Divine Cookies of Dreams (Cooking With Divine: Part II)

As I mentioned in a recent post, now I’ve learned more about Divine Fairtrade Chocolate and Kuapa Kokoo, I am keen to incorporate it into my cooking. And something about this time of year gives me the urge to bake sweet-smelling, great-tasting goodies. Maybe it’s the wintry cold weather? Maybe it’s the run up to ... Read more »

Nifty Thrifty: Chicken Croquettes From Leftover Roast Chicken

Lately, every time we’ve had a roast chicken dinner, we’ve made stock from the carcass, skin and giblets (except the liver, which I’ve fried as a snack). And the next evening we’ve enjoyed a tasty risotto made with some of the stock and leftover roast chicken. But last time we had roast chicken, we’d had ... Read more »

Divine Chocolate’s Stem Ginger & Chocolate Chunk Cake

Having found out all about Divine Fairtrade Chocolate (and Kuapa Kokoo) I was keen to use some of the chocolate in cooking. The Bad (But Not Ugly) My first attempt did not go well. I wanted to make a light coffee chocolate mousse using Divine coffee milk chocolate, the flavour I’ve consumed so many kilos ... Read more »

Divine Chocolate | Extra Fair Trade!

Fair Trade. We’ve all come across it but how many of us have much of an understanding, beyond a short soundbite, of what it actually means in practice? “Fair Trade is an organized social movement and market-based approach that aims to help producers in developing countries and promote sustainability. The movement advocates the payment of ... Read more »

Christmas Pudding, Brandy & Custard Ice-Cream

When I came across the Matthew Walker Christmas Pudding challenge posted on the UK Food Bloggers Association forum, I couldn’t resist! They invited bloggers to conjure up a creative recipe based on their “Recipe No. 13 Christmas Pudding” which they would kindly supply for the purposes of the competition! I knew what I wanted to ... Read more »

Curried Beef Marrow Bone: A Trip Down Memory Lane

When my sister and I were kids, we’d fight over the marrow bones in mum’s lamb curry. Mum would usually make it with leg or shoulder of lamb, which she’d have the butcher cut into large pieces, with the bones left in. The marrow managed to retain it’s distinct oleaginous texture and taste whilst also ... Read more »

Michel Roux’s Sauces

I love a good sauce. Even the most beautiful, flavoursome, delicious meat can be lifted by a good sauce. So I’ve been keen to get my hands on Michel Roux’s Sauces. Michelin-starred Roux first wrote his compendium of savoury and sweet sauce recipes back in 1996. Quadrille have now published a new and revised edition ... Read more »

Free Range v. Organic Chickens: The Test

There can’t be many who aren’t aware of the horrors of battery farming at it’s worst. Thousands of birds crammed into vast sheds – often windowless with artificial lights on 24/7; their movements completely restricted; their bodies pumped full of growth hormones to speed up the production cycle. And goodness knows what they’re fed on! ... Read more »

Student Days: The UItimate Student Cookbook

The Ultimate Student Coobook by Fiona Beckett

Although I cooked quite a lot as a student, it was longer ago than I’d care to admit and it’s hard to think back to what it was like coping with a student budget, restricted space and equipment and a desire to spend less time in the kitchen and more in the student union! I ... Read more »

Boneless Leg of Lamb Braised in Red Wine With Garlic

Anyone who’s visited Niamh (eatlikeagirl)’s stall at the Covent Garden Real Food Market over the last couple of months may well have salivated over her delicious slow-roasted pork or lamb served in home-made blaas (bread buns) with home-made condiments. Recently, she’s resolved her meat sourcing difficulties by turning to online farmer’s market, Paganum, purveyor of ... Read more »