Following on from reading this article in the Daily Mail I was prompted to write this week about freezing food and batch cooking. http://www.dailymail.co.uk/health/article-4486286/the-unpalatable-truth-ready-meals.html Time is always the biggest problem but looking at labels on these microwave meals and reading this article it really does frighten you to question what is in these meals we are serving to our family and ourselves? I know you cannot believe everything you read,

Interesting read and quite timely as my blog last week was questioning the future of our cookery skills.  Waitrose Weekend newspaper – 27th April 2017  “Youngsters are learning the benefits of cooking from scratch earlier than ever…” I teach at several local schools in Surrey and Kent and completely agree with the article in the Waitrose newspaper. Cookery classes are becoming as popular as swimming and ballet! However the reason I agree with the article is that it is not all

This time we will be making some summer recipes : picnic ideas, preparing seasonal fruit and vegetables and summery sweets! “Cookery is a life skill and a subject I feel very passionate about! I have two daughters and I feel the more children can be involved in preparing food – from the beginning – the more likely they will enjoy eating and exploring adventurous tastes and flavours.” Date:  Friday 25th August 2017 Time: 10-3pm Cost:  £40 includes all ingredients and lunch Age

This time we will be making some summer recipes : picnic ideas, preparing seasonal fruit and vegetables and summery sweets! Date:  Wednesday 26th July 2017 Time: 10-3pm Cost:  £40 includes all ingredients and lunch Age Group: Boys & Girls aged 8-12 years Location: Crockham Hill Village Hall, TN8 6RP Please REMEMBER to bring a snack/drink and a container for you to take your goodies home in! For further details email jobanks@alivewithflavour.com Places are limited and need to

Been a really interesting week of food… and it really has prompted the question what is the future of cooking? I hear more and more secondary schools are cutting Food Tech, Home Economics and such like due to the courses not being ‘academic enough’.  In my opinion, secondary schools are running this subject more like a ‘cookery club’ and not always taking it seriously enough. Have we forgotten the fact that there are thousands of prospective jobs in the hospitality industry a

There is associated snobbery about frozen food versus fresh when it comes to fruit, meat and fish. We have all been known to shove the fish fingers and oven chips out for tea, when pushed for time but I wanted to delve a little deeper… Following on from my article about ‘Spring Cleaning’ and what keeps and what doesn’t in the fridge and freezer I started doing some research on frozen vegetables and fruit. I was impressed with the findings. Frozen can be more nutritious than f

Thursday 6th April 2017  – Crockham Hill Primary School, Hall and Kitchen After 8 years dedicated to food, Jo Banks brings creative recipe ideas together through fun, clear, interactive presentations and hands-on workshops/classes. “Cookery is a life skill and a subject I feel very passionate about! I have two daughters and I feel the more children can be involved in preparing food – from the beginning – the more likely they will enjoy eating and exploring adventurous tastes

Wednesday 5th April – Crockham Hill School, Crockham Hill, TN8 6RP After 8 years dedicated to food, Jo Banks brings creative recipe ideas together through fun, clear, interactive presentations and hands-on workshops/classes. “Cookery is a life skill and a subject I feel very passionate about! I have two daughters and I feel the more children can be involved in preparing food – from the beginning – the more likely they will enjoy eating and exploring adventurous tastes and fla

Thursday 19th April – Hazelwood School, Art Room After 8 years dedicated to food, Jo Banks brings creative recipe ideas together through fun, clear, interactive presentations and hands-on workshops/classes. “Cookery is a life skill and a subject I feel very passionate about! I have two daughters and I feel the more children can be involved in preparing food – from the beginning – the more likely they will enjoy eating and exploring adventurous tastes and flavours.” This time

Another week has whizzed past, sticking with no alcohol and watching the calories, who said this was a good idea? I have had to look harder at hardy winter vegetables that are in season and thinking about more adventurous recipes in the kitchen. Love all the swede and turnips particularly butternut squash, sweet potatoes and of course carrots, cauliflower, chard, kale, leeks, and parsnips. So easy just simply roasting these vegetables and I do like Brussel sprouts but you may

