So your brand new kitchen is freshly installed, you have a beautiful array of state-of-the-art appliances and shiny new work surfaces – and absolutely no clue what to do with any of it! A can’t cook, won’t cook attitude is never more apparent then when someone has a new kitchen and the rest of the family is waiting for Michelin star style food to start emerging. Newsflash – just because we bought a new oven doesn’t mean we are any better at cooking!


Photo: limonada

The panic starts to set in and the excuses you have been living off whilst the builders were in – bliss – for eating out or microwaving ready meals in the front room have exhausted themselves completely. The kitchen cabinets are crying out to be stocked with culinary delights, and the tape on the new hob has got to come off sometime. Well, take a deep breath and see if any of the following can help you.

There are times, especially in the winter, when a huge bowl of spaghetti bolognaise hits the spot and other times when you just fancy a salad. Luckily the days when a limp lettuce leaf and a tomato constituted a salad are well and truly over and nowadays you can really go to town and make an unusual and tasty 21^st century salad.


Photo: Chandra Marsono

Not all salads need to have meat or poultry in them but if you have a chicken breast in the fridge this makes a good base for a salad. A nice piece of organic chicken needs no added flavour but if you are on a budget and feel that the chicken might be a little tasteless then don’t worry as help is at hand. Schwartz for instance do a range of rubs for poultry so if the chicken needs a bit of tarting up that is a quick and easy way to do it. Add some papaya along with your other salad basics for a tropical taste and make a tangy dressing out of vinegar, oil, sesame oil and finely grated root ginger.

This is definitely the season for outdoor concerts and theatre. Whether you live in the south and are looking forward to seeing Katherine Jenkins at Audley End, or in the north and have enjoyed the recent performance of Macbeth at Ripley Castle, there is no doubt that despite our often inclement weather in the UK we have well and truly taken these outdoor summer events to our hearts.


Photo: scribbletaylor

The first time we attended a summer prom we were well and truly humbled by many of our fellow picnickers who seemed to have half their dining room with them and a feast that looked as if it had been prepared by Raymond Blanc. Vowing to do better the following year we got together with a group of friends for a classical extravaganza at Warwick Castle. We all took our own collapsible chars and sat around a wallpaper pasting table whose humble origins were cunningly disguised by a smart white table cloth and enjoyed an impressive meal.

There are really several non-Italian people who determine Italian cuisine with popular dishes like pasta and spaghetti. These people also share the concept that Italian dishes are pretty significantly alike; nevertheless, people who have gone to Italy would discover the differences in each and every dish as well as the eating routines in between metropolitan areas, although they are only a few miles apart.


Photo: roboppy

Each region in Italy has its very own style and preparing food method of Italian meals. Italian cooking is varied but you can nonetheless get that Italian taste inside your dishes via using Italian ingredients that authenticate each cooking.