Always develop using an up-to-date version of WordPress – use SVN to perform updates, and track trunk if you can (so you can see developments to the codebase before they make it into general releases, and test against them).

Installing/Updating WordPress using Subversion

Enable Filesystem upgrades

By default, WordPress performs updates using FTP credentials – put this into your wp-config.php to enable direct writes to the filesystem:

define('FS_METHOD', 'direct');
define('FS_CHMOD_DIR', (0755 & ~ umask()));
define('FS_CHMOD_FILE', (0644 & ~ umask()));

You can also set upgrade constants on production servers to prevent WordPress asking for your FTP credentials whenever you need to perform an upgrade:

Editing wp-config.php

Show Errors

Add the following to .htaccess

php_flag display_startup_errors on
php_flag display_errors on
php_flag html_errors on
php_flag log_errors on
php_flag ignore_repeated_errors off
php_flag ignore_repeated_source off
php_flag report_memleaks on
php_flag track_errors on
php_value docref_root 0
php_value docref_ext 0
php_value error_reporting -1
php_value log_errors_max_len 0

You could also enable logging to a file – more details here (as well as an example of an .htaccess file for production environments)

Advanced PHP Error Handling via htaccess

WordPress also has some debugging features which can be enabled using a plugin or by adding the following to wp-config.php

define('WP_DEBUG', true);

Ingredients

• 2 tsp ground ginger
• 2 tsp shelled green cardamons
• 2 tsp cinnamon sticks
• 2 tsp cumin seeds
• 2 tsp corander seeds
• 1 tsp ground allspice
• 1 nutmeg, finely grated
• 1 tsp turmeric powder
• 1 tsp black peppercorns
• 1 tsp cloves
• 1 tsp paprika
• 1/2 tsp fenugreek seeds

Method

Dry roast cumin, coriander, cloves, cinnamon, black pepper, fenugreek and cardamon in a heavy saucepan or frying pan before blending them to a powder in a mortar and pestle or spice mill. Add all the other spices and store in a jar.

Usage

Add about half a teaspoon per serving to stews, etc.

I always add some chilli when using this – chilli powder can be added to the mixture, but I prefer to use fresh chillies.

• 200g good quality dark chocolate , about 60% cocoa solids
• 200g butter , cut in pieces
• 1 tbsp instant coffee granules
• 85g self-raising flour
• 85g plain flour
• 1⁄4 tsp bicarbonate of soda
• 200g light muscovado sugar
• 200g golden caster sugar
• 25g cocoa powder
• 3 eggs
• 75ml milk
• grated chocolate or curls, to decorate

Ganache

• 200g good-quality dark chocolate , as above
• 284ml carton double cream (pouring type)
• 2 tbsp golden caster sugar

Method

1. Butter a 20cm round cake tin (7.5cm deep) and line the base.
2. Preheat the oven to fan 140C/conventional 160C/ gas 3.
3. Break the chocolate in pieces into a medium, heavy-based pan. Tip in the butter, then mix the coffee granules into 125ml/4fl oz cold water and pour into the pan. Warm through over a low heat just until everything is melted – don’t overheat.
4. While the chocolate is melting, mix the two flours, bicarbonate of soda, sugars and cocoa in a big bowl, mixing with your hands to get rid of any lumps. Beat the eggs in a bowl and stir in the milk.
5. Now pour the melted chocolate mixture and the egg mixture into the flour mixture, stirring just until everything is well blended and you have a smooth, quite runny consistency. Pour this into the tin and bake for 1 hour 30 minutes – if you push a skewer in the centre it should come out clean and the top should feel firm (don’t worry if it cracks a bit).
6. Leave to cool in the tin (don’t worry if it dips slightly), then turn out onto a wire rack to cool completely.
7. When the cake is cold, cut it horizontally into three.
8. Make the ganache: chop the chocolate into small pieces and tip into a bowl. Pour the cream into a pan, add the sugar, and heat until it is about to boil. Take off the heat and pour it over the chocolate. Stir until the chocolate has melted and the mixture is smooth.
9. Sandwich the layers together with just a little of the ganache. Pour the rest over the cake letting it fall down the sides and smoothing to cover with a palette knife. Decorate with grated chocolate or a pile of chocolate curls.

