Category Archives: Uncategorized

Quails, pullets, hens, ducks, goose, ostrich. Speckled ones, white, cream,brown, blue/green ones. So many to choose from, but my guess is that we mostly choose hens eggs and in this country they are mostly brown these days. The amazing thing is that with all that variety, their structure remains the same – shell, membrane, thinContinue reading “Eggs!”

Sugar, not jewellery. Most of the sugar beet grown in the UK can be seen in the fields of East Anglia. Harvested in the late autumn, great lorry loads trundle to Bury St. Edmunds where they are processed in the steam-belching plant next to the A14. It’s a process that uses vast quantities of water,Continue reading “White gold”

I remember going into a restaurant in Hatfield in 1980 where we were met by a bank of microwave ovens behind the refrigerated display. All the starters and desserts on the menu were cold, whilst the main courses had been cooked ahead and frozen, so our conversation was punctuated by frequent pings as the chosenContinue reading “Microwave magic”

A; When it’s a sponge! As someone who grew up in the sixties and seventies I was taught by very straightlaced ladies in an all-girls school. The consequence was that every subject was given an equal footing. Housecraft included. We learned the traditional rules behind food production and presentation, with the end of year examsContinue reading “Q; When is a cake not a cake?”

It’s a question I’ve often been asked and sometimes I can remember exactly where I found them. One of those is the Flapjack recipe. I was working at a school in Hertfordshire, job-sharing with a lovely lady called Judith. In those days we taught commodities – meat, fish, eggs, milk, cheese etc and methods –Continue reading “Where do my recipes come from ?”

We were lucky enough to be living in northern Italy and found wonderful shopping opportunities – silk factories, Armani outlets and the Alessi factory , which required a car ferry across Lago d’Orta. There we had a chance to survey all the wonderful kitchenalia, mostly stainless steel but some plastic. On the bottom of eachContinue reading “Remember the lemon squeezer ?”

Over the period of the lock down it has been difficult to find supplies of flour. We know that is down to problems with packaging in small quantities for domestic use – there’s plenty of flour being produced. What has amazed me is the variation of ingredients in short supply in different parts of England.Continue reading “Shortages go on….”

In my last school, Friday afternoons were devoted to “activities” for the senior pupils – and of course one of those activities was Cooking. Over the years these mixed-age groups requested some interesting recipes and we had fun making pasta, pancakes and profiteroles to name just a few. One particular merry band was keen toContinue reading “Box Brownie….”

During this period of lockdown we have been making two videos most weeks, so we have several ready to share with you over the coming weeks. What that means though, is that there is often quite a lot of cake in our kitchen. Clearly we have to taste it, but I can assure you weContinue reading “So much cake …?”

While we were filming another video this week, my trusty Kenwood Mini hand mixer began to make the most dreadful high-pitched whine and the beaters started wobbling in their housing. Very quickly I decided it was beyond redemption and waxed lyrically about the machine. Then it dawned on me – I’ve had it since 1983Continue reading “Mixer misery”