Beach Escape

This morning's school run was a little more eventful than normal. In order to get home, I had to spend an hour pushing a skidding, snow clad car out of the way .  My feet are frozen through and my Christmas Isabel Marant boots are looking very sorry for themselves too.  I do love a bit of snow.  Give me a weather drama any day -  but I'm over this now. What I'd give to be lounging around in this heavenly Brazilian beach house right now...

These images of  designer Sig Bergamin’s house are from Elle Decor

Pancake Day

There's something so comforting about pancakes.  Not the big flat ones -  the nice little chunky ones.  American style.  My Granny used to make them for us every time we went to see her for tea and we loved it. I was given Alice Hart's cookbook for Christmas and it happened to fall open on the pancake page yesterday.  The bigger Cub's latest love is to cook. So we decided to try out her recipe together.  The addition of a few too many whole eggs thrown into the mix meant things took slightly longer than it should have done - but we got there in the end and they were a sensation.  They are amazingly quick to make so perfect for impatient small boys.  And me.  Perfect for freezing January afternoons.

100 g self raising flour

2 tbsp caster sugar

pinch of salt

an egg

125ml of milk

Mix the flour, salt and sugar in a bowl.

Make a well in the middle of the mixture, crack in the egg and slowly pour in the milk. Mix with a fork until it's smooth and the consistency of double cream.  Heat a heavy bottomed pan and melt a little bit of butter.  Then with a ladle or big spoon pour a dollop of the mix to make roundish pancakes.  When they start to bubble flip them over.  The cooked surface should be golden. Cook for another minute and then serve with butter, joy and jam.

The English Home

Thank you to the English Home magazine for their lovely write up in their February issue.

43 days and counting

The laptop saga did not end well.  They wanted thousands to fix it and said it would be cheaper to start again and buy a new one.  Post Christmas extravagance, this has not gone down well.  My kitchen consequently looks like NASA headquarters.  Since meltdown, I have been lent four laptops and an ipad.  I flit -  rather technically I feel -  from one to another depending on what Im doing.  One for Topshop, another for Net-a-porter type thing... I imagine quite like a trader might do.

So, I'm starting again.  As far as Im concerned, yesterday was January 1st.  I'm giving myself a clean slate and forgetting everything that's happened so far this year.  Onwards and upwards.  Although the next thing on my horizon is my thirtieth birthday.  I wont lie, I am slightly freaking out about it.  I've been planning an extravaganza for the last five years and now it's here - in precisely 43 days - I actually don't want it to happen.  I like being in my 20s.  Thirty feels a bit too grown up.  People who are 30 should know how everything works.  Be properly responsible. And wear suits.  

I might spend the next six weeks doing twenty-year-old-things.  Not quite sure what this might entail but then when the big 3-0 actually happens I'll be well and truly exhausted and ready to wave goodbye to my youth.  

Happy New Year...

According to the horoscope I read last weekend, 2013 is meant to be 'my year'.  Not quite sure exactly what it meant by that;  But I was fairly sure it was a good thing.  I was envisaging everyone being happy and healthy, my book becoming a best seller and I'd win the lottery a few times.  Nothing major. So far, not so good.  In fact, this year couldn't really be going any worse if it tried.  I know Christmas technically, was last year but I'm still including it.  This was spent mopping up snot/sick and administering Calpol to the bigger Cub.  We had then had to cancel our New Year plans with friends to look after the smaller Cub who was also at death's door.  New Year's day passed by in a tearful, snotty blur and I told myself it could only get better. 

How wrong could I be?  January 2nd saw me throwing a cup of tea over my laptop.  Not just a tiny spillage; we're talking full on flood.  Just as I was sitting down to write the proposal for my new book.  After hysterically grilling about twenty Apple technicians the only proposed solution was to leave it off and leave it by the AGA overnight to dry out.  As hard as it was, I did as I was told and left it alone.  I came downstairs on the third to find, guess what, an icy cold, broken AGA. And a wet cold laptop.

As I write a nice man called Gary is trying to fix my computer and a second plumber is working his magic.  (The first couldn't help and gave up leaving us oven-less and with a bill of £300.) I'm ignoring the passing mention of a £900 computer repair bill and instead hoping that my luck is going to change.  And if things do magically mend themselves, I'm going to buy myself some Isabel Marant trainers.  Which will technically be free.  I'm mentally down £900 already so actually, even with the shoes, I'll be £500 richer...

Things are definitely looking up.

Ten & Co

I was trying to do sale shopping; bargain saucepans and bath mat type things. Boring shopping.  But I got slightly way-laid by these shoes on the way.  They're from a company called Ten & Co and are made out of hand woven antique Moroccan rugs and wisps of leather - each pair is a one off.  I'm adding them to my birthday list.

www.ten-and-co.com

Dream Chocolate Mousse

Upsettingly for me, Chaz is not a pudding person.  I suppose I should be glad; if he was, we would both be the size of small houses.  Last weekend was the first of three family Christmases and it was our turn to play host.  Chaz was in charge of roast beef, I was in charge of the Cubs and my mother in law, Suze, brought pudding. If I was allowed I would have swapped courses one and two in return for the whole bowl of her sensational chocolate mousse.  Her recipe is like no other. I dream about it.  It's so good it feels like it should be kept a secret. Something that's only passed down from family to family and kept locked up for generations.  Thank God she believes sharing is caring.

6 ounces dark chocolate, broken into chunks.  Suze uses Bourneville.

