Furoshiki Shiki by Samira Boon

A couple of weeks ago I fell in love. 

I was skipping through Twitter when I saw a link for 'a beautifully designed new iPad cover' from Samira Boon. 

Now, I don't have an iPad, but a good design Tweet sucks me in every time. 

I clicked through to find a single piece of neon vinyl, folded to create a bag. No zips, no velcro, just folds. 

The 'Furoshiki Shiki'.

I "oooh'ed". 

People looked. 

I blushed. 

Bracing myself for an outrageous price tag, I scrolled... but... it never came! 

8 sizes, 10 colours & prices ranging from 9€ to 50€. Not bad for what I think is an exceptional little piece of modern design. 

I plumped for the iPad case as it's the perfect clutch size. 

Minimalism is key with a transparent bags.
Card holder, sunnies & house keys.
Leave the sandwiches, mascara & tissues for the totes, ladies.

Today, I'm feeling very Parisian in all black (peter pan collar knit from ASOS) & my black glitter ankle boots.
The second I walked in to Harvey Nicks this morning, women surrounded me asking about the bag & if it was Celine or a new Japanese designer. I have a feeling they're going to be a huge hit this season!

At 37€, I may need to invest in a few more colours!
Oh, and if you plan to use yours as an actual iPad case, you can use the screen through the vinyl, without unwrapping it.
Pretty nifty.

To buy:
Anywhere in Europe, click here.
US & Canada, click here.


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Seaside Supper

I'm finally out of the hotel & camping in the new house!
It's incredibly exciting… but it also smells like paint and we have to set up little picnics on the floor when we want to eat.
So in the spirit of minimalism, I made the simplest, tastiest pasta.
Something comforting to fill us up after a long day of painting, moving boxes & heaving sofas.
I call it Seaside Pasta & it's one of my all time favourite dishes.
(It's very like Spagetti Vongole but some Italians swear that you need onions & other goodies. Obviously you should feel free to call it whatever you want, you're the one cooking it after all!)
The only way I can describe the taste is to say that it's like the first day of Spring, by the sea. The sun's shining & the salty sea air is blowing. With each bite you'll swear you can hear seagulls & the crash of waves.
The ultimate simple supper, packed with flavour, whipped up in moments.

To make supper for two you'll need:

A fist full of spagetti,
A good scoop of fresh clams (around 200grams),
8 cherry tomatoes,
2 cloves garlic,
1 dried chili,
1 glass white wine,
olive oil,
salt,
1 handful fresh parsley.

First, put a pan of water on to boil.
Add a big pinch of salt & cover.
Pour yourself a large, cold glass of your favourite white wine.

Go ahead & start drinking your wine, you deserve it.
While you're waiting for the water to boil, crush or finely chop your peeled garlic cloves & half of your dried chili.
This is just to give the pasta a gentle warmth, it's not supposed to be firey.
Cut your tomatoes into halves.
Once your water's bubbling, pop your pasta in.

Now, put another saucepan onto a high heat.
Get it nice and hot & add a big glug of olive oil, don't be shy.
Swill it around the pan & add your garlic & chili.
Once it starts to brown, add your clams, tomatoes & the rest of your glass of wine. Toss them around & cover the saucepan.
Keep an eye on your pasta, you want it to be 'al dente' (firm) so cook it for the lowest time suggested on the pack. Pull out a piece, taste it, if it's done, drain it.
Pour your pasta back in the pan, off the heat & cover to keep warm.
Your clams should be beautifully steamed by now, and should have all popped open.

Give them a couple more rolls in the sauce & when you think they're ready to rock, poor the whole saucepan over your pasta.
Stir so the pasta is all coated in the syrupy, salty, seaside sauce.
Rip up your handful of parsley & sprinkle it over the top. (I didn't have any parsley, so don't worry too much if you skip this step.)
Transfer into a big serving bowl & you're done!

For a romantic meal for two, serve with two forks & fresh glasses of wine.

For a dinner party or family meal, serve in a large bowl & dish it up at the table, Italian style.
It never fails to impress & no-one needs to know you only spent 20mins in the kitchen!
If you fancy making a pudding, my easy lemon tarts would go down a storm after this!

