Cressida’s acrylic nails. Very Hackney! Cake decorating has, for a long time, been a bit too fussy, sugary and, quite simply, naff. But now the textile designer Cressida Bell, has brought out a book of her cake décor and it’s stunningly original. Her designs have the beauty and meticulous detail of mosaic. I went to…
Archives for August 2013
Recipe: squash flower soup (sopa de flor de calabaza)
Flower soup. How fragrant and delicate that sounds. In Mexico they use the flower of the courgette or the squash. There are many different versions of this soup, with corn, with mushrooms, with chicken; my version is vegetarian. How to get hold of the flowers? They aren’t cheap unfortunately, and I’ve yet to see a…
Meet the Fockers, a recipe for gremolata or Death and Hummus
So The Teen has a boyfriend. From the North. She brought him down to London and I invited my entire family to inspect him over dinner. This visit is negotiated, after many fights and accusations of being a ‘Victorian mum’ for I won’t let him sleep in The Teen’s bedroom. I’m making the boyfriend sleep in…
Recipe: fish tacos with all the trimmings
You’ll often find fish tacos where the fish is fried in batter. I’m not sure a battered fish works with the slim yellow disk of corn tortilla, the crunchy shredded salad and the salsas. Here, I marinate the fish in achiote, an ochre clay-red crushed berry that imparts a saffrony, dirty-in-a-good-way muddy flavour to the…
How to make a nice cup of tea
With each infusion, the tea bud opens up, bringing different nuances of flavour. Henrietta Lovell, a kind of sexy Nancy Mitford, came over for a cup of tea last weekend. Ten years ago, she started her business, The Rare Tea company, and has single-handedly revived an interest in tea as a serious drink. Now there…
Ceviche tostadas and chipotle mayonnaise recipes
Mexican oil cloth, it smells of petroleum. I love sniffing it. Inspired by my recent trip to Mexico, here is my ceviche tostadas. Ceviche itself is the laziest summer dish: no cooking involved, the acidity of the lime will do that work for you. Famed as a Peruvian speciality, ceviche is also a mainstay of Mexican…
5 great places to eat in Mexico City
Street food: blue corn tortillas with rajas, tomatillos, cheese. A heads up: you don’t say Mexico City, you say ‘DF’ pronounced ‘Day effe’, meaning Federal District. It’s one of the most populated cities in the world. The streets are full of smog, dirt, poverty and noise. The trains are like a parliament of hawkers and…