Cooking & Lifestyle Blog

As the days grow longer and the sun warms the air, it is a welcome sign that spring is here! What better way to spend your extra time than outside in your garden? Today, with the help of some expert advice from our fantastic book Grow Your Own Vegetables, we look at the merits of growing your own vegetables.

The 'Great British Bake Off' has in recent weeks been coming to a head. With the contestants now whittled down to only the very serious bakers, things are hotting up.

It's that time of the year again: leaves are starting to change colour, sweaters are reappearing and students are going back to school. Now is the time when everybody re-evaluates his or her budget, and for most students that means spending the bare minimum on food. Well, as a fellow student, I can tell you that a small food budget means much more than eating canned soup every night! It's completely possible to cook beautiful and delicious meals with little money.

We have talked a little about how to make money on the internet. Obviously one of the main ways to do this is via your own website – whether it is your own shop selling products, or a website about one of your interests, which uses advertising to generate income. But first of all, you need the website. Here are the initial basics of setting up your own site – it's not as difficult as you might think!

Avoiding Fraud Made Easy: Making money and doing business over the internet have their fair share of problems. The following info introduces a wide range of risks, from email scams and hacking to credit card fraud and dishonest customers, which should help you take steps to be more secure online. 

It's that time of year when nervous hands will be opening exam results envelopes, hoping that those extra hours spent playing Grand Theft Auto instead of revising ecosystem nutrient cycles hasn't ruined their chances of getting into Molecular Biology at Cardiff.

Vinegar has been used for all sorts of things for thousands of years, including industrial, medical and domestic uses, some of which are still used today. It is the oldest storable food and because it can be stored for an almost unlimited period, it is the only food without an expiry date. The ancient Babylonians around 5,000 BC were among the first to recognize the versatile nature of vinegar and used it as both a preserver and a condiment. They were also the first to flavour vinegar with herbs and spices and use it in their cooking. I will be looking at some fantastic culinary tricks using vinegar, as well as exploring the best ways to use it around the kitchen and home for cleaning and some ways it can benefit your health. It really is surprising how much you can use vinegar for!

The East of England was taken over by the Tour de France in July as crowds gathered in their thousands (millions if you count those watching on TV) to see the cyclists compete. Cycling has become increasingly popular since the London 2012 Olympics which saw Chris Hoy, Jason Kenny and Philip Hindes win gold and set new world records on the track. Lizzie Armitstead also won a silver medal for her road race event with a great time. Not forgetting the men's road events as well, with Chris Froome getting bronze and Bradley Wiggins nabbing gold. A fantastic time for British cycling!

To grow your own food has got to be one of the most satisfying things you can do. Once you've chosen what you're going to grow, it's time to obtain the seeds or plants and get on with it! So here's some advice for growing vegetables in pots and containers.