Moving Into Our New Flat

A few weeks ago, Alex and I moved back to London and into a new pad. 🏠We were very excited as we've not lived together before and we managed to find a beautiful, light and airy flat that is just a 10 minute walk from the heart of Shoreditch.

I must be getting older as I was very enthusiastic about unpacking boxes of plates and mugs and filling up the empty cupboards. Most satisfactory.

The bedrooms are large and spacious and ours has cute little circular windows which remind me of port-holes in a ship. The extra space will be very useful for Alex and me as it (hopefully) means we can keep it nice and tidy!

Once we had found a home for most of our things, we decided it was high time to celebrate properly and ventured back upstairs to admire the view and seek out a bottle of something cold and bubbly. 

The french doors open over a fabulous view of the rooftops of London. At most times of day you can see a bustle of activity in the streets below. It will be very hard not to get distracted by people -watching in the mornings over a bowl of cornflakes.

Alex was the designated cork popper as I sat back and relaxed, ready to toast our new home. We decided on a bottle of Ruinart after a recommendation from a wine-buff friend and we were not disappointed. Cold, sharp and intensely bubbly, as Marvin Gaye says...ain't nothing like the real thing.

Once we had polished off the champagne, we sat back and admired the sky change from gold to orange to the deepest pink.

Both very excited to start this new chapter and see what the future might bring. My next pet project will be decorating the house so watch this space.

Traditional Scottish Tablet Recipe

I'm half Scottish on my mother's side and in Scotland they have a recipe for a traditional sweetie known as tablet.

It's a little like fudge, but far more crumbly, and so sugary that it dissolves instantly on the tongue when eaten. It's very very moreish but may also cause early onset diabetes so approach this recipe with caution.

I give you...tablet!

Besides the wickedly good taste, the other great thing about tablet is that it is stupidly easy to make, you can whip up a batch in less than 20 minutes. 

It makes a lovely Christmas present too and in previous years, I've put a few squares in festive tins and delivered them to friends and family. This year though, it's just for me!

Step 1) As always, is to assemble your ingredients. Like all my favourite recipes, this one only has a few (good looking) ingredients.

50g Butter, 250ml of whole milk, 1x tin of Carnation condensed milk and enough sugar to sink a battle ship (900g of golden caster).

Step 2) Grab a large pan and combine the butter and the milk until the butter has melted. Slowly tip in your sugar while stirring all the time.

Step 3) Gradually pour in your tin of condensed milk while continuing to stir. Boil for a further 15 minutes, continuing to stir all the time so the sugar doesn't stick to the bottom of the pan and burn. Be very careful at this stage because boiling sugar has a temperature of around 115°C and should be treated with extreme caution.

Step 4) This step is not really a step but an observation. While boiling, your mixture should turn from a pale gold to a rich caramel colour. When it looks a little something like the picture below, it is time to take it off the heat. A good way to test this is to take a small teaspoon of mixture and drop it into cold water, if you can mould it into a soft ball with the texture of plasticine, it is ready.

Step 5) Step 5 requires some muscle strength. You should take the pan off the heat and beat the mixture very firmly for about 5 minutes until it starts to crystalize. You should be able to feel a thickening of the mixture in the pan to indicate when you have done enough beating.

Step 6) Pour into a tin and leave for a few minutes to cool. Cut into squares and enjoy!

There, didn't I tell you that was easy? Much easier than resisting the temptation to reach for another square at any rate! Good luck!

Weekend in London

This weekend I took the train down to London to spend some time with some girlfriends. 

It was the weekend before Halloween, so we donned obligatory mad costumes (not pictured) and spent Friday night dancing and boozing until 4am at The Coronet Theatre.

As you would expect, Saturday was a bit of write off, and we spent it bumbling around eating as many carbs as we could get our hands on. By the time Sunday rolled around we were feeling a little more energetic and decided to check out the Columbia Road flower market.

Already bustling with people by 10am, it's a real sensory experience. There were musicians playing street music, vendors yelling out deals and hundreds of bright blooms on display that came in every shade imaginable. 

Columbia road also hosts a number of sweet little shops selling trinkets, and although I didn't buy anything besides flowers this time, it would be a great place to pick up a few Christmas stocking fillers. Think quirky knitted hats, shoes with fluffy pom-poms and brightly coloured jewellery.

Undeterred by the amount of people, we entered the fray and set about choosing our flowers. This enormous bunch of lavender smelled incredible, the photo in no way does it justice. 

This little chap wasn't so sure about the crowds though and opted to be carried...sensible.

In the end, I chose a traditional bunch of stargazer lilies and cream roses to take to Alex's mum for Sunday lunch. Maria and Claire however, had far more adventurous tastes, see them here pondering over a flower that looks like a tiny pink pineapple. I think it matches delightfully with Claire's pink hair!

By the time we had purchased our flowers, we had worked up quite an appetite, and decided it was time for breakfast. We headed to Luma in Wimbledon, which specialises in vegetarian and vegan food. Whilst I am normally an avid fan of all things bacon, it's always good to try new things and I was pleasantly surprised.

We started off with shakes, I went for mixed berry which contained spinach, chia, berries and almond milk, while Claire opted for banana and cacoa flavour. Followed by a selection of delicious breakfast delights...

Avocado on toast topped with a runny poached egg.

Coconut porridge with berry coulis, toasted seeds and mixed fruit.

