Tags
Alios Delicatesan, Harvey Nichols Cocktail Masterclass, IMK September 2014. In My Kitchen September 2014, Richmond Fellowship, SurreyKitchen, The Minaturist Jesse Burton, The Old Moat Garden Centre, The Wood Hut
I am so thankful to Celia at Fig Jam and Lime Cordial for starting the IMK party. It is so much fun and I have made lots of new friends through the posts. So here goes.
In my kitchen this September are….
two Harvey Nichols Cocktail Masterclass Certificates. Now there is no excuse for my husband not to make me a cocktail at the weekend. See my ‘Anniversary Retox’ post to learn more about the fantastic cocktail class that I booked in the famous Harvey Nichols 5th floor bar as a surprise for my husband to celebrate our 5th wedding anniversary.
I didn’t forget that wood was the traditional gift for the 5th wedding anniversary, so here is the stunning Yew wood pen and gift box I bought for my husband. The pen was hand-made by The Wood Hut in rural Highland Perthshire, a small cottage industry that specialises in making beautiful wooden furniture, 5th wedding anniversary gifts and wooden rings. The reason I chose Yew wood rather than Bur Elm, Oak or Ash is because my husband is a huge Lord of the Rings fan and Gandalf’s staff is made of Yew, which I like to think makes the pen a little bit magic.
In Epsom we are lucky enough to be able to buy authentic Italian produce from Alio’s Delicatessen. The family run business sells a vast variety of excellent quality goods from olive oils, freshly baked breads, an endless selection of pasta’s including wheat free and wholemeal fresh pasta, to Italian cheeses, cured meats, fine Italian wines, tasty olives and roasted mediterranean vegetables. One of my favourite purchases is this fantastic Arborio rice which I use regularly to make risotto.
I am personally not a fan of soft gooey home-baked biscuits. As far as I am concerned biscuits should snap when you break them. I recently discovered that ground rice was the secret ingredient for giving home-baked shortbread that perfect crunch. See my Lavender and Lemon shortbread recipe.
I made my delicious Chocolate banana cake to cheer myself up this week. Watch this space for the recipe, which I will be posting very soon.
Here are a chocolate tray bake and a blueberry cake with cream cheese icing that I made for a BBQ for another organisation that I volunteer for called The Old Moat garden centre. The charity is part of Richmond Fellowship and offers people with mental health problems, the opportunity to enrol on formal or informal training and work experience programmes in a realistic, commercial, but supportive environment. I support service users with a wide range of horticultural activities.
In the second photo is my new fantastic Lidls picnic container that has two layers so you can carry more than one cake to an event together. Sorry but this is the kind of nonsense that makes me very happy!
Here are the beautiful cooking apples that I have just picked from the tree in our garden. I feel an apple and blackberry tray bake coming on.
Finally I have been reading The Miniaturist by Jesse Burton which I would highly recommend. The novel is set in Amsterdam in 1686 and focuses on two women’s very different journeys to find a slice of freedom in a repressive, judgemental society. The elusive miniaturist who predicts her customers fate through the miniature’s she carves for them, gives the novel a chilling and eerie sense of unease that makes it impossible to put down.
Have a fantastic September. Emma xx
I too love doing Celia’s IMK posts – they are so much fun. Happy anniversary to you and your hubby. I am looking forward to your cake recipe.
Have a wonderful day.
🙂 Mandy xo
IMK is great fun and a fantastic way to get to know other bloggers better. I hope everything is going well for you and the family in beautiful South Africa. Say hello to the elephants for me. Emma xx
We just went into the park the other day in hopes of seeing the new lions cubs but alas. We did see elephants though. Will try get a few photos into a post soon. xo
I am so so jealous!
You have some great things there – I want to eat all those bakes, I love the ‘magic’ yew pen case (that’s such a lovely idea and very unique) and ever since I heard about it I’ve really wanted to read The Miniaturist. I’m glad to hear it’s so good.
Looking forward to the tray bake!! Yummy 😀
I’m glad you liked the Yew pen. We are both a bit mad and very much literary geeks. You will love the miniaturist. If you lived close by I would have lent it to you. It’s worth buying your own copy. I looked it up in the library first but there were 43 reservations so I couldn’t be bothered to wait. Emma xx
Woah! 43? I’m definitely going to buy my own copy 😉 x
It all looks so wonderful. The cakes are beautiful and the carrying case perfect for both of them. Those are the kind of things that get me excited too! An apple and blackberry bake sounds wonderful, looking forward to that post.
If you click on the blue link in the IMK September post under apple and blackberry it will take you to the tray bake recipe or just use this link https://surreykitchen.com/2013/09/17/emmas-apple-and-blackberry-tray-bake/. Take care. Emma xx
Happy anniversary. The Yew pen is definitely magic. And I’ll use the rice flour tip when I make Christmas shortbread – always a favourite.
Thank you. The rice flour was an excellent tip and you can’t argue with Mary Berry. It was in one of her cook books that I discovered this trick. Take care. Emma.
Happy September! Happy Wedding Anniversary! I like the sound of chocolate banana bread so I am looking forward to reading the recipe. 😉
Thank you so much. I just had another slice of the chocolate and banana cake. It is delicious. I will be posting it very soon. Take care. Emma xx
G’day and Happy Anniversary! When we all visit via Celia’s In My Kitchen series, perhaps hubby will make a cocktail for all of us too!
Thanks for this month’s kitchen view too!
Cheers! Joanne
Thanks Joanne. I hope everything is going well in Australia.
Loved this peek into your life and kitchen Emma! The cocktail class must have been so much fun! Your gift to your hubby sounds amazing – so thoughtful – happiest of anniversaries to you both! The rice flour tip is a good one – must bear that in mind as festive season bakeathon bears down…love your all your bakes too!
Thank you for the anniversary wishes Selma. The cocktail class was so much fun. We both thoroughly enjoyed it. The baking tip was from a Mary Berry book and you can’t argue with her! Take care. Emma.
You are lovely to bake for charity! And a cocktail masterclass! How fun, I’d love to do something like that! Happy anniversary to you both!
Thanks Celia. The Cocktail master class was fantastic, you would have loved it. Emma.
oh! you ale so lovely to bake for charity!
Thank you!
My husband is a big fan of the Lord of the Rings too – will have to keep that Yew pen in mind for our 5th Wedding Anniversary. May I ask if you have a link or website of where you got it from? Thank you for a look IMK
There is a link in the post. Click on where it says The Wood Hut. Emma.
Thank you so much Emma, much appreciated
Too bad you didn’t have that certificate when we were doing our MA program. Lord knows we needed it. Happy belated anniversary. xo
If only we could have had cocktails after a certain person’s fiction lectures. I sure as hell needed one after her critiquing workshop!