I follow the A5 north from Staples Corner in London to reach the Shropshire Union Canal, a watery spinal cord up the centre of England from Birmingham to the Staffordshire potteries. From there I rent a narrowboat, from Countrywide Cruisers in the pretty village of Brewood (pronounced brood). This canal trip, lasting a week, is…
Travel
Naples
The streets smell of marzipan and sewage. The men have names like Fortunata and Pompeo. The old ladies wear cotton aprons and stare out of doorways. They all look like my nan. Nobody has a spin dryer. Or are Neopolitans paid by the tourist board to hang their drying laundry out on the street? I…
Discover Basilicata in Southern Italy
Basilicata, formerly known as Lucania, persists as one of the lesser known Italian regions. For the visitor, this is an advantage: it’s cheaper, there are less tourists, the people are friendlier. You have everything in this region: mountains, countryside, historic cities, archeological sites, palazzos, forests, two coasts – the white sandy beach facing the Ionian…
Paisley vegan
Popped up to Paisley in Scotland for the food and drink festival which now features a vegan section. Paisley is famous for the ‘paisley’ pattern, a decorative woven teardrop, known in Persian as a ‘boteh’. The local museum is closed for refurbishment until 2022, but the brief history is that 19th century soldiers, returning from…
Wasabi farm, Winchester
Last winter, I met farmer David Turton of the Wasabi Company just outside of Winchester. This area has been famous for watercress – which has similar growing requirements to Japanese horseradish, known as wasabi, the small pea-green mound next to the salmon-pink pickled ginger when you order sushi. The Wasabi company has moved from watercress…
Caceres, Extremadura
The old quarter of Caceres is one of the settings for the Game of Thones TV series. A renaissance web of cobbled squares, narrow lanes, an ancient archway, the filmmakers would have had to change very little, perhaps cover a few modern street signs, to convey a fantasy medieval town. It is a pity that…
Picota cherry blossom season in the Jerte Valley in Spain
We associate cherry blossom or ‘sakura’ with Japan, but the Jerte Valley in Extremadura, Spain, has its own glorious display in March and April. The Jerte Valley is mostly planted with Picota cherries, an unusual stemless cultivar specific to this valley. The blossom is white rather than pink; when the wind blows, the valley ‘snows’…
Sour Cherry Strudel recipe
Proper strudels are made from very thin pastry rolled out so thin it will stretch over a table like a vast floury cloth. It should be so fine that you could read a newspaper through it. I’ve seen it made from scratch in Vienna at the Demel Coffee House. This elastic pastry is related to…
Recipe for veggie goulash
Goulash is a cowboy stew for plainsmen in Hungary. Traditionally it is made with meat but I have created a vegan/vegetarian version. I used sweet paprika bought in Budapest and I must say, it’s very red, very fresh and tasty. Parsley roots are a traditional ingredient which I ordered through Natoora at Ocado, but parsnips…
Spas and strudels in Budapest
Budapest is really two cities either side of the River Danube; Buda and Pest. Buda is where most tourists stay, while Pest, with Castle Hill, is posher and more residential. I visited in the January low season when the weather is cold but the accommodation is cheap. I was accompanying my sister who was doing…