Monthly Archives: January 2012

Hotel Chocolat Valentine’s giveaway

Posted on January 30, 2012 by Katie Bryson

sponsored post Of course we shouldn’t need an excuse to spoil our partners, we should lavish them with our love and appreciation all year round. But if you’re looking for some gift inspiration for your amour this Valentine’s Day then … Continue reading →

Posted in Competitions, Product reviews | Tagged , , | 718 Comments

A trip to York to meet a Masterchef finalist and eat yummy pasta

Posted on January 30, 2012 by Katie Bryson

By far my favourite contestant on last year’s Masterchef was Sara Danesin Medio – the likeable intensive care nurse with a huge passion for Italian cooking. So when I got an invite to travel up to York to her home to … Continue reading →

Posted in Days out, One pot suppers, Pasta dishes, Product reviews, vegetarian | Tagged , , , , , , , , , , | 7 Comments

A pan should be for life

Posted on January 26, 2012 by Katie Bryson

When it comes to buying pans it’s very true that you pay for what you get. If you pick up a pan from the supermarket, it might perform well in the short term, but longevity-wise it’s not going to hit … Continue reading →

Posted in Days out, Desserts, Grown up dishes, Product reviews, Travel | Tagged , , , , , , , | 7 Comments

Win OXO Good Grips hand-held egg beater

Posted on January 23, 2012 by Katie Bryson

The guys at OXO Good Grips sent me this little fella to play with – I’ve not seen a hand-held mixer like this since I did Home Economics at school! It’s hardly a dinosaur though as this new model has … Continue reading →

Posted in Competitions, Product reviews | Tagged , , , , , | 214 Comments

Make ahead dessert: berry fool teacups

Posted on January 20, 2012 by Katie Bryson

Make-ahead desserts are a must in my book – you really don’t want to be fannying around in the kitchen when everyone else is in the middle of eating their main course – you might miss some gossip! Frankly, if … Continue reading →

Posted in Desserts, Grown up dishes, Party food | Tagged , , , , | 4 Comments

Chunky pea and leek soup

Posted on January 18, 2012 by Katie Bryson

I’m in a definite pattern of making a big vat of soup at the weekend, for a relaxed lunch with enough leftovers for the week ahead. Like most people at this time of year, we’re really having to watch the … Continue reading →

Posted in Batch cooking, Lunches, One pot suppers, Soup, Speedy suppers, vegetarian | Tagged , , , , | 6 Comments

Sweet potato and spinach lasagne

Posted on January 16, 2012 by Katie Bryson

Lasagne is such a family favourite, that when our family became part-vegetarian the search was on for the ultimate non-meat recipe. After much trial and error I found a fabulous version in Lucy’s Food – one of my favourite cookbooks … Continue reading →

Posted in Batch cooking, One pot suppers, Party food, Pasta dishes, Uncategorized, vegetarian | Tagged , , , , , , , , , | 14 Comments

Lunchbox idea: banana muffins

Posted on January 12, 2012 by Katie Bryson

I had a bunch of manky bananas hanging on my kitchen worktop for longer than I should have – they went black and really started freaking me out so I quickly mashed them up and looked for a recipe to … Continue reading →

Posted in Baking, Breakfast, Lunches | Tagged , , , , , , , | 2 Comments

Book review and chance to win Aldo Zilli’s Fresh and Green

Posted on January 10, 2012 by Katie Bryson

I’ve already written about one of the frankly divine recipes from Aldo’s latest book, and since then i’ve had a chance to make another of his creations and have a good read of the rest of the tome. So the … Continue reading →

Posted in Book review, Competitions, Lunches, Uncategorized, vegetarian | Tagged , , , , , , | 34 Comments

Crunchy chicken bites

Posted on January 5, 2012 by Katie Bryson

As a general rule, the more time and effort I spend on cooking child-friendly food, the less likely my boys are to eat it. It’s pretty depressing at times, but I know a lot of my friends feel the same … Continue reading →

Posted in Chicken recipes | Tagged , , , , , , | 9 Comments