3 fresh large organic eggs

2 to 3 tablespoons of water

Half an ounce of butter

3 drops of vanilla essence

 Carefully separate the eggs. Allow the yolks to remain at room temperature, but chill the whites.

 In a double boiler, melt the chocolate. Then add the water to make it all silky.

Add the butter and vanilla essence.

Remove the chocolate from heat and add the yolks. (This part can be tricky: if the chocolate is too hot, the yolks will curdle. If it‘s too cool, the chocolate will solidify.) Stir well to combine.

Beat the chilled egg whites with a balloon whisk until they are stiff and firm, but not dry. Take one spoonful of the beaten whites and stir into the chocolate mixture, just to lighten it because it will be quite thick and stiff.  Use a metal spoon not a wooden one.

Then add the chocolate mixture to the egg whites, very gently folding the chocolate into the whites. It will lose volume, but if you can do it gently, cutting into the mixture, rather than stirring, the mousse should retain its lightness.

Spoon the mousse into whatever serving dishes you will use, and refrigerate to set for an hour or more.

Happy Christmas!

Jam Jar Tiramisu

I'm still dreaming about a dinner cooked by our friends Mel and JayJay last week.  The whole thing was incredibly delicious - A Polpo warm octopus salad to begin with followed by another Polpo sensation - Cauliflower Cheese (made with more cheese than anyone should consume in a life time) and a Nigel Slater pulled beef creation.  But the piece de resistance, that I really cant stop thinking about, was pudding. Tiramisu in a jam jar. 

Definitely going to be doing this at Christmas...

Use the best coffee you can - if you don't have espresso, use strong black filter coffee

Rum works best as it has a more subtle taste and sits well with the other ingredients, but you can use other liqueurs such as brandy

The egg whites should be whisked until stiff, similar to a meringue

The egg yolks can be whisked with a clean whisk or you can use a fork

If you don't have Marsala, you could use sweet sherry instead

For twelve pots:

6 double espressos (or 360ml very strong coffee), warm

4 tablespoons dark rum

150g caster sugar

6 medium free-range eggs, separated

120ml Marsala

500mg mascarpone

1 packet of Savoiardi sponge fingers (you need 24 biscuits)

Cocoa powder

Start by combining the warm espresso coffee with the rum and 50g of the sugar. Stir until the sugar has dissolved. Set aside.

Separate the eggs and reserve the yolks in a large bowl. In another clean bowl, whisk the whites until they are stiff. Add the remaining sugar and the Marsala to the yolks. Whisk until pale and fluffy, add the mascarpone and gently stir it in. Fold the whisked whites into the yolk mixture.

For each glass you will need approximately 2 sponge fingers. Dip a sponge finger in the coffee mixture and let it absorb enough of the liquid to wet the whole thing without breaking it up. Place one half in the bottom of your glass. Spoon over 1 tablespoon of the mascarpone cream. Place the other half biscuit on top and spoon over another tablespoon of cream. At this point sprinkle over a little cocoa powder. Take another sodden sponge finger, break in two and lay both halves on top. Cover in a little more cream. Repeat this for all 12 glasses and store, covered in the fridge, for no fewer than 8 hours, so they are properly set.

Just before serving, liberally dust the top of the pots with cocoa powder.

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Telegraph Magazine

This article is from this weekend's Telegraph Magazine.

Christmas Elf

I think Chaz was an elf in a former life. I love Christmas a lot but I'm used to my family who generally decorate the tree on the 20th December.  And maybe hang a wreath on the door/garland over the fire place around the 10th if feeling particularly festive.   So I watched with amazement and wonder when come 3pm on December 1st he had turned the whole house into something that wouldn't look out of place in Lapland.  

I adore his festive excitement.  It's completely contagious.  I feel being the supposed 'crafty' one in our family that it should actually be me decking the halls;   Though Im secretly concerned that I couldn't come close to conjuring up anything nearly as sparklingly brilliant if I did try and compete.
My contribution so far, has been honeycomb balls. Not much I know.  But I have a fascination- verging on obsession- with them and am currently trying to fill every room in the house with them.

There's two weeks to go which means I've still got time to come up with some kind of festive vision.  Not that the Elf will probably deem it worthy of his grotto but at least I'm keeping up his festive spirit.

Crafty Review

I was very flattered by the lovely review of my book on the wonderful wedding blog 'Before the Big Day' this week.
How to be a DIY Bride

Sometimes being a wedding blogger is seriously fabulous! For example...when you get invited to lovely drinks parties to slurp champagne and eat macarons {thank you Maids to Measure & Anges de Sucre}, and when you get sent gorgeous presents in the post! My recent exciting arrival was an amazing book by Willow Crossley. Called 'The Art of Handmade Living' it is hands-down the best DIY book I've ever read. Super-inspiring, it'll encourage even the least crafty bride to get her DIY on, and before you know it you'll be creating gorgeous, personalised wedding decorations and favours. Add it to your Christmas list now, and don't miss Willow's fabulous blog, Willow Rose Boutique.

Local Delights

I joke about missing Starbucks living in the country but when I got to one last week and my friend commented about how excited I actually was, I realised I have issues.

But this weekend, as if by magic,  I've solved them.  I've found a new secret hang out.  .  

It's an organic farm shop and cafe in one.  The only problem is that it only opens from Friday to Sunday.  Quite what I'm going to do for the other four days, I'm not sure.  But it's progress for now.

In the farm shop

Big Cub in a post hot chocolate frenzy

Meringue topped Hot Chocolate

Heavenly Hats

www.wortonorganicgarden.com