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Larder Box

TheLarderBox.com combines three of my favourite things… Post, surprises & food.
It's a new service from Love Your Larder, which specialises in bringing you gorgeous, one-off, edible goodies.
You sign up online & once a month, you'll get a crisp brown parcel delivered to your eager little fingers.

You prise it open & rummage through the crinkly filling to find the pots & jars hidden beneath.
During this stage I like to visualise myself as a curious ferret, but I suppose any hungry woodland creature would do.
Although perhaps not a bear… Too grabby.

This is the first ever LarderBox, and it certainly doesn't disappoint.

Dark chocolate powder sounds a little refined for my tastes (I like sweeter milk chocolate) but I have a feeling it would be delicious in a chilli.

I'd never considered buying honey from Sheffield so I'm quite looking forward to trying this!
I'll have it on toast with lots of butter in the morning.
I suppose I should also try and dig up some Yorkshire tea to stick to the Northern theme.

I pulled this open and had a quick nibble, really delicious. I'd never have picked it up in the supermarket, so another win for the box of surprises!

Blackberry vinegar sounds incredible. They suggest adding a little to a stew for a real autumnal flavour.
I imagine it would make a lovely summer salad dressing too.

This is the only item I'm actually already familiar with.
Harrods has stocked Joe & Sephs popcorn for a while now & I am a total addict. They do every flavour you can imagine, my favourites are the goats cheese, the caramel & chili and this sea salt & caramel one.
Embarrassingly enough, last time I bought some I had armfuls of packets & was clinching another in my teeth.
The owner of the company's son was in the food hall & he came over to ask if I liked it.
No idea what gave me away.

This little packet of seeds comes with instructions informing you that you're supposed to plant in a window box so you can grow a little of your own produce.
A nice idea & it has a hashtag for you to Tweet… not entirely sure why, but I'll give it a go later!

The box comes with a nice little letter, explaining this months box, stories about the brands they've chosen & ideas for recipes you could make with them.

All in all, a lovely idea, well executed.
You can sign up here & if you sign up for the year, each box works out at about £16.
I think it's a fair price for full sized, British products which you probably wouldn't have tried otherwise, plus you have the excitement of opening up a pressie every month.
I like having mine delivered to the office so we can all poke around & try things together.
If you're familiar with GlossyBox & some of the other British subscription sampling services, you'll know that you get a discount or 'points' when you buy more of the product through the site. I don't think Larder Box does this yet, but I think it's something they should consider.
Being able to give the subscription as a gift is a lovely idea.
If you're one of my foodie friends, you know what you're getting for your next birthday!


Update: Thanks to all of your lovely requests, LarderBox are now offering European subscriptions for £29.99 per month. Good work, team!

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Fixer Upper

If you follow me on Twitter, you'll know I've spent the last few weeks house hunting & agonising over which place to choose.
I finally narrowed it down to two choices.
A first floor flat with a high ceilinged ball room, leading out onto a balcony with a breakfast table (but two smallish bedrooms and 2 oddly shaped bathrooms)… or… a flat with a beautiful panelled sitting room & 3 huge bedrooms (with peeling paint, ruined carpets, no heating & rubbish electrics).
Of course, I went for the unloved fixer upper!
 -You should know that when I was little I always wanted the puppy with the broken leg & I had a whole tank of goldfish with missing eyes, as I was afraid no-one else would love them. Clearly this is an ongoing complex which affects my house choosing abilities!
The pictures don't show the current disheveled state of the house as the (naughty) estate agent had them photoshopped.
But… never the less, here it is. My new baby:

Sitting room with its pretty ceilings ceilings & skylights.
It's actually unfurnished & the paint is all peeled & flakey in real life but the fire place works & I love the vast mirror on the back wall.

The dining room.
It's open plan & leads into the sitting room. It's flooded with light from above, which should improve my food photography no end!
As you know I'm a big fan of themed dinner parties, so you'll have to help me out with ideas for the next ones.

