green apple sorbet

Wimbledon cupcakes

1 July 2010

Today I went to watch the tennis. Awesome day on Centre Court, especially the champagne before midday. We took homemade sushi for lunch and some of these cupcakes, which were actually something of an experiment – a successful one, fortunately. If strawberries are out of season, or if you can’t get to the shops, or [...]

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drunken pasta

23 June 2010

For the past few months, I have been teaching a friend to cook. He wanted to learn some simple recipes and asked if I would show him the basics. It sounded like a fun project – and let’s face it, there’s nothing like being made to feel knowledgeable to boost one’s ego – so of [...]

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back to (YO! Sushi) school

21 June 2010

At the weekend I went to another sushi making course. You may remember how much I enjoyed the first class I attended, and I’m pleased to say that this one did not disappoint. This time it was held at the Poland Street branch of YO! Sushi, and the subject was ‘Rice and Rolls’. Our excellent teacher [...]

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setting sail

19 June 2010

If you grew up in Britain during the 80s, chances are you went to at least one birthday party where you ate something from the Sainsbury Book of Children’s Party Cooking. Traffic light biscuits? Jelly boats? Marshmallow mousse? They’re all here. These were unworldly pre-Nigella days; we called a baguette a ‘French loaf’, there was no [...]

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teapigs

1 May 2010

After tasting teapigs peppermint tea on a recent visit to the Foyles café (where I navigated the complex and multifarious temptations of the adjoining cookery section with pleasing restraint), I proceeded to go a little crazy on their very nice website and ordered some for home consumption. Four days later, a cardboard box of satisfying [...]

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polenta-coated potato chips

25 April 2010

The perfect accompaniment to teriyaki mushroom burgers. Or indeed, to any other kind of burger. Or do something really radical and just eat them on their own. Easy and delicious, you’ll never buy frozen oven chips again. Polenta-Coated Potato Chips 1 large potato per person cooking oil handful of polenta per person sea salt Preheat [...]

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teriyaki mushroom burgers

24 April 2010

This is a fantastic alternative to conventional burgers, whether you’re vegetarian or not. Portobello mushrooms have a fabulously meaty texture and hold their shape perfectly when grilled. I would recommend serving them with some robust polenta-coated chips to delightfully complement the sweetness of the marinade. The word teriyaki derives from the Japanese noun teri, which [...]

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YO! Sushi school

18 April 2010

Wow. That is, in a word, how I would sum-up the sushi school I attended this morning at YO! Sushi in Farringdon. In the same the kitchen where they train their professional chefs, we were shown how to sharpen and handle the yanagi-ba (special sashimi knife); how to cut salmon, tuna and sea bass for [...]

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weekend soup

17 April 2010

I cut this recipe out of a newspaper supplement recently as it reminded me of something a good family friend used to make. I was delighted with how well it turned out, and how easy it was to make (especially since I had lots of work to do on my embryonic kitchen garden today…). This [...]

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dig it

13 April 2010

I was delighted to receive, in the post this morning, a ‘grow your own grub’ pack from BBC Dig In, a campaign to get the people of Britain growing their own vegetables. Five packets of seeds, a guide on how to grow them, and…erm, a sheet of stickers. And all for free, how very nice. [...]