Warm Olives with Spiced Oil, Lemon and Herbs

I spent January in London this year. There was a baby on the Horizon, and I was there to see his transition into this life. It was a beautiful thing. He is a beautiful being.

I was chief cook and bottle washer during the month I was there. And best of all, it was so luxurious to cook from (mainly) one cookbook. The book was a Xmas present to my daughter from a good friend. The author is an Australian, but the book itself is full of recipes so very suited to the Street and Farmers’ Markets in London. Despite a baby in the house we ate so well that month.

Indian Essentials: How to Make Ghee | Nature’s Fabulous Food

I have been making ghee for myself and others since around 2000. It does take a few practice attempts to perfect, but once you have done it you will never buy ghee again. It is quite different.

All it requires is butter and mindfulness – it does need to be watched continually. The end point tricky to judge the first couple of times that you make it. But after that, you are a pro. It takes about 30 minutes all up. The amount of time that it takes depends on the amount of water in the butter, and different brands of butter will take different times.

Feel free to browse our Indian recipes here. Or try recipes using ghee here. Our Spring recipes are here.

Pane di Prato | A Tuscan Bread

I so rarely buy bread now. Except for some very special bread I might come across, and of course sourdough. And more recently the Afghan shop nearby has begun making their own flatbread. It’s just that we don’t eat bread much any more. Just occasionally we love to make our own. We don’t do it every week, mind you, although there have been times in my life where I have made bread several times per week – we had a rhythm going, and it was easy a log as we kept to the rhythm. The kids were younger then, and it was a good way to feed their constantly empty stomachs.

Mind you, I am no baker. A little too conceptual and impatient for that, but nevertheless we love this bread. I hope that you enjoy it.

Are you looking for other breads? We don’t have many. Try  Olive Oil Bread with Parsley and Dill, No Knead Focaccia, Schiacciata and Rosemary Focaccia. And we have some Toasties – try Pan Fried Toasties with Fontina, Paneer Toasties and Potato and Pea Stuffed Toasted Sandwiches.

But we do have Italian recipes. Try Marinated Zucchini and Tomato, Roasted Pepper Salad with Mozarella and White Beans, and Puy Lentil Soup.

You might also like to explore all of our bread recipes here. Or all of our Italian recipes here. Or simply browse our beautiful Mid Spring recipes.

How to make Eggless Pasta | Semolina Pasta Dough, Besan Pasta Dough, Sesame flavoured Pasta/Noodles | Egg Free

Let’s be clear up front. No matter what other sites will tell you, it is not really possible in a home environment to produce the type of pasta that can made with eggs, or the commercially produced egg free pasta. We can make other pasta, however, that will good, and have a special taste and texture of their own.

I work with several different recipes for eggless pasta. One with semolina flour, one with besan, or chickpea flour, and one with both. Each gives quite a different result. It pays to experiment with each of them until you find a pasta noodle that you prefer. The third type has been my most successful and is my current favourite, so make sure that you check that one out below.

You are probably interested in some pasta recipes too. Try Hand Made Pesto (Zeffirino Pesto), Baked Tomato Pasta Sauce, and Pasta with Aubergine, Red Peppers and Tomato.

You might like to browse all of our pasta recipes. Or explore all of our Italian recipes. Or take some time to check out our beautiful Early Spring recipes.

Welcome welcome welcome ……..

Before A Life (Time) of Cooking, there was Food Matters.