A Very Gingerbread Christmas
Gingerbread is synonymous with Christmas. From houses and lattes to lebkuchen and gingerbread Santas there is likely to be some sort of...
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sjfbilton
- Oct 28, 2020
- 3 min
Pumpkin & Onion Tourte
Inspired by a recipe from Bartolomeo Scappi’s Opera (1577) Like many recipes of this period the original (which you can see below)...
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sjfbilton
- Aug 14, 2020
- 3 min
Crab & Cannellini Bean Crostini with Nasturtium and Calendula
As a child I was mildly fascinated with flowers. Well, OK, I was totally obsessed. Whether it was nodding bluebells in the woods or the...
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sjfbilton
- Aug 13, 2020
- 3 min
Victory In The Kitchen by Annie Gray
What is the essence of the book? Victory In The Kitchen charts the life of Georgina Landemare (1882-1978) who spent much of her life...
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sjfbilton
- Aug 12, 2020
- 3 min
The Red Currant Conundrum
We had another bumper crop of red currants this year but what are you to do with them? Jelly is all well and good but I still have some...
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sjfbilton
- Aug 7, 2020
- 3 min
Oats in the North, Wheat from the South by Regula Ysewijn
Some of the happiest years of my childhood were spent in the small Aberdeenshire town of Ellon. When my parents decided to move back...
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sjfbilton
- Jul 3, 2020
- 3 min
Spiced Strawberry Shortcake
We don’t tend to think of pairing spices with strawberries but these sweet red fruits take to the warmth of spices surprisingly well....
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sjfbilton
- Dec 7, 2019
- 3 min
Pheasant with Cider & Celery Sauce, Roasted Apples and Sippets
Celery is generally a much overlooked vegetable. In recent times celery enjoyed a brief dalliance in the spotlight as a health food,...
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sjfbilton
- Nov 22, 2019
- 2 min
A Proper Plum Pudding
As Stir Up Sunday approaches (this year it falls on 24th November) I thought I would share Great Aunt Eliza’s recipe for plum pudding...
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sjfbilton
- Nov 2, 2019
- 4 min
Golden Pumpkin Cake
‘Sturdy’ is not a terribly complimentary adjective when applied to a person’s figure or a cake. It implies something quite solid. But...
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sjfbilton
- Oct 25, 2019
- 3 min
Mary Randolph’s ‘Barbecue’ Shote
Before the barbecue aficionados come thumping on my door armed with their forks and tongs, I would like to point out that the ‘barbecue’...
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sjfbilton
- Aug 13, 2019
- 4 min
Poulet Reine Elizabeth
Society florist and latterly kitchen doyenne Constance Spry made no apologies for including French terms and titles in The Constance Spry...
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sjfbilton
- Aug 12, 2019
- 3 min
The Art of Making a Sandwich
‘Fortunes are made in the City of London out of sandwiches, yet to the average household a sandwich is merely two slices of bread and...
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sjfbilton
- Jul 30, 2019
- 2 min
Elizabeth David’s Courgette Tian
Do gardens, or more specifically, veggie patches have a special power that allows them to sense when you are on holiday? The minute their...
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sjfbilton
- May 3, 2019
- 3 min
Victoria & Albert Biscuits
When is a cake a biscuit? This question was raised in 1991 regarding the humble Jaffa Cake. The manufacturer McVities argued that Jaffa...
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sjfbilton
- Mar 10, 2019
- 4 min
Nan’s Almond Tarts
This post has been more difficult to write than I imagined. The past few days I have been restless, wanting to write, and knowing that it...
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sjfbilton
- Mar 5, 2019
- 3 min
Pink Pancakes
Pancakes are one of those non-binary dishes. They can be served with either sweet or savoury toppings or a combination of the two....
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sjfbilton
- Feb 23, 2019
- 3 min
Orange Cardamom & Walnut Slices
Great minds think alike… Or so the adage goes. Even so when you ask a dozen or so cooks to make a dish inspired by a single word, it...
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sjfbilton
- Feb 14, 2019
- 3 min
Egurdouce
When the Normans invaded in the 11th century they discovered a proliferation of vineyards in southern England. Chiefly managed by...
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sjfbilton
- Dec 28, 2018
- 1 min
Christmas Pudding Stuffing
Here’s a suggestion for how to use up any left over Christmas pudding you may have. Makes around 600-650g Ingredients 1 tbsp vegetable...
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