I was asked the other day how to cook cabbage.   Cabbage is one of those vegetables that we just love in this house, but it is a very easily maligned vegetable, mostly because a lot of people cook it rather horribly.   There is nothing more appealing than a plate of ather insipid and stinky overcooked  boiled cabbage.  Blah.  Blah. Blah.  Fresh cabbage, lightly cooked, is full of goodness, packed with vitamins, minerals and flavour and it’s not expensive or boring in the least.

Cabbage should always be eaten as fresh as possible – it loses nutrients if stored for too long. An unwrapped fresh cabbage should look bright and crisp, with its outer leaves intact (often if it’s had its outer leaves removed, it was because they were limp, which is not a good sign). The centre should feel firm and the leaves should squeak as you pull them apart.  You will want to get rid of any discoloured or wimply outer leaves and then cut the cabbage into quarters.   Remove and discard the core and then cut the cabbage crosswise into thin strips, about 1/3 inch in width, with a sharp knife.  The secret to cooking cabbage is to cook it briefly in rapidly boiling water. I like to  pack it down quite tightly into a saucepan, sprinkle with some fine sea salt.  I then place the pan over a high heat, adding boiling water from the kettle.  This comes back to the boil almost instantly.  I then time it for 3 to 5 minutes.  It is done when you can bite a piece and is just yields, much like cooking pasta.  Drain it immediately in a large colander,  tossing and pressing it lightly to extract as much water as possible from it.  I use a bread and butter plate for this.  I cut down into the cabbage with the edge of the plate which chops it lightly.  You can then dress it with a bit of butter, some salt and pepper and serve it while it is nice and hot.  Delicious!

I think the old school method of cooking most vegetables was to cook them pretty much to death for some reason.  I have some very old cookbooks which recommend cooking carrots for 45 minutes, for instance.  Absolutely all of the nutritional value would pretty much be boiled out by that time I would think!  I wouldn't want to eat a carrot which had been boiled for that long.  Neither would  I want them rock hard.  It is the same with most vegetables.  There is a very fine line between them being overdone or underdone, but  with a bit of practice anyone can get it right.  You can find an excellent chart with cooking times here.

 The cake itself is a simple cake . . .  quickly beaten together, with a mild lemon flavour . . .


On it's own its a very plain, simple, yet moist and delicious cake.  Very good . . .  but when you spoon over the warm sauce  . . . it becomes quite remarkable!

This is a Lemon Nutmeg Sauce . . .  again very simple to make and very simply flavoured  . . .  with fresh lemon zest and juice, freshly grated nutmeg  . . .  and mmm . . .  gorgeous dairy butter.


Together the two . . .  the cake and the sauce  . . .  become a pudding that will quickly elevate itself to the top of everyone's favourites list!




1/2 tsp freshly grated nutmeg



Preheat the oven to 180*C/350*F/ gas mark 4.  Butter an 8 or 9 inch square baking tin really well.  Set aside.


Cream together the shortening and sugar until light and fluffy.  Beat in the egg, salt and lemon extract.  Sift together the flour and baking powder.  Stir this into the creamed mixture in three lots, alternating with the milk, beating well after each addition.  Spread into the prepared pan and bake for 35 minutes until golden brown and a toothpick inserted in the centre comes out clean.


While the cake is baking make the sauce.  Stir the sugar, salt and dissolved cornflour/water mixture together in a saucepan.  Slowly whisk in the boiling water and cook, stirring constantly over medum heat until the mixture comes to a full rolling boil.  Turn down to low and simmer for five minutes. Blend in the butter, lemon zest, nutmeg and lemon juice.  Keep warm.


To serve cut the cake into squares and spoon some of the warm sauce over top.


On its own the cake is delicious, but with the sauce this pudding/dessert is fabulous.  Proof positive that the simple things in life really are the best.  Taste doesn't have to be complicated to be good!  Bon Appetit!

I first saw this Carrot Cake Roll on La Table De Nana (one of my favourite spaces) back in July of this year.  

It looked fabulous, but then everything she makes looks fabulous.  Monique is such a talented lady in so very many ways.

As recipes go, she had purloined it from French at Isa's, but also gave a link to an English version to be found here. 

It is a fabulous cake in any language.

Carrot cake is my husband's favourite kind of cake.  As soon as I saw Moniques, I had in mind to make this for him and that's just what I did today.  It only took me two months to get to it, haha.  

And then I had to search and search for her photo of it so I could find the recipe.  Note to self:  from now on pin what you want to make. Just don't take it for granted that you can easily find it again! 

So after much searching I found it again and set out to make it for my husband.  I used the English version and adapted it a tiny bit. 

I have incuded the recipe in both linear and metric measures.

Its a very easy cake to make.  There is no fat in the batter, unless you count the eggs.  I used large free range eggs.  The size had not been specified, but large free range worked perfectly.  

There is rather a lot of sugar however . . .  almost as much sugar as flour. I am not sure if you could cut that down or not.

