Table of contents for June 2016 - Issue 48 in The Simple Things

One weekend, I went to Norway with my camera, and I came back a photographer. That’s the power of leaving the world behind and immersing yourself in something new or different. A well-run course*, be it photography, bushcraft or mindfulness, is always a satisfying experience but there are other ways; we’ve explored the idea on page 72. I’d always been intimidated by my camera, but with some advice, I took some of my favourite pictures (this one was in a park in Bergen). I hold my camera more confidently now. And that’s a lasting holiday souvenir. * My course was run by Creative Escapes ( creative-escapes.co.uk )…

Chef Oliver Rowe trained at Moro and went on to open the award-winning London restaurant Konstam (named after his grandmother), where the food was seasonal and sourced locally. This lovely book is a celebration of that ethos, an exploration of flavours and tastes, and stories from Rowe’s life in food – “cooking is about trying new things, seeing what works and what doesn’t”. The book is divided into months, and celebrates the fruits and vegetables that are at their best then. June “is a happy time in the seasonal calendar” – so it’s time to try cherries poached in Pernod, new lettuce served with a sharp dressing and courgette flowers deep-fried in batter. (Faber & Faber)…

PROUDLY HOMEMADE SAGE AND MUSTARD SAUSAGE ROLLS Once you’ve made your own sausage rolls there’s no going back. Bring on the picnics… MAKES 12 450g good-quality sausage meat 2 tbsp sage leaves, finely chopped 1 tbsp wholegrain mustard plain flour, for dusting 1 x 320g sheet ready-rolled all-butter puff pastry 1 medium egg, beaten cracked black pepper, for sprinkling (optional) 1 Preheat oven to 200C/180Fan/400F. Line two baking sheets with baking parchment. 2 Tip the sausage meat into a large mixing bowl and add the sage and mustard. Give it a vigorous stir with a wooden spoon until mustard and sage are well mixed into the meat. 3 Lightly dust a surface with flour and lay the pastry sheet on top. Cut the sheet in half lengthways. Spread half the…

Garden inspiration At the fab GROW London garden fair, you can’t fail to get inspired to make the best of your outdoor space. From 24-26 June growlondon.com Celebrate the solstice Enjoy all the arts and culture on offer in Penzance at the Mazey Day and Golowan Festival, 17-26 June. Westcornwall events.co.uk Love the ocean The Isle of Wight Festival of the Sea is a fortnight of fun and festivities taking place around the island in celebration of the ocean, from 18 June–3 July.visitisleofwight.co.uk Get your swimmers on Jump into Lake Windermere to join Europe’s biggest open water swimming event. Distances for all abilities from half a mile to 10K.greatrun.org/great-swim…

‘Lovely Day’ Bill Withers ‘Summer Breeze’ Seals and Crofts ‘In the Summertime’ Mungo Jerry ‘Summer in the City’ The Lovin’ Spoonful ‘Heat Wave’ Martha Reeves and the Vandellas ‘I am the black gold of the sun’ Nuyorican Soul ‘Oye Como Va’ Santana ‘Cruel Summer’ Bananarama ‘Sunny Afternoon’ The Kinks ‘Sunday Shining’ Finley Quaye ‘Bustin’ Surfboards’ The Tornadoes ‘Hot Fun in the Summertime’ Sly and the Family Stone ‘All Summer Long’ The Beach Boys ‘Staying out for the Summer’ Dodgy Listen at thesimplethings.com/blog/partyplaylist stop look listen It’s the summertime and the weather is fine. This month, we’re piling out into the garden and having a party…

Do what you love, but also be who you want to be. That really underpins our business. I’ve always loved making things and, after graduating, I read James Dyson’s biography. Feeling inspired, I wrote to him, asking for a job. I ended up spending eight years at Dyson, moving from graphic design to new product development and learnt so much. My now wife, Kate, and I were making extended trips to Devon and Cornwall from London, thinking about how we could shift our lives, and I was designing in my spare time. After moving to Perranporth in 2005, I worked from a shed for a few years and the idea for the business developed from our deep-seated interest in wildlife. We thought about it a lot, planned and then went…

