Alex Monroe - Shrimps for tea at The Goring

Alex Monroe is one of my top British designer-makers - his handmade silver and gold necklaces, bracelets and earrings, inspired by nature have beautiful detail and are very wearable, especially when you want to have a little bit of twinkle or sparkle for your everyday. The Bumblebee is a classic piece, adorning the neck of many fashion gals - but I prefer the quirky charm of this SHRIMP! It's black pearl eyes! and the way it is suspended from the chain by its whiskers (is that what they are called?)!
The necklace is inspired by Alex's childhood teatimes in Suffolk, it is exclusive to The Goring Hotel for the month of May 2012. Now all I need is for someone to offer to take me out to tea at The Goring - dainty sandwiches and pretty jewellery are my dream combo. More info about the Goring Shrimp on the Alex Monroe blog here.

Olympic Biscuiteers

Want to get into the Olympic 2012 spirit, but can't bring yourself to purchase something with that logo on it? The Biscuiteers, fine artists of the tea time treat (or anytime treat in my case), have created this collection of stylish biscuits to celebrate the Games coming to London this summer - with no hint of graffiti-inspired imagery in their icing embroidery.

As I haven't got any tickets for the Olympics, I shall console myself by eating sporty biscuits instead, starting with the Gold medal.

The Biscuiteers make biscuits to celebrate every kind of happy moment you can think of, as well as those occasions when you want to say sorry, say thank you, or say it with knickers.

Chocs, cakes, sweets and gingerbread guys and gals also available - all of which can be delivered to UK or international addresses.

on a spree to New York - food

No spree is complete without a little snack or two. I didn't eat at all these places, if I had I would have been as a big as a jumbo jet by the time I left. In many cases I liked the shop fronts and fonts.

Actually, just looking at the evidence below, I did sample quite a lot of the food...

Yonah Shimmel Knish bakery on East Houston Street

 I had a mushroom knish on my first visit - I had to return to get a blueberry cheese knish on my last day (very tasty but I couldn't finish it, 'twas huge and very filling)

Moishe's Bake Shop on 3rd Avenue in the East Village, spotted when I arrived by cab from JFK, in a jet lagged haze, mighty relieved to have found it as the baked goods were very fine

Blimpie - home of the sub sandwich (presumably a reference to the shape of sandwich, rather than the size you will be if you eat a lot of these)

Russ & Daughters, East Houston Street, for delicious smoked fish

Nathan's - home of the Coney Island hotdog

yes, I did eat one of these - tasted pretty good at 11am - I was on a tight schedule, had to get to Park Slope in Brooklyn for the afternoon

Chock full o' nuts on 23rd Street (between 7th & 8th Ave)

Halloween Biscuiteers

Halloween is nearly over for another year - the candles have gone out in the pumpkins, the apple bobbing is done (my favourite game as a child), the trick or treating swag eaten - but I couldn't resist these from the Biscuiteers.

£38.50 for up to 16 biscuits in a tin (plus £3.90 1st class recorded), £30 for up to 9 biscuits in a tin (plus £3.40 1st class recorded).

Vogue Fashion Night Out: Belle & Bunty and Sweet Couture cakes

Last week I popped along to see some of Belle & Bunty's beautiful frocks in the Sweet Couture cake shop in Covent Garden at the Vogue Fashion Night Out. The frocks were gorgeous, as always - the cakes were delish. But surely this is a dynamite combination?

Mrs O's W.I. moment 2011 - Gloucestershire apple and ginger jelly

A weekend in Gloucestershire drinking up the last of the summer sun and picking up windfalls. Time for apple and ginger jelly. I am not a purist, and proudly use Certo - bottled pectin - to ensure it sets every time. Well, almost.

This recipe is a mash-up of recipes from Cook It Simply and Certo.

Ingredients:

2kg cooking apples / crab apples

1.5 litres water (enough to cover the apple)

50g root ginger

sugar (see method)

1 bottle Certo

Method:

1. Wash and roughly chop up the apples - removing bruised bits.

2. Peel, chop and bruise the ginger.

3. Use enough water to cover the apples and ginger - simmering for approx 30 mins, until tender, using a potato masher to squish them up.

4. Put in jelly bag, and allow to drip over night - I string up the jelly bag under a chair, but you can buy those on-the-counter jelly strainer kits from places like Lakeland.

5. Pour the juice into a pan, adding the sugar: 800g per 1 litre juice.

6. Heat slowly, stirring occasionally, until the sugar has dissolved - add a small piece of butter to reduce foaming.

7. Add Certo (1 bottle), stirring occasionally, then bring to a full rolling boil and boil for 1 minute.

8. Remove from the heat and test for set - this can be done by putting a few drops of liquid jelly onto a plate, allowing to cool (put into fridge) and pushing with your finger to see if it wrinkles.

9. Once the liquid jelly has cooled a little, skim it (the butter will have reduced foaming but there will still be some to skim off) and pot in sterilised jars - these can be done very easily in the dishwasher. If your dishwasher has a long cycle, then set it off long in advance of the jelly-making process. You can also wash the jars up by hand, and dry in a moderate-heat oven - but last time I did this, the jars got too hot and cracked when I poured in the jelly, so I favour the dishwasher method.

