cooking up a storm at the edge of the world
Highlights of our family summer vacation. I was told some time ago that a package family holiday is something that every family should do, at least once, if only to have the experience of such a thing. So, this summer, my husband and our two youngest children decided to do just that and, with one …
In collaboration with Volkswagen. I am a self-confessed caffeine addict. I love my morning coffee(s), and I frequently top up my blood caffeine levels throughout the day with assorted lattes or a cappucino. As a recent treat to myself I bought a new milk frother. It’s a rather fantastic little jug that you heat the …
Celebrate Percy Pig’s 25th birthday with this grown-up cocktail recipe featuring your favourite childhood sweets! In collaboration with Marks & Spencer. When is Percy Pig’s Birthday? Percy Pig sweets were born on the 23rd of July 1992 and they’ve come a long way since then. From meeting the love of his life, Penny, in 2013, …
In collaboration with Ribena Doodle Your World. This summer Ribena have launched a brand new app to make your world more Ribenary: Doodle Your World! This augmented reality app allows users to animate videos and photos with the playful Ribenary characters which you can then share on your social media channels. The concept behind the …
A review & £150 giveaway in collaboration with Bogs Footwear. I confess I am a boot girl. I love wearing boots. I wore boots to my high school prom, I wore boots to my wedding. I also confess that I don’t even own a single pair of high heels. I’m a comfortable, sensible footwear sort of …
Celebrating 180 years with P&O Ferries. The Shetland Islands are a remote island archipelago in the North Sea, 200 miles, as the crow flies, from the Scottish city of Aberdeen. Between 1971 and 2002 P&O Ferries (known then as P&O Scottish Ferries) ran a lifeline service between Aberdeen and Lerwick in the Shetland Islands. This …
In collaboration with Tasty, Easy Lamb. Saturday nights are pizza night in our house. We sit around our oversized coffee table in the living room and, as a family, we eat pizza and watch a film together (it’s Avatar this week!). I like to jazz things up a bit with my pizza recipes, like this …
The perfect Canadian recipe to celebrate Canada Day! Today is Canada’s 150th birthday! To help celebrate, here’s a recipe from my handwritten notebook, a recipe I brought with me when I immigrated from Canada to Scotland in 1999. I have no idea where the original recipe came from, and, if I am to be honest, …
Hands’ up, who else is guilty of leaving travel adaptors in hotel rooms? Who else has only taken one adaptor with them and then realised, too late, that you need to charge your laptop, phone and a spare battery pack all at the same time? Regular readers will be aware that I’ve been doing a …
In collaboration with Tasty, Easy Lamb. When I was a little girl my mother used to make the best meat pies ever with leftover Sunday roast. The cold roast was cut into pieces and fed into an electric meat grinder along with an onion and a carrot and bound together with leftover gravy (always of …
In collaboration with Garda Trentino S.p.A. Tourism Board. Lake Garda is the largest lake in Italy. Located in Northern Italy it is just an hour’s train journey from Milan Central Station. Garda Trentino covers the region at the top of the 51.6 km long lake; a collection of small towns and villages within a 15 …
Fresh strawberries and balsamic vinegar are a match made in heaven. These quick and easy strawberry shortcakes take no time to whip up and they taste utterly amazing! Perfect for a summer picnic! “Mum, do you know what I really, really want?” our youngest son (aged 8 and 1/4) asked recently. “What’s that?” I enquired. …
A barbecue recipe in collaboration with Simply Beef & Lamb. Last Autumn my husband took the notion that he’d like to go trout fishing next summer. So, for Christmas, I bought him a starter loch trout rod kit from our local fishing tackle shop. Come March I bought him a fishing license so he’s now …
Issue 24 of our bite-sized review series. It’s summertime! Time for picnics and beach bbqs, holidays, lounging around in the sun sipping and nibbling on delectable delights. We’ve been trying out a number of summer-inspired products over the last few weeks including a drinkable supermeal, iced tea, dukkah, sprouted wheat flours, Mexican salsas, wooden firelighters, …
Post sponsored by Volkswagen. I have fallen in love with the art of decorating sugar cookies! It is remarkably easy to mix ready made Royal icing powder with water and a little bit of food colouring to decorate the tops of your favourite sugar cookie recipe, and, I have learned recently, the sky is the limit …
In collaboration with Tasty, Easy Lamb. Every now and again the sun comes out in Shetland and it’s all systems go to make the most out of it while it lasts. I confess I don’t live on this wild and remote island archipelago for its Mediterranean-style weather. Most of the time it’s windy and overcast, …
Yumbox: the range of amazing, leakproof, bento lunchboxes which have taken the world by storm! It’s hard to believe that the school year is nearly finished! Just a few short weeks and we’ll be on the summer holidays. No more mad morning rushes, no more homework, no more school runs for six whole weeks! We’re …
Did you know that Grana Padano cheese was invented by Benedictine monks who wanted to find a way to preserve surplus milk? Dating back to 1100 AD its quality reputation quickly spread and it was served at both Renaissance banquets held by princes and dukes as well as being a main source of nourishment for …
The ultimate bowlful of comfort-food pasta and meatballs! A bowlful of spaghetti and meatballs has to be one of the ultimate comfort foods, no? The only thing better, I think, is a plate of linguine and meatballs. I prefer the thick ribbons of linguine over spaghetti to hold the rich tomato sauce in this recipe, …
In collaboration with Premier Estates Wine. Who else is silly excited about summer? Have you any grand plans for long, late evenings spent out in the garden, sun shining, BBQ going, glass of cold bubbly in your hand? I’ve teamed up with Premier Estate Wines to help you with your summer entertaining plans with a …
