365 Days of Nigella

374 recipes cooked; £6,100 (and rising) raised for FareShareUK; 1 Forever Family forged (2 dads, 3 kids, 2 dogs).

365 Days of Nigella has been devised, by me, to provide a much-needed escape from the worries of living with anxiety and the complexities they can bring to daily life. It’s a 365-day Nigella cookalong that will diversify our household palate and, at the same time, grant me the avenue to express my passion for food and write about the memories it can evoke. One of the best therapies for anxiety is to recall our feelings of love, positivity, serenity, and pleasure, and, for me, these are often - if not always – associated with food and cooking. And, of course, eating.

I define one day as one entry into this blog: it may comprise of multiple recipes, or a single recipe, but will feature my witterings of the day - at the time of posting. I aim to post every other day (3-4 times per week), so this journey will go on for considerably longer than a year - a realisation that makes me very happy indeed. The reason for not posting every day is that we do not waste food in this house and we will need the days between each cookalong to gladly enjoy leftovers.

A few pleasantries before we begin: I am not running for first place in a photo competition, and I am quite guilty of rather ignorantly throwing about punctuation, and for this (and my writing) I apologise. However, I don’t deny that there is great satisfaction to be had in capturing a dish in all its beauty. I don’t have any fancy equipment; just a phone, small windows, and a bread board and cheese board for a backdrop.

Above all, however, it’s a bit of fun and I would love for you to join me. Cooking is a joyous way to spread love and happiness and I hope you enjoy it as much as I am sure I will enjoy creating, writing and eating my way through this journey.

Nathan Young-Ziolkowski Nathan Young-Ziolkowski

365 days of nigella in the times

What I learnt from cooking Nigella Lawson’s recipes every day for a year - my interview with Clare Finney for The Times.

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Nathan Young-Ziolkowski Nathan Young-Ziolkowski

day 25: a very merry nigella-christmas, part two

Part two of my Nigella-Christmas-cookalong: taking time in the holidays to unwind, cookalong to two recipes from Simply Nigella, and witness a love affair blossom between my taste buds and a slow-cooked black treacle ham.

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Nathan Young-Ziolkowski Nathan Young-Ziolkowski

Day 11: autumnal bliss

Sweet, buttery, silky divinity - chaperoned, welcomingly, in each mouthful by the sharp tanginess of blue cheese and the crunch of toasted pine nuts in Nigella’s Pappardelle with Butternut and Blue Cheese.

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Nathan Young-Ziolkowski Nathan Young-Ziolkowski

Introducing me and #365daysofnigella

Introducing 365 Days of Nigella; my daily escape to the kitchen. Making something each day from one of the many culinary works of the Domestic Goddess herself, for 365 days.

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