Would any of these be your choices? Do you have another dish that would fit 'F is for' ? Please share your thoughts in the comments below. F is for Fennel Fennel is from the same family as the herb and seed of the same name, it's also known as Florence fennel, finocchio, or sweet fennel, and is very popular in Italian cookery. When eaten raw, the texture is crisp and the flavour is quite assertive and aniseedy. Cooked, it's softer and more mellow. A lovely recipe that uses fennel is  Cod Parcels Steamed - With Fennel and Herbs Serve up this pretty parcel of flaky cod, sweet fennel and fr ..read more

How spring can affect your sense of smell and other bizarre facts about the UK spring season. 1. It starts at different times Spring can start at different times, depending on who you ask. Looking at the astronomical calendar the first day of spring is 20 March. The Phenological method records dates of reoccurring natural phenomena such as flowering. For meteorologists, spring starts on 1 March and runs until 31 May. 2. Snow? Many people say you're more likely to see snow at Easter than at Christmas. This is borne out of statistics to some extent - snow or sleet falls on average 3.9 days ..read more

Here in the UK, 19th of March is Mothers Day (2023), and hopefully your card(s) will have been received and displayed, you may receive presents too, however you celebrate, have a Happy Mothers Day. For those of you who may be interested here are three 'Mothers Day Trivia' facts. Mothers Day Trivia: Shortest Interval Between Two Children Jayne Bleackley is the mother who holds the record for the shortest interval between two children born in separate confinements. She gave birth to Joseph Robert on September 3, 1999, and Annie Jessica Joyce on March 30, 2000. The babies were born 208 day ..read more

Are you looking for a warming stew/casserole. Well how about considering this one! Ingredients Serves Four 1 tbsp. olive oil 1 onion, chopped 1 carrot, diced small 1 celery stick, diced small 3 large garlic cloves, finely chopped 3 tbsp. sundried tomato paste 2 sprigs of rosemary 1 bay leaf 700ml hot reduced-salt vegetable or chicken stock 1 x 400g tin pomodorini cherry tomatoes 1 x 400g tin green lentils, drained and well-rinsed 100g cabbage or kale, any tough stalks removed, shredded To serve (optional) a few Parmesan (or vegetarian alternative) shavings a few basil leaves a drizzle of ..read more

The words below are taken from article here "Avocado is one of those foods that almost every dietary ideology agrees is good for you. Vegans, vegetarians, paleos, Mediterranean diet espousers, and low carb/keto diet fans all promote avocados as a “good fat.” Even the USDA dietary committee wants people eating avocados. But most avocado discussion stops there. It’s “good for you” and that’s about all you hear about the avocado. But the human research convincingly shows that avocados—the whole fruit—are incredibly healthy and nutrient-dense additions to anyone’s diet. Unless you have a spec ..read more

Sharing an article about Kindness you may like to read ... "Be kind, for everyone you meet is fighting a harder battle. – Plato The art of kindness is an underrated art. Ask anyone around you whether or not they think kindness is important, and more often than not, about ninety percent of them would tell you that it is important. Why is kindness important? A question we find an easy answer to. Yet, it only takes a glance at society to see that we still have a long way to go when it comes to mastering kindness. This, generally, stems from the fact that despite professing it on the surface ..read more

Sharing a recipe idea from Pascale Naessens, this sugar-free yet deliciously decadent low-carb dessert has only three ingredients, so simple and easy! Ingredients Serves Two 9g carbs per serving 2 egg yolks 200 g (200 ml) mascarpone cheese 100 g (160 ml) fresh blueberries (strawberries, or raspberries could be used). Instructions can be seen here Mascarpone originated in the Lombardy region of Northern Italy during the Renaissance. It is ivory-coloured, exceptionally smooth, and an easily spreadable fresh cream cheese. The flavour is milky and slightly sweet. The rich, buttery textu ..read more

" A slow cooker is the pinnacle of low-maintenance cooking. Place the ingredients inside, turn it on, and let it cook. Your only thought is how delicious that meal is going to taste. But some slow cookers have features which make them better suited to your specific needs than other models. To be happy with your purchase, you'll want those needs met. The best slow cookers offer a consistent temperature through many hours of cooking. The warm setting must keep your food warm without letting it continue to cook. You'll want a capacity that can accommodate your family's needs, a removable inner p ..read more

"NEW SWANSEA UNIVERSITY RESEARCH SHOWS REDUCING SOCIAL MEDIA USE BY JUST 15 MINUTES A DAY CAN IMPROVE YOUR HEALTH New research from Swansea University shows that reducing social media use by 15 minutes a day can significantly improve general health and immune function and reduce levels of loneliness and depression. The study, published in the Journal of Technology in Behavior Science, was conducted by Professor Phil Reed, Tegan Fowkes, and Mariam Khela from Swansea University’s Faculty of Medicine and Health Sciences. Over three months, the team examined the effects on physical health a ..read more

Some people love it, some hate it, and some hate it so much that they try and ban it altogether. And yes, we’re talking about broccoli! The broccoli plant is a distant cousin of the common cabbage as it also belongs to the Brassicaceae family. With broccoli, though, the main edible parts are actually the stalk and flowers instead of the leaves (although you can eat them too). Broccoli was highly valued by the Romans. The history of broccoli goes back much further than you’d think. Like many other vegetables we eat today, broccoli was cultivated from a mix of different plants and t ..read more