A really simple tomato sauce with pasta is a pretty wonderful thing. But as is so often the case, ‘simple’ is not necessarily ‘easy’. But in this case, you are in luck, as this sauce is both, although it does require 40 minutes on a low simmer to get the flavours working. This recipe is […]
Week 16 – bye bye Betty, and a house (briefly) without cats
As every pet owner knows, saying goodbye to your beloved furry friends is hard. At the end of February, only a couple of months after Alfie’s death, our cat Betty was put down by the vet after a sudden turn downhill. As has been the tradition with Henry and then Alfie, I wanted to write […]
Week 10 2021 meal plan – school is OPEN for business
High fives to all the parents who survived home school. Big thanks to all of the teachers remote teaching (and teaching children of key workers) unvaccinated during a global pandemic. Well done to the support networks of those families and friends who kept the rest of us (somewhat) sane when also coping with their own […]
Traditional Welsh Cakes recipe – the authentic Welsh teatime treat
Traditional Welsh Cakes for a teatime treat I love Welsh Cakes, which are a traditional Welsh dish. They are soft, buttery, not too sweet and slightly salty, warmly spiced, and filled with dried fruit. The first one straight off the griddle is definitely the best cook’s perk! They make the perfect accompaniment to a cuppa, […]
Week 8 2021 meal plan – surviving half term
Someone recently told me that with this half term, Ioan is half way through his first year at primary school, which is a bit shocking … especially for half of that time he has been ‘taught’ (in the loosest sense of the word) by us at home. It’s also shocking to realise that Ioan has […]
Week 7 2021 meal plan – heading into half term
A couple of weeks ago, I thought to myself that half term would not really make a huge difference to us: we’d still have to find ways to entertain Ioan and still work our full time jobs. But by the end of last week, both Ioan and I were well and truly sick to death […]
Week 6 2021 meal plan – a freezer dive
So, it turns out that I need to plan my week’s menu before I order my shopping and get it delivered, otherwise I end up in a situation like now where I have to do a few days of freezer dives to get dinner sorted. I don’t know if freezer dive is a real expression, […]
Week 5 2021 meal plan – a bump in the night
Headbutting a door … a bump in the night Our week started with an anniversary meal on Monday, followed by the usual monotony of lockdown, and ended with (quite literally) a bump in the night. Specifically Ioan’s forehead bumping into the side of his bedroom door at midnight (apparently he was trying to get to […]
Week 4 2021 meal plan – an Indian banquet with Kanishka (review)
I know it’s hard to believe as I look so incredibly youthful (joke), but Andrew and I have now been going out for 25 years. The anniversary is today (25 January, also Welsh Valentine’s Day, coincidentally), and I do have a very special anniversary meal I will be cooking tonight (I’ll tell you about it […]
Week 3 2021 meal plan – read the recipe properly
Whole lamb shoulder, not diced lamb shoulder My grand plans for a lovely lamb hotpot on a cold wintry day (a Cookbook Challenge from The Pie Room by Calum Franklin) were foiled by the fact I didn’t read the recipe properly, and didn’t buy the correct ingredients. I read 2kg lamb shoulder, immediately decided to […]