FAVOURITE SHOP Lagerhaus Relatively affordable, high-quality patterned textiles, glassware, kitchenware and books on Swedish culture and cuisine. Good for tasteful souvenirs and gifts. lagerhaus.se FAVOURITE FAMILY-FRIENDLY SPOT Rum för Barn (Room for Kids) Located on the fourth floor of Stockholm’s iconic Kulturhuset, this exquisite children’s library with several age-appropriate sections allows you to read and borrow books in several languages, as well as providing daily activities for children. en.kulturhuset.stockholm.se/Bibliotek/Rum-for-Barn FAVOURITE CAFÉ Rosendals Trädgård Kafé & Bageri A unique café and bakery set amidst greenhouses, rose gardens and apple orchards. Dishes, such as pan-seared Arctic char on couscous, are organic and seasonal, and its fresh pastries and breads are baked from biodynamic flour in a wood-fired stone oven. rosendalstradgard.se FAVOURITE FOOD SCENE Teatern at Ringen Eight kiosks in a food mall…

“Cocooned in my sleeping bag on a soft bed of fallen Scots pine needles, I try to sleep” There was a time when my idea of escapism was much the same as Holly Golightly’s, except, instead of heading to Tiffany’s to be calmed by the scent of silver and leather wallets, I’d go to Topshop and spend the last couple of quid in my bank account on a pair of nickel hooped earrings that would probably make my earlobes swell. I’m not really sure, therefore, how one summer a few years back, I ended up on a ‘Bushcraft Survival’ weekend. I have a backpack of essentials (a compact mirror, one packet of wet wipes, all my make-up and some tweezers) and my fairly new boyfriend with me, and since squatting…

What I get, I bring home to you: a dark handful, sweet-edged, dissolving in one mouthful. I bother to bring them for you though they’re so quickly over, pulpless, sliding to juice a grainy rub on the tongue and the taste’s gone. If you remember we were in the woods at wild strawberry-time and I was making a basket of dock-leaves to hold what you’d picked, but the cold leaves unplaited themselves and slid apart, and again unplaited themselves until I gave up and ate wild strawberries out of your hands for sweetness. I licked at your palm: the little salt-edge there, the tang of money you’d handled. As we stayed in the woods, hidden, we heard the sound system below us calling the winners at Chepstow, faint as the…

As you got dressed today, how much attention did you pay to your underwear? Whether you picked it out for aesthetics or for practicalities, you’re bound to have given it less attention than two exhibitions currently do. ‘Undressed’ at London’s V&A and ‘Shaping the Body’ at York Castle Museum explore the way underwear has been used to cover, reveal, cinch, lift, flatten and enhance our bodies over hundreds of years. And, despite today’s underwear looking significantly different to that of our Georgian and Victorian ancestors, the factors influencing it have remained fairly constant – a fascinating mix of fashion, hygiene and technology, padded out with a fair amount of moral judgement. HEALTH AND HYGIENE: KEEPING IT CLEAN While the word ‘lingerie’ may conjure up images of little lacy bits, it…

“It was the seat of choice for would-be bohemians” Was there ever a seat made more for posing than the peacock chair? With its hourglass shape and fantail back, it is truly a throne for the show-off. No end of stars – the Bay City Rollers (pictured), Al Green, Kate Bush, Morticia Addams – have had their portrait shot in one, no doubt relishing its associations with the decadent and exotic and its ability to frame the incumbent. This has much to do with Barbara Hulanicki who sold a version of what was a traditional Philippine peacock chair dating from the 1870s, in her Biba store in Kensington in the 1970s.Co-ordinated with a feather boa, velvet loons and a guitar, it was the seat of choice for would-be bohemians with…

Your diary for the next couple of months may well have a garden party or fete marked in there already, possibly even a wedding. And, if not, the start of summer proper is surely enough excuse alone to throw a party. When it comes to decorating, bunting remains the standard, but if you fancy something a little different, these three garland projects look every bit as jolly, and won’t take all the sunshine hours to make. A word of warning, however: being made from wool and paper, they won’t survive well in sudden downpours. Don’t let that stop you giving them a go – after all, what defines the British summer more than sunny weather optimism? The biggest blooms THESE OVERSIZED TISSUE-PAPER POMPOMS ARE BOLD AND BEAUTIFUL YOU WILL NEED:…

