Sweet Potato Curry

It was a mini Ready Steady Cook challenge. My ingredients consisted of a large sweet potato, a white onion, plus tinned tomatoes and a can of coconut milk from my store cupboard and a wide selection of spices on the shelf. A sweet potato curry was the answer! Sweet Potato Curry Ingredients 1-2 tablespoons vegetable ... Read more »

Chilli Growing Tips from Edible Ornamentals

Serendipity and silver linings. That’s how Edible Ornamentals came into being.   Joanna Plumb, who runs the business with her husband Shawn, told us the story. Many years ago, her parents (who were commercial cucumber farmers) were approached by a national DIY store to grow 3000 chilli plants for their shops. Unfortunately, the DIY company ... Read more »

Lemon, Limoncello & Thyme Sorbet

I was recently sent a copy of The Flavour Thesaurus, in which I looked up herbs that might be a good match for lemon. The book was alright… To be honest, I already thought of the obvious pairings before I read it – lemon and thyme, lemon and lavender, lemon and mint, lemon and rosemary. ... Read more »

Feather Light Smoked Cheese Gnudi

This Smoked Cheese Gnudi recipe is from Giancarlo & Katie Caldesi’s book Amalfi Coast, where it is titled ‘Gnocchi Ripieni’. Although these aren’t actually stuffed (ripieni), the alternative name comes from the way the cheese centre melts in the mouth, giving the impression of gnocchi stuffed with cheese. We love this recipe and have made ... Read more »

Bettys of Harrogate Bakery & Cookery School

This Easter I ran a competition to win a Bettys chocolate badger and was overwhelmed by the popularity of the giveaway! I loved reading the responses to my entry question of which woodland animal people wanted to see similarly immortalised in chocolate. Following the competition, I arranged with Kelly Young (Engagement Manager for Bettys) for ... Read more »

Cookie Dough Crumble

When we headed up to Islay for a week’s holiday recently, I took along a jar of my home-made apple pie filling, canned a few months ago using apples from our allotment trees. The plan was to make a pie for dessert one evening. A fruitless supermarket search for ready-made short crust pastry (and a ... Read more »