Kitchen Fails Part 1 (please don’t use me as a bad example)

I’m still a newbie blogger in erm, blogging terms.  As is the case with starting anything new there are doubts of all kinds.  I’m sure everyone goes through the same when they start out.  Doubts about whether any one will engage with and enjoy what I do.  Doubts about whether the material I produce is…

Letters to my Food Heroes #2: Nigel Slater

Dear Nigel, I hope this letter finds you well.  And I hope you don’t mind me writing but I do have a great deal to thank you for.  My name is Andrea and I write a food/cooking blog called Cooking Calamity Free (shameless plug, I know).  I’ve only been going a few months but I’m…

Chocolate cupcakes, denial and my ’emergency’ chocolate

There’s been a significant amount of chocolate floating around lately. Some days are chocolate days, plain and simple. There’s no point fighting it. It’s better for everyone if the call of chocolate is answered. I’ve been meeting my chocolate needs in many ways, not least by baking these very indulgent hot chocolate cupcakes. You can…

Saying so long to summer with cake and other things

This is what I’ve been eating. I’ve been drawn to reds and greens lately for some reason. ‘Red and green should never be seen, except upon an Irish Queen’ and so the saying goes and as helpfully offered to me when I asked ‘how do I look?’. I also got ‘Andrea, are you trying to…

Orange and Green Tea Loaf Cake

Oh my goodness! Look at this – my first blog post! How exciting! I fancied making something cakey yesterday but couldn’t decide what to do. The recipe for Orange and Green Tea Loaf Cake had been out for a while and so decided to make that. I did briefly consider making some sort of statement…