birthday cake

Yesterday morning, rather than ordering our usual sugar pretzel and bun at Bageriet, we celebrated with two slices of prinsesstårta (princess cake). With layers of lighter-than-air sponge, raspberry jam, vanilla custard, and whipped cream, all enclosed in a thin layer of marzipan, it is indeed fit for a princess--or a birthday girl!

Princess cake is usually topped with a pink marzipan rose. But why stop with one rose when you can have a whole bunch (spotted outside Liberty)...

and maybe a few scoops of ice cream too, or at least a new book (from the new Foyles) to add to the ice cream-making library:

Because surely there must be some consolations for turning another year older...

double feature

Our version of a double feature: two movies over two weekends--extending the enjoyment!

The weekend before last, we took the train into London to see Finding Vivian Maier, a documentary about a nanny who took over 100,000 photographs, mainly on the streets of New York and Chicago: 

While her photographs are now being compared to those of Henri Cartier-Bresson and Diane Arbus, her work only came to light when historian John Maloof happened to buy a box of her undeveloped negatives at a local auction in 2007. In the documentary, Maloof tries to piece together her enigmatic, eccentric, occasionally disturbing, and perhaps ultimately unknowable life. Completely riveting and without doubt my favorite film of the year so far.

Then, this past weekend, after a tip-off from Miranda, we popped into the Olympic Studios in Barnes. Our hope was we would find a venue like our beloved Cinema City in Norwich, and it didn't disappoint.

The Studios themselves have an interesting history. Starting as a 'community entertainment centre' in 1906, the building served alternately as a cinema and playhouse until 1966, when it was converted into the Olympic Sound Studios. And an amazing who's-who of stars recorded there: everyone from the Rolling Stones, David Bowie, Pink Floyd, and Queen to Madonna, Prince, and U2.

While we sadly weren't joined by The Edge at lunch, we were nevertheless smitten with the Olympic's newest incarnation. I had a very tasty Reuben sandwich in the cafe:

And the cinema itself was chic, spotlessly clean, and supremely comfortable with reclining upholstered chairs and little felt-lined trays for drinks and snacks. Oh and the movie was good too!

a jolly nice day

We don't get to North London often, but we simply had to visit KERB's Ice Cream Adventure at King's Cross! So we made a complete day of it, starting at Kipferl in Camden Passage, a modern Viennese cafe with the most delicious breakfasts and good strong coffee:

Properly caffeinated, we popped along to Loop, where I resisted the pull of the sock yarn, but did leave with a card of vintage French buttons.

Just past Angel, we stopped by The FARA Workshop, where young designer-makers rework clothing and fabrics donated to the FARA charity shops, upcycling them into new, one-of-a-kind fashions.

The shop's stylish collection includes both men's and women's wear with a modern, minimalist cut--think Japanese pattern books--and all the sewing is done on-site, so even on a Saturday, you can see the sewists at work:

Then it was just a short hop on the Tube to King's Cross and Granary Square for KERB:

We were sidetracked by the House of Illustration's Quentin Blake exhibition, a definite must-see,

but we could only hold out for so long before diving into the ice cream!

We sampled some amazing flavors at Sorbitium Ices: Toasted Rice and Coconut, Fresh Peach, and Rose Geranium...

But our favorites of the day were from Jolly Nice... G had Beer and Bar Nuts to go with his half-pint of lager from the beer tent (!) and my top pick, after several scrumptious samples, was Pineapple Custard--absolutely divine! And the nicest vendors too:

Now that's a jolly nice day indeed!

kerb

This weekend, passing through the Southbank Centre on our way to Waterloo, we unexpectedly found ourselves in a KERB street food market:

KERB runs street food sites across London. The main pitch is at Granary Square, King's Cross, but they also roll up at the Gherkin (very appropriate!) and Spitalfields for regular lunch dates.

I've never felt comfortable eating standing up, or even forgoing plates and cutlery, but after exploring the market this weekend, I see I must overcome my inhibitions. KERB has so many amazing traders offering such a remarkable range--from savory to sweet, familiar to exotic--and with names like Fleisch Mob, Mother Flipper, and Yum Bun, it's hard to resist!

On my virgin visit, I stuck with something I have no qualms eating on the move--an Earl Grey Ice Lolly from Ice Kitchen. Sadly the photo doesn't do justice to its smooth and creamy scrumptious-ness,

but luckily I have the recipe now, so I'll have a go at home, where hopefully I can get a better picture (without all the jostling elbows!).

The next big KERB event will be An Ice Cream Adventure at King's Cross on 16 August, featuring 12 artisan ice cream purveyors. The regular street food vendors will be there too, and I'm planning to try it all--sans a seat!

bageriet

This may look like a brighter version of this year's gooseberry jam, but it's actually hjortronsylt (cloudberry jam), my all-time favorite preserve:

Cloudberry jam isn't so easy to come by: cloudberries grow in the wild in northern Scandinavia, must be picked by hand, and are difficult to transport. But luckily, this year, my favorite jam is being made and sold by my favorite bakery, Bageriet, tucked away on Rose Street in Covent Garden:

photo: Bageriet

Daniel Karlsson (on the right) and Sven-Gunnar Appelgren (on the left) bake the most gorgeous Swedish buns, cakes, biscuits, crisprolls, and crispbreads:

photo: Bageriet

The perfect Saturday in London starts with a strong black filter coffee and sockerkringlor (sugar pretzel) at one of Bageriet's two cosy tables:

We keep meaning to come at lunch to try the smoked salmon sandwiches, but we never seem to be able to hold out that long!

pedalo-ing

Saturday morning, we headed straight to the Serpentine to be at the front of the queue for pedalos:

Pedalo-ing has been on my list of things to do in London for ages, and now having had a spin, I'm wondering why it took me so long to give it a go! G remembers taking one out as a small boy, and it seems not much has changed, as he aimed straight for the swans:

Luckily the swans (and geese and coots) were completely unfazed, and G made amends with bits of bread tossed over the side.

