A very different but invirgorating outdoor walk

I'm not a morning person and those who know me will be able to tell you of what a 'joy' it is to drag me out of bed!

Only a few rare things will stir me from my nightly slumbers; freshly brewed coffee, breakfast in bed, snowboarding on fresh powered snow and this morning ... knowing I was going on a little but longed for adventure.

I have been reading Kirstie Allsopp's "Homemade Home" and fell in love with the thought of getting lost in and rummaging through outdoor treasure trove filled with vintage, second-hand furniture and decorative delights .

Yes, my little "adventure" was to an antique market (some of you might be thinking: 'antique market', hardly an adventure?!?) but let me tell you, for someone whose most vivid memory of antique market resembles that of a car boot sale at a certain prep school in Eastbourne back in 1995, Sunbury Antique Market at Kempton Racecourse was ... invigoratingly inspiring!

I didn't go there to buy anything in particular but, a while back I took a Masterclass Interior Design course with Kelly Hoppen and she mentioned that this is one of the most enthralling playground for interior designers as well as antique enthusiasts.(Don't get me wrong, I don't watch Antique Roadshow in my spare time ...)

Sunbury Antique Market is one of UK's longest-running bi-monthly antique markets that has a certain Guy Ritchie's film vibes about it. 

Sadly today I didn't arrived until 11am and most vendors were already packing up for the day (considering they started at the crack of dawn). Even so, I got to meet Craig who supply Jack Will stores with his school/laboratory-esque pieces and seen some wonderful things that will make Aladdin green with envy because his treasure cave didn't stock them! 

Like all experiences, you have to go through yourself in order to know if you'd enjoy it or not, but I can tell you, I will definitely be back for more ...

Check out a my first visual account of this adventure:

BEEN FEELING A BIT CRAFTY

So they say, being creative isn't always about making a tangible object but my idle hands wouldn't have it any other way.

I have always been proud of the fact that I taught myself a lot of crafts through readings and deciphering some very confusing diagrams. And here is my most recent work .... only because I felt guilty being a couch potato lately!

and a little bit of Mersin

 

A mini adventure with Jan on the Mersin Coast in Turkey. 

Une vie Parisiene ...

 

These snapshots were taken while I was in Paris earlier this January for Maison & Objet

IT'S BEEN A WHILE ...

Wow ... we're in 2011 and it's already coming to the end of February!

It's like I don't know what happened with last year! Time flies with a blink of an eye and I felt like I have let this blog down. So here I am with a well, almost quarter-of-the-year resolution ... to keep up with writing a little bit more.

Some wonderful photos from my trips to share though ... enjoy! 

SUNDAY CHICKEN; Coq au Vin

If you’re ever stuck wondering what to make for dinner on a Sunday night try this really easy recipe. This would be ideal if you have any leftover vino from the night before …

Chicken Thighs (with bones)

Carrots

Onions

Thyme

Rosemary

Bay leaves

Chicken Stock

Salt and Pepper

Red Wine

I don’t weight out the ingredients – because I believe that my best dishes are always an incidental discovery. Trust your tastebuds!

So this is how it’s done;

- Heat a pan and fry the chicken until it’s golden. You don’t need any oil for this!

- Then add the chopped carrots, onions and the herbs. Cook for about 5mins

- Add the chicken stock and red wine (if your pan is not deep enough, you may, at this point, need to transfer the cooking ingredients into a pot)

- Let it stew over low heat for 2-3 hours and voila .. it’s ready to be served.

But this dish, it’s hard to go wrong and even if you think you’re ... you can use my rule of thumb; if in doubt just add more wine!

Showing this photo to a friend yesterday got him to suggest cooking it with ‘vino blanco’.  Next time I’m cooking this, I might just have to try that!

If anyone has tried this before, I’d love to hear your thoughts

A SLUMBERING GIANT

Stepping out onto quiet streets filled with fallen leaves of a sleepy Sunday morning London reminded me of how enchanting a city is when its inhabitants are still wrapped up warmly, unstirred from their nightly hibernation.

There’s something magical about experiencing a city waking up from its slumber. Last September, at the crack of dawn of the 5^th day of our European Escapade, my gastronomist friend, Tom and I touched down at Seville Bus terminal at 4:45am in the morning.

A very spontaneous trip turned epic epicurean adventure, and Seville, was where we discovered the freshest orange juice and, I kid you not, the best Spanish Iberico ham sandwich in an likely venue, a grungy smoke-filled bar (that was sill open at 5:30am) just on the boarder of suburban Seville.

Between not being able to check into the hotel until after mid-day and having stuffed our faces with 2 rolls each we began our slow stroll towards the waterfront … wandering aimlessly through warrens of cobble streets and alleyways made up of towering doors and maze-like side streets as the sun stirs the city to its awakening. By the time we reached the watchtower by the River, the early morning rays softly kissed Torre del Oro revealing the secrets to its name, the ‘Tower of Gold’

Seville is sublime. Years of intercultural influences left me mesmerized with its Moorish, Arabic and Franco inspired features everywhere we go. If you want inspiration go to Seville …