I love the buzz and anticipation of sourcing and trying out new recipes, but I have to say there is no greater frustration and disappointment than the recipe that simply doesn’t work.  You know the ones I am talking about. Firstly, they seduce you with a glossy, inviting  picture; full of promise and hope. You’re hooked, you scan the ingredients and think  to yourself  “I can source those”.  Your eye travels further down the page and you think to yourself  ” That sounds reasonable, I can do that”.  Inspired, you save the recipe.  Judgement day arrives. You’re ready to cook. You meticulously follow the instructions and  quelle horreur,  the sad realisation slowly  dawns  ‘This recipe simply doesn’t work”.

It might be a crucial ingredient that is missing, or worse the floating item in the ingredient list that doesn’t make an appearance anywhere else in the recipe. It might be imprecise measurements or vague instructions. No oven temperatures, no cooking times, no guidelines as to serving sizes. The list goes on, and on, and on.

Embarking on the writing of this blog, I have suddenly discovered  how hard it can really be to commit a recipe you  cook often and well into its written form. This blog is essentially a recipe journal of food I love to eat. I truly want each of the recipes I publish here to work. I want them to be fresh, delicious and easy to follow. I want  my readers to think – yes I can cook that – and actually do just that.

One of my first blogs too Late for Lunch, Too Early for Dinner – It Must be Linner showcases Slow-Roasted Pork Belly and Coleslaw. There’s a blurb, there’s a photo but no actual posted recipe.  Now, that’s not because I don’t want to share that recipe with you. I truly do. I have cooked that meal more times than I care to remember but it’s all in my head. To make matters even more complicated, every time I cook that meal I improvise according to how many people I’m cooking for and what’s in season. The challenge was to get the recipe out of my head and onto the page in a logical and coherent fashion. And that in itself was a long, convoluted process.

Thanks to my long-suffering husband and children  who have endured  three  bouts of Slow Roasted Pork Belly and Coleslaw in a very short time frame,  I finally have a recipe I’m happy with.  I wanted to actually cook the recipe I had scribed from memory before I posted it, and iron out any obvious glitches. Now that was a challenge for me, cooking exactly to the recipe with no deviations. I’m hoping there are no errors, and the processes are easily understood. Please let me know; after  all  a fledgling recipe writer can only learn from her mistakes. No doubt about it, writing a recipe that works is no easy feat.

Link to my recipes:

Slow Roasted Pork Belly Scented With Fennel

Coleslaw with a Simple Vinaigrette