Author: Deborah M

The Saucy Month of March

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Sauces are the splendor and glory of French cooking, yet there is nothing serious
or mysterious about making them. These are indispensable to the home cook.
– Julia Child, Mastering the Art of French Cooking

I’ve been known to question whether certain foods or culinary items need the full day, week, or month set aside to commemorate them – March is, for example, Celery Month and I think we can all agree this is overkill. But March is also Sauce Month and sauce (as a concept and a culinary category not to mention the vast array of individual sauces) is not only a topic that would easily take a month to cover; it’s a topic that deserves it. A quick primer to make my point.

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Happy Peach Melba Day

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Well, here we are – mid-January and talking about fruit normally in season from May to Sept in the US, July to September in the UK. Oh and topped in ice cream. Brrrrr.

But nevertheless, here we are on Peach Melba Day.

There are so many obvious ways to start this post. “Well, isn’t that just peachy?” or “Peachy keen!” or something like that. But as I say – they are so obvious. Why not start the whole thing by mentioning that Ms. Melba (for whom Peach Melba is named) was apparently an a-class pain in the neck. Continue reading “Happy Peach Melba Day” →

Fabulous Foodie’s Tips for Better Baking

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At Fabulous Foodie, we’re always excited when the latest series of Great British Bake Off is underway. And we find ourselves, during the run, thinking and discussing baking with much more frequency. Possibly you do as well. Which is why we thought these little tips might come in handy.

Start at the Start

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Get Ready to ‘Cater’ Your Self-Catering Holiday

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Cooking might be the last thing you want to do while on holiday, but there’s a lot to be said for self-catering holidays.

  • You get more room for your money on self-catering holidays than you do from all-inclusive.
  • You set the schedule – with young kids, this makes keeping to routine a lot easier.
  • You’re more in control of the menu on self-catering holidays.
  • You eat what you want when you want on self-catering holidays.
  • Makes managing dietary restrictions easier.

But I know the idea of having to cook (and wash up) makes it sound less holiday-like and more like just moving the housekeeping to a new location. But cooking doesn’t mean it must be done in the same way as you always do. Take a holiday from your usual routine: take some shortcuts, mix things up, relax your rules. We’ll get to all that in the next post. First, we make a plan. Continue reading “Get Ready to ‘Cater’ Your Self-Catering Holiday” →

Fabulous Foodie’s Summer Holiday Approach to Cooking

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I have previously mentioned that for several years when Sprog was younger, we went the ‘self-catering accommodation on family holiday campsite in France’ route for summer holidays. And it was on these holidays that ‘quick’ and ‘easy’ are my watchwords for holiday cooking – and indeed for my whole holiday if truth be told.

We’ve talked about packing for your self-catering, holiday came holiday and we’ve talked about kitchen planning and equipment – but what the heck are you gonna eat when you head off on this self -catering holiday? Continue reading “Fabulous Foodie’s Summer Holiday Approach to Cooking” →