Event: #GoogleCityExperts Galactic Gala

Edinburgh: Home of the Festivals. So much better as a slogan than Edinburgh: Inspiring Capital, don't you think? One of the things I love about this fair city is that there is pretty much always someone celebrating something. The number of festivals is, quite frankly, ridiculous..

The Edinburgh Science Festival kicks off the season, with a comparatively low key repertoire of events. In the past, I've not been to any of the offerings as they've either been aimed at kids or adults with more than a GCSE level of understanding. When the programme was published this year I was more enthusiastic, until I realised that the festival coincided with The Fitting Of The Kitchen (more on that later) and that most of the food-themed events were therefore a little out of my budget.

I was therefore really quite excited when Google announced that they would be hosting a CityExpertsEdinburgh event in association with Summerhall and the Science Festival. I've been to a couple of their events before and had a great time - they are such a great way of meeting other Edinburgh fans and seeing spots of the city which I wouldn't often go to otherwise. Having spent most of the afternoon queueing in Ikea, the thought of a gin and tonic and some fun was needed.

The evening kicked off with a welcome talk about the Science Festival, by a lady who may have been a scientist, but I was mostly enamoured by her story about the first cat to be sent in to space (Felix).

We found the bar (courtesy of Google, thanks chaps!) - a gin fizz (with popping candy!) for me, and a Science Festival special beer for Mr F…

… and found our friends, who were excitedly watching a demonstration of Space Sorbet. Cava, apple juice and fresh raspberries, with a side helping of LN₂ to help it set. Easily the smoothest sorbet I've ever eaten - the Liquid Nitrogen's scarily low temperature flash froze the sorbet mixture, creating minuscule ice crystals.

We wandered over to the space building blocks - unusual almost-square shapes, which connect with teeth similar to zips and make lightweight but surprisingly strong structures. At the moment they're a prototype created in Edinburgh, but I wouldn't be surprised if they're a Christmas hit soon - my friend was desperate to buy some for his lego mad nephew. It was at this point I realised I do not have a particularly 3D mind, and spent ten minutes happily building a crown while Mr F made a spaceman.

There was a snacks table! Flying saucers, bubblegum spheres, wham! bars and Space Raider crisps. Childhood memories, right there to help yourself to. The highlight though were these incredible teacakes. Gooey fluffy mallow in a wafer thin chocolate shell, with the most delicious salted caramel I have ever had (and I've had quite a lot).

After topping up our sugar levels we wandered on, to hear a talk about asteroids, comets and meteors, complete with demonstration on how to make your own (dry ice and soil, apparently).

And then I spotted a 3D printer and got overexcited. The first time I saw a 3D printer was back in my first year of university, when it was not far off the size of a small car. If I remember correctly, it printed into sand and was hugely expensive to run, so much so that Design students had to have their work approved before printing. To see one the size of a laser printer in action just ten years later was slightly mind-boggling.

We skipped over the next table as it involved insects. I'm not overly averse to the idea of an edible insect, as long as it doesn't look at me before I eat it, so to see some live ones roaming around cartons was slightly too much for me to handle.

We were disappointed not to have managed to get a slot for the pop-up planetarium, which sounded rather brilliant, but all in all, still a particularly fun and sort-of educational way to spend a Sunday evening.

Recipe: Earl Grey Tea Loaf

Just before Christmas I did my usual trick of buying lots of random ingredients to make something specific with (in this case, mixed peel) and then promptly running out of time to make said recipe (in this case, homemade mince for pies).
I had a vague idea of wanting to make a cake with it - but trawling through my books and googling didn't really throw up anything that inspired me, so I decided to adapt a standard tea loaf recipe instead. I'll be honest, usually this doesn't work and I end up swearing and threatening never to bake again, but I'm feeling so smug that this time it has, I'm feeling the need to share.