• 6 oz (175 g) dates, stoned and chopped
• 1 level teaspoon bicarbonate of soda
• 1 oz (25 g) butter
• 8 oz (225 g) self-raising flour
• ¼ teaspoon salt
• 1 level teaspoon mixed spice
• 1 level teaspoon ground cinnamon
• ½ teaspoon ground cloves
• ½ teaspoon nutmeg
• 2 eggs
• 5 oz (150 g) soft dark brown sugar
• 1 teaspoon vanilla extract
• 3 oz (75 g) ground almonds
• 3 oz (75 g) chopped walnuts

For the buttercream:

• 2 oz (55 g) icing sugar
• 4 oz butter
• rind from 1½ lemons
• 1 tablespoon lemon juice

For the icing:

• 4 oz (110 g) icing sugar, sifted
• the grated rind of ½ lemon
• 1 tablespoon lemon juice
• ½ oz (10 g) melted butter
• 1 dessertspoon single cream

Method

Pre-heat the oven to gas mark 4, 350°F (180°C).

In a small bowl, pour 8 fl oz (225 ml) boiling water over the dates. Add the bicarbonate of soda, then the butter and stir until the butter has melted. Leave to cool.

Sift the flour with the salt and spices.

Beat the egg in a large bowl, add the sugar and beat well again, then add the cooled date mixture and all the other cake ingredients.

Stir well to mix everything thoroughly together, then pour the mixture into the tin, and put it in the oven just below the centre shelf. Cook for about an hour, or until the top is nicely browned and the centre feels springy. Let the cake stand for a couple of minutes and then turn it out on to a wire rack to cool.

When cool, cut the cake in half and fill with the lemon buttercream.

For the icing, mix all the ingredients well together, then cover the top of the cake and add a few walnut halves arranged round the top.

• 25g/1oz butter, plus extra for greasing
• 8 thin slices bread
• 50g/2oz sultanas
• 2 tsp cinnamon powder
• 350ml/12fl oz whole milk
• 50ml/2fl oz double cream
• 3 free-range eggs
• 25g/1oz granulated sugar
• nutmeg, grated, to taste

Method

1. Grease a 1 litre pie dish with butter.
2. Cut the crusts off the bread. Spread each slice with on one side with butter, then cut into triangles.
3. Arrange a layer of bread, buttered-side up, in the bottom of the dish, then add a layer of sultanas. Sprinkle with a little cinnamon, then repeat the layers of bread and sultanas, sprinkling with cinnamon, until you have used up all of the bread. Finish with a layer of bread, then set aside.
4. Crack the eggs into a bowl, add the milk, cream and three quarters of the sugar and lightly whisk until pale.
5. Pour the mixture over the prepared bread layers and sprinkle with nutmeg and the remaining sugar and leave to stand for 30 minutes.
6. Preheat the oven to 180C/355F/Gas 4.
7. Place the dish into the oven and bake for 30-40 minutes, or until the custard has set and the top is golden-brown.

• 1 small red cabbage
• 25g butter
• 1 onion, finely sliced
• ½ tsp ground allspice
• ¼ tsp freshly grated nutmeg
• 1 Bramley apple, peeled, cored and grated
• 4 tbsp red wine vinegar
• 2 tbsp light muscovado sugar
• 2 tbsp redcurrant jelly

Method

1. Finely slice the cabbage, discarding the core and any tough pieces. Melt the butter in a pan with a tight-fitting lid over a medium heat. Cook the onion uncovered for 5 minutes until soft but not browned.
2. Stir in the spices then add the cabbage, apple, red wine vinegar and sugar plus 100ml cold water. Stir until thoroughly mixed and the sugar has dissolved. Season generously.
3. Bring to the boil, then cover tightly and simmer for about 1 hour, stirring occasionally, until the cabbage is very tender and the liquid has evaporated. Stir in the redcurrant jelly, allow to melt, then serve.

