Lavender bags and logs

November 19, 2008

I was allowed out last Saturday night and went to a party at newly revamped Soho restaurant Kettners , where designer Ilse Crawford has waved her magic wand. Pretty, white Thonet chairs, twinkly candles and pale grey walls are delicious as the steaming French onion soup.

To sleep late, but not too late to bounce out in the morning and get on with garden tidying. High winds and heavy rain have denuded the trees, which look like bristle brushes. Autumn is making way for winter. My brother-in-law is cooking Sunday lunch, a good incentive to work hard if there’s a reward of Jonny’s chocolate tart for pudding.

Putting the garden to bed for winter is satisfying: trimming, and sweeping and generally neatening up the withered remnants of summer’s wild growth. My garden is allowed to meander more than is good gardening practice, but then I’m no wannabee Martha Stewart. I snip the lavenders so that they are more rounded and bushy, but I’m not going to bust a gut about making them look topiary perfect. I should have collected the dried flower heads in summer when they were at their most pungent but there are enough aromatic handfuls to rescue from the flower stalks to make lavender bags for Christmas presents. A whiff of lavender is almost as good as ginger and lemon tea for getting me off to sleep.

There’s an Ercol love seat with a simple spindle back for sale at the Midcentury Modern show, where young couples with babies trussed up in hand knits barter for retro fabrics and furniture. The price tag is too high for me, my goodness I didn’t realise quite how collectable Fifties’ Ercol has become, but feel that I spend money well on the latest issue of Selvedge, a beautifully illustrated and informative magazine for the textile addict.

On the other hand, many discounts are appearing from every which way now that recession is as official as Madonna’s divorce from Guy Ritchie. I welcome the special deal on a load of logs which, I suppose, helps to even out the cuts appearing in some of our location fees. I really don’t mind the general slowing down, and drawing back, it’s a chance to reassess priorities, to spend more prudently, on what we need rather than what we want.

PANCAKES

Pancakes are a tasty recession proof idea: flour, milk, eggs, butter that’s all you need. Great for stuffing with fridge leftovers – chopped chicken, spring onions, fromage frais and a squeeze of lemon – pancakes are a quick lunch option. We like the sweet version in our household:
100g plain flour; l beaten egg; 250 ml milk;30g melted butter
Put the flour and salt in a bowl. Make a well and pour in the egg and the milk. Stir well with a wooden spoon until the batter is smooth. Add a little more milk if necessary.Leave to stand for half an hour.

Heat the butter in a small non stick frying pan. When it is very hot add about 30 ml batter or enough to coat the bottom of the pan. Tilt so that it spreads evenly. Cook for about a minute until bubbles appear and the bottom is gold brown. Turn or toss the pancake and cook the other side. Sprinkle it with caster sugar and juice squeezed from an orange or lemon wedge. Roll up and eat immediately.