Helen Jackson

Many years ago, we walked into a restaurant in Goa: the waiter looked at my partner, Roy, and exclaimed “It’s Freddie Mercury”. 

Many years ago, we walked into a restaurant in Goa: the waiter looked at my partner, Roy, and exclaimed “It’s Freddie Mercury”. 

Even if you’re a keen cook, you may never have heard of Lindsey Bareham. Yet she’s produced 15 cookery books and writes a daily recipe in The Times - Dinner Tonight. 

What makes a memorable meal? Is it the most expensive dish, food eaten on a special occasion or a feast shared with close family or friends?

My cherry tomatoes continue to rampage through the summer and even though they’re being used creatively in virtually every dish we cook, there’s still plenty left.

I remember going on a creative thinking course which told us to constantly do things differently to stimulate our brain and provide new experiences e.g. don’t always buy the same newspaper or use the same route to work.  Because of the disruption at the top of Walthamstow’s High Street, I walked a different way to the nail salon and passed a new restaurant - Naseem’s Punjabi Cuisine. Point proved.

Carol from E17 responded to my question ‘what to do with a glut of cherry tomatoes?’ by suggesting oven drying them. Being rather partial to sun-dried tomatoes, and knowing how expensive they can be, it sounded a great idea as I could then enjoy them throughout the year.

Back in February, Roy and I auditioned for a new food-related quiz and cooking TV programme which was aired for the first time last week. 

To pod or not to pod that is the question. 

Carlsberg, snaps, bacon, pastries, open sandwiches and herrings.  They were all on my list of things to experience during a long weekend in Copenhagen.