We were invited to Sunday lunch with some friends at the weekend, as Piers had a new toy to play with, and he wished to mandolin lots of potatoes to make a dauphinoise. It would have been churlish not to pop over and help them out with the consumption of same. So we did. As an…
chocolate aubergine cake
This recipe comes from Harry Eastwood’s book Red Velvet and Chocolate Heartache, and is entitled by her Chocolate Heartache Cake. There are some cracking recipes in there, but the style of writing makes me clench my teeth, so I prefer to write up my own version without the schmaltz! roughly 400g of aubergine 300g best dark chocolate…
a squeaky breakfast
Our local cafe, run by an affable Romanian named Ricardo, does a splendid breakfast of halloumi, roasted veg, hash brown, a sausage patty, tomato (for those that want it – I certainly don’t!) and toast, for £4.99. It’s delicious, but by the time you’ve bought coffee, you’re up to thirteen quid or so for two,…
chicken pesto pasta
Here’s another 20 minute recipe (although, to be fair, I used cooked chicken – you’d need to allow a bit longer if you used raw; if you do, cook it off as the first stage). Put some olive oil in a deep frying pan and heat it up (just low-medium is fine), chop up a…
a timed supper
As my regular reader will know, Tuesday night is pasta night. I just open the fridge and concoct something from its contents. For people who don’t have time to cook, here’s a 15-20 minute supper. Bear in mind I have an ceramic hob, so you can skip the “put the rings on” bit if…
prepayment meters
We knew this house had a prepayment electric meter. It was with EDF and, as they were the supplier in our previous home, I phoned them and asked them to put in a proper credit meter, which they did within two weeks. I also asked them to transfer the gas from British Gas to themselves,…
It lives!
Many apologies for the radio silence – we’ve been moving house, which meant eating everything in the freezer and the cupboards, finding homes for all our culinary stuff in the new (and frankly inadequate) kitchen, sourcing new fridge and freezer (the USAnian behemoth having been left behind), and then starting to fill them. So no…
hurrah for Aldi
I must confess to just a little schadenfreude upon hearing of Tesco’s woes. Yes, I know they employ thousands of people, and yes, I know that a lot of pensions are invested in them, but they were a bit Icarus like of late. I very occasionally visit the huge Tesco in the centre of Hull,…
the poor don't know how to cook
Baroness Jenkin said this week, as the report on poverty and food banks was released, that “the poor don’t know how to cook”. Which was a tad patronising, really – lots of people who living in poverty know how to cook, and indeed lots of people who aren’t haven’t a bloody clue. And quite a few…