tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-88595807685410680442012-02-17T02:43:13.594Znataliehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/08544714029989345117noreply@blogger.comBlogger171100tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8859580768541068044.post-55850658594939736432011-08-03T19:33:00.000+01:002011-08-03T19:33:35.259+01:00

Cherry crumble. It sounds pretty and wholesome. Like something they make in the southern states of America in the kitchens of big white houses with verandas and winding, tree-lined driveways. Though actually they make cobblers or crisps in America don’t they? Are crumbles more English? I’m not sure. Anyway, let’s not ruin the image in my head with practicalities!I have a confession to make. I

nataliehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/08544714029989345117noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8859580768541068044.post-28993920806380174882011-07-19T13:00:00.008+01:002011-12-22T10:56:57.707Z

Two weeks ago I went to Fruitcamp. There wasn’t really any camping involved, but there sure was a lot of fruit. I heard about this day-out from a workmate who forwarded an email around the office – I was the only one out of the sixty-odd of us to attend, but all I can say is, everyone else missed out. Big time. When I saw the email I couldn’t resist. I was pretty much sold when I saw it featured

nataliehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/08544714029989345117noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8859580768541068044.post-65102488818738978362011-04-14T19:09:00.002+01:002011-04-14T19:26:10.183+01:00

You might not believe me, (and I don't blame you since I've been gone for so long) but I've missed my blog! We've had a very busy few months with friends and family coming to stay, and in order to get in the mood for cooking and photographing, I usually need a little bit of quiet and a few uninterrupted hours to spare which, lately, have been hard to find.So never fear, just like Arnie, 'I'll be

nataliehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/08544714029989345117noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8859580768541068044.post-86800352992186835042011-01-20T13:50:00.006Z2011-01-21T09:45:43.196Z

Last week the weather was mild enough for us Londoners to think that winter was on the way out. The temperatures were up to 14°C and we were treated to a dose of sticky humidity. I could even walk to the tube without a coat on....This week is another story. The little weather widget on my computer tells me it’s 4°C, so any illusions I had that spring was on it’s way have been dashed. One and a

nataliehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/08544714029989345117noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8859580768541068044.post-39780054149566954142010-12-11T14:05:00.015Z2010-12-12T10:08:53.532Z

When I was nineteen, I used to nanny for a family with two children. Tom was twelve and I think Charlotte must’ve been about nine. Such cute kids. Tom was quiet and bookish in the sweetest way, and would be in his room doing homework for most of the evening before he went to bed. But Charlotte was bubbly and loved company and would often sit with me finishing off her homework at the kitchen table

nataliehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/08544714029989345117noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8859580768541068044.post-1767535976716658102010-10-21T14:00:00.002+01:002010-10-21T14:13:30.519+01:00

When I was small all the adults in my family loved figs, but I wasn’t convinced. They were sweet which was good, but floury and sticky which was just odd. My grandparents had a green fig tree out the front of their house which was an enormous, chaotic thing; knobbly and beautiful with star-shaped leaves. Late in the summer my grandfather would cover the tiny fig buds with plastic bags securing

nataliehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/08544714029989345117noreply@blogger.com3tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8859580768541068044.post-58034773591347011832010-09-15T22:20:00.010+01:002011-01-14T14:03:29.610Z

Well, the change of seasons has arrived once again.The trees on our street are looking a little tired and a few are already starting to drop their leaves. Most of them are hanging in there though and managing to maintain a semblance of green; for now at least. But the crows are back. Which to me, signals the beginning of the slow descent into winter.Along with the changing of the leaves, another

nataliehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/08544714029989345117noreply@blogger.com8tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8859580768541068044.post-78588216753994076452010-08-28T13:12:00.007+01:002011-01-19T16:35:14.299Z

I always seem to have the same problem. I buy a bunch of bananas and the final two turn black, sickly sweet and soft before I have a chance to take them to work and have them for morning tea with some yoghurt and honey. I usually throw them in one of our freezer drawers until Chris and I start to crave my mum’s wonderful Banana Crunch Cake.A few weeks ago I already had three frozen bananas hiding

nataliehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/08544714029989345117noreply@blogger.com2tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8859580768541068044.post-20294559282270545052010-08-20T21:35:00.008+01:002011-01-19T16:34:49.782Z

