Bokelskere.no

There are some occasions when even a perfect prawn cocktail just doesn’t fit the bill.

And they are excellent recipes; no skimping on ingredients, no shop-bought pastry, all spices ground by hand in the big stoneware mortar Ernest bought me for our first anniversary. I don’t begrudge a minute; cooking should take time. And I do enjoy it. I’ve never been one for these labour-saving devices – mixers and blenders and microwaves and the rest. Ernst calls them ’flavor-saving devices’.

You’d never think that he’s part foreign himself; he’s so very English – always wears a tie when he goes out, never misses the Archers, votes Conservative and loves his Mum.