St John Bread and Wine- Spitalfields

So I finally went to St John Bread and Wine in Spitalfields and it was, of course, as everyone says, a mazing. I know this is a bit like saying so I visited New York and I loved it- of course I loved St John- but you can't take away someone's first trip to New York from them however much they've read about it or seen it in films- and you can't take someone's first St John pate on toast away from them either.

Oh and the puddings- no one tells you about the puddings. The rhubarb Eton mess is a thing of beauty and delight that I would travel for. I'd be down there right now really if I could. I'd be down there every day.

So thanks to my lovely friend S for the treat and thanks to St John, for being as good as it says in the reviews.

Images from the St John Bread and Wine website.

Books: Pear Shaped

I am now the owner of a Kindle. As I said earlier today I do feel like I'm betraying books but I have also read more in the last week than I have the rest of the year so far- and that feels very good. I have made an oath that if I love a book I read on the Kindle book crack machine I will buy a physical copy of it- because it is nicer to read books whatever anyone says and if I love a book I will re read it. Also if you enjoy a book you want to spread the joy and lend the book to people and you can't do that with a download (and that my friends is worth remembering when we are paying the often cheaper online book price).

So this week I've been reading a delightful book called Pear Shaped by Stella Newman, writer, food writer and, I've learned, go to person for recipe and restaurant recommendations in London and New York.
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Pear Shaped is about Sophie, a pudding developer (seriously, why don't the careers advisers at school tell you that is a real job) who is single and living in London

The book is primarily about dessert and love- with side orders of New York and London. To me this is all good, there are days and weeks when you need books like this. Books that make you smile, make you feel like you aren't the only one who has bad days at work, bad weeks at work, that tell you you aren't the only one who doesn't understand men or always do the right thing and heroines that sometimes eat toast for dinner- with added recommendations for puddings you've never eaten before (hello compost cookies, we need to meet).

Stella Newman writes a blog which features some of the delicious sounding food in Pear Shaped. You can read her blog here- though be warned you will want to start baking almost immediately.

Pho takeaway

When you get take away noodle soup from Pho they pack you off with a beautifully prepared bag with a hot tub of spicy broth and all the trimmings for a delicious soup. I had tofu and mushroom so I first added my noddles and stirred them into the soup, then I added my tofu and mushrooms and finally my beansprouts and onions. and squirted in some lime- you can also add mint and other herbs they give you but I didn't because I wanted the spicy kick. Delicious for when you have had enough Christmas type food or to fight off a cold. If you have to be eating at a desk at this time of year, why not do it in style.

Christmas eton mess

For Christmas eton mess (to feed 12) you will need: 300g fresh cranberries, approx one bag of amaretti biscuits (I used some gingernuts too and therefore less amaretti but I'm sure both work), Marsala wine (just a glug- and I'm sure something else sweet and boozy would also work), 600ml double cream (I found one flavoured with brandy but again that isn't necessary), meringue nests or the ingredients to make meringues, the juice and zest of one large orange, 150g caster sugar, 500g mascarpone.



First take the fresh cranberries, the zest and juice of one orange and the caster sugar and put on a medium heat, bring to the boil then simmer for ten minutes, or a little longer if you'd prefer some of the cranberries to burst (say 12 minutes). Stir at regular intervals to ensure all the cranberries are getting sweetened. Take off the heat and allow to rest in the pan.







Then take the biscuits and break with your hands, then pour in the Masala, depending on how much you wish- I would say you need at least two tablespoons but a little more if you wish. If you don't want to use any alchochol I would suggest just skipping this stage but crushing the biscuits more finely so they are crumbs and possibly mixing them with the cramberries rather than layering.



Beat the biscuits and Marsala together so you have a softened but still textured mixture


Then take a bowel or glass (preferably something see through to make the most of the dish). First put in a layer of biscuit and then add a layer of cranberries on the top as shown. Keep back a small ammount of the cranberry mixture for later.