The corridor.
That's the front door, all the way at the end on the left. The door on the right leads into a little courtyard.

The kitchen!
Red, black & chrome... a bit 80s for my taste but I'm sure I'll grow to love it.
I just bought a red lunch box, so at least it will match.

Master bedroom.
It looks out onto the little courtyard & has an en-suite bathroom.
Can't decide if it should be guest room or mine though...

Bedroom two.
This is probably the least loved room in the house. I think it was a kids room & there are drawings all over the walls & crayons squished into the carpets.

Bedroom three.
This is going to be a big ol' walk in wardrobe. I really don't have any need for 3 bedrooms & I have so many clothes.
Don't get too excited, I don't have the funds to turn it into a Carrie Bradshaw affair, it will just have stand alone rails & some big mirrors.

The bathrooms.
Pretty self explanatory. (Do you think pink marble was ever in style?!)

There's quite a lot to do, but I love a project so it's my idea of heaven.
I'm living in Dean Street Townhouse until the new place is a bit more liveable.

They have outrageously comfy beds & bring me eggs in the morning.
The bathrooms are also stocked with the Cowshed spa goodies I loved at Babington house.
You would think I'd never want to leave, but I spend my nights gazing at paint charts & searching for inspiration on Pinterest... I'm itching to get into the apartment & start making it mine!
The painters have been working all weekend, so I should be able to get in & play this week.
Until then I'd love to know what you think!
Especially when it comes to colours for the sitting room & ideas for the walk in wardrobe.
Any ideas?


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Sweet Valentines

There's something about red velvet that just seems utterly... sexy.
Rosy, fresh cake batter slowly maturing into deep scarlet cookies as they bake.
These red velvet sandwich cookies are the ultimate decadent winter treat.
They can of course be eaten all year round, but with Valentines day fast approaching they would make the perfect gift for that special Mr, Mrs or Miss in your life.

Getting the mixture just right was a long ol' process of trial & error... but I'm really pleased with the recipe now.
Your Sweet Valentines should be like soft cookies, with wonderful squidgy fillings.
They're just the perfect tea-time treat to cheer you up on a cold January afternoon.
Serve them with a big pot of tea, or box them up & give away as sunny little pick-me-ups.

To make about 12 Valentines, you'll need:

300 grams plain flour
1 heaped tablespoon cocoa powder
1 heaped teaspoon baking powder
1/2 teaspoon salt
56grams butter, room temperature
225grams sugar
2 eggs
2 tablespoons buttermilk
2 teaspoons apple cider vinegar (yes, really.)
1 teaspoon vanilla extract
1 big tablespoon red food colouring
   
For the frosting:
250 grams cream cheese, softened
100 grams butter, softened
1 teaspoon vanilla extract
400 grams powdered sugar

Ok, preheat your oven to 190°C (375°F).
Line a couple flat baking trays with baking parchment, or a non-stick silicone sheet if you have one.
Sift your flour, cocoa powder, baking powder & salt into a bowl & set aside.
In a bigger bowl, cream together the butter & sugar until fluffy. Now, add the eggs one at a time while mixing.
Beat in your buttermilk, vinegar, vanilla essence & red colouring.
Add your dry ingredients & mix until smooth, red & glossy.
Use a tablespoon to drop even blobs of mixture onto the trays, nicely spaced so they don't run into each other.
Bake for 10-12 mins. They should have risen & look like cakey biscuits.
Leave them to cool, or pop them outside if you're impatient like me!
Use this time to make your yummy gooey filling.
In a big bowl, simply beat your ingredients together until light & fluffy.
Put it in the fridge until you're ready to sandwich.
To sandwich your cookies, pick one up, place a loaded teaspoon of frosting onto the bottom side (the flat one) and place another cookie on top.
Ta-daa!
Your Sweet Valentines are ready to rock!

When February 14th finally does come knocking at my door, I might try baking them in little heart shapes & give them away to all my girlfriends.
Maybe even wrap them in little brown boxes with polka dot bows…


Ps. If you like these, I'd put money on you loving my Star Spangled Brownies…

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