Mezze magic

A few Saturdays ago I invited some of my gal pals over for a long overdue catch up. Cue free-flowing fizz and lots of screeching. The vibe was informal and relaxed (think cosy kitchen supper) so I decided to make a Middle Eastern feast; basically food to graze on that wouldn’t distract us from getting […]

Cassoulet

Is it just me or is it freezing out there? I walked home from work this evening, trussed up in my winter coat and scarf with my little hands in gloves, and when I got home my fingers were still numb and blue. My terrible circulation may have been a factor in that though. Tonight […]

When life gives you lentils…

Dahl makes me think of two things: Roald Dahl (obviously) and Neighbours. Like many of you, I grew up with the Australian soap and I loved the Kennedy family, although less so their pet galah (as in flaming galah, the phrase favoured by Alf Stewart in Home and Away) which for some reason was named Dahl […]

Porto

As much as I enjoy my job, my workload has been eye-wateringly heavy recently so last weekend I popped over to Porto for a little holiday with my pal Al. I had high hopes for Portugal’s second city which is famed for its port, is postcard pretty and regarded as Lisbon’s cooler little sister. I […]

Welsh cakes

Happy St David’s Day! I’ve just come back from a long weekend in Porto with my friend Alys and it was amusing to observe people there trying to figure us out when we spoke Welsh. Al’s an exotic beauty (she’s half Italian) and I’m tall, blonde and milk bottle pale so people must wonder where […]