Put those to one side, If possible keep them at room tempreture but if you are making them in advance then just remove them from the fridge approx half an hour before serving (and keep them covered with cling film which I did after taking the picture but which didn't look so pretty! this is hygienic and also keeps the aroma in).



Then take the cream and marscapone, whisk them together. Then add your home made or bought meringues in small crumbled pieaces.



Then add the small ammount of fruit that is left and stir in.



Put the cream and meringue mixture in the fridge and only add that section when you are serving the mess otherwise it will seep into the laters of cranberry.






Wishing everyone a very happy, aromatic Christmas

Biscuiteers

Isn't Biscuiteers the best possible name for bakers or biscuits you could imagine? They make biscuits for presents, for companies and that you can buy in the kind of nice shops that sell pretty things in tins.

I was gifted this brilliant biscuit at a 4711 cologne party last week and thought it was almost (almost) too good to eat.

If you fancy becoming a biscuiteer yourself then you don't need to travel all the way to Paris, you can rather by the book The Biscuiteers book of Iced Biscuits which I had from the library recently. Unfortunately I did the thing of reading the book from cover to cover but not actually baking anything, but sometimes just reading cookery books is relaxing in itself.

Juniper Sling

Juniper Sling, just the name sounds decadent, 1920s esque and even a little debauched (in the best possible way). It is the name of the new scent from Penhaligon's which will be available later this Summer.

To celebrate Penhaligon's created a secret, pop- up speak easy in London's Fitzrovia. With the help of Dalston's The Clove Club we were treated to cocktails and a dinner inspired by Olivier Cresp's new olfactory wonder.

Obviously being a gin inspired scent the menu featured a healthy and very welcome ammount of London's finest spirit but Olivier has accented the juniper with notes of brown sugar and black cherry- so that was pudding sorted. Cresp is the creator of Angel and therefore the master of the gourmand scent and he spoke very genuinely about how much he had enjoyed his experience with Penhaligon's, I find listening to perfumers speak so fascinating, they are always so precise with their language as I suppose they must be in their work.















I think one of my favourite touches of the entire evening was the salad dressing being spritzed from atomizers, surely the chicest serving suggestion possible. All the food (and drink!) was utterly delicious, particularly the brown sugar ice cream and the cloudy red wine with a eucalyptus note (sounds strange but it's very very good).

We were lucky enough to sample the new fragrance with dinner and I must it's very good and perhaps more importantly in these days of utter scent saturation it's really new and interesting. Penhaligon's are building a very innovative set of new scents with some of the most talented perfumers in the world- Amaranthine, Elixir, Sartorial and now Juniper Sling compliment their classic scents and offer truly unusual fragrances.

Books: The Penguin Great Food Series

If you like books or bookshops you are very likely to know the The Penguin Great Ideas series, a collection of short but beautiful books by a vast array of authors, writers and thinkers from many ages. You may not have known they were a series but you will have picked up one of these small treasures and flicked through it I'm sure.

Now Penguin have produced The Penguin Great Food Series; a similar collection that celebrates food and culinary writing from the last four hundred years.

Like the Ideas Collection the Food books are beautifully presented (with covers by the ever brilliant Coralie Bickford- Smith) and keenly priced so you can indulge in a book shaped treat without feeling like you've over- indulged monetarily.

I am personally particularly excited about the Alexandre Dumas book 'From Absinthe to Zest: An Alphabet for Food Lovers'. I have loved Dumas without question from Dogtanion to D'Artagnan) and beyond.




Featured books covers above:
The Elegant Economist

The Campaign for Domestic Happiness

From Absinthe to Zest: An Alphabet for Food Lovers (by Alexandre Dumas


Further reading:

The Great Food Club blog on Tumblr is written by Pen Vogler from Penguin who is cooking her way through some of the recipes and discussing the books generally. It's a great blog and I think she is using the medium in exactly the way it should be, to create new, interesting content that will enhance people's enjoyment of the books.

