The Kitchen Cafe

Do you want to save £440 per year? We can help you to be more cash savvy in the kitchen! Ylva Haglund from Zero Waste Scotland is on hand with lots of simple money saving tips. Radio Scotland's 'Clever about Cash' presenter Kim McAllister is set the 'yellow sticker challenge' to hunt out bargains in the local supermarket. As Valentines Day is on the horizon, Jenny MacPherson and Scotland's very own spice girl, Ghillie Basan explores what it means to cook with love as they create a delicious meatball tagine and discover why cooking with love can enhance your eating experience.

Does the sandwich you brought to work today feel like something really special? If not, on the Kitchen Café this week we’ll be finding out what makes the ultimate sandwich and we’ll be giving you some ideas of how you can make your own gourmet sandwich on the cheap. Selecting the right bread is essential so David Hoyle from the Findhorn Bakery will be talking about the various grains he uses and how that changes the flavour and texture of the bread. Are you looking for food that will give you a bit of a hug this week? Chef Alfie Little from River House restaurant in Inverness will be cooking up a mouth-watering Haddock Welsh Rarebit served on a bed of crushed potato and samphire.

Fed up of stodgy comfort food but not quite ready for spring salads? Step forward the blood orange – bang in season and sure to put a zing into your cooking! Chef Neil Forbes shows Jenny MacPherson how to make a warm pigeon breast and blood orange salad – just 20 minutes from start to finish! Avacados - love ‘em or loathe ‘em? They’re a bit of a "marmite" food so how does Dave Griffiths manage to devote an entire café to those squidgy green beauties? Emma Gryczka meets him to find out more while food writer Claire Jessiman offers ideas on what else we can do with them beyond avo on toast. Neil and Claire share their thoughts on the sustainability issues surrounding avocados and how they offset the food miles that produce like that bring with it… Continuing our occasional series on how to make the most of your food on a city break, ex-pat Jenny Soep shares her foodie favourites in Stockholm. And in this week’s “green hack” Kilted Chef Craig Wilson offers a handy tip for what we can do with leftover yoghurt.

If you think Burns night is all about haggis, neeps and tatties then think again......Chef Neil Forbes joins Jenny MacPherson to give haggis a complete makeover, Ryan Van Winkle talks about how food and poetry are the perfect pairing and Emma Gryczka heads along to Aberdeen's indoor market where she gets a pasta masterclass from Francesco Di Nicola.

January is a time where many of us have to think about tightening the purse strings so Lorna Cooper joins Jenny MacPherson to talk about her new book "How To Feed Your Family On £20 A Week", and Mary Contini, having grown up in a large Italian family, gives us some great hints and tips on how to make your food go further. Plus, Simon Preston visits Glasgow’s first Hellenic Pie shop to learn how to make a traditional Greek Spanakopita pie.