Christmas is a time of tradition. But tradition is a fluid thing. For a while there was the tradition of Dad finding waifs and strays on Christmas Day and bringing them back for lunch—but that petered out after couple of real odd balls. Then there was the tradition of going to the family church service [...]
Archive for December, 2011
Christmas Traditions: Marzipan Fruit
Posted in Puddings, Sweet Snacks, tagged apple, apricot, black liquorice paste, brandy, Christmas tradition, clove, edible gift, egg white, food colouring, ground almond, homemade, marzipan, marzipan fruit, mushroom, orange, present, strawberry, tradition on December 22, 2011 | 2 Comments »
Battling weight-gain accusations with sticky toffee puddings
Posted in Puddings, tagged butter, coffee, cream, dates, diet, dog, essence, failed diet, golden retreiver, individual, individual sticky toffee puddings, muffin tin, muffin tray, plump, pudding, recipe, sauce, scale, slightly overweight, sticky, sticky toffee puddings, toffee, weight gain on December 19, 2011 | 1 Comment »
I’ve been toying with the idea of trying to lose some weight. Nothing too drastic—maybe cutting pork pies out of my diet, or restricting myself to one pudding per meal, or drinking more tonic that gin… I’ve been in denial about the gentle weight gain that’s a by-product of this blog—convincing myself that the tightening [...]
Today I am in a bad mood. It’s making me feel rebellious.
Posted in News, tagged anarchy, anarchy in the uk, bad mood, britain, English, grump, grumpy, rebellion, rebellious, tea, uk on December 14, 2011 | 1 Comment »
Häagen-Dazs taste testing
Posted in News, Uncategorized, tagged breakfast, chocolate, competition, cranberries, cream, final, flavour, fruit, green tea, Häagen-Dazs, HD ice cream, ice cream, Leicester Square, pralines and cream, strawberries and cheesecake, taste, taste test on December 12, 2011 | 4 Comments »
One of my saddest moments happened when I went to boarding school aged thirteen. It wasn’t down to feelings of abandonment or any old-fashioned fagging system. But I came face to face with the stark reality that normal people didn’t eat ice cream for breakfast. Five years of toast. Boring. Mum always had a liberal [...]
Pheasant curry: from bird to bowl
Posted in Light Lunch, Maincourses, tagged chilli, coriander, cumin, curry, fenugreek, game, garam masala, ghee, Hugh Fearnley Whittingstall, lime, pheasant, pheasant breast, plucking, recipe, shooting on December 11, 2011 | 2 Comments »
My family don’t shoot. A few years ago Dad killed quite a few tadpoles by turning on a water pump that pumped them out of the pond (though Mum transported most of them back to safety in a tea strainer), and he did once tentatively tread on a paving stone he’d put on the head [...]
Why I love Sundays
Posted in Uncategorized, tagged bacon, bacon sandwich, breakfast, butchers, crispy, Emmett's, ham, streaky, Suffolk, Sunday morning on December 11, 2011 | 1 Comment »
Sundays are for lying about, listening to Desert Island Discs, drinking excessive amounts of tea…and bacon sandwiches. Thanks Emmett’s for making my Sunday.
Mac ‘n cheese: the ultimate comfort food
Posted in Light Lunch, Maincourses, tagged bacon, broad beans, cheese, comfort food, easy, ham, mac 'n cheese, macaroni, macaroni cheese, old cheese, peas, quick, recipe, roux, simple, smelly cheese on December 9, 2011 | 4 Comments »
When it comes to nasty things lurking in the fridge, a gnarldy piece of cheese ranks highly. Everyone’s got one. An old lump of Cathederal City, a pongy bit of Castello Blue, or a slippery piece of brie that keeps trying to escape whenever you open the door. Well, those of you with a good [...]
Painting the food I eat
Posted in News, tagged acrylic, apple, food, Friday night in, painting on December 6, 2011 | 4 Comments »
I don’t know what you were up to on your Friday night - pub, club, Christmas party…well, I was chilling out in the flat (literally - the heating system is far too complex for me to understand), and doing a spot of painting - living the high life! …anyway-here’s the result. Some acrylic apples to [...]