You can follow Pen on twitter too @PenfromPenguin

Interactive dinner at Inamo

I'd read lots about Inamo, the fusion restaurant with an interactive ordering system. I thought it sounded cool but perhaps a bit gimmicky and I'd never managed to get there.

Last night I went to their second branch on Lower Regent Street (the original being on Wardour Street). As soon as I walked in I realised I'd be mistaken not to come here straight away. The interactive system is genius- you can order your drinks, your food, call the waiter, check the bill and, perhaps most importantly, play battleships (other games are available). Sure the need to constantly change your table display or re check the menu for the fifteenth time might slightly affect the quality of the conversation but our party was a mix of old friends and new faces and the entertainment was a welcome talking point (and frankly if you were going on a date and weren't sure how it would go this place would be brilliant).

The food is very good too- I had seafood gyoza which was delicious and pork with spicy chocolate sauce, I'm still not sure about the whole chocolate with savoury things trend but the pork was very gingery and nice- as were the salmon, cinnamon chicken, seabass and duck that fellow diners had (and there were veggie options too- although really this is a Pescatarians paradise).

So in short Inamo has good, healthy food and is lots of fun.

Eating Perfume: Penhaligon's chocolates

Flower food and scented recipes get my pulse racing in exactly the same way as a new fragrance. I've written about eating perfume before in the context of the ingredient ambergris but Penhaligon's in Edinburgh and their neighbour The Chocolate Tree have gone one better and collaborated on chocolates inspired by Penhaligon's perfumes.

The fragrances they produced chocolates for are: Malabah, Cornubia, Endymion, Orange Blossom, Amaranthine and Gardenia; a mixture of classic and newer formulations.

I was excited and fascinated by this process- and the chocolates themselves sounded delectable. Alex Musgrave, the delightful manager at the Edinburgh branch of the perfumers, agreed to answer some of my questions about how this chocolate collection.

1 How did the idea for a collaboration between Penhaligon's and The Chocolate Tree come about?

The collaboration was almost accidental. With a touch of fate! I have wanted to create scented chocolates for almost as long as I have worked for Penhaligon’s which is six years now. It’s a tricky thing to do. The artisan chocolate market is awash with a huge array of convoluted flavours, some successful some not. I had criteria. I wanted something local and therefore exclusive to my boutique, flavours reflective of our fragrances, not slavish imitations and delicacy and originality. I wanted them to surprise my clients. We succeeded on all these points.

One of the Chocolate Tree team, Josie, their talented baker, came in looking for fragrance. We got talking about flavours, scents and mutual ideas. Then Ali (Alistair Gower), the owner of the Chocolate Tree got in touch and we sat down to talk chocolate and perfume. He was new to fragrance and truth be told I am not a massive chocolate eater and knew very little about the way artisan quality chocolate is made. We looked very carefully at the fragrances with the ingredients we thought might produce the most unique finished product. I wanted a range of tastes, finishes, textures and sensations. I really wanted each chocolate to be savoured on the palate in the way a scent opens and blooms on the skin. Big ask, but you know what….we got very close. Especially with some of them. We did a couple of trials and changed the ganaches, tweaked ingredients, changed the colour of chocolate shell here and there and then kept tasting until we were happy. The final six chocolates were just beautiful and worked better than I could have hoped for.

2) I am a great lover of rose and violet creams- which are obviously made with perfume type flavours- I know they are quite love or hate- what was the reaction of customers to the perfumed chocolates? Was there a particularly successful chocolate?

