I have just dressed a crab for the first time. A Scottish one. At Billingsgate Fish market in London, which offers the largest selection of fish in the UK. The occasion was courtesy of Seafood Scotland, the umbrella organisation for promoting Scottish Seafood. It was awesome! Part of a day of filleting, gutting, skinning and [...]

This is less a recipe and more a list of leftovers I stuffed into chicken thighs today, for our supper tonight. As I never throw any leftovers away, I always have things in the fridge I can make a delicious stuffing (or quiche filling) out of. Cooked rice, half a pack of Boursin, a chopped [...]

I have started hoovering up Christmas bargains – all those festive foods that are now heavily discounted, because no-one fancies mince pies in January. Why not?! Some of us didn’t over-indiulge in December so can still face a bit more port, stilton, mincemeat and Christmas pudding. I have just bought a 454g luxury (hmmm) Christmas pud [...]

I have just stood behind a woman in a shop who was speding £7.70 on a loaf of bread and 6 cans of soup! Heinz cream of tomato – so nothing special. It occurred to me that soup is one of the  cheapest foods to make. It costs pence for a few veg, a stock [...]

I have just used up the last of my turkey, 9 days after we had the roast bird on Christmas Day. The meat kept fine in the fridge, pulled off the carcass in a sealed tupperware type box. You can also freeze it but, as I hadn’t, I felt 9 days was the limit. This is [...]

On Boxing Day, as I write, I have just made this and it went down a storm, with the kids too. I had prepared homemade pork sausagemeat stuffing to go with the Christmas turkey, and cooked it inside the bird, in the neck cavity. There was a lot left (more on Xmas leftovers at the [...]

I was browsing round my local pound store hardware-type shop and realised that a lot of my Christmas presents could be bought there. Dinky kitchen gadgets for foodie friends (a designer-looking swivel vegetable peeler, calibrated turkey baster, a lovely solid stone pestle and mortar for £15.99 for myself, retro-style glass sundae dishes etc ). If you [...]

A little cream lifts most dishes and this casserole is no exception. In fact, it makes the dish – perfect for the current wintry weather. Cream also helps soups become something special, and fresh fruit become a real dessert – you can also add a few toasted flaked almonds or hazelnuts perhaps.  I thought this recipe [...]

I am now really strapped for cash owing to my lovely employer having a policy of not paying invoices for 60 days! So I have done a load of work – and paid out for expenses like taxis, meals etc – but I won’t get the money for a while. The other thing is, I [...]

I notice Robert Dyas, the ironmongers, are selling slow cookers at half price. Well, that’s what the poster in the window says but I can only find them slashed from £29.99 to £19.99 (for a 3.5 litre capacity Crock Pot – see their website for full details). Still, that’s a £10 saving. It got me thinking [...]