This month’s recipes
February 2026 M T W T F S S 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 10 11 12 13 14 15 16 17 18 19 20 21 22 23 24 25 26 27 28
Category Archives: The Cook Shelf
A Proper Chicken Couscous
Couscous, in the summer, is a perfect match for tomatoes, feta, lemon juice and coriander. But in the winter I want what I think of as ‘French’ couscous: some lamb or chicken, cooked slowly in a spicy broth full of … Continue reading
Christmas pressies for foodies
It is the last day of November and, although I have already been listening to carols (choir oblige…) and thinking about cakes and mince pies, I have yet to buy one present. But, since all the food books of 2011 … Continue reading
Quiche Lorraine…yes, I did mean that
Quiche? Quiche you ask? Have I gone mad and slipped back in time to the days when olive oil was something kept in the medicine cabinet, pork belly was the bit you threw away and lentils were only for the … Continue reading
Posted in Egg recipes, pastry recipes, The Good Cook
Tagged quick and easy recipes, Simon Hopkinson
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HFW’s celeriac soup with chilli confit
Thrift is very much on my mind at the moment. I suppose it has been on everyone’s mind for a few years but right now, as the world’s 8th largest economy (can you believe that? I couldn’t) edges nearer to … Continue reading
Short and Sweet’s goat’s cheese and celeriac tart
Do you ever have nights when the cooking goes horribly wrong? So wrong that you find yourself a) with no appetite left and just having a drink instead, b) trying to rescue the overdone, the tasteless or the unrecognisable or, … Continue reading
Posted in Cheese recipes, Fast food fixes, One pot, Savoury tart recipes, Short and Sweet
Tagged Dan Lepard, one-pot, winter tarts
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Waste not…
Yesterday’s recipe got me thinking about using stuff up again, especially since I’ve reached the point where I have more leftovers in the fridge than enticing new prospects. This month’s include the rest of the bottle of cider I opened … Continue reading
Posted in Appetite, Ideas for leftovers, WTF do I drink tonight?
Tagged Falanghina, Nigel Slater
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Dan Lepard’s pumpkin and cider farls
When you work on something that’s nearly 600 pages long, you are often very enthusiastic about the initial chapters (Bread and Cakes; hurrah), but completely fed up by the time you get to the final ones (Desserts and Supper; boo). … Continue reading
Posted in Ideas for leftovers, Short and Sweet, Squash recipes, Vegetarian recipes
Tagged Dan Lepard, potato cakes, pumpkin recipes
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Tofu and spring onion omelettes
Tofu is something I rarely eat, except in a Szechuan or Cantonese restaurant, mainly because I have no idea how to cook it. But, having noticed a) that the Chinese supermarket on the corner stocks three different types, b) that … Continue reading
Perfect fried rice
After last night‘s very northern, wintry food, I wanted something different tonight, something that would use up the leftover cooked chicken yet taste completely fresh. I was, as ever, expecting a lot. At first I thought of risotto but that … Continue reading
Midweek roast chicken recipe: not an oxymoron
There are two things that might put you off roasting chicken midweek…no, make that three: the time, the mess and the expense. However, if you own a good casserole dish (a Dutch oven to you ‘Mericans) you can a) make … Continue reading
WTF Do I Eat Tonight? 