On Saturday we went to London for the day, mostly to visit Laura and Anthony but also to see a few museums and have a day out.
We arrived at 1 pm and walked through Hyde Park to get to a sushi restaurant called Kulukulu. I had found it googling and it had great reviews, so we decided to give it a try. It was awesome! The prices were great compared to Yo Sushi (the only sushi place we have in Oxford) and there were some unusual dishes too, like cold spinach with peanut sauce - yummy! The portions were good too so we didn't end up spending masses like we do at Yo. Although I'm not a fan of fish, I do like going to sushi bars because the food is right there in front of you, you can take whatever you want, when you want, and you can eat just the right amount rather than having a huge plate in front of you that you can't finish.
After lunch we looked around the Victoria and Albert Museum. I enjoyed the history of fashion section the most; Nick liked the plaster casts of various enormous columns and sculptures from around Europe. We walked around the area, ending up at the Royal Albert Hall during a downpour. I thought it would be a much more impressive building than it actually is. However, I do want to go to a Prom some time. Maybe later this summer. We also visited the Science Museum - there were a few gems in there like the steam engines section, and Nick enjoyed the mathematical models and geometry instruments, but overall we felt it wasn't quite as good as the science museums we remember from our childhoods (Exploratory in Bristol and Techniquest in Cardiff).
In the evening we took the Tube out to Hampstead to have dinner with Laura and Anthony in their lovely flat. It's a really nice area, very quiet in comparison with central London, yet not very far away. It's almost like a little village within the city. They inspired us with their amazing vegetable garden on their balcony. Next year, now that our garden is in a good state, we'll grow some too...
Monday 16 August 2010
Thursday 12 August 2010
Blackberry jam
Yesterday Nick and I picked blackberries from alongside the river near our home. We collected about half a kilo. We could tell from the number of already-picked twigs that a lot of hungry people had already walked past! There are still heaps of blackberries ripening so I am hoping for another crop in the next couple of weeks.
I decided that it was time to make my first-ever batch of jam. I thought it would be difficult, but it really wasn't. Having researched online I knew that the most important thing is to sterilise the jars, the second most important thing is to use equal quantities of fruit and jam sugar, and the third most important thing is to put a saucer in the freezer before starting. I sterilised the jars by putting them in the oven at 170 degrees for 10 minutes while I made the jam. There are other ways including dishwasher and microwave.
The recipe is simple: cook the berries (any kind - I made blackberry and raspberry) over a low heat with some lemon juice (2 tablespoons for 450g fruit) until the juices run and the fruit starts to break down. Add jam sugar (equal in weight to the fruit) and stir for 1-2 minutes until it is dissolved. Crank up the heat to full blast, and boil rapidly for 4 minutes. Then, turn off the heat, and drop a blob of jam onto the frozen saucer. Wait about 10 seconds for it to cool, then push it with a finger. If it wrinkles, it is ready. If not, boil and test again in 1 minute increments, until it has reached setting point. Leave it to settle for a few minutes (this stops the fruit from sinking to the bottom), then ladle into the sterilised jars while they are still warm. Seal the jars while hot.
I tasted some on some toast the next day and it was delicious!
I decided that it was time to make my first-ever batch of jam. I thought it would be difficult, but it really wasn't. Having researched online I knew that the most important thing is to sterilise the jars, the second most important thing is to use equal quantities of fruit and jam sugar, and the third most important thing is to put a saucer in the freezer before starting. I sterilised the jars by putting them in the oven at 170 degrees for 10 minutes while I made the jam. There are other ways including dishwasher and microwave.
The recipe is simple: cook the berries (any kind - I made blackberry and raspberry) over a low heat with some lemon juice (2 tablespoons for 450g fruit) until the juices run and the fruit starts to break down. Add jam sugar (equal in weight to the fruit) and stir for 1-2 minutes until it is dissolved. Crank up the heat to full blast, and boil rapidly for 4 minutes. Then, turn off the heat, and drop a blob of jam onto the frozen saucer. Wait about 10 seconds for it to cool, then push it with a finger. If it wrinkles, it is ready. If not, boil and test again in 1 minute increments, until it has reached setting point. Leave it to settle for a few minutes (this stops the fruit from sinking to the bottom), then ladle into the sterilised jars while they are still warm. Seal the jars while hot.
I tasted some on some toast the next day and it was delicious!
Wednesday 11 August 2010
First post
After several fledgling attempts at various kinds of blogs, I am turning over a new leaf and have decided to have one blog in one place. Maybe this will help me to actually write something sometime. There are a lot of things I want to write about - God, food, diy, crafts, gardens, travel, ideas, news. I'm not going to apologise for having a blog. No-one is obliged to read it. Not even my mother.
My old blog about food and cooking is still online - it has a bunch of lovely recipes which friends have enjoyed in the past and asked me to share.
My old blog about food and cooking is still online - it has a bunch of lovely recipes which friends have enjoyed in the past and asked me to share.
Subscribe to:
Posts (Atom)