Bloomsbury

A little bird in Bloomsbury. A Mibo bird.

rainy day

Lovely prints by Matte Stephens, 'cat bird' and 'happy cloud'.

Rain forecast for the whole weekend, today has been showers all morning. A good opportunity to stay in and catch up at home. I hope summer show's a ray or two in July.

Cozy days in make me think of baking, warm bread from the oven. smitten kitchen's last of the loafing and beaming, bewitching breads are an inspiration to get some ingredients in.

Bloesem's 'knitting spree' weekend read is the essence of all things cozy at home. Full of great knitting ideas and suppliers.

I would like both the pretty books;  Pies and In the Mood for Food. Homely titles with delicious ideas.

listen

More avian inspiration. Mumm-ra, 'She's Got You High' single artwork. I can not find out who created the artwork, but I love it! Great web site with more illustration.



















New Magnolia print by sugarloop. Wonderful.

Pumpkin pasta with rosemary. Not seasonal, but a favourite.

warbling

Louise Body Wallprint, here a wallpaper design and two of her luxurious cushions. I spotted this wallpaper adorning the counter at Oliver Bonas.

My lovely bloom print arrived in the post today, an exciting envelope to return home to. Reading more I have discovered this wonderful post by onegirl.

Tartiflette, inspiration for a grand potato dish from this recipe by Lucy's Kitchen Notebook.

paper parade

Egg Press


































































Hello! Lucky



































Snow & Graham

A luxurious indulgent bake Triple Chocolate Espresso Bean Cookies, sounds like a special treat.

green start

March, fresh lively greens from the earthiness of winter. New beginnings.

I was carried away today by reading 'onegirl = canadian hands designing and creating in melbourne, thrift shopping, glossy magazines, roasted almonds, green tea, muted colours (grey blue, pale pistachio green, dusty pink, soft dove grey, the creamiest cream, pale turquoise, rusty orange), crisp linen, wool felt, organic pottery, tiny seashells, bonsai, woodcut prints, chamomile, the patterns of wood, scandinavian design, japanese craft books, line drawings, dark chocolate, hand dying fabric...'

How perfect and lovely that colour hints can take you on a visual journey. I have bought the print bloom from onegirl. Beautiful colours combined.

Green is for spring, fresh green recipes for a new season from delicious:days, redesigned and reorganised.

green asparagus tart with potatoes
Recipe source: Genießen mit Gästen, Alastair Hendy, p.45, adapted
Prep time: 20min., baking: 25-30min.

serves 3-4:
a bunch of green asparagus (about 12 pieces)
2 large potatoes, sliced
3-4 tbsp olive oil
puff pastry, cut into shape
75g Gruyere, grated
2 eggs, lightly beaten
100ml Crème double
a pinch of freshly ground nutmeg
sea salt & freshly ground pepper

Cut off the asparagus’ tougher stalk ends (about 1-2 inches/3-5 cm). Blanch the asparagus briefly for 1 to 2 minutes in boiling, lightly salted water, then transfer to a bowl with ice water (to preserve its fresh green color and overall quality).

Peel and thinly slice potatoes (3-4 mm) and add to a pot with a few spoons of olive oil. Carefully pan-fry potatoes over low to medium heat for about 5-8 minutes (don’t let them brown). Then remove the slices from the pot.

Grease a suitable rectangular tart (8 inch/20 cm) form with butter, arrange puff pastry and form a small rim. Using a fork, stab little holes all over the arranged puff pastry. On top, add a layer of potato slices and sprinkle with grated Gruyère.

Combine eggs and Crème double in a bowl, season with sea salt, freshly ground pepper and nutmeg and pour over the potatoes/Gruyère. Now arrange asparagus spears equally across the tart. You may want to brush the tart edges with melted butter or egg yolk to let it gain a nice golden color while baking.

Bake at 180°C (360°F) in the preheated oven for about 25 to 30 minutes.

nouveau?

New greetings cards from beaumonde cards. The lilac bird card shows a striking resemblance to the Thomas Paul Robin corn silk cushion, shown in my recent new season post. Which came first - the chicken or the egg? I do like the little pink wren with the cheeky tail feathers!

