How-To Guides

  When presented with a few persimmons recently, I decided that in addition to enjoying the fresh fruit it was worthy of moving on and making these fruits into a preserve. I flipped through Let’s Preserve It looking for a recipe for jam or chutney. However I was to discover that persimmons were obviously not to be…
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After the festivities of Christmas and the NewYear are over and the kitchen has some semblance of normality, Seville oranges arrive and with them the  great marmalade making season. I wanted to make a good batch last week and still manage to deliver a jar to Fortnum and Masons. They nobly collect any entries and send the…
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I have been somewhat idle this summer and for various reasons have glossed over the abundance of fruits and vegetables growing in gardens or displayed on stalls. However, recently I was offered a  bag of mixed eaters and cookers apples and I pondered on how best to use them. Whether to make an all apple…
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Hot Cross bus are traditionally made to be served on Good Friday. The story  goes that the  first buns were made by a 14th century monk who then distributed them to the poor  on Good Friday. So it really bothers me is to see these sweet and spicy buns on sale at Christmas. The story also goes that Queen…
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Happy St Patrick’s Day My stomach often cries out to me ‘I just want something green’ and whether it comes as a preserve or as a fresh adjunct on a plate, there is a huge array  of green foods from which  to choose. Green foods somehow radiate health, often fresh and with nutritious and wholesome…
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Buns for breakfast I am so pleased to find I made plenty of my quadruple peel marmalade last year. It will keep me going for the time being. I know very well that January is the month for making marmalade. The Seville oranges have arrived and it is always set in my mind that I will spend…
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Wishing you all a very merry Christmas I have been planning this Christmas for some time  – ever since I was offered a date for a new replacement hip in early December and realised that I would be a tad out of action in the kitchen. And a  new hip is a wonderful Christmas present….
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I find my herb garden such a delight. Living as I do in a city with no space for a kitchen garden, it is a pleasure to be able to reach out to my pots and tubs for a choice of herbs to transform my cooking. So wherever you live and for me, that is Lambeth,…
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A few years ago, my younger daughter, Olivia, spent the Wimbledon fortnight hulling and counting out strawberries while working in the members’ restaurant the All England Lawn Tennis Club. In fact I think her job included a few more jobs besides. There she discovered and passed on a really great tip for hulling strawberries. Hulling strawberries using a…
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On a recent trip to visit a friend in Surrey I took a detour and stopped off at a Pick Your Own Farm to gather up some strawberries for jam making and a few other supplies. The place was called Garsons farm and just outside Esher. It was huge and as with many farms overflowing…
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