Tag Archives: nuts

Pistachio ice cream

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Pistachio ice cream

When I was growing up in seaside Cornwall ice cream was always a bit of a treat. It wasn’t as common as you might think, despite the ice-cream friendly sea, sand and tourists. But I still remember the thrill of excitement when the ice cream van pulled into the road, plinking and plonking to a standstill. Everyone would rush out clutching sticky 50p and £1 coins.

There were only a few flavours that really mattered. Vanilla (made with clotted cream), chocolate, strawberry and, if you lived on the edge, mint-choc-chip. There were no exciting berries or sorbets, mango or zabligione. Exotic meant going for a Calippo or a milk lolly. Luxury was a 99 flake. Continue reading →

Pear stilton and hazelnut salad

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Pear and stilton salad

A salad may not be the first thing that comes to mind when gloweringly grey skies close in and rain starts plopping down. But bear with me here, because this salad is no wishy-washy, lighter-than-light, sunny day food. No sir.

There are pears (more of the buggers from the tree), nuts, and – the not-very-secret weapon that makes this a great autumnal dish – great creamy lumps of gooey blue-veined stilton. All smooth and strong with a hint of sharpness, the James Bond of the cheese world. Continue reading →

Almond, Medjool date and ewe’s cheese salad

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Almond, ewe's cheese & date salad

You know when deserts bloom for a day when infrequent rains sweep majestically over the sands every few years? Green shoots explode out of the arid ground, flowers unfurling to the storm clouds. You’ve seen the BBC nature programmes too? Good. That’s like my approach to BBQ in the British “summer”.

Once the sun appears and temperatures climb, I can fire up our reliable little kettle BBQ in a matter of minutes (once I’ve scrubbed away months of grime from the grill). Slap on some sausages, halloumi and aubergines and I’m all set. And then I’ll make something like this salad, it’s a cracker of an accompaniment. Continue reading →

Oatmeal raisin and honey cookies

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Oatmeal, raisin & honey cookies 

My mum is US born and bred, although she’s lived in the UK for over 40 years now. Accordingly cookies were a big (although not frequent) part of growing up for me. They’re also my first memories of cooking. helping mum cream the butter and sugar, stealthily dipping my finger into the sweet, buttery mixture when I thought she wasn’t looking. Carefully pouring in oats and raisins and stirring with all the concentration of a child that knows they’re doing something very important indeed. 

It’s been a while since I baked cookies, not least because I try to be healthy most of the time, and anything biscuit-like in the house tends to be gobbled up in one or two sittings as I turn into a slightly bug-eyed cookie monster. Continue reading →