ENGLISH MUM

Lemon curd My Mum’s been on holiday to Sorrento.  While she’s been away I’ve been popping in occasionally to look after the cats and water plants, etc.  I’m always worried that people will think I’m a burglar, so I always talk really loudly to the cats: ‘hello Harreeeee!  Are you missing your mummmeeeeee?’.  It’s now dawned on me that rather than being labelled...

Triple layer chocolate mousse cake I know I’m always complaining about being old but blimey, my youngest was 15 yesterday. The Dude is mahoosive and has turned into a handsome, kind and funny teenager who is American Football mad and a bit of a gym obsessive. We’re all immensely proud of him. As is the tradition at English Towers, he’s been allowed to choose the birthday cakeage. Usually this...

It’s Shrove Tuesday today so it’s a great opportunity to get the kids into the kitchen (and maybe even sneak some fruit in there too).  Traditional pancakes are quick and easy to make, and with a little bit of practice you’ll be flipping pancakes like a pro!  The Death Wish Dude flipped his onto the floor this evening, but we applied the 5 second rule and he’s still alive – I...

So this Sunday, 25th November is ‘Stir-up Sunday’.  I ADORE making Christmas pudding: it’s my first real Christmas job (because I’m lazy with the Christmas cakes) and the house just smells divine. Actually, because I soak the fruit overnight, I tend to start on Stir-up Saturday (what? it’s a thing, honestly), but you could start in the morning, soak the fruit all day and make the...

Yesterday was MENTAL.  The mentalness started early when we woke up to find that our poor Mad Professor, Sam had had an allergic reaction overnight to the plaster on his face and now had a chin full of blisters.  This caused so much hilarity ‘stop making me laugh, you bastards… OMG my chin looks like lasagne‘ that we were all late for school. The madness continued into the evening when we...

So last night, we met up with the Foxys and Glam C and their families for a very special evening.  The Paralympic Torch was due to come through our local town at about 11pm (inconvenient time – why couldn’t they travel during the day?), so we met in the pub, then wandered into town to soak up the atmosphere and drink gin sneakily out of jam jars. As you do… After all that, the torch convoy...

One of the things I love about Yeo Valley is that they never stop being creative.  New flavours and limited editions are always appearing, and their new Limited Edition Damson and Plum Yeogurt is a fine example of this – a lovely, and very British mix of gorgeous ripe plums and that tart little late-summer smasher, the damson. The plum and damson flavour is delicious on its own, spooned over a fruit...

Sunvil are a lovely travel company who have over 40 years’ experience and an amazing amount of expertise on all aspects of the Greek islands. They’re passionate about their destinations: their people, their culture and, of course, their food, so they’ve decided to start posting a recipe every month on their website to celebrate the wonderful food of the area.  Baklava hails originally from...

My Disreputable Dad and his other half have been away on holiday this week (to the same place in the South of France that they go every year, to eat at the same restaurant every night – he’s a man who knows what he likes)….  I was left in charge of the garden, which basically meant I had free rein to go in and nick all the strawberries and raspberries.  While I was in there pilfering I took...

l love cream.  But with double cream containing 48% fat, it’s not exactly your healthy option.  Fine for the occasional treat, but not for every day.  So how can we still make all the lovely creamy recipes and sauces that we love whilst reducing some of the calories and producing a lighter, fresher end result? Well, last time I was there, the Yeo Valley chaps set me a bit of a challenge: have a go...

So when we went down to Yeo Valley last week, I was telling them how much I wanted to have a go at ‘Jaime’s strawberry and rhubarb cheesecake‘ recipe that’s on their website. ‘Well go on, then’, they said, ‘feel free’. So I did. The thing that’s so appealing is that you get to MAKE YOUR OWN CHEESE. Yup, you read that right.  It’s really simple (great...

We love pancake day.  Let’s face it there aren’t many days in the year when we go ‘sod it, let’s skip dinner and go straight for dessert’ so being total gluttons, Shrove Tuesday  (21st Feb) is a big favourite in the English household. Even if you’re not very confident at cooking, it’s really easy to make pancakes. Here’s a little step by step guide. I usually...

Moving swiftly on from healthy eating, then, we must remember there are those of us at English Towers (the gangly, floppy haired ones and the skatery types) that still want a little something after school or dinner and demand treats, preferably piled up in an ungainly, chocolatey tower when doing A level revision. This, and I don’t say this lightly, is my best chocolate brownie recipe ever.  I make it...

