Sweet paul

Recipe monday

I always loved beets.

When I was a kid I loved pickled beets on more or less everything.

I could eat them directly from the jar.

I know, strange kid!

I still love beets, but you might be happy to know that I have stopped eating them directly from the jar.

Now I'm more likely to use them in something like this:

Beet soup

My take on the classical Bosch soup.

Can be served hot or cold, I prefer cold.

Serves 4

 2 tablespoons olive oil

1 small yellow onion, finely chopped

1 carrot, finely chopped

1 leak, only the white part, thinly sliced

2 tablespoons dill, chopped

4 cups chicken stock

6 large beets, roasted, peeled and chopped

salt

pepper

1/2 cup sour cream

 Heat the oil in a pan and sauté onion, carrot and leak until soft.

Add dill and stock and bring to a boil.

Add the beets and let the soup simmer for 15 minutes.

Pour the soup into a blander and whiz until smooth.

Taste with salt and pepper.

Cool and serve in glasses with sour cream.  

Photos by Colin Cooke

Crafty friday!

This one goes out to all you summer brides out there.

A beautiful hairband thats both crafty and vintage romantic.

Great for your bridesmaids or yourself.

I just cut out the flowers from an old crochet tablecloth.

I sewed them on to a grosgrain ribbon with small stitches.

The whole thing is made in minutes.

Can also be used as a necklace or a tie back for curtains.

Photo by Frances Janisch.

Straws!

So many of you have emailed me asking where I got these straws.

The straws are vintage from the 40's and 50's.

You can find them online at ebay or at flea markets.

I see them all the time at flea markets.

Good luck on your straw quest!

Recipe monday

I got invited to a picnic tomorrow and was looking for something to make and bring.

I wanted to make a pic and remembered this nectarine and blueberry pie I made for a photo shoot last year.

It was so good and sweet. Perfect a la mode.

The picnic got canceled, but I still want to make this pie.

Pie anyone? 

Nectarine and blueberry pie

Serves 8

 4 cups plain flour

1 teaspoon salt

1 tablespoon sugar

1 3/4 cups unsalted cold butter, in cubes

1 tablespoon white vinegar

1 large egg

1/2 cup iced water

 

Combine flour, salt and sugar in a large bowl.

Add butter and use your fingers until the mixture resembles coarse meal.

Mix vinegar, egg and water in a bowl and mix into the flour with your hands just until combined.

Press the dough gently together, wrap in plastic and chill for at least 1 hour.

Take it out and roll it flat.

Fill a 9 inch pie plate with it.

Cut of excess dough.

Cut out small circles with a cookie cutter to go around the edge of the pie.

 Filling:

5 nectarines, pitted and sliced

1/2 cup blueberries

2 tablespoons plain flour

2 tablespoons lemon juice

1 tablespoon sugar

1 egg

1 tablespoon milk

 

Place the nectarines and blueberries in a bowl and toss with flour.

Place it in the pie shell. Pour over the lemon juice and sprinkle with sugar.

Line the edge of the pie with the small dough circles.

Beat egg and milk and brush the dough with it.

Bake at 450F for about 40 minutes, or until golden.

Cool and serve.

Photos by Colin Cooke

Enjoy!

Crafty friday!

I was thinking that today's post is perfect for all you summer brides out there.

Beautiful and easy enough to make yourself and terror your friends and family to make them for you.

I have seen the bridezilla shows!

I used dahlias in this picture, but you can use any big headed flower you want.

Trim the bottom off a floral foam sphere so that it can sit on a cake stand.

Soak them in water at least 1 hour.

Clip the stems short, insert one by one into the floral foam until covered.

Photo by Frances Janisch

Have a fab weekend all!

Just something pretty!

Just a couple of images from a garden story I made with photographer Colin Cooke.

Something pretty on a wednesday!

A little something!

Or maybe I should say " a big something".

Portobello hamburger still life made for Prevention Magazine.

Photo by Ted Morrison.

Recipe monday

This recipe monday is for a wonderful creme caramel.

My grandmother had this great friend of hers called Hilda.

She used to take me to see her and Hilda always made Creme Caramel for me.

This is more or less the exact same recipe that she used.

Hilda is long time dead, but the memory of her Creme Caramel still lives on.

Enjoy!

 Crème caramel

Serves 4

 1 teaspoon gelatin

2 teaspoons water

3/4 cup sugar

1/2 cup water

2 large eggs

1 large egg yolk

1 cup cream

1/2 cup milk

1/4 cup sugar

1/2 vanilla pod, cut down the middle

pinch of salt

 

Stir gelatin and water in a small bowl until dissolved.

Put sugar in a large skillet over medium heat.

Cook, without stirring, until sugar at edges begins to melt and turn clear.

Continue to cook, stirring, until amber.

It takes about 2 minutes.

Remove from heat.

Stir inn water.

Set it aside to cool of.

Whisk eggs and yolk in a bowl.

Bring cream, milk, sugar, vanilla and salt to a simmer in a pan.

Whisk half of the hot cream mixture into the eggs.

Pour it then back into the saucepan.

Add gelatin, Reduce to low, cook, stirring constantly, just until mixture is thick enough to coat the back of a spoon.

Remove the vanilla pod.

Cool and pour into small ramekins or bowls.

Let the crème caramels set, pour the caramel sauce over and serve.

Photo by Ellen Silverman 

Happy may 17th!

Today may 17th is Norway's big national holiday.

Every kid in the country dress up in their finest clothes and parade in the streets waiving their flags.

Its an amazing sight.

Its music, games, food, more food and lots of fun.

So happy may 17th to you all.

And congrats Norway for winning the Eurovision.

Crafty friday!

Summer is here, and flowers are popping up everywhere.

Today I just want to remind you all of the old method of pressing flowers in books.

I remember my grandmother doing this every summer and turning the flowers into pictures in winter.

It was always amazing taking a book from the bookshelf and flowers where falling out.

Just don't use priceless first edition books as the flowers sometime can stain it.

Photo by Frances Janisch.

Happy weekend!