an alternative iced tea

It's pretty warm + dry here (28C) which is to me the perfect weather, 
quite rare in England.
I've been making this refreshing iced tea in the last few days:

1 teaspoon of organic green tea
half teaspoon of dried edible (no chemicals sprayed) 
lavender (from the Norfolk coast)
for every 1litre of boiled water.

if you like sweet you can add honey or agave nectar, 
let it cool down put it in the fridge, drink it cool.
Very nice and refreshing.

My husband came from the market with fresh turmeric root and ginger, 
I'll make a tea using this recipe.

/ Perfect weather to knit in the garden.

Have a nice Monday.

 

Norfolk seaside

A little break at the beach, the sea was unexpectedly warm.
Today back to reality.
Have a nice monday.

moving on

One step back, two steps forward.

I'll keep it in mind. 

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A new seat pad at knots.
I'll try to do another shop update at the end of this week. 
Sorry, it didn't happen.

We are waiting for the mini heat wave.
Meanwhile I  keep crocheting a new blanket with Aran wool.

yes

'Weathering'  by Laura Kicey  (on flickr) 
© laura kicey 

halfway + my focaccia recipe

Half of the shop update

(more will be added next week)

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Summer doesn't want to show up and I've been baking a lot in the last week.

I come from a town famous for its focaccia, you can't beat the focaccia genovese. When I was a kid I used to buy 100gr every morning for my school break, indeed I ate a lot of focaccia. I particularly love to dip focaccia in a cappuccino!

In my life as an immigrant I tried several recipes to replicate it, in the end I made my own and I like to share this recipe with you.

I use white spelt flour, but 00 white flour or white strong flour are ok.

This will make either 2 focaccia ( the size of a oven tray) or 8/10 small ones.

380 gr white spelt flour

1 teaspoon of salt

1 teaspoon of sugar

1 teaspoon of dried yeast (the one used for bread)

1 teaspoon of extra virgin olive oil

250ml of lukewarm water 

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extra flour for kneading

flaked sea salt

extra virgin olive oil

rosemary or sage (optional)

Oven at 250C

In a bowl put the flour, salt, sugar, yeast and olive oil, 
add the water a little at a time while with a spoon you
 mix the ingredients. 

Flour a clean surface and knead the dough for 5 minutes
 or until it feels elastic, do not overdo.

Put it back in a bowl, cover with some flour and then cover
 the bowl with a damp cloth; let it rise in a warm place 
until has doubled ( or more) its size. Knead a second 
time on a floured surface, place it on your tray 
(or baking sheet) and flatten it with your hands, 
push with your finger to leave digits 
(where the oil will sit nicely). 
Sprinkle with seasalt, oil and rosemary ( or sage).
Put it in the oven and bake for roughly 5 minutes 
or until golden. Eaten warm is the best!

*If you like you can chop the rosemary (or sage) 
and add it in the dough in the second kneading.

I use this basic recipe to make any kind of focaccia, 
one of our favourite lately is focaccia with eggs and asparagus.
I'll give you this recipe another time.

new things for knots

A shop update sometimes soon ( probably next week).

I'm working on new things.

I was born by the seaside, I miss it a lot. I miss to gaze at the deep blue of the Mediterranean sea, the brown hills at the back of my childhood home.  

I've chosen a colour palette that reminds me of them.

I like utilitarian things.

I like handmade things, well thought and well made. 

I like honest materials.

In every object I make there's a lot behind

Nothing is random.

(all this sounds a bit of a statement, well,it is!).

:^)

details and a recipe

I have a lot to learn.

I make this simple soup when I don't feel much hungry but still I need nourishment:

1 cup of boiling water, 1tbs white miso paste, firm tofu, few dried shiitake mushrooms,

1 finely sliced spring onion, Japanese soy sauce, sesame seeds.

Grab your favourite bowl, mix the miso paste with a spoon or two of water, add the 
boiling water, stir, add the mushrooms, cut the tofu in cubes 
( I use 1/3 of a confection of 250gr) then add it to the soup along with 
a dash of soy sauce, spring onion and sesame seeds.
 *All the ingredients I use are organic.

I like this 

Have a nice weekend!

one average monday morning

Double coffee for me this monday morning, i
t's dull, grey and cold, but it's the 10 of june!

I like:

Kinfolk volume 8
this image
this home and photographs
this hammock
this film (seems promising, though I don't like vampires)
this collection 
this cooking book

I'd love to go to Ana Ventura workshop 

Have a nice monday!

hi

I just had an haircut.
it is strange to see the wrinkles that gradually appears in my face 
and how my expression and eyes have changed as life goes by.
I'm trying to embrace middle age in a graceful way.
Anyway, this is me at 44, soon 45 years old.

Have a nice week end all!

doing, making, mending

I haven't blogged for 10 days, in blog time seems a month!

The reason why, the school holidays or mid term as it's called here. 
I spent most of my time with my daughter, we tried to finish few 
incomplete projects we started a while ago, like her photographs 
album I was meant to do a couple of years ago (!). 

It's such a relief to see stuff done!

Then I decided that it was time to put my sewing machine at work. 

I finished this top, made a pair of pj trousers with Liberty fabric 
I bought a long time ago, a simple top ( my favourite japanese pattern), 
a linen skirt ( no pattern used, made a mess then got it right in the end), 
cut a dress and made it into a skirt and started a simple jacket that I 
will show you when finished.

I've been complaining now and then, here and there, that I don't own 
an "overlocker machine", so, with the purpose of looking for one I 
started a search on internet and found an interesting forum which 
made me decide that I don't need one! when an experienced 
seamstress pointed out that 'haute couture' garments are not finished 
with an overlock machine but by hand or using different techniques 
such as "French seams" or "Hong Kong seams"...overlock finishing 
are used mainly for high street clothes. So I thought of my grand mothers 
(both seamstresses) and asked myself how did they do it? Having put time
and effort on my handmade clothes I decided to follow their steps 
and take the slow approach... though not so sure an overlocker is faster 
really as I read on forums many people complaints of the time it takes 
to thread them...what do you think? do you have an overlock? 

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WEAR is my style board on pinterest