Sunday Scones

Another food post. I’m sorry. Between work and children, I haven’t really done anything massively interesting in the past week or so but this weekend I called on my domestic side and I baked. It was really just an excuse to avoid the ironing if I’m honest and something to impress the children with. It did both.

I decided to make scones. Delicious crumbly, raisin filled scones. I’ve always wanted to make them but never dared. I had put the idea in the same “too difficult for me to attempt” box that contains shortbread and hot cross buns, but they’re not difficult at all and made for a very smug Sunday afternoon indeed.

I used the recipe from Jamie’s Great Britain and I didn’t really change a thing aside from the orange soaked raisins – I used some apple juice and left it for only 30 minutes or so – a decision made due to impatient children who don’t like orange juice, rather than anything else.

I’m a bit of a purest and like my scones warm with a bit of butter. Having said that, if was a real domestic goddess and had cream and jam to hand, I would have obviously done the whole cream tea thing.

This may seem a bit lazy, but I can’t find the recipe anywhere online so I’ve photographed it instead directly from the book. I think it works. Apologies if not, I’m sure you can just guess the blurred bits.

Bye Bye Facebook

I have always had a love / hate relationship with social media. I’ve always had a slightly forced relationship with anything terribly social for that matter. On one hand I relish privacy and a quiet life and in the same breath I am deeply curious about people, trends, communication and the world around me. Which is why, I suppose, I write a blog (social) yet live in the countryside (not very social).

I wasn’t one of the first to join Facebook but I did fall for the powers of Twitter in the very early days. I tired of Pinterest much more quickly than I thought I would but I absolutely adore Instagram and think it is winning as my front runner in the social media race. Obviously I like blogging but that comes from a love of writing and a love of magazines and the printed word. I’m not sure it’s down to a love of being social….although I admit that I do certainly consider who might read my posts before, whilst and after I’ve posted them, but I do try desperately not to let it stop me. It comes more from a desire to share what I think might be interesting or useful or perhaps strike a cord with any like minded people. It allows me to be my own editor of my own magazine.

Anyway, for the past few months I’ve started to really dis-like Facebook. It was beginning to take up too much time – mainly because I manage 5 different company “Pages” – and whilst I was posting work related things, I couldn’t help but get sucked in to the News Feed. Some of the “status updates” and photos and news posts were interesting but they always became tangled amongst the “friends of friends” who I really didn’t need or want to know about. Also, Facebook trips people up all the time. Little white lies or innocent misunderstandings get completely out of control and it just stops being fun. No one can really be themselves. Plus, if I was to see one more status asking to copy and paste Facebook’s new privacy settings, I think I might have screamed. Whilst being hugely important, it also just kept reminding me over and over again that nothing on the internet is private. Nothing. So if you want to be private, posting your life on Facebook isn’t the way to do it, however many boxes you tick.

So I did it. I cancelled my Facebook account. Mel Burridge married to Jay Jay Burridge is no longer. Instead I have an alter ego who shall manage my company pages (I agree completely to the importance of Facebook for businesses) but she shall have no friends, photos or walls on which to post. It feels very good indeed. Lets just see how many friends remember my birthday.

Jay Jay’s Chilli Con Carnivore and The Big Chair Project

Yes he’s my husband but that doesn’t mean he can’t be clever and that I can’t tell people how clever he is….so here we go.

The Big Chair Project is the brilliant creation from The Better Food Foundation, the charity founded by Jamie Oliver in 2002 which aims to give young people a brighter future through food. 2012 marks the 10th anniversary of the foundation and after successful yearly fundraisers, it was decided to do something a little bit special this year to ensure the foundation can keep going for another 10 years and beyond.

20 artists were each given two Fritz Hansen ANT chairs with which to create a unique piece of design. One was for practice and one was to submit to the charity auction, the Big Bid. Jay Jay was one of the artists approached to take part and has created the Chilli Con Carnivore chair which I hope will both make someone very happy whilst raising much needed pennies for the cause.

They also shot this great little film of Jay Jay talking about his chair. Watch it, share it, bid on it or just enjoy it. My kids have watched it about 1,200 times….

The best Tracteur in town

For those who have been reading ANTW for a while, you’ll already be familiar with the wonderful restaurant Le Tracteur. For those who haven’t, you can read about it here.