It was really chilly today (Thursday as I write this)  and we actually had to turn on the heat for a short time to take the chill off. Damp and chilly, that's the typical British Autumn.  It will be replaced in a couple of months by cold and wet, which will be Winter.


 I picked up some lovely looking pastrami at Costco the other day.  It was almost shaved and there was quite a lot of it.  We have enjoyed some in sandwiches and I thought I would use the remainder to make a soup.  I found a recipe for reuben soup, but it called for sauerkraut, which would be lovely, but I didn't have any.


I decided to just wing it and use cabbage instead and it turned out gorgeous.  I added some caraway seed, which gave a lovely authentic flavour to it . . .




I simmered it for a time in chicken broth, along with the pastrami.  The creaminess comes not from adding any milk or cream, but by the clever use of a bit of flour for thickening and then the addition of some gruyere cheese at the end (swiss) and of course a touch of Thousand Island Dressing.  What would a Reuben be without that!



Melt the butter in a large saucepan.  Add the onion and cabbage.  Cook, stirring frequently, over medium heat until beginning to soften without browning.  Stir in the garlic and cook until fragrant.  Add the caraway and the flour and cook for a minute.  Stir in the chicken stock and corned beef and bring to the boil.  Reduce to a slow simmer, cover, and cook for about 15 minutes to meld all the flavours and make sure the cabbage is nice and soft.  Stir in half the cheese along with the salad dressing.  Stir to melt the cheese.  Ladle into hot bowls and garnish with the remaining cheese and minced chives or parsley.  Serve immediately.  Crusty bread or rye bread goes very well with this.


I think crusty buttery rye bread croutons would be really tasty on top of this . . .  but alas we don't get really good rye bread here.  Well not in the shops I have been to at any rate!    There is a rye bread, but its a very different kind of rye.  Not like what I am used to.  I do hope you will try this.  We thought it was really lovely.  Salty enough without adding any salt, and nice and peppery from the Pastrami.  Bon appetit!

Here we are, the first day of Autumn.  How did that happen???  It seems the summer went past far too quickly and fall was too eager to arrive.  Actually it seems we didn't have any summer at all.  The weather was lousy for the most part, but that is just the way it is some years. Sometimes you win, sometimes you lose.  I love Autumn however, so all is not lost!


Todd had to take the car today to have our tires put on and so he was going to be away for most of the day.  I told him to pick up something to eat while he was waiting and I decided to make myself a salad for my lunch.  But not just any salad.  A Classic Cobb salad.


The origins of this salad are said to be the Hollywood Brown Derby restaurant in California back in the 1930's.  Wherever it came from, I have to say it is one of my favourites.  It is a mix of chopped protein and vegetables plated up together with a tangy dressing.


I had some leftover roasted chicken so I used that, along with the remainder of my garden cherry tomatoes . . . I also had baby gem lettuce, but Romaine or Cos is the usual, and I also like to include watercress or rocket for a bit of interest and bite.



I added some crispy salad onions, but you can use chopped spring onion, or red onion as well. altogether all the flavours went really well together and I felt a bit of a Saint for having salad for my dinner instead of something else.  Oh, I am so naughty most of the time, it felt good to feel like I was behaving myself for a change!

1 medium avocado, peeled and chopped, tossed with the juice of 1/2 lemon



Note - I like to divide all the ingredients when I arrange it over the lettuce, like the spokes of a wheel. If you don't like chicken, you can use ham, or even lobster, if you are feeling particularly flush. You can use both ham and chicken, or you can use turkey. You can leave out the meat altogether and use toasted pecans or walnuts.  Walnuts are particularly good with blue cheese. You can use chopped spring onion instead of the red onions, or crispy salad onions. (French fried onions in North America.)  In short this is a very adaptable full meal salad!

This is a delicious salad, and so very adaptable. It feels like a treat really . . .  and you are actually eating something which is fairly healthy and filled with vitamins, anti-oxidents and some of your five a day.  Bon appetit!

Pizza delivery company Papa John's has just launched their new ‘Papa’s Deep Crust’. Papa’s Deep Crust is almost double the depth of a regular Papa John’s pizza and is cooked in a specially designed pan, using an extra cup of cheese compared to other Papa John’s pizzas.


It also features a specially developed tomato sauce, and as an even tastier treat; it’s now on offer until 26th November 2017 priced from £10.99 from Papa John’s outlets nationwide.

Papa John's prides itself on using fresh ingredients, ensuring the use of fresh never froen dough.  The specially formulated recipe features a buttery seared crust for fuller flavour and a light and fluffy deeper dough, almost double the depth of a regular Papa John's Pizzas cooked in a specially designed pan to offer an even more indulgent taste than before.

A new recipe tomato sauce has also been created, using Californian vine-ripened tomatoes which go from field to can in six hours. Added to this is a blend of signature spices and extra virgin olive oil which are then reduced to create a richer tasting sauce, complementing the new thicker base perfectly.

