blog sabbatical.

So I'm not doing too good at getting my blog posts updated, I've got so much news it's crazy!
But until I get my bum into gear, here's is a lovely piece of work...

Found at Pop Culture Cooking

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pre-China cooking exploits.

I returned from China two days ago, after the most amazing three-week adventure! I'm not even sure how to put in to words just how exciting it was, but right now I'm still struggling to upload and edit the thousands of images I took. So expect a post soon...


In the mean time, here (FINALLY) are the pictures and recipes of some of my cooking exploits before I went travelling. All of which were based around things growing in our garden. Proud! 
Some were a little unsuccessful though...


Spiced wild cherry jam:

In our front garden is a big lovely cherry tree, which we presumed ornamental until it produced some of the tiniest shiny red cherries one year. Possibly the tartest fruit I've every eaten! Yet this year I decided to try and do something with them, and jamming seemed to only option. Although there were only a few, it was enough to make one (small) jar of jam. Despite taking ages to stone them, and carefully adding the right amount of sugar and spice (I chose cinnamon because I had bought some cinnamon sticks I've been eager to use for a while), the cherries stayed remarkably solid. And my jam turned out to be more like wild cherries in syrup. So when I can perfect the recipe, I will post it.

Raspberry and Blackberry Jam:

Our raspberry bush has sprung into action this year producing a glut of raspberries, and whilst they are so deliciously sweet fresh, we just can't eat them fast enough! I had some left over blackberries in the freezer so thought combining the too would produce a rich fruity jam ready for the autumn.

Recipe:

300g raspberries

200g blackberries

450g sugar (I always use less the the 50:50 ratio of the fruit:sugar ratio because I prefer soft set jam)

squeeze of lemon juice

To a large heavy-based saucepan, add the blackberries and raspberries and place over a low-medium heat allowing them to slowly reduce. Add a splash of water if necessary to stop them burning, although I normally just squish them with a potato masher so they can cook in their own juices.

After 10-15 minutes of simmering, add the sugar and lemon juice. Bring to the boil them reduce the heat to a gentling bubbling simmer.

Simmer for 20-25mins skimming off the foam, or until the jam forms a skin when placed on a cold plate. (put a plate in the fridge/freezer for 10ish minutes, remove and place half a teaspoon of jam on the plate, leave for a minute or two. if when you push your fingernail through the jam, it wrinkles, then it is ready for to be jarred)

Sterilise the jam jars in the oven/saucepan of boiling hot water. Allowing them to cool slightly before pouring the jam in and sealing the lids. Turn upside down once lidded to form a good seal.

The famous chocolate beetroot cake...in cupcake form:

this is not my recipe, I'm afraid, but it has become my signature dish...look at the amazing colour!

Recipe can be found at What Katie Ate

Courgette Muffins:
My brother has been mentioning to me to make courgette bread for ages, but we STILL don't have a loaf tin, so I've been putting it off. But now, we've got so many courgettes they are growing out of our ears and I figured now would be the best time to attempt to make a lovely teatime treat. My sweet tooth is so large, sweet muffins were the only answer, and I found an amazing recipe on The Novice Chef

 Aha... I spy...

Here's how I adapted to recipe:
2 cups sugar
1 1/3 cup mild-flavoured oil (sunflower/groundnut etc)
3 eggs
1 tsp vanilla
2 1/2 cups flour, plus 1 T
2 tsp baking soda
2 tsp cinnamon
1/4 tsp ginger
1/4 tsp garam masala
1/4 tsp nutmeg
1/2 tsp salt
1/2 cup black raisins
1/2 cup golden raisins
1 cup chopped walnuts
1 cups carrots
3 cups zucchini/courgette
200g tinned pineapple, drained and chopped into small pieces

Preheat oven to 180 C and line muffin tins with muffin cases.

Beat the sugar, oil, and eggs together in the bowl with an electric mixer. Add the vanilla. In another bowl, sift together 2 1/2 cups flour, baking soda, cinnamon, ginger, garam masala, nutmeg and salt.

Add the dry ingredients to the wet ingredients. Toss the golden raisins, black raisins, and walnuts with 1 tablespoon flour. Fold in the carrots, zucchini, and pineapple. Add to the batter and mix well.

Divide batter among cupcake tins, filling 3/4 full. Bake for 18-20 minutes and then cool on wire rack. Makes 24-36.

I topped mine with yogurt and cinnamon frosting, but as yet don't really have a recipe, because every time i've made it, I make it up as I go. It consists of varying quantities of butter, icing sugar and yogurt, with a pinch of cinnamon at the end.


And the rest...
Steak and kidney pie for my Dad's birthday, Mirabelle and Cherry plums fresh from the hedgerows being turned into jam, homegrown beetroots being home-pickled for Mother's fussy taste buds and the mess I got into doing it, and finally, an indoor picnic I made for my friend Jess.

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a year in Japan - three weeks in China.

