What to cook this week

Blueberries are my all time favourite soft fruit, not least because of so many things you can do with them, recipe wise. Cakes, muffins, breakfast bowls, and even duck or pork!

Why is frying such a shameful cooking method? You never see 'fried' on menus, unless deep or stir-fried. Might it be that shallow frying is tricky? In that case I hasten to oblige.

What we can do to boost the plant variety in our diet is to use more spices. Ginger, turmeric, chillies and cloves are antioxidants that might also reduce blood sugar, cholesterol and inflammation.

How to store strawberries? Don’t immediately wash them. Store them in the fridge in plastic tubs, and only rinse just before eating. And now, what to do with the fragrant bumper crop?

‘Salad days’ is a literary metaphor but I much prefer the literal meaning. When the fickle British summer makes an appearance, it is the salad time for me. Who would want soup? Unless it’s gazpacho.

I do barbecues as my friends and family love them, even though I find it more time- and work-consuming than cooking in the kitchen. I now have a template which I happily share: my barbecue ideas.

Afternoon tea is the classic British tradition. It consists of tea the beverage, naturally, accompanying a selection of sweet and savoury snacks: sandwiches, cakes and scones.

Summer is about fresh, new season vegetables, local berries and dishes that don’t have to cook for hours. So what foods and dishes best encapsulate the taste of summer?

Honey is one of the best things in the world, at least so think I and Winnie the Pooh. Here's a handful of recipes with honey as a key player, for breakfasts, dinners and desserts alike.

Scientists are recommending that we eat 30 different plants a week. But if your diet is varied and balanced, you really don’t need to bother with counting different seeds in your bagel topping.

Anywhere that aspires to be somewhere features hispi cabbage on the menu. For some reason good old spring cabbage has been renamed 'hispi' and it's spot on the trend.

If you're craving something crispy, crunchy, covered in breadcrumbs and fried, keep on reading. Pork or chicken, schnitzel, milanese or fish goujons?

Apart from asparagus and new potatoes, we should start making our menus look more springlike. Plus, how to keep vegetables and herbs fresh for longer.

Fresh asparagus is delicious raw, shaved into a salad. Or cook them briskly and simply, they will be absolutely delightful steamed or boiled with butter and Parmesan.

If you love potatoes, early spring is the time to enjoy them with impunity. They are much lower in starch than mature potatoes, but rich in fibre. How to prepare Jersey Royals or Cornish new?

When big coats go into the cupboards and sleeves shorten, it’s time to shift winter pounds. Are you going to intermittently fast? Whether or not, let’s make it lean and healthy.

Easter is the chocolate holiday. I’ll probably make some DIY mini crème eggs, but it’s the hot cross buns that excite me the most at Easter: a breakfast of one or two toasted and buttered is pure delight.

Life with no biscuits in it is a bit miserable. But rather than buying them, we should bake an occasional batch, and there is no easier thing to bake than biccies.

Is it time? Is it time yet for the fluffy, sticky, cheerful and disgustingly nice hot cross buns? Is three weeks ahead indecently early, like Christmas decorations in September? Who cares!

The Hungry Season used to be the time when winter crops were finished and the fields were empty. These days you wouldn’t even know, but we can still be seasonal and responsible using tins, frozen and dried produce.

Do you seem to be cooking the same foods over and over? Find inspiration for exciting dishes that won’t require special skills, equipment or ingredients and won’t take hours slaving at the hob.

Penne, trofie, linguine or fusilli – I adore them all. But I cook pasta at home because it is ridiculously easy to do well, and I’d rather spend my money eating out on foods I don’t or can’t make myself.

It’s much better value to celebrate Valentine’s Day with a gorgeous meal at home. There are some super easy and very impressively special options to choose from.

It’s not just about keeping you regular! Fibre is important for our general health and heart health in particular. So what to eat and what to cook for happy gut and plenty of roughage?