YOU MAY NEED... Oven gloves for hauling the roast out of the oven A decent cutlery set: no mismatched knives and forks here A decanter – if you’re feeling show-offy Table mats, for a sense of decorum Napkins, to manage gravy spillage An apron to keep your Sunday outfit sharp Serving dishes for the ‘ta-dah’ moment…

KARTIO, KAJ FRANCK Sea-blue coloured glass and an eye-catching contour. Best for: adding mid-century style – this pitcher was designed in 1958. £65, scp.co.uk TERRACOTTA, REIKO KANEKO Handmade in Suffolk, each pitcher is unique. Best for: an heirloom piece that’s robust enough for everyday use. £65, reikokaneko.co.uk ORLA KIELY 70S FLOWER Kiely doing what she does best, with a striking retro pattern. Best for: made from melamine, it’ll survive the most boisterous picnics. £25, uniqueandunity.co.uk…

There’s an art to mowing in the summer months to keep it looking healthy, luscious and weed free as well as making it hardwearing. Whether you’re creating a striped masterpiece or keeping it just this side of a wilderness, the following tips are worth considering: 1 The best time to tackle a lawn is morning or late afternoon to avoid grass becoming heat stressed. Pick a dry day as a damp lawn can be hard to cut and will make a mess of turf, as well as smother the ground with damp grass cuttings. 2 If the grass is high, don’t give it a ‘short back and sides’ in one go. Cut a third of the height in one go and cut more often. As the grass grows more rapidly,…

Has anyone ever chosen a career on the basis of a book from their school careers library? Few are likely to have embraced a future as a Dental Hygienist having read this tome. With “educational requirements” and “licensing examinations” in its contents, it’s likely to turn off even the most enthused. A modicum of 1960s glamour comes with the hint of a possible career in the Peace Corps. But by the time you reach that, you’ve probably picked up a book on professional dog walking instead. Found at awfullibrarybooks.net…

MAKES:175ml KEEPS: 6–12 months INGREDIENTS 100g coconut oil 25ml avocado oil 1 tbsp honey 5 tsps rosewater 10–15 drops rose (or rose geranium) essential oil METHOD 1 Melt the coconut and avocado oils and honey in a bain-marie. Warm the rosewater in a separate bowl in the bain-marie. 2 Remove from heat, and whisk the oil and honey mixture, adding a drop of rosewater. 3 Keep whisking and adding rosewater until you’ve used all of it, then whisk until it starts to solidify. Add the essential oils and whisk until well blended. 4 Keep in a sterilised jar. Courtesy of Lynn Rawlinson. Found in The Domestic Alchemist: 501 Herbal Recipes for Home, Health and Happiness by Pip Waller (Leaping Hare Press).…

ROMEO AND JULIET Don’t be Fortune’s fool when it comes to remembering Shakespeare’s teen tragedy. In fair Verona, we meet two warring families - Montagues and Capulets. How unfortunate (and typical of teenagers) that the children of both houses meet, and fall in love. They secretly marry but Romeo has killed Juliet’s cousin in vengeance for his friend’s death, and is banished from the city. Juliet is told to marry another guy, Paris, so plots an elaborate escape – a fake death with sleeping potion. When Romeo arrives, he believes she really is dead, and kills himself. Juliet awakes to see him dead, and takes her own life. The lovers’ bodies are discovered, and feud and play end.DO SAY: For never was a story of more woe, than this of…

KATE TURNER Kate Turner is an allotment gardener, forager, recipe writer and author, who wrote this month’s henkeeping feature on page 48. She loves growing organic veg and raising ‘free-range’ children. What brightens your day? Getting out into nature with my family, a big blue summer sky and freshly picked peas. ALUN CALLENDER Alun is the photographer behind our Home Tour (page 96) this month. He is mainly seen wearing stripy tops, and likes walking about on the South Downs or attempting to swim in the sea. What brightens your day? Birds! And birdsong. I love hearing sparrows chirping in my back garden while I sit on the step drinking tea, and swallows nesting in the shed. REBECCA GAUNT Rebecca is the co-founder of This is Your Kingdom (thisisyourkingdom.co.uk), a…

