Review: Smitten Kitchen by Deb Perelman

I'm off to New York in May for the husband's and my first wedding anniversary, so this arrived at the perfect time. We're staying in a gorgeous little West Village apartment which we booked  through AirBnB, and I'm really excited about having our own little corner of New York for the week, complete with its own teeny, tiny kitchen. Who knows, I might rise to the challenge and try some of the recipes while there.

 I'm a longtime fan of the Smitten Kitchen blog. Deb started her blog four years ago, cooking from her own tiny New York kitchen. In my flat in London, the kitchen is small, but at least the kitchen/living room is open plan so it feels a little less cramped and I can spread out onto the kitchen table as extra chopping space. Even so, I get shouty if people get in a 2 metre radius of the stove when I'm trying to cook. The space isn't big enough for two with a control freak like me in the kitchen, so I appreciate the challenges that a small kitchen can create, not least where workspace is at something of a premium.

Like me, she is a former vegetarian  so the recipes fit very well with the way I tend to eat on a day to day basis - the vegetables are clearly the main feature, with meat seemingly more of an aside. There's a fantastic array of vegetarian main dishes, though Deb has taken one step further down the path to omnivorous eating than I have as there's also some delicious looking pork, beef and lamb dishes too. Sadly, I am not yet brave enough to branch out further myself and try these but the chicken and fish dishes look to be such thing as foodie dreams are made.

 Sesame-spiced turkey meatballs with smashed chickpea salad

Deb is an obsessive cook - something which I cannot claim to be - always looking how to better and improve a recipe she has stumbled upon. She knows which ingredients shouldn't be scrimped on, and the ones where any old brand will do. And she knows that if something is worth doing, it is worth doing well which is something I definitely adhere to.

Red wine velvet cake with whipped mascarpone

This copy landed on my doorstep with fortuitous good timing - it pulled me out of a creative rut when trying to dream up a birthday cake to make for the husband's birthday as there was the most fantastic red wine velvet cake featured in its pages. And even better, there's not a drop of food colouring in it!

wild mushroom tart

Similarly, a slightly quieter spell at work allowed me to indulge in a few post-work cooking sessions, which always helps me relax. Fabulous spiced turkey meatballs, wild mushroom tart and seared halibut were all perfect (if not a little indulgent) weekday dinner treats. I can see the meatballs rivalling my favourite Ottolenghi ones and going into regular rotation.

seared halibut and gazpacho salsa with tomato vinaigrette

This is a fantastic book which I think will become a firm favourite in my household. Deb's passion for food and ingredients is clear to see, and the book itself is both a love letter to New York and a compendium of immensely cookable recipes. In the time I've had it, I've had as much fun curled up on the sofa, absorbing its every word as I have cooking from the recipes. It really is home cooking at its best, with nothing so taxing that you can't make it when tired on a Thursday night. Every recipe has a lovely story behind it, and Deb's photography is similarly sumptuous, which is something as a food blogger that I am still trying to master. I can't recommend it enough.



I was sent a copy of Smitten Kitchen for review, however all views are my own.

A present to myself

I have been contemplating getting a new camera for some time. While I still adore my SLR, it is getting a little aged (coming up to seven years old). I also wanted something that was a little more portable, and after months of research and deliberating, the Fuji X100 seemed to be the clear winner. My good friend Sarah has one, and used it to take a number of my wedding photos. I was blown away by the quality of something so small. If, like me, you also have a bit of a thing for vintage film cameras then you'll agree that it also looks pretty amazing.

I'm not about to give up on my SLR for good - it has its own very definite set of merits, and I absolutely love using it. However, with lots of little mini-breaks planned for this year, it seemed like as good a time as any to take a leap into the semi-compact market. 

First impressions of the X100 are good though - it takes fabulous photos in low light (which was one of my main reasons for buying it). It's not as responsive as my SLR: I have to press and hold the shutter if I want a focal point which isn't bang on centre, and the autofocus is a little slow, especially when taking macro shots. However, the macro range is excellent, and I can see myself using it a lot more for food blogging.

It's not a camera for people unused to handling an SLR as it does require a read of the manual if you're going to use it to its best advantage, but it does have some lovely benefits. I'm a particular fan of the film simulation setting, which allows you to choose whether you'd rather use Fuji Velvia, Astia or Provia (alongside of numerous black and white and sepia settings) and I'm looking forward to playing around with these a bit more.

Sadly, it being a particularly grey and dull time of year I haven't yet had the opportunity to use it to its full potential for outdoor shots yet, but from my experience so far I think we're going to get along extremely well.

The X100 is quite expensive - it retails for between £500 and £850 usually. I got lucky - I bought mine 2nd hand on eBay off someone who I don't think really knew what they were selling so was significantly less than £500. However, if you want a neat little camera which takes fantastic quality photos then this one is for you.