We knew the reaction from clients would be really interesting. Everyone (the team included) had quite pre-conceived ideas about scent-inspired chocolates. So it seemed did many of our customers. I trained all our staff in the collaboration process and the inspiration and the ingredients. I had involved them in all stages of the process too, asking for feedback from them about the different drafts of the each chocolate. So when we started to sell them and talk about them we were more than we prepared. We all loved different chocolates too and were passionate about the project. We launched them at a special evening for local businesswomen, talking about the collaboration and letting the ladies sample them for the first time. It was interesting to watch reactions as I talked. Some were intrigued some not, some not really liking the idea at all, imaging a straight perfume/chocolate mix. After tasting however was a different matter. Hugely positive, everyone surprised and really intrigued by the witty interpretation of the fragrances, the scented echo if you like. We sampled them in store as we sold too and this really worked, talking each client through the project and letting them sample the same scent too. The feedback was so positive, with repeat sales for the chocolates and so much encouragement from our clientele.



3) I think using floral ingredients in food is becoming more fashionable- and gourmand fragrances continue to be very fashionable- did anyone find that they liked the chocolate of a scent they didn't like on their skin?

This is an interesting question. The Amaranthine chocolate was in many ways the most challenging to create and the fragrance for me that I wanted to be absolutely perfect. The fragrance was launched in November 2009 and exploded across the artisan scent world with its divisive and compulsive blend of tropical banana leaf, spiced oils, high levels of ylang oil and a deeply weird hot milk note in the base of the scent that made it so moreish and sensual. It is perhaps one of the most unusual and shocking scents that Penhaligon’s has launched and was created by master perfumer Bertrand Duchaufour. I wanted the oddness of this scent to come across. The contrast of comfort and carnality, the creaminess and unsettling power of ylang, a renowned aphrodisiac oil. This fragrance divided our clients. Some loved, some hated. The chocolate however worked like a dream, (we used tiny touches of ylang ylang essential oil) seducing all who tried it and for me is the stand out chocolate in the collection. On a personal level, one of the chocolates is based on Malabah, a ginger and rose based oriental we have in our collection. The scent itself is witty, juicy and stylish but smells sharp and bitter on my skin, much as I want to wear it. The chocolate however is smooth and beautifully made, with delicate notes of green coriander running through it and the earl grey tea note which in the scent is fresh, is smoky and warm in the chocolate. Wonderful.

4) I am especially intrigued as to how the non floral ingredient like sandalwood tasted- could you tell us a little bit about that?

The sandalwood note (and the use of myrrh and the Endymion chocolate) works very well with chocolate. They are both warm, woody, earthy notes. This plays well with the bitterness of dark chocolate in particular. Ali the chocolatier and his team use these notes with great finesse, the aromatic creaminess of wood oils breathes into the chocolate and seems to give it an extra dimension without ever overpowering it. Like base notes in fragrance, I noticed as the chocolate finished on the palate, these wonder bitter woody notes resonated last of all, smoothing and rounding the experience off.

5) Might the collaboration be repeated in the future?

I have future projects in the back of my mind already. The valentine’s project is already up and running in Edinburgh and selected London stores. I would like to look at working on chocolates for the new Anthology fragrances launching in late spring. One of them is a sparkling fruity gourmand begging to be made in a chocolate. We are looking at making Blenheim Bouquet, out bestselling citrus into a mini bar for father’s day, I love the idea of playing with black pepper, lemon, pine and bergamot. Maybe a small box of limited edition Orange Blossom chocolates for mother’s day. So there are ideas galore. I want Ali to be considered like a perfumer in some respects, someone who I consult with a brief, who creates something special to sit alongside our beautiful fragrances. We both like a challenge and the process so far has been fun and surprising for both of us.



Thank- you very much to Alex and everyone at Penhaligon's. There is lots more information about the upcoming Valentines chocolates on the Penhaligon's facebook page and you can follow the fragrance house on twitter- they have lots of competitions and interesting events throughout the year.

Fika London

I have written about my love of Scandinavian food before and so when a friend and I happened upon Fika a Swedish Bar and Grill at the top (or Shoreditch) end of Brick Lane we immediately decided we had to go there for a pre- Christmas meal.

