The Sneaky Magpie

Picnic with friends in Richmond Park sounded like a great idea for a hot Sunday afternoon. I decided to contribute with individual fruit tarts.

The pastry recipe was from Jamie Oliver’s first book, I always get bit scared not to overwork it so usually it comes out too crumbly. I think this time I came pretty close to the real deal. My little tart shells baked and got decorated with  fruit and jelly. I never poured jelly into pastry cases before so obviously I didn’t think about putting a layer of egg white on top. The jelly set beautifully overnight but it also soaked through the shells so the tarts became soggy and definitely not picnic worthy.

I had plan B, as I made a lot of pastry I had enough for a whole fruit tart so I set to work. I almost got it rolled out in one piece and it almost landed perfectly in the baking tin. I think I am close to getting it right, just need to practice a bit more. It is a very satisfying thing.

This time I sealed the pastry, whipped some cream and arranged summer berries. It looked very pretty. It lacked few mint leaves but I could not find any in the supermarket (damn you Pimms drinkers!).

The next challenge was the packing and wrapping. Cling film was used heavily and the tart landed in my basket. We set off to Richmond. But 20 minutes into the ride the cream started to melt and as the tart was right in front of me I was getting more and more stressed about it. In despair we stopped to buy some ice, the tart was placed on top of it and somehow we made it to the park. It wasn’t as spectacular as the original but it tasted very good indeed.

Having friends with little children makes me plan things that can excite both: adult and kids’ tastes. With the weather being so glorious the most essential part of the plan has got to be an outdoor space, and lots of it.

One of my favorite places in London is Horniman Museum with its Victorian dark displays, stuffed animals which have seen better days and all kind of curiosities. The museum is surrounded by gardens, meadows and it has got a small animal enclosure for kids.

We set off with plenty of spare time and got there really fast, I was pleasantly surprised it was only a 20 minute cycle from my house. I always imagined it to be far away.

Having a spare half an hour we headed to Dulwich Picture Gallery, we didn’t have enough time to visit it but instead we strolled through the garden which would not feel out of place in a Jane Austen novel.

It felt so romantic and I was half expecting to see Elizabeth Bennet reading a letter under magnolia tree.

From the tranquility of the gallery grounds to a mayhem of toddlers pointing at stuffed monkeys and owls. After repeating animal names for a bit and trying to teach a 2 year old the word ‘cuttlefish’(it’s been a while since I saw kids getting so excited!) we settled for an afternoon tea in a charming glass house.

I couldn’t take my eyes off of the fish scale detail of the roof.

Then it was time to explore the garden and burn off the Victoria sponge, the blossoms make everything look so pretty.

I have no idea what tree this is but I love it.

I woke up to a rather grey Saturday morning. The sun is still a bit shy but it is definitely getting milder outside. Snowdrops and crocuses are everywhere making the dull wet grounds colorful and the daffodils are nearly in bloom.

I got a lovely parcel from my friend in Amsterdam – a box of Easter eggs. The Dutch Easter eggs are especially nice, hopefully they will survive the next 3 weeks.

The worst thing about this part of the year is lack of good fruit and vegetables. I am so fed up with all the roots, cauliflowers, cabbages and apples that lost their sweetness. It is still some time before we have all the lovely spring peas, chives, radishes and strawberries.  I decided to re-subscribe to Abel&Cole and my first seasonal box is arriving on Friday, hopefully this will stimulate my imagination as they often have things I am not even able to find at my local farmers market.

Last week I got some Jerusalem artichokes and decided to make a warm salad.

The artichokes were roasted for 45 minutes at 180°C with thyme, bay leaf, olive oil and some salt. In a separate tray I roasted some hazelnuts for 10 minutes to make the bitter skins fall off. The artichokes and hazelnuts were combined with rocket, fennel and vinaigrette dressing. I suppose there is still a tiny small room to get creative.

And of course we baked bread again, this one was spectacular, the best one so far. It’s so important to keep going and experimenting, making mistakes is a part of the learning process after all. We made 2 large sourdough loaves, I think our work colleagues will be sampling it on Monday.

The bread was slightly moist, chewy and full of big air bubbles, the nutty flavor was there and the crust was superb. Long proofing time is really the way to do it.

I truly don’t think we will go back to buying bread ever again. Baking is a very enjoyable process and I love feeding the starter, it is like my pet. I had a bit of a comedy moment this morning when the starter fermented so much it popped the tupperwear lid up and spilled out of its container. It is a living creature.

Today is the first proper spring day, the sun is shining and I could feel its warmth on my face. In our bid to discover as much of South West London as possible we cycled down to Tooting Bec Common.

It’s a fantastic common with large green spaces and little bits of wild, lots of brambles and gorse, duck ponds, an outdoor café and the wonderful lido.

When I walked in and saw colorful changing rooms and a blue sheet of water reflecting the sunshine I was speechless.

