I’m back and baking…

Well I’ve been hiding, getting Christmas and 2011 out the way and embracing a health driven, yoga styley, slightly cultured new way of life. (I’m predicting this will regress somewhere around the middle of February) but for now I thought I’d start blogging again so that people can at least check I’m still alive. Turns out if you don’t have Twitter or Facebook you’ve ceased to exist.

A couple of weeks ago I’d been rooting round my dad’s house when I came across my grandma’s old recipe book. Well I say recipe book it’s more a collection of beautifully handwritten bits of paper, backs of receipts and recycled cardboard. My earliest childhood memories are of hanging out in her kitchen making stuff, apple pies with the apples from the garden, chocolate brownies, butterfly cakes… it’s definitely where I inherited my sweet teeth from and why my dad is a round shape. One staple of her cake cupboard was a fruit tea loaf, I found the recipe amongst all the leaves of paper and thought I’d have a go.

It’s a really light recipe and contains no dairy (unless you smother it afterwards with butter which is amazing but unnecessary as it’s very moist) It’s also very easy to make and very difficult to ruin.

8ozs of sultanas

2ozs of mixed peel

4ozs of soft brown sugar

8ozs Self Raising Flour

1 egg

¼ pint of tea

I bought a bag of mixed fruit by Crazy Jack Organic as it doesn’t contain any preserving nasties and just used 10ozs in total. I then soaked the fruit overnight (but an hour will do) in Earl Grey tea with the sugar dissolved in. (2 teabags squeezed in warm water) so that the fruit gets all plump and juicy.  You could make it boozy by using builders tea with a slug of something alcoholic like rum.

Crack the egg directly into the fruity tea mixture and give it a stir then slowly sift the flour over the top, folding in until well mixed.

Preheat the oven to 160C and transfer mixture into a  greased/lined 2lb loaf tin (or 2x 1lb loaf tins so that you can freeze one for later)

Bake for an hour and a half until golden brown. Remove from oven and leave in tin for 10 minutes then turn out on to a wire rack to cool.

And voila- a light moist spongy fruit cake just like Granny Adams used to make!

Tags: earl grey tea, sweet teeth

The Great Tie Sale Cont…

Silk and Silk Knitted styles – all £30 each – these retail in the West End of London for £70. Email me shirts@lucyadams.co.uk if you would like one, there are only 1 of each left of the silk ties. The spotty silk ones are made in Kent from British silk and the knitted ones are made in Europe.

The Tie Sale…

Well, it’s been a while.. but I’m back with a treat for Xmas – well it’s a credit crunch and I need the space at home so I’m selling off all my left over ties for £30 each… bargain. Email me at shirts@lucyadams.co.uk – pay by paypal and I’ll pop them in the post to anywhere that can receive mail worldwide, all you have to do is pay the postage. They are all handmade in England with exception of the knitted ones which apparently cannot be produced here but are exceptional quality regardless. Perfect for Dad’s, boyfriends, husbands or simply a present to yourself to impress at the office party ! Here are the Liberty ones, I’ll post the silk ones in a separate post. . . they are really limited stock so get in quick to avoid disappointment.

Love is what you want

Last week I finally stole an hour to go to the Hayward Gallery on London’s South Bank to see Tracey Emin’s exhibition Love is What You Want.

It was really well curated, the neons looked amazing set in a pitch black corridor, the wall of blankets all colourful and expressive.

Everyone can identify with Emin in some way even if they don’t admit it. We’ve all been there in one form or another, made a prat of ourselves

over a boy or girl, thought we were in love (twice) when we quite clearly weren’t. Made bad choices, done things we wish we hadn’t. Lost control. But then generally you grow out of it. I grew out of it (finally!)…and it put a whole new perspective on her work.

 

Emin depicts the rawest of emotions. Depression, lust, love, pain, loneliness – but in amongst it always a little hope. This is why the pieces in the pictures are my favourites. They are not shocking just raw and lovely.

Love is what you want.

Tracey Emin – Love is what you want. The SouthBank Centre, London. Until Monday 29th August 2011.

Miss Winehouse

Let’s jump on this bandwagon. Amy Winehouse’s album Back to Black has been on repeat on my ipod since I got it for Christmas in 2006. It is one of my favourites ever. Since her death her music has once again come to the fore, tonight there are back to back programs on bbc2 of her live performances. She may have been racked with insecurities, depression and ravaged by drugs and addiction but born from that came some of the most important music of my generation..when she was good, she was really good.

What has struck me this evening, is although her death was not a surprise – she was headed in that direction, we’ll never get to hear what she could have produced next. ‘He can only hold her’ has always made the hairs on the back of my neck stand up. The instantly recognisable riff of Rehab and Back to Black, Me and Mr Jones, if only her problems had started and ended with being addicted to loser boys, things would have been very different. Amy could not overcome her demons –  a very tragic example of someone who took it all too far.  May she now find the peace she couldn’t when she was here.

