Pen, paper and cake!

A home of our own

2011-02-21T20:50:00.004Z

Sometimes all you need is a nudge... Or three, to blog again. When your favourite blog author (Heather, of www.heatherdrive.blogspot.com) asks what's going on you know you've got to put pen to paper,finger to keyboard, whatever.

The most significant thing that's happened these past few months is that we started house hunting in earnest. Having looked on and off for about a year, we were ready to get going with the search and stop paying stupid amounts of rent for a flat which plainly has seen better days. But that's a whole story you don't want to know about.

We saw a house soon enough, it was pretty, in a nice residential area, and we kinda fell for it. We made an offer, it was accepted after some negotiation, except slowly it began to dawn on us that we were overpaying. A lacklustre survey made us back out of the purchase.

If there is something in life that I hate it's house hunting. Being taken round by conniving people who insult your intelligence by lying to your face, calling what are clearly single rooms, 'comfortable doubles' feed you rubbish about the area commanding unprecedented prices... Honestly, I hate estate agents. So hunting for our first home together brought out the worst in me... I was impatient and frustrated. London has become insanely expensive. It seemed like anything good was out of reach and we were being shown expensive rubbish.

But, finally, we found something! In a residential area, 15 mins walk from the underground, in nice surrounds... A four bed, with a garden, a home to call our own. It's so exciting, it's just where we wanted to be location-wise. It will be a financial stretch, for sure, but we know it will be worth it to be in our own home. I am such a home bug!

We move in at the end of March, expect pictures then! Until that time, if you read on you will be regaled with stories of couch shopping and the like.... Ok, so I'm doing a bad job of getting you to stick around, but all the same it'd be grand if you did!

Her Fearful Symmetry - Audrey Niffeneger

2010-10-02T17:50:00.005+01:00

I thought I'd review this book, because I know that some of you enjoyed the Time Traveler's Wife - I know I did. It surprised me that I enjoyed it as much as I did, because I am generally uninterested in anything resembling science fiction, fantastical writing, etc. I really enjoyed the depiction of love between the characters and the complex plot though - it was a very enjoyable read, and one that stayed etched in my mind for some time.

So when I saw this new book by the same author, I thought I'd give it a try. I got through it quickly - I'll give it that, it was certainly gripping. But I can't say that I enjoyed it. It's about a set of twins, Edie and Elspeth, who are estranged. Edie has 21 year old twin girls, and when Elspeth passes away she leaves her flat in Highgate, London, to the girls on the proviso that they live there for a year. The story unfolds in London, exploring the relationship between the two sisters, and the secret of the rift between their mother and aunt.

Nifenegger has a great mind, there is no doubt about that. She knows how to weave a plot together, how to shock in the most intelligent of ways. But in this novel I found the characters undeveloped (except for Martin, I loved his depiction, though I'm not sure what that storyline had to do with that of the girls) and more to the point they were, almost all of them, unlikeable. I couldn't understand the motives behind their behaviour at all.

The story becomes very dark, so much so that it made me uneasy. And yet I kept reading. Perhaps the author is saying: you may dislike these characters and find it hard to understand why they do what they do, but what does it say about you that you are still reading, that you derive enjoyment from this darkest of stories?

I am not a fan of ghost stories, so maybe I was never the prime audience for this novel, but I found the whole thing a bit silly, a bit self indulgent, gratuitously dark. Gripping, yet unenjoyable. I learnt nothing about humanity. That might sound pious, I don't look to read books with a moral purpose, but I do hope to understand why the protagonists do what they do, what motivates them, and Martin aside, I failed to do that here. One to miss I think!

4 months

2010-10-02T17:28:00.004+01:00

I can't believe we have been married for four months, and so much has happened that I have hardly had time to recap our wedding! I will get round to it, assuming it is of some interest! ;)

Life feels different but so much better - I love being married to Marc. Since we hadn't lived with each other I thought there would be an adjustment. I am an only child, I had always been very much my parents' daughter, I wondered how it would be to have my primary allegiance shift.

The truth is that there hasn't been an adjustment to speak of. It feels so normal, as though we have been in this state forever. It took me a few years into dating to feel ready for marriage but I'm not sure now what I was so worried about. I feel such a sense of togetherness and partnership.

After the wedding I did feel quite a bit of nostalgia about the wedding being behind me. I sought projects everywhere, I framed photos and our invitation, decorated our flat... but now I am settling into real life, enjoying the day-to-day things rather than plotting the next big thing. Life is good!

I bought Marc a traditional prayer shawl for the wedding. The Rabbi surprised us by asking Marc to cover me with the shawl during the ceremony. It was a very special moment.

Wedding cake

2010-08-12T00:24:00.007+01:00

I spent a lot of time planning my wedding and envisaging what things would be like... I did lots myself.. the invitations, the bridesmaids' corsages, programs etc. By far the biggest feat was making my own wedding cake in Guernsey (where I live in a hotel) and transporting it to Tel Aviv.

Why did I undertake such a crazy task? We got married in Israel where wedding cakes are not the norm and very expensive. We had 8 desserts at our wedding - it didn't seem strictly necessary to also have a cake. But also I was inspired by smitten kitchen, where Deb made her friend's wedding. Did I think about how, as a bride, it wouldn't be fun transporting my own cake across countries far and wide, icing it the day before the wedding, decorating it just hours before? No I did not! It was stressful and difficult, but totally crazy and I'm so proud of it!

We only got round to cutting it at the end of the night, it was unannounced, we didn't think anyone would notice. It was more for a photo opportunity. But people crowded round and ate - it was such a fun, surprising and intimate moment! One of my favourite parts of our day.

I loved our cake and I am so glad we had one in the end. Aletha of Pearls Events wedding planning asked in her blog whether wedding cakes are now a thing of the past. Who knows, but I think there will always be something special and intimate about cutting a wedding cake. I can't wait to pass the story of our cake down generations!

Craft Room - going red!

2010-08-11T21:29:00.011+01:00

I have wanted a craft from for some time, as evidenced by this post. We live in a new rental flat right now (photos to come this weekend) and it has two bedrooms. The second bedroom houses random stuff we haven't had time to organise yet - it's a crowded mess - but this weekend I intend to revamp it.

I don't know why I stumped for red in the end - truth be told it was an impulse! For years I thought it would be really girlie, all white furniture and pretty pink things. Actually what I want is a very organised space. Attractive, but functional. Right now we have a futon in there and an uninspiring desk and shelf unit. Those aren't going, because they serve a purpose. One day when we have a house I will be able to get a big modern desk and loads of lovely shelves, but for now by adding my touch I can make the spare bedroom an inspiring place to craft all the same.

What I am missing is lots of storage. I will need to make a trip to IKEA for that, so this is a work in progress. For now, let me show you the goodies I have chosen!

1. A red Anglepoise lamp.

LOVE these and have wanted one for so so long!

2. 2 cushions to put on our cream futon

3. A pen holder

4. A rug

5. Some letters to spell out 'create'

I am so incredibly excited for these to come that I even paid for a Saturday delivery for some of it - it will be so awesome when it's here! Can you tell I am a new wife who needs projects now that the wedding is over? Haha! Seriously though, I am so excited about turning our flat into a home. I love interiors - always have - so I am in my element!

I will be sure to post before and after photos once the room is all set up!

Identity and name

2010-08-08T01:17:00.003+01:00

It's so nice to be back! Since I realised that this blog could be found on Google when people did a name search, I didn't feel comfortable exposing everything personal on it, so I removed certain content, particularly because I had started a new job and I am cagey about private matters at work - I try to keep the two distinct when I can. And for a while everything I was living felt too personal to write about, not because I didn't want readers or friends to know, but because didn't want people who know me in a professional capacity to have binoculars into my life. I find it strange that I feel comfortable exposing things to people I haven't met, yet in a certain sphere I am reluctant to give of myself.

My identity has always been tied up with my name. My maiden surname is very distinct, and in Israel well known. It evokes a certain time and place, and it is exotic sounding. No-one could ever spell it - that part was annoying - but only my family has it. It's pretty cool to know that anyone you stumble upon with the same name is related to you. Also, on a practical note, I never needed my customer ID number for anything because I was almost always guaranteed to be the only one with my name. I am an only child, so that also factored into my thinking about whether to change my name. If I changed it it would die out on my side of the family. It felt like a lack of allegiance to my parents. I knew they wanted me to keep my name. My mother kept her maiden name at work and changed it for anything personal.

I had a real dilemma on my hands - I just didn't know what to do. In the end I changed my name, not at all sure I had done the right thing. I would pick up the phone and begin to say Vanessa Oldlastname and stop myself, sounding crazy. I couldn't quite utter my new name so would pick up and say 'hello' - completely inappropriate in the legal sphere!

But, I am growing into my new name, liking having a more 'usual' name. Almost everything has now been changed over but my passport, because I fly weekly, and I caught myself looking at my maiden name on it and thinking 'that's not right'. So the shift has occurred. It is nice to share a name with Marc, it makes me feel as though we are our own family. And I have come to realise that by changing names I am not letting go of the past that made me who I am, just taking on a name that reflects who I want to become.

Married!

2010-08-04T23:13:00.003+01:00

It has taken me so long to come back to blogging, maybe I needed to miss it to return; I don't know. We had a beautiful wedding, it was everything we had hoped for and more! I'm going to do a proper recap, but for now some photos!

It feels so different to be married - I feel a deep sense of belonging that I have never had, which says a lot considering I have never felt I didn't belong. It's hard to put that bond, that commitment, into words. I'm so happy to be Marc's wife!

Back and update

2010-03-15T19:21:00.002Z

So here I am, back on the blog! I had missed blogging, but I couldn't unfortunately. My blog can be found on the internet when people look for my name, and I was going through recruitment processes where I needed to be anonymous. What there was to blog about I didn't want the world to know. I hadn't told my new employers about the wedding yet... so I had my reasons.

But I missed the blog and so I'm hoping to pick up where I left off.

Before I do, an update:

1. Less than 2 months till the wedding! Invites are out as of yesterday! It was a huge task to finish DIYing these, but they are finally done!

2. I am living in Guernsey for a few months with my new job. Guernsey is part of the Channel Islands. It's green and beautiful and people are so friendly. It was the only UK territory to be occupied in World War II. I'm looking forward to discovering more of its history as I stay here.

Yes, it's hard to be away from home (again) but it's a wonderful career opportunity. The City of London is so depressed that I had to be open minded and this company has been incredibly good to me. I hope I can make a good go of it. I'm travelling back and forth quite a bit, which is tiring, but it's worth it.

Hope you're all still around... looking forward to commenting more again and renewing the contact.

xxxx

Dress doubt

2010-03-02T07:29:00.001Z

Where does it come from? Does everyone experience it? It seems as though so many ladies on the Knot go through this, but sometimes I can't help but wonder whether there is a whole other normal word of ladies out there who don't obsess on wedding websites. Women who buy a dress and think no more of it.

I for one definitely had dress doubt. I tried dresses on alone, then brought my mother along with me to buy the dress I had chosen (which she also liked). I had only tried on about 10 dresses at that point. After I tried mine on, I didn't want to look at any more. Sure, some might be more flattering or opulent but my dress made me look like the image of the bride I had always had in my head: feminine, lovely, on the modest side. So many dresses are beautiful in and of themselves but not all, I thought, felt right for a wedding and this one did.

So what happened? What shook my conviction? Well, I showed photos of myself in the sample and no-one particularly liked the dress. On the dress board of the Knot, people said they weren't sure anything could be done to make it fit better. The size of the wedding grew. Suddenly perhaps my dress was too simple and sweet to stand up to so many people.

What did I do? I stressed. I became weird weepy anal bride and it's a surprise Marc's still around! But, slowly slowly I calmed down, resolved that I didn't want to buy another dress, and decided to wait to till the fittings to see what I thought.

And you guessed it. At the fittings I loved my dress. It fit beautifully. I felt even better than when I bought it. I didn't want to take it off and was sad to leave it in the dress shop.

So why do people doubt their dress so much? I have a few ideas...

1. They keep looking. There are so many dresses that could look good, as good if not better than the dress you chose. Looking doesn't help.

2. The time in between ordering and seeing the dress. It's torture. Time to look. Time to stress.

3. This is one of the most expensive purchases a woman makes on herself, and is probably the only one that is non-returnable and subject to as much scrutiny.

4. Pressure from/opinions of others. I don't like many of the dresses that people rave about on the Knot. Why, then, should I be upset when people don't like mine? There are so many trends and if a dress doesn't fit into one some won't like it.

5. The excitement? The thrill of trying on dresses, knowing it's the only time of life you can, and the thrill of ordering a wedding dress. It is so exciting and once you've done it it's behind you.

If you're doubting your dress remember: people won't know the other alternatives you had, and if you picked it's because you felt great in it, which really is all that matters. Stop looking at dresses and move on to another planning stage. Remember that you will be beautiful no matter what.

Did you have dress doubt? Please share your experiences - I'd love to read them!

Bought Marc's wedding band

2010-02-19T00:09:00.001Z

Yesterday I ordered Marc's wedding band!

Months ago we looked in Tiffany's and he tried on lots of rings. He thought he'd want a plain platinum band but ended up not liking it on his finger and choosing a milgrain band. It looked so good - it was so happy-making to see Marc wearing a wedding band!

I went to the jewellery district in London, where Dad has contacts, to find a place to order the ring. Somehow I didn't find the experience particularly confidence inspiring for some reason.

Also, I've just moved to another area and didn't think I'd have much control over the process if it took place in London, so instead I ordered Marc's ring online. I think I got an ok deal, but mostly I just really like the ring he picked! Can't wait till it arrives!

I bought Marc's ring from a site called www.weddingrings-direct.com. I totally thought I'd end up buying from BlueNile, but I was so disappointed by their customer service. I was put on hold for about half an hour twice, and when I finally got through they couldn't get me the ring in Marc's finger size because it's smaller than the average man's size. They don't go out of their way for you at all, which I thought was pretty poor. The site I ordered from had incredibly friendly people on the other side of the phone and was a pleasure to do business with.

I feel relieved to have that out of the way and I just hope it fits and that Marc likes it when it comes in.

Tomorrow I'll post about my ring: it's turned into a bit of a saga! In the meantime I leave you with a picture of Marc's ring from www.weddingrings-direct.com

My Dress

2010-01-22T11:00:00.001Z

Finally, now that I have moved all the wedding content to this blog, I can post a photo of my wedding dress! I bought it in Israel after becoming engaged and whilst I have doubted my choice at times, I do love it and am excited to go and be fitted in a few weeks' time! It'll be wonderful to try on 'my' dress, the one I know I will be married in.

It was designed by an Israeli designer and is made in Israel by new immigrants. I deliberately wanted to buy a dress that would support the Israeli economy and provide jobs rather than order one in from China.

My dress is being custom made for me as well, which is always a nice extra!

Invitation tags

2010-01-20T10:19:00.001Z

Making the front labels for our invitations is probably the most annoying part of DIYing invitations. It's the only cutting I've done myself, and I'm glad there's not much left to do. It's difficult to get straight lines and I'm finding that I'm a bit of a perfectionist on that front.

I take a piece of ivory paper, measure, draw grid lines, so that the piece of paper has lots of evenly sized ivory rectangles. I then cut the paper into long vertical strips and then stamp row by row. This is important because I am only using a part of the leaf stamp, so I need a cut edge or the foliage would stamp onto the next row. I hope this makes sense (if not, let me know).

I had brown strips left over from the paper cutting I had done, and I have been using these for the brown backing. I stick the ivory stamped rectangle onto the brown card using a Pritt stick, then trim the brown backing with sharp Fiskars scissors. There you have it.

I got the monogram stamp made for us on Etsy (love that side SO much) and the leaf/foliage stamp on Ebay. I have to say that I adore the look of the stamps together as I think it's a little unusual yet classy. I've now made about 130 invitations - about 70 left!

Invitations - will it ever end?

