Hasn’t the weather been beautiful this week?
Ted and I decided to go out for lunch after our Friday swim. We were planning to head to Pop Brixton for a tasty something, but he’d spotted Barbacoa on Brixton Station Road on Thursday and his head was filled with thoughts of smoked, grilled chicken.
Good call.
The autumn leaves are just starting to fall this week – perhaps a week later than last year, but still in time for Halloween.
I’m a little bit embarrassed to post this because it’s so incredibly simple, but the glow from the lights is so lovely and it’s one that little ones could definitely do with a little bit of help.
So if you heard there was a kind of street food that’s sweet, light as air, crispy and soft, *and* comes with fruit or chocolate, you’d be interested, right?
Of course you would.
Well, let me introduce you to Hiufu.
Hiufu is one of the sweetest and smartest people I know. She has a wicked sense of humour and great ideas, like, “We’re not at work today and it’s 4 in the afternoon, shall we have cocktails?”
It was super exciting to hear all about her idea for a Hong Kong style egg waffle food startup earlier this year.
And now it’s real!
So yesterday, Ted, Rachel and I headed over to Brick Lane to visit Hiufu and her brand-new egg waffle enterprise, Lub Lub London.
A couple of years ago, I stumbled across the Danish concept of hygge, which was summed up at the time as “convivial cosiness”. The winter blues have sometimes bitten me quite deeply, so around late October, when we’re facing four or five months of cold days and long, dark nights, it can be challenging – there have been years when the path to March has seemed a very steep mountain to climb.
I’d experimented with a few hygge-type things before, but delving deeper into the philosophy behind it helped me connect it all together, and think differently about my approach to the change in season. So the past two winters, I’ve tried to develop a way of using the principles of hygge to embrace winter, to enjoy it, and not to feel I have to fight it. I *think* it really helps. It certainly makes the winter more pleasurable.
So last night, as part of the Bloomsbury Festival, we stepped out on Store Street.
My consumption of tea rockets as soon as the temperature starts to fall. But the choice of black teas is very limited if you avoid caffeine – it’s basically builders or Earl Grey. This year, I’d been craving chai, but couldn’t find a decaf blend so decided to have a go at making it instead.
Cardamom is at the heart of most chais, for good reason: It’s incredibly fragrant, with a spiced, almost citrusy scent. The flavour can be overpowering, but when used with care, it’s gentle, soothing and quite heavenly.
Spiced chai is usually made by boiling it on the hob, which is delicious, but a bit of a faff. Then it struck me that using ground spices might work, too – and because they release their flavour more easily, perhaps a stew in the teapot is all it would take.
Guess what.
It works.
This is super easy and makes a fragrant and gentle spiced chai that’ll chase away the chills on even the coldest nights. The recipe below will make a small jar, enough for several pots of tea.
Somerset House is building a name for itself in interactive and digitally led exhibits (its Big Data exhibition earlier this year was authoritative, multi-layered and extremely rewarding), but it still seems quite a coup for them to snag the European premiere of Björk’s journey into virtual reality. It’s an absolute must-see for anyone interested in her music, in digital art or in the potential of VR.
This is a hearty, warm autumn salad. The butternut squash caramelises gently and soothingly – its sweetness sets off the sharpness of the pomegranate dressing. Creaminess from the goats cheese and toasty crunch from the croutons and hazelnuts make for a midweek vegetarian supper that Ted will happily eat.
So I wasn’t able to make Crafty Fox Peckham in the end (we made a last-minute trip to Cambridge to go blackberrying with Ted’s lovely parents) but here are my top picks from the Peckham event traders on the Crafty Fox site. There were some lovely things.
© 2024 … and roses too.
