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 […]

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 […]

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 […]

It seems that the Maidenhead Farmer’s Market is at dire risk of being closed for good and that got me thinking about the ways we source and buy local produce and edible gifts, especially at Christmas time. Everyone loves receiving chocolates or a hamper of […]

I discovered this recipe back when I was living in London and writing for Foodepedia. It was a promotion for a butter brand and I offered to make it and write it up. Everything from the pastry to the filling, to licking the beaters covered […]

This is not so much a recipe, but a guide for festive drinking and a nod to the traditions of ye olden times, traditions that seem both timeless and borderless. Whether they’re Geman family recipes, warming mugs of punch at the Viennese Christmas markets or […]

This here is a photo of the spread my sister put on for our tiny Christmas Cocktail get-together. So much effort, love and generosity of spirit was laid out on this table which to me, is the true spirit of the season. I realised this year […]

Perhaps it’s because I’m Australian, but I’ve never really picked up on the mulled wine tradition here in the UK. To me it tasted either too sour or overly spiced and stating the bloody obvious – what’s with warm wine? But things change. A few weeks […]

I’ve added some roasted beetroot to my crumble making it look all gory, but I don’t know that it added anything to the original concept. After trying the Marlow Cheese Co. Cygnet cheese, I knew there was a recipe in there somewhere.The Cygnet has an almost sour, […]