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Vauxhall Gardens community centre

Sub/dom at Bento café, Camden Town

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MsMarmiteLover aka Kerstin Rodgers.

Chef, photographer, author, journalist, blogger. Pioneer of the supperclub movement.

This is my food and travel blog, with recipes, reviews and travel stories. I also stray into politics, feminism, gardening.

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msmarmitelover

Supper on Saturday night with my bubble. A b’sti

Supper on Saturday night with my bubble. A b’stilla pie of potato, feta, pine nuts, sultanas soaked in sherry and ras el hanout. Butter or oil the dish, add 3 leaves of filo or brik, buttered in between. Tip in your filling. Fold up the sides. Brush on melted butter. Sprinkle poppy seeds. Cover with foil. Bake at 180c for half an hour, removing the foil for the last 10 minutes. Siege over some icing sugar with a tea strainer. Done and dusted(literally). #weekendsupper #b’stilla #bastilla #pie #middleeasternfood #vegetarian #ovenready🔥 #supperclubchef #Novemberfood #lockdown2 #bubbledinner

Still drilling holes in my kitchenware so that I c

Still drilling holes in my kitchenware so that I can hang up my spoons and things. It’s a bit scary but just buy a cobalt metals and steel bit for a drill- this is 3mm and drill! Easy! The big spoon and fork I got in Potosi, Bolivia where there was and actually still is a silver mine. The Spanish virtually emptied this small mountain of silver but they are still mining the dregs. The book ‘the open veins of south America’ tells you the story. I went down into the mine, even the hellish 4th level they usually don’t take tourists to. There was hardly any air, it was very hot, the miners were stripped bare, and I had to crawl on my stomach through tunnels which led into small ‘caves’ where miners would be hammering away. It stunk of sulphur. I’m not claustrophobic but it was difficult to keep down the feelings of panic down there. Everywhere you’d see lit up idols of Quechua gods, devils, to protect the miners. Then I drilled a slightly messy hole in my silver Italian ravioli press which I got in a charity shop in Kentish Town 35 years ago. I love it. My @boschhomeuk drill is very old. I got it as a birthday present from an ex. Need another as it doesn’t tighten the bits properly. #supperclubchef #diyprojects #womanwithadrill #makingholes #diy #interiors #refurbishingsupperclub #lockdown2 #londonflat #londonsupperclub #refurb

Almost finished refurbishing the oak cupboard in m

Almost finished refurbishing the oak cupboard in my living room supperclub. I’ve added shelves, stained them dark with @rustins.ltd dark oak, put map wallpaper on the back. All my glassware is there from @la_rochere_france, my babycham glass collection and bits and pieces of cut glass ware I’ve picked up and collected over the years. Still finishing the front which I’m adding gold gilding to- to break up the dark. Need some under shelf lighting- any suggestions?
#supperclub #london #londonflat #diy #interiors #lockdown2 #refurbishedfurniture #interiorsprojects #glassware #babycham #vintage

Delivery of french baguette from @seansloaf, and I

Delivery of french baguette from @seansloaf, and I love this enamel butter dish I got on amazon with a little wooden lid. I’m also well into wooden butter knives like they use in Scandinavia. This was a gift from my friend @pillenaminami who is from Estonia. #saturdaymorning #baguette #saltedbutter #butterdish #enamel #enamalia #woodenbutterknives #scandistyle #wood #kitchen #breadandbutter #supperclubchef #londonkitchen

Yes I am obsessed with trees. And autumn is a grea

Yes I am obsessed with trees. And autumn is a great time to look at them. It’s so hard to express that particular English light- muddy browns greys and greens, intense at dusk but subtle too. Every tree has a personality and character of its own. Do they like having fungus attached to them or does it feel like having athletes foot? These pictures were mostly taken on Hampstead Heath but also Hyde Park. Hyde park is much bigger than the heath but it doesn’t feel like it- as it is less wild. More french than English. The great thing about Covid and this year is we’ve all taken up walking. Nature is the new stardom. #london #londonwalks #trees #supperclubchef #northlondon #nature #lockdown2 #englishlight #autumn #fall

November 2020. Watching CNN. Eating a fresh butter

November 2020. Watching CNN. Eating a fresh buttery croissant from @seansloaf and drinking coffee. They need to fly over the vote counters from Sunderland. #election2020🇺🇸
#🥐 #croissant #politics #cnn #slowcount #usa #lockdown2 #coffeetime #athome #saturdaymorning

