The Potato Salad I grew up on was the standard kind: plenty of mayo, though with a splodge of Salad Cream to add a better flavour. I had no idea potato salad could be any different until I came across German-style Potato Salad in France. This is my vaguely-remembered version of the original. Should we ever get a summer, it is delicious when eaten with flame-grilled barbecued steak. … [Read more...]
How to cook perfect cabbage
Cabbage can be disgusting: think Cabbage Soup Diet, and you know what I mean. Legend has it that my Dad's Granny used to put the cabbage on at dawn so that it would be ready for lunch. Fortunately I assume I have blocked that memory out. For me, there is only one way to cook cabbage. … [Read more...]
Caribbean Mango Cream
I recently bought a rotary whisk. I thought it would be a great tool to expand The Girls' skills in the kitchen, and other things. Then I subsequently bought two Mangoes with which to make a dessert for the MIL- using the famed Mango corer on it's yearly outing- at the weekend. They definitely weren't Perfectly Ripe, as advertised. But they were perfectly ripe this afternoon. So, I chopped them up, putting as many of the pieces that LBG … [Read more...]
India: Around the World in 12 dishes
I'm using quite a liberal interpretation of the visited country with this month's Around The World in 12 Dishes, since Kedgeree did originate in India. It's just been significantly adapted from it's beginnings as a rice-and-lentil dish and is known in the UK as being a breakfast. … [Read more...]
Cannellini bean stew
We have a French au-pair with us for the next few weeks which means I am cooking for three most nights. I was in the slightly embarrassing position the other day of not actually having planned and therefore found myself hunting around in the freezer at last minute in order to feed us. I found a small mince base that had been left over and frozen with a view to making Cottage Pie for The Girls and came up with a plan. I have always found it odd … [Read more...]
Quick Brownie-Sponge birthday cake to impress your brother
It's like this. I am a fan of the cake mix. I usually 'tinker' with the recipe, but it means I can have a cake baked very quickly with no weighing and measuring, which is great when you are in a hurry or you just don't fancy the mess. So now you know my secret. The other day, knowing I had to make a cake for uncle Adam's birthday, I fished around to see what I had. I made up a brownie mix according to the instructions and added a teaspoon of … [Read more...]
My top five non-alcoholic summer cocktails
The sun is shining, not just in my patch of England, but over the bulk of the country, and the temperatures are warm enough that I have had the misfortune to see several men walking around topless today. It never ceases to amaze me the things that British people do when the sun comes out- it's all so very undignified. No wonder I have been driven to cocktails, even if they are non-alcoholic. I am at my genteel best when the sun comes to visit. … [Read more...]
