Eurostar tickets start at £59 return and Brussels is considered by many as the lower cost alternative destination to Paris. Paris and France are famed for their food, but what can you find food wise at the heart of the EU?
Belgian beer, chocolate, waffles and frites are marketed in Britain as traditional, high quality Belgian products. [...]
Posted in Drinks, Restaurants, Cafes and Pubs, Reviews on Oct 19th, 2009
The nature of the coastline in the Gower, with very gentle beaches and tides that go out a long way, means fishing boats don’t launch from most of the sea-side towns, only the Marina at Swansea. The Mumble Pier looks a little odd at low tide.
If you do fancy a spot of sea fishing, the best [...]
Posted in Books, Drinks, Hints + Tips, Recipes on Jun 11th, 2009
I’ve been a fan of ‘real ales’ for a while now but I’ve always thought making your own would be a lot of effort. I used to help my Dad make wine from our home-grown grapes when I was younger, I always remember it as a long (and smelly) process, requiring quite a bit of [...]
Posted in Drinks, Grow Your Own on May 26th, 2009
Chilli Con Carne is one of my favourite dishes, not only because it’s so hearty but also because it’s fun to cook and there are lots of different ways of cooking and serving it. I rarely use the same recipe twice but I’ve started getting a feel for what works well, so this more like [...]
Posted in Drinks, Main Meals on Apr 14th, 2009
Each month, Masterchef’s Jon Torode writes an article in BBC Olive Magazine ”Meat Masterclass” where he focuses on less common or less popular cuts of meat. This month was Shin of Beef.
Shin of beef makes an ideal cut for pies, stewing and slow cooking, as the connective tissue breaks down during cooking to enrich the gravy. It [...]
Posted in Baking, Drinks, Hints + Tips, Recipes on Feb 21st, 2009
Cassoulet, for those of you that haven’t tried it is a rich slow cooked stew from southwest France. It’s made up of stewed white beans with a variety of different meats – the exact mixture of which seems always to be under debate. I adapted this version from the one in Hugh’s Meat book. His [...]
Posted in Drinks, Main Meals on Dec 1st, 2008
With the nights drawing in, I decided we were in need of some good wholesome winter food. I spotted this one on the Waitrose website. I’m a huge fan of Leffe Blonde, but I’d never tried cooking with it before. If you’ve not tasted it before, the beer is sweet, fresh and fruity with a [...]
Posted in Drinks, Main Meals on Nov 19th, 2008