Abigail Ahern e-course

A couple of months ago I signed up for 

Abigail Ahern's new E-course 

"Creating your dream home"

The course started last week 

First assignment was to create a mood board for a room in your house you would like to decorate

Above is mine 

I have stock piled Farrow and Ball Down Pipe

Before the shops closed for the weekend 

Paint brushes at the ready.....

Hope you have a great one 

x

Jacques Henri Lartigue

While Travelling through Charles de Gaulle Airport in Paris recently

 I was struck by the large photographs on show by 

Jacques Henri Lartigues

I was unfamiliar with his work 

He was known as an artist and really only gained acclaim as a photographer in his 70's 

Born in 1894 his is an Inspiring story

It's never too late 

His images are so modern and fresh 

and unlike any I have come across

Pear Back

I cook to relax

Currently I am away from home 4 days a week working in Dublin

and when I come home at the weekends I bake

Baking, for me, is a form of meditation

I can concentrate on what I am doing and not worry about anything else 

It is also a great activity to do with my 4 yr old son, who is very happy to help

The problem with this is 

All this baking leads to a lot of baked goods

and a lot of baked goods in the house leads to a lot of snacking on baked goods 

This, in turn leads to me no longer fitting in to my jeans .........

So, I am at a turning point

The last week I have been on a Staycation

There has been a lot of baking......

So, if you follow me on Pinterest you may have noticed my pins in the last 24 hours

 have changed from this 

To this 

I have decided it's time for a change 

This is my plan 

1 Start Running 

2 Go back to Bikram Yoga

3 Cut out refined sugar

4 Eat a healthy breakfast

5 Cut down (way down) on Carbs

6 Add more fresh fruit, vegetables and seeds to my diet

It's not rocket science......

This is what I have achieved so far

1 Start running

Bought new sneakers, I actually went to a sports shop and did a fitting where they video you running and recommend the correct shoes for you. 

I have heard too many injury stories from cheap sneakers.

I downloaded the  "couch-5k" running APP

Yesterday did my first run EVER!

I did enjoy it

although it was tough at times and I wouldn't say I LOVED it

2 Go back to Bikram Yoga

I used to practice Bikram and I did love it but I haven't done it in 6 years

I did a little research online and found out 

there is a bikram studio literally 3 mins from my office

signing up when i return from Far East trip next week 

Bought a Yoga Mat 

3 Cut out refined Sugar

I had a little chocolate yesterday 

Hey it's progress

Bought Agave syrup 

4 Eat a Healthy breakfast 

This morning had a delicious smoothie

frozen raspberries, frozen banana, clementine juice (didn't have any oranges), natural yoghurt, oats and chia seeds (both were soaked for 30 mins) 1 tsp agave syrup

yum! and a good by product is everyone else in the family had some too

(i didn't tell them bout the oats or chia seeds)

I also made Granola 

I followed this recipe

but substituted flaked almonds for the nuts (only because this was what I had)

I added the flaked almonds 10 mins before end of cooking time 

I substituted Agave syrup for Maple

I also added apricots and raisins to final cooled granola

This is delicious 

I love ginger though 

If ginger isn't your thing simply leave it out 

This is a very simple and very delicious granola 

5 Cut down on carbs 

I am not cutting out carbs completely

but none after lunch 

I will eat bread but only brown and seeded

I will also eat Short grain brown rice

 

6 Add more fruit, vegetables and seeds

Doing well so far

(see 4) 

I also find that simply cutting out carbohydrates makes me make better choices 

that is, not a croissant for breakfast 

not a white bread sandwich for lunch 

not a cake for a snack

It takes a little more thought and planning though. 

Yesterday i bought Chia seeds and lots of fruit and veg

This is an easy one for me really as I actually love fruit and veg and all kinds of salads 

I just forget sometimesor I fall in to the trap of waiting

until I am absolutely RAVENOUS 

before I eat 

this almost always leads to a bad decision  

So, that is it 

Stay tuned for my progress

xH

 

  

 

 

Bakewell Tart

Bakewell Tart has always been a favourite of mine

Shortcrust pastry, jam and Frangipane 

what's not to like !

but until recently I had never really thought to make it 

This recipe may seem long but it really is incredibly simple 

and the result is large and so will last you for a few days (depending on how greedy you are)

It is a great recipe for a school sale or coffee morning as it slices into neat squares 

This is made with a Pate Sablee

which is a shortcrust pastry made with ground almonds

but you can use regular shortcrust if you like 

PATE SABLEE

200g flour (plus 2 tablespoons)

50g ground almonds

75g sugar

160g butter

1 egg yolk 

Put flour, almonds, sugar into a bowl add butter and rub together until you get fine breadcrumbs

add egg yolk and bring together to form a dough 

(you can also do this in a magimix which make it very simple)

roll into a ball cover with clingfilm and leave to rest in the fridge for 30 mins at least 

