New things to come and short digression about unusual drink

Long time no see. Winter is not the best time of year for being active, at least for me. I hibernate. Only half aware, constantly cold, only doing necessary things - eat, wash, sleep and go to work, that's it. What do I eat? Mainly soups. Do I make them? No, I buy them. So there is nothing to blog about..? Well, maybe there is. Interior design, decorating, painting, restoring old furniture. That's what keeps me busy all days recently. I still don't know if I should start blogging about it. Not sure if I am ready, if I want to. My lack of self-confidence prevents me from sharing anything with people. Am I good enough? What if not? Not that I am afraid to make a fool of myself, more that I waste time doing something that I am not go at. Will see.  For now I want to share with you some winter speciality - kompot prepared from a blend of dried fruits.

Take any dried fruits you want, but stick to European types. Nothing too fancy like papaya, mango or lychee. Just apples, plums, pears. So it is not really 'any' type of fruit. Choice is very limited. Anyway, put the fruits in a big pot. Proportion and quantities are not important, maybe take a handful of each type. But remember that i.e. plums have very strong taste so they my overpower any other ingredients. 

Pour water, add cinnamon stick, cloves and some sugar. Not too much as you will be able to check the taste later. Boil everything for few minutes and taste. Add more spices or sugar, depending how sweet you like your drink.

Best served lukewarm. Not everyone likes to eat the fruits so you can chuck them away and just drink it. But it is a waste so I say you should eat these bloody fruits as well!

Upside-down peaches & cream sponge cake

Summer is almost over..or should I rather say - autumn is almost here. Season of harvest, colour leaves and warm sunshine. Wrapped in a warm blanket, with cup of aromatic tea, I spend weekends reading books in my garden. But tea without cake cannot be! So today my variance of classic Victoria sponge.

Ingredients

200g soft butter

200g self-raising flour

1 tsp baking powder

200g golden caster sugar

4 eggs

2 tbsp milk

3 ripe peaches

85g light brown sugar

230g clotted cream

2 tbsp golden caster sugar

1⁄2 tsp vanilla extract

Heat oven to 180C. Grease 20cm non-stick round baking tin. Sift the flour and baking powder into a large bowl, then tip in all the other sponge ingredients: butter, sugar, milk and eggs. Using an electric whisk, beat everything together until smooth. Pour half of the mixture into a tin and bake for 20-25 minutes. Take out from the oven and cool. 

Halve and stone the peaches, then cut each half into 4. Toss the peaches with the sugar until they are all coated. Then arrange the fruits in a single layer at the bottom of the tin. Tip the rest of  the cake mix over the peaches. Bake  until cooked and golden -  this part may take 5-10 minutes longer than the other. While the cakes are cooling it is time to make the filling.

Whisk the clotted cream with the sugar and vanilla until stiff. Spread this over the plain sponge, then carefully top with the peach sponge.

Margate and shopping

My favorite seaside town in Kent so far is Margate. I never thought of going there before I came across two vintage shops on the Internet. So the first trip was purely to do some shopping, not sightseeing. But shortly after arrival I fell in love with this tiny town. There are two parts - new and old. The new part is nothing exciting, it looks like any other small English town, with high street filled with shops and one big shopping center. My advice is to stay away and head straight to the Old Town. It is a lovely place filled with tiny streets, vintage shops, boutiques and cosy cafes. During the weekends you can find few food stalls on the small piazza. For lunch go to Greedy Cow and for coffee to the Cupcake Cafe, but more about these places coming soon so shhh for now!

The seaside is great too. Pink umbrellas at pier cafe, colorful flags, fresh seafood stall and wide blue sea. There is also the glorious Turner Contemporary, opened just few months ago. Its modern design contrasts well with shabby chic of the surroundings. The town with it's windy weather and big sky was an inspiration for the great British painter William Turner-the gallery is exploring his influence and connections with modern art and contemporary Margate. I love the building and its interiors, incredibly sleek and modern.

There are of course my favorite vintage furniture shops so far: the R.G. Scott Furniture Mart and Junk Deluxe. An incredible places for pre-loved furniture and any decor stuff you can imagine. From salvage windows and doors, to old books, kitchen accessories and toys. Junk Deluxe stocks in retro furniture and other lovely bits and pieces. Both shops have enormous quantities of stock, friendly service and reasonable prices so if you are hunting for original items for your house, it is a place to go to!

 This is Junk Deluxe, three pictures on the right borrowed from their Facebook page. Oh, and the stag head is actually mine now...

Oh, marrow!

1. Riverford organic veg - I am addicted to their boxes. Every fortnight there is a box full of beautiful, fresh vegetables waiting at my door. Fragrant English apples, herbs, cucumbers...Every time something new. Always very fresh and full of taste. Heaven!
2. Hipstamatic - taking photos everywhere, all the time. I am in love with their vintage old school look.
3. Marrow - yes, finally! Late summer crops are always the best. Apples, cherries, marrows, blackberries. All so ripe, filled with juicy summer sun and smell of wet grass.
Now add these three things together and you have...Stuffed marrow, Riverford inspired.

Ingredients:

1 marrow
olive oil
1 onion, sliced
2 garlic cloves
1 red pepper, sliced
400g can of chopped tomatoes
200g/300g can green lentils
bunch of spinach
fresh basil
100g feta cheese, crumbled
toasted pine nuts

Cut the marrow in half length-ways, drizzle it with olive oil and bake in an oven preheated to 180°C for about 20 minutes, until it is cooked through and starting to brown. Scoop out the seeds and season the marrow with salt and pepper.

Heat the oil in a pan, add the onion and cook until softened. Add the red pepper and garlic and cook for 15 minutes. Add the canned tomatoes and cook for about 10 minutes until the tomatoes have reduced and thickened. Stir in the cooked lentils and the spinach and season to taste.

Spoon the mixture into the marrow and sprinkle with the feta cheese, basil and pine nuts. Return to the oven and bake for about 20 minutes, until golden brown.