Dating back to 1906 when it first opened it is the 3rd largest lido in Europe, the largest in England, open to members every single day of the year and to the public from the 24th of May till the end of September. I will be sure to go this year.

I used to go to an open air swimming pool in Amsterdam every week, it didn’t matter if it was cold or rainy, once I was in the water it felt wonderful.

Back at home I am having a fantastic Gaskell time. Two exciting books just hit the shelves: David Eggers’ Zeitoun and Nancy Mitford’s Wigs on the Green. The latter has landed in my mail box already.

Somehow my book pile has managed to grow again and as work is busy (animating dog food and shooting commercial with UK’s favorite pop princess) I don’t get that much time to read. Better get back to it!

I really wish for warmer weather, this morning my fingers and toes got frozen and I almost skidded on ice on Oxford Street and went against the traffic cause I was not able to take a turn. On top of this the heating in my office is broken again and I am sitting under two layers of jumpers plus a water bottle. Brrr.

But it is sunny so I should not complain too much!

This weekend was very nice.

More bread making. Sourdough rye, a much lighter rye than last week, superb crust. I am using Richard Bertinet’s book called Crust, very easy to follow and all the bread comes out amazingly well.

A quick look at Carnaby Street exhibition followed by a delicious lunch of Italian tapas at Polpo.

Afterward I was off to National Portrait Gallery to see a wonderful selection of Irving Penn’s portraits. The photographs are very striking with a fair dose of humour.

More baking was done: caramelised apple, hazelnut and almond cake accompanied by a hot beverage in my new Portmeirion cup, thank you Lisa!

The baby plants are doing very well.

I got three Elizabeth Gaskell books, it was very hard to decide which one I should read first. I recently watched BBC’s North and South so decided to start with this one. Absolutely smitten with Richard Armitage BTW. Gaskell’s writing is very engaging, realism with a bit of humour, I feel we are going to be very good friends. I am enjoying it so much I actually get up early to do a little bit of reading before work.

I also watched few films:

Up in the Air – all I can say, thank God the DVD broke half way in, it was dreadful

Where the Wild Things Are – very charming and beautiful

Paris je t’aime – a great selection of 18 shorts about Paris, each by different director and star studded. Some nicer then others but lovely to watch. Ps We booked another weekend in Paris in June, cannot wait!

Today I left work with head full of Paris thoughts: places to indulge in macarons, wine choices, beautiful squares and parks, long walks and amazing galleries.

Got on my bike, shouted at some pedestrians trying to cross Oxford Street on a red light and felt few drops of rain on my face. It felt strange, rain making my head wet? But there is always something covering my head… I realised then I left my helmet at the office.

I am a very careful cyclist so it didn’t worry me too much. Wind in my hair felt so wonderful I could easily give up my head protection. But of course I won’t. This is London after all.

Tomorrow morning I am getting on Eurostar and heading for the city of love and great fashion. Off to pack my bags and paint my nails now.

I have been living in South West London for three years now and I know this area won’t be my home for long. It just doesn’t feel right, too yummy mummy and bit… well, dull. However, as long as I am here I am going to fully explore it.

So today we stuck to our borough, first stop was Wandsworth Common where we discovered lots of nature and loads of brambles! I am going to be back next summer to pick some for jam.

Rose hips are going to be made into jam.

Then we went for tea and banana cake to Pantry.

We finished the day with a trip to Battersea car boot sale and this is what I dragged home:

Trays and a plate (plus rose hips – incredible colour huh?)

And a wacky KLM suitcase, I felt like a stewardess…

I think with a little TLC this will make a good home for my jewelery. Or an overnight bag!

I woke up to an overcast sky but fortunately the day turned out to be very sunny and hot. The summer is back for a day I think.

We decided to go to Richmond Park on our bikes. It is my favorite royal park, it dates back to the 13th century and was loved by the Tudors, Henry VIII frequently went hunting in the park and Elizabeth I lived and died in Richmond Palace.

We entered through the Roehampton Gate and the first thing we saw was deer, a lot of them. No surprise really as the park is home to about 600 red and fallow deer. They are such nice creatures, so graceful and pretty.

We headed toward Ham Gate and saw more deer…

I wasn’t fast enough to snap them surrounded by ferns, it looked magical.

Feeling very hungry we decided to grab some lunch at Petersham Nurseries.

Good bread, chicken salad, cheddar tomato sandwich and lovely almond, polenta and lemon cake.

I really want Skye Gyngell’s cook books!

There is a restaurant within the nursery ground, it is amazing.

Being a nursery you can buy plants and seeds, and really good quality gardening tools, accessories, wellies, rain coats and interior bits.

We purchased some seeds, these will be given away as we don’t have a garden. I would love to have one.

On the way back we went down The Thames Path. It’s so nice, like a holiday resort but instead of the sea there is river. It took us ages to get back but it was worth it, we cycled through Richmond, Kew and Barnes and eventually got to Putney were we had to go back on the road.