Fika is a small wood cabin like oasis after the fabulous but frenetic world of Shoreditch on a Sunday outside. By Summer I understand you can eat Crayfish on the terrace but in the harsh cold of December we stayed downstairs in the warm.

The Menu here is compact and I would have like to try everything (with the exception of the herring, I am yet to have herring I could love in Sweden or the Uk I'm afraid). I had reindeer sausages with mash- which is made with the potato skins on which is healthy and gives more texture- which comes with lingonberry jam and was delicious. My friends had traditional meatballs which I'm told were very good and very authentic (we had a Swede with us). I wanted one of the pieces of fish or meat on a board with delicious looking potatoes but it was only lunch time. So they will have to wait for next time- and there will be a next time as I loved it here and it was good value too.

Hix Oyster and Chop House- the book

Having bought and loved Mark Hix's book on British Seasonal Food and being a fairly recent adopter of oysters I was very excited when his new book Hix Oyster and Chop House arrived.

Oysters to me were always a sophisticated dish I felt I 'should' like but wasn't actually sure of. Having avoided them on menus, partly because I was worried I didn't like them and partly because of the anxiety of not being quite sure of how to eat them 'properly', I decided to just go for it and try one at Borough market on a sunny Saturday.

The good news is that like mushrooms and gherkins before them the oysters I had hated as a child I absolutely loved as a grown up- and so a new obsession was born.

This book is brilliant because it explains all about oysters in great detail: all the different British and Irish varieties are described by the characteristics, there is a good guide to how to prepare oysters and then several interesting recipes for them.

This book is in many ways far more educational than lots of the modern food coffee table books available. It explains in depth about the different cuts of all the kinds of meat served at the restaurant. My Mother and Grandmother probably know all about meat cuts and what to order at the butcher for what recipe but I'm afraid beyond a Sunday roast, a steak or a chicken breast I'm sadly lacking in knowledge of what to buy and how best to cook what I do get. This book is helpful in that regard without ever stopping being a good, glamorous read like lots of the food books which are lighter on the detail.

That isn't to say there aren't lots of beautiful recipes to get all worked up about too. The book opens just as any good meal should, with some information about the drinks served at Hix Oyster House- including the famously delectable Hix Fix.

Then there are a wealth of recipes to either try or fantasise about arranged as you might order them in the restaurant. The recipes include soups (I particularly like the sound of the crayfish and cider brandy soup); salads (including some fabulous dressings like mimosa and bramble); toasts (asparagus with Dorset drum cheddar for me please); fish of course (griddled squid with broad bean relish sounds especially good; there is meat too with a range of traditional and not so traditional sauces; also happily the side dishes at the restaurant are included- for me sides and starters are the best bits about any meal and these would make me order bowls and bowls of extras. Finally of course there is pudding- heaty rhubarb crumble and elegant strawberry sparling wine jelly among them. For all that I love sweet things I don't always want them at the end of a meal- so I was pleased to find a discussion of the many kinds of cheeses you might like to try.

The innocent cafe

The Innocent cafe is open until Friday. Located just off Old Street the cafes concept is that you can eat your five portions of fruit and vegetables in just 2 courses from their menu. I was a piggy and had 3 courses: beetroot and horseradish Pierogi (dumplings), Korean kimchi (some kind of pickled cabbage, very tasty!) and mushroom pancakes and rice pudding brulee with autumnal fruit compote.

The Scandinavian Cookbook

Scandinavian food has been a particular favourite of mine since I was a little girl, thanks to having the good fortune of having Swedish and Danish neighbours (despite growing up in a little corner of Surrey).

I distinctly remember my first open sandwich and wondering why there was no roof on it- it was a revelation- as a child I couldn't understand why no one British hadn't noticed that less bread meant more room for filling! (now I also see it is a healthier option but you don't care about all that when you're five do you?).

I also remember the creamy Danish blue cheese, the cinnamon buns and the tale of the grown up dinner party where our Danish neighbour cooked the best sea bass the adults of our road ever tasted by steaming it in a dish washer (inside a covered pan you understand).