Rachel Barnes creates bespoke hand-stitched quilts, slowly and with purpose. Her interest in sewing started at an early age. “My mum made quilted blankets and tiny quilts for my dolls. And watching the movie How to Make An American Quilt, which told the stories surrounding the quilt, inspired me to make my own.” Rachel’s eye for clean shapes and bold colours paired with lots of white makes her quilts refreshingly contemporary. There’s also a personal process interwoven into each quilt (above, from £160), which makes it something to be treasured. etsy.com/uk/shop/RBQuiltsandTextiles…

Fops and free spirits, families and garden designers have all influenced park life. Travis Elborough’s quirky, lively history, full of unexpected detail – where a short sentence can open up a new perspective – looks at how our parks came to be and chattily recounts all the things that happened in them. He recounts the battle to wrestle land back from the ancient aristocracy (who wanted to keep them as hunting grounds), describes how, in industrialised and polluted towns, the green spaces were a haven for workers whose daily life was far from a walk on the wild side, and explains how the “cultivated wildness” was the perfect setting for “disaffected urbanities” “to misbehave, often disgracefully, and forcefully challenge authority”. (Jonathan Cape)…

Makes 300-350g scrub60g coconut oil, melted60ml liquid castile soap225g sugar10 drops rosemary essential oil10 drops peppermint essential oil5 drops tea tree essential oil 1 In a medium bowl, combine the coconut oil, castile soap and sugar. Let the mixture cool, then stir vigorously with a spoon. This will “whip” the oil for a pourable but creamy texture. 2 Stir in the essential oils then scrape the scrub into a clean jam jar. The hand scrub will last six months, though the scent may fade. If the scrub begins to separate, just give it a good stir. To use: Wet hands, spoon a generous dollop of scrub into your palms. Scrub away, paying particular attention to the sides of the fingers and crease lines where dirt likes to stick. Rinse. Extract…

“Their robust construction makes them ideal for rocking around a field” Pull on a pair of cowboys boots and chances are that you’ll come over all Daisy Duke, strutting and wisecracking your way down the high street. These are boots that demand a certain way of behaving. Originally intended – no kidding! – for cowboys, they have been commandeered by rock chicks the world over and are seen ubiquitously at the Coachella Festival in California most often worn with a pair of denim shorts, Ray-bans and a stetson. Which is unsurprising as their robust construction makes them ideal for rocking around a field, and their pointed toes, stacked heels and tooled detailing give them the necessary swagger, especially if fashioned from unethical but exotic skins such as alligator, snake (as…

At a pavement café in Notting Hill, just around the corner from singer, songwriter, author and broadcaster Cerys Matthews’ home, it’s clear she means it when she says that being part of a community is one of the most important things to her. There’s a warm hug for the café manager; a smile and a nod for a tall Jamaican man she recognises, and a full-on chat with a passing cyclist – a women’s health doctor who she met recently at the local pub and who turns out to be an expert on yodelling. Seriously. “As soon as I heard about the yodelling, I wanted to know more,” she laughs. It’s this curiosity about music in all its forms, which has made Cerys – once best known as the lead…

CHOCOLATE HONEYCOMBBISCUIT CAKE Makes 10 slices125g butter, plus extra for greasing 350g dark chocolate, roughly chopped1 generous tbsp golden syrup 150g digestive biscuits75g shop-bought honeycomb or real honeycomb*1 egg, lightly beaten50g pecans, roughly chopped1–2 tbsp cocoa powder, for dusting 1 Lightly grease a 1kg loaf tin with butter then line with baking parchment, making sure it comes a few centimetres above the edges. 2 In a large bowl suspended over a pan of barely simmering water, melt the chocolate, butter and golden syrup, stirring until smooth. Remove from the heat and set aside to cool slightly. 3 Place the biscuits in a large bowl and use the end of a rolling pin to gently bash them into rough pieces: you want a mixture of chunks of biscuit and large crumbs.…

