baked to perfection

I took Friday afternoon off work and it felt wonderfully indulgent to leave the office at midday. I met up with my good friend Georgia at Exmouth Market for afternoon tea and a chat. We enjoyed some almost unbearably chocolatey treats at Gail's Bakery and marvelled at their amazing selection of breads:

fish supper

As a special treat, the boy cooked up an awesome tuna steak with rocket and bean salad from Jamie's iPhone app (who else?). 'I'm a genius!' he declared and, for once, he was right. It was the most tasty thing I've eaten in a long time:

refreshing

Start saving now for these Toast tumblers, hand made from recycled glass in Damascus (£29.50 for a set of four). Perfect for picnics or al fresco dining! (Wildly optimistic at this time of year, I know).

thompsons deli

One rainy Saturday, after the boy and I had argued, we took a trip to Thompson's Deli in Streatham Hill and made up over their yummy homemade lemon tarts. 

super soups

January has (mostly) been a month of restorative soups, courtesy of the boy (and Jamie). Top to bottom: a hearty minestrone in our treasured anthropologie bowls, chilli corn chowder and our favourite bread, pain aux six cereales from Paul bakery.

a bottle and a friend

The boy and I attended a very jovial Burn's Night celebration, with many whisky fuelled toasts:

  

There's nane that's blest of human kind, 
But the cheerful and the gay, man, 
Fal, la, la, &c.

Here's a bottle and an honest friend! 
What wad ye wish for mair, man? 
Wha kens, before his life may end, 
What his share may be o' care, man?

Then catch the moments as they fly, 
And use them as ye ought, man: 
Believe me, happiness is shy, 
And comes not aye when sought, man.

- Robert Burns

morning muffins

The Leon cookbook is much loved in our household and I use the recipes again and again. Made a batch of breakfast muffins - super easy, healthy and (most importantly) delicious:

breakfast in brockwell

On Saturday morning the boy and I ran the free Brockwell Park ‘Park Run’, with our friend Dominic. (I use run in the loosest possible sense! Everyone else shot off into the distance while I turned pink and struggled along). We rewarded our efforts at virtuous living with breakfast in the Brockwell Lido café, which is one of my favourite brunch spots in South London.

beautiful biscotti

Snowed in, I made Christmas biscotti (from a  BBC good food recipe), packed full of spices, nuts and dried fruit. It was the first time I'd tried making them and they worked out perfectly. They'll keep for up to a month in a tin, but I'm quite sure we'll have scoffed them all long before then.

the regency

We finished a big project at work this week and went to the Regency, frankly the best cafe in London, to celebrate with egg, chips and beans:

mini men

These handsome little men were created from my all time favourite winter biscuit recipe (thank you Nigella). They're made with mixed spice and when you bake them the smell is, to me, the epitome of festive warmth.

tea for two

The boy went away for the weekend, so my friend Dominic kindly kept me company on a visit to the Blackbird Bakery in Crystal Palace. We gluttonously munched our way through apple cake, mince pies and carrot muffins, all washed down with a pot of jasmine tea.

Before....

... and after:

who ate all the pies?

The boy had the day off work today, and when I came home he'd rustled up this tasty spinach and feta pie (Jamie Oliver of course!):

i do like to be beside the seaside

This week's posts are dedicated to the delightful day out I had in Brighton, which was spent perusing a host of antiques shops, independent boutiques and cafes. First stop, tea and crumpets for breakfast at i gigi:

jamie's greek salad

I came home from work and the boy had made me a yummy greek salad (Jamie Oliver's recipe):

the way to a man's heart

The joy of baking is an utterly wonderful website, crammed full of recipes. These shortbread hearts were a treat for the boy. I didn't have a cutter small enough for the middle sections and did them freehand so they looked a bit rustic, but were nonetheless well received.