Reflections in, on and round about…with a lot of cooking on the side
The heart of it all: food is essential for life and the centre of many things. One of my favourite things is to cook and share food. Join me for a virtual breaking of bread…..
On Saturday, 8 July, I had the privilege of joining a cooking class. With Chef Kurt, owner of The Fat Lady's Arms. It was the most fun Saturday afternoon I've had in a long while. Especially on a cold and miserable winter's day as it was, yesterday. First - A disclaimer - and more … Continue reading Cooking class(es) with Kurt
I have been making my own wholegrain mustard for a while, now. Well, until December 2022, I hadn't made it for a while. The first time I made it was ahead of a Sunday supper. I cannot remember why I needed it, but none of the shops had any. For love nor money, we could … Continue reading Keener than (wholegrain) mustard
Whenever I hear Abba's Waterloo, my eleven year old self remembers the first "pop" song that appealed to her - the very first time she heard it. https://youtu.be/3FsVeMz1F5c It was a weekday afternoon and the radio was on - we had one of those radiograms that had the radio in the middle, a turntable on … Continue reading Six decades, only six songs? Impossible
I have a to-do list of promises that is as long as my arm (and the other and both legs) of recipes that I've said I'll write up and share. This promise was made two years ago. It's weird that it's two years ago. It also seems that the phrase "two years" is running through … Continue reading Sourdough – it’s a journey of constant learning
It was with a bit of a start that I discovered I've been making these hamburgers for just short of twenty years. The original recipe came in the Good Taste magazine published by the Wine of the Month Club which I'd joined in about 1998. The publication is now defunct - gone the same way as many … Continue reading Burger Blues
Pickled fish is an iconic traditional South African dish. I first ate pickled fish at the ripe old age of about seven. It was the starter for Christmas lunch: the first I really remember. I was instantly smitten. Auntie Doris made it every year and for all the years we "had Christmas" at number 10, … Continue reading Pickled Fish: a South African Tradition
She came into the kitchen, clearly distressed, and asked, "Do you vear licenses?" pointing at her eyes. "Umm....ye-e-s..." "So could I pliz have some of zat liqvid to clean mine?" Then the penny dropped. Lenses. Contact lenses. I had taken a flyer and thought that our Ukranian house guest was talking about prescription spectacles. This … Continue reading Of licenses, liars and scrambled eggs
I suppose I should be writing something about the festive season and how festive it was (it wasn't really, but it was better than 2020) and/or what I'm resolving for the New Year. Resolutions seem moot given the curved ball that is Covid, and which has derailed the last resolutions I made at the beginning … Continue reading Decadent Mushroom Pâté
Foreword This post first appeared in 2015, and since then, the recipes have gone through a number of developments/iterations/whatever word you'd like to choose. Originally, it was carrots, two ways. Now, I've added a third. Growing carrots Our soil is rocky and very clayey. Certain root vegetables grow, but very differently from what one would … Continue reading Carrots – yes ways – three ways
I'm in a pickle: in my day job, we are reaching the end of a project which means that a deadline is looming. My week was long, very hot and I had writer's block. I'm tired. My colleagues are tired and stressed. A bit of a pickle. And pickles need time. I've not had much of that lately, it seems.