I recently purchased Yotam Ottolenghi’s new cookbook, Plenty. When it was released it created quite a flurry of excitement in the food world – and for good reason. While most vegetarian cookbooks make cooking sans viande seem like a chore or, at best, repetitive, Plenty celebrates the diversity of vegetables, grains, pulses, pasta and nuts and clearly demonstrates that with a little care and

nataliehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/08544714029989345117noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8859580768541068044.post-88525652821864452932010-07-27T19:14:00.044+01:002010-07-27T21:42:15.509+01:00

Hopefully my absence over the last couple of months hasn't meant that you, my very few readers, have disappeared completely! But, since most of you are either my friends or family, I'm pretty sure you're still hanging around out there somewhere wondering where I've got to and waiting for my next post....Inbetween having family visit us in London and taking our summer holidays, this blog kind of

nataliehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/08544714029989345117noreply@blogger.com2tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8859580768541068044.post-10963008159277645692010-05-16T17:15:00.010+01:002011-01-19T16:30:11.212Z

So: I ended up making coconut macaroons. And they were wonderful.I feel a bit traitorous saying this because they were so lovely (and if I could, I'd eat about three in a row!) but to tell the truth, I was hoping for something slightly different to what emerged from my oven. I had visions of those beautiful golden brown coconut rochers (rochers à la noix de coco or congolais) that they sell in

nataliehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/08544714029989345117noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8859580768541068044.post-83567428352571173232010-05-08T13:30:00.003+01:002010-05-08T16:11:57.079+01:00

For some reason I have always associated rhubarb with winter.Even the name sounds barren and hardy; a vegetable to brave the cold. That’s right, vegetable. Even though it’s pink and us westerners always eat it sweetened or as a compliment to meat, it’s a vegetable which starts to appear in early spring and most certainly is not a fruit. It’ll boost your Vitamin C levels and up your dietary fibre,

nataliehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/08544714029989345117noreply@blogger.com3tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8859580768541068044.post-31542219334408483972010-04-26T22:35:00.011+01:002011-01-19T16:46:36.326Z

Spring has arrived in London. It's such a different experience from the change in season back home which is much gentler and less noticeable. All the trees down our street are either in bloom or already covered in new leaves. I know I'm meant to be craving salads and crunchy, fresh things now that the warm weather is upon us, but a couple weeks ago there was still enough of a chill in the air to

nataliehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/08544714029989345117noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8859580768541068044.post-58898521807027784162010-03-31T21:14:00.010+01:002011-01-19T16:31:41.939Z

The other day I noticed a few apples sitting in our fruit bowl looking dejected. They were starting to develop that sweet-honey smell that means their past their eating best but are perfect for baking.Apple cake? I had a lovely, simple recipe I’d used a few times; a fairly basic butter cake with apple quarters scored and pushed gently into the soft batter and coated with apricot jam, which I’d

nataliehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/08544714029989345117noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8859580768541068044.post-76561212544506705712010-03-25T07:43:00.009Z2011-01-19T16:32:07.636Z

Chris and I try to eat vegetarian meals for at least half the week. We're not vegetarians - not even close. We love meat far too much to ever even contemplate abstaining in the long term. Crispy, golden bacon and juicy, rare steaks we could not live without. But there's also something tempting and refreshing about an entire meal revolving around vegetables and herbs. We use eggs and dairy

nataliehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/08544714029989345117noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8859580768541068044.post-56059070474176618342010-03-13T12:42:00.005Z2010-03-13T16:47:12.009Z

I love eggs. They seem to radiate a sense of peacefulness and calm. A promise of good things to come.Seeing a half dozen jumbled into a white bowl makes me happy. (It doesn’t take much. I’m a fan of the ‘little things’.)After we moved to London, I discovered a whole array of different varieties of eggs I’d never been able to get a hold of easily in New Zealand. Muted shades of pale turquoise,

nataliehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/08544714029989345117noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8859580768541068044.post-62106023912916014832010-02-28T20:00:00.010Z2011-01-19T16:45:35.977Z

Well, here it is. My first post!I hadn't known exactly how or when to start; or that I would use this recipe as the very first. But somehow it seemed right. I had the kitchen to myself last Sunday afternoon. It was a grey, quiet day. Chris was out, braving the London cold, trying to find me a couple of heads of elusive radicchio; which had on first inspection seemed unacceptably bedraggled but,

nataliehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/08544714029989345117noreply@blogger.com0