Another in my London tree series- a striped bark s

Another in my London tree series- a striped bark silver birch. This is entirely natural, having inspected it close up. Found during a toussaint walk in Regent’s Park as the light goes out. In the distance you see the Post Office tower gleaming like a UFO in the sky. Rugby boys shirts off in the wet and wind. Toddlers in shiny anoraks holding hands. The last of the autumn colour being blown to the ground. More pix on stories. During this second lockdown, I must find within myself the discipline to walk every day so as not to tumble into the depression and torpor of isolation. #londontrees #walks #regentsparklondon #london #nature #trees #supperclubchef #lockdown2 #mentalhealth #singlelife

4 years ago a Syrian refugee family moved upstairs

4 years ago a Syrian refugee family moved upstairs. My neighbour Medyan was a lawyer in Damascus but he retrained to become a chef. Now his brother in law Amer has bought a restaurant in Willesden Green called @thebestbroasted. They serve such authentic Syrian food, including the famous ‘broasted’ chicken, marinated in a secret herb sauce then fried in a pressure cooker, that Syrian families come from all over the UK to eat the food. Every member of staff, from the owner to the head chef bilal, is an ex refugee and they’ve endured incredible hardship to cross Europe to be here. They’ve been cold, hungry, lost at sea for a month, threatened, clambered onto and under lorries, dealt with smuggling gangs, to save their families from the war in Syria. As a vegetarian, I didn’t try the chicken but the pickles, tabbouleh, falafel, bread, and especially the toum, a Syrian garlic sauce, are equally excellent. Read in more detail about their stories on my blog soon. Or a shorter version in the ham and high. #london #refugees #syria #thewarhasntfinished #norfweezy #neighbours #restaurants #broastedchicken #willesden

A stir fry tonight including mini corn on the cob,

A stir fry tonight including mini corn on the cob, spring onions, peppers, mushrooms, mangetout. Spring onions: use the white part in the fry and the dark part to garnish, along with fresh coriander. The basic Chinese sauce is soy sauce, sugar, cornflour. The soy represents the salt, the sugar tips the flavour balance the other way, the cornflour thickens. Add ginger, garlic, five spice and you have the base of any Chinese style sauce. I added some soft tofu at the very end and some soaked noodles. Vegetables particularly mushrooms contain anti-oxidants which are brilliant for fighting cancer and helping you through chemotherapy. Do follow @chemocookeryuk as he cooks his way to health #woktober

Saw this incredible deep pink marbled tree in Gold

Saw this incredible deep pink marbled tree in Golders Hill Park. I discovered it is the Greek strawberry 🍓 tree, when you see the fruit in the last slide, you can see why. It was the last fruit left. #trees #treesoflondon #walking #nature #strawberrytree #london #norfweezy #supperclub #naturelover #treesofinstagram #treeporn #redtree #autumn #fall #seasons #nofilter

Crab apple twigs from my tree to be used to make t

Crab apple twigs from my tree to be used to make toffee apples 🍎 autumnal colour is coming in after a wet September delaying the browns, yellows and burgundys. #autumn #fall #apples #twigs #toffeeapples #nature #supperclub #october #bonfirenight🔥 #Halloween #london #londonflat #diycook

It irritates me when things are sold without holes

It irritates me when things are sold without holes so they can be hooked up. So I spent last night drilling holes in my wooden moulds (for cookies, butter, ginger biscuits, jellies). People have smaller kitchens and so we need to use every inch of wall space. Blue shelf bought in a french videgrenier years ago. #kitchenalia #kitchendesign #moulds #pepperkakor #butter #jellies #collector #diycook #hooks #kitchendecor #londonkitchen #supperclub #supperclubs #tarttins #frenchstyle

Colour coding #1: finally got books up on the left

Colour coding #1: finally got books up on the left side of the chimney of my living room. Wall colour aquamarine pale and light by @littlegreenepaintcompany cookbooks, collected over the years. Wondered whether to go red before pink or the other way round. Still have some room phew! #supperclub #supperclubrefurb #cookbooklibrary #readyforlockdown #lockdown2 #londonflat #london #diycook #gowithin #femalechef #foodwriter #foodblogger #foodphotographer #colourcoding

