Unsurprisingly, over the course of the past year, my boyfriend and I have been watching a lot of Netflix, HBO,
read more Custard: the mother sauce of dessert? Plus how to make a simple creme anglaise
I am all about making baked goods and desserts taste that little bit more interesting, be it by playing around
Growing up, Nespole (also known as Loquats or Japanese Medlars) weren’t exactly the kind of fruit your local supermarket would
You might remember that a while back I got all excited about what I like to call vegan ‘meringue’, i.e. a gel made from boiled flax seeds and that can be whipped just like egg whites, and that I started replacing egg whites with flax seed gel in marshmallows and mousse au chocolate. Well, I was so excited about this discovery (and the slight lack around the web of useful recipes using it), I went out and wrote an article about it which is included in Chickpea magazine’s Spring 2014 edition. The article includes a recipe for making flax seed gel as well as a few recipes using it, including a recipe for vegan marshmallows. It is this last recipe which I am most proud of, because it was just so darn difficult to get right. There was about a month when there was no surface left in our kitchen that wasn’t at some point covered in marshmallow splatter, my
After days of rain and cold weather the sun finally showed its face again today, a good omen for the new year I hope. But before I throw myself with all my energy into the new year which is already looking like it will be busy with work and travel, I wanted to take a moment to look back over the last year. 2013 was certainly not an easy year for me and provided plenty of challenges, but it was also a year full of precious time spent with loved ones so I can’t really complain. Alessandro and I spent a week on the slopes in Northern Italy in January with a group of friends – the first time I spent an entire day skiing non-stop, covering ca. 80km in the process and only stopping for food and drink every so often. In June there was a wonderful weekend in Venice with three people incredibly close to my heart, my
I came across this article in the Guardian the other day, looking at the role food and, more particularly, the love of food as well as dietary preferences or needs, plays in relationships. I grew up in a family of food lovers. We all cook and talk a lot about food and my inbox is full of emails to and from my parents sharing new recipes. Summer holidays in the south of France were as much an opportunity to relax and unwind over copious amounts of fresh seafood as an opportunity to stock up on case after case of rich, full-bodied French wines and 500g jars of Moutarde de Dijon. Souvenirs from my dad’s business trips were in most cases edible and I will never forget when dad joined me and my mum in London for a concert my choir was giving (and in which I was singing a solo) straight after a business trip to Paris with a suitcase
While mindlessly browsing the internet the other day I again landed on the blog for Pot and Pantry, a cute kitchen ware store in San Francisco’s Mission District (definitely adding this to my ever-expanding list of places I would like to visit in San Francisco when Alessandro and I are going in September). A few pages in I came across the below picture of their storefront: Admittedly I had not come across Julia Child much before the Julia and Julia movie (which I have a love and hate relationship with – I adore Stanley Tucci and I am positively envious of how loving the relationship between Julia Child and her husband appears on screen (although this is quite likely largely due to some talented screenwriting), but I found the other Julia’s character at times unbearable). But I have been admiring her ever since, what she set out to do and what she achieved, making a mark for herself as a
read more Cooking according to Julia Child and I secretly wish I lived in San Francisco
The Guardian – source of infinite reading pleasure – just came out with an interesting article on food photography: http://www.guardian.co.uk/lifeandstyle/2012/aug/01/food-photography-tricks-of-trade. Not that I have been impressed by the quality of food photography in the Guardian’s food section (the pictures always seem a bit static and stuffy), but there are certainly some interesting tips in this article (including a few more obscure ones like the one about the tampon which did make me chuckle). There are also plenty of additional helpful comments plus links to gorgeous food blogs which I shall peruse this weekend I think. Oh and it’s just as well that I stumbled upon the World Foodie Guide’s blog (which sadly has not been operational for about 3 years) today as I then came across another great post on food photography together with a long list of helpful links: http://www.worldfoodieguide.com/index.php/10-food-photography-links/#more-4933. Last but not least, I have just added “Plate to Pixel” to my basket on Amazon. However much I like reading things online, I
(Amended to update the little blurb on Prufrock). So, I was browsing the Stylist’s website the other day and came across a brief article on London’s best coffee shops. As an avid coffee drinker (coming from a family that managed to kill an espresso machine by drinking more cups of coffee per day than any espresso machine developer could have ever imagined (we now have a commercial espresso machine)), I keep a list of favourite coffee shops (key attractions are: (i) decent coffee (look out for the crema on your espresso and the use of fresh milk – noone wants to drink a cappuccino made with UHT milk), (ii) free wi-fi (because I am a cheapskate and treat my ipad as though it’s a limb I never knew I had by carrying it around with me wherever I go), and (iii) outstanding pastries and cakes (which reminds me I need to tell you about Gail’s almond croissants)). However, once in
read more Black gold – London’s best coffee shops and some black sesame madeleines
After what seemed like a never-ending workweek (only ending around 11pm last night) the weekend is finally here, packed with meeting up with a friend who had a baby just under 3 weeks ago (god he is tiny! And so cute), heading to the Old Vic to see “Democracy”, a play about Willy Brandt’s last few days in power, dinner at a new to me Mexican place in Soho and hanging out with a friend who just got an amazing new job but who will sadly leave London in a few months. A good weekend indeed. Made even better by a trip to the little fruit and vegetable stall from my house – much cheaper than the supermarket and always a great selection of seasonal produce. I walked away with fresh asparagus, fennel (yup, still obsessed), fresh cherries, a watermelon, raspberries, some apricots (the dough for an apricot-frangipane galette is chilling in the fridge already), some deep red tomatoes and
REAL SIMPLE FOOD 