Malva pudding is a ubiquitous winter pudding in South Africa, filling the same kind of niche as sticky toffee pudding does here in England. It was offered to us almost everywhere we ate when we visited last May, from Grahamstown to Cape Town, and … [Read more...]
In search of the honest apricot
Listen to Laura's podcast of this food essay by clicking the arrow below: I’ll go back to the beginning…. I remember sitting on the backsteps under a punitive August sun, basting a rock, pretending it was a roast. I was three. … [Read more...]
Apricot pie
I've been chasing the honest apricot all my life. (I tell that story here). This pie is part of my apricot story. It started as a story my parents tell, of a journey they’d taken in their younger days to Bryce Canyon in southwestern Utah. They’d … [Read more...]
East Asian style chicken thighs with apricots
The Cambridgeshire apricots are in, and they are beautiful, despite this very challenging season. The trees are full of fruit (no frosts at blossom-time and a good spell in spring for the pollinators), but this summer's exceptional heat wave and … [Read more...]
Last-minute fruit cake with rum and vanilla
It's days before Christmas, and I haven't made The Cake yet. These past few years I have taken on the hefty responsibility of making my English family's traditional British Christmas Cake, and this year I dropped the ball. I should have made it in … [Read more...]