A note on tea loafs: apparently (at least, according to Wikipedia) tea loafs are unfashionable. This baffles me somewhat, although as a Yorkshire lass, tea runs through my veins. I think, though, that they might have gone out of fashion because they're simple and reminiscent of postwar austerity. The lack of butter, which would have made them easier to make in rationing times than your average cake, means that they're virtually fat free - so you can freely slather the butter on top instead.

Earl Grey Tea Loaf.

100g mixed peel
180g raisins and sultanas (I used a mixed bag which contained both, as well as cranberries)
1 tbsp lemon juice
250ml hot, very very strong, Earl Grey Tea
340g self raising flour
110g light brown sugar
2tsp mixed spice
1 egg

Soak the raisins and sultanas in the hot tea until the tea is cool, or for around about an hour. Meanwhile, preheat the oven to 180C fan (or 160 non fan) and line a large loaf tin (it might stick to the greaseproof paper a bit, so line carefully!).

In a large mixing bowl, cream together the sugar and egg, add in the flour and mixed spice. Add in the tea slowly, beating well, but leaving the fruit behind for the moment so it doesn't get mashed up. Use electric whisks if you have them, it saves a lot of time and arm ache. It will be much more like a bread dough in texture than a cake batter once the liquid is all mixed in.

Add in the fruit and peel, and lemon juice, with a spoon rather than a whisk, to keep them whole.

Bake for about 45 minutes, until golden on top and a knitting needle comes out hot and clean. Take out of the tin to cool on a wire rack or breadboard. It keeps for several days in an airtight tin.

Recipe: Hot Buttered Rum (or Whisky...)

I have had one of those low level colds for a couple of weeks, and it is refusing to budge. You know the type - you don't feel 'well' but you're not poorly enough to be off work, so you spend most of your time wandering around the office feeling tired and being a little bit cranky. Anyway - as someone who doesn't get ill very often, I am rubbish at knowing what to do to make it go away faster. I have been downing hot Ribena during the day (my boss swears it had magical properties) but frankly on an evening I want something more substantial.

I have been a firm believer in a hot toddy in the past. Maybe it's the booze that sends me to sleep. Maybe it's the honey and lemon which have antibacterial properties. I don't know. But - in the last couple of weeks I just havn't managed to make them "right". And so, I turned to an alternative.  

I've called this Hot Buttered Rum, but I made it with Irish whiskey, because there wasn't any rum in the house and obtaining some would have meant going outside. It was delicious. It's also a bit of a cheat's version of the American recipes I found online, in that it has fewer ingredients. After all, if you're poorly, you want something quick and comforting without a load of random ingredients that you have to go outside for.

Hot Butter Spice Mix
Makes about 30 portions

100g unsalted butter
200g dark brown (muscovado) sugar
2 teaspoons mixed spice
1 teaspoon cardamom seeds, ground or bashed up
1/2 tsp salt
1 tsp vanilla extract

Cream together the butter and sugar with an electric whisk or wooden spoon, then beat in the other ingredients. It's easiest if you use room temperature butter cut into cubes.
Spread the mix out into a rough line in greaseproof paper, leaving a couple of inches at either end of the paper.
Roll the mix into a sausage, twist the two ends in opposite directions so that it looks like a cracker, and roll again.

To Serve

10g of butter mix
25g rum, whisky or Irish whiskey
75ml boiled water
lemon to taste

Layer up your ingredients in a cup or heatproof glass. Sip while hot.

The mix will keep in the freezer in a tupperware, still in the greaseproof paper, for around six months - just slice off a cm or so (about 10g) with a sharp knife whenever you're in need of comfort. Don't bother using posh booze, and feel free to experiment by using hot apple juice or a dash of lemon to taste.

Review: Juniper

Friday nights are usually a bit of a washout for me, which is a shame because really they should be celebrated. After all, for most of us (I know, I know, not all of us) they mark The Start Of The Weekend. They should not be spent watching films in my pyjamas and falling asleep on the sofa before 10pm, which ironically tends to be the earliest night I get all week. 

