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spiced chocolate mousse pots
These gently spiced chocolate mousse pots are one of the easiest of make-ahead desserts. They are gluten and dairy free too so they cater for pretty much every guest, children too. They are inspired by the flavours of Mexican hot chocolate but you can make them with or without spice. I love them so much...
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Life Kitchen harissa salmon with fennel yoghurt salad
A couple of weeks ago I went to help at a Life Kitchen cooking class. This Life Kitchen harissa salmon was one of the dishes that was part of the day and it was so good and easy that I bumped into most of the students in the supermarket over the road right afterwards as...
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a giant sausage roll fit for a Royal Wedding
Just one look at Prince Harry and you know he loves a sausage roll. I’m with him. Let’s hope Meghan has learned to love them too. A giant sausage roll is a brilliant party centerpiece. Let people cut a sliver or a wedge off with a bread knife. Add jars of mustard, pickle and a bottle...
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coronation chicken tacos
I love a good Royal Wedding and the upcoming nuptials of Prince Harry and Meghan Markle are no exception. Pulling together the best bits of California and Britain is something I’m pretty adept at, so to help you celebrate the big day, I’ve created a party menu with recipes that bring together the best of...
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roasted cauliflower salad two ways
I love the bulk that roasted cauliflower adds to a meal. Most children and adult cauli-phobes find that they enjoy cauliflower and broccoli (its greener cousin) when it is roasted rather than steamed or boiled. That’s because roasting vegetables intensifies their natural sweetness by forcing the moisture out. These two salads are hearty enough as...
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pink pickled onions
Living in a house full of boys there isn’t much pink in my life so I have to create space for it in my own way and this pink pickled onions recipe is not only delicious but perfectly pink. This easy pickle adds the most beautiful pink, acidic crunch to my tacos and I always...
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Shredded lime and salt-dressed cabbage
This shredded lime and salt-dressed cabbage is a perfect taco night addition. It is so simple to make and really packs a punch. It works perfectly in tacos with pulled pork with roasted carrots, crumbled feta and avocado or steak (pan-fried until rare then rested for a few minutes before slicing finely) with roasted or...
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eggplant polpette with speedy tomato basil sauce
Meatless meatballs, aubergine balls, vegetarian balls – I struggled a bit to name this recipe. Anyhow, I’ve settled on eggplant polpette. Eggplant because I taught it first in my cooking classes in California, polpette because, well, ‘balls’ is only ever going to get one reaction. If you don’t like aubergine or eggplant I bet you’ll...
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store cupboard pizza
This store cupboard pizza recipe is so simple but one of the most popular ideas I’ve shared on social media recently. We all need a tried and tested recipe for when we are tempted to reach for the takeaway menu at the end of, or during, a tiring week. This delicious pizza is so easy...
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banana pancakes – ready in 5 minutes
Friends of mine have been raving about these banana pancakes for months but I wasn’t convinced. Last week I tried them for the first time, not expecting to like them. I had visions of them being like those awful cloud eggs that were everywhere on insta last year, but they’re delicious. They’re perfect for anyone...
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noodle bowls two ways – the perfect healthy, fast food
Knowing the secrets to building good noodle bowls will always get you out of a ‘I’m starving, what’s for dinner’ situation. The bowls can be prepped and finished off when people need to eat – perfect for houses where there are early and later eaters to cater for. I tend not to follow a recipe...
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one pan pasta – the easiest midweek dinner
Last night was our usual frantic mid week evening that started with double swimming lessons, showering two soap-resistant children and battling the changing rooms before coming home with another pile of laundry to add to the existing pile of laundry. I made this easy one pan pasta when we got home and it was on...
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15 minute sweet potato and blackbean nachos
These healthy veg-packed nachos are one of our favourite dinners and have the thumbs up from various children visitors. Always a good sign. You can make them in less then 15 minutes by grabbing these ingredients from your freezer: a serving of my sweet potato and black bean chilli, a couple of wholemeal tortilla wraps,...
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Italian fish stew – a one pan mid-week treat
First up, this is not a fish stew with all sorts of shellfish, tenticles and gubbins in it. I do love those French stews, but they are a lengthy, expensive process and more likely to turn off the squeamish amongst you. This is definitely in mid-week dinner territory, although I’d be pretty delighted to have...
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white bean, kale and Parmesan soup
This white bean, kale and Parmesan soup has been upping my and my boys’ veg quota all week. We got back from two lovely weeks on holiday in New England on Sunday. I don’t know about you but I always come back from holiday wanting to force-feed myself with veg. I try my best when...
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roast sausage gnocchi with tomato and greens
AKA ‘easy dins for little ones when the mums need to get on the wine and chat fast.’ I first made this roast sausage gnocchi when my frazzled friend was over with her children one Friday after school. It remains one of the easiest recipes and most quickly gobbled dinners I’ve made this year. I...
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lemon, garlic and rosemary courgettes
First up, a courgette and a zucchini are the same thing. We Brits took the French name and the Americans took the Italian name. Given the romantic languages we use to describe this vegetable it isn’t the one we get most excited about. It doesn’t have the sweetness of corn, or the usefulness of tomato...
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tuna polpette with fresh tomato and pepper sauce
Doing this job, I’ve found that a lot of people are a bit funny about canned tuna. In fact there are all sorts of foods that people have issues with, usually because of the way they tried something as a child. I love it when I get someone to love something they’d avoided since childhood,...
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