Steamed Vegetable Parcels

This is a way of steaming foods but unlike the conventional steamer basket over boiling water method it traps in the flavours and juices. In Italian it is called cooking al cartoccio I think it is a lovely way to cook; it’s clean, simple and saves washing up so what is not to like? I used to […]
Paper-lining a baking tin or a lid

This is a simple trick to line a cake tin. It is used a lot in Italian cooking when making cakes. It also saves washing the tin! I think it is prettier to tear the circle out so that you have rough edges and have it protruding above the edge of the tin. Alternatively, […]
How to Make Ghee

Ghee is made in the same way as clarified butter. The process of making it is easy and once cooled, keeps for weeks in the fridge or in a cool kitchen. The benefit of ghee is that you can use it to safely fry foods as its smoke point is higher than butter as the […]
Drying herbs

It seems so wasteful to throw herbs away especially when woody herbs such as thyme, rosemary, oregano and sage can be easily dried and kept for another day. To dry herbs at home, pick them at their peak and tie them in bunches by their stems. Hang them in a dry, airy place until completely […]
Bringing herbs back to life

I try to have a fridge clear out once a week as I hate wasting food and like to test my ingenuity at creating something from the ingredients I have rather than buying more. Hidden in the back of my fridge I regularly find open bags of herbs, slightly wilting and looking sorry for themselves. […]