My lovely new book!!!

This is the cover of my new book due to be published on September 30th . I love it but can only take some of the praise for it as so much hard work was done by the photographer Diana Miller and the publishers Pavilion Books.

It took a while to write as I had to try and work out if there was truly a place for a larder in today's busy world where many of us can only dream of having a larder and the cool, calm feelings such thoughts evoke. The book was written in my home in central London where every cubic centimetre of space has been put to use, with no room left for what might seem an extravagance, a larder and I was pleased to find I was still was able to create and recreate the many virtues of this style of cooking

Writing made me remember so many things about my childhood, living without a fridge, the food we ate and my earliest food memories.

I hope I've brought such recipes up to date and so allowed you to experience some of the taste of foods that I love as well as many I've discovered more recently.

Planning ahead is very much what larder cooking is about. Thinking what will be needed tomorrow, next week, next month. Also thinking about how best to use the foods that scream out to you to be bought: the punnets of strawberries, the wonderful meat from a country butcher , the vegetables from a market stall or your own garden.

I am a compulsive food shopper. My cupboards are stacked high with both staples and treats so I know how difficult it is to pass by an opportunity to purchase a bumper batch of cod fillets from the beach or a whole belly of rare breed pork when it all looks just so good. My family despair of me but thrift can go hand in hand with greed as I hope this book shows.

I'm really pleased with it and hope you will be too.

Click here to get my book

Brawn

Last night I went to Brawn for supper. We walked along the canal and then twice along Columbia Road looking for the restaurant. It still surprises me that along with a passion for small plates, few restaurants now have signs outside to alert hungry eater to the fact that they've arrived!

Still arrive we did and we were warmly greeted by the hostess. The menu was so full of tasty things that I wanted to order them all and eat everything.

Quails eggs and a chunky terrine started us with a delicious bottle of cidre, a lovely touch after our walk, thirst quenching and light in alcohol and such a good match for the celery salt that came with the eggs.

The shellfish was a treat too, prawns with chilli and clams with lemon and coriander. The plaice was the only disappointment. Rather a small fish for the money and too rich a sauce. The piece of Tome de Montagne was also on the small side but the slice of almond and cherry tart quite wonderful.

The Picpoul de pinet was well chilled and so was I.

Brawn 49 Columbia Road London E2 7R 020 7729 5692

Soup for lunch

In recognition of my new iphone 4 and my enjoyment of Twitter I'm back to blogging. The phone was need for the pictures, I'm not even "No David Bailey" so I wanted a simple camera that couldn't go wrong and that I'd carry with me everywhere.

So far I'm very pleased. I'm not looking to win prizes just try and take a few snaps and then share them.

The soup I made at my daughter Jade's house. She wanted some help tiding the kitchen and throwing out stuff that was no longer any use. Her daughter Maisie has had a grumpy day and, at only 9 months, it's quite tricky to work out why.

So I made soup believing that chicken soup especially makes everything better.

Maise ate most of the bowl pictured here, from my spoon! Jade had a big bowl too and now they're both asleep.

Job done I'd say.

Chocolate Biscuit cake fit for this Prince!!

I hear William is having one of these cakes as a Groom's cake at his wedding. My childhood favourite was this cake too, so here is my mother's recipe: Enjoy!!

Chocolate Biscuit Cake

200g broken biscuits

85g blanched slivered almonds

85g glace cherries, halved

4 tablespoons orange juice

2 tablespoons caster sugar

200g butter

200g plain chocolate

2 tablespoons Grand Marnier

Break the biscuits into 1cm pieces and place in a bowl.

Add the cherries and nuts, beat the orange juice with the caster sugar and pour over the biscuits, then toss everything together. Melt the butter and chocolate over a low heat, stirring well.

Pour the hot liquid over the biscuit mixture and mix thoroughly. Spoon the cake into a loaf tin, level the top and place in the fridge for about three hours to set.

To unmould, dip the tin into hot water for about 15 seconds, then turn onto a plate. Cut into thin slices and serve.

Three days at the Thalassa spa in Le Touquet and I’m a new woman. We ran away from the builders and the rot and the plaster dust and booked into the Novotel. It sits right on the beach, has a huge pool. The Spa is run by severe, white coated women who administer a variety of treatments with aplomb.

They also speak no English so booking can sometimes lead to a surprise.I chose things that roughly translated and avoided at all costs anything that had the word “ re-education” attached!

The food at the hotel was excellent but we were tempted into the town where , on this visit, we discovered several lovely places to eat. On our final night we went to Le Paris and I ate a sole Meuniere bigger than my plate. I’m reading My Life in France by Julia Child and she speaks so glowingly of that dish I longed for it

The Thursday market was filled with wonderful produce and the sequels of Kentish school children learning how to shop in their beginners French.

Cherries and tomatoes featured along with early stone fruit. The heritage tomatoes from Provence caught my eye and when home I made a simple salad dresses with some of my Sicilian oil and some coarse sea salt. Delicious

I know it's been far too long......

And there are no really good excuses just a few reasons.. My home, at the moment , is a building site. I have decamped to the basement while our lovely Polish builders rip the top three floors apart replacing wiring, plumbing and plaster. I am hoping we are at the rebuilding stage now and once all this is a distant memory I’ll begin feeling human and start planning my classes.

The ongoing delight is just how much I love being back in London, so all the inconvenience is gilded by my sheer joy at living in this, soon to be lovely, house.

So I sleep on a futon in my newly remade kitchen/dining room and plan paint colours and wallpaper.

And I cook... There is something about living so close to so many markets and food shops that just makes ideas spring into your mind. I’ve been feasting on Suffolk asparagus cooked for the barest moments and then sauced with everything from melted butter and lemon juice to soft poached eggs.

But today I’m cooking for an alfresco lunch which I’m hoping will happen in my birdsong filled garden. I thought I’d miss my tame blackbird when I moved but lo and behold, I have an even tamer one here in central London.

The menu will be Jellied Ham some seared chicken breast and this dish of bake squash with feta and pumpkin seeds.

Black Pasta

Black pasta is my new passion. When I say new I really mean that I've liked it for a long time but had forgotten about it. Teaching last week at Cucina Caldesi I made some pasta with a fresh prawn and cherry tomato sauce and it was excellent. I just had not remembered how silky the pasta is and how toothsome. To make the sauce you sweat onions and garlic in plenty of olive oil then add halved cherry tomatoes. Simmer till everything is quite reduced and then add a large glass of white wine. Simmer again crumbling in some dried chilli and adding salt and pepper.

The raw prawns are added immediately before you drain the pasta so they only just cook through.

But the true glory of this dish is the pasta.

Pasta Nero

300gm pasta flour

2 large free range eggs

2 tablespoons nero de sepia ( cuttlefish ink)

Blitz the ingredients in a food processor until the dough is formed then let it rest under an up-turned bowl for about 15 minutes. It must be very dry, if not add more flour at this stage.

Cut into quarters and roll out. On my machine I go to number 6 but yours might be different. Leave the sheets of dough to dry for about 10 minutes then cut them using the fine cutter on the machine.

When you're ready to eat put the heat under the sauce, bring a huge pan of water to the boil, add a handful of salt and throw in the pasta. When the water returns to the boil, stir once using the handle of a wooden spoon.

Tip the prawns into your sauce and drain the pasta- it should cook for no more than 2-3 minutes.

Toss the sauce and pasta together and eat.

This recipe might serve 2-3 people if one of them is not as greedy as me.