A cake a day…

It’s a very well know fact that I love cake. Cake, however doesn’t tend to love me very much. That and all food really but when it comes to high sugar content I’ll mind over matter it anyday.

This week has been on a rapid downward trajectory, I won’t bore you with the details but I will let you in on the antidote… I live a commuter town just north of London. In fact I live about a stones throw from the station. I used to get the train pretty much everyday and I can safely say there is nothing good about St Albans City station. Until recently.

A man and his genius business idea occupy the London platform exit just as the hoards are alighting on their way home of an evening. (I’m the loser that makes a special trip to the station as I now drive to work) His little van is filled with puddingy goodness and THE BEST chocolate brownies. He bakes them all himself and this evening said chocolate brownie saved what has been a rubbish day.

This is the third or fourth brownie I’ve had, and none of them lasted long enough to be photographed or even the 3 minute journey home. I have heard rumour of an elusive Lemon and Polenta cake which is gluten free and therefore good for me which I will one day manage to eat.(When my stomach is better I’ll be eyeing up the creme brulee and the summer fruit pudding)

So if you, like me are a local St Albans person get down to the station, and if you’re in London I’m pretty sure he scoots round the various farmer’s markets at the weekends so you don’t have to live in the sticks to sample the loveliness.

Cake is always the answer.

The Pudding Stop blog is here

Tags: cake, st albans, the pudding stop

The Perfect Suit

I just watched a really nice little documentary on the The Perfect Suit, and I blogged about it on Bushel & Peck here

All tied up

I haven’t really written much on here yet. There are 2 reasons for this: firstly I have had zero time, my job has quite literally whizzed the last 8 months into a vacuum. Secondly I haven’t loved many things. In fact if I’m honest this year has so far been an extension of last year. Pretty rubbish actually.

I decided to do something about it.

I have a little side project on the go called ‘Bushel & Peck’ I really used to enjoy my tie orders as tie-makers are generally a lot easier than shirt ones. I’d also supplied a couple of weddings and a gorgeous hotel in Nottinghamshire.. so I thought what better way to keep my hand in to all things handmade and luxury but a little neckwear label.

The blog is here and you can literally snap one of my debut collection right now here… (my personal favourite is the paintbox one, the fabric sold out everytime it came into stock at Liberty so it really is now or never with these.) So for sartorial blogging (that maybe slightly ambitious) ahem..for shameless selling plugs Bushel & Peck is where I’ll be.

When work allows I’ll fill this blog with lovely things. Well that’s the plan anyway!

Lucy Loves…Marrakech

I have a wonderful Moroccan friend who used to cook amazing tagines and endless cups of mint tea for me when I was at uni. He told me all about his incredible country and I knew I had to go.

So last week I finally packed my suitcase and hopped on a plane to Marrakech, a stunning 26 degrees and very sunny skies.

It lived up to my expectation. A walled paradise, pockets of sumptous gardens set in arid desert land. Cars competing with donkeys, horses, and scooters everywhere..bustling souks, incredible food. The colours and shapes of the tiles and architecture are breath-taking.

My favourite highlight of the trip were the Majorelle Gardens, Yves San Laurent lived there and the gardens have been opened to the public. The striking blues and contrasting yellows with the teal greens and shots of orange are beautiful in amongst cacti of all shapes and sizes. I also managed to find Liberty print Moroccan slippers in the gift shop !

I am so ridiculously inspired..  I only wish I’d taken a better camera! Never mind, there is always next time, needless to say it won’t be 12 years till then, I’ll be lucky if I can wait 12 months!

Made in England

I have always been obsessed with all things British and it was always incredibly important to me that whatever I do is made here in the UK. My shirt business relied upon the very few shirtmakers left in this dwindling industry and it is ultimately the reason the business could not scale…but this has not put me off British manufacturing in general.

This fact was confirmed when I happened across a documentary on Channel 4 on friday night called ‘Made in England’ It was a very interesting story about one of the last remaining clothing manufacturers in Manchester. I have been very privileged to visit proper British factories..and having spent time at Rayner and Sturges in Kent and the Trickers shoe factory in Northampton I was left totally inspired by the skill and dedication these people have. There is such a lovely atmosphere, loyalty is huge in manufacturing and alot of the girls on the line have given a dedicated service for decades. To actually see bespoke shoes being made and shirts being whipped up, ties being individually hand sewn from silk woven in this country is hugely reassuring.

The problem we face is in my opinion is two fold : the skill will go with the current work force. Uni students do not aspire to be crafts people sat at a machine, they want the designer roles and many do not focus on sewing skills. Factory work requires a different mentality. The second issue is that now British manufacturing is growing increasingly popular the small factories cannot scale quick enough leading to issues such as my shirt situation. I do believe though that there is a way with increasing demand that the supply can adapt to meet these issues and resolve them, especially with the teamwork and skill out there currently.

You can watch the program here

I am very happy that the lovely people from Rayner and Sturges have helped me with some stock for a new project I will be revealing very shortly. Watch this space for info!