2010-01-18T00:13:00.001Z

So I've been so quiet on the blogging front because I've been doing the invitations... sticking double sided tape, attaching ribbon, stamping, cutting measuring! My hands are destroyed! You see, our guest list appears to have grown exponentially, meaning that I don't have enough invitations by by original count and have had to re-order a bunch of supplies to make some (many) more.

At first I was like 'what's all the fuss about' when people moaned about how making one's own invites is sapping and monotonous. I suppose it isn't the hugest fuss, but it does take ages. Hours and hours and hours. The only way I can get through it is by sitting with someone as they watch tv and chatting intermittently. Otherwise I might die of boredom/frustration.

But I LOVE our invitations! More to come on those in posts to come, but I am proud to be using my own design for these. I know it's just a bit of card, and probably that most people won't even know how much work went into them, but I don't care! Looking at them sitting pretty with their inserts makes me smile! Can't wait until they go out to our guests. But I sure as hell won't miss them, or this particular wedding project. So much so that I nixed the idea of handmade 'Thank you' cards and fully intend to Vistaprint it.

Apple muffins with cinnamon butter

2010-01-12T01:37:00.005Z

I actually made these beauties ages ago, to bring to Audrey when I visited her, and I never got round to blogging about them. They were seriously yummy! But if you are looking for very sweet muffins then these aren't for you. Their essence is that of a breakfast food. At least in the UK, muffins have become too sickly for my liking. Sickly and dry. These are not very sweet and have a lovely apple-vanilla aroma, together with a moist texture. Without the butter these are very light and a nice start to the day, one that does not feel too over-indulgent but remains a small treat. With the butter? Heaven.

from Susannah Blake's Book, Muffin Magic

Ingredients

2 cups self raising flour
1/2 tsp bicarbinate of soda
1tsp ground cinnamon
2 eggs, beaten
1/3 cup plain yogurt
1/2 cup milk
1/2 cup soft brown sugar
6 tpsp sunflower oil
2 apples, peeled, cored and finely diced

For the cinnamon butter

115g butter at room temperature
1/3 cup sifted icing sugar
1 tsp ground cinnamon

Instructions

Preheat oven to 200c or 400f.

Combine flour, bicarb and cinnamon and sift into a large bowl

In a separate bowl, combine the eggs, yogurt, milk, brown sugar and oil, then stir in the apples. Pour the mixture into the dry ingredients and stir together until just combined, then spoon big dollops of the mixture into the prepared muffin pan.

Bake for about 20 mins or until risen and golden. Leave to cool in a pan for a few minutes and then tranfer to a rack to cool.

Meanwhile sift together the butter, icing sugar and cinnamon. Serve the muffins warm, with cinnamon butter for spreading.

Sex and the City 2

2010-01-10T23:37:00.003Z

Nope, no spoiler coming from me unfortunately (just speculation)! This is just a post to document my complete excitement about the release of SATC2. To say that I love SATC is an understatement. Hell, I even dragged my fiance on the SATC tour in New York! It was awesome.

I remember the excitement of seeing the movie when I went with Kate. It somehow felt like a momentous occasion - one we had been anticipating for some time (yes, I do know how sad I soumd). We couldn't wait to go in, and we enjoyed every second.

And now we are being treated to another film! I am pleased, of course, but I do think it's getting a little silly. I mean, why not just start the series again? It would be so much better. But hey, I shouldn't complain.

The release in the UK will be in late May... right before the wedding. I really hope that we can make it a part of the hen night celebrations. Nothing could be more perfect. Since I leave for Israel a week before the wedding, we may end up seeing it there! That would also be cool.

I hope Carrie doesn't have a baby: it seems at odds with her character. I hope Samantha gets back with Richard, but I don't think it will happen (it's much more likely that Smith will reappear). I think that Aidan will come back and that there will be infidelity issues between Carrie and Big.

So now I put it to you: what do you think will happen? I was spot-on with predicting it the last time but this time I just don't know. Can't wait to read your hypotheses!

LASIK/contact lenses

2010-01-10T00:39:00.001Z

So finally I have to get vain and ditch the glasses, something I've been reluctant to do over the years. My eye sight has become progressively worse, through university, law school and long hours on the computer. Nowadays I am well below the driving standard. I feel disorientated when walking around, I can't read street names, in shops the shelves are overwhelming, on the underground I can't read the signs that tell me where the train is going. In short, I feel debilitated.

On my wedding day, when I will need to recognise so many people, it is out of the question to not have any sight assistance of some description. It would ruin my day. But I can't wear my glasses. I just don't think it looks good. And I have always resisted contacts because I hate the idea of putting anything in my eyes. I don't want the maintenance. I don't find the idea particularly hygienic.

So off I went to a LASIK appointment. They spent hours testing me for this and that... and concluded that I'm suitable. I was totally sold. I would love not to fumble for my glasses in the morning, to have the freedom of perfect sight. But - and it's a big but - the cost for both eyes is £4,500, about $7,500. I just don't have that sort of money to spare right now. I'm disappointed, but now is not the time for non-essential expenses. And try though I might to convince myself that this is essential, it isn't. Many people wear contacts and there is no reason why I shouldn't be one of them.

So next week I'll go to the optician and have a contact lens appointment. I would like to get disposable lenses, so that I can wear them only on special occasions. Day to day I'm more comfortable with glasses. Fingers crossed it won't be as bad as I fear. Do any of you have contact lens recommendations for me? If so please pass them along!

Hair ideas - advice?

2010-01-07T19:23:00.001Z

Here are some hairstyles I like for the wedding. I want to look natural, but like a better version of myself. Curly hair is my 'trademark' so I don't want an elegant chignon or anything too formal... I'm thinking lose curles or waves.

I'm going to bring these photos to my makeup artist and hairdresser in February... hopefully she'll draw on them for inspiration.

What do you think? The first picture is my favourite!

Makeup trial

2010-01-06T23:13:00.001Z

My amazing and beautiful future mother in law, Marilyn, booked us two girls in for a complimentary makeover at Space NK to give us ideas of what we might want. She made her way into London despite the heavy snow, and we spent the morning chatting whilst we were being made up. The range the assistant used was that of a French make called Chantecaille.

I had been really looking forward to it because I always love time with Marilyn, because my skin hasn't been so good lately and because I am so utterly bored with my makeup routine.

Here is what I looked like after the makeover. You must ignore my awful hair after walking in the snow. I really like what our assistant did, and I think that rosy and natural look will really come together once my hair is sorted out. Looking back I may want slightly more smoky eyes, but I want to remain very natural. I'm going to ask the makeup artist to use all the same makeup on the day of the wedding.

Marilyn so very generously treated me to some beautiful makeup and I can't wait to try it out tomorrow. I went and bought myself a new face cream and exfoliator by Origins. I hope that using this regularly will improve my skin tone.

I am such a lucky girl to have had such a fabulous spoiling day!

Thank you so much Marilyn for the time and effort it took to come in, for the close chats and for my lovely goodies! You looked absolutely radiant today. xxx

Snowed in

2010-01-06T08:34:00.004Z

London is experiencing one of its coldest winters on record. It keeps snowing and it has been freezing outside for so long now. I know that in some parts of North America this is commonplace but I can tell you, to us it is just weird.

The authorities don't know how to cope, they don't have enough salt for the roads, airports are shutting down - utter chaos.

Of course it's frustrating for adults, who can't go about their daily work etc, but there is something to be mentioned about the very different attitude of children. The delight and enchantment. Today children will be sledging and playing in the snow, overjoyed. Sometimes I think that as adults, we lose that.

In this sort of weather what I like to do best is bake. Sadly, watching my weight before dress fittings in February, I can't do that. So instead I have been cooped up indoors doing my invitations, which I've nearly finished. Finally!

In any case, instead of feeling irritation at the disruption, I'm going to try to go out and enjoy this rare time (it hardly ever snows in London and when it does, it doesn't settle). Who knows, I may even build a snowman, replete with carrot nose!

Civil ceremony

2010-01-05T17:56:00.001Z

A few weeks back Marc and I went to fill in forms to demonstrate our 'intention to marry'. This is an old tradition in England. In the past your names would be put on a noticeboard in the Church so that everyone could see who was getting married and could object if they so wished during a certain timeframe. Today names are supposedly posted somewhere in Camden Town Hall, a bustling and anonymous administrative building. Clearly, no-one objected because I was able to pick up our certificates and deposit them in the register office where we will have our civil ceremony!

We will have our civil ceremony in Old Marylebone Town Hall, where my parents got married. And Paul McCartney married his wife Linda there! Cool trivia.

Meanwhile I've been sent ceremony wording options and honestly? Most of them make me want to puke. I'm sorry but I just don't like mushy vows. I like to say what is necessary in law/according to a particular religion and nothing else. So I shall edit it all down to a bare minimum. The registrar will think I am very grumpy indeed.

So there's one thing ticked off the list. Oh, and did I tell you? I have a FA-BU-LOUS dress for the civil ceremony! Can't wait to walk down those stairs with Marc!

Hosting (salmon and cranberry orange cake recipes)

2010-01-05T12:39:00.006Z

I have people round for dinner all the time... I love socialising that way. It's so personal, so comfortable and much more intimate and special than hanging out in a bar or restaurant after restaurant. Even that gets boring. I normally make nice but not overly complicated food... my Moroccan dish, perhaps some salmon, roast chicken.

But until this Christmas, I'd never really hosted a celebration meal before. On the 25th I invited Marc's parents round. His mother is a fabulous cook and always hosts us so beautifully so I wanted to give her a night off. Whilst I love cooking I have to say was hard work! I have to improve on the hostess front.

Do you have any hostess tips to share? If so please do: I'd love to hear them.

The most difficult thing for me was the timing: having so many dishes to prepare using just one oven, and keeping everything warm. I made salmon stuffed with vegetables and garlic butter, roast chicken and roast potatoes, roast vegetables, fennel in red peppers and broccoli with breadcrumbs.

I definitely think that I'm better at dessert!

I made Katie's Cranberry and Orange cake, and I have to say that she is a genius because she made that recipe up herself and it is completely and utterly sublime. Everyone loved it. And it's a lovely centrepiece cake, so definitely one to tab in your books. I also made peanut butter biscuits and gingerbread biscuits. Yummy!

Here's the recipe for the cake. NB: I omitted the orange liqueur (couldn't find any) and added half a cup of orange juice in addition to what the recipe calls for and it made for a lovely moist cake.

Cranberry Orange Cake

Ingredients:
3 c. flour, divided
1 tsp cinnamon
1 tsp baking powder
1/2 tsp baking soda
1/4 tsp salt
1/2 c. unsalted butter
1/2 c. oil
1 2/3 c. granulated sugar
2 Tbsp orange zest
1 Tbsp orange liquor
1 tsp vanilla extract
2 eggs
1/4 c. fresh orange juice
3/4 c. buttermilk
2 c. fresh cranberries

for icing:
2 c. powdered sugar, sifted
1/2 tsp vanilla extract
3-6 tsp fresh orange juice

Directions:

-Preheat oven to 325 degrees and prepare basic bundt pan.
-In bowl of stand mixer, add sugar, butter and oil and beat until light and fluffy in texture as well as color, about 5 minutes.
-Meanwhile, in medium bowl, combine 2 1/2 c flour, cinnamon, baking powder, baking soda and salt.
-Whisk to combine well and set aside.
-To sugar mixture, add orange zest.
-One at a time, add egg and beat to combine well.
-Add liquor and vanilla, beating to combine well.
-Add orange juice and buttermilk, mixing to combine well.
-Stop mixer and scrape down sides of bowl.
-With mixer on lowest speed, add flour mixture and mix until almost combined.
-Stop mixer and remove bowl.
-In bowl flour was in, add remaining 1/2 c. flour and cranberries.
-Toss to coat and add to batter.
-Using large spatula, fold cranberries and extra flour into batter just until combined.
-Pour batter into bundt pan.
-Tap on counter to remove air bubbles, smooth top of batter away from center of pan.
-Place into preheated oven on rack in center of oven and bake until toothpick inserted into center of pan comes out clean, about 1 hour.
-Remove from oven and let cool in pan for 20 minutes.
-Turn cake out onto wire rack and cool completely.
-Once cake is cool, in medium bowl, combine powdered sugar, vanilla extract and orange juice, 1 tsp at a time until medium consistency is achieved.
-Drizzle icing over top of cake, decorate with orange rind and fresh cranberries and serve.

Salmon Recipe

1 whole salmon, boned and skinned
2 carrots
1 courgette
a few stalks of celery
1 parsnip
1 glass of white wine
(add any other vegetables you like)
1/2 (apprx) cup butter to smear
4 tablespoons butter
whole head of garlic
1/2 lemon
salt and pepper to taste
food string

1. Place salmon half down in a baking tray covered in aluminium foil, with the cut part facing up. Place strings under the piece of salmon every few inches. These will tie this half to the half that will be placed on top.
2. Crush garlic and blend with butter.
3. Smear onto open half of salmon
4. Using a mixer julienne the vegetables
5. Fry the vegetables in a small amount of butter, salt and pepper to taste, until they are soft but not brown.
6. Place vegetables on open half of salmon, ensuring they do not spill over the sides.
7. Place remaining piece of salmon cut side down on top of the vegetables
8. Tie the strings together so that the two halves of salmon and vegetables are held in place.
9. In a bowl, crush the remaining garlic, add wine, 4 tablespoons of butter, squeezed lemon, salt and pepper and pour over the salmon.
10. Cover in tin foil and bake in the oven at 180 ceklcius for about 30 minutes, but ovens vary so do check.

This was a yummy light addition to normal holiday food. It can look elegant and was enjoyed by all.

Happy New Year!

2010-01-01T12:38:00.002Z

Last night, like every other NYE, Marc made me his special risotto! It has become quite the tradition and I certainly looked forward to it. It was absolutely delicious! Later on in the evening, Marc and I brought in the new year with some great friends, Harry and Natalie. It was so exciting, because as we watched Big Ben and the countdown, we realised that this is the year that we would be getting married! We were both really excited and hadn't expected to be! The other couples there were engaged as well, so it made for a really cool atmosphere.

Now, as ever, comes resolution time. I go for dress fittings in Tel Aviv in February and I have 5 weeks to tone up a little before I see my dress again. So I want to look better for that. I know that I should have started sooner but, if I am conscientious, I think I can make a small difference in that time. The crunch is on!

Wishing you all a Happy New Year filled with love and laughter, health and fun!

DIY invitations: pocketfolds

2009-12-22T09:46:00.001Z

I've been working on these for a few months and it's finally time to write up instructions!

You can perfectly well buy pocketfolds, but not only will you save money if you make them yourselves but you will also get exactly what you want. In my case, you cannot buy pocketfolds that suit what I need. My invitation will be in English on one side and in Hebrew on the other, so I need three sides to the invitation, one for each language and one for the flap.

These are time consuming but they're not as bad as I thought they would be. I tended to do mine slowly whilst watching television or something, so that I didn't notice completing them.

A note of caution: do not use a paper cutter to cut all your pocketfolds. Not only will it take a lifetime but the cuts aren't clean. You really must get this done in a print shop. They have huge machines that will cut through all your invites in one swoop. This is a very inexpensive service to boot!

What you need:

1. Bone folder
2. Good quality scissors
3. Pencil
4. Good eraser
5. Paper cutter/guilotine with scoring blade
6. Ruler
7. Double sided tape

My measurements, in case they help you:

length: 34.8cm
height: 17.7cm

first cut: 13cm
second cut: 12.9 cm
final cut: 8.9 cm from second cut.

1. Measure and mark the point halfway down the right hand side of your piece of paper.

2. Measure 1 1/2 cms in from that point and make a point. Then join this point to the outer edges to make a triangle. Cut this triangle out. This will be your inside pocket, in which to place maps, RSVP cards or anything else you wish. My pocket is shallow but you can change the dimensions to suit you.

