Visits to Jamie’s Italian have evaded me until now for some reason. The branch at Canary Wharf is in the middle of a traffic roundabout slightly out on a limb from the rest of the subterranean shopping area. We pass it in the car on every visit but never walked past the outside as we […]
Chocolate Chestnut Cake With Hazelnuts
This chocolate chestnut cake with layers of sponge and hazelnuts is easy to make and serves 8-10 people. Thank you for bearing with me, as I was saying on 1st March, February’s shortness always catches me out and I am now republishing this post with the finished three layer chocolate chestnut cake instead of the […]
Thai Prawn Curry with Clams
A quick and easy Thai prawn curry recipe using frozen seafood. My freezer is a TARDIS in more ways than one. Not only do its 3 small drawers appear bigger on the inside than out but it has the ability to quite literally freeze time. When I did my food safety course a couple of […]
Toad in the Hole with Bramley Apple
Last time I wrote about toad in the hole I told a tale about a manic frog throwing contest and I’m not sure I can top this today. When I introduced Ted to Toad in the Hole, you can imagine he found the name very funny and it’s been pencilled in on the menu for our next […]
Turtle Bay Walthamstow: Happy Hour on the menu!
Turtle Bay Walthamstow is a new Caribbean style restaurant which opened recently in The Scene at the top end of Walthamstow Market. Walthamstow’s new entertainment hub has been a source of much excitement locally. The borough has been without a cinema since 2002 when Alfred Hitchcock’s local screen closed. The campaign to bring a cinema back […]
Simple and In Season January Round Up
Winter has really kicked in now it’s February so you’ll be much in need of this winter recipe selection as submitted to last month’s Simple and In Season. I’ve divided them up into soups, main courses and sweet things. Enjoy! Soups Vitamix pea soup with cheese and chives – Maison Cupcake (top) | Super simple roast beetroot soup […]
Ideal World TV Studio Visit
Have you ever bought anything from a TV shopping channel? More to the point, do you ever watch TV shopping channels? It was a world I was largely ignorant of until I received an invite from Ideal World TV to visit their Peterborough HQ and come behind the scenes for the day. Laughably I had […]
Ham Vegetable Pasta Bake
An easy pasta dish to feed the family for under ten pounds with plenty of leftover cooked ham whilst also providing two out of their five a day! Updated 2026 · Originally commissioned by Go Compare A pasta bake topped with cheese takes barely any longer than the one pot variety but always feels much […]
Roast Tomato and Pepper Soup
This roast tomato and pepper soup has a garlicky kick and can be served with basil oil, grated Grana Padano and some toasted focaccia. Updated 2025 · Originally in partnership with Aldi (2015). Tasty nutritious soup from fresh vegetables As I write it’s late January and 6-7 weeks since pay day. The weather was bright […]
Cannellini Bean Dip with Butternut Squash
I was originally going to call this cannellini bean dip a hummus. The ingredients are similar; a pulse, tahini, olive oil, lemon, garlic. And you often see hummus on sale that’s flavoured such as roasted pepper hummus so butternut isn’t that far a leap. Is the crucial ingredient for hummus then the chick peas? Again […]
Vitamix Pea Soup with Cheese and Chives
This garlicky Vitamix pea soup took only ten minutes to make. My Vitamix was originally gifted by their PR company although this recipe post was not commissioned and written some time later. Making Vitamix pea soup in a hurry! My husband had been ranting on Saturday that I’d left the day in limbo, too late […]
Vegetable Storage Bags From Lakeland VIDEO REVIEW
Hands up I’ll admit these vegetable storage bags were an impulse buy. The impetus of a fridge rammed over Christmas had me thinking how smart it would be to save space by storing vegetables outside of the fridge. I bought them in Lakeland although similar exist elsewhere. They’re not especially expensive, around £3 something each. […]
