Finally our tomatoes are turning red. Hurrah! Time to use them and this is a great relish to serve with chicken pieces flavoured with Aleppo chillies and garlic. 225g tomatoes 1 medium sized onion Handful chopped coriander Large pinch salt 2 tbsp lemon juice ½ tsp toasted and coarsely grounded cumin seeds Cut the tomatoes…

Autumn is a good time to make minestrone soup as it uses so many vegetables that are in season. This year we are blessed with our best ever tomato crop, as well as onions, beans and carrots. My new herb bed is also doing well. There are many versions of minestrone soup. All contain tomatoes,…

Another bumper crop of crab apples and, as this was such a popular jelly when I made it last year, there is every reason to make it again. Crab apple jelly is not labour intensive to make, the jelly does not need long to set and even the scum is easy to control. Win, win!…

I had forgotten all about this dish until a friend sent a picture and declared it ‘delicious’. Perfect for early autumn. 1 large red onion, finely sliced 4 tbsp olive oil 3 cloves garlic, chopped 8 small beetroot, peeled and quartered 6 carrots, sliced at an angle into pieces about 3cm long 3 bay leaves…

Carrie, who illustrated The Allotment Kitchen, made Springfield Cake (Pear and Ginger Sponge) for guests and, on the back of it, six copies of the book were sold. We had our neighbour in for dinner on Sunday and I cooked a smaller version, suitable for a 20-21cm diameter cake tin, by simply reducing the ingredients…

For the final time after ten years we are spending the last week of August on Madeira. We leave tomorrow on a very early flight. There is so much to do and the cats sense we will be leaving them. Despite the dry summer, we have a good crop of Opal plums. We picked buckets…

I was surprised to see that I had never listed this recipe which is high up there among my favourite meals. Tasty, easy and never fails. I have been cooking it for so long that it was refreshing to go back to one of the original recipes (I have come across this recipe in various…

Punnets of apricots can often be good value. My usual way of cooking apricots is to poach them, halved, in a syrup with a dash of brandy and a few blanched apricot kernels But when you find perfect apricots, this way of poaching them whole is delicious. Make a syrup by first boiling and then…

Sometimes the simplest meals can give the greatest pleasure. I am a great fan of hard boiled eggs but the dressing is crucial. This recipe was inspired by Simon Hopkinson. Perfect for today’s supper as we have a healthy crop of lettuce and chives brought on by the weekend’s rain. As with all simple recipes,…

Polenta chips go well with white fish or tuna. On Madeira wedges of polenta are served with tuna but I prefer thick chips which were on many menus in Provence. 225ml milk 1 clove garlic, crushed 75g instant polenta 25g Parmesan cheese, finely grated 1tbsp rosemary leaves, finely chopped 2 tbsp olive oil Salt and…