3. Measure your folds and mark with a pencil where to score the line. Use your paper cutter's scoring blades to score your folds (not forgetting to erase the pencil markings when you're done):

4. Fold your pocketfolds along your scored lines using the bone folder.

5. Stick double sided tape down underneath the flap to secure it to the invitation and create the pocket. The tape should be the length of the flap.

This is what the pocketfold will look like with the double sided tape.

6.Remove the backing on the double sided tape and fold down the flap to secure it to the invitation using your bone folder.

7. Go over the edges of the flap with the bone folder to ensure the double sided tape has adhered well.

That's it! It wasn't so bad, was it? Honestly, I think this is so worth doing... I've even enjoyed the process. If you have any questions please let me know and I'd be pleased to answer!

Rage Against the Machine

2009-12-21T23:17:00.002Z

Am I proud or what? If you were to ask Marc what I moan about the most, he'd definitely say crap tv. Or any tv, for that matter. I'm just not a fan. I hate the noise and passivity. I hate the dross that we get given. I despise the lack of aspirational tv. The X Factor? I hate it with a passion. The mediocre teenagers on The X Factor (our version of American Idol). I'm so so SO bored of wet men singing wet songs with no imagination. I'm sick of the processed music that dominates the charts, the tacky tistasteful clothes, the misguided kids who are being used, the chav factor. The X Factor winning song has dominated the UK charts for four years now. Every year is more boring than the last.

So when I heard that there was a grassroots protest, that people with no budget whatsoever were trying to dislodge Simon's latest star Joe Mc Elderry from the charts it was, quite literally, music to my ears.

They asked people to download 'Killing in the Name' and Rage Against the Machine agreed that all proceeds should go to charity.

Best of all? That 70s song was Christmas no. 1!!! A people's revolt! I am proud of my countrymen! Seriously though, I hope this paves the way for some passion and interesting music rather than the manufactured pop we have had to endure for so very long. I think it's so unbelievably cool that these individuals made such a statement. They should run for Prime Minister.

Ring bowl

2009-12-21T23:11:00.001Z

Just one of those little details that I care about and that I am sure no-one else will notice. This one's for us though and for our future home.

I fell for these subtle and rustic little bowls... I know I didn't need one, but I wanted one so badly that eventually I just caved in! I ordered a custom design and explained just what I wanted. I'm so pleased with the outcome! It's perfect!

On a different note, I have so much to tell all of you but I can't do it just yet. No massive news but a few thoughts and experiences... it's frustrating that this blog can be found online... the lack of anonymity can be prohibitive of what I can share. Do you ever experience the same thing?

Anyhoo, here's the bowl from Paloma's Nest on Etsy! I can't wait to use it, to have great photos of it and to place it somewhere meaningful one day...

The best gingerbread cookies

2009-12-13T12:19:00.004Z

Meredith and I did some baking last week and we made the best gingerbread cookies that I have ever tasted! I wanted to share the recipe with you because it's so easy and too good to pass up. It's by TastedbyTwo, adapted from Real Living. Enjoy!

NB: We replaced molasses with golden syrup because molasses isn't available in England.

Gingerbread cookies

Ingredients:

Gingerbread
125g butter
½ cup (100g) firmly packed brown sugar
1 egg yolk
2½ cups (375g) plain flour
1 teaspoon bicarbonate of soda
3 teaspoons ground ginger
3 teaspoons all spice (or mixture of cinnamon, nutmeg and cloves)
½ cup (125 ml) golden syrup

Icing
1 egg white
1½ cups pure icing sugar, sifted

Method:

1. Preheat oven to 180ºC. Beat the butter and sugar together until light and creamy. Add the egg and beat until combined.

2. Sift dry ingredients and stir into butter mixture with the golden syrup. Mix to a light dough and knead gently on a lightly floured surface until smooth.

3. Roll out between 2 sheets of baking paper until approximately 3 mm thick. Cut gingerbread men from the dough with your chosen cookie cutter and place on baking paper on biscuit trays and bake for 10 minutes or until lightly golden. Re-roll dough as many times as necessary. Cool on trays.

4. For the icing, whisk together the icing sugar and gradually the egg white until smooth. Spoon into a piping bag or freezer bag with the corner snipped. Decorate biscuits as desired.

A night in Henley

2009-12-13T11:56:00.002Z

I had forgotten how enchanting England can be. I know it sounds melodramatic as I do live in England, after all. But I had - really. London, you see, doesn't feel like England but rather like a country of its own. Not just because it is diverse, but because it lacks that quintessential English quality: sweet little shops, period property, footpaths... I can't put my hand on it. That lovely Englishness that Henley embodies. I know that not all of England is like this, but it was nevertheless lovely to be immersed in it for a short while.

When I lived in Oxford I revelled in the fact that I could cycle everywhere. I loved the little pubs and shops, the river, the accessibility to the countryside. I loved it all so much that on my last cycle ride in Oxford after my finals, coming down the passage behind New College towards Magdalen Bridge, I had tears in my eyes. Yet life has moved on and, typically, I've hardly been back since.

So when Marc said he'd booked us a night in Henley (which is in Buckinghamshire, not Oxfordshire, but is close) I was really excited. I knew that it would bring me back to the Oxford days which I loved so much, to scenic cycle rides, to being able to walk all over the city, knowing every nook and cranny.

We were only in Henley for the evening: we arrived at 6.30 and it was pitch black. We walked around the pretty town - it's so small! Then we went for dinner at a wonderful French restaurant. We ate three delectable courses there... and remembered how it is possible for eating out to be an experience rather than just a means to an end. There is more time outside London. At home when we go out for dinner it is 'to eat' not 'to dine'. And there lies the difference.

The following morning we took another little walk and saw the beautiful river. We had a yummy breakfast at Maison Blanc and off we went, back to London.

It was a short break but a lovely one. I would like to make more trips in England. I hardly ever do, we always go on holiday abroad, but so many special places are literally on our doorstep that it's a shame not to. So there's one New Year's resolution to add to the list!

Our hotel

Look at the river!
I loved this antique chair, and Marc refused to be photographed...
Henley at night - look how dark it was in the early evening
The hotel had used this tiny space as somewhere to sit. Can you think of a better word than 'enchanting'?

Invitation mock up

2009-12-13T11:46:00.001Z

I've been working on these on and off for months now and suddenly I find I've made 80 pocketfolds.... I hadn't noticed the progress I've been making. It's true: making your own invitations takes a long time and comes with its frustrations (when you get stuck, mess things up, waste supplies) but the outcome is so incredibly rewarding. Depending on where you live making invitations yourself can save you a lot of money. In London I was quoted £800 for invitations, RSVPs and thank you notes and mine will come out at about £200. Mostly, though, it's pretty special to know that you have something unique and made by you. That's priceless.

I've just completed the mock up for the front of our invitation, now that the personalised stamp I ordered from Etsy has arrived. I love it!

I'm definitely going to put up instructions at some point, but in the meantime I wanted to share this picture.

Invitations invitations invitations

2009-12-13T11:36:00.001Z

The small things

2009-12-12T07:27:00.003Z

I can't believe that the wedding is now less that 6 months away... it feels so soon all of a sudden... it's really crept up on me! The big things will be fixed when we go to Israel, but I am dealing with the small things. The small things for our wedding and for our life together.

Marc is sometimes surprised by how much I care about the small things in life, but I really really do. I know that every bride says she won't preoccupy herself (and drive others mad) with small things and that almost every bride does end up succumbing to weddings perfectionism syndrome, but my preoccupation with detail extends to my normal life as well.

One such detail is my mug, which is what brought on this conversation in the first place. I have a mug that I love to drink from. I've had it since I was 11, and it was given to me by a school friend that I've sadly fallen out of touch with. I love her though, and the mug reminds me of her. It's rather large, which makes for large cups of tea. It's probably not the most attractive mug, to be fair. It's hand painted, with a pig on the front. But I love it: I've been drinking from it for 15 years.

It can't come to our new home with us, sadly. It's not kosher - we will need all new crockery. Also it depicts a pig. Hardly appropriate for a kosher home! I've pondering this slightly, because it's hard to let go of those familiar things that have made up our surroundings for so long. There will be many such things I'm sure.

My post wedding life will be full of new things that will surround me, new attachments, new habits.

For now though, I've found a replacement for the mug at least, and here it is. From English crockery designer Emma Bridgewater. I think it's perfect!

The small things

2009-12-12T07:27:00.001Z

Marc is sometimes surprised by how much I care about the small things in life, but I really really do. I know that every bride says she won't preoccupy herself (and drive others mad) with small things and that almost every bride does end up succumbing to weddings perfectionism syndrome, but my preoccupation with detail extends to my normal life as well.

One such detail is my mug, which is what brought on this conversation in the first place. I have a mug that I love to drink from. I've had it since I was 11, and it was given to me by a school friend that I've sadly fallen out of touch with. I love her though, and the mug reminds me of her. It's rather large, which makes for large cups of tea. It's probably not the most attractive mug, to be fair. It's hand painted, with a pig on the front. But I love it: I've been drinking from it for 15 years.

It can't come to our new home with us, sadly. It's not kosher - we will need all new crockery. Also it depicts a pig. Hardly appropriate for a kosher home! I've pondering this slightly, because it's hard to let go of those familiar things that have made up our surroundings for so long. There will be many such things I'm sure.

My post wedding life will be full of new things that will surround me, new attachments, new habits.

For now though, I've found a replacement for the mug at least, and here it is. From English crockery designer Emma Bridgewater. I think it's perfect!

A room of one's own

2009-12-07T00:39:00.005Z

I haven't been doing much on the wedding front lately, I suppose because there have been other more pressing things to get on with. Like interviews (which thus far haven't yielded anything - and that's getting me down) and appointments for Dad. But I'm looking forward to getting back into it - I have missed my crafts! The thing that's irritating me a bit right now is that they are taking up the house. I try to keep them compact, but it's very difficult.

Virginia Woolf wrote 'A Room of One's Own' to say that 'a woman must have... a room of her own if she is to write fiction'. She argued that a woman also needs personal freedom to create. Her arguments are deeper than mine, and more analytical, but suffice to say that I could not agree more. A space of one's own is a precious thing. Removed from the demands and distractions of everyday life, one is able to reflect and simply 'get on with' the task at hand. In a room of one's own one can think freely. And, not unimportantly, one can consolidate all the craft stuff spilling all over the house.

I long for the day when I have my very own craft room: a place in which I can organise all my goodies, that I can decorate to my taste and to which I can retreat when I need time to just think and be and create. How heavenly it will be!

Have any of you seen the book 'Where women create'?

It's a gorgeous book about the ways in which different women have organised their craft spaces. Very inspiring. Here are some that I like. Where do you create/read/retreat?

Diabetes

2009-12-03T09:22:00.003Z

Dad was diagnosed with diabetes a few days ago. He wants it to be kept very quiet, but it's hard for me not to talk about it and hardly anyone who knows him reads this blog. Diabetes? Not a big deal, everyone says. After all, so many people live with diabetes and live with it well. And I know that, believe me, I do. Except it's still a big deal. A really big deal.

It's a big deal because food is Dad's passion. It's his life. He loves to drive around town and find the best restaurant for this and for that, bringing home treats to the people he loves. Freshly baked baklava one day, fresh mint another... He is adventurous and has a love of life. And this? This is going to stifle him, keep him indoors a lot more, prevent him from being impulsive. Life with Dad as I know it involves him cheekily pulling up to a McDonald's for ice cream only (he loves that whipped stuff) and hungrily eating it in the parking lot. Going out for fun, informal meals. He is a great partner to share any fun treat with. And that independence and fun, that's over. Because from here on out it's not smoked salmon sandwiches for breakfast but porridge, no spaghetti for lunch (because of the high gluten content) but grilled fish. I think it's going to be hard for Dad to adjust and sadly my mother lives in Israel and can't help. I'm definitely mourning the lost fun and spontenaiety. The realisation that life from now will be different, that one of my Dad's loves has been taken away, makes me very sad.

Wedding flights cancelled

2009-11-26T14:05:00.001Z

I might have guessed this would happen. The airline we're all flying with to Israel has cancelled the route from January. Urghhh!

They will not tell us what will happen to our bookings until 3 December. They say they'll arrange alternative travel, but will they? On what flights at what times? Should we book our own flights straight away? The fares have increased...

The people on the phone were, as usual, apathetic and inept to the extreme. 'How can you make a public announcement and not have established your policy for affected customers? How can you refuse to pass me on to a manager?' You won't be surprised to know that my comments fell on deaf ears.

Argggghhhhhhhhhhhhh! I hate the airline industry. I swear it's the only industry that can treat you like cr*p, delay you miserably, cancel your flights without giving any sort of explanation and get away with it. Hate it.

Why do things like this have to happen?

****UPDATE****

We rebooked our flights with British Airways and are awaiting refunds from BMI. Sure, fares have gone up and we lost money in the process, but when you're booking flights for your wedding you just wanna get there, you know? Today we were sort of past caring. We just wanted to know we were sorted.

I worked in aircraft finance when I was with the law firm... and I hated it! This brings me back to those nasty times!

Making my wedding cake

2009-11-24T22:14:00.001Z

Marc says I shouldn't contemplate it. Rachel planted the seed in my mind. Emily suggested I rename the blog 'Pen, Paper and Wedding Cake'. On some days I think it'd be cool. On others I think: 'that's one thing I don't need to add to my plate'. Except it is, clearly. Mmmmm.

I want to!

But, in the interest of full disclosure, I must admit that there are added complications:

(1) Our wedding is strictly Kosher. Since we'll be serving meat, the cake can't have butter in it.

(2) I'm leaving for Israel a week before the wedding and in Israel we don't have a working oven. Any cake I make will have to be transported from London and decorated sur place. This means I need a cake that will keep well for at least a week.

What does this leave me with? A non-dairy boozy fruit cake! Do any of you have a recipe for this random concoction? The research starts here.

I'd just feel such a phenomenal sense of pride if I could make my own cake! It's my thing, and in Israel cake ceremonies are rare, so it'd be special (as would be serving an English fruit cake!).

So tell it to me straight: am I crazy to want to make my own cake? I really want to know what you think!

Kofte

2009-11-24T09:56:00.004Z

I love Kofte, and all Middle Eastern food! Kofte are a staple food in Turkey: meat patties, shaped in a variety of ways and seasoned with spices that evoke markets and the warmth of that region. They are succulent and fragrant, served with salad, some pitta bread and dips (hummous, baba ganoush etc). They're a great party snack as well. I thought I'd give these a try and I have to say, I think they're terrific! I followed a recipe, but found that the taste wasn't strong enough for me, so I adjusted things. By all means tinker with the below to your taste. You can always fry a small amount of the mix and taste before you fry the whole lot!

Ingredients

400g of lamb mince
1 handful of chopped fresh mint
2 handfuls of chopped fresh parsley
1 onion, diced very finely
5 cloves of garlic, crushed
1 tablespoon of ground turmeric
1 teaspoon of ground cinnamon
1 tablespoon of ground cumin
1 tablespoon paprika
1 egg (beaten)

Instructions

1. Put the lamb in a mixer and beat for about 30 seconds, to make it finer.
2. Stir in all the ingredients.
3. Mix with your hands.
4. Shape the batter into thick almond shapes (see photos below) or any other shape you wish.
4. These are probably best cooked on a bbq, but they can also be fried in a bit of oil (which is what I did).

Ta da!

Thinking about wedding bands

2009-11-23T23:08:00.003Z

We're on the cusp of ordering our wedding bands. I have to say, it didn't take us long to figure out what we wanted. When Marc and I first looked at engagement rings, I thought of how a wedding band would go with one. In the Jewish tradition, a wedding band should be smooth and not have diamonds in it, to represent a smooth marriage. It turns out that the first ring I was shown was the right one. I loved it immediately, and it resolves the problem of nothing sitting flush against my engagement ring. It is curved, but in a very subtle way. With my engagement ring you can hardly tell that it is curved at all. I also think it looks dainty on its own.

