Want to know a little bit more about the person behind the blog? Here I answer some questions to give you a bit of background to my life and my kitchen.
- What is your favourite food?
- I hate this question because there are at least five main dishes that I could easily rotate for the rest of my life and not be bored. But if I had to choose one, it would probably be mac n cheese. When I was a toddler, I apparently loved the tinned version (and still do) and my love of it has grown from there. It's just so adaptable and comforting.
- What is your favourite thing to bake/cook?
- I love baking bread because it's extremely satisfying and rewarding but my favourite thing to bake would be brownies. I won't lie, I make a damn good brownie and you can make so many different versions from one base recipe. I also make a really delicious salted caramel sauce which takes brownies to the next level. I also believe you can't beat a proper roast chicken; it's something that's so simple but so comforting.
- Do you have a favourite cookbook?
- One cookbook that has never failed me is Delia's Complete Cookery Course. My mum learnt how to cook from it and it's reassuring knowing that whatever recipe I choose - it never fails. I also love Nigella Christmas. Again because my mum always uses it and it brings back a lot of memories.
- Who taught you to cook?
- My mum did. Her mum didn't really cook that often and when she did it wasn't very adventurous so my mum taught herself nearly everything she knows. I've been watching her cook since I was young and food has always been a family event in our household. My mum is especially good at puddings. Her pavlova or bread & butter pudding are both out of this world.
- What is your favourite cooking programme?
- I'm a big Food Network fan. I love Ree Drummond (The Pioneer Woman) and Ina Garten (The Barefoot Contessa). As I've mentioned, Delia is a huge influence in my life and Nigella's recipes never fail me either. I could watch reruns of all four cooks for the rest of my life to be honest!
- What is your least favourite food?
- This is a really hard question because I will usually eat most things given to me. But my least favourite flavours would be fresh ginger and lemongrass. I hate the soapyness of lemongrass and ginger in savoury cooking is not my thing at all. I'm also not a huge fan of beef stew or chicken casserole, they're just too 'heavy' for me.
- What was your worst baking disaster?
- I've had quite a few in my time. Recently I made lemon bars and they turned to a complete mush in the oven. A tasty mush but the texture was horrible. As I was making it, I knew it wasn't right but I persevered and trusted the recipe I was using. Baking and cooking is about learning from your mistakes so I try not to beat myself up every time I fail at a recipe because it means next time, I know how to make it right. Cooking is about instinct. If you have the basic knowledge, you usually know if the steps you are doing will lead to a disaster or not. That particular time I went against my instinct and I kicked myself afterwards for not trusting myself.
- What is your favourite piece of kitchen equipment?
- Without a doubt, my Kitchen Aid. I received it for my 25th birthday and it's been a staple part of my kitchen ever since. Kitchen Aid's are expensive however so I'd recommend any stand mixer if you're a regular baker. With my illnesses, I struggle with the manual labour side of baking. Kneading dough, whisking etc. are all too strenuous for me and cause me a lot of pain but a stand mixer eliminates the stress and effort!
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