Keith McNally London Home

This Month's House and Garden is a cracker.

Is it me or is this publication getting better and better

I was both surprised and delighted to find amongst it's pages photograph's

of the Home of Keith McNally

I have never seen press on any of his homes before

If you don't know who Keith McNally is then you are certainly not a New Yorker 

and if you have ever visited NYC then you have certainly eaten in one of his Restaurants

Balthazar

Pastisse

Schiller's

The list is extensive 

(for a full list and an interesting article on Keith you can go HERE)

And now he has returned to his place of birth, London and opened up a London Balthazar

Keith just gets it right every time

One of things that is mentioned in the H&G article and that I have always felt 

"it is key to his restaurants that while they are stylish they are never elite"

I think Keith changed the way we eat, the way we socialise.

He levelled the playing field in a way 

His restaurants are not inaccessible 

Ok, they may be pricey for some pockets and we're not eating there every day 

but what I mean is 

Prior to the Reign of Keith 

hip restaurants were stiff, extortionately  expensive and elite 

His restaurants changed that

 and his house is just as stylish as you would expect 

all images are from the pages of House and Garden 
Photographer Simon Upton

Also IN H&G this month is a beautiful home in London belonging to the founder of

Made.com

and a beautiful award winning home belonging to Sebastien and Lucy Fenwick

I highly recommend you hit your news stands and purchase it

just in case you are wondering 

this is my opinion and NOT at all, in any way paid for or endorsed by anyone 

as is everything I post on my blog

No Knead Bread

I have never posted a recipe for this Bread before because well

I felt the blogosphere was inundated with them 

But

I have been asked for the recipe so many times 

and I always add my additional changes

meaning I then have to write out the instructions

That I am finally succumbing and posting the recipe and method.

If you have never heard of Jim Lahey's No Knead Bread.........

WHERE HAVE YOU BEEN?
and if you have never made it

then I cannot urge you enough to get out a bag of flour and get baking.

This is so so simple and I tell you it changed my life!!

Strong words, you say

Well after living in New York for 10 years I moved myself and family to a small village

in the middle of Ireland.

Being a lover of food and cooking I romanticised about 

growing vegetables, baking scones, making jams and chutneys

....... and well, really all those dreams came true....

What I had not anticipated was that there were things I would miss

That recipe calling for a pinch of Zatar...... hmmmm

a dash of Sumac........

a fresh baked flaky croissant and of course that Artisan bread that is 

served in every one of my favourite NY eateries

slightly sour with a thick chewy crust........

Well, when I first read about this bread in US Vogue at 11pm at night

 I upped out of my bed ran downstairs in my barefeet and nightie and got cracking

The next day, as I said ...... it changed my life.

Suddenly I felt like we had a little bit of NY here in my kitchen

Friends visited and I baked this bread

and wallowed in their oohs and aahs 

"You really made this?"

This Bread gave me more confidence in the kitchen

It encouraged me to venture into yeast territory

A strange and foreign terrain that I had never before explored with success.

(and just to add I still have a temperamental relationship with)

So, if you have never tried baking bread 

if you are scared of yeast 

if you love bread

if you live in a rural area where it is hard to source a good artisan loaf

....... then this is the bread for you 

NOTES: you will be cooking this bread 18 hours after you start 

so decide when you want to eat it and count backwards

you will need a cast iron crock pot with a lid 

like a le creuset 

you want a 6-8 qt pot

RECIPE

3 cups (430 grms ) flour (you can use bread flour but it is not essential)