I’ve been hearing murmurings about Juniper, and it’s neighbouring restaurant Twenty Princes Street for a while, but it never really struck me as somewhere to head to (I am far too much a creature of habit for my own good) until a friend commented on how much she liked it there for an after work drink. A little bit of menu perving, a perusal of the cocktail list, and the discovery of their Friday Fondue, it was firmly on the list. A plan was formed. February Friday Fondue would be had.

I emailed ahead and asked for a window table so that we could enjoy the view of the city skyline, which was probably a good idea as by 5.30, it was fairly busy.

Incredible view of the skyline

We perused the drinks menu, raised an eyebrow at the use of whiskey-with-an-e above the Scotch list, and were slightly overwhelmed by the range of cocktails. We decided to be awkward and went off menu to order a couple of our favourite classics - an Aviation and a Whiskey Sour. 

Aviation

The fondue dipping agents

Our drinks didn't take long, and the fondue arrived shortly afterwards. We had opted for a chilli and Innis and Gunn infused cheesy sauce (the alternative cheesy option being cider and bacon) which was tasty, but not obviously infused with such a strong tasting beer. The portion of sauce was generous - no worries about running out of cheese before you've finished the crudités and dipping treats. The dipping treats were perfect - a range of crunchy veg and soft meats and fish, rather than the cheap bread and potatoes I had expected to be filling up on (note: if you're ravenous, order a side of chips for a carbohydrate hit).

The fondue was devoured, we were happy, and decided to pick another cocktail for pudding. The mister was unadventurous and opted for the same again, but I was in the mood for something sweeter, and braved the Caramel-Saltra from the menu. 

Caramel-Sutra

It was tasty, but I wasn't convinved about Genever as the spirit - it was a bit of a harsh aftertaste, and is traditionally drank neat or with water. I got the impression that this was a cocktail which was trying a bit too hard to be interesting. The little bottle was a sweet presentation tool, but as the mister pointed out (he's a former bar manager, and therefore a bit picky with his cocktails) it meant that I lost some of the effect of the cocktail itself, as the smell and colour were hidden.

We stumbled back down the stairs into the chilly air, slightly tipsy, slightly cheese-drunk. An excellent start to the weekend, one I have no doubt we'll be repeating, although possibly sipping wine instead of cocktails.

Four cocktails and fondue for two: £46

(Apparently you get a discretionary 20% discount for wearing your workwear, but we seemed to miss out on that, presumably as neither of us wear suits to work).

Juniper

20 Princes Street

Edinburgh

Midlothian

EH2 2AN

Rubbish phone pictures by me - top picture from the Juniper website.

Recipe: Coconut Macaroons

A while ago I posted a recipe for Fifteens, a Northern Irish tray-bake which requires a dusting of desiccated coconut around the outside. Unfortunately (or maybe fortunately), the only bag I could get was 500g, and therefore I ended up with nearly half a kilo in my cupboard and no idea what to do with it. In an attempt to cut down the contents of my tiny kitchen in anticipation of a revamp, I have been trying to use up all of the random tins and packages. The desiccated coconut, however, baffled me somewhat, and so I did what everyone does nowadays when they are not sure about something. I googled.

Macaroons! Marvellous! 

Most of the recipes I found were American. Apparently they are particularly favoured by the Jewish community as Passover treats, because they don't contain a raising agent or any of the forbidden grains - essentially they are a type of enriched meringue. I'm not sure which came first - these ones or the French ones which are on their way out of being in vogue.

There are four reasons I love this recipe. 

1. It's really easy.

2. It only needs 3 ingredients.

3. It's the ultimate go-to for friends with allergies or intolerances: gluten free, dairy free, and low fat. 

4. The low fat bit means you can eat twice as many. Super. 

Makes about 30.

2 eggs, separated.

125g caster sugar

250g dessicated coconut 

(Optional - 1tsp vanilla extract)

Separate the eggs - you only need the whites. You could use the eggs for custard or mayonnaise. 

Whisk the whites in a large bowl, adding the sugar a tablespoon at a time, until they form "stiff peaks" (or, until they go from see-through to white and firm).

Whisk in the coconut.