We made these at my after school club with the children and they were all voted ‘very yummy’ by the children and all the Mums and Dads collecting. I talked to the children in small groups about refined sugar and the benefits of using dried fruit instead to sweeten naturally, a few of them were not convinced until they tasted… I don’t think many flapjack trays got all the way home for trying later. Irresistible and healthy with no refined sugar. The recipe is flexible you can

So January is quite a dull month. Short of money as we are paying off credit cards and Christmas expenses, weather is very cold and then in this country very wet… and certainly in our house we are trying to be good with cutting back on sugary, fatty snacks and its the 19th and I have not had one glass of wine, which has to be a record… With this I have had a busy week of looking at healthier after school snack options. Both of my daughters come in starving after school and of

Thursday 16th February 2017 – Crockham Hill Primary School After 8 years dedicated to food, Jo Banks brings creative recipe ideas together through fun, clear, interactive presentations and hands-on workshops/classes. “Cookery is a life skill and a subject I feel very passionate about! I have two daughters and I feel the more children can be involved in preparing food – from the beginning – the more likely they will enjoy eating and exploring adventurous tastes and flavours.”

Hopefully Christmas cake is made and pudding too, if you make it from scratch.  I have also made homemade mincemeat this year which I love and makes a real difference in those mince pies! I have enough jars to get me through the holidays. Another delicious recipe idea is Christmas muffins. A delicious way to use up leftover jars of mincemeat after Christmas or to christen a new jar, whichever way, they are great with a cup of coffee over the Christmas period. As you know I ha

Makes: approx. 18 shortbreads Ingredients: 150 grams plain flour 75 grams grated parmesan 100 grams soft unsalted butter 1 large egg yolk large handful of finely chopped rosemary METHOD Mix all the ingredients together – using bowl and spoon, electric mixer or food processor as wished – until a golden dough begins to form a clump. Turn it out onto a surface and knead for about 30 seconds until smooth, then divide into two. Take the first half and, using your hands, roll it in

Our teenage daughter was born in the states, Tennessee to be precise so we used to celebrate Thanksgiving in a big way. It was a good time of year for family to come from the UK and visit away from the Christmas holidays and we found Thanksgiving was more popular than Christmas for bringing American families together. Falling on the fourth Thursday of November the festival dates from 1621, when a group of New England pilgrims served a feast to their Native American neighbours

These work for any round cheese brie or camembert. Chilli-Pecan Camembert Ingredients: 50 g pecan halves, coarsely chopped 1 fresh jalapeño chilli (or other fresh green chilli), seeded and finely chopped 70 g apricot jam 1 round (250 g) Camembert cheese (about 10-11 cm in diameter) 1/2 large French baguette (about 200-225 g total weight) Olive oil Directions: Preheat oven to 190°C/fan 170°C/Gas 5. Coarsely chop pecans. Finely chop jalapeño using Food Chopper. In small bowl, c

It’s official the John Lewis Christmas ad is out… back in to London with BBC Good Food show today and feeling thoroughly festive. The Christmas lights are on in Oxford Street and I already sense it seems busier, how many shopping days till the day? I have been busy with more Christmas canapés this time beetroot, dill and goat’s cheese cups (yes I know the beetroot is still featuring on my menu!)  and Thursday evening my first drinks party for Christmas.  My homemade marmalade

A quick easy, one pot risotto made in the microwave. I use a stone dish but any microwave proof bowl or serving dish would work. 175g Arborio risotto rice 1 onion, finely chopped 1 clove garlic, pressed 1 tablespoon olive oil 100g dry cured Spanish chorizo sausage, diced 800ml boiling stock made with 2 chicken stock cubes 65g sun dried tomatoes, drained and diced 40g Parmigiano Reggiano cheese, finely grated 1-2 tablespoons finely chopped fresh parsley Place rice, onion, garl

Saturday 3rd December 2016 – Crockham Hill Primary School After 8 years dedicated to food, Jo Banks brings creative recipe ideas together through fun, clear, interactive presentations and hands-on workshops/classes. “Cookery is a life skill and a subject I feel very passionate about! I have two daughters and I feel the more children can be involved in preparing food – from the beginning – the more likely they will enjoy eating and exploring adventurous tastes and flavours.” J