Tea and Sympatico

It was my very good friend Jan's birthday last month. I first met Jan in the mid 1980s. I knew her boyfriend at the time and the first time I met her properly was in the Hacienda. We were 17, I was a more of a punk and Jan had an amazing psychobilly hairstyle. On that first meeting she was also wearing an fabulous jacket and skirt she'd made from some 1960s curtains from a jumble sale. Check out my crimped hair! Goodness knows how much hairspray we used to get through, though a sugar and water mixture was always good too! It's fair to say that from an early age we've both been in vintage and DIY/ crafting and it's never worn off. So, when I saw this Secret Vintage Afternoon Tea Party being advertised that was her birthday present sorted. We were greeted by our lovely host Gwen with a glass of rose lemonade. Coffee and teapigs teas were served throughout the afternoon and people were welcome to bring their own alcohol. Gwen regularly hosts thes

Hooray, at last it's here! The long awaited cookbook from Ms Cupcake, Brixton Baker Supreme and one of my cookery heroes is available to buy . I was very lucky and got sent a preview copy last month and I've been baking away from it. There's been cinnammon cookies and the most amazing peanut butter, chocolate crispy squares and some even more fancy stuff. Below are the Bakewell Tart cupcakes I made for a dear friends birthday. I had lots of friends birthdays in April and this Turkish Delight Cake went along to a party. I'd definitely make all the recipes again and am really looking forward to trying more. There's quite a few blogger reviews around the internet so to see more recipes, images from the book and to hear more about the baking techniques involved I recommend also checking out what Hasta la Vegan , Dearly Beloved Bakery,   Paperbag Blog and  Vegan In Brighton have to say. I was delighted to get the chance to do a little interview with Ms Cupcake h

There's lots of changes going on at the moment. At work. we're about to be completely restructured which means saying goodbye to a lot of colleagues I've worked with for the last 3 years and for those of us staying on there's the fear of the unknown and nervousness about what our workloads will entail given that there's a lot less of us. I've also spent last week doing all the necessary things to get my flat up for sale. It felt like a very welcome time to have a Bank Holiday weekend and I was delighted to get home on Friday to this fantastic meal that was ready and waiting for me! Matt had been getting creative with The Vegg . The starter was was asparagus with hollandaise sauce and a side salad of mixed leaves.   Followed by Roasted butternut square risotto with roasted red pepper and rocket. The pudding was a concotion of crushed bourbon biscuits, bananas, mango and caramel pudding which tasted like banoffee pie.