Tuesday, September 11, 2012

if you could time travel









I recently listened to a remarkable interview with the writer Ray Bradbury. When asked which moment of his life he would revisit if he could time travel, he answered: 'Every single moment.' Have a listen to the whole interview here. It's amazing.

With that in mind, here are a few moments above of late that I would be happy to revisit:
~ afternoon tea at a friend's new sun drenched flat (where she made fresh ground coffee, polenta cake and bruschetta);
~ a chat with my elderly Italian neighbour which concluded with her giving me some flowers from her garden;
~ a cheese-plate eaten with friends, as we shared hilarious flirtation and relationship anecdotes.

Not long now till our London trip. I'm really looking forward to it but trying to stretch out the delicious sense of anticipation too. Being in the moment is key.

If you are in London during 19-22 September, come along to 100% Design, Stand L318, in Earl's Court, where you will find Kristian showing his wonderful new range of products - very exciting!

Pub lunches, ciders and steaming mugs of tea ahoy!

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Sunday, September 2, 2012

buds and biscuits



Observations from the first weekend of Spring:

~ It was surprisingly cool, as if nature was saying 'don't get too hasty throwing off that Winter garb'.
~ From our back yard I spotted birds flying in arrow formation for what felt like the first time and marvelled at how that was possible.
~ A smiley face appeared in the sky with a word after it - I thought it was going to be decide but it ended up being decorug (whatever that is?).
~ A friend dropped round on Saturday with pear tart, which was surprisingly good.
~ We had lunch at my parent's house for Father's Day and talked lots about our upcoming trip to London - did I mention that we were going to London in two weeks? I don't think I have... 
~ I sat in the garden with Kristian and my mum, soaking up the sun and checking out the new buds and shoots coming up.
~ I made some protein-rich gingerbread biscuits to fatten up my Dad (and ate a few of the misshapen ones myself).  

Gingerbread Biscuits
Adapted from Breakfast, Lunch, Tea, by Rose Carrarini

125g unsalted butter, softened
90g brown sugar
3 Tbsps molasses (or golden syrup works just as well)
1 egg, beaten
370g plain flour, sifted (I substituted 100g of flour for quinoa flakes, to up the protein)
1 tsp bicarbonate of soda
1/2 tsp salt
1 Tbsp ground ginger
1 tsp ground cinnamon
1 tsp mixed spice

Beat the butter, sugar and molasses/ golden syrup until pale and well combined. 
Add in the egg, then fold through the flour and other dry ingredients until the mixture forms a good dough. You might need to add a little extra flour or another egg if your dough is too wet or dry. 
Roll the dough into a ball and refrigerate for at least 30 minutes.

Preheat the oven to 180°C/ 350°F. Butter a baking tray.
Roll out your dough until it is about 5mm thick. I heartily recommend well flouring the rolling pin and surface you are rolling on, lest you have to shout expletives at the dough when it won't lift off your chopping board. 
Cut the dough into the shapes you want and put them on the baking tray.
Bake the biscuits for 10-15 minutes, or until firm and browned on top. 
Cool them on a rack and try not to eat too many before lunch.

I hope you had a wonderful Spring weekend! Here's to more clear skies and warmer weather ahead.

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