A couple of years ago I discovered that Twitter was a good place to follow bike racing - it was during the Tour of California, and I had heard somewhere that Johan Bruyneel was live-tweeting the race from the team car. I signed up, picked a few people to follow & sat down to "watch" the race. Pretty soon, fellow cycling fans began to find me, and one of the first was a local guy, Rich, a.k.a. @hardboiled2006. We chatted about the pros at first, who we were cheering for in California and then in the spring classics & the Giro; we moved on to discussing our own cycling (him: a regular rider putting in hundreds of miles a year on a flashy road bike; me: just taking it up again after 12 bikeless years, pottering about on a tatty old rescued-from-the-tip mountain bike.) Often we just chatted, getting to know each other through an online presence of 140 characters or less. Finally, a year or so later, we met, and when I got my first road bike we rode together. We got in a couple of rides over the summer - easy, chatty social rides for him, which left me feeling pleasantly pushed (it's far too easy to relax & slow down when you're riding alone,) but when autumn came around life - and filthy weather - got in the way.
Weeks went by when we half-heartedly agreed to arranged something, then a new year's eve coffee and a twitter-chat and the ride was on at last: something between 20 and 35 miles, a nice relaxed pace, the all-important coffee stop. We met at the Minster on Monday morning, joined by Tom and another twitterer, Matt, and headed out of town for a 21 mile loop through some of the prettiest villages to the south of town. We set off along the river to Bishopthorpe, then on to Appleton Roebuck through the middle of a pheasant shoot - I'm used to checking the road for hazards, less used to looking up and dodging falling wildfowl! The one "hill" of the day was the double railway bridge at Colton, from where we crossed the A64 (lordy, how I hate that junction!) to Askham Bryan and back in to town to my favourite café, Gray's Court to refuel and thaw our toes.
21 miles, plus to & from the city centre starting point
1 hour 58 minutes riding, another hour or so drinking coffee
Friday, January 7
Thursday, January 6
Packing up Christmas
The three tin Santa Clauses (or more properly Père Noëls) were discovered in a very chic Parisian homeware boutique. Tom had surprised me with a weekend in Paris for my 29th birthday - he'd organised everything from Eurostar tickets to hotel to presenting me with a guidebook as we got on the train to London, and even arranged my time off work! I spent much of the weekend half expecting him to propose (which he did, a year later, on a second trip to Paris.) As it was October, I really didn't mean to start shopping for Christmas, but these guys were just too sweet to resist, and I'm so glad I didn't as every Christmas I have a special reminder of a wonderful trip.
The beaded fruits were collected on trip to Italy. One winter I took myself off to Rome to do my Christmas shopping. I found a cosy bed and breakfast near the Porta Pia and spent four days walking all over the city, exploring the Colosseum and the Pantheon, buying delicious treats from the Christmas markets and little delis, refuelling on pizza, gelato and incredibly good espresso. I was a single girl then and never bothered with a Christmas tree, instead I would pile a beautiful bowl with fruit and baubles, so when I found these in one of Rome's most glamorous department stores they seemed absolutely perfect for me.
My Gnomies have been with me for as long as I can remember. As I understand it, they are a German tradition, brought into our family through my Steiner education. Every December, instead of an advent calendar, my mum and I would construct a Gnomie garden. Moss would stand in for a lawn, some twigs & pine-cones became trees and a scrap of tinfoil made a shiny little pond. The Gnomies would magically appear overnight (in reality, painstakingly handmade by mum from pipe-cleaners, felt & wool), and each night in Advent they would bring a new gift - something simple like a tiny purse, a pretty gemstone or a sugar mouse. Although it's years since I made them a garden, I still like to bring the Gnomies out of hibernation each year.
New decorations are added to our collection every year - the angels, snowflake and the handmade green glass bauble were gifts from my best friend and her parents, the tiny solid glass fruits were a sale find a couple of years ago - the boiled-sweet colours catch the light so beautifully - and the red mercury glass baubles were bought in the faded gentility of Jenners in Edinburgh, for the first Christmas after Tom and I moved in together. And now they are all wrapped in tissue paper and cardboard and put away in the big box marked "Christmas," ready to come out again next December.
Saturday, January 1
Ride, January 1st 2011
 |
| Not *all* of the ice has melted yet... |
At long, long last my road bike has mudguards, fitted just in time to allow me to enjoy a long-standing new year tradition: wherever I am & whatever the weather I like to begin the year with an hour or two outdoors, breathing in the cold air, getting my body moving after the excesses & idleness of Christmas, and if at all possible escaping the city crowds.
