I’m really loving Anissa Helou’s fantastic mezze recipes, as well as the stories on her wonderful blog. She currently has a lovely tale to tell about chocolates made from camel milk. Here’s two more mezze recipes from her excellent book Modern Mezze; check out more of her books here. Mezze are so versatile: they make [...]

I’ve been watching Jamie Oliver’s New European Series – so far I’ve seen him in Morocco, Spain and, most recently, Greece. This episode was all about simple ingredients simply put together. He went spear fishing, met up with some bee keepers and nibbled on some goats cheese with a Greek Orthodox monk. Some of the [...]

Bread doesn’t have to mean sandwiches and breakfast toast. As these Nigel Slater recipes show, bread can make a summer salad more substantial or make a side dish more filling. His ‘Salad of peas, beans and bread’ is an unusual combination and the perfect dish if the usual leafy salad doesn’t quite satisfy or fill [...]

Vietnamese cuisine is fresh, subtle and really satisfying. Vietnamese lime grilled prawns are a great bbq recipe that is simple but exotic. I had them at many beachside locations on my Honeymoon in Vietnam. The combined flavours of lime and pepper give the prawns a citrus kick that is quite unusual. Vietnamese pancakes are also [...]

Samosa are great party food but they don’t have to be Asian, Indian or even savoury. If you’re looking for a healthy alternative to apple tart, why not give this apple samosa a try. This hand-held dessert will go down well in a crowd and are totally delicious. If you are after something savoury; these [...]

These days we are bombarded by nutritional facts and figures which on the one hand is a good thing because we are getting important information but on the other hand can be really confusing. It can be very difficult to pick your way through the maze of food facts and figure out if certain information [...]

Following on from Wednesday’s post on quick and easy recipes that can be thrown together after a hard day at work, here are some more hassle free dishes for you to try. I have included a couple of desserts that could be thrown together at the end of a dinner party when you don’t want [...]

I’m a big fan of Yotam Ottolenghi and his exciting approach to vegetarian cooking.  The innovative chef has a very inventive take on Mediterranean food and incorporates bold flavours and pure ingredients. His food is also good on a budget but creative enough to be gourmet. His Roast Vegetable Tart suits all seasons and is [...]

I work mostly from home but I have been working quite a bit in the city lately. Living in the sticks and having no car means I have to contend with an epic journey home. After enduring the longest Dublin bus journey in history (even longer than the 17 bus route), I then have a [...]

Asian food absolutely rocks but I always feel that shop bought noodles let a good stir-fry down. However, I have recently discovered wholegrain noodles which are a complete revelation. As a general rule I try and eat as much wholefoods as possible; I’ve eaten brown rice for years and changed over to wholegrain pasta a [...]