Here I am again!
December busied me with the micro management of tiny toys that had multiplied dramatically. A system was needed. I spent whole afternoons ordering pink and blue Ikea tubs into zones - Phoebe's went like this: Ponies, Barbies, Sylvanias, Palymobil, Small Toys (Mini Mermaids, Animal Rescue, Polly Pocket Stuff and The Crap From Party Bags).Then on to the blue tubs for River - Action People and Their Weapons, Transformers, Lego, Pirates, Dragons and Knights, Shiny Treasures (Padlocks, Pennies and Silver Buttons).Then I relayed this system to my children and husband who will never follow it.
Then January started with the biggest job of my career - a cookbook! (will give a sneak peek at some photos soon). I also worked with a photography company in Leeds - Powerhouse - to do some beautiful food shots for a photography competition and then got asked to do the same thing for my mate Darren at Shoot the Moon.
My free-time life has been dramatically improved by the opening of a GREAT cafe (in Manchester! Levenshulme! it's like London!). It's called Trove and is owned by husband and wife team Marcus and Katie who are both very beautiful and hip and talented and madly in love with each other and it could make me sick but I 've decided to be happy for them instead. They make organic jams and pickles and have just bought a bread oven to make real, chunky rustic bread in, their coffee is good, and Marcus's brother, Nathan is a (also gorgeous) talented cook who makes deceptively simple, delicious food. I say deceptively simple, because although the menu is small, the sensibility is astute, the flavours refined. Highlights so far have been rocket and Parmesan soup, a Spanish stew of winter vegetables and chorizo (in tiny chunks, not too fatty and overwhelming, but little crunchy bursts of paprika saltiness) and a ginger treacle cake with orange that was a perfect balance of sweet and sour.
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| at Trove's communal table |
I have been cooking alot too. Brown rice has entered my trolley again, after reading the great blog 101 Cookbooks and getting inspired by her healthy, wholefood cooking. Click on the link to get the recipe for a dish we now eat every week - a deconstructed sushi in a bowl with pan-fried marinated tofu, brown rice, avocado, toasted sesame and sunflower seeds and whatever else I have that's green like tender-stem broccoli, asparagus or flat green beans. The dressing is a gorgeous citrus and soy concoction. I have also made pizza dough and topped it with sliced roast beetroot, caramelised onion and ricotta given depth with lemon thyme and some fresh parsley at the end (I made this up myself!). I feel virtuous and happy when eating this kind of food, it satisfies both the cook and spiritual residing in me and has been nicely dove-tailed with my re-newed dedication to yoga practise thanks to a website www.yogatoday.com that has THE BEST teachers and means I can do a class any time I want at home.
Of course, eating this way and doing lots of yoga has its pay-offs. I can eat cake (and drink wine) and not fret about the thighs (or my soul's demise). One cake that has everyone happy is the cinnamon and chocolate teacakes you can (just) see me tweaking in this shot taken on location at Trove with Darren this week for the up-coming Food Photographer of the Year competition.
I guess this is kind of a de-constructed favourites list, because I also want to share some fashion that is inspiring me now. Fashion is not so far from food - it's something we need to engage with everyday (and if you're like me, you may change outfits three times a day too) and has the ability to transcend basic needs (fill me up, keep me warm) and become an art to reflect our own passions, intelligence and values. Thus justified, here's what I'm currently channelling. I know, it's menswear, but I am really taken by the way menswear is almost like a master recipe - or a haiku - you have the same foundations: pant, top, shoe - or 5-7-5 syllables with a seasonal reference - and then you add flavour, or humour with cut (the Sandro man's ankle skimming trousers) and unexpected spice, or insight, (his Navajo cuffs on both wrists) contrasting with fine tailoring and classic colours. I think men have it down much more than women - the restrictions of menswear allow a greater emphasis on quality and the essential. Like eating seasonally or writing Japanese Zen poetry, having a restrained list of ingredients or words to use often extracts a better end product.
Yogi's Treat Cinnamon and Chocolate Teacakes
(adapted from the brilliant www.whatkatieate.blogspot.com)
200g unsalted butter, left out to soften
3/4 c castor sugar
2 free-range eggs
dash of vanilla essence
1.5 c organic self-raising flour
1/3 c pure cocoa
pinch of cinnamon
1/2 c vanilla or natural yoghurt
icing sugar mixed with a bit of cinnamon to dust
Method:
Pre-heat oven to 180 degrees Celsius
Beat the softened butter using a hand-held electric mixer or whisk with the vanilla and sugar until pale and fluffy (about 5 mins).
Add the eggs one at a time until combined (it may look a bit scrambly but don't worry, it works in the end).
Sieve in the dry ingredients and fold through until combined.
Fold in the yoghurt and spoon mix into greased individual small cake tins or a greased loaf tin if you don't have any.
Bake for about 35 mins until your skewer comes out clean. Cool then dust with a mix of icing sugar and cinnamon.
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