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Category Archives: Food & Drink

Nana’s Kitchen: Apricot Tart

apricot-tart

When summer is in full swing, this tart makes an economical dessert, picnic or coffee time treat. Apricots are especially good this time of the year and make a great alternative to strawberries. Ingredients Pastry  Base 9” Tart tin 250g plain flour 60g chilled and cubed butter or margarine 60g cubed lard 1 tbsp caster […]

Summer Vegetable Risotto

Head Chef Iain Sampson of the Bear Hotel in Crickhowell showcases his vegetable risotto recipe; a delicious summertime dish. The end of spring into early summer is a great time to be cooking.  It seems that almost every week something new becomes available. At the Bear we use Primrose farm and once a week we […]

Chachouka

Chachouka is an Arabic term for ‘mixture,’ but is also a North African spicy red pepper and tomato stew, with eggs baked on the top. It makes a delicious mid-week supper. Serve with a crisp salad, big hunks of crusty bread to mop up the sauce and a nice glass of robust red wine. Ideally […]

A Forager’s Tale

Adele with two young foragers-in-the-making.

Adele Nozedar, author of The Hedgerow Handbook gives us an insight into the magical world of foraging and how she became involved in this unusual hobby, which is growing in popularity. As some of you might know, after the publication of a book that I wrote a couple of years ago (The Hedgerow Handbook), I […]

Nana’s Kitchen: Torta di Cioccolata (Italian Chocolate Cake)

This cake is easy to make and is a treat for anybody with a chocoholic tendency, thanks to its satisfyingly fudgey texture.  Interestingly it is made without eggs, so is a good recipe for those with egg allergies. It is impressive enough to serve as a dessert at a dinner party with a splash of […]

More bounce for the ounce – EAT YOUR (spring) GREENS!

adelenozedar

It’s nothing new that as soon as the first green shoots emerge from the dark earth, our thoughts turn to….detoxing! Even our ancestors did it, dishing up something called Spring Pudding as a way of kick-starting the digestive system after the stodgy foods of winter. A sort of internal spring clean, the detox; but I’m […]

Easter Oven-Baked Scotch Eggs

Scotch eggs are a classic picnic staple, but since their invention by Fortnum & Mason many years ago, they have become increasingly popular, with gourmet versions popping up in posh delicatessens and at Food Festivals all over the country. They do make a fabulous picnic food, but also go down well as a delicious lunch; […]

Nana’s Kitchen: Hot Cross Buns

My thanks for this recipe go to an experienced baker named Mike, who shared his knowledge and expertise with me and showed me how to achieve consistently excellent results with bread and buns. In the past my attempts have yielded fairly abysmal results, but not anymore! These buns are delicious and freeze well. I have […]

Cooking With Kids – No fry Spring Rolls

Like all successful pursuits with children, the key to this recipe is freedom of choice. These spring rolls can contain pretty much whatever you, or rather they, like. Even chef Holly ate one, and that’s no mean feat given that she’s the world’s fussiest eater. But of course, everything tastes better when you’ve made it […]

Nana’s Kitchen : Mothering Sunday Simnel Cake

easter simnel-cake

Simnel cake is traditionally made at Easter, however, I discovered that Mothering Sunday was also known as Simnel Sunday based on the tradition of making a marzipan-topped fruit cake on this day. The cake is decorated with 11 marzipan balls on the top representing the 11 apostles, excluding Judas, and servant girls originally gave it […]

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