Recipe: Vegan mock duck with kung pao sauce

Saturday was Chinese New Year, marking the transition to the year of the rooster. In celebration, we ate a delicious vegan version of mock duck with pancakes. When reading about Chinese food and scouring recipes with a view to making something vegan-friendly, I discovered that mock duck is a fairly standard thing, with loads of tofu options readily available in both Chinese restaurants and oriental supermarkets.  Here's my take.

Food: A sunny winter's day at Le Manoir with The White Company

Last month, a brilliant thing happened. Belmond Le Manoir Aux Quat'Saisons in Oxfordshire – the hotel, restaurant and cookery school owned by Raymond Blanc – is an all-year-round incredible destination but isn't everywhere better in the summer? That's my usual stance on things, wedded as I am to the sharp sunlight on a midsummer day or the orangey glow of a September Indian summer.

Made.com comes to Bristol! A pop-up supper with Dela Bristol

I love it when a new shop comes to town. Right now in Cabot Circus, Bristol, there's a temporary Made.com pop-up rammed with gorgeous furniture. And last week, I went there for dinner. Wait, what??

Charity & Family: Raising money for those in need in Bristol with BT MyDonate

'I wish everyone had a home', said my six-year-old on New Year’s Eve. We live near a pedestrian bridge in Bristol that’s one of the main thoroughfares across the river. As such, homeless people often sit on the bridge asking for money. Kids are so good at cutting through the nonsense to ask the important questions and state things in a way that can’t be ignored.

On eating and a sunny breakfast recipe for January

Several strange and unexpected things have happened since I wrote my post dismissing resolutions. In it, I spoke about rejecting deprivation and opting for pleasure and both these concepts hold true. But what I didn't anticipate was how much time and energy would be freed up by refusing to diet.

Interiors: Kitchen makeover with B&Q

Cast your mind back many months to when I first mentioned the idea of a black kitchen... Or if that's too tricky, here's the original post. Since then, slowly but surely, the B&Q kitchen makeover has come together and it's now time for the big reveal. Read on for details of how to completely renovate a dated kitchen on a budget by painting cupboard doors, floor and tiles.

16 going on 17... On last year and the delicious new one

Image: Unsplash

If you've come here to read a big review of 2016 then I'll tell you now - this post will disappoint. Yes, we all know that year (can we start referring to it in a Voldemort-esque way please?) was a right load of toot for so many people but there were some good things, things to focus on and remember.