Mad about Mango? The Madd Desert Bar serves Mango. Apparently the name means Mango and Addiction…and the theme is definitely mango based. It’s one of Soho quirkier offerings, on Rupert Street. The owner clearly likes mango. And has something of a sense of humour. The result is a funky little place where you can eat desserts, drink (including mango based cocktails as well as...
A Late Lunch at Cha Cha Moon Restaurant, Soho: I’ve sat looking at this place on several occasions. It’s a restaurant in Soho just off Carnaby Street, opposite an American style diner that an American friend of mine likes for brunch (perhaps he gets homesick). And, I never noticed it…or if I did, mentally dismissed it as being a club. I rather like the...
Getting over Pigeon Breast Phobia: Last Autumn I acquired some medlars. I had no idea what to do with them, just a fascination with these fruit that you needed to rot before they were ready to use…I think my original plan was to make medlar cheese, but when they had bletted (rotted) there were not really enough of them. So I made a confit...
Baked Asparagus and Cheese This time of year is the start of the British Asparagus season and some early crop has already reached the shops. But, right now it’s very expensive to buy…and difficult to find. Now, I was brought up feasting on British Asparagus. We had a large walled vegetable garden at home and when we first moved there I can remember my...
Somerset Easter Cakes and Farming in the Quantocks I don’t remember having these when I was little…and my grandma was a great baker. But, I do remember her rock cakes being very like the end result…though I am sure she didn’t add brandy to those. And she made rock cakes every week for my granddad to have with tea in the afternoon – not...
Two Greedy Italians Eat Italy – Book Review: With all the Italian inspired recipes on my blog, it’s perhaps not a surprise that I am already a fan of the Two Greedy Italians (Antonio Carluccio and Gennaro Contaldo) and I’ve been waiting for their new TV Series ‘Two Greedy Italians eat Italy. This book is the companion to the series. For me, the...
Venison Sausage Penne Pasta – How 2 sausages can feed 2! Sausages tend to come in packs of 4 or 6. If you are me and cook mostly for yourself or one other person, that can mean three or four days of sausages and chips. Or far too much toad in the hole. One solution is to make this very yummy sausage pasta dish....
News of a Jubilee Tea Event: A few days ago I went over to the Cookery School just off Oxford Street to take a look and get a better understanding of the ethos of the school and the courses they offered. The Cookery School is one of the oldest venues in London for amateur cooks. It runs a mixture of short afternoon and evening events and...
A Somerset Cider and Pork Recipe for Easter: My mother’s side of the family were farmers and I grew up visiting my aunt and uncle who were pig farmers from Wiltshire. About this time of year, the kitchen had two baskets either side of the aga, with piglets on one side and lambs on the other side that my aunt was hand rearing. I...
They should Cocoa! I can’t bake: I tried last month’s ‘We should cocoa’ challenge and it was too embarrassing even to post a photo! It did actually taste very good…my macaroon batter worked just fine. Unfortunately my presentation skills didn’t…and I ended up with little green snail biscuits. This month’s challenge is just a little bit easier and so I’ve had a go. My...
Greenwich, Gelato and Champagne… Rather an out of the blue invitation to go to Greenwich for an evening of gelato and champagne, but, not one I thought I should miss – well would you? My original plan was to spend an hour or so wandering around Greenwich and taking photos but, I picked the coldest day we’ve had for a while…and in West London...
