Grow Your Own Cake | Book Review

April 8, 201668 comments

The premise of using vegetables in cakes is nothing new – carrot cake has been a well known favourite as long as I can remember, chocolate and beetroot cakes and brownies have gained popularity in the last decade and more recently courgette cakes are stretching peoples’ definitions of what a cake can be made with. ... Read more »

Markets of Canada | Niagara-on-the-Lake

March 8, 201620 comments

Do you know Niagara-on-the-Lake? No? Well you can probably guess a couple of things about it at least – that it’s near Niagara Falls, and that it’s on the shores of a lake! That’s all I knew too, but last autumn I visited for myself, and discovered a lot more. What I came away with, as well ... Read more »

Markets of Canada | Montreal’s Marché Jean-Talon

October 26, 201522 comments

Visiting the Marché Jean-Talon in Montreal’s Little Italy district, I felt like a kid in a sweet shop; overwhelmed by stall after stall piled with beautiful, fresh, brightly-coloured produce, I didn’t know where to look next. Punnets of tiny physalis, known locally as cerise de terre (ground cherries) sat next to the last of the ... Read more »

Maple Cinnamon Glazed Plum & Blackberry Sticky Buns

September 20, 201528 comments

If you follow me on Instagram, Twitter or my blog’s Facebook page you’ll have noticed that I visited Canada recently, taking in Montreal, Quebec City, Toronto and the region around Niagara-on-the-Lake. I’ll be sharing lots (and lots and lots!) from that trip in coming weeks. I totally loved all the destinations I visited and cannot ... Read more »

The Green Revolution in Almeria & Murcia

December 23, 20148 comments

A few weeks ago, I was invited to Almeria and Murcia, two neighbouring regions in Southern Spain, to learn more about their agricultural practices and produce. 1 Agrobio – Biological Pollination & Pest Control We started with a fascinating visit to Agrobio, a company that produces and sells bumblebees for pollination and a wide range ... Read more »

Easy Butternut Squash Soup with Bacon Brittle

November 19, 201428 comments

I first made butternut squash soup with candied bacon last autumn, after watching a masterclass episode of MasterChef Australia in which Matt Preston shared his recipe for an easy pumpkin soup garnished with pepita (squash seeds) and bacon candied in brown sugar I’ve simplified his recipe and changed the way I candy the bacon pieces ... Read more »

A Seasonal Variation: Butternut Squash, Black Garlic & Blue Cheese Bake

October 22, 201424 comments

I don’t usually make Halloween dishes. But I had a crate full of home-grown butternut squash in my kitchen when a friend of mine gave me a block of his home-made black garlic cheese. The handover, in a central London coffee shop, probably looked like an illicit drug tryst – the cheese resembled a very ... Read more »

Burnt Apple & Bourbon Ice Cream

October 8, 201437 comments

This ice cream is very much inspired by a recipe from The Bojon Gourmet, a blog I discovered via Pinterest. It caught my eye when I was looking for ideas on new ways to put some of our enormous apple harvest to good use. I replaced the cream base with a rich and very sweet ... Read more »

Chorizo, Pumpkin & Spinach Giant Couscous Salad

October 2, 201416 comments

You’d think, wouldn’t you that, for people who’ve grown their own fruit and veg for over 15 years, the thrill of harvesting home grown produce would not quite as shiny as it once was? But you’d be wrong. I still get excited every time Pete brings in a bowl of fresh raspberries or tomatoes from ... Read more »

Lemon Cucumbers & Jam Jar Salad Dressing

September 6, 201423 comments

We’ve been growing a variety of cucumbers called Lemon this year – so named not because of their flavour but their size, shape and colour. The skins on ours have been tougher than we expected, so we’ve peeled them before adding them to salads. This one was combined with very thinly sliced red ... Read more »