Author: Lara

Chicken Chettinad

Chicken Chettinad

I have a friend from the southern region of India of Kerala and she is one of the best cooks I know. Her food is super tasty and always warmly spiced, using a lot of coconut, chilli and  served with dosa when she can get […]

Christmas Talk – is it too early?

Christmas Talk – is it too early?

Christmas is coming, and we all know what that means: presents, family time, feasting and fingers crossed, no turkey shortage. But of course there’s more to Christmas than material pleasures; there are traditions that have been around for centuries, with each country adding their own […]

Melt and Mix Chocolate Coconut Slice

Melt and Mix Chocolate Coconut Slice

I rarely use a recipe that relies on cocoa, because you’ll never achieve that rich chocolate flavour that comes from melting down a block of Cadbury’s. But this recipe gets a thumbs-up in the flavour department, in spite of the lack of real chocolate. It’s […]

Love Handles from L.A

Love Handles from L.A

The first time I went to Los Angeles I was about 16 and it was a mind-blowing adventure where I discovered that the world in the television I grew up watching was a real place. Back then we were entranced by Beavis and Butthead and […]

Mac n’ Cheese n’ Crab

Mac n’ Cheese n’ Crab

There are certain meals that don’t belong on a Sunday night. They can’t be too trashy or too healthy, and they have to have a certain excitement; one last hurrah for the weekend that was. AT has taken up dinner duty on Sundays and it’s […]

Crumbly Christmas Shortbread

Crumbly Christmas Shortbread

There’s lots of recipes for shortbread out there and I reckon I’ve probably tried them all. But after many failures, including tasteless, over-cooked, over-worked, dry biscuits, I have finally found the perfect recipe for shortbread. The sort of shortbread that tastes buttery, but isn’t too […]

Christmas Crumble

Christmas Crumble

You can make this mince pie crumble as an alternative to the stalwart pies if you haven’t got your pastry funk on or maybe if you didn’t have any in the fridge and simply must use up the jar of mince meat that you bought […]

La Belle Assiette; Reading

La Belle Assiette; Reading

When it comes to research, my curiosity knows no bounds especially when it comes to food. So, when private chef agency La Belle Assiette asked if I’d like to review their services of course, I said yes. But I was a bit anxious about it […]

Pumpkin Cupcakes with Maple Frosting

Pumpkin Cupcakes with Maple Frosting

It felt like autumn suddenly happened last weekend; the weather, the light, the leaves and that certain something in the air… This is one of my favourite times of year to be sure. I’m guessing pumpkins ripen around this time, which is why they became […]

Satay Chicken Pizza

Satay Chicken Pizza

Pizza has the potential to be incredibly divisive. There’s the pineapple situation. There’s the question of whether you put your cheese underneath or over the toppings. And of course there’s fusion pizza. It seems I’m a bit of a bandit for messing about with my […]