Twickenham Bridge – a fantastic Art Deco creation.

There are a whole bunch of things to do in this area: Ham House in Ham on …..Ham Street, Hampton Court, Kingstone, Kew Gardens, Petersham, Barnes with its Georgian houses and the London Wetland Centre not to mention hundreds of good restaurants, cafes and delis.

A great place for a day out of town.

…Being a Tate member I have just received an email informing me that one of my favorite jewellery designers, Tatty Devine, has launched an exclusive line in cooperation with the gallery, check it out here. Just looked at their website as well and found this brooch, I want!

…Yesterday I had a discussion with my colleagues about lycra vs normal clothing on a bike. I will not be seen in lycra outfits ever and feel more than comfortable wearing skirts, dresses and heels (within reason). I come from the continent after all and lived in Amsterdam for 7 years. So when on my way home I was waiting for the lights to change, being taken over by a number of racing lycra clad people, (I was wearing a stripy Vivienne Westwood skirt, a vest, cute TD brooch, aviators, flip flops and my Bern helmet), a couple of passers by said how cool I looked and gave me thumbs up (did I mention my pushbike is old and has a basket?). That made me smile.

…Just discovered that Dave Eggers has a new book out called Zeitoun. He is one of very few contemporary writers I like and cannot wait to read it…..maybe after Generation A though.

Well, not for me, for hubby.

We were going to have a picnic in Hyde Park and visit Serpentine to see the Jeff Koons exhibition however M suggested we go to Greenwich and have a picnic over there. I love the market so I immediately started to make some lunch and pack the lemon tarts and blackberries while he looked up the cycle route.

We set off from Clapham to Brixton, Camberwell, New Cross, Deptford and finally arrived in Greenwich. I quite like Brixton and Camberwell for its character. Not so much New Cross. Deptford looks very interesting with the market, I love the exotic fruit and veg they sell and all the regional cafes. When M took me to a community center where he used to hang out as a kid we stumbled upon a really funky wall painting.

Afterward we headed down to Greenwich Park to have the picnic. It’s such a lovely place, one of the nicest parks in London. Unfortunately there are some horrible plans to have it dug up and changed for the London Olympics so we promptly signed a petition against it and M offered his advertising and new media expertise should they need it.

After we had a bite to eat we wandered down to the Greenwich Market and were shocked to find out that our favorite part of the market (the one with vintage furniture) has closed down and will be turned into a nasty housing project. We had a look round the knick knacks they still sell in the old part of the market, had an ice cream near the Old Royal Naval College and headed back.

We went home via Brockley where my husband grew up, he showed me his school, his neighborhood and his old home – a wonderful huge Victorian house in a quaint street with Hilly Fields at the end of the road (my mother in law built a house in Wales recently and called it ‘Hilly Fields’ after it). A perfect childhood home with a big garden, sadly turned into flats by the new owner.

Some time ago Lola has written about the Voodoo House on Loampit Hill, when I asked hubby if he saw it he immediately knew where it was, turns out it’s round the corner from his old home. We went to have a look, had a nice chat with the bloke who lives there and snapped a couple of pictures. The house is an unbelievable crazy Victorian mansion with mad ornaments, I really liked his garden too, no particular order, just a mish mash of plants.

I must say, I really enjoyed my day in south east London, it’s so good to see it, especially M’s first home.

After being bored at work for few weeks I am in the thick of it. I am working on a very exciting project for WHO’s Unitaid. Sending a very very small crew with a camera to Cambodia, Nepal and Zambia. As usual there is no time to do anything in a normal way, am stressed but happy at the same time to be busy again.

I started to cycle to work every day on my small blue bike with a basket which leaves me exhausted. I also do Pilates every Thursday which I love but yesterday I thought I would fall asleep, I guess this is a combination of cycling, stress, heat (no air con at work just stagnant hot air) and running around getting visas and vaccinations sorted for my crew. As the week goes by I get more and more tired.

I was so happy when I got home this evening, am home alone tonight, I made a dinner and just lounged on a sofa watching movies, flipping through magazines and blogs. I am about to have a lavender bath and read a book that I got absolutely hooked on – Crimson Petal and the White. I don’t really read much modern literature but was being persuaded by one friend for a while and given the book as a birthday gift by other two friends so I didn’t have much choice. I am all about the lives of Sugar and William and co in Victorian London.

This weekend I am going to get a haircut, my hair is a mess, I go to 10500 in Notting Hill and only get cut by Magda, she is wonderful. I am also going to hang out with a friend who is visiting from Amsterdam. Really looking forward to just chilling out and not doing much. I might take advantage of my friend’s pool, she lives in a crazy mock-Tudor apartment block with an outdoor pool with salt water instead of chlorine. Sounds very tempting.

I am off to get relaxed in lavender fragrance.