So I was delighted to be given the chance to review The Scandinavian Cookbook by Trina Hahnemann- who is a sort of Scandinavian cross between Nigella Lawson and Delia Smith with a bit of Hugh Fearnly Whittingshall thrown in (for her love of seasonal produce and unusual ingredients only!).

The book is beautifully presented- the recipes are arranged seasonally and accompanied by wonderful photographs of spring, summer, autumn and winter in the different Scandinavian countries as well as of the glorious food- so you see the food in context but are also enjoying some stunning photography in it's own right that will have you looking for flights straight away- this is more than merely a recipe book- it's a window into Scandinavian life through food.

I look at cookery books in book shops a great deal. I find it completely relaxing to sit down in a corner of a shop and really look at new titles to see how well they explain recipes and I must say time and time again I put books back that don't have pictures of the dishes they are telling you how to make. I know pictures add a great deal of expense to a book but I really value being able to see what my end result should be. The photographs of the food here are plentiful and mouth watering.

The recipes on offer vary in terms of formality and the time and skill required to make them. So there are recipes for simple, easy to make but important, staple dishes like Smorrebrod and Langoustines with mayonnaise but also more complex and unusual dishes like veal with rhubarb. I'm particularly keen to make my own elderflower cordial and the artichoke soup.

I find it fascinating and I think I have said it here before that the Nordic countries are so close to us relatively but we tend not to immediately look to them for- inspiration I suppose. Certainly food wise we look to Paris, Milan or Barcelona for new recipes far more than Stockholm or Copenhagen. These countries have so much to offer and not least in their food. The food is at once really quite similar to our own but different enough to seem exotic and it's certainly very hip. It is also often extremely healthy and there is a dedication to seasonal eating that seems real rather than our British flirting with it but ultimately still buying strawberries from three time zones away in the middle of winter.

I understand Trina will also be opening a pop- up restaurant in Londonfor ten days in November and December. If the recipes from those months in the book are anything to go by it will be a real treat. The pop- ups menu is describes as a modern version of the smörgåsbord. It will include open sandwiches with home-baked rye bread and various toppings, and some Danish cheeses. Then there will be an afternoon tea with traditional glühwein and Swedish cinnammon rolls. And for dinner there will be a four-course menu with soup and fish, plus a main course and a pudding. I will post more information about the restaurant nearer the time- I will certainly be going and hope to maybe see some of you there too.

The Scandinavian Cookbook is available in paperback from pre- order here and is released on the 1st of October. The hard back is available here.

Eating Perfume

You might love to smell perfumes but do you love to eat scents?

I can't get enough of floral cooking- rose water on rice pudding, violet ice cream, lavender iced cakes or in lemonade, orange blossom macaroons.

Eating ingredients you find in perfume is usually about florals though and they are certainly not for everyone. This weekend I had the 'luck' to try something completely different from the perfume world: Ambergris.

For those who perhaps aren't as interested in scent as cooking Ambergris is a legendary ingredient in the perfume world- apparently a beautiful, earthy musky smell that was loved and revered for it's medicinal qualities for hundreds of years.

Ambergris is a delicate sounding word but beauty in this case masks if not a secret then a surprise. For Ambergris quite literally describes a grey rock type substance found on beaches (named to be like grey amber) which is actually whale vomit. There are more details about what Ambergris is and it's journey in life it in this BBC article.

Ambergris is generally rare in perfume nowadays because of cost and increasing restrictions- which in the case of ambergris being taken or developed from slaughtered whales is clearly absolutely the right thing in my opinion. The question of naturally found Ambergris being used in perfume seems to me more difficult- I would have thought that as long as no creature is harmed this shouldn't be a problem- but I do understand that where demand outweighs supply people will bend rules and I consider harm to any creature to be too greater cost for any perfume or beauty product.

