Sarit Packer

Mediterranean beachgoers traditionally cool a watermelon in the sea, securing it with string and a floating bottle so it does not drift away. The article celebrates cucumber, melon and watermelon as peak-August ingredients because they are refreshing, sweet, light and require little or no cooking, while noting their affinity with salty ingredients such as feta, anchovies and olives. It also recommends cold soups and spicy fruit salads, then briefly highlights kitchen goods and Trader Joe’s dill pickle mustard in a shopping and food newsletter roundup.

A food-focused journey across several American cities highlights how people and local character define the country’s culinary appeal during its 250th anniversary. Experiences in New York, Boston, and Chicago emphasize both iconic foods and the personalities behind them, while a visit to Scotland showcases standout restaurants and rising local talent. The narrative celebrates diverse dishes, memorable hospitality, and the sense of connection forged through food.

Two Honey & Co recipes showcase aubergines with a green tahini crust served over cracked‑wheat pilaf and green herb fishballs poached in a lemon and saffron sauce. The article provides step‑by‑step preparation instructions and notes that the dishes come from the authors’ new cookbook, Honey & Co Daily, published by Quadrille.

A visit to bake a chocolate cake with a four-year-old highlights the joy, imagination and chaos children bring to the kitchen, transforming routine steps into moments of wonder. Choosing recipes and decorating with sprinkles becomes a playful lesson in embracing magic over precision. The authors reflect on upcoming chocolate‑themed baking plans and share recent food experiences, including meals at Hoppers in Shoreditch, anticipation for an Italian culinary trip, and excitement over Nigella’s return to The Great British Bake Off.

A festive New Year’s Eve menu highlights snacks, cocktails, a lamb shoulder main, and a chocolate cranberry tart, featuring recipes from Thomasina Miers, Honey & Co, and Benjamina Ebuehi to help hosts prepare an easy, celebratory spread.

Seasonal routines prompt a focus on practical, portable meals suited for work and school, highlighting pasta bakes, frittatas, cold noodle salads and inventive sandwiches. Recipes from several chefs offer reliable options for leftovers and lunchboxes. The writers describe recent meals at London restaurants Miga and Café Cecilia and note the return of their podcast, The Food Sessions, which explores sources of joy.

A Tunisian-style vegetable quiche is introduced as an ideal picnic dish, praised for its sturdiness and flavor after resting. The recipe details blanching broccoli, peas and broad beans, sautéing leeks with herbs, and baking the mixture with an egg blend until set and golden. The dish is recommended to be cooled and chilled before slicing for best results.

Provides step-by-step recipes from Honey & Co for smashed chicken burgers with harissa tahini, pickled onions and grilled tomatoes, as well as a grilled asparagus salad with garlic, lime and pistachios, highlighting preparation methods, ingredients and cooking techniques suitable for barbecue or indoor griddle cooking.

Experts from Honey & Co rate supermarket hummus varieties, highlighting strong chickpea flavor and seasoning in Ramona’s as the best all-round option, praising Moorish for its bold smoky taste, and noting value in Sabra despite heavy processing. Several major supermarket own‑brand versions receive harsh criticism for poor texture, excessive additives or unpleasant flavors, with Sainsbury’s and Tesco’s hummus ranked at the bottom. Homemade or specialist-made hummus is recommended as the superior choice for health and taste.

Two Valentine’s Day recipes from Honey & Co feature spiced duck legs roasted with pear and swede, and a Greek potato hash layered with potatoes, feta, tomatoes and runny eggs. The dishes highlight simple preparation steps and complementary sweet-savoury flavours designed to create an impressive yet approachable romantic meal.

A vegan and vegetarian-friendly chilli no carne is presented as an easy, inexpensive dish suited to gatherings, built around a slow-cooked vegetable sofrito, black beans, spices, tomatoes and chipotle peppers. A fresh avocado salsa accompanies the dish along with rice or tortillas and optional garnishes such as coriander, lime and hot sauce.

A slow‑cooked lamb shoulder is marinated in gochujang, marmalade, salt and coriander seeds, then roasted for several hours alongside vegetables used to prepare a burnt chilli and orange relish. The dish is served shredded with its spiced juices, accompanied by the relish, a citrus‑red onion‑rocket salad and flatbreads for assembling.

A pair of chef-reviewers rate a wide selection of UK supermarket picnic foods, offering candid and often humorous opinions on quiches, olives, sausage rolls, dips and prepared salads. Aldi’s olives and rollitos receive the strongest praise, while several quiches and Co-op items fare poorly. Many products earn moderate ratings, and texture, seasoning and effort in preparation influence most judgments.

A Mediterranean-style summer salad combines air‑fried crispy chickpeas with roasted courgettes and tomatoes, served over baby gem lettuce with ricotta and lemon. The recipe highlights the versatility of spiced chickpeas and provides step‑by‑step instructions for preparing both the chickpea topping and the vegetable base.

An easy air-fryer recipe for chicken wings marinated with lemon, honey and oregano, served with baby potatoes cooked in the leftover juices and paired with harissa yoghurt.

Provides a step-by-step recipe for an apple and cinnamon air fryer cake, highlighting the ease of preparation, the need to monitor the bake due to air fryer quirks, and the dessert’s best texture when served warm with ice-cream or cream.

A detailed recipe from Honey & Co explains how to make sesame and pine nut granola using an air fryer, favoring a lightly salted, mildly sweet, spiced and nutty blend. Ingredients are combined directly in a baking‑paper‑lined air fryer basket and cooked in stages before cooling and storing. Suggestions for serving include yogurt, fruit, honey, dates and homemade strawberry‑rose jam.

Lamb koftas are prepared in an air fryer to achieve a quick, flavorful meal accompanied by roasted peppers, cabbage, rocket and a tahini-yogurt sauce. The recipe highlights ease of use with the air fryer and offers step-by-step instructions for mixing, shaping, cooking and serving the koftas with flatbreads and salad.

Acharuli khachapuri, a traditional Georgian bread boat filled with cheese and a runny egg, is presented as an ideal New Year’s Day brunch dish. The recipe outlines ingredients, dough preparation, shaping, baking steps, and finishing with egg yolks. The dish is celebrated for its rich, comforting qualities, and the authors note their preference for topping it with chili flakes or sauce instead of butter.

Two Honey & Co recipes pay homage to the food-centric moments in When Harry Met Sally, featuring a richly sauced poached chicken sandwich and a customizable salad served with a herbaceous goat’s cheese dressing. Both dishes celebrate the film’s memorable restaurant scenes and playful dialogue through indulgent flavors and flexible preparation.

Two dishes are presented: a chicken and grape fattoush that uses marinated chicken, courgettes, tomatoes, grapes and toasted pitta to create a vibrant salad, and lamb-stuffed figs in which spiced lamb meatballs are enclosed in figs and roasted with aromatics. Both recipes emphasize seasonal produce, simple preparation steps and serving suggestions.

Provides a recipe for spicy fish balls cooked in a pepper and chilli sauce, highlighting varying tolerance to heat between cooks. Describes ingredients, preparation steps and serving suggestions, including pairing the dish with soft bread or rice and a high-acidity wine.