Recipes – fruit

Strawberry carpaccio with smoked balsamic reduction and toasted pistachios

Thumbnail image for Strawberry carpaccio with smoked balsamic reduction and toasted pistachios May 22, 2013

When my brother and I were teenagers, we went through a phase (doesn’t everyone?) of wanting to start a band. I could play the piano; he could play the saxophone (well it was the 1980s – saxophones were de reigeur for all self-respecting bands); we could both write lyrics; and his friend Clinton Smith was willing to [...]

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Easy peach, almond & ginger cobbler recipe

Thumbnail image for Easy peach, almond & ginger cobbler recipe February 27, 2013

I grow old … I grow old …  I shall wear the bottoms of my trousers rolled. Shall I part my hair behind? Do I dare to eat a peach? I shall wear white flannel trousers, and walk upon the beach. I have heard the mermaids singing, each to each. I do not think that [...]

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Apple and sage tarte tatin

Thumbnail image for Apple and sage tarte tatin January 25, 2013

Jeff Potter said that flavours are like notes on a piano: some join together far more harmoniously than others. Think about: tomato and basil. Beef and horseradish. Peas and mint. Bacon and eggs.  Apple and cinnamon. Strawberries and cream.  Chocolate and coffee. Flavour combinations that are so ingrained in our consciousness that we don’t even [...]

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Persimmon and cranberry crisp – and a workshop!

Thumbnail image for Persimmon and cranberry crisp – and a workshop! November 21, 2012

  He raises both hands to touch the cloth, asks, Which is this? This is persimmons, Father. Oh, the feel of the wolftail on the silk,    the strength, the tense precision in the wrist. I painted them hundreds of times eyes closed. These I painted blind. Some things never leave a person: scent of the hair [...]

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Easy roasted glazed plums with ice cream

Thumbnail image for Easy roasted glazed plums with ice cream October 19, 2012

When I was a little girl, I often asked my mom why I had brown eyes when she had bright blue eyes. Surely if I was her daughter, I would also have the blue eyes that I so hankered after? She would always smile and patiently explain to me that things like the colour of your eyes or hair; or the shape of your hands and feet are things that you inherited from your parents, and that there was no way of telling which bit you’d get from which parent.

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Spiced maple pear and oat muffins

Thumbnail image for Spiced maple pear and oat muffins September 20, 2012

A few years after I had stopped lecturing, I bumped into an ex student of mine. We chatted for a while about what we were up to these days before he told me that I was one of the best lecturers he had ever had. But as my chest swelled with pride, he instantly burst my bubble by saying that the one thing he will never forget about my classes was not understanding how human rights work; or how to form a contract – but “the joke about the pear”.

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Whole baked gilt-head bream with Clemengold clementines and thyme butter

Thumbnail image for Whole baked gilt-head bream with Clemengold clementines and thyme butter September 13, 2012

When I was a kid, my parents had clearly not read the parenting book that advised parents to “give your kids some freedom and space to grow”. Oh no, instead they had opted for the book that said “be very careful, absolutely EVERYTHING poses a potential danger to your offspring!”.

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