Space Jelly

Rolled Dates

Been inspired by foodie blogs of late; most notably Veggie Meal Plans (does what it says in the title - and the kind of food I like eating too) and Nourish Me, although the seasons are all mixed up as I think she is in Aus. I've made the chocolate and lager chilli,, the Nepalese potato salad, and improvised on the already-modified Rolled Dates by using dates, oats, orange juice, cinnamon and Jamaican pepper... yummy they were too! Loads of VMP recipes use chipotle en adobo which I've never come across in a shop, but as soon as I get some (a stall in borough market sells it apparently) I'll be sure to try out some of those recipes...

Funnily enough I'm meeting friends in later at Wahaca, where there's lots of c.e.a on the menu too! I'm hoping it's a tasty experience - there's a dearth of good Mexican food in London....

Late planting...

Had given up on any vegetable aspirations after the allotment drama of last year, and was preparing to freecycle all my veg seeds. Then! I read this amazing book called the Window-box Allotment and am ready to try again, albeit in a much smaller, drier and more exposed location (10 floors up!)

Just sowed some dwarf french beans 'Firetongue', tomatoes 'Gartenperle' and the old favourite 'gardener's delight', courgette 'Bambino', 'Anaheim' chilli peppers, alpine strawberries 'Mignonette' and some basil, parsley and coriander.

On the flower front I'm trying thrift again - even though it took ages to germinate, they did last on the balcony over winter - and some freebie rudbeckia 'Cherokee' seeds. I'm also planning some poppies, scabiosa, zinnia and dahlias (they were fab last year, and I can see the tops of them peeking up already.)

Optomistic picnic

Took a picnic to Ashtead Common today for M's birthday... There were signs of spring everywhere; buds, woodpeckers, deer and plenty of mud. The common is about 30 seconds from the station making it a great place for a quick fix of nature :) Bizarrely, as it's about a 45 min train journey from Vauxhall, it is managed by the City of London (and you can see boundary posts dotted about in the woods)

Right Bun, Wrong Day

Happy Easter! I am a bit of a heathen so these Hot Cross Buns were baked today - oops... Anyhow, I'm super pleased with them; they are light as a feather and nice and spicy - I link above to the recipe I used, with the only alteration being I used honey to sweeten them as had run out of sugar... They take a while to do as you let them rise *3* times, but if you're pootling about at home anyway it doesn't make much difference. The lemon zest makes them good and fruity too... yum!

UK Swap...

I sent off my parcel to A for the UK swap with these little fellas in them. She has a family, and as it is almost Easter thought I'd include a bit of craft for them too in her swap. I'd been meaning to try out needle felting for ages, and this was just the 'eggs'cuse* I'd been looking for. I also received my parcel from M today... thanks so much!!

*sorry :)

Baking ups and downs...

So; Leap Year, St David's Day and then Mother's Day - a jam packed weekend that was! and it involved a lot of baking... The Welsh cakes for Offline were a success (after I realised that making them is along the same lines as doing pancakes - the first few are either burnt or a bit raw; then you get the temp. sussed and it's plain sailing!). The Lemon cake for Mother's day exploded somewhat. It tasted ok, but looked crap, so SK got a box of chocs instead! We had a lovely afternoon, going to see the extravagance that is the Wallace Collection (the over the top Rococo can make you feel a bit ill after a while!) then wandering up Marylebone High St, window shopping and spending a good hour *smelling* in Terre d'Oc. I highly recommend it; they have these big coloured glass bell jars over scented candles that you lift and inhale; and little cupboards to open and do the same... heaven! Ended with tea and cheesecake in Eat & Two Veg then a walk through Regent's park... lovely!

Go-Go a la Mode!

Excitingly our dresses from Mr Tim Bargeot should be arriving from Paris next week, in time for the club on Saturday, but only just! Some of us will also be wearing (and performing in!) circle dresses from Vivien of Holloway... The line up for the vintage stalls that'll be selling on the night is as follows:

Clothes by Soul of 65, offering both ready to wear and bespoke 60s menswear, who will be previewing their new collection. Quality vintage clothing, from designer evening gowns to mod suits, go-go boots to fantastic handbags, on sale from Louie Retro, and fantastic 50s frocks from Vivien of Holloway which will also be modelled by the Actionettes during the evening. PLUS your chance to dress like an Actionette as a selection of their vintage collection will be on sale. Sometimes a girl has to make sacrifices!

Of course there is music (Betty & The Werewolves, Holly Golightly) and djing (Guest DJs Warren - Boogaloo Soul, 100 Club, Crossfire - and Liam - The West One R&B Club - plus Actionette DJs) too so if you fancy a top night out dancing, come along and see the Actionettes present Go-Go a la Mode!

London Transport Museum stencil ticket

We went to London Transport Museum last Saturday now it's been re-opened. I was convinced there were transport museum themed cocktails to be had in the bar, and was keen to try a 'Routemaster'. Sadly she was disappointed as they only had the usual tea and coffee - a trick missed I think. The seats are covered in a 30s Northern Line moquette which slightly made up for it though :).

The museum features lots more interactive stuff (a la the new exhibits at the Science Museum, the Wellcome Collection and the British Galleries in the V&A). Part of this is the 'Follow the trail' stamper ticket, a cardboard leaflet that you get stamped with die-cut icons of 13 sections of the museum; horses, buses, tubes etc. I took this quite seriously and collected all 13! I ended up cutting them out and using them as individual stencils (see pic).

Another great feature of the museum was the 'run-across-live-tube-rails-and-see-what-happens' exhibit (cue blue sparking lights and You Are Now Dead signs). I couldn't decide whether this would act as a deterrent or, seeing loads of kids run screaming and squealing with delight across them, as an incentive?! Anyhow, a grand day out :)

Recycling 'peanuts'

This post came up in my blog reader and I thought he was referring to your actual peanuts, but no - to the annoying styrofoam doodads that are used for packing and half life not far off that of nuclear waste :)

And how appropriate - we got our latest batch of fliers delivered and the top 4 inches of the box was filled with these buggers. Not even the nice biodegradable corn ones. So anyway, this is the cool idea - use packing 'peanuts' to fill a bean bag! Every time you get sent something, add the packing to the chair. Admittedly it might start a little slack, bit it'd soon plump up :)