Long lists of ingredients – some familiar, some exotic; instructions on how to transform them into delicious treats; vivid and tantalising photographs and even an insight into other cultures and cuisines… I love cookery books! I kinda, sorta agreed, about a year or two back, to a moratorium on the purchase of new cookery books. ... Read more »
Orchards in the Oasis: Travels, Food and Memories with Josceline Dimbleby

The best thing about blogging is meeting people. People who share the obsession with food and people who work in the industry – as chefs, producers and writers. One such individual I met recently was the charming and talented Josceline Dimbleby, at a lunch event for the launch of her latest book Orchards in the Oasis: ... Read more »
Hix’ Baked Parsnips with Lancashire Cheese

Why are we eating parsnips in the summer? Well… we grow our own vegetables and, last year, we planted parsnips for the first time. Early January was rainy and miserable and we left much of our winter crop in the ground for longer than we should have. So we urgently harvested a bumper crop of giant ... Read more »
The Scandinavian Cookbook by Trina Hahnemann

I recenty won a copy of The Scandinavian Cookbook by Trina Hahnemann, evidence of a recent growth in interest in Scandinavian food and lifestyle. People often ask me about trends in food. And usually, I stutter and stall as panic shuts my brain down and all thoughts of the various fads, trends, infatuations, developments (call ... Read more »
John Torode’s Aunty Mary’s Beef Pie

A few months ago I reviewed John Torode’s Chicken And Other Birds. This time it’s the turn of his latest book, Beef And Other Bovine Matters. The chicken pie we made to his recipe was a thing of beauty. Would his Aunty Mary’s beef pie be as good? Whereas the chicken pie recipe called for ready-made ... Read more »
Urban Farming with Celia Brooks Brown

Books on growing your own fruit and vegetables seem to be ten a penny at the moment, as publishers leap onto the latest bandwagon, keen to milk the home farming phenomenon. Often dull and weighty tomes, they add little to the existing excellent literature already available. Celia Brook Brown’s New Urban Farmer makes a refreshing change, ... Read more »
Chicken, Spring Onion & Mushroom Pie
For many years, my username on some sites has been Kaveypie, rather than Kavey. That’s all down to my having introduced the members of one particular website to the delights of Weebl & Bob, back when the cartoon had just a couple of episodes to it’s name. “Mmmmm, Pie!” became a common refrain and I ... 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 »