Flavoured vodkas are all the rage in the shops, but theyre easy to make at home. With a bit of imagination, you can create new, extraordinary concoctions.

Breakfast is one of my very favourite meals, right up there with brunch, elevenses, lunch, tea, high tea, dinner and supper.

Pigs' blood can replace eggs in sweet dishes, according to the Nordic Food Lab. What better time to try the recipes than Halloween?There is an amazing amount of Halloween shizzle in the shops right now. Mr Kipling's Fiendish Fancies and McVitie's Lemon...

A wide variety of popular kitchen herbs can be grow plentifully and with ease indoors or out - just beware of rampant mint.Do you cook with fresh herbs? Then sorry. Since this column started, you've probably spent a tenner or more on sachets of tired...

Everyone's heard of cherry and plum tomatoes, and beefsteaks, and oxhearts, and grape tomatoes, and heirloom varieties, and perhaps even marmandes and camparis. But determinates? Indeterminates? Those labels mean nothing to most non-gardeners, yet they're...

A preserve to spice up any dish is an easy recipe to cook up - just keep your fingers away from your eyes!Many chilli jam recipes call for peppers, or ginger, or garlic, or tomatoes, or ... well, you name it. But all you really ...

The classic creamy sauce never tastes better than when you do it yourself - and the ease with which you can will be a revelationIt's natural to be nervous the first time you make mayonnaise. Though you're only trying to combine egg and oil in ...

Armed with a heart-rate monitor and an array of aphrodisiacs, one keen cook attempts to woo his girlfriend. What will you be cooking this Valentine's Day?I never used to see the point of Valentine's Day. If you are in a couple, you should aim to ...

Peanut butter is surprisingly simple to make, and you can make lots of it. Whether you choose to shell and peel your nuts depends a lot on your patience.There's something therapeutic about shelling things, whether it's peas or pecans. You can chat while...

Cut out the middle man (ie the pasta making machine) and knocking up your own tagliatelle or ravioli is most satisfyingMany years ago I owned a pasta maker; a hand-cranked job with rollers that turned egg-rich dough into silk-smooth tagliatelle. But...

An unusual wedding gift of a pair of pigs set Jon and Charlotte Clarkson on the road to producing high-quality pork products.We live and work high on the Yorkshire wolds, on land that Jon's family has been farming for 85 years. We've been raising rare-breed...