An hour later, still fuelled by coffee from the Serpentine Bar & Kitchen, we popped into Slightly Foxed for a quick look: 

Because while water and books don't mix, water followed by a browse round a super (air-conditioned) bookshop on a scorching hot day certainly do!

back to blogging

It's hard to know where to start after such a very long time away...

But maybe it's best to return to an old favorite--Petersham Nurseries,

currently awash with roses:

Because you can never have too many roses...

or too much cake, particularly Petersham's cake:

Some things never change!

rocky and rosy

It was a week of succulents and roses: first at Wisley, then at Miller Harris, where Rachel and I popped in for birthday tea and cake.

Outside the shop, there were fabby rock plants on sale:

And inside the shop, there were roses in the perfumes and roses in the tea.

We ordered a pot of Miranda's favorite Thé Pétales, blended with rose absolute from Turkey. It had just the right hint of rose--not at all overpowering--and after two cups each, we concluded it really is the best tea on the menu.

While it was tempting to bring home a little something rocky or rosy, I was very good. After all, it wasn't my birthday--not quite yet! Happy Birthday, Rachel!

tea tasting

There are so many good reasons to pop into Petersham: the chicly distressed displays,

the fabulous flowers,

and of course the cakes and croissants! But on Tuesday, Sarah and I went for the tea, specifically an oolong tea tasting with Jennifer Wood, founder of the Canton Tea Co:

Oolongs are my favorite teas, and having sampled the Canton Tea Co's Anxi Rou Gui with Bee a few months ago, I was keen to try more of their offerings.

Oolongs (semi-oxidized teas) range tremendously in flavor from fresh and light to rich and dark. My top teas at the tasting were the Tie Guan Yin (Iron Buddha), Mi Lan Dan Cong (Honey Orchid, a 2010 Great Taste Gold Award winner), and Xing Ren Dan Cong (picked from a single 200-year-old bush).

It just figures my favorite would be a 'Connoisseur's' tea and the most expensive of the bunch! But luckily the Anxi Rou Gui and Tie Guan Yin are a lot less pricey. So now perhaps teatime at home will be nearly as exciting as teatime at Petersham!

open day

We were back at Petersham on Sunday, not just to try the new baguettes (though that would be reason enough)

or to admire the arrangements of peonies,

but to visit the private garden of the Nurseries' owners, Gael and Francesco Boglione. Sunday was this season's second Petersham House Garden Open Day, raising funds for the National Garden Scheme.

While their magnificent house and garden are adjacent to the Nurseries, up till now we'd only ever glimpsed a corner of the vegetable patch through the connecting gate...

I should have listened to G and taken more pictures of the planting scheme--the sweeping lawn, the beds brimming with alliums and poppies,

the walls covered in roses, and especially the 150-foot double border, of which this tiny specimen is my only reminder:

But of course this provides the perfect excuse to visit on the next Open Day. And I did get some snaps of the chickens and their rose-bedecked chicken coop:

Now I know exactly who's been making all that noise in the Nurseries,

though coffee at Petersham wouldn't be the same without a few cock-a-doodle-doos!

celadon and cucumber

I usually find the Royal Academy's Summer Exhibition disappointing. But as we had the invite and I'd marked the date on the calendar, it seemed a shame not to go. And I'm so glad we did.

There were still some truly awful pieces, but the standard seemed higher than in previous years. The redesigned print rooms featured works by some of my favorite artists, including Larch by Angie Lewin:

But it was this piece that completely made the exhibition for me, Edmund de Waal's white lacquered cabinet containing 70 celadon and white vessels:

© Edmund de Waal

I just finished reading The Hare with Amber Eyes last week, so stumbling on this work seemed fitting. Sadly it had already sold. But I suppose that's just as well: no need to talk G into remortgaging the flat!

For more affordable enjoyment, we made a detour on the way home to Maltby Street Market. While Neal's Yard Dairy, St John, and Monmouth Coffee all have premises here, we were on a mission to sample Kitty Travers' La Grotta Ices.

© Phaidon Press and La Grotta Ices, London, UK

A graduate of the Institute of Culinary Education in New York, Kitty makes and sells artisanal ice creams from the back of her little white van. She was named in Coco as one of the world’s top 100 up-and-coming food personalities, and last year her company was named Best of the Best in the first British Street Food Awards.

And her ice cream is indeed the best of the best! G had Candied Kumquat and I had Cucumber and Sour Cream, already melting here in the hot Saturday sun:

Simply amazing! I'm so looking forward to opening the carton of Pea Pod Ice Cream we packed into our cool bag. And not only are her ice creams lovely, Kitty is really lovely too. I wonder if she'd consider training an apprentice...