If you leave the mix on the side for half an hour, then the coconut will soften slightly, but you don't need to if you're impatient or tight for time.

Using two teaspoons, scoop the mixture into balls, about the size of a walnut, and pop them onto a non-stick baking tray. I found that my metal one, lined with parchment, cooked them better than a silicone one.

Bake at 180C for 8-10 minutes, until they start to turn golden. They will still feel soft to touch when you take them out of the oven but they'll crisp up, so don't put them back or they will dry out. 

Allow to cool on the tray before storing in an airtight tupperware. 

These go really well with hot chocolate or coffee - if you're a fan of glacé cherries then press half a cherry into the top of each ball prior to baking. Alternatively, drizzling them with melted chocolate while they are cooling is always an excellent idea.

Edinburgh: Winter Light

January was busy. That's a good thing - it provided an alleviation of the blues which normally hang around. It's not been a particularly cool and crisp January. The snow hasn't come, so the skies have been less bright, more overcast this year. Without the Christmas lights, it's been easy to feel that it's been a dark and damp month. I've been trying to focus on the beauty of the winter light as the days lengthen. It is definitely a redeeming feature of this time of year. There have been occasional blue skies to enjoy, icy mornings and red skies. Green tips are already starting to come through in the parks. It feels like Spring is on its way.

Morning light, sunrise from Princes Street.

Red sky in the morning. Sunrise on my walk to work.

Sunrise over Calton Hill. 

Winter light on a frosty afternoon. Beach walk, Helen's Bay, Northern Ireland.

Evening light over Calton Hill. 

Yorkshire: Betty's Cafe and Tea Rooms

When I was little, we had a tradition of going to Betty's. We used to go fairly often - it was the default spot for birthday celebrations. I think it's where my love of afternoon tea comes from.

I have fond memories of their beautiful tearooms, trimmed with shelves of tea pots and with the gentle soundtrack of a pianist, who appeared in their Ilkley tearooms on a Sunday. There was the time that, after they started trimming the crusts off sandwiches, my mum sent them back because "there was half missing now". There was the afternoon tea when the pianist played "happy birthday" to me and the waitress sang. There were Yorkshire Curd tarts, toasted tea cakes and Rosti's. There were our favourites, the usuals, the Welsh Rarebits and Vanilla slices, and the fruit tarts with confectioners custards. 

For years, we went on Christmas Eve to the Ilkley tea room. It was somewhat of a ritual - a country drive over, a treat to eat, and a drive back home in the early evening, admiring the lights on trees and festive decorations. 

2013 was the first year in quite a few that I've spent Christmas in Yorkshire. Although my parents have both moved away from the area I grew up in, it was so lovely to be back. Staying near York meant that a trip to Betty's on Christmas was a necessity...

Betty's, Stonegate, York

Seasonal menu, with Christmas specials

It's the little things that make it special - the silver tea set, the automatic hot water, and the drip absorbers on the saucers!

China teacups

My favourite: Welsh rarebit, with bacon and chutneys. 

Mr F had a chicken, bacon and gruyere rosti

Lamps, complete with mice. Betty's cafes have these beautiful wooden carvings by the Yorkshire Mouseman. 

The beautiful shop

Gift packages of tea and coffee

Beautiful wooden drawers

Christmas gifts on display

Cakes to take home

Treats for later

Adorable seasonal specials

My supper - a vanilla sponge with buttercream and soft marzipan decoration

Mr F's cherry and chocolate treat

Forward Planning for 2014

The view of the Hogmanay fireworks from my living room. 

It's not the end of the festive season yet. I have the luxury of not having to go to work until 8.15 tomorrow morning, which means that it is still the "holidays". Sort of. I've had a fortnight off, which has been utterly lovely, but incredibly busy. The first week was spent in Yorkshire, seeing family and friends, and "doing" Christmas. The second week has been mostly spent in Edinburgh, and it's gone way too quickly. In a good way - full of friends and cake - but I am feeling a bit overwhelmed about the list of tasks which I've not got around to doing. I always have grand plans for productivity for holidays, which always fall by the wayside.

