what's in season: march

spring snowdrops

Cold is the ogre that drives all beautiful things into hiding. Below the surface of a frost-bound garden there lurk hidden bulbs which are only biding their time to burst forth in a riot of laughing colour (unless the gardener has buried them upside down) but shivering Nature dare not put forth till the ogre has gone. Not otherwise does cold supress love. A man in an open cart in an English Spring night may continue to be in love, but love is not the emotion uppermost in his bosom. It shrinks within him and waits for better times.
P.G. Wodehouse (1881-1975), Something Fresh

oxtail stew with warming spices: a wonderful winter warmer

sticky oxtail stew

Where's the spring we've been promised by weather forecasters? London's weather is distinctly grey. As a result, I want a meal that is comforting and soothing; something a little dark and sticky, a bit like my mood. 

I need a meal that is a lttle wintery but lively enough to delude me that spring is around the corner. I have convinced myself that what I need is an oxtail stew of such unctuousness, it is like one of the cartoonist Martin Rowson's fat cat plutocrats caught in a nonchalant shrug with its paws caught in this country's till.

introducing kelly's kentish town fairing: a mincemeat treat!

kentish town fairing!

I may have overdone this year's batch of Christmas mincemeat. It's not that I don't like mincemeat. I love it. But I made so much that I started to give jars away. Unfortunately my friends had also started to see me coming.

Since I have become somewhat obsessive about making and baking things, my friends are quite happy to try the finished result but are less happy with jars of pickles and food in it's uncooked state. I'm guessing why bother when you know someone (well me) would do it for you. And there is just so often that I can turn up a the pub lugging a tower of tupperware to hand out my kitchen largesse . . .

what's in season: february

rhubarb, rhubarb!

If February give much snow
A fine summer it doth foreshow 
(Traditional English saying) 

Well if there's any truth in the saying, so far England is destined for another dismal summer. Although forecasters are predicting a "cold snap" blowing in from the east. Which could mean anything from a bit of a chill to blizzards.

But weather aside, spring is on the horizon and if you're looking forward to a little colour in your culinary life, then it is the right time to celebrate rhubarb. February sees the Rhubarb Festival in Wakefield, heart of the wonderful "Rhubarb Triangle" (weather permitting . . . the lack of frosts this winter has affected the growing season).And if you think rhubarb is just for puddings (crumbles or perhaps a trifle), then think again. Stewed rhubarb makes a stunning accompaniement for roast pork.

my kitchen resolutions for 2012

If there was ever a motto for my 2012 kitchen resolutions, then it should probably be prior planning prevents poor
performance . . . as most of my kitchen foibles seem to be around failing to plan.There are clearly some things I need to do more of and things to actually begin. I need to change my mindset on some things.But most importantly I will have adventures and enormous amounts of fun. It's an opportunity to share the love.

I wonder what your kitchen resolutions for 2012 are? Do tell!

what's in season: january

cobbles and puddles!

To read a poem in January is as lovely as to go for a walk in June.  
Jean-Paul Sartre 1905-80

Not such a bleak mid winter this year although we've had our fair share of wind and rain. I know for certain that the seasons are all a bit havey-cavey as I have a summer hollyhock in flower in my north London garden! But despite the milder weather, I still love comforting winter food and of course there are still fresh seasonal foods that are good to eat.

good tidings of comfort and joy: stollen

family-soothing stollen?

Christmas this year has not been awash with happiness. It was not so much that I minded not having turkey. I didn't. In fact, I was quite relieved, since I wouldn't have to feign appreciation, with all those "nom, nom, nom" noises tokening approval. I am a good actress unfortunately, which means we keep having turkey, which I loathe.. But what with the house being flooded, the oven not working and my relatives being a bit cranky, food and drink doesn't seem to have been at the forefront of anybody's mind, except for mine (as usual).

a guilty pleasure . . . the noodles in my chicken noodle soup!

chicken noodle soup

I posted a recipe for a Thai hot and sour soup recipe a few days ago. It's something I make often. No shame in that. But I do have a guilty pleasure. It is so bad, that when I confessed it to Nephew Number 2, he appeared as shocked to the core as the average eleven year old can be. Although he admitted it was funny, he was more incensed at the injustice of it all. How come I can get away with it and he can't? I suggested he learn to cook . 

I raise a toast to all of you: thank you, thank you, thank you!

mince pies

Christmas Poem  
Ring out, wild bells, to the wild sky,
The flying cloud, the frosty light;
The year is dying in the night;
Ring out, wild bells, and let him die.

Ring out the old, ring in the new,
Ring, happy bells, across the snow:
The year is going, let him go;
Ring out the false, ring in the true.
Alfred, Lord Tennyson 1809-92

nam prik pao (thai chilli paste)

nam prik pao (Thai chilli paste)

Cooking chillies can be lethal (as I know to my cost). I am sensitive to chillies, so have to make sure that I wear rubber gloves (and probably a wet suit) to prevent the pain that envelops me if raw chilli gets anywhere near my skin. So do watch out when cooking the chilli itself. The fumes can be noxious, as an unsuspecting public and Thai restaurant in central London discovered to its cost a few years ago, when it set off a terrorist alert!

it's not over 'til it's over: thai tom yum soup

Thai tom yum soup

We haven't even got Christmas out the way and I am asking you to think about leftovers. But trust me. A little preparation now will help avoid a whole world of hurt. And apart from all that, this soup can cure the mother of all Christmas hangovers. Trust me, I'm a kitchen witch; I've felt your pain and I am certain I have the cure!

not a thing of beauty, but a taste sensation! aromatic cauliflower soup

aromatic cauliflower soup

Trying to be frugal this year, a tired looking cauliflower was transformed into a gloriously smooth and aromatic soup. Yes, it is a rather dreary colour, but I promise you that has a beautifully gentle and soothing effect.

I was looking for a bit of inspiration and this is adaptation of a Shaun Hill recipe (formerly of Merchant House and now of The Walnut Tree) - a man of such exquisite taste that I knew I wouldn't be able to resist it. I hope you won't either.