June 28, 2013

28.06.13 | FIVE FINDS FOR FRIDAY


1. LOVING /// Yellow. I've always loved yellow and these photos from the French Elle had me transfixed earlier in the week. We are in the process of re-decorating our staircase & there WILL be yellow involved!

2. EATING /// I finally got around to adapting one of my favourite seafood dishes for the blog - inspired by this recipe for Shrimp Creole. 

3. AMAZING /// Oh my goodness, this house! That wall in the 3rd picture down is amazing! Angelita Bonnetti, your house is just wow!

4. LOOKING /// This collection of images of London now & then is so interesting. I've a special fondness for the Brick Lane one at the end as I held my degree show at The Truman Brewery which was awesome!

5. LISTENING /// to lots & lots of the lovely Frank Turner this week. Can't get enough!

Happy Weeking Friends x

June 25, 2013

25.06.13 | PAUL McCARTNEY - HEY JUDE


In the 26 years that I've been a Glasto girl, this has to be my favourite moment ever. I'm a massive Beatles fan & i never thought I'd get the chance to see one of them perform this song. A year later whilst pregnant with Dexter, i literally 'bumped' into Paul McCartney on Dean Street in Soho and he started talking to me. I almost died there on the spot and couldn't stop shaking let alone string more than a few garbled words together & I think I actually got sent home from work that afternoon in some kind of disarray.

So anyway, yes, I kind of love Glastonbury Festival like it's a member of my family which is weird I know but you can read here why I am going to struggle probably act like a big fat baby this weekend.

Happy Glastonbury to all you lucky people going this year, I hope the sun shines for you and I WILL see you next year come hell or high water...

June 23, 2013

23.06.13 | LEBANESE FEAST / CHILLI SAUCE RECIPE


When we were last down by the coast we ended up trying some Lebanese food, something I had not had before. We were served with a giant flat bread filled with beautifully marinated chicken, oodles of fresh crunchy salads and a chilli sauce that was both spicy and sweet. We took it as take-out and ate it watching the sun go down and I promised myself that once we were back home, I'd try to recreate it.

Not long after I made that promise, I got an email from the folks at Eco Market asking me if I'd like to sample some of the Steenbergs Organic range. It took me about 0.3 seconds to spot a few that I knew I'd like to base some recipes around and one of them was a Lebanese 7 spice which helped to make one of the best home made chilli sauces I've tasted - and it was pretty spot on to the one we tasted just weeks before.


It was such a simple yet amazing supper. I marinated some diced chicken in a little lemon juice & olive oil for a couple of hours before griddling it. I made two very simple salads consisting of red onions in a sumac and red wine vinegar dressing, and some cabbage and chopped parsley which I sprinkled with some sea salt & drizzled over some fresh lemon juice. I cooked some wheat berries in some organic chicken stock & a teaspoon of paprika and served it all alongside some giant Lebanese flat breads & some hot pickles. It was however the chilli sauce that stole the show...



Lebanese chilli sauce - makes one jug

- 1 onion, chopped
- 4 cloves garlic
- 1/2 tsp hot chilli powder
- 1 tin organic chopped tomatoes
- 50 ml distilled vinegar
- olive oil



1. In a food processor whizz together all the ingredients except the olive oil - pulse until well combined.
2. In a medium saucepan, heat a little olive oil to lightly coat the bottom. When warm, add the sauce mixture from your food processor.
3. Bring to the boil, then reduce the heat & simmer for about 10-15 minutes or until the sauce has thickened slightly. 
4. Leave to cool and enjoy!

This will keep in the fridge in an air tight container for up to a week.

June 21, 2013

21. 06. 13 | FIVE FINDS FOR FRIDAY


1. PINNING // I love everything about this outfit  - probably because I tried to do a similar thing in the early 90's when I was desperate to be Sheryl Crow (she wore an outfit like this once on TOTP). Yep, fancy skirts and retro tee's are my fave.

2. ENJOYING // One of my favourite blogs Oyster & Pearl got a makeover and it looks beautiful. There is always something magical and thought provoking happening over there - you should go take a look if you're not a huge fan of Lottie's work already.

3.WISHING // I wish i'd seen (& snapped up) this Cube Lamp from etsy. I've got the perfect spot for it too, damn!

4. EATING // We were hoping to roll out the BBQ again this weekend, but the weatherman thinks not. It's a pity because I think this Sriracha street corn looks like something I need to eat RIGHT NOW.

5. DREAMING // Fancy a bit of whimsy? Great, then this picture of perfect should do it.

Happy weekend friends x

June 18, 2013

18.06.13 | KIRSTY MACCOLL - A NEW ENGLAND


One of my all time favourites. 

(I prefer this version, i like how Billy Bragg wrote her an extra verse as she thought the original was too short!)


