Kitchen Myths and Pretensions
Kitchen myths and pretensions – Virgil Evetts Cooking is my favourite thing. It calms me when I’m stressed and excites me when I’m down. I think about food when I open my eyes each day and it’s often my last … Read more
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Home Orchard Essentials
Six of the best – Virgil Evetts Garden centres are just like supermarkets. That apparently friendly, welcoming layout is carefully designed by evil retail psychologists, who employ all manor of arcane trickery to manipulate the hapless shopper into leaving with … Read more
Cooking with Herbs
Cooking with herbs – Lynley Ruck “I believe that if ever I had to practice cannibalism, I might manage if there were enough tarragon around.”-James Beard, American Chef and Author Leave your tastebuds in no doubt that Spring has arrived … Read more
Growing and Cooking Broad Beans
This year I got very excited about the prospect of growing broad beans. There were two aspects to this. Frstly I like eating broad beans, although I probably have never had them in any quantity and most of the broad beans I … Read more
The Kitchen Garden
While I am a complete novice gardener, my year old vegetable garden has so many merits that I am wondering how we ever lived without it. I love the fact that I can walk out each day and pick fresh … Read more
Cooking with Chilli
Burning with Desire – Virgil Evetts Despite being full of promise, and all that la-de da, spring is a tricky beast when it comes to dressing and eating- Over exuberant salads are still bone-chilling but a pot of pea soup … Read more
Savoury Biscuit Recipes
Savoury Biscuits Text by Tammy McLeod When we think of baking and filling the tins, it is usually sweet biscuits, cakes and slices which spring to mind. However, home made savoury biscuits and crackers are so delicious and so easy … Read more
Dressings Recipes
The Art of Blending Alison McKee In the late 18th century French nobleman Marquis d’Albignic, impoverished by the French Revolution and exiled in London, supported himself by making the rounds of grand dinner parties mixing salad dressings. D’Albignic became an … Read more
Food For A Perfect Day…
Such a perfect day [I’m glad I spent it with food] Virgil Evetts Last Friday was my annual salami day. This is a private culinary conceit I observe every year. I take the day off work [I get a perverse … Read more
Rhubarb Recipes
Cooking with Rhubarb – Lynley Ruck I’m a fool for good old rhubarb. It is not until November that fresh summer fruit begins to appear, local apples are past their best, it is way too early for decent plums and … Read more
Cooking Whitebait
Regardless of my age or where I am, whitebait always takes me back to being a child in Hokitika. There, for the months of September and October, dad’s and grandads dotted the streets, cycling or driving down to the river armed … Read more
Old Fashioned Baking
Old Fashioned Sweethearts Lynley Ruck Some of our very first kitchen experiences were often at the knees of wonderful wise folk who seemed to be able to conjure cakes and slices from fresh eggs, a whiff of vanilla or the … Read more
Sexy Food
10 things I ate about you A short guide to the worlds sexiest food – Virgil Evetts Can food be sexy? I think it can. I don’t mean in some in some icky, ‘9 ½ Weeks’ sort of way, nor … Read more
Picnics
As each season arrives there is a huge pleasure that comes with the firsts of everything, whether it be daffodils, asparagus, lambs or in this case picnics. Last weekend had its bumps, our 4 very active and strong minded children … Read more