And a stack of indulgent pancakes served with banana, fresh fruit, peanut butter and a liberal drizzle of maple syrup. In the true spirit of breakfast, we all grabbed a fork and shared all of it.

As I hopped on the train feeling very full of delicious food and with an armful of flowers, it was hard to think of a more satisfactory way to have spent a chilled weekend with the girls.

Take me back to...Mount Rinjani

Before we left to go travelling, Alex and I decided we wanted to do something adventurous. We had previously done a skydive in Byron Bay and dived with sharks on the Barrier Reef, but we were after a real challenge that would serve as the highlight of our trip...enter Mount Rinjani.

Rinjani is an active volcano on the Indonesian island of Lombok. This photo was taken from a beach bar on Gili Meno, where we had spent a lovely few days relaxing, snorkelling and eating the most incredible seafood. As we looked up at the mountain blazing in the Indonesian sunset, we wondered what exactly we had got ourselves in to.

When the big day came, we joined a bunch of eager hikers, porters and guides and set off in the blazing heat.

Dressed like Dora the Explorer, I brought with me only essential supplies including warm clothes, high-energy snacks and factor 50 sun cream. The porters carry all food and water, so you don't need to overload on luggage. We hiked with Green Rinjani, which are the most responsible guide operation on the mountain, as they clear up litter left by irresponsible tourists.

After a full day hiking, we reached base camp feeling exhausted. Our guide cooked us up a delicious high calorie feast of Nasi Goreng (Indonesian noodles) and deep fried bananas with grated cheese and melted chocolate. The latter sounds weird, but when you've been exercising all day, nothing tastes more delicious.

The camp was above the clouds and provided us with amazing views of the mountain, crater and sunset. We were told to get an early night, as we would be woken at 2am the next day to tackle the summit.

With this in mind, we layered up in coats, fleeces and woolly hats and nestled into our sleeping bags, nervous and excited by what tomorrow would bring.

The three hour trek to the summit of the volcano was harder than either of us had imagined. We tackled the cold and scree with aching muscles and were almost defeated a few times during the night. However, just after 5am, we arrived at the summit, 3,276 meters meters above sea level. As two of the first people at the top, we felt extremely proud of ourselves.

The gorgeous sunrise we were rewarded with made the effort all worth it. Alex even had a celebratory Bintang at the top to mark the occasion.

The rest of the day was spent trekking down to the lake at the crater, under the watchful eyes of a few cheeky monkeys. We were fascinated by them, but our guide was less enamoured, and kept a big stick handy to ward them off from stealing the lunch supplies.

At the lake, the locals caught fish as we basked in the late afternoon sunshine. Post lunch, we eased our aching muscles in the natural hot sulphur spring.

The pool is bright yellow and hotter than bathwater, it is also filled with tiny inquisitive fish that will try and nibble your feet if you sit still for more than a second.

After another restorative meal and a good night's sleep, our last day was spent trekking through jungle terrain to get back to civilisation, The trees provided a shady canopy above us and the soft hooting of the monkeys in the trees made a relaxing backdrop for our journey down.

When we finally reached our hotel, the stunning Rinjani Lodge, we collapsed on the sofa, exhausted but elated by our adventure.

Picking the Perfect Pumpkin

Nothing is more Autumny than a pumpkin patch. In previous years, during the run up to Halloween, I've dashed last-minute into the local London Sainsbury's and grabbed a couple of the last few pumpkins left on the shelf (normally the mottled and lopsided variety).

This year however, I had the luxury of being in the countryside for October, and mum and I visited Hill Farm in Chesterton. It's a delightful pick-your-own produce and farm shop, set in rural English countryside on top of a hill, boasting a gorgeous view and pumpkins as far as the eye can see.

We found more types of pumpkins, squash and gourds than you can ever imagine possible. From brilliantly fiery scarlet ones to bleached 'ghost' pumpkins to teeny tiny 'little gem' varieties. I traipsed up and down the rows with other dedicated pumpkin pickers, searching for the best ones.

With so many to choose from, as you can imagine, it took some time! I was mostly drawn to enormous, spherical, crimson ones, but mum more sensibly suggested we selected more traditional varieties to carve on Halloween with my little niece.

Once you have selected your perfect pumpkins, Hill Farm provides wheelbarrows and secateurs so you can easily take your prizes home.

Pumpkins are surprisingly dense and heavy, so it's hard work carting them around. No rest for the wicked eh!

Stocked up with plenty of pumpkins we headed for the exit, but on the way out, I couldn't resist grabbing a few little munchkins to add to our barrow. So sweet! We are going to attempt roasting them whole with some chilli oil, I will let you know how well it goes.

In the second photo I am either holding a tiny pumpkin, or photobombing Jack the Pumpkin King...I will leave you to decide which.

The lovely lady who owns the farm also suggested we buy some delightfully quirky 'Turk's Head' squashes to hollow out and fill with a hearty beef stew, so tempting, but on this occasion we decided we had more than enough.

Hill Farm also run a bird of prey and wildlife rescue centre and take in unwanted or disabled captive birds of prey and rehabilitate injured wildlife, so I had the pleasure of meeting this handsome chap.

With the car boot brimming with pumpkins, we decided to head for home....

...for roasted butternut squash soup. I like to serve mine with salty bacon bits and gruyere crisps. A thoroughly satisfying end to our pumpkin picking endeavours.