of twitter talk today about favourite fillings for pancakes – it seems most people will be tucking into the classic lemon and sugar. We love them so much we eat them all year – mostly for breakfast on weekends or for a quick midweek dessert. The challenge we set ourselves on pancake […]

[tweetmeme source=”easyteas” only_single=false http://www.URL.com%5D I really look forward to weekend breakfasts, but I’m always on the lookout for something a bit different to the usual full English. I remember seeing Jamie Oliver use crumpets in an eggy bread/French toast recipe with a pile of fresh chilli – probably a couple of years ago now but […]

[tweetmeme source=”easyteas” only_single=false http://www.URL.com%5D I had a new year’s email from the nice chaps at WordPress this week with lots of useful facts and figures about my blog. I sort of keep an eye on the stats I see in terms of how many people are reading, but I don’t really have much of an […]