For me, the only real downsides are that it is a little slower in handling than an SLR, but I'm unlikely to use this for action shots. The fixed range lens might also annoy some, but even when shooting on my SLR I rarely switch from my trusty f1.8 lens so this isn't so much of an issue for me.

All in all, it's a lovely little camera which takes fantastic photos and is so much more portable than an SLR. I can't wait to take it out on many more expeditions and think it will fast become a vital part of my kit.

Screen printing at The Make Lounge

Let me start by saying: I have a habit of biting off more than I can chew. This class was no exception. However, this is not in any way due to it being too complex or anything like that. Sadly, it seems I just like to set myself one hell of a task.

Screen printing in its most basic form involves a simple stencil, some fabric (or paper), printing inks and some silk screen equipment - a frame and a squeegee. Having done a fair bit of screen printing at university, I clearly had much bigger ideas. However, an advanced course, this isn't. It is back to basics and brilliantly so. Helen, our teacher for the evening, explained how it works and how you created both negative and positive images. We then set about designing our stencils. Having been advised to have an idea in mind, I brought in a pair fully mocked up designs. Not so much ideas as "I want this please":

These were the simpler of my original ideas too - I was originally going to do a Dia De Los Muertes sugar skull design, but that would have been impossibly fiddly.I settled for the four bird design once I realised that lining up the overlaps on the six bird design was going to be a rather large bird-shaped headache. As screen printing is quite time-consuming (and as my printing partner had also gone for a rather complex design) I decided to go from three colours to two.

The process itself is fun and messy - you set up your frame, sealing off any areas you don't want ink to seap through, then add the ink and pull the squeegee across the image. The result though, is a simple and very eye-catching design.

the finished result

The Make Lounge will provide you with a tote bag (large or small), a tea towel or a pencil case (of which you get to pick two items). If you want any more, you have to buy them or you can do what I did and bring your own items to print. I wanted to make cushion covers, so I ordered them from here a few days ahead of the class.

The screen printing class at The Make Lounge costs £57 and includes two items to screen print, snacks and wine.

The Make Lounge
www.themakelounge.com

Hidden London - Aldwych Station

I've always been a bit of a London Underground geek - from the history of the lines themselves and the disused stations to the iconic logo, maps and typography, it's proved to be a minor obsession. So when the London Transport Museum announced that they were throwing open the doors of Aldwych station for a number of days over the Christmas period, I leapt at the chance. I've always thought Leslie Green's Underground stations with their distinctive red glazed brickwork, Edwardian styling and bottle green tilework were beautiful, so couldn't wait for a snoop around.

Which is how I came to find myself shivering in a queue in a quiet side street of London near the Thames. We had our bags checked by a museum volunteer, who also checked that our shoes were both flat and practical should we need to be evacuated down the tracks to Holborn. After a 15 minute wait, my husband and I found ourselves inside and I couldn't resist but photograph everything in sight, and this was before the tour had even started.

Aldwych station facade

 

entrance to booking hall

 telephones

 book here

We were given a potted history of Aldwych station  (you can read more here if you're interested) before being taken below ground to see the platforms. The westbound platform is the one most people are familiar with - Aldwych only had one "functional" platform for the vast majority of its working life as the Eastbound one was closed in 1917. The westbound platform is the one that was open up until 1994 and has been used as a film set for films like Atonement, V for Vendetta, 28 Weeks Later and various music videos alongside of being an air raid shelter in both world wars. The posters on this platform tend to change with each filming project and as such are reproduction posters.

 tunnel to the westbound platform

 

posters on the westbound platform - the two on the right are reproductions

train on the westbound platform

front of train - actually a 1970's Northern Line train!

shh! 

The eastbound platform in some ways is far more interesting - it ceased to be used after WW1 and was used to store treasures from the V&A and British Museum during the second world war. The posters here are original as this platform was often used as a test platform - from testing the glue to put up posters (still going strong after 40 years in some cases -it must be good!) to experimental tiles eventually used at Piccadilly Circus.

 

original posters on the eastbound platform

experimental tiles eventually used at Piccadilly Circus

more posters - all dating from around the 1970's

 

and a view of the Eastbound platform

When we finally returned to the surface, we were greeted up glasses of mulled wine and the TfL choir serenading us with a combination of old-time popular songs (Daisy Bell and Let's All Go Down To The Strand) and well known Christmas carols.

 R humoured me as I wanted to recreate the Anton Corbin Joy Division photograph. Also, a mysterion Bakerloo Line sign...

This current run of Aldwych visits is sold out, but LTM seem to open its doors about once or twice a year, so it's well worth keeping your eyes peeled for another set of visits.

way out

London Transport Museum

Chronicles of Yarnia

It's been quite a while since I flexed my more creative side. Having tried and failed and tried and failed at bribing a knitting-savvy friend into knitting me a nice, chunky winter snood I decided it was time to take matters into my own hands. After all, there are times when a normal scarf just simply won't cut it.