So as not to repeat myself, here’s a simple and delicious visual post which I hope illustrates last night’s dinner perfectly :

Restaurant Le Tracteur
Avenue du stade
Sanilhac-Sagriès (30700)
TÉL : +33 4 66 37 19 31

France, Figs and Funshine

It’s our annual tour de France. Three weeks where we eat too much, laugh at  with our children and visit as many brocantes and markets as we possibly can. It’s the best three weeks of the whole year. I won’t mention the glorious weather. That would be cruel. Instead I’ll just share my very beautiful brocante dish (5 euros), my favourite plate of food so far, a little bit of child’s play and just a peek of sunshine.

Absolutely Nothing To Cook : Ottolenghi Roasted Butternut Squash

I made this last night and it was delicious. It’s also really good cold with a green salad – as proved by the left-overs consumed today.

I didn’t have every single seed and spice but I don’t think it necessarily needs the lot. Just follow the general flavours and you get the same result.

I’ve copied and pasted the original Ottolenghi recipe from The Guardian website. You can see the full page here.

Roasted butternut squash with cardamom and nigella seeds

By roasting the butternut with Indian spices and some stock, it properly soaks up the flavours and ends up tasting marvellous. Serves four.

20g unsalted butter
1 tbsp olive oil
1 large red onion, peeled and cut into 1cm-thick slices
1 large butternut squash, peeled and cut into 3cm pieces
Salt
30g pumpkin seeds
1 tsp nigella seeds, plus extra to garnish
½ tsp each ground cumin and coriander
¼ tsp ground turmeric
4 cardamom pods, lightly crushed
1 cinnamon stick
1 green chilli, halved lengthways
1 tbsp caster sugar
200ml vegetable stock
100g Greek yoghurt
1 tbsp chopped fresh coriander

Heat the oven to 200C/400F/gas mark 6. Put the butter and oil in a large sauté pan, and fry the onion for eight minutes over medium heat until soft. Add the butternut, turn the heat up to medium-high and cook for 10 minutes, stirring occasionally, until it starts to colour.

Remove from the heat and add half a teaspoon of salt, the seeds, spices, chilli and sugar. Mix and transfer to an ovenproof dish large enough to hold everything snugly. Pour in the stock and roast for 30 minutes, by which point the butternut should be tender and all the liquid absorbed or evaporated.

Serve warm with yoghurt spooned on top, a sprinkling of chopped coriander and a few nigella seeds.

Absolutely Nothing To Wear : Hats off to Ebay

Whilst trawling Ebay for some extra Fisher Price coins to go with the boys’ 1970s cash register….they’re old school kids who like to play shops / demand money….I got a little distracted and found these two fabulous vintage straw hats.

They’re both a little bit small for my not quite so dainty vintage sized head, but I love them all the same. The smaller one does in fact fit (just) so I’m determined to find an occasion to wear it, even if it’s just to visit my 3 year old’s shop.

The “St Trinians Panama”

Two tone straw sun hat

Absolutely Nothing To Wear : Tallulah and Hope Summer 2012 – the perfect kaftan

There was a time I thought Kaftans and Ponchos were only suitable when heavily pregnant. Perfect for loosely covering the bump and any accompanying lumps. Those times have very much changed and now my Summer outfit of choice (when it stops raining) generally involves the poncho / kaftan vibe. I’m not sure of the difference between the two so I’ll use both names. I’m basically describing the same thing.

Tallulah and Hope have been my favourite kaftan / poncho label since they wafted on to the web in 2010. I’ve always been very very partial to a Winter cape (their circle cape ponchos are amazing too) and they helped to lead me seamlessly in to the silk Summer versions. They can be worn over bikinis by the pool, over slips to transform in to the most beautiful dress, over jeans for a casually chic evening party outfit and pretty much anything else you fancy. The cut means you can wear them with the V-neck at the front or back. I like the V – front for daytime / holiday wear and at the back when styling as a dress or top.The belted versions are genius, the fit could not be more flattering and you can even lift your arms way above your head…..which when it comes to kaftans worn with belts is not often the case.

So, the point of this post is really to tell you that their new Summer 2012 collection is now available from their online store and it is completely exquisite.

Trust me, you’ll wear your T&H kaftan / poncho more than you ever believed possible.