Food . Travel . Lifestyle
After Christmas, the harsh month of January brings about a distinct need for creative culinary construction. It begins with the craving for spring. Soon after the Christmas items disappear, just as the Easter eggs start filling the supermarket shelves my heart yearns for oranges. There’s something wonderful about those Spanish oranges which conjure up the… Continue reading A Few Foodie Thoughts In The Bleak Midwinter
In a society of sexual equality, I often think to the past and wonder what stories lie behind others. In childhood, I was always regaled with tales of my Great Great Great Grandfather, an interesting character who had, apparently, owned an Italian Fruit Warehouse in Bath during the 1840s and 50s. As a man he… Continue reading The Pheasant Philosophises: Part 4: Queen Victoria’s Pineapple
Last weekend, Thomas of Woodstock's once splendid castle at Caldicot played host, for the second time this year, to The Monmouthshire Food Festival. In general the weather held and there were some moments of dazzling sunshine, as visitors were treated to two splendid days of food, drink, demonstrations and workshops. Although not the biggest in the… Continue reading The Monmouthshire Food Festival – Fit for a King (or the son of one anyway!)
Oats have been cultivated since at least 2000 bce, they are sturdy crops, keep well, are filling, full of minerals and have saved many a country from starving to death in harder times. They have been used in soups, stews, breads, oatcakes, gruel and most famously in Porridge. Following on from my previous article about… Continue reading An ancient dish which has moved with the times – #worldporridgeday
So, this week saw the end of National Cake Week, the beginning of National Seafood Week and tomorrow we look forward to the start of British Egg Week. Whilst I enjoy these specialised food and drink weeks it does make me wonder how on earth the British food industry survived for all those years without… Continue reading The Pheasant Philosophises: Part 3 Sunday Morning Musings: Seasonality
This weekend I've gone a little bit pork mad. On Friday I took delivery of 1/2 a free-range, rare breed pig from Martha Roberts' The Decent Company. I was very impressed by the obvious bond she has with her pigs and (so far) I am certainly not disappointed in the quality of the meat. Rare… Continue reading This little piggy went to market….then into the freezer…..and it was yum!
Welsh Cakes have always been my go-to standby for surprise guests; they are so simple to make and are best eaten hot, bounced from hand-to-hand almost straight from the pan. My grandmother, who at the age of twelve took over her family's weekly baking told me how Welsh Cakes scarcely made it out of the… Continue reading Spicing up the Welsh Cake for the Autumn