As well as Christmas, the great British weather & a lingering cough had conspired to keep me off the bike since mid-November, and the lack of exercise has begun to show on my mind as well as my body. Despite the fact that today was one of those grim winter days when it never truly got light, nothing was going to keep me indoors!
We chose a nice, easy, mostly flat route - a little loop out through the villages to the east of York. The road surfaces were terrible after a month of snow & ice, hundreds of potholes, huge patches of loose gravel & wet leaves, even still ice in places, but it felt so good to be back on the bike! I only returned to cycling a couple of years ago, and only bought my first road bike last spring, but I really do feel like that little Raleigh is an extension of my body. Cycling feels so comfortable, so natural to me, even more so than walking. I may never go as fast as Emma Pooley, but by God riding my bike makes me feel great!
1 hour 12 minutes
average speed 12.1 mph
highest speed 21 mph
It's a new dawn, it's a new day, it's a new year...
... and I'm feeling good*
I'm not one for new year's resolutions, I know all too well that I never keep them up beyond the first week or two of January, but a tweet from fellow cycling fan @_Pigeons_ got me thinking about how I'd like to begin 2011
So far today has seen a long lie in (complete with breakfast in bed, natch), a little bike-tinkering and dancing around the kitchen to this:
Coming next, an hour or two on the bike and some baking.
*No, internet, that song ISN'T by Muse, or, God help us all, Michael Buble, but the great Nina Simone (well, technically Anthony Newley and Leslie Bricusse)
I'm not one for new year's resolutions, I know all too well that I never keep them up beyond the first week or two of January, but a tweet from fellow cycling fan @_Pigeons_ got me thinking about how I'd like to begin 2011
I love the Spanish tradition of not making Resolutions, but doing a little bit of everything you want to happen in the coming year on NY Day
So far today has seen a long lie in (complete with breakfast in bed, natch), a little bike-tinkering and dancing around the kitchen to this:
Coming next, an hour or two on the bike and some baking.
*No, internet, that song ISN'T by Muse, or, God help us all, Michael Buble, but the great Nina Simone (well, technically Anthony Newley and Leslie Bricusse)
Wednesday, December 29
The Far Land of Spare Oom
BeforeEven with regular doses of design blogs & interiors magazines I struggled for inspiration - until one weekend in September the whole room came to me in a flash, from colour scheme & furniture to window treatments & accessories!
A quick sketch after my flash of inspirationThe plan - to create a grown-up boudoir, using, as far as possible, furniture and accessories we already owned. The inspiration - a room I'd read about months earlier, probably in LivingEtc. I can't remember if it was a dining room, a bedroom, or even a hall - just that it was painted aubergine-purple & the whole ceiling was covered with gold leaf, and it was utterly beautiful. I didn't feel that our little room (and little budget) could handle quite that level of bold, deep colour, so I settled on one wall of aubergine set off by plenty of cream, our walnut furniture and splashes of gold.
Choosing the perfect purple
Choosing the perfect purpleHaving had that blinding flash of inspiration, life yet again got in the way of progress, and it wasn't until a friend asked, in mid-November, if he & his girlfriend could visit in December that we finally began shifting boxes & making preparations.
Yes, we have hardwood-framed double-glazing, but by God the frames are a particularly nasty shade of fake mahogany!
Tatty as the floorboards were, staining them such a dark colour was nerve-wracking. I needn't have worried though, as soon as I started I knew it would work - in fact, I did the whole floor with a big silly grin on my face, feeling certain that the result would be even better than I had imagined!
Yes, we have hardwood-framed double-glazing, but by God the frames are a particularly nasty shade of fake mahogany!
Tatty as the floorboards were, staining them such a dark colour was nerve-wracking. I needn't have worried though, as soon as I started I knew it would work - in fact, I did the whole floor with a big silly grin on my face, feeling certain that the result would be even better than I had imagined!
I think I was right - the dark floor pulls the rest of the room together so well - not to mention making an asset out of the battered, stained boards, which now look aged rather than scruffy.
Furniture-wise, the only thing we were lacking was a bed. Now, this isn't a large room - about 12ft x 9ft, at a guess, so a double was out of the question, yet most of the people likely to stay with us are couples, so a double was essential! Ikea to the rescue with the really rather nice Hemnes daybed - a couch or single bed by day, it rolls out quickly & simply into a double by night.
Our trusty old desk & glass-fronted bookcase combine to make a nicely functional dressing table & display unit
A sheepskin rug, a standard lamp & a curtain warm up the space Several items remain on the to-do list for the room, but they could all be classed as "dressing" - there's a stack of pictures to be framed & hung, the lamp needs a new shade, the window treatment needs more work and we need to buy a new mattress topper & a set of sheets as, being Ikea, the bed is a non-standard size(grr!) Luckily, dressing a room is my favourite part of the process!
