One of the earliest mentions of mince pies was in the 16th century by Thomas Tusser who writes about mince or ‘shred’ pies in his 1557 list of Christmas foods. Shred because the meat was shredded with a knife. Mince pies were also described in The Country Housewife’s Family Companion by William Ellis in 1750. Both manuscripts are part of the Cookery Collection at the Brotherton Library, Leeds University.
Read MoreWinter juice No 1 - Beetroot, carrot , ginger and lemongrass
This morning I am multitasking - trying to write at the same time as eat breakfast which includes a shot of this brilliant, deep, blood red juice.
Read MoreArtichoke soup with blue potato crisps and pink pepper
This recipe has been driven by flavour and colour. Jerusalem artichokes are in season and there is something about the bite of them I love. It reminds me of coconut. So perhaps I will add a little coconut milk to this soup for creaminess. Nobly blue potatoes are in the shops too so I thought they might look lovely as crisps aloft this delicate soup. The colour of pink pepper corns also sprang to mind, so too did lemon grass and ginger and before long I had the recipe for a very pretty soup which was lovely to eat and gorgeous to photograph. Just the thing for a cold winter day with a biting wind.
Read MoreCatching cod, cooking scallops and a fishing school. Whitby has it all.
A beautiful drive, north east recently took me to Whitby to meet Rob and Emma Green whose restaurant - Green's - is the go to place for great seafood cooking on this part of the coast. Rob has just opened a cookery school which he runs out of the restaurant kitchen. I visited to write a piece for the Yorkshire Post.
Read MoreRecipes from a church orchard
In 1984, antiquarian book valuer Derek Law from Addiingham in West Yorkshire came across Gilbert White’s book ‘Garden Kalender’ while working in the British Library. White (1720-1793) a rector/naturalist developed an orchard for his parish in Selborne to feed fruit to the poor all year round.
Read More