10. Allow the jelly to set - this could take a week or so if there is a low pectin content.

Mrs Osborn goes on a spree to Edinburgh - part 2

If you wade your way through the shops selling the touristy tat / fudge / Princess Diana tartans (eh?) you can find some fantastic little shops right in the heart of Edinburgh

The Scottish Soapworks on the Royal Mile, 263 Canongate.
(note: the soapy smells emanating from this shop is kind to the nostrils,
unlike the smell of Lush which shrivels the olfactory nerve from 100 yards)

These are cute: Scottish Fine Soaps soaps in tins,  also available in tins that say: Happy Birthday or I Love You price £4.95

Fabhatrix in Cowgatehead. Sadly, there are not enough occasions in my life when a hat (and gloves) are required - otherwise I would be a regular here

A fruit-feather cocktail for your head

Lickety Splits on Jeffrey Street, full of sweet goodness

Architects near to Bruntsfield Links - error on my part not to take note of the road name so I don't know who these chaps are, other than that they are Architects (yeah! architect love!)

The Biscuiteers: Beside the Seaside biscuits

The Biscuiteers have made this lovely box of seaside biscuits - if summer holidays mean sitting in the local sandpit with your kids, rather than sunbathing on the Med, there's nowt wrong with a bit of comfort eating.  Get stuck into these iced chocolate biscuits. Available to order here - £38 for 16  biscuits.

golden apple from Clara Francis

Just plucked from the Clara Francis jewellery tree is this beautiful golden apple:

Available in silver (£75), and gold-plated silver (£85), exclusive to her blog - to pick this perfect jewel for Spring email: shop@clarafrancis.co.uk

Clara also makes the most exquisite beaded flowers, butterflies and other creatures which are fashioned into necklaces, brooches and earrings - I found these at London Fashion Weekend and the Primrose Hill Designer Fair. Tiny beads create incredible detail, as though these jewels have been painted by a fine artist.

Find more of Clara's beautiful jewellery on her website - the hardest thing will be stopping yourself from buying one of everything.

Soaps by SoapyChica

Soap that looks like posh fondants and chocolates made by SoapyChica, available from their Etsy shop.

Mrs Osborn goes on a spree to the Spirit of Summer show

On Thursday last week, I popped along to the Spirit of Summer show at Olympia in West Ken.

First of all, admire the beautiful building with its impressive arched roof.

Next stop - refreshments...these Creole soda breads made by Global Fusion, the Vegan Creole Bakery were *amazing*.  Fantastic flavours and combinations such as mango, and carrot and cherry had people flocking to the stall to sample just one more bit - they have a cake-like texture, but because they are breads, they have around half the amount of fat and sugar found in cakes. 

I bought a carrot and ginger bread-cake, which I attacked on the no.10 bus on my way home. Lucky I had a whole loaf to keep me company - the bus crawled back to Oxford Street.

Global Fusion sell their delicious goods at various farmer's markets: Stoke Newington, Brixton, Islington, Wanstead, Walthamstow and Wimbledon.

Coming up in the next post will be my pick of the Spirit of Summer show.

jewellery good enough to eat from Alex Monroe

Who cannot resist these pretty jewels by Alex Monroe that are good enough to eat?

Apple and green tourmaline necklace £108

Juicy Pear necklace £120 - a personal favourite, perhaps because of pear-almond-chocolate cake, which is 'cake of the month' chez Osborn

Peapod earrings £114, which I love because even though my twins are not identical, they are like 'two peas in a pod'

Strawberry and pink tourmaline earrings £99 - June is just around the corner, and so is strawberry cake

Made in Cumbria - sweet stuff

If you haven't had your fill of Easter eggs, and you need more sweet stuff, here are a couple of favourites:
Kendal mintcake - the best is Quiggins, in my opinion (according to their website it has been in production since 1880, longer than any other company) - super sweet of course as it is just sugar and peppermint, but crumbly rather than tooth-crackingly hard like Romneys:

and Cartmel Sticky Toffee Pudding available from the Cartmel Village Shop

Royal Wedding - The Biscuiteers

This is not food, this is art: Royal Wedding biscuits from the amazing Biscuiteers - I'd love to watch the Royal Wedding in peace and quiet, sipping earl grey from a dainty tea cup, and nibbling on a fine biccie from the Biscuiteer.

If you are inspired to make your own, this fabulous blog Glorious Treats will show you how to ice biscuits - there are some pretty Easter biscuits which (excuse the cliche) look too good to eat.

Cressida Bell's recipes (and scarves too)

For those that eat often at Chez Obsorn, it can be a problem that the menu has little variation.  Spring brings a collective sigh of relief at the end of the lasagne and fish pie season, and heralds the beginning of a different kind of monotony for six months.

I like this poster by Cressida Bell a lot, and not just because of the design.

Taking a simple trio of ingredients (onions, tomoatos and beans), Cressida has 16 recipes for meat eaters on one poster, and 16 recipes for vegetarians on another.  It's aimed at students, many of whom are fending for themselves for the first time (but if, by some miracle, my children can afford to go to Uni, I hope they will be able to cook before they get there) - hence the poster style.  But this would not look out of place at Chez Osborn or any other reputable family 'restaurant' you know.

Cressida Bell is first and foremost a textile designer, of accessories and things for the home.  She has some beautiful scarves - a friend has the delphiniums; I rather like the look of the ibis print:

Mrs O's W.I. moment: Seville Orange Marmelade

I made some seville orange marmalade yesterday evening. At midnight, when setting point seemed a long way off, I followed a top tip from The Cottage Smallholder to add more lemon juice, and I have this morning been rewarded with some perfectly soft-set marmalade with a good bitter-sweet flavour.