The thing is (there is always a thing, isn't there, with wedding stuff?) it comes from Tiffany's (it's the Elsa Peretti band). I have looked for an equivalent in every other mainstream jeweller, but couldn't find one. It's so popular to have diamonds in wedding bands now, so there were no plain gently curved bands. Not wanting to pay the Tiffany mark-up we're going to have it made I think, just as Marc did the engagement ring. I hope it comes out ok!

'My' ring in plain platinum

The same ring with diamonds on someone's finger. LOVE the daintiness.

Marc tried on plain platinum bands but didn't like them. He did really fall for this milgrain band though. It looked so good on his finger!

It was so sweet the other day when Marc articulated just what I was thinking: how hard it will be to have the rings in the house without wearing them! We don't live together, so we may have to give each other the other's ring to prevent us from getting tempted to try them on all the time. I can't wait to wear my wedding band!

How to make macaroons

2009-11-22T15:09:00.007Z

Here's the macaroon tutorial I promised.... good luck! They are totally worth it! This is a vanilla recipe and is just delicious. Once you've mastered it the variations are limitless... add raspberry coulis to the centre and colouring to the shell... the world - or should I say the macaroon - is your oyster!

Macaroon shells

250g ground almonds
450g icing sugar
200g egg whites (which have been left refrigerated for 5 days)
50g sugar
5g vanilla powder (you need a real vanilla pod for optimum flavour)

1. Mix 250g almonds with 450g icing sugar and the vanilla powder, and sieve the mixture so that you end up with a fine powder.

2. Put the egg whites into the bowl of a stand mixture and beat until white and fluffy. (If you are going to experiment with other flavours and want to add food colouring to the shells, do so at this stage).

3. With a spatula, slowly add the almond-sugar mix to the egg whites and mix in the stand bowl until you have a smooth and somewhat shiny mixture.

4. Scoop this mixture into a piping bag, you will need a tip between size 7 and 10.

5. Rest the tip on the baking tray (covered with parchment paper) and form circles. The mixture should ooze out from the side of the tip (the tip should not be held vertically so that it's in the middle and the circle oozes from around it).

6. Form an even number of circular discs. This may take some practice! At first, your macaroons might be misshapen, but they'll still taste amazing!

7. Put your baking tray on top of two others. It is important to bake your macaroons on a tray that has two others below it for insulation purposes. Then put three trays into an oven at 160 degrees celsius for 12-14 minutes. Rotate about half way through.

8. As soon as you take the upper tray out, pour water in between the parchment paper and the tray using a measuring pot. This helps the macaroons to unstick from the paper.

9. Wait a few minutes, then remove the discs not by immediately lifting but by rotating them so that they come off neatly.

10. Arrange them in rows, flat side up.

Cream filling

Ingredients

75g full fat milk
30g sugar
60g egg whites
30g sugar
200g butter (room temperature)
1 vanilla pod

Boil the milk, the sugar and the contents of the vanilla pod (slice in two, scrape out the filling and add). Mix the egg whites and the sugar. Add the milk and stir at 82 degrees celcius. Cool down by whisking to 30 degrees celsius and add the butter. Beat, then leave in the fridge for about an hour.

Finishing off

Put the filling into a piping bag and pipe the cream onto the middle of half the discs. Then put another disc over the top to create beautiful macaroons.

Variations

Try adding fresh raspberries to the cream, or even chocolate. Feel free to experiment - that's how the most magnificent versions came to be!

Please tell me how you got on!

Thoughts on engagement, a nightmare and details

2009-11-21T08:42:00.001Z

It's now 190 days till the wedding! That doesn't seem very much time, right around the 6 month mark. I guess we won't have had a very long engagement, but that is how we wanted it. We were together for nearly 4 years before getting engaged. We grew up a lot, talked a lot, decided on a lot of things, so that when we were ready we were ready. And now we just want it to happen already. I never wanted a long engagement because I don't see engagement as the 'next stage' of a relationship. For me, engagement is a state of leading up to marriage. This isn't as common as it used to be I think.

Last night I had another wedding nightmare, except I wasn't that stressed about it. It was the day before the wedding and I had forgotten to order any flowers. I didn't have a bouquet and there would be no centerpieces. We went to a florist, whose version of a bouquet was a bunch of flowers that looked like the kind you get at gas stations. Suitably unimpressed, I said to my mother 'oh well, we'll have to go to the market tomorrow [day of wedding] and I will arrange the flowers myself [note I have no experience in this area]'. I hope I can be that calm on the actual day if things go wrong!

Lately I've been trying to fix the formatting for our programs, which I managed to do, and spent a long time trying to find the right baskets for them. I would like 2 bridesmaids to hand out programs from these right before the ceremony begins. We're touched that a lot of non-Jewish friends are coming, and we'd like them to understand what's going on. I think I finally found the perfect ones for our rustic feel:

I also bought our champagne flutes and cake server. To be honest, I couldn't find many of these that I actually liked. I ended up with the Vera Wang Love Knot set, and I really love them! It's incredibly hard to get a good shot of them for some reason, so here are the official ones.

I'm probably going to get these engraved with our names and wedding date.

So those are a few more details that are taken care of. There's still a huge DIY list to tackle but right now I'm feeling good about everything that needs to be done.

We will remember them

2009-11-20T09:19:00.005Z

It is just over a year since the Mumbai terrorist attacks which killed so many innocent victims, amongst which were Rabbi Gavriel and Rivka Holtzberg.

I wrote about the effect that this had on me then, and a year on the horror of it hasn't escaped me. The idea that people who were selfless enough to leave behind their lives to set up an outreach centre in Bombai could be killed in such a brutal way defies me, and at the time defied my faith. I needed at the time to let my Chabad friends know that I shared their sorrow. I needed to show my solidarity. They accepted it gracefully but very discreetly. They showed their pain but not their anger. Their acceptance derives from their conviction that such events are a part of G-d's plan. They accept the good and the bad with equal serenity - one which I cannot emulate.

Chabad doctrine states that everything can be made to be a force for good, so this informed their reaction to the tragedy. They mounted an appeal for women to light Shabbos (Sabbath) candles in memory of Rivkah. They asked people to pledge a mitzvah (a good deed).

When the attacks happened it definitely shook my faith, whereas it made theirs and their resolve even stronger.

A year on I am grateful for Sanda, their Indian nanny's, bravery in saving their only son, Moishe. Their older children died from genetic problems, so he is very much a miracle child in more ways than one. Thank G-d that there is a thread of continuity for these young lives lost. I only hope that Moishe will be able to grow up like a normal child as much as possible, and forge his own identity, rather than always being thought of as the child that made the press all over the world, the 'child of' Gavriel and Rivkah rather than a person in his own right. If only there were more people like Sandra, who risked her life to save Moishe as the terrorists were on the roof of the Chabad House.

I will not forget the futility of this terrorist attack. It sickens me to the core. I pray for the families who lost loved ones in Mumbai and am grateful for the freedom that I have thanks to all who are fighting and have fought for us in the past and thanks to people like Sandra - ordinary people who do heroic things all the time without seeking recognition. Thank you.

Honeymoon

2009-11-19T06:57:00.001Z

Marc and I have been casually talking about our honeymoon for some time. We had a number of ideas (Hong Kong and Malaysia, and San Francisco and California road trips, vineyards etc), but none of them seemed to really enthuse us for some reason. That is, until we came up with a few days in San Francisco and a stay in Maui, Hawaii! We both got excited about this idea, so Marc (who's sorting honeymoon stuff out) looked at flights and booked us with United. Ahhh, it's actually happening! We're all booked!

It's so great that Marc has put this in stone. When we were at some friends' wedding recently, towards the end of the night they were just buzzing with excitement at going away... I love that there's that to look forward to as the day draws to a close. We debated quite a while about whether to go straight after the wedding or not... I'm really glad we decided to do it straight away now. Apart from anything else, I think we'll really need the rest, and I'm excited that we'll have that time together.

I have been to SF before, but not with Marc. We're foodies so we'll love discovering it together. And Hawaii? I have always wanted to go. We're staying at the Four Seasons Maui. We are going to be spoilt rotten and I don't know if I can wait until June!

Have any of you been to Maui/SF? Any recommendations? And where did you go on honeymoon?

Jewish wedding ceremony

2009-11-17T14:22:00.001Z

I've been starting to think about programs, and I've always known that I want them to include an explanation of the Jewish wedding ceremony for our friends (most of whom aren't Jewish). I want all our guests to have a special experience - to witness something they haven't seen before - and understand what's going on. I started to write up this document, cutting and pasting from www.chabad.org and making my own comments. The first draft text is below. I think Jewish marriage ceremonies are full of meaning and I hope that you enjoy reading about them!

The Jewish marriage ceremony

Introduction

According to Jewish belief a person’s wedding day is the holiest day of his or her life.

A traditional Jewish wedding is a tapestry woven from many threads: biblical, historical, mystical, cultural and legal. Threads carried from one generation to the next, forming a chain of Jewish continuity which goes back more than 3,800 years.

We are so grateful that you have come all this way to be a part of this special day with us and wanted to provide an explanation of the marriage ceremony, so that you can feel involved and understand its symbolism and significance of the events that will follow.

Before the ceremony begins

Since you arrived and enjoyed your first drinks, Marc and Vanessa have been in separate rooms, each with their closest family members. Traditionally the bride sits on a throne like chair and her close female friends and family come to bless her. At this time the bride is also concentrated in prayer and it is believed that brides have a special ability to bless others on their wedding day.

Badeken Ceremony (veiling of the bride)

Before the ceremony begins, Marc will go to the bridal reception room with his parents, and cover the Vanessa’s face with a veil. The veil affords the bride privacy and emphasises that the groom is not solely interested in his bride's external beauty, which fades with time, but rather in her enduring inner beauty.

When the groom veils his bride, he is saying, "I will love, cherish and respect not only the 'you' which is revealed to me, but also those elements of your personality that are hidden from me. As I am bonding with you in marriage, I am committed to creating a space within me for the totality of your being -- for all of you, all of the time."

The veiling also symbolizes the bride's commitment from this moment on to reserve her beauty for her husband's eyes.

The Chuppah

The Jewish marriage ceremony takes place beneath an unenclosed canopy (a chuppah), open on all sides. This a demonstration of the couple's commitment to establish a home which will always be open to guests, as was the tent of Abraham and Sarah. Furthermore, a chuppah held under the open heavens symbolizes the couple's resolve to build a household which will be dominated by "heavenly" and spiritual ideals, rather than the pursuit of corporeal accomplishments and physical wealth.

Circling

Marc will wait for Vanessa under the chuppah, symbolically inviting her to his domain.

When she reaches the chuppah, Vanessa will circle Marc seven times. This recalls the seven times Joshua and the Israelites circled the walls of Jericho to bring them shattering down. Similarly, this circling is believed to break down any remaining walls or barriers between the bride and groom. With these circles the bride is creating an invisible wall around her husband into which she will step to the exclusion of all others.

The ceremony

Once the bride and groom are standing side-by-side under the chuppah, the cantor welcomes them on behalf of all gathered by singing several Hebrew greeting hymns, which also includes a request for G‑d's blessings for the new couple.

After all this preliminary activity, we are ready to begin the actual marriage ceremony.

According to Torah law, marriage is a two-step process. The first stage is called kiddushin, loosely translated as "betrothal," and the second step is known as nisu'in, the finalisation of the nuptials. Both kiddushin and nisu'in are accomplished successively beneath the chupah: the kiddushin is effected when the groom gives the bride the wedding band, and the nisu'in through "chupah" -- the husband uniting with the wife under one roof for the sake of marriage

The mitzvah of marriage is performed over a cup of wine. After the bride and groom sip from the wine, the groom places the wedding band on the bride's right index finger. While putting the ring on her finger, the groom says in Hebrew and the vernacular: "With this ring, you are consecrated to me according to the law of Moses and Israel."

The Ketubah

After the groom places the ring on the bride's finger, the ketubah is read aloud. The ketubah is a binding document which details the husband's obligations to his wife, showing that marriage is more than a physical-spiritual union; it is a legal and moral commitment. The ketubah states the principal obligations of the groom to provide his wife with food, clothing and affection along with other contractual obligations.

Reading the ketubah serves as a separation between the two phases of marriage -- kiddushin and nisu'in. After the ketubah is read, it is handed to the groom who gives it to the bride.

Sheva Brachot

We now proceed with the final stage of the marriage ceremony, the nisu'in, which is effected by the Chuppah and the recitation of Sheva Brachot -- the "Seven Benedictions." The first blessing is the blessing on wine, and the remaining six are marriage-themed blessings, which include special blessings for the newlywed couple. The bride and groom once again sip from the wine in the cup.

It is customary to honour friends and relatives with the recitation of these blessings. In our ceremony [insert names] will say our blessings.

Breaking the glass

A cup is then wrapped well, and placed beneath the right foot of the groom. The groom stomps and shatters the glass; customarily to the crowd's jubilant shouts of "Mazal Tov!” (we’re counting on you!).

The custom of breaking a glass was incorporated into the ceremony following the dictum: "If I forget you, O Jerusalem, let my right hand forget [its dexterity]. Let my tongue cleave to my palate if I will not remember you; if I will not bring Jerusalem to mind during my greatest joy." This reminds everyone that even at the height of our personal joy, we must, nevertheless, remember Jerusalem, and mourn the destruction of the Temple.

The breaking of the glass is also a metaphor for the finality of the bond that has been established.

Yichud (seclusion)

Immediately after the chupah, the bride and groom adjourn to the "yichud” (seclusion) room, where they spend a few minutes alone.

After the public ceremony, it is time for the bride and groom to share some private moments. Even while surrounded by a crowd, they must take a break to be there for each other. This is an important lesson for marriage -- the couple should never allow the hustle and bustle of life to completely engulf them; they must always find private time for each other.

Your role

Participating in the wedding feast and rejoicing with the bride and groom, to cheer them and gladden their hearts on this special day, is a great mitzvah. We are so glad that you are here to celebrate with us!

Red velvet cupcakes

2009-11-17T14:11:00.003Z

My friend Lizzie recently moved into a fabulous flat in Hampstead and was having a housewarming party on Saturday. Naturally, I wanted to bring something home baked. I was about to run to my trusted vanilla cupcake recipe but I thought to myself that it's terrible to have to many cookery books and not try out new things. So I decided to pick up one of my untested cookery books and try something new.

The Hummingbird Bakery cookbook is one that I've been curious about but could not really justify with all the baking books I own. I didn't buy it until I found it so reduced that it would have been an offence not to. And I am so glad that I did. If this recipe is anything to go by, this book really is a cut above the rest (including the likes of Nigella.

These cupcakes were so moist and dense yet light. Really sumptuous and a complete hit. Here is the recipe, however note that I reduced the amount of sugar in the frosting by 1/3 (personal preference) when in my cupcakes and we all thought they were sweet enough.

Ingredients:

60g butter at room temperature
150g caster sugar
10g cocoa
10ml red food colouring
1/2 tsp vanilla extract
120ml buttermilk
150g plain flour
1/2 tsp bicarbonate of soda
1 tsp baking powder
1/2 tsp salt
1 1/2 tsp white wine vinegar
Frosting
300g icing sugar, sifted
50g butter at room temperature
125g cream cheese, chilled

Instructions:

1. Preheat the oven to 180C.

2. Cream the butter and sugar until light and fluffy.

3. In a separate bowl mix the cocoa powder, food colouring and vanilla extract. Once mixed add to the creamed butter and sugar.

4. Mix carefully until combined and then add half the buttermilk, mix further and add half the flour. Mix thoroughly before adding the remainder of the buttermilk and flour and mixing further.

5. Add the white wine vinegar, bicarbonate of soda and salt and mix thoroughly for at least 5 mins.

6. Spoon the mixture into the muffin cases and bake in the preheated oven for 20-25 mins or until the cupcakes spring back slightly when touched.

7. Allow the cupcakes to cool slightly before turning out onto a wire cooling rack.

8. In the meantime, to make the frosting cream the icing sugar and butter together until well mixed.

9. Add the cream cheese and mix until it is incorporated. Continue beating until the frosting is light and fluffy for at least 5 mins.

10. Use a spatula to layer the frosting on top of the cupcakes.

KOSHERFACE exhibition

2009-11-15T20:50:00.005Z

I know that I've already spoken to you about my talented friend Fred. The brilliant yet humble Fred, who is living out his dream of being a photographer. He could have done anything, but he taught himself photography whilst he was studying Japanese at Oxford, and today he is a successful photographer, having taken portraits of varied people - from models for Vogue to politicians like Bill Clinton. Extraordinary. Fred is just one of those people who makes things happen.

I know also that I have spoken to you about Chabad, the orthodox Jewish movement, but permit me to speak about it again. It is a chassidic group that is very outreach oriented. It sends emissaries to open 'Chabad Houses' all over the world - Jewish cultural centres, homes away from home for any Jewish passer by. These emissaries give up life as they knew it in Brooklyn or some other Jewish neighbourhood to take up residence in far flung places like Bangkok, where there is no kosher food, where they have no friends and no Jewish amenities. They build synagogues and mikvaot. They build a community, often from scratch. They open their homes to students and travellers 24/7, giving up on their private lives - they are as selfless as can be. They do all of this with an unwavering joie de vivre, because they have a purpose. I've honestly never seen anything like it.

Fred is not orthodox. But he is open minded enough to have decided to live with wonderful Rabbi Eli in Oxford, his wonderful wife, Freidy and their gorgeous (and expanding, b'h) brood of children. He developed such an appreciation for the orthodox movement despite holding many different personal views that he embarked on a project to capture their energy through photography and gain exposure for them.

I was fortunate enough to be invited to the opening night of his exhibition, KOSHERFACE, in London. I loved the life and energy that his photos evoke. His portraiture literally sings - he brings his subject to life so that you almost feel he or she will start talking to you. Most significantly he brought out the immense warmth and openness of the Chabad movement.

So proud of you Fred! xxxx

If you want to check out Fred's website - and you should - it is at www.fredericaranda.com

Me, Musia, Chanale, Freidy, Rabbi Eli, Fred, friend of Fred's

Sheer beauty

Look at the warmth and intelligence, the willingness to challenge his audience and nurture their thought. You look at the picture and you've almost met the man (Rabbi Lau)

Rabbi Eli in front of a photo of himself!

DIY List

2009-11-15T20:38:00.001Z

I've decided to DIY lots of wedding things - I'm finding it so much fun and I love being able to customise things and have exactly what I want.

I'm making a list so I remember what I have done and what I have left to do... hopefully it will keep me in check!

The most ambitious project? I've decided to make my own wedding cake! It seems only apt, since I love baking, but also wedding cakes aren't really a done thing in Israel and the few places I've found won't let me have tastings. I refuse to serve a cake I haven't tasted. So that's decided. Don't ask me how to transport it or anything about the logistics just yet... I'll figure it out!

1. ~~Save the Dates~~

2. Invitations

3. Thank you cards + RSVPs

4. Programs

5. Place cards

6. Seating plan

7. Decorate favour boxes

8. Make truffles for favours

9. Decorate bridesmaids' totes

10. Confetti cones

11. ~~Bridesmaids' corsages~~

Which invitation?

2009-11-13T23:03:00.001Z

I'm tentatively working away on our DIY invitations, for which I will put up instructions in due course. I haven't shown these designs to anyone yet because I want to get them right before subjecting them to scrutiny! So you are the first (apart from Marc) to see them.

A few disclaimers: the two sides are shown in English because the Hebrew text is not ready yet. I printed both in English for now to see what the effect would be. Font, wording and spacing will change. The font colour will be browner when I buy a new cartridge. Surnames have been blotted out and my stamping skills leave something to be desired. With all that in mind, which stamp pattern do you prefer?

I'm being really indecisive and I'm not 100% with either. I won't say which I'm leaning towards, but I would really appreciate your honest advice (the good and the bad please).

Thank you all in advance!

1. Mediterranean pattern A

2. Mediterranean pattern B

3. Leaf motif

Ottolenghi

2009-11-12T11:12:00.006Z

Ottolenghi sells seductive Mediterranean food (there really is no other adjective to describe it). It is al fresco, fresh, colourful and healthy (for the most part) and influenced by all the countries whose food I love, Morocco, Turkey, Iran and my own homeland, Israel. Seriously yummy.

I got back from Paris on Sunday at lunchtime and Marc was in Islington having lunch with his friends. The group headed up to Ottolenghi for something sweet and Marc returned home with a sinfully dark slice of chocolate cake (minus a few bites he'd nibbled off on his way home). Love him.

Just look at this cake!

What can I say - it was the moistest darkest yummiest chocolate cake I have ever eaten. I am obsessed. Can't wait for the next opportunity to go (ie. this Sunday). And in the interim I have had to content myself with ordering the cookbook straight from Amazon, first class please, so I can see whether I can concoct something equally delicious. It's going to be a tough challenge, I can tell you.

This food is so inspired by Israel and I'm really excited to share my home country's food with my closest friends when they come out for the wedding!

Paris recap

2009-11-11T14:37:00.011Z

What can I say, I had a wonderful time! It felt as though I hadn't been there in 20 years rather than 8 months though - that was strange. Audrey picked me up from the station (can I reiterate how amazing it is to get on a train and be in Paris in little over 2 hours?) and we went straight to my favourite sushi place! We would go every Wednesday to get our fix, so it was only fitting that this be our first stop. Amazing menu: salad and soup, sashimi and skewers and rice all for 15 euros. Scrummy.

Then we went to Audrey's apartment which, like all great Parisian starter homes, is on the 6th floor without a lift! Once you get there you feel on top of the world. I lived in a similar space in 2003 in Saint Germain des Pres. Good times indeed and staying with Audrey took me right back to them.

The following day we had an early lunch with a lovely colleague (sushi again - love it) and then I went off to my pastry class at LeNotre. It was weird going around in the Metro on my own. It felt like my town, I was at home, except it was no longer my home. It is hard to explain.

At LeNotre I actually had the same teacher who taught my croissant class 8 months back, so that was cool. Macaroons are far more do-able than croissants and the results are so rewarding, so in the next few days I'm going to put up instructions. Watch this space. It was so fun to be back in a professional kitchen and to learn with people equally passionate about pastry. I mean, you can hardly discuss icing tip width with just anyone (unless you want to lose your friends as they slowly die of boredom).

I left the class on a high for sure. I found out that retraining as a pastry chef would take at least 2 years - such a long time. A part of me wishes I had done that in my early twenties, when there seemed to be so much time. 2 years was nothing. Anyway, I will definitely be making macaroons again, and I look forward to experimenting with different flavours and creating my own. Lots of fun and mess ahead!

Audrey and I met on the Champs Elysees after that and looked at books. I love French bookshops and can browse in them for hours! There is a new Laduree book out if anyone's interested. It looked very good indeed. Finally a book that divulges a bit of that Laduree magic.

I found a fascinating novel about Sephardic Jews. These are Jews who originated in Spain rather than Eastern Europe (Ashkenazic Jews). I am a mix of both, but am considered Sephardic as this goes according to the father's background. The novel is about a Sephardic Jewess whose family comes from Morocco but lives in Strasbourg. She is about to get married and it's meant to be one of the most important explorations of Sephardic culture ever written. It's a long time since I've been so tempted by a novel, so I bought it and am certain I'll talk more about it as I work my way through.

No stop at the Champs Elysees is ever complete without a visit to Sephora! We bought some face masks, took them home and enjoyed an evening of soup and makeovers. It's fun to be a girl!

The following day we started off at Mora and G. Detout, the professional baking/confectionary shops. Mora sells every conceivable item to make cakes and to decorate them. It is replete with chocolate moulds and the like. A sight to be seen to be believed. G Detout looks like a person's name but sounds like 'J'ai de tout' (I have everything). And this is true. Anything pastry-wise that you could want, G Detout has. I went to buy a few things that were recommended in the macaroon class.

Here we have a 7mm icing tip, a whisk, a mixture that is 50% ground almond 50% icing sugar, Tonka, and violet chips. The plastic things are bowl scrapers. The pastry chef told us how important it was not to waste anything and these are phenomenal at not leaving bowl and spoon lickers anything at all to taste! I wish we had equivalent shops in London.

We also went to an amazing ribbon and button store, 'la Droguerie', where we found supplies to make our own jewellery. I loved these profile discs and chose to mount them on these flower rimmed bases. I then stuck the earring attachment on the back. So easy and so beautiful in my opinion. I've already enjoyed wearing them.

Then we walked to and through the Marais, which you all know by now I love. I love all the little boutiques and the vintage finds. It's just a delicious place to spend an afternoon. Here are a few pics.

As you can see, the cupcake trend has hit Paris. Of course, they are mini teeny cupcakes, for the teeny 'Parisiennes'!

Love Paris' rose shops

I spotted this dog, which might be the cutest thing that I have ever seen. And I love all the flower shops everywhere. It's easy to be romantic in Paris.

Then Audrey and I were ready for a break and a treat. We thought we'd head up to Le Train Bleu, a grand and highly esteemed Parisian restaurant which also serves tea and cake. Train stations don't tend to be the most salubrious places, so I didn't know what to expect. I knew about this restaurant because Marc nearly booked it for us when I was on secondment and because a blogging friend suggested it. When we got there it was like a faded glory: grand yet sad, somehow, and a little depressing.

So we didn't stay, and headed up to Laduree, which by now feels like my second home (what a privileged person I am). I tried one of their new macaroons: fig and date flavour. Since I am in love with both figs and dates, you could say that I was in heaven.

And that wrapped up a perfect two days in Paris. I loved my reunion with the city and with Audrey. But I missed home as well, and I was happy to see Marc again and delighted that he had brought me a delectable piece of chocolate cake... which I shall review next. Suffice to say that it was the best I have ever had. Au revoir Paris, je t'aime!

Garter, dress patch and something else that's blue

2009-11-05T12:35:00.001Z

I am really getting into the nitty gritty wedding accessories and those little things that will make the wedding special (to me, if no-one else).

I have been making my own invitations (I'll wait for another post to talk in more detail about that), buying accessories, confetti, champagne flutes and have a number of DIY projects up my sleeve.

For now, though, I wanted to show you my garter and dress patch from The Gartermaker. I found out about this company from The Knot (evil source of ways to spend money on things you didn't even know existed). The Gartermaker is a great little company and not expensive at all, so I thought I'd indulge in a garter and dress patch. It's nice because the dress patch actually came with an explanation of its history. I cynically thought it was just a product invented by the wedding industry to make us buy yet one more thing, but this isn't the case.

My dress is lacy and not poofy and therefore easy to store. Because of this, and since it's custom made, I won't be selling it after the wedding. So I like the idea of a dress patch to turn it into an heirloom.

I debated a bit on which colour to get. It's traditional to get blue, and then the patch will work as the 'something blue'. But I really wanted brown, to fit in with the wedding theme, so ultimately that's what I went for. I'm really happy with how they came out.

This, of course, left me with quite a dilemma as to what to do with regards to something blue. Blue isn't really featuring in my wedding, so I didn't want an outward thing. I decided that I'd wear blue pants! I then struggled to find any at all, still less some that I like. I guess winter isn't really the time for baby blue to make an appearance. My lovely friend Meredith introduced me to Rigby & Peller though, gorgeous posh lingerie shop, and it is there that I found these.

I have never spent so much on one piece of underwear, but I do love them. They're perfect. So, as I said, I'm getting really excited and am enjoying all the little details! So much girlie fun.

Paris here I come!

2009-11-04T23:03:00.004Z

I miss Paris so much! I miss the freedom I had there - I could come and go as I pleased - the ability to walk everywhere, the fact that there people still buy bread from the baker and fish from the fishmonger, I miss the markets, I miss my wonderful ex-colleagues and friends: in short, I miss the wonderful life that I lead when I was there. Don't get me wrong: I missed home. I missed Marc, my Dad, my friends and my London life. But I loved the French lifestyle and that's still something I hanker after now that I'm back home. Paris was my home twice, for a year and a half in total. It is unquestionably a part of who I am. I really need to go back every once in a while, to reconnect with it and of course to use my French. Anyone who knows me knows how much I love speaking French - and how scared I am to lose it.

Around this time last year I came home at the last minute to attend Sarah and David's Thanksgiving dinner. I was delayed by four hours and, as compensation, received a free return ticket from the Eurostar. I did make trips after that, but never used the free ticket for some reason. It expires on 30 November, so I decided to book myself on for a (free!) trip to my beloved Paris.

I leave tomorrow and will be staying with lovely Audrey. On the list of things to do are visit our favourite Japanese restaurant (I know it's Paris, but I want to revisit my Paris) as well as the little boutiques of the Marais. We may visit the Louvre on Friday (gotta love free entry) too. I'm going to pop in on my colleagues as well. After having left my firm job because I was so desperately unhappy there, being back in Paris and witnessing what a lovely atmosphere exists at the company to which I was seconded will definitely give me pangs of sadness that I can no longer be there.

The coolest thing about the trip? I've signed up for a macaroon class at LeNotre! I'm so lucky! I'm going to learn to make those stunning and delectable treats, and once I know how I will be sure to blog about it and teach you. You may be far from Paris but no-one should be far from its much loved macaroons!

Au revoir and see you soon!

Can you believe this was my walk to work? I saw this every day? Pangs, I tell you. Pangs.

Moroccan feast

2009-11-04T21:51:00.001Z

I love Moroccan food - it's high up on the list of my favourite food ever, particularly after I visited Morocco with Marc in 2008. It's fragrant and aromatic, yet hearty and filling, and it satisfies my desire for sweet and savoury flavours. Honestly, I could never tire of it.

We hosted some friends recently so I decided to make this easy Moroccan inspired meal. I really can't recommend it enough. It's so easy and definitely a crowd pleaser. Chicken that is sweet and savoury, syrupy and succulent, lovely couscous and a starter of filo pastry parcels. Yum!

Chicken:

I won't give precise instructions, because it's as simple as this: you don't need them. It all depends on the quantities. What matters are the ratios. 50% soy sauce, 50% honey, one or two chopped peppers, a pinch of chilli powder, turmeric and cinnamon to taste, 10 or so chopped tomatoes, a chopped onion, one or two tablespoons of oil, half a cup of water, 5 cloves of garlic and you are done! Mix together, put in an oven dish with the chicken and put in the oven as you normally would for chicken (around 200 degrees celsius for 50 minutes).

Couscous:

We know how easy this is to make. Follow the instructions on your pack, normally involves either simmering in water for 5 minutes or leaving in a covered bowl with hot water for 10 minutes. I add a few scatterings of turmeric to give a yellower hue to the couscous. Soak a handful of raisins in water and add to cousous. Fry a tin of chickpeas until they are slightly browned and mix in. Salt and pepper to taste.

Filo pastry squares:

You can fill these as you like! You can make them veggie if you prefer - I use chicken and vegetables.

Cut of chicken breast into small pieces. Fry with onion and garlic until onion and garlic until are soft and brown. Add very finely chopped vegetables and continue to fry for two minutes. Season with chilli powder, cinnamon, turmeric, honey, salt, pepper, lots and lots of chopped parsley. Wait to cool.

Lay out a few sheets of filo pastry. Dollop a tablespoon or two of the now cool mixture into the centre of the filo sheets and fold to make triangles or squares, using sunflower (or similar oil) to bind the filo pastry at the ends.

Fry in a frying pan right before serving with fresh parsley sprinkled on top.

Salads:

I love serving this with mediterrannean salads. My favourite is chopped parsley, sweet baby tomatoes, olive oil and freshly squeezed lemon. So refreshing.

You could use lettuce, pomegranate seeds and pitta croutons (cut pitta bread into small squares and fry).

You could serve beetroot with balsamic vinegar and olive oil.....

The options are limitless!

A definite favourite of mine - I urge you to try it!

Celebrity sighting

2009-10-22T22:15:00.006+01:00

A few nights ago I went out to a lovely restaurant with Marc and a good friend of ours.

As soon as we walked to our table, I spotted Amy Winehouse. Or at least I thought I did. You see, I am remarkably talented at spotting people who look like people, but aren't them. And whenever a celebrity and I are in the same place a friend or Marc is bound to notice, whilst I miss it engrossed in, erm, picking china (happened just this Sunday).

Well this time it really was her. And you know what? She looked radiant. Yes, radiant. I know the drill: Amy Winehouse is described as (1) gaunt; (2) drugged up; (3) wearing last week's makeup; (4) tatty... the list goes on.

She wore a bright pink fluffy jumper, her skin glowed, she looked young and healthy.

This just makes me think that the media manipulates our view so much. It suits papers and magazines to post ever shocking photos of a young talented artist. That is, after all, what sells papers. Media can be such a harmful medium - it plays with our brains. On the one hand, it makes some people falsely gorgeous, airbrushing their flaws, changing their physiques, on the other I'm sure it uses those same tools to make people look larger, to print a story saying they've gained weight, or gaunt with shadows if they have a drug problem.

Shame on them, and kudos to Amy for a year being clean. It shows! And whilst I'm not celebrity focussed, it is a bit of a thrill to see someone famous and to think and appreciate that I live in one of the world's coolest cities (at least I like to think so).

Fastest finger first - flights booked!

2009-10-21T00:54:00.001+01:00

I spent much of today calling vendors and setting up meetings (seriously, don't you wish you were me?). Our calendar for February is already so full - it's going to be a real stretch to get everything done.

I also booked mine and Dad's flights out to Israel. We're late with this: Marc and his parents and even some friends booked a while ago, with BMI (a scheduled carrier).

On the plus side, Easyjet's (Britain's super low cost airline) flights are now open for booking, meaning that Dad is flying for £122 instead of about £350. Amazing!

But scheduled flight prices have risen quite a bit. I had a dilemma: fly out and back with Dad for £122 or fly out on my own and back with Marc for £350. I know it's a huge difference, but we discussed it and ultimately we both really wanted to fly back together as husband and wife.

In the end I booked an Easyjet outbound flight (so I can fly out with Dad) and a BMI inbound flight (so I can fly back with Marc). It cost a bomb, yes, but somehow flying with Marc on the way back was important to us and we had decided together that the extra cost was justified on this occasion so I didn't feel too bad.

Why 'fastest finger first'? Well, because I promised my friends £100 flights with Easyjet if they got in there quickly. That was the price this weekend. Just a few days later, the prices have risen to £150 plus. It's still cheap, but I really hope that those coming are booking their tickets so that they can get a good deal. I can't help but wonder whether the price fluctuation means that some of our friends have booked. I hope so!

In any case, now that I'm all booked it feels even more real! Arghhh!

Crazy dreams

2009-10-19T17:57:00.001+01:00

Ok, so last night I dreamt this: I was walking around my venue in my wedding gown, but wearing my worn out black patent pumps. I had forgotten my wedding shoes at home and paced anxiously, wondering what the date was, whether this was my wedding day. There were guests arriving but I didn't recognise any of them, and I dared not ask what the date was because they would laugh in my face if it was indeed my wedding, quite rightly expecting me to know the date. Don't ask me why I'd be visiting the venue in a white dress on any other date - it made sense in the dream. I wasn't wearing makeup and my hair was a mess. I woke up in a complete panic.

Is this how it's going to be, then, for the next 7 months? I really hope not.

Pastry class at LeNotre Paris

2009-10-14T10:19:00.006+01:00

I have no idea why I didn't ever blog about one of my most magical Parisian adventures: a croissant-making class! On my penultimate day in Paris, I treated myself to a course at LeNotre. Remember I blogged about it way back when? The fabulous patisserie that effectively introduced sumptuous French pastry to the world? It is also a professional cookery school, and thankfully they run courses for amateurs like me!

It was such a fun thing to do before leaving Paris! I was so excited with anticipation that I could hardly sleep. So many of us imagine the lovely career we could have if we could only go to pastry school and open a cake shop. Or is it just me?

Actually, the class made me realise that professional pastry making is an extremely meticulous exercise, and an extremely tiring one at that. We were taught by a wonderful, passionate, man however, in the typical French way, everything had to be 'just so'. The flour's temperature has to be measured before the mixing even occurs and at many intervals thereafter. The dough has to be left in the oven with a vessel of water underneath it, whose temperature must be precise to the degree, and periodically checked. The flour's thickness is measured, and once the dough is rolled out the triangle that will be rolled to make each croissant is measured with a ruler (yesm a ruler!) for optimum size!

The whole croissant making process is an extremely laborious and long one, taking about 12 hours! And some patisseries really do make them fresh every day. There are croissants made from frozen pastry, of course, but you can imagine the frowns that that would elicit from the pastry chefs at LeNotre. The steps are too complicated to recount and certainly too complicated to give me the will to replicate them. Not gonna happen.

I had a wonderful insight into the mystery of a professional pastry kitchen, though, to tools I had never seen, to a level of precision to which I can only aspire. I would encourage any home baker to take a class and be exposed to the stringent standards of a professional kitchen.

And the croissants? Words cannot describe the delectable joy! Anything made of 50% butter would be sumptuous, granted, but these were a delicious beyond belief. Flaky, melt-in-your-mouth, stick-to-your-thighs-forever heaven!

Just look at how beautiful they are!

Glazing
Pain au chocolat

I am in my element
I took all these home!

My treasure

2009-10-12T22:41:00.005+01:00

There is definitely the treasure of the expensive variety. Sadly, despite my periodic attempts at not being (or at least appearing) too vacuous, I'll admit it: do love diamonds. Who doesn't?

But then there is the treasure of things found and kept, of things that have no 'real' value but are cherished nonetheless, the chair I bought in a junk shop as a student in Oxford, the Barbara vinyl records I collected in France over the years, the sweet box lid depicting an angel, given to me by my dear nanny Miriam once she had eaten the liquorice it once held.

When I was last in Israel I visited my 92 year old Saba (grandfather), Yehoshua. He is amazing - he worked in a steel factory all his life but devours books and could give you a history lesson on the topic of your choice. If he had been born in my era I suspect he would have become a scholar.

Touched by the news of my engagement, Saba handed me an old plastic box, weighed down by strands and strands of beads that had belonged to my grandmother, Tova, who sadly passed away too young. You see, they were Eastern European immigrants - they didn't have great jewels. My grandmother would go to the market and buy beads by weight. Can you imagine?

Saba said I could take what I wanted: I chose some strands and have enjoyed wearing them ever since. I hope to pass them on to daughters one day, im irzeh hashem, should it (be g-d's will).

Nope, they're not grand jewels, but they do occupy a grand place in my heart. And I think they're pretty cool too.

Shoes and Save the Dates

2009-10-11T13:47:00.001+01:00

Shoes

They're in! They're in they're in they're in! What can I say? I am obsessed with them! They're just the prettiest things I've ever seen. So 18th Century. Diane Hassall is so talented. I can't wait to wear them! You'll see I went with the more traditional pair. I loved them the most in person and the heal height was more appealing. I can't wait to wear these! Thank you to my wonderful future mother-in-law, Marilyn, for treating me to these. They were a huge indulgence, and we bought them on a special girlie day, so they are very special to me!

And guess what? I found the clutch brand new on ebay at over half the price off the retail price! So pleased!

Save the Dates

What a hassle these have ended up being! I realised that I had mis-spelt the name of the town closest to our venue (to be fair, this is an Israeli town, but it's still bad). The lawyer in me couldn't allow me to live with that, even though 90% of our guests wouldn't have known/noticed. So I had to print them off all over again. I took that opportunity to insert our surnames as well. What a pain. The new card was expensive, and for some strange reason not all the pieces were of the exact same thickness. Then the printer wouldn't print the right brown even with a new cartridge. I had to transfer all the raffia ribbon. If it hadn't been for Katie, who wisely spurred me on, helped me and told me I just had to get them done I might have procrastinated further. I also printed out an insert with flight and accommodation info (Marc did a great job of compiling it). I'm proud of the effort now but I'm not sure I'm up to doing the real invitations myself. I'll have to see. I sent them out on Wednesday and they will have reached people on Thursday. It sounds funny but I was sad to send them off, as they'd sat on my desk for so long. There are a few stragglers awaiting addresses before they too can be sent, but otherwise that's it. It was pretty exciting to wake up on Thursday and know that people would finally see them. We've had a few positive comments which have me happy! Now, in my head, the countdown begins.

How to make a corsage flower

2009-10-10T14:48:00.001+01:00

1. Buy your fabric. I chose a variety of textures: dupioni silk in two colours, a chiffon and a gauze material, but yours can be different. You will need about 10cm of each one.

2. Cut out petal shapes. You will need 3-4 of each colour if you use 4 colours, so 12-16 petals in total. Cut each petal individually, as this creates a lack of uniformity that helps to create a more beautiful flower.

3. Coat the edge of each petal with non-fray glue, which can be bought in any craft shop. This is a crucial step, otherwise your material will fray, making for shabby flowers.

(optional step: if you want to achieve a tonal hue on your petals, brush some water onto them, then dilute some watercolour paint and dab on. This will spread, resulting in a lovely natural effect).

4. Get safety pins and attach the petals to each other to suit your taste. Think of folding the petals slightly or pinching the base when attaching them to achieve some texture. Secure together with safety pints.

5. With a needle and thread, sew the petals together. Gradually remove the safety pins.

6. Sew beads/buttons of your choice to the centre of the flower.

7. Cut out a circle of fabric and using fabric glue, attach to stiff lining/another stiff material. Attach a safety pin and using the same fabric glue, attach the circle (lining down) to the base of the flower to hide the base's bare threads.

8. (optional) scrunch the whole flower in your hand slightly to create texture.

Et voila!

As I stated before, this is not an 'official' method. There may be better ways, and if you know of any I would love to hear your suggestions. I do, however, think that this is a method anyone could use, so I encourage you to give it a try to spruce up an outfit. It's also a great way to use up your scraps of material and, best of all, it's so inexpensive yet pretty!

Bridesmaids outfits

2009-10-10T13:19:00.001+01:00

I am feeling so proud of myself right now!

I always thought that I would never have bridesmaids when I got married, but I am so touched by my friends' generosity and support in coming to Israel to see me get married that I want to honour them. I haven't finished the asking, because I want to do it in person if possible, so I will introduce you to my lovely bridal party later.

For now though, let me share with you what they will wear. I have to admit that I'm not a huge fan of bridal matchiness (I know that's not a word, but please bear with me). I like it enough for other people's weddings, but not for mine. Also, in England the bride pays for her girls' outfits, and prices are so high here that this would set me back nigh on $700, for dresses I am pretty certain the girls wouldn't wear again. With that in mind, I wanted to do something a little different. Something a bit vintage.

I settled on each of the girls wearing a black dress of her choice. I will give each one a chocolate brown shawl and a brown/pearly necklace. She will wear a sash with a hand-made corsage on it. I saw these in a London department store and they were so expensive. But it was love at first sight, so I thought I'd buy them. Then I decided that I should at least try to make them myself. If it didn't work I would not have wasted too much money. And I am so glad I tried because I LOVE the outcome and I am so happy that my girls will be getting something that I made. I think that's so much more special than a shop bought piece. I was going to make the necklaces too, and even ordered the beads, but when I found a pre-made one that was perfect I thought I'd cut out the hassle.

I didn't have instructions on how to make the corsage flowers so it may well be that there is a better method out there than mine. If you know of one please comment. Otherwise, this is a method that anyone can use to achieve a good result. I will provide instructions soon, but in the meantime here is the outfit!

Please let me know what you think!

Charity

2009-10-01T11:58:00.008+01:00

So these past few days I have been manically clearing the house. Why? Well, because I have time on my hands and because, at the back of my mind, I feel I should start to organise my stuff in some way in preparation for moving out when I get married. Isn't it lovely to have space?

So off I went yesterday to give two huge black bags of things I no longer needed to charity. Was what I was doing charitable? In all honesty, the sentiment wasn't entirely charitable. I needed space, minus the guilt derived from throwing things out.

Anyway, I couldn't even get close to a charity shop in my area, so I went to Kilburn. This is a more deprived area with lots of immigrants, unemployed residents and shops that seem to come and go. You'd think it would be depressed, as a lot of its residents live in counsel housing, but actually it's buzzing. Lower rent means there are some independent shops - not of the quirky pretty variety, admittedly, but independent none the less, selling cheap household goods, tupperware boxes and the like. The charity shop was buzzing, too, with people buying things I would never have thought would leave those racks and shelves - people really appreciate things that I take for granted or would never wear. Seeing that gives me perspective on all that I have and on how spoilt I can be.

I felt SO good dropping off my goods at Cancer Research UK. I hadn't realised what a good feeling giving would give me. I literally left the place elated. Elated and armed with a good find: this beautiful shirt (that perfectly matches my new Etsy headband, I might add). It's several sizes too big but I'm going to take it in using my sewing machine. Yay - I love a good find.

A small way in which the current economic climate is opening up my eyes to a different life, to people who are better than I at being careful and at appreciating what they have.

Charity

2009-10-01T11:58:00.006+01:00

A small way in which the current economic climate is opening up my eyes to a different life, to people who are better than I at being careful and at appreciating what they have.

Andrea Bocelli

2009-09-26T16:47:00.001+01:00

Marc and I were fortunate enough to hear the great and lovely Andrea Bocelli at the O2 this week. Marc's friend, who also works in finance, got us seats in his company's box (thank you Richard!). Many of the big companies in this country (including my former law firm) have boxes at the O2, where so many great artists perform when they are in London. Those boxes are intended for client entertainment, and Marc's firm is a client of Richard's firm, so we lucked out.

Andrea was magnificent, as one would expect. He sang with an exceptional soprano and an amazing flutist. The programs were £15 so we didn't buy one and I can't tell you their names, sadly, but they are so talented. It was such a privilege to hear such a beautiful concert. The energy was incredible. The orchestra, the choir, the momentum!

If you can imagine it, we were in a plush box, behind which was a room with sofas where we could chat, leave our things and enjoy good food and champagne. We could look onto the whole 02 arena, the beautiful symmetry of the rows and rows below and above us. Our view was, naturally, unobscured. We felt on top of the world.

And it occurred to me that it's such a shame that the people who are able to enjoy the privilege of experiencing this were those who worked in finance, an area so devoid of soul, of creativity (at least in my experience). It saddened me that money alone could afford this experience, which seems to me far away from that soul-less world. I wish everybody could have the opportunity to feel enriched by the music we heard.

Just a thought. We will certainly treasure our memories of this evening with Andrea!

PS: for those Sesame Street fans out there, check out this clip of Andrea singing with Elmo. I assure you that your heart will melt! :)

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=5BDVvB7Xx1w

L'Shana Tova!

2009-09-26T10:58:00.007+01:00

I can't believe it's already been a week since Jewish New Year! Already the Day of Atonement, Yom Kippur, is upon us (along with the prospect of a long fast. Oy!).

For Rosh Hashanah (Jewish New Year) I baked a bunch of goodies - it was an interesting baking experience for me. I thought I'd use Dorie Greenspan's cookery book, because it had been gracing my shelf for quite some time without me cooking from it. I know she's a firm favourite with just about everyone but my personal opinions are mixed. For someone who does not eat milk and meat together, her book is not ideal because she seems to put cream cheese is so many things - things that, in my opinion, don't need it, like Date and Nut Loaf.

I made Date and Nut Loaf, Rugelach and Peanut Butter Cookies. A few disclaimers: I omitted the chopped peanuts from the peanut butter recipe. I made the Rugelach exactly as described in the book first time round but in all honesty I found the filling very disappointing - it just wasn't good. To be fair, Dorie does say that she expects cooks to modify this filling. So straight after I made a batch a la Dorie, I remade the whole thing with just a chocolate filling (praline and dark!). I also made mine HUGE, double the size Dorie recommends, because that's how we like them in my family, but I know that the smaller ones are more elegant. Ah, elegant shmelegant!

I gave the cookie platter to Marc's parents, who were meeting my Dad for the first time. I think it went down well!

Rugelach

4 oz. cold cream cheese, cut into 4 piece

1 stick cold unsalted butter, cut into 4 pieces

1 cup flour

1/4 tsp. salt

2/3 cup raspberry jam, apricot jam or marmalade

2 Tbsp. sugar

1/2 tsp. cinnamon

1/4 cup chopped nuts (pecans, walnuts or almonds)

1/4 cup dried currants or chopped dried cherries

4 oz. bittersweet chocolate, finely chopped, or mini chocolate chips (or chopped regular chips)

1 large egg

1 tsp. cold water

2 Tbsp. sugar, preferably coarse

Make the dough: Put flour and salt in a food processor, and scatter the cream cheese and butter chunks overtop. Pulse the machine 6-10 times, then process, scraping down the sides as necessary. Stop when the dough forms large curds.

Turn the dough out, gather it into a ball, divide it in two, and refrigerate each half in plastic wrap for at least two hours and up to one day

Make the filling: heat the jam in a saucepan over low heat until it liquefies. Mix the cinnamon and sugar together and set aside. Line two baking sheets with parchment or silicone

Shape the cookies: Pull one packet of dough from the refrigerator. If it's too easy to roll, leave it out for ten minutes. On a lightly floured surface, roll the dough into an 11-12 inch circle. Spoon a thin gloss of jam overtop, and sprinkle half the cinnamon sugar. Scatter over half of the chopped stuff (nuts etc), and use a piece of wax paper to press the ingredients into the dough. Set aside the paper for the second batch of dough.

Using a pizza wheel or sharp knife, slice the dough into quarters, and slice each of the quarters into four long, narrow triangles. Starting at the outside rim of each triangle (the base), roll each triangle up so that it becomes a little crescent. Make sure points are tucked under the cookie, and arrange on a baking sheet. Repeat with the second packet of dough. Refrigerate rugelach for at least 30 minutes before baking.

Position racks to divide oven into thirds, and preheat to 350 degrees. Stir the egg and water together, and brush a bit of this glaze over the rugelach. Sprinkle each with coarse sugar. (I didn't have any, so I used more cinnamon sugar.) Bake for 20-25 minutes, rotating sheets from top to bottom and front to back half way through. Jam will likely have leaked out, so it's best to scoop underneath each cookie within a minute of removing them from the oven, so that they don't stick to the tray.

Peanut Butter Cookies

2 1/2 cups flour
1 tsp baking soda
1/2 tsp baking powder
1/4 tsp salt
pinch of nutmeg
2 sticks unsalted butter
1 cup creamy peanut butter
1 cup packed light brown sugar
3/4 cup sugar
2 large eggs
1 cup chopped salted peanuts
1/2 cup chopped milk chocolate
Raw sugar

Stir dry ingredients. Cream butter and peanut butter. Add sugar. Then eggs one at a time. Combine with dry ingredients. Fold in peanuts and chocolate.
Bake on lightly greased cookie sheets, roll cookies in raw sugar, press down with fingers or fork.
Bake for 12 minutes, cool on rack.

L'Shana Tova!

2009-09-26T10:58:00.005+01:00

I can't believe it's already been a week since Jewish New Year! Already the Day of Atonement, Yom Kippur, is upon us (along with the prospect of a long fast. Oy!).

I gave the cookie platter to Marc's parents, who were meeting my Dad for the first time. I think it went down well!

Rugelach

4 oz. cold cream cheese, cut into 4 piece

1 stick cold unsalted butter, cut into 4 pieces

1 cup flour

1/4 tsp. salt

2/3 cup raspberry jam, apricot jam or marmalade

2 Tbsp. sugar

1/2 tsp. cinnamon

1/4 cup chopped nuts (pecans, walnuts or almonds)

1/4 cup dried currants or chopped dried cherries

4 oz. bittersweet chocolate, finely chopped, or mini chocolate chips (or chopped regular chips)

1 large egg

1 tsp. cold water

2 Tbsp. sugar, preferably coarse

Turn the dough out, gather it into a ball, divide it in two, and refrigerate each half in plastic wrap for at least two hours and up to one day

Make the filling: heat the jam in a saucepan over low heat until it liquefies. Mix the cinnamon and sugar together and set aside. Line two baking sheets with parchment or silicone

Peanut Butter Cookies

What I thought of Julie and Julia

2009-09-16T17:42:00.005+01:00

What can I say? I LOVED it! Not least because I lived in the same area as Julia Child, and that it brought me back to my own life in Paris, when I was 20 and 25. I miss Paris so!

I know you don't need me to introduce the film: you've probably all seen it by now or know that it's about the legendary Julia Child and a young woman who blogs about her attempt to make all 524 recipes in 'Mastering the Art of French Cooking' in a year.

Meryl Streep, who plays Julia, is sublime: so vivid, so witty, so brimming with joie de vivre. So beautiful! I loved the parallels between the women's lives. I loved the subtlety with which the delicate issue of pregnancy was handled. I loved the costumes, the food, the portrayal of honest relationships between women - not always perfect, sometimes jealous, sometimes competitive, yet often tender.

I loved what it said about marriage and partnership, about romance and appreciation of one another. It is so rare to see a film that celebrates the positive rather than looking for points of tension. A film in which tension in the conventional sense doesn't even exist. It wasn't a saccharine film though. Neither woman's marriage or life was perfect. But the film showed how real people can make the best of situations rather than walk away from them.

I want to see it again! Tonight wouldn't be too soon.

Ahhh, I _love_ that feeling - all too rare - of seeing something that you adore and that inspires you. I wish I had the guts to go to the Cordon Bleu, whose courses I always look at! I wish I had the tenacity that these women have!

If you haven't seen this film you MUST go and see it. And if you have please tell me what you thought! I'd love to know!

PS: Who didn't relate to the scenes about getting comments from readers? So so true!

Hairpiece

2009-09-09T17:33:00.001+01:00

By Leigh-Anne McCague, a British designer. I love it!

Here are some photos of it with the fabric of my dress as a background. I am also playing around with it - wet hair is not a good look! Hopefully my hairstylist will think of a creative way to use it! Now I need to pick a veil...

Attire + which shoes?

2009-09-04T14:02:00.001+01:00

When I was in Israel for a week after the engagement, I looked for and found my wedding dress. I like lots of dresses online, but I wanted something simple, not poofy, and with lace.

I went on my own. I think I wanted my mind to be uncluttered, unfettered with other people's opinions. I knew that upon my return to London I would go shopping with my girlfriends (which was the best day ever), but I decided to look in Israel anyway. And I'm pleased I did, because I found my dress and discovered that the bridal market there is markedly different from that here. All the brands that are available in England and America are hardly sold in Israel. The market is dominated by Israeli designers who make the dresses on-site. The dresses are made to measure, rather than being ordered in the closest size and then altered. So any changes can be accommodated. The handiwork is amazing. It is also possible to rent dresses, and these are completely altered to fit the bride, too. When you order the dress, you choose to rent or keep it. To keep the dress you pay 10% on top of the rental price. Most people don't bother, but I will. Since my dress isn't poofy, it won't take much space, and I would like to own it. If I had chosen a bigger dress I wouldn't do that, though.

I would describe my dress as: slim fitting, sweet, elegant, simple, lacy. I can't post it here because Marc reads this blog.

The price includes 4 fittings: I will have 2 in February and 2 right before the wedding. Can't wait to see it again!

Here are the two pairs of shoes I have my eye on, designed by Diane Hassall. They are made to order and they are pricey, far too pricey than is reasonable for something that can only be worn once. But I love them! They also come with a clutch... which pair do you prefer?

PS: that thing people always say, that you never see a bride's shoes - not true in my experience! I hate it when a lovely outfit is let down by disappointing shoes.

Save the Dates

2009-09-04T11:52:00.001+01:00

We have a date! 30 May 2010. A bank holiday weekend. I like the sound of it! And the countdown begins!

Without much time for baking cake with all this wedding planning, the pen and paper aspect of this blog will come out more. That is, if I continue to post wedding things on this blog. I'm not entirely sure what to do. This stuff probably isn't interesting to any of you (to be frank, even I'm getting bored of it), but I would like to record my planning somewhere. I have set up another blog but am not sure whether to use it. Opinions appreciated. For now though, let me post our Save the Dates. These will only be going out to guests in England and abroad, but not to anyone in Israel (since presumably they won't need much prior notice). I intend to include an insert with hotel info and flight info. Or mayble I'll attach a sticker to the back with that info. That is for the weekend. For now, here's the finished product. I think they will match our outdoor venue, and our colour scheme is dark brown and ivory. See, I already sound like those people. A colour scheme, honestly!

Save the Dates

2009-09-04T11:43:00.001+01:00

We have a date! 30 May 2010. A bank holiday weekend. I like the sound of it! And the countdown begins!

Headpiece

2009-09-01T13:10:00.001+01:00

Dress

2009-08-31T01:00:00.001+01:00

Time with the girls and dress shopping

2009-08-27T08:32:00.001+01:00

It was a bit strange being in Israel for 8 days after the engagement and not being able to be with my girls. I really wanted to be with them and share the exciting news.

On my first night back Lizzie hosted a dinner for me! It was so much fun and I was really touched! She even opened a bottle of champagne!

My contribution? Cake with a huge hole in it! Something went very wrong!

It was such a fun evening and I felt so lucky to be celebrated by my friends in that way. Miri moved her guitar lesson to be there! Kate bought me a beautiful gift and I felt so spoiled! Thanks girls - love you.

Then, the following day, came a day I had been looking forward to forever: dress shopping. I had made three appointments and Katie and Miri would be coming with me. I had already spotted a dress I liked in Israel so it was a question of seeing how others would compete.

Seriously, parts of the day were ridiculous. Comments like 'this is the bestest finest..', consultants talking to me about fabric terms as though I knew what they meant, general snootiness and the use of every sales pitch in the bridal industry book: 'when Marc sees you walking down the aisle, what do you want him to see'... using my fiance's name in every sentence... witty. We certainly needed some food breaks - it was exhausting.

But the last shop was the best. The consultant would not let me try on a dress I wanted to try, saying it would look bad on me. Now, there are dresses I tried on that day that I didn't think did much for me, but I'm not the largest gal and since I didn't try on dresses that are slinky, most dresses looked okay, if not spectacular, on me. She told me that one dress I did try looked 'awful' on me. Others would have found her rude; I found her comical. Then she insisted I try on this hideous monstrosity encrusted with diamonds and shiny beads when I specifically said that I wouldn't wear anything with sparkle. She would not let it drop but I still flat out refused!

The last appointment of the day was Katie's. We had looked for her dress already and were going in to order it. It was so lovely so see her so excited, happy and radiant. We received champagne (twice in two days, I know) and toasted each other! The fabulous end to a fabulous day!

Venue Hunting

2009-08-24T06:25:00.001+01:00

I have spent the last week looking for a venue and you know what? I'm so fed up of the whole process already! Clearly nothing will encompass all the elements that we would hope to find, in addition to the fact that everybody and his uncle three times removed has an opinion on the matter.

And you know the most audacious thing? You can imagine what one of my favourite aspects of weddings is: cake! But, lo and behold, in Israel people don't even have the big wedding cake and cake cutting ceremony! Clearly I will not compromise on cake! But, weddings in Israel are unusual and special and I have always wanted to marry here.

So take a look at my front runner of the moment, a venue called Derech Eretz. It's an open garden whose only disadvantage is that you can't have a band. All music must be played through the venue's amplification system, which controls the sound levels and ensures they comply with environmental standards. Bands won't hook up to this amplification system and thus in all gardens and open spaces people are obliged to have a DJ - something Marc and I didn't want. I'm happy to compromise but I don't want to push him into something he's not comfortable with so we may have to continue the search.

Here are the pictures - what do you think?

Engaging news

2009-08-16T00:09:00.001+01:00

I have wonderful news! When Marc said he was taking me somewhere special for the weekend but wouldn't say where, I have to admit, I knew something was up. When I found out we would be going to my homeland, I was touched and excited beyond belief. For those who don't know, I am British and Israeli. I was born in Israel and I lived there until I was 6. We speak Hebrew at home and Israel is close to my heart. And yet, it's a facet of me that most people don't know about and don't see. So for Marc to take me there to ask 'that' question is very special, an acknowledgement of my past and heritage and a promise to help me celebrate that going forward.

We flew in on Friday and spent Friday evening with my parents (eating at a fabulous fish restaurant). On Shabbat we walked to the port of Tel Aviv and enjoyed a stunning lunch of fresh food and a gorgeous sea breeze. Tonight Marc took me to a sensational and beautiful restaurant in one of my favourite areas: near the children's library I used to go to, near the Tel Aviv museum of art and the Cameri theatre and opera. It's a lovely setting, and the restaurant was so elegant.

We had a gorgeous meal and Dad had pre-ordered dessert for us: the most delectable dessert ever (more about the food later). The restaurant brought dessert out that said 'Mazal Tov'! It was so fun!

Then we took a walk around the area and ended up in a public garden that I used to go to as a child. I sat on a swing type thing and Marc got on one knee and said some of the most wonderful things to me, and asked me to be his callah, his wife. I was so emotional and happy! Then he slipped the most beautiful ring on my finger! I won't post it but it looks like the Tiffany Novo.

We called his parents immediately, and then we went up to the flat where my Mum and Dad were waiting for us and relaxed together. A perfect day filled with meaning. I am soooooooo happy and excited about all that is to come! Yayyyyy!

Those celebrities

2009-08-12T07:47:00.002+01:00

have so many things handed to them on a plate. Often success and a wealth of opportunities to do interesting things just drop at their feet. Normally this doesn't particularly bother me, as I have never hankered after fame or notoriety, and I value my privacy more than I could value millions of dollars. It's the opportunities that get me. One such opportunity is that to publish a cookery book.

Many of us could conjure up some tried and tested recipes to put in a cookery book, but most of us will never get the opportunity to do so. And yet all variety of people are doing just that: beauty editors, style section divas and, most recently, the once plus sized model Sophie Dahl.

And I have to admit, I thought: 'what's she going to know about cookery?'. Already I think that cookery books by the likes of Nigella Lawson contain too many photos of the author. So I expected a self indulgent and rather average book when I ordered it from Amazon (only because it was 60% off and could go back if I didn't like it). But, as is often the case, I was proven wrong.

You see, on Sunday I had a conversation with my friend Miriam. 'Miri, I need a quick easy cake to make because I'm lazy and late'.

'Well, I made this great recipe, and it's from a cut-out from the paper, because I would neeeeveeeer actually buy this book'... and Miri proceeds to tell me about Dahl's book and the banana loaf recipe that she loved. I exclaim that I have it, and try the recipe.

It is the EASIEST recipe in the world. And the best. And it used up my nearly-stale bananas. Seriously, this is a beautiful book, well written, with plenty of recipes that you actually want to make. On the whole healthy, but yummy food, like mushroom risotto and saffron fish.

Here's the recipe for banana loaf. You're supposed to toast it but I haven't. You can bet I'll be having some for breakfast! I have made two loaves in 3 days. Unprecedented success. Mmmm!

Recipe

1 1/2 cups flour

4 ripe mashed bananas

1 tbs baking powder/bicarb

1 egg, beaten

1 cup brown sugar

pinch of salt

1 tablespoon vanilla extract

1/3 cup butter

Instructions

Preheat oven to 180C/Gas4. Grease a 30x23c,/12x1 inch loaf tin

Pour mashed bananas into a big mixing bowl. Mix in butter, sugar, egg and vanilla extract. Add bicarb/baking soda and salt and mix in flour last. Pour into prepared tin bake for one hour, remove and cool. Toast slices and spread a little butter... mmm. I think chocolate chips would be a great addition, too!

Frugal?

2009-08-06T15:41:00.007+01:00

Frugal is certainly something I am not. In fact, I am the opposite. I find it hard to resist the temptation of clothing and bags and shoes and and and....

I am not interested in designer merchandise, but I love pretty, girlie things - too many of them. I think this means that sometimes I don't appreciate what I have. I don't even always remember what I have. Disturbingly, the thrill of something new is a pick-me-up of the professional woman of my generation, and fills the void or dissatisfaction of various aspects of life - I see it every day. This can be analysed ad infinitum, but that's not what this blog entry is about.

I want to change. I want to manage my spending better. I don't want to be a slave to the material. I want to be responsible. What has brought on this desire to improve? Not one thing, I suppose, just moving on in my life. Let me tell you about my friend Sarah who has inspired me.

Sarah is great. She is 25 and got married to David at 24. She knows what it takes to make a marriage work. She knows how to compromise, give in, adapt. She is very mature. And I have seen her change in front of my very eyes. She used to love shopping, buying things, treating herself and now she is as careful with money as can be. What happened?

When David wanted to propose to Sarah, he was a graduate student at Yale and she was a law student in London. He didn't have savings with which to buy her a ring, and his accommodation charge included some compulsory meal tickets. He literally didn't eat beyond what was mandatory for him to pay for, so that he could save up to buy Sarah's ring.

He bought her a beautiful engagement ring from Tiffany's. It is dainty and perfect and beautiful, and a lasting and meaningful symbol of his love for his girl. He suffered for that ring. And his gesture made an impression on Sarah and has changed her. It has changed her for good. If he could sacrifice so much, who is she to spend frivolously?

She now sees everything she spends as taking away from their future. She thinks twice. She takes things back if she doesn't really need them. She has grown up and is able to look beyond her immediate desires and impulses and I want to learn to do the same.

So here is my pledge:

1. I will write down what I spend;

2. I will stop wasting money on lunch out and will make my own at home;

3. I will stop wandering into shops 'for the fun of it';

4. I will organise my clothes so I can see them and use them;

5. I will constantly ask myself if I need this - really - and what really matters to me.

Are you frugal? What are your tips for me? Please let me know! I need your help and would love to hear your thoughts!

PS: Has anyone read/seen 'Confessions of a Shopaholic'? I thought the book was fun and that the movie was awful!

Heartfelt award and so much to say

2009-08-06T14:29:00.010+01:00

I have the best readers and blogger friends ever. I say it once in a while, certainly not often enough, but it is unquestionably true.

I have lapsed with my blogging not because there haven't been things to tell you about but rather because there has been too much stuff. Have you ever been stifled and mummed by how much you want to convey? Where to begin? I think the pragmatic response is to say things more often! There has been challah baking - and learning why baking challah is such a divinely special mitzvah for Jewish women to perform - I have been learning to sew with the girls, there are holiday photos from Florida, cake adventures galore.... and then there have been some musings about life.

Why haven't I posted them? A lack of time I suppose. And a desire to do more than post a recipe or snapshot but to analyse and share. And that takes time and energy, both of which have been somewhat rare commodities lately.

But you have lured me back with your support and wonderful comments and for that, and the inspiration with which you nourish my days, I am grateful. I want to invest more in this blog. A huge shout out and thank you to Esme, whose blog I adore and who has bestowed on me the honour of the 'Heartfelt Award'.

If there is something I would like my blog to be then it is that! Esme describes it best: those blogs that give you a warm and comforting feeling, that remind you of what matters in life, that are poignant with their honesty and graceful in their celebration of all that is warm and comforting and, in the case of the blogs that I enjoy, womanly.

I would like to give the award to a few blogs that give me that feeling, too, but each in different ways. Comfort brings with it connotations of beauty and the idyllic, but the blogs that I have chosen mix that with a dose of reality. I love these blogs for their honesty, for the different manifestations of comfort, such as humour, creativity, resourcefulness. In no particular order:

Party of six - Amy's beautiful family, stunning writing and gorgeous photography. A real treasure.

Heather Drive - a wonderful blog about married life and adventures.

Overdue - Emily's witty, clever blog that you must read. I am mortified that I have completely forgotten about the bookclub. Please forgive me Emily!

In other news:

I am leaving my job (as a corporate trainee lawyer) for good next Friday. I haven't got another job in the pipeline and that scares me. Normally I am the 'sorted' one, the one who has everything together. As you all know, life on a conveyor belt was wearing me down. So now I will have plenty of time to think. Am I scared? Yes. Instability and judgement await me. This is the first time ever that I have been directionless. There are no legal jobs on the market, and as I qualify as a solicitor I wonder whether I will ever practice. And somehow, staying in this, one of the world's largest law firms, wasn't an option.

My father and Marc are on my side and understand my need to lead a more balanced life than corporate law can offer, but my mother sees things rather differently and I know she feels that I have thrown away an amazing opportunity. If I am honest I do feel I have failed. Yet if that is the case then I have failed in something that doesn't matter to me. Failure isn't a nice feeling but it can be contextualised and viewed with perspective when you realise that most people are running around after something they don't even want. So perhaps with time I will feel a release.

On Friday Marc is taking me to Israel for a celebration of my qualifying as a lawyer (a jobless lawyer, but a lawyer all the same). I have a lot to be grateful for. And the 'heartful' quality of your blogs and comments is just what I need.

The joys of summer no. 2: flowers

2009-07-18T15:33:00.008+01:00

Who doesn't love flowers and seeing life in bloom over summer?

We have been spending time doing up the garden (more shots of that coming) in my family home, and Marc wanted to buy his parents a plant, so off we went to my favourite garden centre. It's in a stunning London area called Little Venice (ever been there?) and it's like stepping into heaven. Just look at the pics and see. I was lucky to receive some gorgeous sunflowers and a stunning vase from Marc - love 'em. There's even a little cafe at this nursery, with homemade cakes and organic soups.

I bought Lauren some lavender for her new home (Lauren used to live in the South of France, where lavender is abundant and smells beautiful) when she invited Kate and me for lunch, and I bought myself an interesting basil plant and a mint plant. I can't emphasise enough how much I love mint. I love it in everything: in salads, smoothies, tea... the list goes on...

I dream one day of having a vegetable patch and a herb garden. The only problem? Love plants, hate gardening with a vengeance. Anyone got tips for me?

The joys of summer no. 1: food

2009-07-18T01:01:00.004+01:00

Oh, the photos I want to share with you all from Florida! I can hardly wait. But first I want to post some of the food that keeps me so happy during the summer months. I love bbqs, guacamole, fresh salad, quiche: good simple food. Here are some of the things that have made it onto my table and that have made me smile.

Lots of salads! Don't you just love the crisp taste, not to mention the colours?
Summer just makes me want to be healthy, to eat well... let's just sat that that's a relative rarity!

I've been doing easy entertaining and have brought cake along to a number of bbqs. Sadly, the two cakes below, though somewhat pretty, were disappointing in taste. The lemon cake (with berries) I think is a good idea in theory but it didn't pan out for me. It uses shortening and, try though I might, and even if the recipe comes from the most stupendously scrumptious food blog ever, I hate the taste of shortening and it is never masked by the other flavours for me. I also like my lemon cake without rind... so no recipe here. The second recipe was a Betty Crocker - again, disappointing. I'm going back to the old greats for a while now I think.

This Sunday I am entertaining and hosting a Moroccan themed dinner! Stay around for some fragrant delicacies. A part of my heart (the foodie part) stayed in Marrakech!

Have a wonderful weekend!

Tomato, mozzarella and basil with virgin olive oil and balsamic.

This is my foolproof, last-minute favourite lifesaver recipe. Couscous, peppers, tomatoes, sweetcorn, mint (oh, how I love mint!), salt, pepper and lots of lemon juice and virgin olive oil

Mt guacamole: avocado, chopped red onion, tomatoes, crushed garlic, lemon juice and olive oil.

And last but not least: Israeli salad. This delicious crispy salad makes its way into pretty much every family meal at my house. Easy, simple. Diced sweet cherry tomatoes and sweet cucumber, olive oil, lots of lemon juice, salt and pepper. Oh, and we dip toasted bread into the juice at the bottom. Mmmmmmmm!

Florida!

2009-07-05T22:50:00.003+01:00

Wooohooo! Marc and I are finally on vacation in Florida! We are having a fabulous time and we were so pleased to spent the 4th in this country that we both love so much (though, being British, we got quite a bit of slack yesterday!). Our resort is great, but the area is, well, disappointing. We're in Clearwater, and let's just say it's not quite what we were expecting or are used to. But you know what? Neither of us cares, because we're having so much fun and are just enjoying being together. We're staying at the Sheraton Sand Key Resort, which is fun, and on Tuesday we leave to Orlando, to visit Disney! 'Excited' is an understatement. At Disney we'll be staying at the Animal Kingdom Lodge... can't wait!

Today I set out on my own, in search of a place that so many fellow bloggers have mentioned: Michaels. We don't have a rental car, so this involved two long bus rides, but I got there in the end and what can I say? I'm totally in love. I really didn't want to leave. If I had that in England I'd spend my whole paychyeck in there. I loved the Martha Stewart collection in particular. Oh, and that Wilton aisle! Heavenly.

Tomorrow we'll head to the acquarium I think... if any of you have tips for me please let me know!

Florida happiness to all xxxx

Amazing concert: Avraham Fried and Dudu Fisher

2009-06-16T17:18:00.009+01:00

When was the last time you went to a really good concert? A concert that simply blew you away?
I go to concerts all too rarely. I am just not interested enough most of the time to go to the effort of buying tickets to see acts that I am not passionate about. But on Sunday Dad, Marc and I attended a charity concert with Dudu Fisher and Avraham Fried, two renouned Jewish performers.

Dudu Fisher has a distinguished singingbackground, having trained classically. In addition to his traditional Jewish singing, he was also asked to come from Israel to play Jean Valjean in Les Miserables on the London stage and on Broadway. He was delighted but stated that he would be unable to perform on theatre's busiest nights: Saturday and Friday nights. This is because he observes the Jewish Sabbath, during which there is a prohibition on work (amongst many other things). It is so noble to my mind to potentially jeopardise such an astounding career for one's religious conviction: that is the sort of person I would like to be. Believe it or not, he was offered the part irrespective. He has a deep beautiful voice and sings traditional religious music, sometimes in Yiddish.

Avraham Fried is a Chabad Chassid, part of a chassidic orthodox Jewish movement that was led by the great Rebbe, Menachem Mendel Schneerson. He is a singer of great repute, a cantor who sings chazzanut (synagogue music, which is very emotional and makes even secular Jews cry sometimes). In addition, he sings Jewish orthodox pop - a style of music influenced by pop, rock and jazz, with lyrics that reflect the Jewish faith. He is SUCH an energetic performer, and true love of his faith emanates from his face. He has an indescribable joie de vivre, a glowing smile. He truly believes that his mission in life, his schlichus, is to bring people closer to their faith and to bring them joy through music. He is very famous and successful yet absolutely humble - I would go so far as to say sweet.

What can I say? This performance blew me away with its energy and intensity. I left the theatre so happy. Jewish music, klezmer, the violet and clarinet, the dancing of the rabbis - it just speaks to my soul, to something deep within me that, wherever I am in the world and whoever I am with, in whatever circustance I find myself, reminds me of who I am and of my place in the world. I feel so blessed to be a Jewish woman.

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Not sure how to to post a clip but here's a YouTube link for anyone interested in hearing a bit of Avraham Fried. I'm not sure how much of it will 'translate' but we'll see!

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=GPOanT3rbNE

Time out and cheesecake

2009-06-15T22:14:00.006+01:00

I can't believe how long I have left it since posting. These little guilt-ridden introductions are so boring, I know, but for me this past month has been crucial. Crucial and vital in so many ways. I have been: talking about my future, building a dream with Marc, talking honestly about our future, arranging classes with our Rabbi, spending time with old friends who it is shameful I haven't seen more often, interviewing, cooking, reading and entertaining no end. In short, I have been rushing through the weekends, running from one place to another with very little time to spare. I have been living, and it feels exhilarating and just great.

But I did not forget this blog and I've taken photos the whole time so, now that I'm back, slowly slowly I can tell you about what I've been up to. I'm excited to share lots of developments with you.

Where to begin?

Cake is always a good place to start. About a month ago now it was the Jewish festival of Shavuot. Shavuot is really the end of Passover, the period that marks the end of the Jews' escape from Egypt, and the time that they received the Torah. It is a big celebration! A celebration that involves all things dairy, notably blintzes (sweet pancakes with a sweet cheese filling) and cheesecake.

Why, you might ask?

Well there isn't one reason, but one of the reasons is that it was at this time that the Jews received the Kosher dietary laws, amongst which is the rule that one must not eat milk and meat together. The Jews were unprepared, their dishes had been used for the preparation of both foods simultaneously and they had to start from scratch. Any person 'building' their first Kosher kitchen will tell you that it is much easier to have a milchig (milky) kitchen than a fleischig (meaty) one. So they started with dairy products, hence cheesecake (let's face it, anything else wouldn't be calorific enough to cut it to true heroic Jewish holiday status).

And so it came to pass that I made my very first cheesecake. I entrusted Marcy Goldman with this effort, and I was not disappointed. I tweaked the recipe a little, adding a little more flour than she recommended, more lemon, and I omitted the cherry glaze for real strawberries and it was a big hit.

It is true, cheesecake is really easy to make and once you make one it is difficult to understand what all the fuss is about. But shhhh, don't tell anyone. We want to perpetuate the idea that we are wondrous wondrous ladies for being able to conjure up such a delicacy!

Here's the recipe!

Graham Crust

1 1/2 cups graham cracker crumbs
5 tablespoons unsalted butter
1/3 tightly packed brown sugar
pinch ground cinnamon

Cheesecake batter

2 pounds cream cheese
1 1/3 cups sugar
5 large eggs
2 teaspoons pure vanilla extract
1 tablespoon fresh lemon juice
1/4 teaspoon almond extract
1 can/10 ounces double cream
1/4 cup flour

Topping

fresh strawberries
a few tablespoons of jam and water

Instructions

Preheat oven t0 325degrees. Line a baking sheet with parchment paper.

For Graham Crust: Toss graham crumbs, butter, brown sugar and cinnamon together in the bottom of a 9 inch springform pan and press firmly into pan bottom. Place on prepared baking sheet.

For Cheesecake Batter, in a mixer bowl blend cream cheese with sugar until well blended. Add eggs and the next 5 ingredients and blend well, still on low speed, about 5 minutes until totally smooth. Pour into springform pan and place in oven. Bake until just set, about 60 to 70 minutes.

Leave to cool and then refrigerate for about 8 hours.

Top with freshly cut strawberries, then put few tablespoons of clear jam in a glass and add a small amount of boiling water. Mix until you have a smooth fairly runny mixture, then brush on using a pastry brush.

Being back

2009-05-19T21:17:00.002+01:00

It was such a good rest! Such good time spent with Dad and Eddie and by the pool. I read four books. I had 'forgotten' how much I love reading, how good it feels to have time.
It may be over but I am happy!

You know that feeling when you get back from holiday and launch into a routine so quickly that it seems as though you never really went? Normally I get that but this time everything was so vivid that I don't feelas though it never happened. I can summon the images and the feeling of being there, even from a glass office block far removed from the smells and fumes of Bangkok.

My first day back at work has been stressful. I got in very early to sort through my emails and I couldn't go for lunch until 3.30. I'm the one who gets lunch at 12 normally! Emails, calls, no time to do things, didn't have a moment to answer Lizzie's email (sorry, Liz).

But, the day is over. I may still be at work but when you are alone in the office you feel that the day is over. You can do things at your own pace. When I worry about going into work, when I ascend the escalators in the tube with dread, I am comforted by the thought that, like everything, the day will end.

Now it's 9.22. I know I should stay, file some emails, prepare for tomorrow. But what I really want to do is go home. Go home, make some herbal tea in my new Bangkok Starbucks mug and cosy up in bed. Which shall it be?