4 h. ago Mark Hix’s recipe for roast pumpkin and pickled walnut salad

This superb winter salad uses shaved and roast pumpkin to bring a riot of textural contrast and a flash of colour to a grey winter’s dayI try to grow a few varieties of squash every season, but in the past couple of years the results have more or less failed me. I originally put that down to the lack of time and attention I’d given those poor plants, but I’m now starting to wonder if the soil in my raised garden beds overlooking Lyme Bay in Dorset is actually right for them.I’m not giving up just yet, though, and this year I’ll be trying different varieties in a different bed that I’ve prepared and composted over the winter with seaweed mulch. As luck would have it, however, my friend Rob Corbett came to the rescue a couple of weeks ago by giving me several specimens when he delivered some wine from his Castlewood vineyard a few miles away in east Devon. If you know your gourds even a little, you will also know that squashes keep for months, which is handy, because they ideally need...

Politics

16 h. ago Trump administration releases updated dietary guidelines: ‘Eat real food’

New guidance presented by Robert F Kennedy Jr prioritizes protein, healthy fats and ‘declares war on added sugar’The Trump administration has released updated dietary guidelines for Americans on Wednesday that emphasize eating whole and minimally processed foods, scaling back refined carbohydrates, and “declaring war” on added sugars.The recommendations encourage “prioritizing high-quality protein, healthy fats, fruits, vegetables and whole grains” while steering clear of highly processed foods. Robert F Kennedy Jr, the health and human services (HHS) secretary, and Brooke Rollins, the agriculture secretary, are presenting the new guidance at a White House briefing. Continue reading...

Politics

20 h. ago Three LA wildfire victims on surviving the horror – and what happened next

After their lives were upended last year, they’re finally regaining their footing – but memories of the fires still haunt themFew among the nearly 10 million people who live in Los Angeles county were left untouched by last year’s disastrous firestorm. Driven by strong winds through parched vegetation, multiple fires exploded in quick succession last January, and devoured roughly 16,000 structures on all sides of LA.Thirty-one lives were lost and thousands more were for ever changed. For many, a new chapter of the disaster began to unfold when the flames were extinguished, while the slow road to recovery started to take shape in the year that followed. Continue reading...

Events

20 h. ago Stop crying when chopping onions by making 1 easy storage change

Chopping onions often leads to watery eyes, but one chef has said that making an easy change to the way you store the vegetable could stop you from crying for good

Politics

21 h. ago Want to live to 100? DON'T turn vegetarian: Meat eaters are more likely to hit the milestone, new study reveals

Vegans and vegetarian diets might seem like the healthy choice, but scientists now say that avoiding meat could scupper your chances of reaching 100.

Events

21 h. ago ‘Milestone’ agreement paves way for battery energy storage systems in two Scottish locations

“Each project that we can now progress will greatly benefit the wider economy” – Neil Brooks, Root-Power

Science

21 h. ago Cold weather payments for benefit recipients in hundreds of postcodes

People on benefits may be in line for an automatically paid cold weather payment as freezing conditions and snow grip the nation.

Society

23 h. ago Jacob Bethell plays starring role in Ashes Wars Episode 5: A New Hope | Barney Ronay

A brilliant hundred against an elite attack on a wearing pitch shows this England team can survive and evolveEt in dystopia ego. In the midst of death, we are in life. On a throbbingly hot deep blue afternoon in Sydney, as this ghost ship of an England Ashes tour creaked towards its final dock, the fourth day of the fifth Test produced an unexpected late plot twist. Something good happened.Jacob Bethell batted for six hours from mid-morning to close of play and scored a hundred of rare beauty at the SCG. It was an easy, crisp kind of beauty too, all classical lines and symmetry, an innings of layers and gears, of comforting rhythms, shot through with moments of balletic power. Continue reading...

Events

28 h. ago Chickpea stew and lentil soup: Imad Alarnab’s recipes for Syrian comfort food

A warm, silky soup and a nourishing and flavourful stew to help get you through the colder weatherbowl of creamy red lentil soup feels like pure comfort – warm, silky and deeply satisfying. The lentils cook down into a smooth, golden blend, their gentle sweetness enriched by sauteed onions, garlic and a touch of spice. A drizzle of dukkah oil brightens things up, making it perfect for January. Then, a Levantine chickpea stew with aubergine and tahini, which is so nourishing and full of flavour. Tender chickpeas simmer slowly in a rich tomato base until they absorb the sweetness of onions, garlic, and the gentle warmth of cumin. Fried aubergine melts into the stew, and its smoky softness gives each spoonful a lush texture. Continue reading...

Society

33 h. ago CHRISTOPHER STEVENS reviews last night's TV: This measly Millionaire spin

Millionaire Hot Seat is a version of ITV's champion quiz, with everything that's great about it shrunk, replaced or lost. We're left with a bland, unsatisfying recipe in identical packaging.