I've spent the first few days of 2014 doing a bit of forward planning. I find list writing therapeutic, which is probably how I am now addicted to Pinterest. How did I not discover it before? I've decided against resolutions for 2014, and instead have decided to adopt a word, after seeing a few people discussing it on twitter. I like it. It's a lot more positive.

credit

I will grow fruit and vegetables. Last year I took my first step onto the property ladder. Although I am on the top floor, my flat does have shared access to a garden. It's not received any love for a couple of years, so I have decided to take over part of it and attempt a vegetable plot. I am excited, but also have no idea how or where to start. 

I will grow fitter and stronger. I will continue walking home from work, and try harder to allow time to walk there too. I will swim more regularly, because it is relaxing as well as strengthening. I would like to get strong enough to move into the advanced Pilates class.

I will grow my recipe repertoire. I tend to cook the same things on a rotational basis for weekday dinners, so I will try some new ideas and think outside the box a little more.

I will grow my skills. I will practice my photography and learn how to use editing software. I will remind myself how to sew. I will crochet, because it is both relaxing and satisfying. I will write more, because I enjoy it, and because you don't get better at something unless you practice. 

credit

Crafting: A Decoupage Toy Box

In an attempt to continue the "useful or beautiful" theme with Christmas presents this year, I decided to be slightly boring and email my stepsister to ask what my nephew would like (or rather, what she would like) for his Christmas and first birthday presents. 

She had decided that she was going to ask people not to give him a gift, but to donate a toy to an appeal instead. Or, if they really wanted to get him something, to choose a book or toy from a charity shop, as he has a lot already.

It was with that in mind that I offered to make something for him. The craft bug has apparently bitten, despite the Wreath Incident. I debated a crochet blanket, but after seeing an Instagram picture of Penny's incredible Spiderman comic wardrobe, I was inspired. 

On one of my lunch time walks around the charity shops near where I work, I saw a wooden toy chest for sale for £5. An idea was formed…

I started off by searching out comics. This was a lot harder than I thought it was going to be - in the end, I found some at the car boot sale I bought quite a few of my other gifts from - but only because my boyfriend stumbled across a stall where a boy and his dad were selling some of his old toys. He asked if they had any comics, and sure enough a huge stack was produced from the back of the car for 10p each - a bargain. 

I sanded down a couple of parts of the box - it had been drawn on a bit by the previous owners, and had a large blob of the ubiquitous glitter glue on the top! I then painted it with a satin effect wood paint (which we had lying around the house from decorating our living room). Satin has a much smoother finish than gloss, which makes it a lot easier to slap on! It took a couple of coats. I also painted the top (only one goat), even though I was going to decorate it, as I'd read online that wood absorbs the glue very quickly and the pictures peel off.

I then started to arrange my pictures on top (arrange them first! It's time consuming but makes sure you don't end up bunching all the same colours, and that you have enough). I glued them down using PVA - you can buy specialist decoupage glue, but it's very expensive and I didn't think it would arrive in time. The glue does wrinkle the paper somewhat. I discovered that by glueing the surface rather than the paper, this was reduced a bit, but you still have to smooth it down carefully. Most of the wrinkles do disappear as it dries. 

I finished it with three layers of clear varnish (again, using something that we had in the house, a wood varnish which was leftover from renovating our floorboards). The first coat did make the paper slightly see-through but that disappeared as it dried. I also hit on the slightly more childproof idea of covering it in sticky backed plastic, to preserve the top - but that idea occurred to me on Christmas Day, by which point it was a bit late. 

Simple, heartfelt and really rather frugal - the whole project cost me less than £10 - and even if I do say so myself, I suspect it will be around for longer than yet another plastic toy.

Share Advent: Recipe - Peppermint Bark

A couple of posts ago I mentioned that I am not such a fan of Christmas presents. I've been mulling it over quite a bit in the last few weeks, thinking about what Christmas means to me. It's not the presents themselves that I object to. It's the hype that comes with it all. We seem to be moving away from the winter festivals and celebrations of light, the bringing together of family and friends, the sense of being grateful for what we have, and a quiet optimism about the coming year. That saddens me. I have really come around to the notion that maybe Christmas doesn't come from a store - maybe Christmas means a little bit more.

