News Bites

This week:

Tugged at my heart-strings

We heard of the death of Nathan Laity who died tragically young at only 23 (a year older than myself). His family have blamed his gruelling hours as a senior sous chef at the Tate Modern. Having recently escaped a stressful and demanding job myself, I can sympathise with the loneliness and stress involved; certainly, my family and The Boy were concerned with the work ethic. Very sad but, I imagine, increasingly common especially for (experience-) hungry young graduates who are keen to prove themselves.

Controversy of the week

A survey by the UK food magazine, Olive, and the French food mag, Madame Le Figaro, has 'revealed' that the British are 'better at cooking than' the French. Who cares? I think. Well, many, it seems! Be ready for some spleen venting.

Recommended Recipe

My colleague recommends this delicious and simple Chicken and Leek pie recipe for a hearty meal.

In Season

Try rhubarb. I tried out a variation on this Nigel Slater recipe. I sprinkled mine with cinnamon and a little nutmeg before roasting

Next week:

I'm off to France to go skiing for a week. What a treat! We'll be self catering amongst six of us so I'm sure I'll come back with many culinary tales. Bon voyage!

Maccy D... iets?

(The Times)

I've never been on a "diet". I'm naturally relatively slim and have a highly developed guilt gland when it comes to any remotely unhealthy food. Therefore, I tend to eat 'healthy' foods more often than not and also exercise once in a blue moon. I am, therefore, no expert in the world of diets but I can imagine that signing up to a diet plan that cites McDonalds as one of its staples might be a bit like making a deal with the devil.

Don't get me wrong. I like burgers. Anything in moderation is unlikely to do you a great deal of harm. Still, it seems to me that people turn to diet plans and groups because they need guidance. They can't do it alone; they don't know what they should eat or how to make the necessary changes to loose weight. Having known a few people who go in for the whole being-weighed-regularly-in-public-thing (seems a little Medieval or even town fair-ish to me), dieters tend to see meals that are endorsed or 'authorised' by their cult as staples. They cling to the familar; things that are marked as good, allowed and okay.

I can't imagine the cosmic void that will be caused by the juxtaposition of the Weigh Watchers and McDonalds logos. I just hope it doesn't envelope our planet and crush us to a fine pulp.

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Happy Spring!

This seems to be a much contested and argued point today. Is it Spring yet? The Met office says yes. In fact, they say it started yesterday (coinciding with British Pie Week!). Others say we'll need to wait until the 20th March.

All I can say is, there's a pretty dusting of frost, the sun is out and the daffs are starting to peek their way out of the ground. There might well still be snow in Scotland but let's be positive, eh? Its light when I leave the house at 7am and there's still a hint of sunset in the sky when I board the train for my home bound journey. Oh and I've started on the hot cross buns. A sure sign!

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Who ate all the...?

Today marks the start of, would you believe it, British Pie Week. I kid you not, dear reader. Look out for pie-and-pint deals coming to a pub near you. Alternatively, check out the official website (www.britishpieweek.co.uk) for sweet and savoury recipes. Whatever next, eh?

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