About

I will add recipes for all sorts of things, from sauces to marinades, meat to fish, cakes to biscuits and anything else that is edible!

There will be a whole selection of recipes, from all sorts of places; some from cookbooks of well known TV chefs and books that my Mum has had since she did Home Economics at school, as well as recipes that have been handed down from my Mum, Grandma, borrowed, begged and stolen from friends and some from my Web-Bible the BBC Good Food website.

I will always have tried and tested the recipes I publish here and had feedback from the many willing mouths that taste it.

FYI

So now I have a fair few recipes up I thought I would set up this page to help those of you who want to try the recipes and set a standard for my cooking.

• When I say eggs, I use large free range unless otherwise stated
• Milk means semi-skimmed, unless otherwise states
• Meat is always British
• Fish is British when possible
• Veg is fresh unless otherwise stated
• Butter is unsalted unless other wise stated
• I use rapeseed oil for everyday cooking, if I have used anything else I will clearly point it out.
• Salt is Maldon Salt and Pepper if freshly ground peppercorns.
• All recipes are cooked on either a gas or electric hob or fan oven, please adjust temperatures for your own cooking equipment.
• I use separate chopping boards for raw meat, raw fish, vegetables and dry goods such as bread.
• I don’t have an abundance of cooking machinery, as of yet I do not own a blender, mandolin, food processor, mixer, bread maker, ice cream maker, slow cooker, rice cooker, pasta machine or mincer. However I am getting a KitchenAid mixer for my 21st birthday and with a matching blender BUT until then, everything is done by hand, therefore get a willing helper to do tedious jobs like grate cheese.
• I have one set of plastic Morrisons own brand scales, nothing fancy and they do the job.
• If you are going to buy kitchen equipment, I have a few tips. Firstly, don’t even consider anything that isn’t non-stick, not worth the time or effort of cleaning it. Cook with cast iron products such as Le Creuset before you buy the whole set… you might not like it or be able to lift it… Everyday items such as wooden spoons and whisks that get lots of wear and tear – I find that Wilko’s own are just as good and those ten times the price in John Lewis. Pots and pans, as well as trays and griddles, knives and boards are all worth paying for, as are blenders, ovenproof dishs, fluted quiche/tart tins and dishes. Pyrex is reasonable and almost always comes with a lifetime guarantee. When I buy something for my kitchen ( which is planned in  my head down to a T) I buy it to absolutely last.
• Lastly, don’t be afraid to try new things with recipes you have. Make it your own. My aim is to give you good, healthy (although sometimes not so healthy), yummy recipes you can feed your kids, parents, grandparents, friends everyday. Recipes that you can cook when you get in from work and have on the table in under 30 mins, as well as those that you can spend a whole lazy Sunday cooking and then freeze for later in the week and just microwave when you get in. Recipes for dinner parties, to impress friends, to dazzle at cake and bake sales, to give as beautiful gifts and as a small thank you.
• My very very last tip is look out for ideas and inspiration everywhere. I love watching cookery shows as well as browsing through cookbooks (although these can be expensive and awfully addictive to buy – mine are full of post its on recipes to try). I suggest you trade cookbooks with a friend and photocopy or write down all those you’d like to try. I have a small note book for this purpose alone, and then once I have tried and tested them they get upgraded and written into my recipe folder. I also devour food magazines – typically Good Food as I find it the best; I snip out all the recipes and keep them in a folder so I always have new ideas ready for meals.
• A quick note about jams and preserves: if you wax lid and seal as soon as they are cool, they can be kept for around 3 months in a cool dark place, and once open they are good for 2-3 weeks. I don’t like putting an out of date stamp on these, so just use your common sense, if it’s mouldy or funny smelling, don’t eat it, otherwise use until you don’t feel comfortable eating it.

I really hope this helps and if you have any questions please ask away 🙂