Stylish Dinner Party Food on a Budget

Now we all know someone who loves to give a dinner party, but who groans afterwards at the cost of it all. Whether you are a debt-ridden student, a young couple desperately saving for a deposit on a home, or a cash- strapped pensioner, you should always have a few good tricks up your sleeve…

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Giant Beetroot

This is what happens if you leave a non- monogerm variety of beetroot in the ground all winter. This is Beetroot Chioggia. Fit only for animal fodder now, although they are delicious when young. And the potatoes are in! This year I am growing Epicure, Arran Victory, Belle de Fontenay, Charlotte, King Edward and Pink…

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HOT CROSS BUNS, and beat the beast from the East!

If you have never made your own Hot Cross Buns, then I implore you to give it a try. With the Great British Weather being somewhat changeable at present, as it is wont to do at this time of year, and with Easter fast approaching, what could be nicer than to shut yourself away in…

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VEGETABLES FOR VALENTINES DAY

Give me a basket of freshly dug home grown vegetables any time, rather than a bunch of imported hothouse flowers! Although I must confess to a pang of regret at pulling up the last of my precious charges, leaving only the kale and cavolo nero which will rapidly start going to seed as soon as…

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Ginger Beer

What could be more environmentally friendly than making your own soft drinks without any plastic or chemicals! Once you have tasted real Ginger Beer, made with nothing other than fresh root ginger, water, sugar , lemon juice and cream of tartar, along with the extaordinary substance known as Ginger Beer Plant, or GBP for short,…

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