1 1/2 cups (345 grams) warm water

1/2 tspn dried yeast 

1 1/4 tspn salt

METHOD*

Add water to flour, yeast and salt

mix together to form a wet dough

cover with cling film 

leave at room temperature for 16-20 hours 

an hour before you are ready to bake turn your oven on full 

which is usually somewhere around 500f or 250c

Place bottom of crock pot in oven to heat up 

after 45 mins to an hour carefully remove your pot 

throw in the dough

sprinkle with a little flour

place lid on 

put in oven and bake covered for 30-40 mins

remove bread from pot and place in oven to bake for a further 10 - 15 mins

you will need to play around with your own oven a bit to figure out what works best 

but this should be a good guideline for most 

remove from oven and allow to cool completely before cutting

Best eaten on day it is baked

except if you are toasting

it will keep as toasting bread for up to a week

*I have adapted the method from the Jim Lahey way as I found it didn't really make a difference if you took the dough out and folded or didn't 

This way is much simpler but if you wish to try the original then you can find it HERE

Alex Vervoodt, Wabi Sabi and the little woodwormed table

The movers have been and gone

My treasured possesions are now on the high seas

slowly making ther way across the ocean again.

We are living a spartan/glamping existence

for our final days in the city of New York

and you know what,

 I like it

Less stuff means less tidying up

Less noise

This also coincides with my recent purchase of

 this beautiful book

and some further research into the japanese philosophy of

Wabi Sabi

(this is a great piece about it)

I feel like I found my soul

 I cannot get enough of the scrubbed wooden floors, Does anyone have floors like this in their home?

Some years ago a little house in the local village was being demolished

I looked in through the windows and saw an old cracked belfast sink

after a little detective work I got in touch with the owner who told me to go in and take anything I like

I recovered a little desk, some old iron hooks

a mirror, the beflast sink

and a small woodwormed table.

I treated the table, to halt its destruction and set it in my kitchen

I texted Mr HJD who was away travelling:

Is there something wrong with loving a little woodwormed table THIS much

I sat and stared at it for days

I rubbed the worn patina on its face and traced the woodwormed furrows with my fingers

So now, in one week,

I return to my little woodwormed table

and the old familiar patina of my life in a little village in the middle of Ireland

and while the hottest new restaurant will not be opening
their next outpost there, any time soon........

I can't wait.

x

H

All Images from Alex Vervoodt Wabi Interiors

Packing

image oscarscharwzvald via Bodie &Fou

So in the funny twists and turns of life

I am packing up boxes again

This time to return to Ireland

I can't wait to sink my hands in the dirt of the garden

bake

get back to my studio

walk in the woods

see friends

While the time here in NYC has been AMAZING

I am looking forward to slightly slower pace for a while

There are so many exciting things on the horizon though

not sure if it is going to be exactly quiet!

Stay tuned as I have many NYC posts coming up of things that

I have done here but haven't had time to post about

and will be keeping you up to date on all the exciting changes

x

The eye of the storm

During the week, as I am sure you heard, we had a minor Earthquake here in NYC

I was on the 9th floor of a building in midtown 

and apparently the lights were swinging

I was in a lightbox approving color lab dips

and didn't notice a thing.

Many people evacuated our building

For 20 mins we decided what to do 

should we leave the office and try to get home

as maybe transit would be an issue if an aftershock came 

In the end we stayed where we were and there was really no disruption.

Now as we sit and wait for Irene to arrive 

I have to say it is all a little surreal!

I am not accustomed to natural disasters

Ireland has a lot of rain but no hurricanes or earthquakes.

This evening I went to the supermarket on the way home

and it was pretty crazy, 

empty shelves, crowds of people

It actually made me more anxious.

I am staying informed but trying not to plug in to the hype too much

Praying for a safe weekend for all

see you on the other side

x

Kinfolk

KINFOLK

This is the most interesting thing to happen in 

the world of online magazines

since LONNY first published

 

There have been many debates in the blogosphere about 

online magazines

This NY Times article 

sparked a flurry of debate

LONNY

whether you like it or not,

was groundbreaking

There are many more that followed some worthy of a mention some 

.....well lacking 

BUT

as the debate was raging 

I was thinking how quick we are to dismiss

In this culture of online fast fixes 

something is hardly given a chance

A chance to find it's feet 

find it's voice 

it's place 

Because there is room for everyone 

and everyone should be given the space to explore and learn 

and discover

If only the things that were most popular survived,

 what a boring and 

dull world THAT

would be!