So when I was on Nick Coffer’s fabulous Weekend Kitchen show on BBC 3 Counties radio, I met the lovely Christian, AKA Big Mad Cookery Dad.  He made this fabulous dessert and it was soooo good, I’ve asked him to share it with you.  So without further ado, here’s Chris: Thank you so much for your kind invitation to share a Big Mad Cookery Dad concoction amongst your Christmas recipes. Here...

Okay, okay, so we’ve missed Stir-up Sunday, but honestly, it doesn’t matter.  If you still fancy doing a bit of lovely therapeutic stirring in the kitchen for Christmas, and filling your house with delicious Christmassy smells, there’s plenty of time.  PLUS this one’s so easy I absolutely, faithfully promise you that it will turn out absolutely perfectly.  How about that for a guarantee? As...

I absolutely love Diana Henry.  Her book ‘Food from Plenty’ is one of my absolute favourites, so I was delighted to be offered a copy of her ‘Roast Figs, Sugar Snow’. This book is just gorgeous.  It’s all about Autumn and Winter, and the ingredients: figs, pumpkins, maple syrup, chestnuts, cranberries, quinces, are so evocative of the seasons.  It’s like a massive warm...

So first of all, I have to be honest, I’ve said no to coming on this show A LOT.  Luckily for me, I think Nick could see through my thin veneer of nonchalance to the terrified wobbling jelly within and just kept on asking until I said yes. Originally I was going to do the Christmas show, but then it was all change and suddenly it was this Saturday.  I was overcome with a mixture of excitement, nerves...

So firstly, a disclaimer. A silly one, admittedly, but a disclaimer all the same: this cheesecake is made with low fat cream cheese. It is therefore slightly lower fat than normal cheesecake. However, it still weighs in at a stonking 500 kcal a slice (if you cut it into 8 – and yes, I did work it out – I took my shoes and socks off and everything) but basically if you’re on a diet, you’re...

I’ve always wanted an ice cream maker. It’s one of those things that’s been on my wanted list for absolutely ages. So when Cuisinart contacted me and said I could have anything from their range – ANYTHING?! – of course I chose this little beauty (although I must admit to being temporarily distracted by the Professional Waffle Iron and the Overstuffed Sandwich Maker first…): As...

My Disreputable Dad is back from his holidays.  Bronzed and beautiful. Two weeks in the south of France. They ate in the same restaurant every night. ‘Every night?’, I ask, incredulous. ‘Well yes’, he says, ‘except one.  Their steak frites was incredible.  We tried another restaurant for one night, but it wasn’t as good, so we went back to the original one’. He’s...

Hope all you mummy-types out there are getting your feet massaged on the sofa and getting breakfast in bed, etc. I saw this lovely recipe from Anjum Anand (I LOVE her – I think she’s actually got a new book coming out soon).  She was talking about the fact that she made this with her mum, and now makes it with her daughter, which is exactly how cooking should be. It’s really difficult to...

As you know, it’s one of our slightly less mental traditions at English Towers that the birthday person gets to choose whatever they like for their birthday cake.  Usually, da brevren compete with each other to find the most complicated (The Mad Professor), chocolate-filled (the Death Wish Child), or retro (English Dad) recipes they can possibly find.  And then, of course, when it’s my birthday,...

Recently, the lovely chaps at Yeo Valley set me a little challenge: ‘fancy checking out a few of our products and then letting us know how you cook with them?’  ’No probs’, I said, ‘piece of cake’ (see what I did there?).  So yesterday I had a call from a courier.  Not your normal ‘yes, I’m just leaving Dublin – can I have directions?’ (you want...

Righty ho, then, so two days to Stir-up Sunday, which gives me carte blanche to get all Christmassy even though it’s still not December.  Bonus. This is a two-day kind of Christmas pudding so I’m not sure about the logistics involved – do you start on the Saturday then finish on the Stir-Up Sunday?  Or do you start on the Sunday and finish on the Monday? Anyhoo, I’m sure there’s...

So Jamie’s releasing some new products soon called Jamie Oliver’s Kitchen Kit.  I’m going to be reviewing them (I know, selfless devotion to finding the best stuff for you, my loyal reader). Here’s an brand new and exclusive look at the new Kitchen Kit, ably demonstrated by the man himself, and giving you a brilliant take on Eton Mess to boot: