“With enough butter, anything is good.” Julia Child For decades, butter has been demonised, labelled an artery-clogger contributing to high cholesterol and obesity, and replaced with low fat spreads and margarines. An ingredient at the very heart of western cuisine for centuries, butter is one of the purest fats available, tastes ambrosial and now, rather…
Category: Foodie thoughts from home
Midweek Musings – Nourishing the body and soul under lockdown living.
So, it has been over year since I last added to my blog. It’s been a difficult year, but now, more than ever, I see the need to use technology, not only to communicate with others but also to hold myself accountable. These past few weeks have been challenging for everybody. We have been forced…
New Year, Old Me…..just paying more attention to Time and Balance
New Year, Old Me. Must we subscribe to the ‘health’ trends of January or seek overall individual happiness? Balance and Time win out! #balanceandtime
The Pheasant Philosopher’s Christmas Diaries: ‘Vegging’ out at Christmas
I personally find the Christmas standard veg offering rather boring, ‘boiled’ or ‘roasted’ (aside from potatoes) seems so unimaginative and it doesn’t take much more time to ‘pimp’ those everyday vegetables up to new heights. I enjoy all veg, I try and stick to seasonal choices, however, aside from the somewhat more exciting spiced red…
The Pheasant Philosopher’s Christmas Diaries: the cheesecake of cheesecakes.
Many of us will look to that extra cheese course after Christmas lunch, and then there has to be enough cheese in the house to take you through to the new year. I have already covered the history of stilton in my diaries but now I’d like to share with you a few of my…
The Pheasant Philosopher’s Christmas Diaries: a change from turkey…my partridge (or pheasant) in a pear tree
Many people are becoming much more experimental in the kitchen and, where once, turkey or goose took centre stage, now there are many different options for the Christmas table. Aside from a good joint of beef, leg of lamb or meltingly soft slow-cooked pork shoulder many people look to game – especially in smaller households,…
The Pheasant Philosopher’s Christmas Diaries: just a little trifle, please!
Christmas is now the only time of the year I make trifle. Growing up it was a mainstay of my grandmother’s birthday and Christmas tables, but the tradition now firmly sits within the festive period. There’s something wonderfully decadent about the layers of creamy comfort, the hit of booze and the digging down to the…
The Pheasant Philosopher’s Christmas Diaries: Fuss Free Canapés with a Welsh Twist
Last year my sister published her first book and asked me to make some canapés for the launch. I didn’t have much time to prepare, so wracked my brains for something quick, easy and delicious. I am extremely proud of my Welsh heritage and, as I have mentioned before, am a great believer in the…
The Pheasant Philosopher’s Christmas Diaries: Driving Home for Christmas.
Traditionally, the ‘Designated Driver’ has not been terribly well catered for, an orange juice and lemonade, glass of coke or coffee is the usual choice however, now there are dozens of alcohol free choices out there, waiting to be discovered – so, even as the driver you can enjoy some seriously festive drinks. With almost…
The Pheasant Philosopher’s Christmas Diaries: The Big Festive Breakfast
I have always been a great supporter of the ‘Full English Breakfast’. It is one of the few meals that can be almost entirely locally sourced, at any time of the year. A legacy of the great Country House breakfasts which were at their height in the 19th and early 20th century, these were full…