That is like only having network television

or only being able to shop

at H&M or TOPSHOP 

 

One of the things that I enjoy about working in HOME 

as opposed to Fashion 

is that the pace is a little more civilized

Things can be developed and nurtured without the fear of doing 8 collections a year 

and the constant pressure to move on

drop what you have been working on because it belongs to last season.

 

It has struck me living in New York 

One of the fastest paced cities 

That what is new and cool 

what is peaking interest and trending

is to slow down

simplify

look back.

drink from a mason jar

make bread

 

It's like the Internet has given a big voice to a smalltown 

and

KINFOLK

are right on the button

A pause

It is hot in NY at the moment

Not too hot

Yesterday our electricity went out

No Air conditioners

No Fans

No lights

within 10 mins NY became too hot

But in that moment

The light coming in through the window was so beautiful

and it gave me pause

The color of the light hitting the greenery near the window

Inspiring

ALL PHOTOGRAPHY BY HELEN JAMES
CONTENT BY HELEN JAMES
PLEASE CONTACT ME IF YOU WISH TO RE-PRODUCE

Darr, Hollander & Lexer

Another great store further down Atlantic is 

DARR

I love the wooden table set with wooden dinnerware

I would think it too much but actually it is really beautiful, it has a simplicity and purity.

I did purchase a beautiful Horn bangle for $30

(will post it later)

They stock the incredible 

Cote de Bastide 

line of fragrance and candles which I have loved ever since I bought 

my first Fig room scent from 

The Cross

10 years ago

The same owners also have a store across the street 

Hollander & Lexer

Where they sell their own line of locally made menswear, 

although when I dropped in there were quite a few items I coveted for my own wardrobe,

along with a few selected labels.

love this image of old shoe lasts from their site

so enjoy shopping 

and buy local whatever that locale may be

x

Holler & Squall

So The first Shop I visited on Atlantic was
Holler and Squall
Amazing eclectic mix of curiosities and interesting and unusual lighting
Also really good price points!

Holler and Squall has a beautifully curated collection of old and new items, most with very reasonable price tags

I would love this as an Island in my Kitchen......... with the rug included


All above images are from the Holler and Squall blog
As I did forgot my camera
Do check it out for the latest additions to the store

Spring in Brooklyn

Spring is pushing her blossoming head through the dark clouds of winter.

Almost 1 year since I came on my first trip back to New York

Which led to us packing up and moving over

It's been a long winter here

Looking forward to better weather

Today I browsed the shops on Atlantic Ave

some of my favourites coming up in the next few days 

The Gloss

I haven't read the article yet

 but if you are in Ireland check out todays

THE GLOSS

to read more about me and life in NYC



Brooklyn in the snow

Brooklyn 7am 

Last week
A city with a fresh coat of paint

matteo home

The heat and humidity in New York

has me longing for the cool drape 

of vintage linen sheets from

Matteo

which i saw last week at 

ABC Carpet & Home

Based in Los Angeles, Matteo do simplicity and quality

I am really thinking of a black and white theme for the new apartment

These would work perfectly.

all images reproduced with permission from Matteo

Jefferson Hayman

This week has been draining

5 days to go and we will be in New York 

I promise to write more often

x

Beautiful image courtesy of

Jefferson Hayman

 

Bloomin Marvellous

While I was in New York for 3 weeks

Nature was busy

and the garden is looking so wonderful

White Lupins, Lady's Mantle, Fennel, Flowering Sage

a yellow flower I have no idea what it is (do you?)

and lots of weeds

Lady's Mantle, Fennel, Delphinium.........buttercups!

Roses

and white Peony beside blood red Astrantia

I liked this so much that it was the inspiration for a small bouquet for a friend

I will have no outdoor space in New York

I will miss picking posies

and tending to it, planning and waiting and being surprised

A garden has taught me to have patience, trust and faith.

So I hereby declare 

Universe!

I would like a garden in NYC