- walls, ceiling, woodwork, radiator: Homebase matt emulsion & satinwood in Classic Cream
- feature wall: Dulux matt emulsion in Mulberry Burst
- floor: Ronseal Quick-drying Woodstain in Dark Oak
- curtain: Ikea Bomull unbleached cotton
Getting off on the good foot
It's nearly new year's eve, I've worked my last shift of 2010 but at home the Christmas celebrations have left many things undone... It's a whopper of a to-do list, but the plan is to have it all ticked off by the end of January.
- schedule some bike time - I've not ridden nearly enough over the last few weeks, as a result of which both my body & my mind are getting sluggish.
- catch up on the laundry, take inventory of my wardrobe & look to fill any gaps in the sales
- write a workable chores schedule - and actually use it!
- finish up the final bits of the guest room - frame & hang pictures, make the sheer curtains & swag, buy some new bedlinen - & share the results here.
- sort out & tidy our bedroom, which became the dumping-ground for all the stuff that was in the spare room
- wallpaper the stair risers, make curtains for the hall, hang pictures & buy lampshades. Again, a project to be photographed & shared!
- make the second curtain for the bedroom (I'm ashamed to say that we've had one curtain & a blanket clothes-pegged to the rail for over a year now!)
- tidy away all the Christmas decorations, wrapping paper etc; find homes for the presents we received & dispose of anything that a new item is replacing
- count the small change in the "penny jar" & bank it
- take inventory of the pantry & freezer, write a shopping list to fill any gaps and plan meals for as far ahead as possible - can I do a month's worth of menus in one go?
- prep for a work project & contact the people I need to speak to about it.
Christmas on the Moors
Wednesday, July 29
Curry night - part three
The side dishes
Cheesy peas - almost certainly more properly known as matar paneer, but always cheesy peas in our house!
Ingredients
1 tbsp each butter & oil
1 clove of garlic
2 -3 small shallots (or an onion, leek, whatever...)
1/2 tsp each ground cumin, ground coriander, ground turmeric, garam masala & ground ginger (or an inch-long chunk of fresh, finely chopped)
chilli to taste
2-3 cups frozen peas
1-2 cups passata or canned tomatoes
cheese - ideally paneer, but wensleydale, feta or halloumi work too. Cut into bite-size chunks. This time out, I'm going with fresh mozzarella, just because it's what I've got in the fridge and it's piddling down out there!
Method
Crush & chop garlic & shallots and sweat in half of the oil/ butter mix. Once softened, stir in the spices the add the peas & passata. Simmer gently for at least 15 minutes (but it won't come to any harm if it's left longer.)
In a separate pan, heat the remaining oil & butter and quickly fry the chunks of cheese - when ready to serve, stir these into the peas.
Cucumber raita
Mix chopped cucumber, finely chopped mint and a little salt into plain yoghurt to make a cooling relish.
Cheesy peas - almost certainly more properly known as matar paneer, but always cheesy peas in our house!
Ingredients
1 tbsp each butter & oil
1 clove of garlic
2 -3 small shallots (or an onion, leek, whatever...)
1/2 tsp each ground cumin, ground coriander, ground turmeric, garam masala & ground ginger (or an inch-long chunk of fresh, finely chopped)
chilli to taste
2-3 cups frozen peas
1-2 cups passata or canned tomatoes
cheese - ideally paneer, but wensleydale, feta or halloumi work too. Cut into bite-size chunks. This time out, I'm going with fresh mozzarella, just because it's what I've got in the fridge and it's piddling down out there!
Method
Crush & chop garlic & shallots and sweat in half of the oil/ butter mix. Once softened, stir in the spices the add the peas & passata. Simmer gently for at least 15 minutes (but it won't come to any harm if it's left longer.)
In a separate pan, heat the remaining oil & butter and quickly fry the chunks of cheese - when ready to serve, stir these into the peas.
Cucumber raita
Mix chopped cucumber, finely chopped mint and a little salt into plain yoghurt to make a cooling relish.
Curry night - part two
The house curry
Ingredients
1/2 tbsp each oil & butter
1 onion (or leek, or a few spring onions)
1 tsp each black mustard seed, coriander seed, cumin seed
1 tsp each ground coriander, ground cumin, ground turmeric
chilli (fresh, dried or powder) to taste
any combination of veg, meat or fish that are to hand & take your fancy (tonight I'm using courgette, chickpeas & a handful of swiss chard), prepared & cut into bite-size chunks
a little water
1 cup passata or canned tomatoes
2 oz creamed coconut
plain yoghurt or creme fraiche, to taste
Method
Sweat onions in the oil & butter mix, & when softened add the whole spices. Once whole spices are toasted, add ground spices then meat/ veg (though leave any leafy stuff until later) and a splash of water, and give the whole lot a good stir to ensure the spice mix coats everything evenly.