As I mentioned in the other post, this year I am trying to personalise presents - choosing things that are either practical or beautiful. Or tasty. Or combinations of the three.

It was in the spirit of this notion Mr F and I spent several nights this week playing with chocolate. As well as some fruit and nut concoctions, we also made quite a lot of peppermint bark.

I love the bright pink candy canes against the dark chocolate

Makes 1 large slab

1 bar good quality dark chocolate

1 bar good quality white chocolate 

3 striped peppermint candy canes

Melt your dark chocolate. Either do this in a bowl over boiling water (making sure you don't get water in the bowl), or in the microwave (making sure you do it slowly, stirring in any last few chunks of unmelted chocolate. If overheated, it'll burn and become gritty and bitter). 

Pour it into Tupperware - about 0.5cm thick. You can either do one huge piece, and break it up into shards, or a couple of smaller slabs, depending on how you like your presentation. Allow to cool for half an hour at room temperature. 

Meanwhile, bash up the candy canes. I find it easiest to put them in a sandwich bag and whack them with a rolling pin.

Melt your white chocolate. 

Drizzle the white chocolate on top. 

Sprinkle over the candy canes. 

Leave at room temperature to cool before wrapping. Store out of the fridge in a cool dark place. 

Share Advent: Remembrance - Ghost Signs

One of the things I really enjoy about Edinburgh is that so much of the historic city has been preserved. I suspect that large parts of this are down to the practicalities and longevity of older architecture just as much as the more recent restrictions from UNESCO, but I enjoy my scenery daily and am glad that it remains.

As you would expect from a city which grew from the amalgamation of villages, there are very strong and distinct characteristics of the different parts of Edinburgh. For example, Leith, which wasn’t part of the city until the 1920s, was once home to dockers before becoming known as the setting Trainspotting. It’s slowly regenerating into an area favoured by small businesses, artists and first time buyers. Stockbridge, which until fairly recently had a reputation as a “bohemian” area bordered by slum tenements, inhabited by artists and interesting characters (including the infamous Madame Doubtfire), has now become a fringe area of the New Town – an aspirational suburb for those looking to move up the hill towards Adam’s famous masterpiece of town planning.

The old and the new don’t sit side by side easily in Edinburgh. New buildings, particularly in the Old and New Towns and the protected areas around them, are controversial. New shops, cafes and restaurants also cause uproar, particularly if they are part of a chain, or dare to open on the former site of an establishment which everyone claimed to adore, but noone ever found the time to pop into. And yet – I do find myself wondering how much of the old architecture people really pay attention to. There is no doubting that the city is one of the most beautiful in the world – but how often do the locals stop and look around us? How many people know the story of the areas in which we live and work?

I studied History at university – that was what first brought me to Edinburgh. I was only planning on being here a year, but it’s now been five and I’ve not quite got around to leaving. As a cultural history geek, I love the occasional reminders of how Edinburgh has changed. The more I get to know the city, the more I walk around town exploring new routes and visiting new places, the more I find.

I've recently developed a little obsession with Ghost Signs. They can tell us so much about the city's past, and the inhabitants of it. It's usually the smaller ones, the names and services on offer next to the entrance to a tenement stair, that I am drawn to. I find them particularly evocative - memories of who lived in an old Edinburgh. 

Great Junction Street, Leith

Great Junction Street, Leith

"Ship Builder & Ironmongers" Union Place,  Leith Walk

South Bridge, Old Town.

"Rooms To Let. Apply to 98 South Bridge" Drummond Street, Old Town.

"T. M Ramsay. Ladies Tailor. Gents Tailor" Leith Walk.

"Victoria India Rubber Mills" Leith Walk. 

Candlemaker Row, Old Town.

Candlemaker Row, Old Town.