Have you ever visited Jersey? It’s been on my wish list for years. Post commissioned by Visit Jersey. Win your #EscapeToJersey! Click the link in our profile bio to create your escape and have the chance to win it. #FridayFeeling #TGIFriday A photo posted by Visit Jersey (@visitjerseyci) on Aug 7, 2015 at 1:32am PDT […]
Rye Toast with Bloody Mary Topping
Easy brunch recipe version of classic Bloody Mary cocktail on rye toast. Recipe commissioned by Ketel One Premium Distilled Vodka. This is quite an admission. I had never, can you believe drunk a Bloody Mary before this week. Neither had I drunk tomato juice. I’m immediately converted. Since avoiding sugar whilst I’m doing Weightwatchers, I am totally tuned […]
Vegetable Biryani with Cauliflower & Chickpeas
A quick easy vegetable biryani recipe packed with vegetables including cauliflower and chickpeas – ready in under 20 minutes, suitable for vegans too. Recipe commissioned by Veetee rice. I don’t know if it was an authentic recipe but my mother first introduced me to biryani rice shortly after we acquired a microwave in the mid […]
Bramley Apple Pies with Beetroot – Dairy Free Pastry
These delicious little Bramley Apple Pies with Beetroot are part sweet, part savoury. There’s no added sugar so you can forget the notion that cooking apples are sour. The pastry is dairy free using a vegan spread and spelt flour. Updated 2026 · Recipe commissioned by Bramley Apples It’s a very long time since I […]
Ibis Shepherds Bush – under the covers
Having previously lived in Shepherds Bush for eight years, I never imagined I’d review Ibis Shepherds Bush all these years later. Shepherds Bush has changed a lot. I was a guest of Ibis. Shepherds Bush used to be edgy. I recall an Evening Standard article in the Nigella Lawson-lives-here era saying that chicken bones from […]
Quorn Chicken Noodles with Miso Soup (Vegetarian)
Quorn chicken pieces add heartiness to this quick, Japanese Wagamama-style vegetarian noodle dish. With flavoursome miso and green tea broth, there’s scarcely more involved than boiling the kettle. Updated 2026 · recipe originally published after attending an event celebrating Russell Hobbs kettles (2015). Quorn chicken pieces – a staple freezer ingredient I’m not vegetarian but […]
Celebrating 60 Years of Russell Hobbs Kettles
Russell Hobbs kettles are a kitchen classic. The brand invited me to a retro 50s-themed evening at the Balcony Room at Swan, a restaurant above Shakespeare’s Globe on Bankside. With vintage-style doo-wop band, chintz china teacups, canapés and craft cocktails it was an atmospheric evening celebrating the 60th anniversary of their K1 kettle. · Updated […]
Jam Tarts with Crumble Topping (Dairy Free)
You’ll find making dairy free pastry easy with these crumble topped jam tarts. Recipe sponsored by Pure Dairy Free. I have until now been wary of dairy free baking and even more so of dairy free pastry making. Although I learned to make pastry thirty years ago, it’s something that still sticks in my head […]
Vegetable Frittata with Avocado
Vegetable frittata is a super easy recipe to use up bits and pieces in the fridge. Post sponsored by British Lion Eggs. You say frittato, I say frittata. A frittata without potato is a first for me. I always put potato in my frittata – even if this possibly makes it technically a tortilla instead. […]
Pennoni with Chilli Mussels (Giant Pasta)
These giant pasta pennoni with chilli mussels are ready in around 25 minutes. An easy Mediterranean holiday recipe based on a version by Jo Pratt for James Villas. Although my grandmother made some amusing clangers with foreign pronunciation, actually she was somewhat ahead of her time referring to her favourite pasta as “penne” rather than […]
Tomato Couscous
This red Staub tomato cocotte makes the perfect serving dish for this easy tomato couscous and a great centrepiece for the table. Staub and Zwilling were not names I’d come across before so when I heard they were a new global kitchenware brand launching in the UK I was curious to learn more. The company invited […]
Pizza Muffins with Black Olives
Make these tasty pizza muffins with savoury flavours in under 35 minutes. This is an easy recipe you can bake with kids for snacks or packed lunches. When is a pizza not a pizza? When it’s a muffin! It’s been far too long since I baked any savoury muffin recipes. They’re so quick to make […]
