source www.old-chum.com
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Roasted Vegetables with Citrus Couscous
You will need
Couscous
I have a new addiction, blouses. I just can’t get enough of them. They are so easy and versatile to wear, whether with a pair of denim shorts or with a killer pair of skinny jeans. I just can’t wait for the warmer months, I think I will just end up living in my ever growing collection. Here are a few I have my eye on for the next payday.
ASOS £30
Topshop £24
Topshop £45
Suno
Miss Selfridge £32
On a little footnote, how cute are these Charlotte Olympia shoes £851.76 from www.luisaviaroma.com
Whilst planning my wedding last year I came across the oncewed blog. It provided me with so much inspiration and became somewhat of a wedding ‘bible’ for the big day. I had a huge folder on my computer full of inspirational photos. I loved being able to see what people had done, many of the magazines I had bought soon after getting engaged had left me uninspired and a little deflated so discovering oncewed was a real treat. We were very lucky to have a very talented photographer Harry Freeland photograph our wedding, I had planned to only select only a few of my favourite photos from our big day but looking through the album I found it a lot more difficult to whittle them down. I hope you enjoy. Perhaps the next part may be some honeymoon photos…
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Pecan and Chocolate Oaties
A really quick and easy recipe. You can make double and freeze half to bake whenever you fancy it.
You will need
Preheat the oven to 180C. Mix the flour, oats, sugar, baking powder and cinnamon together in a bowl and then add the butter. Rub the butter into the mixture until you don’t have any lumps of butter left. Now add the pecan nuts, chocolate chips and the egg and mix it all well until it all comes together into a ball. Now, lay out a sheet of cling film and place the dough in the middle. Roll it into a fat sausage and wrap in the cling film. Place in the fridge and chill until solid.
Now take the cling film off and thickly slice into discs arranging the dough onto your baking sheet. Bake for around 15minutes until golden. Leave them on the tray to harden, then place onto a wire rack to cool completely.
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I became a tour widow of sorts last week. The husband packed his bags and joined a group of artist friends for a painting trip to Madrid for Persianas Libres Madrid. As they were there for quite a few days they made the most of it and painted lots of additional shutters. There seems to have been a good response to their work including being featured on the BBC website as well as many Spanish newspapers.
Mr Penfold
Billy, Malark & Mr Penfold
Pita- mum’s special recipe!
Now, this is truly a family recipe so it is a real treat that I am sharing it. Everyone that knows me has sampled this treat and the response is always great. This isn’t the pita everyone thinks, this is more of a ‘pie’ made with filo pastry originating from Bosnia. There are lots of different types that you can make. Cheese, potato, meat, spinach, butternut squash, you get the gist. They’re great for breakfast, lunch and dinner!
You will need:
Firstly, pre-heat your oven to 200C, or 180C for fan assisted. Then lightly grease a baking tray.
Next whisk the eggs with the salt and then add the cottage cheese, creme fraiche and feta cheese and mix well.
Lay out your filo pastry, if the sheets are really big cut them in half. To fill firstly brush lightly with the melted butter then spoon approximately 2 tablespoons of mixture over the sheet. Fold over the top and bottom of the filo by about an inch and then roll the sheet loosely from side to side and place into baking tray. Repeat until you have used up all of your filling and then brush the tops of the rolled pita with butter.
Place in the oven. Bake for 15-20 minutes or until light golden brown.
Eat with Kefir or drinking yogurt for the authentic Bosnian experience.
note. To make potato pita start by finely chopping 1 medium onion or 4 shallots and then grate 1 large potato (if you would like to make meat pita then add 200g of lean beef mince at this stage). Mix well with salt, black pepper and oil. Fill and roll the filo in the same way and bake for around 25-30 minutes or until light golden brown.
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I do love iPhones. Being directionally challenged, the online maps help put me back on the right track. There are reams of websites to check when out and about. I can listen to music while strolling the streets. It’s just generally quite handy.
BUT, as sausage fingers and touch screens aren’t the best of friends, I’ve often sent accidentally-odd messages when my misspelt words are automatically changed to unlikely replacements. Nothing too bad, minor annoyances - others haven’t been so lucky though, much to my amusement.
Check out Damn You Auto Correct for the funniest picks of text calamities.
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[video]
Image courtesy of Bert Stern
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Mirin Poached Beef
Serves 2
You will need
Combine the stock, soy, mirin and sugar in a pan and bring to the boil. Once it reaches boiling turn it down to a simmer. Add the onion and sliced pak choi and cook for 5 minutes.
Whilst this is cooking, using a very sharp knife slice the meat as thinly as you can then add the beef to the pan and cook for a couple of minutes whilst stiring until the meat becomes opaque.
Serve the rice in bowls and then ladle the meat, pak choi and onions ontop along with as much of the sauce as you like. Sprinkle with the pickled ginger, spring onions and chilli.
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The “Steel Tree” house (above) is the brainchild of Joel Sherman, principal architect and owner of Californian design company JLS.
Built along the sweeping hillsides of the Sierra Nevada forest, this statuesque building reflects playful, childhood dreams into practical, adult reality, whilst supporting and remaining sympathetic to its surrounding environment.
You can imagine feeling the wonder of waking up and falling asleep within this cinematic, treetop vantage point.
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Banana and Peanut Butter Muffins
You will need-
For your viewing pleasure.
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Image courtesy of Joel Zimmer
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