Ever well read and knowledgeable Helg who writes Perfume Shrine suggest some modern scents that are meant to have natural, as opposed to synthetic, ambergris in them here. If Eau De Merveilles does contain Ambergris and that salty cosy skin like scent derives from that ingredient then I can completely understand why ambergris has been treasured for so long- that perfume is quite beautiful and unlike anything else I have smelled for wanting to make you nuzzle the wearer or any clothes it's been on (gentleman take note, I think it could work very well on you- although I believe Terre De Hermes is meant to be the men's equivalent).

Now we come to the point of the post (finally I here you say)- how did I come to eat ambergris and how was it?

Well I came to eat it at Bompas and Parr's brilliant dinner/ art installation The Complete History of Food on Sunday (you can read a full review by food bloggers and London secret supper club dinner hosts Fernandez and Leluu here).

I had heard via reviews that there was an unusual ingredient in one of the courses and found out on the day it was whale vomit. During the meal though I couldn't work out what we had eaten which could contain in it and at no point were we told about it. Then we got to the dessert section of the meal: a delicious candied orange and iris flower jelly with an ambergris posset- I, knowing what ambergris was, knew this was the moment to be brave but my fellow diners wouldn't believe me and said that the delicious, extremely sweet creme brulee type custard couldn't possibly be the whale vomit we had heard the rumour about. No no they said it must have been a hoax, this is far too lovely and doesn't look like that would look.

Well I checked and it was ambergris and it's true that it doesn't look anything like you would imagine- it looks just like custard but on the spoon is slightly clearer and of a less runny consistency. In the mouth it tastes like an extremely rich burnt custard as I said and the texture is again like custard but perhaps firmer and slightly gelatinous. It was delicious I must say, although I'm not sure for either the cost or effort of finding it it was really that much better than a really good creme brulee and I could never quite get what I was eating out of my head for long enough to really enjoy it. It is fantastic to have tasted such a treasured ingredient though, even if it was a bit weird!

Chocolate Guinness cake

Nigella's chocolate Guinness cake is all I can think about. Just look at that glorious cream cheese frosting and the blackness of the cake, the dark, rich, velvet density.

I swoon for macaroons

I scream for ice- cream too but my real can't resist them, finish the whole box by the time I'm on the bus treat are macaroons. Call me a decadent Marie- Antoinette type if you like but when it comes to sugar (and sugar only) I am happy to be more divine right than democracy. Yes they are frivolous, expensive and filled with calories but I love 'em.

So in an effort to economise and also develop my lil' old self I went to this 'All about Macaroons' class at L'atelier des Chefs between Oxford Street and Marylebone.

The course is £72.00 and lasts two hours- so it's not cheap but it is in a totally state of the art kitchen and you learn in small groups. I didn't attend in a blogging capacity of any kind and spent my hard earned money on this course and I felt I had good value for money; the teaching was interesting and precise but the class still felt like fun and leisure.

I consider myself to be quite a good 'pastry chef' i. e. maker of puddings- but only a fare maker of savoury food and was worried I would struggle. There is no doubt that making macaroons requires concentration but I was amazed that as long as you follow the recipe they are quite easy and you really do get an extremely professional batch of macaroons at the end. I'd have paid for mine!

All this got me to thinking about my fantasy macaroon flavours and so far I've come up with:

Violet
Elderflower and gooseberry
Blood orange and rose water
Rhubarb and custard (a personal favourite- I'm going to try and make these!)
Pumpkin
Lavender
Black Cherry

Nom. Nom. Nom.

What flavours of macaroon would you like to buy or make?

When to spend

Even in these frugal times there are some things you spend money on. In a quest for quality not quantity my list of things to splash on would include:

Loo paper (or toilet roll if you like)- this has inspired the whole post really. The cleaners at work in an effort to economise have started providing us with what seems to be rice paper. This is not helpful. Especially as in an effort to economise we all use the loo paper for tissues. I have scratched half my hay fever-plagued skin off because I'm too thrifty to just go to the supermarche.