June 16, 2013

16.06.13 | TURKEY BURGERS


I'm in the middle of a burger obsession, which is a bit weird because I normally couldn't give a fig about them. Maybe it's the weather? Maybe no matter how much your try to swish up your BBQ with the latest in grilling trends, it always comes down to the good old burger?
I don't eat any meat other than poultry & fish so I had to search for a good turkey burger to satisfy my craving, and this one was the hit.
I made this for some friends last week when they came over for a BBQ (we have been going BBQ crazy lately) and I promised them the recipe this weekend (Hi Kate!) so here it is.
These are perfect to cook inside on a griddle too but equally they are substantial enough not to fall apart on the bbq.

Enjoy it with some homemade ketchup and loads of crunchy pickles and you'll have yourself a right old treat :)

Lets go!


June 14, 2013

14.06.13 | FIVE FINDS FOR FRIDAY


1. EATING /// I made an adapted version of this Portobello mushroom burger this week & it was amazing. I've suddenly got a real thing for burgers and i'm loving it!!

2. SMILING /// I've been reading Alexis's lovely blog Something I Made for ages, so i can't believe I hadn't seen this beautiful love letter before. It's amazing, and I'm in awe. I tried to stamp gift tags one time for Christmas and I must have made about three before I gave up!

3. LOVING /// I've got a feeling I'm way behind the rest of the world when it comes to Fine Little Day. I'm going to need some serious restraint here! I'd love that wallpaper above, but my house is already in danger of becoming total monochrome so I'd better not. Oh, and there's the blog too - that's where I'm spending this evening...

4. SNOOPING /// I've got a bit of a thing for nosing at other peoples workspaces. I like seeing how different people make their space their own. In my dreams I'd have a big room full of inspirational pieces hung about with washi tape, piles of old magazines and scrap book upon scrap book of recipes yet to make.

5. READING /// Did you see the my morning routine series from Bon Appetit? I love it. I'm most like Shirley Manson I reckon which  of course makes the Britpop girl inside me very happy!

Have a good weekend friends!

Check out the whole FFFF series here.

June 12, 2013

12.06.13 | CHARRED CAULIFLOWER W/ TOMATOES & DILL


Remember me, the girl who doesn't really like cauliflower? 
Yoooou know, I'm that same girl who absolutely hates red kidney beans!!
Yeah that's me - Miss Fickle, but who cares when I'm ready to once again shout about cauliflower, because it turns out that actually it can be quite nice?
I've worked out the trick is to not cook it but instead just tease it a little bit with a some heat and then BAM hit it with shed loads of flavours.

CLEVER!

Buuut, who do you turn to when you want lots and lots of flavour?
Ottolenghi, right? Has to be.
I was actually looking through the window at his Notting Hill place a couple of months back at all the mountains of gorgeous salad creations and I'm still kicking myself for not getting a single morsel. I'll be brave next time, especially as i made this one at the weekend and it didn't kill me.
Winner right? A salad that won't kill you? Yeah, try telling that to my six year old.

Let's go!


June 07, 2013

07.06.13 | FIVE FINDS FOR FRIDAY


1. WISHING /// I would very much like to be the proud owner of this screen printed tote from SlideSideways etsy shop. Totes amaze (sorry, couldn't resist)

2. LOVING /// I love it when i stumble across a blog i've not seen before and Pinja Colada is no exception. I lost a good few hours last night reading whilst ooohing & aahhhing. Yep, Pinja satisfies my Scandi appetite effortlessly.

3. SHOPPING /// Do you ever visit Archies Boutique? You should, because it's full to the brim with gorgeous clobber for your small folk. I've currently got my eye on this fox tee for Indi.

4. INSPIRING /// Just look at how amazing Rita Konig's home is. Ok, so it's in Manhattan which is undoubtedly cool anyway, but wow. Just WOW.

5. EATING /// Well whaddya know, my curiosity finally got the better of me and I made and ate this peanut butter & gherkin sandwich. It was 100% the right thing to do because it is GOOD. Perfect and good. Go on, get on board the freaky sandwich train - it's fun!



past fridays...








June 05, 2013

05.06.13 | A LITTLE TASTE OF SUMMER


Finally, right?! 
Yes, the sun did indeed shine. I've got to hand it to Mother Nature as this time around, her timing was fantastic. Before we knew it we were sat on a beach, ice-creams in hand watching the birds fly & the waves lap.
Lazy days were filled with sunny walks, we lazed around making daisy caterpillars, we cooked bangers in the garden & the children played croquet (of sorts) on the lawn - how very civilised! 
C and I even scheduled in a couple of evenings out and one night we ate at Efes which is a tiny Turkish family run restaurant in the middle of Worthing. If you are ever that way, you should make a visit because the food is seriously good. Efes is a real hidden gem and I can't wait to go back later in the summer (I'm now also desperate to try & re-create some Turkish recipes at home!) The following night we grabbed a take-away and went to watch the sun set on the beach - bliss.

It was a lovely couple of days away, isn't it amazing what a little sunshine can do?

June 04, 2013