Fourteen years ago I quietly changed my life with one small step.

Of course, I had no idea I was. There were no big plans. Just a deep desire to write and express myself about all things food and travel which had been festering for years and had to be exorcised from my heart and head to the stove and the page.

Perched at my desk in the dark hallway of my Kilburn flat I first said hello from this fresh new website, and announced my intentions.

Here I am today, 14 years later after sharing hundreds of recipes, travel stories and two books later. I still feel like I am only getting started because there is so much more that I want to do!

You must embrace your dreams and follow your heart

I am also here to tell you that you must follow your heart. Whatever they are, announce your intentions, even just to yourself at first. It’s powerful. Once you sow the seed it will start to grow, then you must nurture it. Continue reading

​Bacon the Cookbook is now on sale! It is packed with gorgeous, tasty recipes and is a perfect antidote to the pandemic. It is a limited print release and is available from BaconTheCookbook.com. An ebook will go on sale next week also. 

Some good news for 2020. A new cookbook from me!

I am so very excited to let you know that my second cookbook, Bacon the Cookbook, publishes this week (on Thursday 17th December!). It is 224 pages of words and recipes devoted to Bacon and recipes and colour.

There are 80+ recipes, lots of photography, some wittering and a little pontification, but in the very best way, as you will expect. The recipes veer from the familiar to the unexpected and the outright comforting.

If you love bacon, and doing something a little different in the kitchen, you will love this book. You don’t need to be an expert, every recipe is explained in detail, and I keep it light. If you are already a competent cook, it is full of new ideas for you! There are lots of tidbits of info, and tips too.

Dare I say it is the perfect antidote to the pandemic. Yes, I do! These are big claims, but I spent a very long time on this book, and you will see that the book lives up to it. I have worked too hard and for too long on this to be understated. Why must we be understated to be accepted? I can’t help but rebel.

How did Bacon the Cookbook come about?

You may remember that fizz of bacon action which was very visible here some years back. My Bacon Masterclasses and Sunday Bacon Club, maybe you even attended and caught the bug. That evolved into the idea for this book, and I have been working on it for the last, well, quite a few years! 

I worked with a wonderful publisher (Quadrille) for my first book. For my second book, I wanted to work on something that was more design oriented and I wanted more of my personal stamp on it. I wanted to be more involved. I decided that I would embark on what would prove to be quite an extensive and intense publishing journey.

Bacon the Cookbook – the contents and a preview of some of the recipes

This article is published in partnership with Tourism Nova Scotia, who sponsored this post. Tourism Nova Scotia are inviting us to dream now and travel later.

In 19 years in London, nearly 20, this will be the first year that I won’t have once left its boundaries. I have barely left my neighbourhood. Instead, my life was distilled to essentials and became very simple. That is a luxury I know. My work was affected but I didn’t lose my job. I don’t have kids to homeschool. I accept the changes, I understand the need to be still for a while and I am embracing it, as much as I can.

Short days and long dark nights give ample time to dream

Summer was easier, it was even lovely. Now it is winter. The days close early and my time outdoors is brief, if at all. As the days close further I withdraw and I start to daydream, as I love to do when I can steal a chance. I even dare to make plans. Loose plans, no dates. Expectations carefully managed. Plotting places I want to return to, people I want to see. Friends and family to reunite with.

It is a small tight list, built on top of my list of my lifetime, however long that will be. In there is a plan to visit Nova Scotia with friends. The idea of Nova Scotia was planted in my head many years ago by my father. Friends of his had relocated there, it sounded like a fascinating place. Then I made friends with Nova Scotians in London, and then more. They moved home and now I go to visit and explore, to soak up the culture, the terrific food and wine.

There is an easy familiarity between Irish people like myself and Nova Scotians. The same sense of fun, an easy-going attitude to life. The same love of story and song. Continue reading

Tacooooooooos! Not just any tacos but fried chicken tacos. And not just any fried chicken but jalapeño brined fried chicken.

It gets better. These are not just any tortillas but chicken fat tortillas with fat from last nights roast chicken. And that crumb? It is a gluten-free one that is so good, my gluten digesting friends choose it instead of regular breadcrumb or panko! It is so good and you won’t believe what it is! Continue reading

Jump straight to the Chilli Roast Pumpkin, Halloumi, Cavolo Nero and Pomegranate recipe.

One day after the equinox and 2020 is never going to go easy on us. But I can still look at my cheerful dahlias, standing tall and giving bright strong colour, and I can make a plate of beautiful nourishing food, like this one.

I am here not just to share this recipe and hopefully brighten your day too, I am also here to tell you that you should massage your kale, or, as I have used here, cavolo nero. It makes it soft and supple, beautifully seasoned and perfect in any salad, but especially in an Autumnal dish like this. It also makes it easier to digest. Double win. Continue reading