[images from: Kate T Williamson]

I'm not quite sure how I stumbled upon this gorgeous travelogue by Kate T Williamson, no doubt it came from perusing another blog and the name of the book 'A Year in Japan' just stuck with me, as did the beauty of her simple watercolour illustrations. I'd been meaning to buy the actual book for a while now, so during a 'what the heck' moment the other day, I bought it (along with some other books i'll be telling you about soon).


And boy am I glad I did! I just love it from the beautiful elegance of the geishas to the simplicity of the blossom, the illustrations are just stunning. I work very much in a similar style using simple line drawings to illustrate my work and flicking through this book has got me excited about my trip to China in a couple of weeks time. I'd LOVE to keep a travel journal like this, however, it doesn't sound like i'll have much time, so I'm thinking about just keeping a written journal, and taking photographs to illustrate when I come back (although this isn't the way I tend to work, I'm willing to give it a go for the sake of drawings even half as beautiful as Kate's).


Ahhh, i'm getting giddy at the thought of our trip to China.


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the grass is always greener it seems.

why is it, that other people's food always looks tastier? especially when I'm hungry! 
These delicious beauties are courtesy of Ella, talk about teasing! They look so scrummy that its not fair!

Remember I went to visit Little Chalfont? 
Well there is now a blog/zine dedicated to the little deli run by Ella's mum, check it out at http://eatinnzine.tumblr.com/ it's only just started but looking destined for great things!
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escape to greece.

Since I can remember, my mum used to talk about her camping holidays in Corfu with her family when she was around my age, and the stories always intrigues me. Whilst I've been here and there in Europe, I'd always wanted to go to Corfu to help recreate the stories she told me in my mind.

So when my friend Leanne suggested going away for a last minute holiday there, I jumped at the chance. My parents had stashed away some money for my 21st which paid for the trip, allowing my to fulfil my longing of summer sunshine. Plus I'd never been to Greece before, and i'd recently discovered a new love for olives. Perfect.

However, it was Kavos we decided to go to...cue party central. 

Yet this didn't distract too much from the mediterranean beauty of the place, and the delicious traditional Greek food on offer...and to top it off, we arrived in the middle of a heat wave so there wasn't much to do except bask in the sunshine, swim in the clear blue sea and eat ice cream all day. It's a tough life huh?

in Norfolk, you need to be crazy to survive.

It was lovely to come back from the stress and exhaustion of finishing my university degree into the arms of some very old, dear, and slightly mental friends. We'd been friends since our first year of high school together, collecting a few comrades along the way.
But the thing I love about people and friends in Norfolk, is they never take themselves to seriously, and everything is so light-hearted, jokes are simple and pleasures can be found in the silliest of things. 
I was looking through some pictures we took at our friend Kerri's 21st and they just illustrate what I'm talking about...and I know i'll get into trouble for posting them but the faces say it all....eek!

And of course, to round the celebration of in style...

...only a bloody bouncy castle!


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the farrow family celebrates with good food.

Remember I'm offloading a backlog of images... well these images tell the story of when one of my Farrow uncles came to visit from the US of A.

I hadn't seen him for 5 years! Doesn't time fly? When I last saw him, I was in my first year of college and now, I've just finished  my third year of uni. I've really not got a clue where all the time has gone.

To celebrate, we did it in true Farrow/Marsh style...with fantastic food. I didn't take a picture of our main meal (I think perhaps because we were all starving and no one utter a grumble until our plate were cleared) We tucked into home barbecued rack of ribs and chicken pieces, my aunt's amazing georgian salad, cous cous with feta and olives, cheese bread, homemade spicy tzatziki and so many other tasty morsels.

The whole event was tinged with a little bit of sadness, considering the reason my US uncles was visiting was that his brother, my other uncle, was due to undergo a triple heart bypass the following week. (which was a flying success!)
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new addiction.

Oh. my. god.

I'm ashamed to say...I'm actually addicted to Jersey Shore, its an MTV(i think) big brother-stylee series where four guys and four girls live together for a summer, getting absolutely trashed and shagging about every night. I know. It's pure trash.

...but its just so goooood.

Not only this but I've become addicted the the UK versions Geordie Shore...having converted Ella as well.

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a month and a half by Mr Blackberry.

Beautiful rose bush at our Fairfield house before leaving. Lovely Farnham trees. Alpine strawberry flowers. Fruit bargains ready to be made into various jams. My uncle's homemade greenhouse and growing obsessions. Degree show. The final breakfast...cream tea = YUM. The final dinner a la Ella. The view from my brothers university halls = jealous. Moving home. Alpine strawbs = flavour explosion. Final goodbye. Chocolate fudge brownie. Pea love. Death by beetroot/hummus sandwich. My plant started growing. Strawberry picking with Mother. Basket of goodness. Free Ai Wei Wei @ Tate. Sushi love. London Liverpool Street Station. Seamstress by day. Mario and Luigi by night. Moustache. Coffee and walnut cake. Summer's first garden haul. I gave blood! Front garden cherry picking. Blackcurrant picking with the family. Abundant raspberry bushes. Homemade steak and kidney pie.......and *breathe*