Christmas dinner is a very meat focused affair and although I do enjoy turkey, I think that turkey and ham are weird together. The sprouts are little green spheres of pure deliciousness but in general vegetables are a tad boring at Christmas and I think vegetarians get a bum deal on the day. Well, if [...]

We’re moving house this week and there’s a million and one things to do. The kitchen is mostly packed away and even if I could cook I’m just too tired. So I nipped into Dunnes to get some quick and preferably healthy convenience food that I could just bung in the oven. I came across [...]

I really know nothing about South African food so I thought I would start with the obvious and try out the most popular and traditional dish of the country – Bobotie. The national dish of South Africa, it’s commonly made with minced meat, usually lamb or beef, covered with an egg-based topping and served with [...]

I was completely hooked to ‘Masterchef’ when it was on BBC and it kind of controlled my life for a while, as sad as that sounds. Due to unstoppable snacking, I had to arrange my dinner around the show and make sure I would either be eating while it was on or have dinner afterwards. [...]

With December less than a month away, it’s only a matter of time before we will be stuffing our faces with turkey, ham, Brussels sprouts, mince pies and all the other traditional fodder Christmas has to offer. In the meantime, I fancy something different so over the next couple of weeks I will be focusing [...]

I made this for dinner recently as a side for my Roast Chicken in Butter Sauce. Each time I make a tomato sauce, it’s different. It’s a wondrous, organic, changing thing and can taste so different each time, redolent of memories from the past, spag bol when I was a kid, bruschetta on my first [...]

Soups are the ultimate in cheap eats. My partner makes me soup all the time, and it’s always from what’s leftover in the fridge – halves of vegetables we’ve used for roasts, or bits of pepper/squash/onion/celery that you haven’t finished up. Soup-making is a great habit to get into; it’s at least a couple of [...]

Following on from Tuesday’s post on the merits of a packed lunch, here are a few more brown bag options for your consideration. If you have after work plans, the smokey meatball stew will keep you going right through to the last bus and the creamed mackerel sandwich filler is a healthy yet delicious combo. [...]

This year, I had an evil chest infection that would NOT go away. I am not normally ill, so lurching around feeling like my days were numbered really got me down. After trying all the usual weaponry – antibiotics, bedrest and weeping – my sister, over from New York to visit, imparted her solution. Garlic [...]

There are all sorts of shenanigans going on to celebrate Arthur’s day with a hefty line-up set to play. Okay, essentially it’s probably the biggest marketing coup ever but it’s still kind of nice to salute the black stuff. Even if you’re not a Guinness drinker, you can still toast the occasion by cooking up [...]