For the month of January, The Sunday Times has been offering up a ten-point plan to a better you in the style section. A plan that encourages you to ‘Learn to relax’, ‘Find your purpose’, ‘Revel in strong moments’ and ‘Boost your chi factor’. When reading it, I kind of zoned out and couldn’t help [...]

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 [...]

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 [...]

We rounded off the pumpkin series on Friday with Pumpkin Cheesecake but I had to include this Roasted Butternut Squash with Thyme and Cider Vinegar recipe because it is so damn good. You could substitute the squash for pumpkin if you like. My husband came up with this simple side dish over the weekend and [...]

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 [...]

Red wine is bad for you, oh wait now it’s good for you. Chocolate is your enemy, oh wait it could save your life. There is always mixed reports on the benefits and hazards of foods and it’s very confusing. The latest research shows that sticking to a Mediterranean diet may help prevent depression. After [...]

When I moved to the countryside a couple of years ago it was assumed that I would be baking tarts, making doilies, and hand-rearing lamb in the living room – or at the very least cultivating my own vegetable patch. I can’t say I have done all of the above but I did have great [...]

There are some great deals on vegetables and fruit at the moment. But what’s the point in stocking up if you don’t know how to store them properly? I use to shove all my fruit and vegetables in the fridge and then moan a few days later when some were rotten. Well, there is a [...]

These two minty salad recipes came from the June edition of the Observer’s Food Magazine. I made them a few weeks ago and they’re both excellent: light and summery and a good alternative to the usual mix of coleslaw, potato salad, and leaves (not that this particular combo doesn’t have a time and place). The [...]

Wow! Look at all this food. Why don’t we have anything like this in Dublin? Corkonians need no introduction to The English Market, but the rest of us might. Last Saturday, I was amazed and enchanted by an extraordinary feast for all five senses. This huge indoor market has been around since 1788 and is [...]