Start right here to savour tried and true advice, homilies and help.
For over half a century I’ve been cooking family meals, special occasion dinners and indulging in obsessive afternoon tea with the ladies. Then cleaning up after them all.
Cooking Basics
You’ll find basic cooking guides as well as more elaborate recipes, all tested in my own kitchen by two generations of fastidious nibblers.
Down to earth kitchen skills such how to poach an egg or how to make a pot of old-fashioned vegetable stock. It’s easy to cook sweet potatoes, Irish potato pancakes, parsnips and broadbeans but can you blanch some sugar snap peas? Plus the secret of how to cook a celeriac. You can browse the ‘How to Cook’ section here.
If you’re looking for an old-fashioned recipe, here are some ideas for one-dish dinners such as a nice little pasty or the satisfying savoury zucchini slice. And next time you relax with a cuppa, make some perfect scones too.
Stick with the vegetables and try some butternut stuffed with feta cheese and these lovely little cheese and potato polpettes.
Slow Cooking
I’ve had a fondness for Slow Cookers since 1971 when I won a Crockpot in a church raffle. Are you new to Slow Cooking? Read these basic tips first. Try an old-fashioned Pot Roast or slow cook a lamb casserole. Perhaps you’d prefer to bake a delicious chocolate cake in the slow cooker. More ideas in the Slow Cooking Section
Cleaning Basics
Simple explanation of how to clean your fridge, your oven and everything in between, with tips on using potato peelings to clean pots, the easy way to keep your chopping boards clean (and hygenic), and instructions for making your own wool wash. Find these solutions and more in the cleaning category
P.S. Life can be a little dull when you live in genteel poverty and I liven up mine by following the incredible adventures of religious manifestations in the Holy World Tour. You just won’t believe it!
I get out and about too, discussing politics with bus drivers, streaming strange vegetables at the markets, and playing music with my younger neighbours.