Blue Cheese Dip

This right here is the holy grail of dips. A bastardised version of a Delia Smith recipe for blue cheese dressing, I think from How to Cook 2, it's served us well all through the festive season and is the main culprit for all that weight gain... During my last, tired months living in York it was constant munching of blue cheese, not chocolate that gave me a body-shape akin to a Moomin. Luckily, I like Moomins! This dip is definitely Daddy’s favourite - mine too- as it knocks the socks off any drab old sour cream and chive number. My mum’s allergic to penicillin so blue cheese is off her menu but we still had to keep shouting at her whenever she sneakily took a spoonful. Honestly, you’d think if you were allergic you’d just respect that but no, not in this house! We eat this dip with crudités but it’s also great with barbequed chicken wings, which we had tonight! You can use any blue cheese you have around; for us, that meant an enormous chunk of Blacksticks Blue but Gorgonzola, Dolcelatte and even Stilton work very well.

Red’s True Barbecue, Leeds.

Take a look in the ready meal aisle of any supermarket and you’ll see just how much Man vs. Food has affected the way we eat. I remember a time when the “American” section in Sainsbury’s boasted a few fajita kits, loaded potato skins and spicy chicken wings. Tex-Mex however, has finally given way to “genuine Mex”, with burritos and quesadillas popping up regularly in high street chains and though I still have to buy my ancho chillies online, some supermarkets have started to stock a little more than sachets of taco seasoning. Drooling over philly cheese steaks dipped in beef juice or groaning at the thought of a Ruben sandwich has also become more of a reality this past year. I’ve been given the nickname “burger freak” by my mum recently, as whenever she gets a text from me, I’m telling her about some new patty I’m trying. I find it difficult to tear myself away from Gourmet Burger Kitchen and their blue cheese and bacon burger at the best of times, but having spotted a friend on Facebook eating out at a restaurant that had “barbecue” in its name; it felt like a day trip was in order.

Isle of Wight- The Garlic Farm

Here’s the deal: the MA is extremely time consuming. I’m having to read about 12 articles per seminar a week, which doesn’t sound like much but if you actually try to take everything in and make notes and all that jazz like I’ve been doing, it’s a long process. With PhD applications in and amongst everything else, I’m posting up two articles that I wrote last summer after I graduated. Those days were so warm and sunny, it’s nice to remember a bit of sunshine...

If Julie Andrews was forced to sing a song about my favourite things, I think she’d have a hard time. Garlic, cream and olive oil don’t rhyme very well. Plus they’re a cholesterol nightmare, but who cares? The magic properties of garlic are supposed to help with that.

My friend Lawrence lives on the Isle of Wight. With University finished and an expanse of a holiday before us, not to mention Lawrence dying of boredom on the Island, a road trip was in order. Cue a four-hour train journey to the sunniest depths of Warwickshire, where Roger and I drop in on Maddie and her equally mad family.  After meeting her lovely little stroke-riddled pooch, Buddy, Maddie then gave us a tour of her collection of grumpy horses before we finally met Grace, a big-eyed tubby sheep, blissfully remaining under the delusion that she’s a dog. After stopping to say hello, she followed us around the field, prompting us to continue scratching her big curly butt with a nudge using the full force of her big, warm sheepy body.