Just 28 miles off the coast of Cornwall, the Isles of Scilly offer a world apart from everyday life. Endless white sandy beaches, rocky coves and stunning seascapes let you wind back the clock to a more carefree time of simple pastimes and pleasures. You can win a piece of this unspoilt paradise with a three-night break for two on the island of St Mary’s, courtesy of Mincarlo guest house and Adventure Scilly. The laidback and friendly Mincarlo guest house sits in a quiet corner of the bay overlooking St Mary’s Harbour. Start the day at Mincarlo with a homemade breakfast, made using fresh, locally-sourced ingredients. Come and go as you please – take one of the local boats to another island, explore St Mary’s by foot or bicycle, sit…

LET’S HEAR IT FOR THE GIRLS Women’s rights in tennis had a tireless champion in Billie Jean King (front). She began campaigning for equal prize money at Wimbledon after winning her first title in 1966. It only took 41 years until the Ladies’ Singles champion in 2007 won the same as the Gentlemen’s. Billie Jean also famously beat the chauvinistic Bobby Riggs, 1939 champion, in straight sets in the ‘Battle of the Sexes’ in 1973. Behind her on the bench is Australian aboriginal, Evonne Goolagong, who won the virtually all-white, All England Lawn Tennis Championships in 1971 and again, as a mother, in 1980. She started playing as a young girl by hitting a ball against a wall with a board from an apple crate. At the back is our…

Emerging from a frothy tangle of finely-cut leaves, the flowers of Love-in-a-mist (Nigella damascena) add a soft prettiness to any kitchen table. Easy to grow, it self seeds readily and will spring up all over the garden once it gets started. Try to get hold of a bunch now and pop into a jug for a dose of cottage garden loveliness. Or wait until the attractive, inflated seedheads form in autumn and hang up to dry upside down in a dark place, before bringing out to display.…

Whether you grow in pots on a balcony or have acres of beautiful raised beds, you need to feed your soil. Give it nutrients and good texture, and your plants will repay you. So where can you get good compost? If you buy it in bags from a garden centre, be sure to get peat free and organic to reduce the impact on our indigenous rare peat bogs. This compost is really a growing medium, used instead of soil. It is particularly useful for pots and containers as it is light and easy to work with. However, it can be expensive, and it is not the best stuff to improve the soil in your garden as it provides little bulk. LET IT GROW Home-made compost is slightly different. It tends…

SRIRACHA A hot, salty, sweet and sour condiment made from chillis, vinegar, garlic, sugar and salt, described as “hipster tabasco” in the Urban Dictionary. Originating in Thailand, sriracha has come to the UK via its huge popularity in the States, where it accompanies southern food such as fried chicken. TRY IT: At Covent Garden’s fusion restaurant, Kopapa, sriracha is on its brunch, lunch and dinner menus. BUY IT:Huy Fong, the most famous brand, and Heinz’s own version can both be bought at sainsburys.co.uk SEE IT: on our Tasty Trend Pinterest board.…

WHY GROW THEM? If you love garlic, this evergreen herb is a must for your plot as it provides a fresh supply of garlic-flavoured leaves all year round. Bees and other beneficial insects love the nectar-rich flowers, too, so when it’s in bloom during June to August, your garden will be filled with a blissful buzzing sound. Grow indoors or outside to produce a crop that’s a good source of vitamin C and a delicious addition to soups and cheese dishes. WHEN TO SOW? March and April is the best time to start seeds off in 5cm pots under cover. When seedlings are stronger, plant out in a border or container, in rich, moist but well drained soil. Choose a sunny spot for best results, though it will put up…