 Every ‘Papa’s Deep Crust’ pizza uses an extra cup of cheese, which is spread all the way to the edge of the dough to create a caramelised, crispy cheese crust. Each pizza is then completed with all the favourite pizza toppings, including fresh “store cut” vegetables.

We were asked if we would like to try the new pizzas and I can tell you they did not have to ask us twice.  We love Papa John's Pizza and it is normally the pizza I order when we do a takeaway pizza.  Deep dish?  With more of that delicious crust, a special sauce and extra cheese????  Bring it on!!



We were sent two pizzas to try.  "The Works" and "Cheese & Tomato."  Both looked gorgeous, and came with that signature hot pepper and garlic sauce dip.  Doesn't this look fantastic??


 And they smelled just as good as they looked . . .  but what about the taste.  Did they deliver on the promise?


The toppings were generous . . .  with just the right amount of meats, peppers, onions and peppers. Yes, that sauce was really gorgeous.  I have always felt that a good sauce "makes" a pizza.  If you have a bad sauce, your pizza will be just blah.  This sauce delivers plenty of flavour!  And this was especially noticeable in the Tomato & Cheese pizza. There was lots of cheese without it being over the top.  Far too often pizza shops are stingy with the sauce and cheese.  This was perfect!


The crust was really nice.  Not doughy at all.  At least we did not think it was.  The edges were crisp and the dough soft and light with a done just right bottom.  It was substantial without being stodgy.


I have to say up front that Todd has never really been a pizza fan.  He usually tolerates them on my behalf because I am a tru blu Pizza lover.  He declared this the best pizza he had ever eaten and he said it was quite enjoyable. High praise indeed coming from him.  I, of course, adored it.  We both gave them The English Kitchen's Two Thumbs Up.  These were really good pizzas, and, as has always been my experience with Papa John's,  they arrived with perfect timing and were nice and hot.

‘Papa’s Deep Crust’ can be ordered with all the toppings available in the original Papa John’s range, including ‘half and half’ and ‘create your own’. An even tastier treat, the new ‘Papa’s Deep Crust’ is on offer until 26th November 2017 priced from £10.99 (including ‘create your own’ with up to four toppings) from Papa John’s outlets nationwide - making it a deep-lightful addition to a night in relaxing in front of the TV.

Disclaimer Note - We were sent two pizzas from Papa John's free of charge to try out, but were not required to give a positive review in return.  Any and all opinions are our own. We simply loved them!

Scrambled Eggs on Toast are a very popular and quick supper dish served over here in the UK.  I had probably been living under a rock, but . . . . in all honesty, it wasn't something I had ever heard of, or even considered, prior to moving over here!  I'd eaten plenty of toast with scrambled eggs, but had never had my scrambled eggs served on TOP of the toast.


 When I was working at the Manor, quite often Todd would make me scrambled egg on toast when I got home from work.  I would be too tired to want to cook for myself, but totally starving. (No I did not eat at work.  They did not feed their employees. That was one of their rules.  Rich people eh . . .  go figure.) Scrambled eggs on toast never tasted so good as when Todd made them for me.  He's a great Scrambled eggs on toast maker, but I reckon he got plenty of practice at it when he was a bachelor!



Well, not in the actual toast per se . . .  but piled into buttery crisp toast cups, that are very easy to make.  You can be baking the toast cups while you make the eggs.


Making these cups is as easy as cutting the crusts off slices of bread, buttering it on both sides and then pressing the slices down into muffin cups. You then bake them until they are nice and crisped up.  Fresher bread works best as it is more maleable, and will press down into the cups with less risk of tearing or breaking.


The Eggs are delicious  .  .  . free range eggs beaten together with cream, strong cheddar, and chives are scrambled in a knob of butter . . .  softly scrambled.  Seasoned with some salt and pepper and another knob of butter folded in at the end, ensures that they are delicious and moreishly tasty.  Pile them into the warm and crisp toast cups, put a bit of salad or sliced tomato on the side, and breakfast, lunch, or even a light supper is served!



a few TBS chopped chives or flat leaf parsley to garnish



Put a large non-stick skillet on medium heat to warm up. In the meantime beat together the eggs, cream, cheese and chives in a bowl. Drop a knob of butter into the heated skillet. Once it starts to foam tip in the egg mixture. Let it sit for about 30 seconds or so and then using a wooden spatula start to bring the egg from the edges into the centre, folding and turning slowly as the egg begins to cook. (You can’t rush scrambled eggs) Cook only until the egg is mostly set, but still moist and then remove from the heat and throw in the last knob of butter, folding it in. Taste and then season. Sometimes the cheese gives it enough flavour that you don’t need any seasoning at all!

Place two of the toast cups onto each of four heated plates and divide the scrambled eggs between them.  Garnish with the additonal chives or parsley.  Serve immediately.


These make a lovely presentation for a special breakfast at the weekend.  I can't think of anyone who wouldn't be pleased to be handed a tasty plate holding a couple of these! Egg haters maybe 😲 Bon Appetit!