The photos here are all of food I had in my kitchen: cakes and pastries I have made, vegetables ready to be cooked, or finished dishes. Taking photos in restaurants is rarely successful: the light isn’t good enough and there is too much clutter on the table to make the food stand out. Here is a basket of peppers – yellow romano peppers, a head of garlic and small green padron peppers.  The larger ones need roasting, the small ones just need to be tossed in olive oil and fried quickly. About one in ten is quite spicy.

Now here’s something that needs no cooking at all: a simple salad of rocket leaves and sliced Dutch cheese. I bought the thin slices as I wanted to make cut outs, hence the hands and feet! It’s not just children who like to play with their food – something like this makes people smile. These dishes don’t need time or skill:  just an eye for arrangement. The way you put something on the plate makes all the difference.

Here is a collection of pictures I have taken for the blog – sweet and savoury. Hover over the centre of each photo to see what it is.