I’d jump

The Daily Prompt has been popping up in my blog reader for a long time now, but I’ve never made the time to respond to it. Today’s was different, though. It made me… Read More →

Who’s afraid of the big bad kitchen?

Unfortunately for those of you who come to this blog for the food rather than the feelings, my last post about battling my inner demons in Istanbul was so cathartic – and I… Read More →

Feeling The Fear in Istanbul

Victory! I have just returned from the market with a clutch of bags containing chicken, honey, aubergines, peppers, onions, ginger, tomatoes, parsley, rocket, cucumbers and bananas. I may be drained and still trembling… Read More →

Peanut butter and banana smoothie

A few weeks back, after some tricky times in my Oxford household, I went out for drinks with Laura, Sophie and some of other friends from work. Drinks led to dinner, and we… Read More →

İstanbul Sevgilim

After what feels like an eternity, I am finally back here in Istanbul and it is every bit as wonderful as ever. The last time I came it snowed nearly every day, and… Read More →

Lentil, sweet potato and carrot soup

Merçimek çorbası, or lentil soup, is a classic Turkish dish that’s usually eaten as a starter before a more substantial main course. I really want to learn how M’s sister-in-law makes her merçimek… Read More →

Lamb stewed with plums

This was the other dish that I cooked as part of my Eastern Mediterranean feast on Saturday. Fruit and meat might seem like a weird combination on the face of it – I… Read More →

An Eastern Mediterranean feast: three things I’ve always wanted to try

It’s my last weekend in Oxford for a while, so Sophie and I decided to have some friends round for dinner last night. I decided to try out some new recipes I’ve been… Read More →

Stuffed courgettes in yoghurt

This was the first part of my Eastern Mediterranean feast on Saturday. Inspired by an Ottolenghi recipe my mum saved me from Waitrose magazine, I adapted it to make this vegetarian dish. Rather… Read More →

Rhubarb and custard pavlova

When I got back from a month in the Philippines a couple of weeks ago, I was craving something typically English to eat. Not a Sunday roast or fish and chips (which, frankly,… Read More →