We bought a house! It's been a long, stressful and bumpy ride, but now come the rewards. During the first couple of weeks after we moved in, I felt like we were
staying in a holiday home and expected we’d have to pack
up and leave at any moment. I was tiptoeing around the house, not quite coming to grips with the idea that it was ours.
Today, sitting
amongst our boxes, waiting for some of our furniture to be delivered,
it has started to sink in and although I am over the moon, I still can't
believe how lucky I am. I've got a home with The Man. In London. We can invite family to stay over, and organise dinner parties with our friends. We can choose the colour of the walls, invest time and money in making this house our home. Our home. I'm happy!
My Bircher Muesli
There probably are as many bircher muesli recipes are there are people making it. When I searched for the perfect recipe, I quickly found that from Hugh Ferney Wittingstall to Felicity Cloake, everyone has his take on the bircher muesli recipe. So I decided I would create my own and put the things I like in it. Thanks to the lime juice and fresh ginger, this one is fresh and tangy, and perfect for waking your taste buds up in the morning. As for the nuts and fresh fruits, I try new combinations every time I make a new batch. So go ahead, improvise!
Ingredients (for a bowl of bircher muesli) 6 tbsp organic rolled oats 1 tangy apple, such as granny smith or breaburn, coarsely grated 2 tbsp thick plain yogurt such as Total Greek Yogurt 2 tbsp orange juice (freshly pressed or from a bottle) 1 tbsp lime juice 2 tbsp nuts chopped (almonds, walnuts, pecans, etc) 1 small tbsp grains (pumpkin seeds, linseeds, etc) 1 tbsp runny honey (optional) a few fresh blueberries or raspberries a small 1/2 thumb sized of fresh grated ginger (optinal) milk, depending of the required consistency
Method to prepare the bircher muesli:
1/ The night before, place in a bowl
the rolled oats, the yogurt, the juices of orange and lime, the grated apple, the nuts and grains, and the grated ginger and honey (if used). Mix well and cover with cling film.
2/ In the morning, add the fresh fruits, and milk if you wish your bircher muesli to be runnier than it is. NB: if you like your nuts and grains very crunchy, add them at the last minute before serving rather than the night before.
The story goes that a Doctor Bircher-Benner from Zurick came up with the bircher muesli recipe. It has long been popular with vegetarians, but it has recently become increasingly trendy amongst the general public as it ticks many of the perfect breakfast's boxes : it fills you up, it is well-balanced, and packed with nutrients without being too fat or too sweet. And it's delicious, so no reason not to try it!
I've got a new passion. And it has a name: Elvis Presley.
It all started with The Man playing me records on Saturday mornings while I bake.
Since his music repertoire is much wider than mine (I am limited to
what airs on Magic 105.4fm), he constantly introduces me to lots of different
bands and music genres, including approachable bands and more obscure stuff.
Before long, The King became my favourite Saturday morning baking session soundtrack.
Still, the image I had of Elvis
tended to be of the overweight and drugged up 1974 version of him. Until
one day, The Man came home with the 68 Come Back Concert DVD, and I fell in love with the "cool as hell" Elvis.
From
his story and his songs, to his movies and interviews, I became a
little obsessed with everything touching Elvis, watched every youtube
video about him, and to this day am completely fascinated.
When I was a child, I loved going to the movies, mainly for the toffee popcorn from a brand called Baff that my mum would traditionally buy for us when she'd take us to the cinema Since then, I've been dreaming of re-creating a toffee popcorn as nice as this one. I'm not sure this taste exactly the same, but there definitely goes down like a treat!
Ingredients (for 2 people)
50g popping corn 20g muscovado sugar 6 tbsp golden syrup 40butter Prepare the toffee popcorn
1/ Warm the oven at 180deg C.
2/ In a medium pan with a lid, heat -on high heat- the corn without any oil or butter, shaking the pan regularly so the corn doesn't burn, until it starts popping. Reduce the heat and keep on shaking the pan regularly until you can't hear any popping sound anymore. Transfer the popped corn into a bowl. 3/ In a small pan, melt the butter, golden syrup, and cook on medium heat, mixing regularly, for about 3 to 4 minutes, until it thickens slightly. 4/ Slowly pour the toffee sauce on the popcorn, mixing continuously with a spatula (ideally silicone so the toffee sauce doesn't stick to it) until the popcorn ispretty much fully coated in toffee sauce. 5/ Transfer the toffee popcorn onto a oven tray lined with baking parchment and cook in the oven for 5 to 10 minutes (we're not really cooking the popcorn but more setting the toffee coating on it) 6/ Transfer to a serving bowl and enjoy with a good DVD!
