My first, about to be published, book!!

In the next two weeks my first cookery book 'Tales from the Block' will be published and available for sale through www.blurb.co.uk.

This image below is a rough idea of the front cover. I took a photographic  image on my computer so there is a bit of banding. The proper cover will be without the slightly checked effect. The format is 7" x 7" and the book will be about 100 pages long and full of yummy meat based highlights from this very blog. It will also be packed with my fabulous photos of food and drink and my cooking adventures over the years.

Needless to say I am very excited about this and see this as a way forward in promoting myself as a knowledgeable food writer with a great character and sense of humour.

Topics include.

• A funny three part history of my early days in the 1970s and 1980s when I trained as a traditional butcher though Bosworth's the Butchers - Dewhurst the Family Butchers and Rydes the Pork Butchers.

• An introduction to my blog and a warm welcome to my kitchen at home

• Liver stew with butter beans

• Advice on cooking stews

• Mustard and  Horseradish sauce? Which do you prefer?

• A piece on my love for continental and dry cured meats

• Cooking a beef stew in the rain

• First Saturday working at Tesco. (very popular blog post)

• A bit of skirt and something off the shoulder

• Garlic and rosemary leg of lamb with cous cous

• Ras el hanout and a Moroccan lamb stew

• Aromatically infused chicken stew and Jane Birkin

• Making home made chicken liver pate on toast.

• Curry cure - a tale of a head cold and curry

• How do you like your steak done?

• Shoulder of lamb and an improvised patatas bravas dish.

• Livering it up this spring

• Lavender and lemon chicken aka Rachel Khoo.

• My little Frenchy kitchen

• Beef fillets ends for a stir fry

• Patatas bravas or fiery potatoes.

• Trip down memory lane ( the day I visited the former Bosworth the butcher shop)

• Marvelling at the Dewhurst displays

• Top tips for saving money on spices

• Suggestions of how to cook ox tail.

There will be a great piece on the world of sausages too and some fantastic news that I yet to have confirmed. Hold that page!

Phil Lowe