Made a quick melanzana parmigiana last night using

Made a quick melanzana parmigiana last night using ready made pasta sauce. I wouldn’t usually because I find them too sweet but I have some jars left over from the government food boxes given to the clinically vulnerable during the first lockdown. As we are probably heading into #lockdown2 I’m not chucking anything away. But the sweetness worked with the slices of aubergine fried in olive oil. I added some garlic, salt and two torn up balls of discount mozzarella on top. Really delicious. I just fried the aubergines until soft and yielding in the centre and with crispy purple skin- I didn’t batter them which takes too much time and often makes the dish heavy. I’m so glad to have my kitchen back after redecorating. #covidcooking #governmentfoodbox #vegetarian #aubergines #eggplant #melanzana #homecooking #supperclub #diycook #mostlyfromscratch #recipe #aga #londonkitchen #winterfood

This is a loose adaptation of @lindseymbareham har

This is a loose adaptation of @lindseymbareham harira soup recipe. It’s warming, uses up my tomato glut and richly tasty. Fry a roughly chopped onion in olive oil until transparent, add a couple of cloves of garlic, then add 1.5 litres of veg stock. Add a pinch of saffron ground. Add a drained can of chickpeas and half a kilo of tomatoes. Let cook until tomatoes soften and pop when pressed with a wooden spoon. Then add 2.5cm chopped peeled ginger and two chopped preserved lemons. Add salt to taste. Serve hot with a scoop of natural yoghurt. I didn’t have any fresh herbs, but add whichever you have. I feel like I’m coming down with a cold so this warmed me to my bones. #soup #winterfood #autumnfood #harira #preservedlemons #supperclub #heartysoup #storecupboardrecipes #recipe #vegetarian #vegan #northafrican #tomatoglut #ginger #supperclubchef #london #sourfoods #tangy

I’ve stencilled the stairs going into the kitche

I’ve stencilled the stairs going into the kitchen. Blue and white/cream is a strong theme in my kitchen with blue and white willow China which I’ve collected over the last 20 years. I started my supperclub in 2009 so all that kitchenalia collecting came in useful finally! Still got lots to do around the house. Paint the new shelves in the living room. Hang my pix up. Still more cleaning of dust ( sanding floors is the filthiest job). Painting french doors inside and out and the sash windows. I need to repaint and repair all the windows outside but that might have to wait till the weather is better. #diy #supperclubrefurb #supperclub #femalechef #interiors #stencils #kitchenalia #cutlery #teapots #london #londonflat

The last few chillies and tomatoes from my garden

The last few chillies and tomatoes from my garden plus 2 chewed courgettes for which the squirrels have acquired a taste. In the background you can see my bergamot shrub which has finished its summer hols outside and now in for the winter. I had dozens of potential bergamots on it but only 2 have survived. Can’t wait to use them in January. Am about to plant out the winter pansies. It’s wet but not cold so after a stressful & upsetting week I’m de stressing (grrr Camden fucking council and grrrr workmen) in the best way I know.
#londongarden #supperclub #gettingreadyforwinter #diycook #readyforlockdown2 #londonflat #femalechef #lastoftheharvest

Ah the satisfaction of getting broken things fixed

Ah the satisfaction of getting broken things fixed, niggles ironed out, repairs etc done, finally. Got a carpenter in to put a drawer under this table which has been missing it for 20 years. I found a nice bronze handle in the shed which I polished up. This gives me so much pleasure. And you can never have enough cutlery drawers I find. #diy #refurb #london #repairingoldfurniture #diycook #supperclub #supperclubrefurb #carpentry #londonflat #kilburn #kitchenaliaddict #stuff #sparksjoy

Polishing small brass mirrors I’ve collected ove

Polishing small brass mirrors I’ve collected over the years. Marble sideboard- bought for £100 in an antiques depot in the Yorkshire dales. Big mirror- currently stripping it- bought in paris for 35 euros. Still looking for cheap white/cream long curtains in silk or linen. At the moment I’m using my old ikea canvas ones which aren’t quite long enough so I turned them upside down and hung them off drapers hooks in antique brass bought from Czech Republic on eBay. #cheapaschips #diycook #harlots #mirrors #fleamarketfinds #interiors #london #supperclub #supperclubrefurb wall colour aquamarine pale by @littlegreenepaintcompany

Got this coffee table this morning, white marble t

Got this coffee table this morning, white marble top and turned legs, for £20 this morning off Facebook marketplace, which is my new obsession. I had to drive an hour out of London to byfleet. It was a Galician/Colombian couple who were selling it. After 46 years in England they are moving back to Spain. They were selling lots of Spanish restaurant gear too as they had a restaurant which had to close down recently. They gave me two paella tins and a metal grill for roasting arepas. The lady gave me the ultimate Spanish tortilla recipe too! #stories #covidstories #diycook #diy #supperclub #supperclubrefurb #smallbusinesses #facebookmarketplace

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