Category: Lockdown recipes

Recipes I once posted

Lockdown meals need to be quick, comforting and tasty. Here are a few recipes I’ve posted on Instagram over the past year. Wild garlic pesto is on everyone’s feeds at the moment and it’s growing in abundance in my local woods. If you’re lucky enough to pass some on your daily walk, do pick some […]

Bread

Last time I wrote a blog post, I’d actually never heard of coronavirus. That was in December when the virus was starting to spread in China – and now the whole world is in lockdown. Things have slowed down in every aspect of our lives and we can no longer travel to the office, pop […]

Chocolate banana bread

It definitely feels like the start of the school term. It’s back to business as usual and summer will soon feel like a lifetime ago (I write this on a grey and drizzly evening). It’s also a time of new beginnings: my nephew is off to sixth form college and my stepdaughter (I hate that […]

Chocolate mousse

Today is the start of Fairtrade Fortnight (25 February to 10 March) and this year’s theme is a real favourite of mine – yes, it’s chocolate. For two weeks each year, thousands of people in the UK celebrate the people in poorer countries who grow our food and who are often exploited and badly paid. […]

Chocolate and tahini cake with frosting

Last week, I raged against the onslaught of autumn, but as the seasons change, my resolve has weakened. I’ve submitted to September and its chilly mornings and nights and my legs are once again clad in 60-denier tights. I’ve always loved this time of year, but as I get older, I find it pretty bleak […]

Lemon and thyme loaf

It’s almost the end of April, described by T. S. Eliot as the cruellest month, and perhaps he had a point. In The Waste Land, Eliot’s talking mainly about lost love, but he’s also describing the weather. April’s a big tease. She’s cold and frosty one minute and beaming sunnily down on us the next. […]

Pasta with wild garlic pesto

It’s a funny old month, April. The days are longer and it’s warmer than it was even a couple of weeks ago (yesterday, I went out without a coat) but spring still feels a little wait away. Today, as I sit at my kitchen table writing this, I’m waiting for it to rain. It’s been […]

Lemon tofu and fried rice

I’ve written a book! It’s not every day you can say that, is it? After months of recipe testing and writing, The Occasional Vegan is here and I’m finally feeling confident enough to blow my own trumpet, just a little bit. A hell of a lot of work went into it (what’s the vegan equivalent […]

Pearl barley risotto with mushrooms and thyme

It’s a tired cliché, I know, but I’ll repeat what everyone else is saying: where did 2017 go? The last couple of months have really whizzed by. I guess (humble brag alert) that’s what happens when you write a book. I’ve been cosseted in a warm blanket of food, writing, photoshoots and (God forbid) my […]