When I was sent these pictures recently of the Realepicurean reader Jane’s version of our Zebra Cake recipe, I couldn’t resist but to share them with you.  She baked it for her daughter Courtney’s 13th Birthday back in August (a belated Happy birthday, Courtney!), and it looks fantastic.

Our Zebra Cake

Unlike ours, which was served “bare” (that is, without any icing), Jane has shown she has some real talent in the kitchen by fashioning hers into a handbag (below).  Style is honestly lost on me (I’m a man, it stands to reason), but that just looks great, doesn’t it?

Jane's Zebra Cake, in the making.

Jane's Zebra Cake (2)

The challenge is on.  Can you do an even better job of baking a Zebra Cake than Jane did?

To make cheese, you need milk. Milk is basically made up of water, protein, fat and lactose, and what we need to do is make the proteins stick together by adding an acid (forming curds), then sieve away the liquid (the whey).

Normally, a carpaccio is a dish made from thin slices of meat or fish, accompanied by a tangy dressing with vinegar, mustard, or lemon juice. The same principles apply with this beetroot carpaccio, too; wafer thin slices arranged on a plate and drizzled with a balsamic and olive oil dressing. A selection of chopped up herbs finishes the job.

I received my copy of “The Tomato Book” a few weeks ago now, in the midst of my tomato growing frenzy. Despite only having 4 plants growing in my conservatory, I’ve become a bit of an obsessive and am already planning world tomato domination for next year.

I couldn’t resist sharing this delicious salad with you all, prompted by the “wild tomatoes” that arrived in my vegetable box this past week. The colours are fantastic and I’ve already decided I just have to grow them next year.

Now, how to cook a white carrot and still keep it interesting? A quick scan of the internet shows recipes ranging from white carrot juice and white carrot cake. Since I’ve not tasted white carrot before, I opted for a recipe which would highlight its flavour (a bit more delicate than a “normal” carrot, I think); the humble soup.

Sun drying is just one technique you can use to preserve tomatoes should you be lucky enough to have a glut of them this year. Even better, you don’t need the sun to do it – great for those of us living in England, where this summer is turning out to be yet another wash out.

It’s now more than 2 months since baby Mia (pictured) was born, and I still haven’t blogged a recipe yet.  I don’t really feel like I need to apologise (I’m enjoying time with Mia, working full time, and  studying for a degree from home – something I should have done when I was younger like [...]

As a thank you to all those readers who’ve sent good wishes to us and also to anyone else who happens across this post, I’m giving away another great FREE COOKBOOK.

I’ve been talking about Gosia’s pregnancy on this blog for months now (check out the scan photographs here and here), and am now happy to announce the arrival of Baby Mia.