Rosa Canina Britain’s most widespread wild rose, also known as the Dog Rose. Get past its prickles and you’re rewarded with hips prized for their vitamin C levels. Mundi Rose Its common association with the War of the Roses is purely poetic (and presumably made by a poet bored of the “Roses are red” routine). Rosa x Alba Hardy and resistant – no wonder it can lay claim to being selected as both the traditional white rose of York, and the Jacobite rose. Rose ‘Roseraie de l’Haÿ’ Bred at the famous garden of L’Haÿ, which, in 1902, listed 6,781 species and cultivars – perhaps this bright purple rose was attempting to stand out. Rose ‘La France’ The world said “bonjour” to this hybrid tea rose in 1867, a flower deemed…

Serves 8 FOR THE DOUGH 125g plain flour 125g almond flour (or use 250g plain flour in total) 125g butter pinch of salt 30g icing sugar cold water, as needed FOR THE THYME CUSTARD 200ml milk seeds of 1 vanilla pod a few sprigs fresh thyme 2 egg yolks 30g icing sugar 150g cream cheese FOR THE TOPPING 500-600g strawberries fresh thyme leaves Make the dough: Work both flours, butter, salt and icing sugar into a smooth dough. If dough is too dry, add a few drops of cold water. Shape into a flat disc and wrap in cling film. Rest in fridge for 1 hour. Start the thyme custard: Bring the milk to a near boil with vanilla and thyme. Turn off heat and let steep until ready to…

LOUISE GORROD Our Wishlist Editor, Louise, is also our Stuff of Life shopkeeper (shop.thesimplethings.com). Look out for this symbol for items in the shop. Louise also blogs, bakes and photographs at Buttercup Days: buttercupdays.com…

There are eight ancient agricultural festivals that told our farming ancestors when it was time to sow, reap, stop and take stock. To mark the turning of the year, Lia is looking at her plot, eating food connected to each festival or season, and carrying out a small act of celebration. SUMMER SOLSTICE OR LITHA The summer solstice, also called midsummer (21 June), sometimes Litha, always feels like it has arrived early. Just as I am getting used to peeling off layers and lifting my face to the sunshine, there it is, the longest day. But of course, by definition it cannot be early so I choose to let it serve as a herald to the warm months of high summer, a reminder that this won’t go on forever, and…

MENU Baby potato and rosemary pizzas Bagna càuda Melting pork tacos Cumin and garlic black beans Cherry pie Dress up a little and make midsummer special with a party of old friends around a makeshift table in the garden. The food is satisfying but simple; nibbles and cocktails, followed by slow-cooked pork tacos. A ripe cherry pie over coffee will see you talking late into the long, light evening. Food blogger Rosie Birkett likes nothing better than “bringing together the people I love and sharing good food and wine with them. Conviviality is conducive to the best conversation and when we relax over a good meal, we free ourselves to marvel, plot and laugh.” Here she describes where she found some of her favourite food for sharing, then adds her…

QUINOA KEDGEREE A quick and easy meal to prepare – and seriously packed with protein Serves 6300g tri-coloured quinoa4 eggs250g smoked mackerel fillets, ready-to-eat1 tbsp olive oil1 red onion, chopped1 bell pepper (yellow, red or green), de-seeded and chopped½ tsp cumin powder¼ tsp each of cinnamon, turmeric, cardamom and ginger150g peas (fresh or frozen)100g baby-leaf spinach 1 Rinse the quinoa under cold running water. Place in a pan on the hob and cover with water. Bring to the boil, turn down and simmer for 15-20 minutes until cooked. 2 Bring another pan of water to the boil and add the eggs. Cook for 7-10 minutes. Once cool, peel and slice into quarters. 3 Take the skin off the cold mackerel fillets and flake into largish chunks. 4 While the quinoa…

When stylist and designer Abigail Edwards bought her maisonette in North London, she was faced with a challenge. Layers of peeling wallpaper, boarded-up windows and a cramped layout (three bedrooms on the first floor and the kitchen, living room and bathroom on the level above) made her new home feel neglected and cramped. At the time, she had just enough money to pay for the sagging ceilings to be propped up with scaffolding poles. “I think if I had realised back then just how much work it needed, I would have felt overwhelmed,” she says. She gamely moved into one of the bedrooms (now the kitchen), and started trying to make it habitable in her spare moments, peeling back filthy carpet and chipping away at the rotten plaster to reveal…