Bird's Nest Cookies look fun to make. From M&M's.

bird's nest cookies

1-1/3 cups (3 1/2 ounces or 100g) flaked coconut
1 cup (2 sticks or 240mL) butter
1/2 cup (120mL) granulated sugar
1 large egg
1/2 teaspoon vanilla extract
2 cups (480mL) all-purpose flour
3/4 teaspoon salt
1 12 ounce package (1-3/4 cups or 340g) "M&M's"® Semi-Sweet Chocolate Mini Baking Bits, divided

Preheat oven to 300°F (150°C).
Spread coconut on ungreased cookie sheet. Toast in oven, stirring occasionally until coconut just begins to turn a light golden color,
about 25 minutes. Remove toasted coconut from cookie sheet; set aside. Increase oven temperature to 350°F (180°C). In large mixing bowl, cream butter and sugar until light and fluffy. Beat in egg and vanilla. Combine flour and salt; add to creamed mixture, only until combined. Stir in 1 cup (240mL)"M&M's"® Semi-Sweet Chocolate Mini Baking Bits. Form dough into 1-1/4-inch (32mm) balls. Roll heavily in toasted coconut. Place 2-inches (50mm) apart on lightly greased cookie sheets. With thumb, press indentation in center of each cookie. Bake 12 to 14 minutes or until coconut is golden brown. Remove cookies to wire rack; immediately fill indentations with reserved candies, using a scant teaspoonful in each. Cool completely.

Makes about 3 dozen cookies.

danish designs

The March Elle Decoration made for a good tube journey home, Graphic Grace features the wallpaper of ferm, Denmark. The website shows all the bold designs, each captured in a beautifully styled setting.

Torrone, the delicious Italian nougat. Via delicious days.

torrone
Recipe source: dolcissimo from Maxine Clark, p.60, adapted
Prep time: 30min.

Ingredients (yield: plenty):
100g almonds, peeled
200g whole hazelnuts
100g unsalted pistachios, peeled
2 large egg whites
250g Acacia honey
1 vanilla bean (scraped out seeds)
200g fine sugar
3 tbsp syrup (sugar/water mix 50:50)
optionally: wafer papers for baking

{If you choose to go with the wafer papers, you first want to arrange several of them to evenly cover the bottom of a deep baking tray or baking dish (lined with parchment paper first). Roast almonds and hazelnuts (not the pistachios) in the preheated oven (200°C/390°F) for about 6 minutes or until they’ve become golden brown. Gather hazelnuts in a clean dish towel and rub to remove husks.}

Add honey to pan and bring to a boil. Use a candy thermometer to control a steady heat of 115°C (240°F) until the honey starts to foam slightly.

Meanwhile beat egg whites. Continue to whip the egg whites and slowly add the honey, blend well for about 6 minutes, or until the mass sets. Then stirr in the vanilla seeds (I chose to use real vanilla as opposed to the vanilla aroma as the recipe suggests).

Dissolve sugar and syrup in 2 tablespoons of water in a pot over medium to high heat and gradually bring to a boil. Use your candy thermometer again to ensure a maximum temperature of 148°C (300°F), the sugar should not take on any color. Then remove pot from stove, wait a few seconds until it stopped bubbling and add syrup to the honey-egg-white mass while constantly stirring. Continue to stirr until the mass becomes thick and satiny.

Blend in the nuts and distribute evenly across the baking sheet (with or without the wafer papers). The mass should be about 3 cm (~1 inch) high. On top add - again, if you chose to- another layer of wafer papers and use a second baking tray to gently push down to ensure a even surface.

Allow to cool down at room temperature. Once completely cooled down, cut into squares or bars and wrap up in plastic foil. Wrapped up airtight, let rest for a few days for even better taste.

seeds

I am excited about Spring, the sun shone down and threw dramatic shadows across the city buildings today. Now I am looking forward to all the growth of plants and flowers in the coming months. While waiting I am thinking about the beauty and potential of seed pods. Weeds by Howard Bjornson is a beautiful look at plant forms, evoking the work of Karl Blossfeldt, which I greatly admire.













Angie Lewin, printmaker creates beautiful work inspired by seed pods and coastal colours. I especially like this piece.














Pomegranate Crush recipe, from these juicy seeds. I was perked up by a little pot of pomegranate seeds from Eat this afternoon. Seeds of inspiration!

cityscape

I love these prints by Paul Catherall, a wonderful set of London Underground posters. Seeing these on different tube platforms cheers my journeys. Fantastic graphic visions of London which make me feel proud to be a part of the city.

An urban dish, smoked salmon couscous sushi, sounds good made with my favourite pickled ginger.