Some of the yummyness available at tomrrow’s Cake Sale for Barnardos include chocolate brownies, Catherine Leyden’s tea brack, apple tarts, raspberry shortcake bars, and – an update with thanks to Nanazolie – lemon cake, nut and chocolate slices, and gingerbread, plus so much more. As it’s Halloween, it’s a weekend where you can exist entirely on [...]

Halloween is about death, fun and cake. This weekend, Cheapeats – also known as Jean and I – are holding a cake sale in The Grand Social to raise money for children’s charity Barnardos. We’d love, love, love you to bake something for the sale and bring it along. Resident ireland am cook Catherine Leyden [...]

The blackberries are out and it’s your chance to get free food. You can use them to make jam, cakes, ice cream, compote, crème brulée, coulis and even tea. You can also use blackberries in savoury sauces. Venison goes well with autumnal purple-red produce and this Pan-fried venison with blackberry sauce is very fast and [...]

I know for many, the idea of growing your own is just too damn daunting but there are certain vegetables and herbs that just won’t fail – I promise. Mint is unbelievable. It is a weed and it will grow anywhere and all year round. It’s such a sturdy plant that if you’re not careful [...]

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 [...]

To mark Bastille day, I’m planning a French feast this evening with some friends. Tucking into French onion soup, a classic Coq au vin and a Crème brûlée; a French three course meal doesn’t have to cost a fortune and this menu contains basic ingredients that won’t break the bank. Incorporating onions, white wine, cheese [...]

It has been a great summer so far for growing and the strawberries haven’t let me down. They taste unbelievably flavoursome and are the stawberriest strawberries I’ve ever tasted. This is the first year I have grown the fruit and I had no idea that there would be such a bevy of them. In fact, [...]

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 know there are bigger things to be angry about in the world but it really annoys me when recipe books assume you have an ice cream maker. You come across a tantalising ice cream recipe and excitedly race through the instructions to disappointingly come across “now place the mixture in your ice cream maker [...]

I experienced an extremely pleasant picnic recently. This wasn’t a ‘hang’ sandwich affair but a proper picnic on a river bank with lots of lovely food and company. It got me thinking about interesting picnic ideas and the best way to serve them up. A good picnic should be on the fancy side and include a variety [...]