Seasonal Eating: soon time for Samphire

Paul Howard Articles, Blog, Food, Recipes

Fresh Samphire

Seasonal Eating: Soon time for Samphire I am blessed to have a Fishmonger who turns up weekly at the local market. During the season, he includes a handful of emerald green samphires for free. In Britain, Samphire grows naturally in muddy salt-water marshes and estuaries around the coast. It’s a seasonal delicacy, at its best from May onwards until September. …

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Elderflower Cordial – making the perfect summer drink

Paul Howard Articles, Blog, England and Wales, Food, Recipes

Elderflower

Elderflower Cordial – making the perfect summer drink Right now, I can’t think of a more quintessentially British summer drink than Elderflower cordial. The Elder (Sambucus nigra) is in full bloom in summer, so why not do a bit of easy foraging and make Elderflower cordial yourself? It’s swift and easy*. The result is brilliant refreshment when you don’t want …

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For Fine Dining Value, Go Back to College

Paul Howard Articles, Blog, Food, Hotels, Restaurants & Pubs

The Restaurant at Kendal College

For Fine Dining Value, Go Back To College Last year, I discovered that my local college in Kendal has an excellent training restaurant as part of its Hospitality and Catering department. And it’s open to the public. Given the hospitality industry’s importance to the UK economy and the need to underpin this with professional training, this should have come as …

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Le Monde Wine Tasting Dinner in Cumbria

Paul Howard Articles, Blog, Food, Friuli-Venezia Giulia, Italy, Wine Tasting

Le Monde

Le Monde Wine Tasting Dinner in Cumbria At a recently held Le Monde wine-tasting dinner in Cumbria, we imagined ourselves in Italy, specifically the area of Friuli known as Friuli Grave. This territory is sandwiched between the Alps to the north, with Venice and the Adriatic coast to the south. It’s an enormous flat plain created over millennia by alluvial …

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Limoncello? How to make it yourself

Paul Howard Articles, Beer & Spirits Reviews, Blog, Italy, Recipes

Limoncello

Limoncello? How to make it yourself Shout out if you don’t like Limoncello. *silence* I thought so. Limoncello Limoncello is an Italian lemon digestivo, produced in Italy wherever lemons grow. Its origins are probably around the Amalfi Coast of Campania, south of Napoli. There, the large oval and sweet Sorrento lemon called Femminello Santa Teresa has a zest unusually high …

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Pisa – Stay and Explore at Badia di Morrona

Paul Howard Articles, Blog, Food, Hotels, Restaurants & Pubs, Italy, Sustainability, Toscana, Travel

Pisa and Badia di Morrona

Pisa – Stay and Explore at Badia di Morrona The Badia di Morrona winery near Pisa has been featured previously on this website for some excellent red wines.  The first article concentrated on I Sodi del Paretaio, two Chianti DOCG wines. Then, the second piece featured their flagship wine, VignaAlta. This latter red wine is a Tuscan gem, the best …

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Pie and Mash – an authentic taste of London

Paul Howard Articles, Blog, Food, Hotels, Restaurants & Pubs

Pie and Mash sign, Goddard's Greenwich

Pie and Mash – an authentic taste of London While I live ever more distant from my London birthplace, that doesn’t wholly quell its siren call. There are many things I don’t miss, but one thing I crave is Pie and Mash, proper authentic London food. There is, sadly, an ever-dwindling collection of emporia in London in which to eat …

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The world’s your Oyster

Paul Howard Articles, Blog, Food

Oyster & Champagne

The world’s your Oyster In Victorian times, Oysters were food for the poor. They were harvested in abundance from around British shores and were cheap. Oysters are a good source of protein, especially valuable when meat is an expensive treat. The situation is very different nowadays—oysters are a costly delicacy, thanks to overfishing and marine pollution. Sadly, many people have …

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I Was A Marmite Baby – Spreading The Love

Paul Howard Articles, Blog, Food

Ode to Marmite - spreading the love

I Was A Marmite Baby – Spreading The Love. Love it or hate it. Either way, in the UK, we take Marmite for granted. Like generations before me, I was brought up on the stuff. Seemingly indestructible, an open jar might last for years. However, it survives only a few days in our house. It’s a food that tastes like …

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Chocolate Cake from Gascony with Maydie

Paul Howard Articles, Blog, Food, France, Recipes, Sustainability

Chocolate Cake

Chocolate Cake from Gascony with Maydie Here’s an adaptation of a chocolate cake recipe by French Chef Marie-Claude Garcia, in the village of Poudenas in Gascony, Southwest France. This cake resembles a big chocolate brownie, while the secret weapon here is the inclusion of Sea Salt*, which adds a whole new dimension. This cake also improves if left to mature over several …

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