tasting life...one recipe at a time
Sirloin Steak with a simple mushroom, shallot and Madiera sauce. A beautiful main course for an intimate dinner for two or for a special meal with friends and family. The next instalment of our special Christmas menu focuses on the main course. We both love to entertain, but particularly so over the festive period when…
A delicious starter of pan fried scallops, served with a creamy celeriac puree, the crunch of smoked bacon and the freshness of cucumber and apple. A perfect start to any dinner party. At this time of year Michelle and I start thinking a lot about food, even more than we usually do! It’s hard to…
An Autumn Supperclub for eight, our first official event: Last weekend saw Michelle and I hosting our first official Supperclub. Having spent “far too long” thinking about it, we decided the time was right to launch our first event for paying customers. Over the past few years we have toyed with the idea of doing…
Chocolate & hazelnut cookies, a really great quick bake with kids. Chocolate and hazelnut cookies, who doesn’t love them? Certainly not me, they are one of my favourite biscuits. However I do prefer to make my own as I find shop bought just a bit too hard and really not what I want from a…
Our apricot, almond & honey flapjacks. Ideal for simple baking with the kids during the October holidays. Flapjacks are quite simply one of my favourite sweet treats, at their absolute best when they have the right amount of chew. But rest assured I’ve eaten plenty that have been well below par! As with all baked…
A quick and simple courgette pickle, ideal when you have a glut of courgettes growing in the garden. I love making pickle using up bits and pieces of vegetables that I have growing in the garden. The courgette plants in my garden have produced a lot of fruit this summer. It’s something I always grow…
A simple pork and peanut stir-fry – a perfect mid week dinner loved by all the family. I have made this pork stir-fry, or a version of it, for years now. It’s one of those dishes that I cook often, a mid week staple. In fact it’s a recipe that I had to really think…
Chicken noodle soup is something I make all the time, particularly one with an Asian twist. My youngest daughter loves this soup, it’s her favourite, even better with a whole pak choi thrown in for good measure. The secret to a good broth is time. I love making stocks and sauces and a really good…
Simple stir fried pak choi with an Asian dressing is a savoury side dish that accompanies any main dish perfectly or works equally well with a bowl of steamed rice. This simple dish is one I love to eat so it’s cooked in my house regularly. I spent a lot of time living and working…
simple summer fruit recipes to please the entire family during the school holidays! Welcome to #cookblogshare week 30! Wow, I can’t believe we are nearing the end of July already! Based in the North-East of Scotland our children are already on the 3rd week of their summer holidays. We have been completely spoilt this year…
This peach and raspberry dessert is really quick and simple. Indeed it’s one of those desserts that has us both wondering “why don’t I make this more often?” As with all foodies I’m prone to pick up food items with the thought “I could do something with those!” For example a jar of peaches in…
I love to tell a story, one quick read of our blog posts will tell our readers that. However, there’s no real story attached to this recipe. In short this recipe is simply one of those recipes that’s been mulling around in my head that I needed to get down on paper. It’s an easy…
This simple mackerel dish is a firm favourite with my family. It’s inspired by family camping trips to the Cornish Coast, where we spend weeks during the summer. We were served something similar to this dish in a seaside restaurant in the beautiful town of St Ives. In fact my eldest daughter didn’t talk through…
The North East welcomes Raven Gin, the latest premium dry gin to be distilled here in Aberdeenshire. Brothers Callum and Peter Sim, hand craft this classic London dry style gin at Banchory’s Deeside Distillery. With notes of juniper, angelica, coriander, cassis, orris root, mandarin and cubeb pepper, this smooth gin has a hit of dark…
This cajun spiced chicken and vegetable dish is not one I planned to write about, its just one of those quick dinner dishes we all cook regularly. In short those quick mid week dinners we all rely on. However after posting a photo on Instagram I had a few friends asking to share the recipe,…
There is little that I enjoy doing more than eating outdoors with my family. Whether it’s a picnic, lunch on my patio or a barbeque on the beach, I’m rarely happier. As much as I love to eat outdoors, I also love to cook outdoors. Furthermore I’m not someone who needs the sunshine in order…
