Strawberry Vinegar Shrub

There's no point in denying it any longer. The evidence is all there on the top and middle shelves of my refrigerator: I'm a hipster. If you should have the misfortune to open my fridge, you'll see them there as clear as day. Various containers in glass or plastic with a makeshift label. Not only am …

Readying The Vegetable Patch

The internet, as for most things, is a wonderful source of information but also the origin of much paranoia. Typing "how to prepare an allotment" or "grow your own vegetables..." churns up more questions than answers. I mean, I know the soil is mainly volcanic... but I don't know about the exact pH or the composition of the topsoil. Even then, when I've understood that carrots need sandy soils, chili peppers need sunshine, what about fennel? *cue another Google search...*

Summer’s Here With A Strawberry Genoise Cake

I find the concept of food blogging quite awkward. A casual food blogger is not a professional chef, nor is he or she a recipe-writer. (Unless you have the patience to test each recipe until it has reached perfection, e.g. David Lebovitz.) I personally don't have that kind of dutiful patience. For example, as much as …

Taking a Tart for Labour Day

"Hey Emma, you remember we're leaving at 10am...." whispers the boy, "... well, it's almost 9am and you still have that cake to do!" The done thing in Italy on the 1st May (Labour Day) is to organise a day-out in the countryside. It doesn't matter if you're already living in rural countryside, surrounded by vineyards.... …