• 1 pheasant weighing 1.25 kg (2 1/2 lbs)
• 3 oz (75 g) back bacon
• 4 oz (100 g) Parma ham
• 6 leaves fresh sage
• 1 tsp salt
• 1/2 tsp black pepper
• 1/2 tsp grated lemon rind
• 4 tbsp olive oil
• 4 thin rashers streaky bacon
• 125 ml (4 fl oz) 1/2 cup. dry white wine

Method

1. Wash and dry pheasant. Chop back bacon and Parma ham finely. Chop sage and combine with a little salt, pepper, lemon rind and the chopped bacon and ham.
2. Preheat oven to 220°C (425°F) Gas Mark 7.
3. Rub pheasant inside with salt, then fill with stuffing and sew up.
4. Heat oil in roasting pan. Brown pheasant well on all sides, lay breast side up in pan and cover breast with streaky bacon rashers.
5. Roast pheasant on lowest oven shelf for 40 minutes, basting frequently with wine and pan juices.
6. Remove bacon 10 minutes before end of roasting time to allow breast to brown

“[My music is] sound for the sake of perceptual insight – some kind of perceptual revelation. Somehow it seems to me that’s what we’re all doing – searching to understand our own perceptual processes. In a way, science is about the same thing, but its enterprise seems to be to understand the nature of reality through thought and intellection. It seems to me art is about understanding reality to the same extent, and as singularly, but through a different modality – through perception. I’m fascinated by science – physics, mathematics. I’m not very good at any of those things, but I’m really fascinated by them… I think we’re all phenomenologists. The basic idea in phenomenology is making a more strenuous effort to see things as they are, depending upon whatever one is focusing on. I think the best scientists and the best artists are precisely that – phenomenologists.”

Ingredients:

• 1kg Chicken breast
• 1 heaped tablespoon of finely chopped fresh ginger
• 2 cloves of garlic, finely chopped
• 150g plain yogurt
• 1 chilli
• 2 finely chopped onions
• 1 tbsp ghee, butter or veg. oil
• 1 tsp cumin seeds
• 1 tbsp ground coriander
• Pinch of ground black pepper
• 1 tsp turmeric
• 1 tsp garam masala
• water
• 75g creamed coconut
• salt, to taste
• 2 heaped tbsps ground almonds
• 50ml double cream
• juice of  1/2 lemon

Instructions:

1. Cut the chicken breasts into bite sized chunks
2. Mix the chicken with the ginger, garlic and yogurt. Cover and marinade for 12 hours or in the fridge overnight. If you can’t spare the time, just marinade for as long as you can.
3. Heat the ghee/oil in a pan.
4. Add the cumin seeds, ground coriander, ground black pepper, turmeric and garam masala and stir fry for about 1 minute over a low heat.
5. Turn up the heat, add the onion and chilli and stir fry for 10 minutes.
6. Add the chicken and the marinade and continue to stir fry for another 10 minutes.
7. Add the creamed coconut and enough water to just cover the chicken and bring to the boil, stirring until the coconut is dissolved.
8. Stir in the ground almonds.
9. Reduce heat to low, cover the pan and simmer until the chicken is tender (30-40 minutes).
10. Remove from heat, add lemon juice, cream and salt to taste.

Preparation time: 30 minutes
Cooking time: 40-45 minutes

• 2 ripe bananas (about 400g)
• 150g softened butter
• 150g soft brown sugar
• 80g sultanas
• 300g plain flour
• 2 tsp baking powder
• 1/2 tsp bicarbonate of soda
• 2 eggs, lightly beaten
• 100ml vegetable oil

Instructions

Preheat the oven to 180°C/gas 4. Butter a 900g loaf tin and line the bottom and sides with non-stick baking parchment

Peel and mash the bananas. Put the butter and sugar into a mixing bowl and cream together until light and fluffy. Stir in the bananas and sultanas. Sift together the flour, baking powder and bicarbonate of soda. Add the flour mix and the beaten egg, each about a third at a time, to the banana mix, beating well between each addition. Finally, stir in the oil.

Pour into the loaf tin and bake for 40-45 minutes until well-risen and golden brown and a skewer inserted in the middle comes out clean. Leave in the tin for 10 minutes then turn out on to a wire rack to cool completely.