Politics

34 h. ago Diet rich in vegetables could slow growth of a certain type of cancer

Prostate cancer is the most commonly diagnosed cancer in the UK, affecting 55,300 men each year

Events

34 h. ago Cancer breakthrough linked to boosting patients' diets with vegetables and bacteria

A trial has shown boosting diet with supplements could halt tumour growth in prostate cancer patients - opening the door to a whole new approach to cancer treatment

Science

38 h. ago Trump administration escalates attack on Minnesota with more immigration agents

Another 2,000 ICE and homeland security agents will reportedly head to the state, targeting immigrant populationsThe Trump administration has sent more immigration agents to Minnesota, part of escalating attacks and rhetoric against the state and its immigrant populations.The Department of Homeland Security has confirmed on X that it is “surging to Minneapolis to root out fraud, arrest perpetrators and remove criminal illegal aliens”. Todd Lyons, the acting director of Immigration and Customs Enforcement, told Newsmax that the agency has in the city “the largest immigration operation ever taking place right now”. Continue reading...

Politics

39 h. ago Vietnam veteran and Vegas HOA battle over $15,000 bill to fix broken toilet: ‘Glaciers move at light speed compared to them’

Larry McClellan, who has lived in his home for 20 years, said that a root ruptured through his toilet in August

Economics

44 h. ago Scones will taste 'far better' and fluffier if you add 1 ingredient loved by bakers

There are so many scone recipes out there, but this one from a French-trained baker is the real deal - and it tastes even better if you add one key ingredient

Events

45 h. ago Strictly star La Voix leads vegetable orchestra on London's South Bank

Strictly star La Voix was spotted singing vocals for a very unusual orchestra at London's South Bank

Politics

45 h. ago What can I use in vegetarian curries instead of coconut milk? | Kitchen aide

Top tips from a roster of experienced curry-makers, from adding a dollop of yoghurt to experimenting with pastesI want to make more vegetarian curries, but most call for a tin of coconut milk and I’m trying to cut down on saturated fats. What can I use instead? Jill, via emailCoconut milk brings silkiness and sweet richness to curries, and also mellows spices, so any substitute will likely change the nature of the dish. That said, if you really want to avoid the white stuff, Karan Gokani, author of Indian 101, would simply replace it with vegetable stock. Another easy swap (if you’re not averse to dairy) is yoghurt, says John Chantarasak, chef and co-owner of AngloThai in London, which is handy, because “that’s normally hanging about in the fridge”.Not all curries involve coconut milk, however, and it’s these that perhaps offer a better solution to Jill’s conundrum. “Once you get past that idea, you go into two realms,” says Sirichai Kularbwong of Thai restaurant Singburi in London,...

Politics

46 h. ago Majestic Smith passes Hobbs to leave only Bradman clear on top of Ashes mountain | Geoff Lemon

The great Australian batter was typically twitchy before passing his latest personal milestone in SydneyThere was a time, while Steve Smith was at the height of his batting prowess, when “best since Bradman” was used with confidence. The thing about that line is that even when the recipient has dominated for years, it gets applied too quickly, given the point of comparison is a career-lasting two decades. Lots of players reach the top for a time, no other has stayed as long. Smith was untouchable for six years before returning to the realm of the merely very good.The combination of those phases, though, took him to a rare position on the third day of the fifth Test in Sydney. In the statistics of the game there are milestones, then there are mountaintops. For a long time in Smith’s Ashes-heavy career there have been two peaks gradually drawing closer in the mist. Donald Bradman’s 5,028 runs against England is one that even Smith will never climb. Jack Hobbs’s 3,636 runs against Aust...

Politics

46 h. ago Seven warming winter cocktail recipes for January's cold snap

With London white with frost, here are seven drinks to help keep the cold at bay

Events

47 h. ago Forget all the artisanal cheese. French crisps are absolutely depraved | Emma Beddington

A trip to the supermarché this Christmas opened my eyes to crisps flavoured with Flemish stew, salted butter and other flagrant crimesI spent Christmas in France, which was on its best behaviour: tasteful, twinkling lights, market stalls stacked with exquisitely fresh fruit and vegetables, and enough cheeses to coat the entire Channel Tunnel with arterial plaque, piled platters of glistening shellfish on ice glimpsed through fogged brasserie windows. As I watched a long but orderly queue of well-dressed citizens collecting their artisanal Bûche de Noël (yule log) I thought, disloyally, that my home town of York, which becomes a modern reimagining of Hogarth’s Gin Lane at this time of year with mince-pie flavoured vapes and BuzzBallz, could learn a few lessons.But all this “art de vivre” stuff is just an elegant facade – France is as prey to its basest appetites as the rest of us. Just go into a supermarket and you’ll see. The crisp aisle is an absolute sink of depravity, stacked wit...

Politics