Tissues- see above. A big manly tissue is my favourite.

Chocolate (as in Green and Black's worth spending money, not as in silly gift boxes that cost more than a meal, I mean I like those if anyone wants to send me one but I wouldn't buy one for myself)

Coffee

Chicken (although that's more for reasons of conscience than cash)

Shoes. Sort of. In that ones made of a breathable material (not necessarily leather) mean less blisters, bad smells, strange infections and happier feet!


Things I am very happy to economise on:

Books. Not that I don't spend lots on them I do- but I am more than happy to buy a second hand one or ten- because obviously I can have more and also I am happy about passing them on to people. Also if I buy paperbacks from a charity shop or second hand shop I can have more brand new ones.

Water. I like the tap stuff, it's not too cold and when I buy mineral water I seem to spend my life recycling.

Nail varnish. I have bought all kinds from the champagne to the white lightnings (if you are not British that is very, very cheap horrible alcohol) of nail varnish and honestly I think all that matters is that you like the colour, put two coats on and don't let it go gloopy. Good base and top coats do seem to matter though. Oh dear this is getting perilously into preachy beauty magazine territory isn't it.

Travel:
Buses: I love the bus, you get to drive around London looking in shop windows, seeing people go by and you can listen to podcasts and music. The tube is often too loud to hear the spoken word and quite a lot of quiet songs. That said I don't like traffic jams, misty bus windows, seats facing backwards or bendy buses- or when the bus terminates for no reason and the driver doesn't know (which means can't be bothered) to do a transfer.
Walking: clearly the best way to get around and to see London, always my preferred mode of transport where possible!

Cordiality

I love cordials with very cold, sparkling water that makes your nose tickle when you first drink it. I stand in the cordial section of the supermarket with the same kind of glee on my face as is evident when i walk into a perfume department. Cordial is versatile, aside from the fizzy bubbles, nose tickling refreshment you can use them in cocktails, or for the more sober sorbets and ice lollies.

My all time favourites are:

Tillman's of Sweden Rhubarb cordial.

Bottle green lemongrass and ginger cordial.

Belvoir elderflower cordial.

Beautiful berries

The Pineberry is apparently the strawberry that tastes like pineapple. It looks very charming doesn't it? like nature got confused with it's crayons and coloured the strawberries in wrong this time.

Found via Daily Candy; you can also read more about pineberries, their eighteenth century origins and why they are still a strawberry, at the Guardian.

Photo also via Daily Candy.

Peppersmith

Over the weekend I took delivery of a lovely parcel of the new British chewing gum Peppersmith.

This is the gum it’s cool to chew for several reasons. Firstly let’s be honest the gorgeous retro packaging makes it covetable on its own.

There is also, perhaps more importantly really, the fact their gum is made of a natural gum material called chicle which apparently is how gum used to be made until the
1960s when companies realised they could make more money selling us horrible synthetics. You can read more about this on their website here.

I like their attitude to waste- the pack comes with little papers for you to throw your gum away with- I think the novelty and the cuteness would encourage even the most naughty litter dropper not to drop gum that ruins everyone’s shoes and clothes.

Finally the gum tastes really good. It’s fresh and light which is probably because it's natural- it freshens your breath and quickens your step without taking your head off which is not something I want in a gum personally. The gum is also really chewable. You know with normal gum you chew until the flavor goes and then if you carry on chewing the gum becomes much harder and eventually you end up grinding your teeth together because it’s so hard? Well this honestly doesn’t happen to me with Peppersmith.

So far they are just making a peppermint flavor but there are plans for spearmint and my all time favourite chewing gum flavor cinnamon- which is a hitherto sadly neglected flavor in the UK market which I hope this will rectify and capitalise on.

Peppersmith is available to buy in these ways. I ordered it online and it arrives very nicely packed up with some badges and even a hand written note, which is a classy touch don’t you think?