Category Archives: Uncategorized

March was always a busy month when I was growing up- my birthday, my mother’s birthday and also Mothering Sunday. With my granny living with us, we were always careful to include her in everything, especially Mothering Sunday. She’d been an orphan and so had missed out on so much – spoiling us rotten asContinue reading “Mothering …..”

It’s not just because the warmer weather is making the plants and bulbs start to bloom that everything’s looking rosier, is it? The prospect of lock-down easing is on the horizon and with that the return of some normality to our lives at last. Pondering on the opposite of “lock down” my mind went throughContinue reading “Better days are coming.”

You might have noticed that we shared two videos this week so you could make shortcrust pastry and use it for a savoury flan. There was just too much content for a single video so we had to decide where to make the split. I’m sure many of us had a whole morning or afternoonContinue reading “Basic skills”

Last week seemed to fly by – not such a bad thing perhaps if it means another week towards the end of the current restrictions. There wasn’t much in the diary ( we already have several videos ready to share) so the long -awaited arrival of the new sewing machine was a welcome sight. ItContinue reading “Busy days…”

For some years we lived in a small town between Milan and Lake Como. The appearance of snow on the mountain peaks heralded the start of winter – and my goodness, it was cold. Adjacent to our house was a small apartment block with shops on the ground floor, one of which was a tinyContinue reading “Say cheese!”

These weeks between Christmas and Easter offer foodies the best opportunity to make dishes we don’t usually create at other times of the year. Whilst they are linked to the church calendar, everyone can enjoy them. It all kicks off with Epiphany, when the Wise Men were alleged to arrive to see the baby Jesus.Continue reading “Feasts and festivals”

This has been a busy week. Following Manic Monday, we made a video on Tuesday which just wasn’t very good, it’s only the second time we have had to discard one thankfully but left me feeling a bit deflated. So I sat down to do some crochet and watch “Escape to the Country” when theContinue reading “Saturday’s come round so quickly…”

Well. Where to start? Yesterday was quite a day. A message came early in the morning, out of the blue, from Mike at the BBC. I wasn’t rushing to start the day but in no time at all I was ready for the zoom meeting and recording, spending the rest of the day feeling anxiousContinue reading “Manic Monday!”

The weather here last Saturday was truly horrible – rain, sleet and icy winds. One of us had to be out in it all day and would be needing a hearty meal that evening, so a roast dinner was planned….potatoes, vegetables, gravy to go with the inevitable chicken. Then what about some stuffing to enhanceContinue reading “Stuffed!”

Over many years I’ve always emphasised safety in the classroom kitchen. Since I’m hopeless with blood I’ve always warned of the dangers- sharp knives, graters, peelers, food processors- you get the idea. My insistence on cutting vegetables using your fingers like a bridge is an obvious example. Being able to illustrate the dangers using realContinue reading “Safety first”