Mix in the passata and crumble over the creamed coconut, add a little more water if necessary to give a reasonably fluid sauce, cover the pan & leave to simmer gently.
A couple of minutes before you're ready to dish up, stir in any leafy veg you're using, then the yoghurt*
Serve with any combination of rice, naan, chapatis, poppadoms...
* A top tip I read in one of Nigel Slater's wonderful Observer columns is to whisk in a teaspoon or so of gram (chickpea) flour per 1/2 cup of yoghurt or low-fat creme fraiche before using it in a hot dish - this helps to prevent curdling.
Ingredients
1/2 tbsp each oil & butter
1 onion (or leek, or a few spring onions)
1 tsp each black mustard seed, coriander seed, cumin seed
1 tsp each ground coriander, ground cumin, ground turmeric
chilli (fresh, dried or powder) to taste
any combination of veg, meat or fish that are to hand & take your fancy (tonight I'm using courgette, chickpeas & a handful of swiss chard), prepared & cut into bite-size chunks
a little water
1 cup passata or canned tomatoes
2 oz creamed coconut
plain yoghurt or creme fraiche, to taste
Method
Sweat onions in the oil & butter mix, & when softened add the whole spices. Once whole spices are toasted, add ground spices then meat/ veg (though leave any leafy stuff until later) and a splash of water, and give the whole lot a good stir to ensure the spice mix coats everything evenly.
Mix in the passata and crumble over the creamed coconut, add a little more water if necessary to give a reasonably fluid sauce, cover the pan & leave to simmer gently.
A couple of minutes before you're ready to dish up, stir in any leafy veg you're using, then the yoghurt*
Serve with any combination of rice, naan, chapatis, poppadoms...
* A top tip I read in one of Nigel Slater's wonderful Observer columns is to whisk in a teaspoon or so of gram (chickpea) flour per 1/2 cup of yoghurt or low-fat creme fraiche before using it in a hot dish - this helps to prevent curdling.
Curry night - part one
Hello, it's been a while...
A house update will follow, but for now, while this is fresh in my mind, I must get it down - my pseudo-naan bread recipe.
Ingredients
1 1/2 cups plain flour
1 1/2 cups strong white (bread) flour
1 tsp easy-blend yeast
1 tsp muscovado sugar
1 tsp kalonji (black onion seed)
a generous pinch of salt
2 fl oz cold water
4 fl oz boiling water
6 fl oz plain yoghurt
Method
Pre-heat oven to its highest setting with a pizza stone in it (or a sturdy baking sheet.)
Mix dry ingredients in a large bowl, and wet ingredients in a jug, then mix the two together.
Knead well until the dough is elastic & not too sticky, cover with a cloth & leave in a warm place to rise while you make your curry. I'm not especially fussy about how long this stage lasts - if I'm organised enough to start the dough a couple of hours in advance, that's great, but as little as half an hour seems to work ok, too.
When ready to cook, split the dough into 4-6 pieces and roll, pull & stretch into flat ovals. Dust with a little flour if they're sticky, then slap straight onto the stone or baking tray. Bake for about 10 minutes - they'll look puffy & golden & browned in patches when they're ready. Wrap in a clean cloth to keep warm at the table!
Curry recipe to follow...
A house update will follow, but for now, while this is fresh in my mind, I must get it down - my pseudo-naan bread recipe.
Ingredients
1 1/2 cups plain flour
1 1/2 cups strong white (bread) flour
1 tsp easy-blend yeast
1 tsp muscovado sugar
1 tsp kalonji (black onion seed)
a generous pinch of salt
2 fl oz cold water
4 fl oz boiling water
6 fl oz plain yoghurt
Method
Pre-heat oven to its highest setting with a pizza stone in it (or a sturdy baking sheet.)
Mix dry ingredients in a large bowl, and wet ingredients in a jug, then mix the two together.
Knead well until the dough is elastic & not too sticky, cover with a cloth & leave in a warm place to rise while you make your curry. I'm not especially fussy about how long this stage lasts - if I'm organised enough to start the dough a couple of hours in advance, that's great, but as little as half an hour seems to work ok, too.
When ready to cook, split the dough into 4-6 pieces and roll, pull & stretch into flat ovals. Dust with a little flour if they're sticky, then slap straight onto the stone or baking tray. Bake for about 10 minutes - they'll look puffy & golden & browned in patches when they're ready. Wrap in a clean cloth to keep warm at the table!
Curry recipe to follow...
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