Following a trip to the shops for supplies (wool, knitting needles) and as I had the founder of Yarnia in Leeds staying with me, there really was no excuse: I was going to have to learn to knit my own darn snood.

It turns out, knitting is easy. It also turns out, I am an angry knitter. I was so determined to finish before I'd even begun that I knitted with such ferocity that my houseguests were left cowering in the corner, lest I stab them with a needle. I have since learned to calm down, not least because Angry Knitting inevitably means that you accidentally put several extra stitches into the scarf and make it rather... interesting.

If you live in Leeds, I'd highly recommend paying a visit to Yarnia - it's held in a bar that serves teapot cocktails, and Georgie is an excellent (and extremely patient) teacher. 

If you want to make your own snood, you'll need a set of 12mm needles and some chunky yarn. My snood had 24 stitches ,was about 5' long and used 5 balls of yarn. I'm not about to start doing knitting tutorials, but there are plenty to be had through an internet search. Try it - it's fun, relaxing (if you're like me - once you get past the angry, determined stage) and you might even learn a new skill.

I guess I should really learn how to make something other than scarves now. Anyone for a tea cosy?

When I get older

Milestone birthdays have always managed to unnerve me. Admittedly I haven't experienced all that many, but the ones I have seem to have set the tone. That being fear.

Turning 18 for example filled me with so much dread - was I now meant to be responsible and a grown up? Was I meant to think about bills and what the hell I really wanted to do with my life? Obviously not the case at all, but 18 when you've only ever known being a child (no matter how "mature" you feel) sounds so terribly grown up: I could now go to pubs (legally - I'd been drinking in pubs underage for a good two to three years before then). More importantly, I could now vote. With age comes great responsibility you see.

21 threw me even more. I spent the night before my birthday listening to Ladytron's 'Seventeen' on repeat, my childish heart mortified that 21 would render me "no fun". Still clearly not the case, though I was starting to feel like one of the slightly older girls when going to indie clubs (do we all grow up so fast?)

I didn't do anything to particularly mark the coming of age birthdays - 18 didn't really feel of age, and by the time I turned 21 it felt like a missed opportunity, beyond finally being able to buy my own alcohol in the US.

25, while not really a milestone caused another wobble - what the hell was I doing with my life? What did I want to do? It certainly threw me in terms of what I thought I wanted to do, as I fell foul of the first wave of recession. Ultimately though, it set me on the path of knowing what I wanted to do.

So this year, I had to face up to the biggest one so far - 30. In the run up, I remembered a scene from 90's law drama Ally McBeal where the title character checks her face for wrinkles on the morning of her 30th birthday. I toyed with the idea of having a bucket list of things to do before I turned 30, until I remembered that I had probably ticked off most of it by the time I was 21 and I didn't want to live my life over again. The only other desire was to get married before I was 30, and since that had happened back in May (and for the right reasons, before you ask!) there was little to do but wait.

The day itself arrived with little fanfare - I didn't suddenly get wrinkly and old overnight, nor did I have some strange personality shift and become composed and serious. Best of all, I still get ID'ed when buying wine. It's not all bad: all those I've asked who got there before me say your 30's are the best years of your life. And I think they are probably right. You leave behind the crippling insecurity of your early 20's, you are more comfortable in your own skin (indeed, you don't actually age overnight) and if you're lucky, you're in a job you love and feel at ease with the direction your life is going. Just don't mention turning 40.

Pear, walnut and blue cheese salad

A few weeks back, I bolted to France avec ma famille for a long weekend with the intention of avoiding turning 30. Sadly, I didn't manage to avoid getting older, but by way of compromise I was well and truly spoiled. Despite coming down with a cold, I was taken out for a fantastic lunch at Beffroi Tentations in St Antonin Noble Val ahead of a magnificent dinner where my sister, mother and husband all took turns to produce a course - pear and walnut salad, gorgeous monkfish with capers, and a birthday ice cream instead of a cake!

This was my sister's course and was an absolute treat: crisp, autumnal pears, creamy Saint Agur and nutty, bitter walnuts. She used Saint Agur, but any blue cheese would work depending on your tastes - a pungent Roquefort or creamy Dolcelatte would both be delicious. As there's no cooking involved, it's very easy to put together. Perfect when you're a little short of time but still want to impress!

Ingredients (serves 4):
For the salad:
100g rocket
100g seedless grapes, cut in half
50g crushed walnuts
50g Saint Agur, crumbled
2 ripe Williams pears

For the dressing:
2 tbsp olive oil
2 tbsp red white vinegar
1 tsp honey
1 tsp wholegrain mustard

Method:
Divide the rocket between four salad plates. Scatter the grapes over the rocket and then sprinkle over the crushed walnuts and crumbled Saint Agur. Make sure you have a reasonably even balance of all three ingredients.

Peel the pears, slice in half and remove the core. Slice it into 5mm slithers and place half a pear on each salad.

Mix up the dressing and drizzle over your salad. Easy as, well, salad!