Good morning.

A very quick introduction on the basis that really, it's only polite.

I am an English girl of twenty-nine and a half years of age who has worked herself nearly to pieces in Newcastle, Paris and most recently London.  I am, however, in a exciting twist, about to return to university to bravely venture in the direction of professional psychology.  In my spare time I read books, I watch films, I listen to music (does anybody not?); I knit very long scarves with very expensive wool that I then can't sell because they're too pricey.  I love animals (both playing with and eating), travel and hanging out with my family and friends.  I spend Sunday afternoons sitting in the pub with pints of organic cider playing with pistachio shells and reading The Observer.  Best of all, however, I like standing in the kitchen with a huge mess of pots and spoons piled up around me and smears of food across my face, waiting for the oven timer to go off.

Having just blogged my way around the globe on a six month wander (as The Intrepid Little Explorer) and having had it repeatedly pointed out to me that I was essentially reporting back about food and not much else, I thought I might continue to occupy a little of my time back in the real world writing about the one thing that structures my day and never fails to bring a smile to my face (unless it's overcooked): food.

I don't have a favourite food.  I can't even narrow it down to a favourite type of food; Malaysian, Italian, Japanese, British, Indian... I love it all.  I'll eat anything apart from marmite, dill and offal, and I'll wash it down with anything other than fermented mare's milk or snake liqueur.  I am supposedly gluten-intolerant, which pains me in every way you can imagine, but more often than not the smell of a hot roti, a plate of fresh papardelle, a rhubarb crumble or a great, floppy yorkshire pudding is just too much for me and I'll dig right in and happily suffer the consequences.

If you happen to try out any of the recipes I share and would like to me know how it goes, or if you have suggestions for concoctions I should try, I'd love you to drop me a line.  Please post a comment on here or email me at fillthatbelly@me.com.