When I was growing up in the small village of Talaván in Extremadura, Spain, we never ate nettles. They were wild plants that grew along the edges of the fields, and the sort you tried to avoid: like many...
Until last year, I couldn’t remember the last time I’d done a jigsaw puzzle. It must have been at least 20 years ago. As far as I was concerned, puzzles were for children. There were always other more exciting,...
Name: Confusing text abbreviations.Age: As old as texts themselves.Appearance: SYBAU.I don’t know what that means. I’ll help. It means “shut your bitch ass up”.Heavens above, my teenager sent that to me this morning! Well, in that case I hope...
When I had my baby, all the usual gifts flowed in: flowers, cards, trinkets with my daughter’s name engraved. I appreciated them all, but as I settled into life as a new mom, what I really craved was the...
Maybe it’s because I’ve lived in cities my whole life, but I can’t think of anything more luxurious than popping out to your garden and eating a fresh tomato straight from the vine. How decadent to enjoy its crisp,...
My go-to cheat ingredient for a dash of heat is White Mausu’s peanut rāyu – it has a gentler flavour profile than, say, Lao Gan Ma crispy chilli in oil, and works perfectly in this dish of creamy, lemon-spiked...
Earlier this year, I was walking along the marina in the Jefferson Chalmers neighbourhood in Detroit, Michigan. It was a terribly cold winter; the water had frozen over and everything was coated in a thick layer of frost. Suddenly,...
The trillions of microorganisms that live in and on our bodies – known as the microbiome – have been hailed as the key to better immunity. “Lots of studies correlate the types of bacteria in your microbiome with health...
Hawaij is a Yemeni spice mix that came into my life during my time at the Palomar in London, and it has not left my spice cupboard ever since. It’s a mix of turmeric, black pepper, cardamom and ground...
Photograph: YAY Media/Alamy Photograph: YAY Media/AlamyThe long-running series in which readers answer other readers’ questions on subjects ranging from trivial flights of fancy to profound scientific and philosophical concepts This week’s replies: should...