BAKEWELL TART

150g raspberry jam

130g butter

160g sugar

4 eggs

260g ground almonds 40g slivered almonds 

butter a 34cm x 20 x 3cm tin and line with parchment paper

Remove Pate Sablee from the fridge and let it stand for 15 mins

Preheat oven to 170c (325 f)

roll out pate sablee to 5mm thick and line the baking pan

It is fragile and may break 

just fill any gaps with leftover pastry

prick the base with a fork and place a sheet of parchment on top 

cover with baking beans and bake for 15-20 mins 

remove from the oven and set aside to cool

for the frangipane 

cream butter and sugar until pale and fluffy

add eggs one at a time beating after each addition

add ground almonds and combine 

spread raspberry jam over the cooled base 

Then add frangipane on top spread evenly

sprinkle the top with slivered almonds

(i didn't have enough slivered almonds for mine they are optional but if you have them they definitely add to the texture) 

bake in oven for 30-35 mins 

until golden brown 

makes 12 -16 slices and will keep in an airtight container for 5-7 days 

Stella Jean

 I have posted about Stella Jean before but only just came across her S/S 13 

images 

I love her use of pattern and colour

Drawing on her Italian and Haitian heritage

I don't think her line is available in Ireland 

but it is great inspiration for summer dressing 

yellow eyeshadow anyone?

I also love her A/W  collection below 

like J Crew on acid

Pantone App

I apologise ahead of time for the hours of your life you are about to loose to this App

Have you heard about the Pantone App????

I am slightly obsessed

discovered it last night through Pinterest 

you can upload pictures and create palettes

or simply create palettes without an image

Yes the colours are NOT true to pantone

and they differ slightly from screen to screen

BUT

what an amazing tool

a great starting point 

or way to "jot" down a palette when you see 

an interesting one on the street  

Colour is transformative

and this is a great way to keep a record and play with it too

you can then keep them in the App or email them to yourself

I have a feeling this is going to have a BIG role in my life from now on

x

Bread

Yesterday I made bread,
I am passionate about bread
flour, water, yeast, salt
and the variations are endless

I am a big fan of No Knead bread which I wrote about
HERE
This bread is delicious
crusty, a little bit sour, a grown up complex flavoured chewy bread
Great,
But sometimes you want something else from your bread
and I found traditional (kneaded yeast bread)
had never given me results I was particularly proud of
So, I set about experimenting with some different methods and advice
and yesterdays results are worth talking about
An incredibly light soft bread with a crisp but light crust

This is what I did
(you will need a cast iron lidded pot)

1lb of Bread Flour
1 packet dried yeast
2 teaspoons sea salt

add enough luke warm water to get a VERY sticky dough
This is the difference between a light or a heavy loaf (this and the kneading)
sprinkle a small amount of flour onto your board and turn out your wet dough

now you "knead"
as the dough is so sticky this is a messy job
but it is not diffcult
basically you want to stretch your dough
pull it toward you and slap it back on itself
repeat this motion for about 10 mins until your dough becomes
stretchy and smooth
every couple of minutes you can scrape the dough together using
a dough scraper
available here
when you have a stretchy smooth dough 
form it into a ball tucking it under itself
and turning over

place in an oiled bowl and leave covered to prove somewhere warm for 3 hours

return to your dough which should have doubled in size  and turn it on to a floured board
stretch the bottom of dough out and fold it back in to the centre
pushing it down hard with your fingers
stretch the top of the dough and fold over the seam again pressing
the dough into itself with your fingers

turn your dough 90 degrees clockwise and repeat
now leave to rise again for up to 2 hours
The longer you leave it the more complex the flavour

20 mins before you want to bake it
heat your oven to 250c  with your cast iron pot inside
When you are ready to bake
remove crock pot .....carefully it will be HOT
lift your dough in with the seam on the bottom
slash the top of your dough
place lid on
bake for 30 mins
remove bread from pot and bake a further 10 mins
(times will vary depending on your oven out this is a rough guide)

leave to cool .......
 EAT

If you are a fan of bread I highly recommend the
Tartine Bread Book
Chad the owner of Tartine is truly obsessed with bread
he uses a starter in his bread making
I have dabbled in starters but never truly been bitten by that bug
......... I think it may be time to investigate further

If you have never seen it
this Tartine video is excellent
and in it you can see the dough is wet light and sticky
which is exactly what you are looking for 

TARTINE VIDEO

UPDATE: just found out Chad of Tartine is coming to Ballymaloe in
August for a 1 day demonstration,
I have booked my place
have you?
click here to book