Garden explosion

Summer is here! (Even though it's been raining heavily on and off for what feels like weeks now)

The difference in just a few weeks always astounds me - it's been such a colour explosion! The strawberries are coming faster than we can eat them and the roses are so heavily in bloom it feels like they're threatening to collapse the entire bush. The beans are still a fair way off, but they're winding up their bamboo stalks more and more each day.

And how about the photo of the cactus in bloom! We haven't seen that flower before and it must have been all this rain that's finally inspired it to open up - and such a bright, vibrant colour too. 

Now all we need is the sun to appear so we can enjoy it...

A very green garden (8 June)

A fortnight later (22 June) - the rose bush is nearly collapsing under the weight of all those flowers!

What a stunning pink cactus flower!

Oatmeal raisin cookies

It's been that kind of day - miserable inside and out. It's been pouring outside and I'm inside with a cold feeling rotten. But it just came into my head that I wanted to eat some oatmeal and raisin cookies and I couldn't shake it, so off to the internet I went to find a recipe.

The below is a riff on this recipe, but I've halved and changed up the type of sugar, added another egg and some extra spices and they've come out quite soft and cake-like (rather than crispy) which is perfect because that's exactly what I was looking for.

They came out really well and were delicious! Give it a try and tell me what you think.

Oatmeal and raisin cookies
Makes 34

Ingredients
100-150g sultanas or raisins (or whatever dried fruit mix you prefer)
150ml vegetable/sunflower oil
100g brown sugar
2 medium eggs
2tsp (or more) ground cinnamon
1tsp (or more) ground ginger
1tsp vanilla extract
140g plain flour
1/4tsp bicarbonate of soda
300g oats

Method
1. Heat oven to 180C and line two trays with baking parchment. Pour 50ml boiling water over the raisins and leave to soak for 20 minutes or so until plump. (Note if you add more fruit, add slightly more boiling water to compensate). Drain and reserve the liquid.

2. In a large bowl, mix together the oil and sugar. Beat in the eggs one at a time, then the reserved liquid from the fruit, the cinnamon, ginger and vanilla extract. Sift the flour, bicarbonate of soda and a pinch of salt into the bowl and mix. Then add the oats and mix, and then finally the raisins.

3. Using a tablespoon measure, drop flat measures of mixture onto the baking trays. I got 34 cookies out of this mixture but you could make larger cookies (and just increase the baking time). Mine didn't really spread at all during cooking so I placed them reasonably close together (depending on the size of your tray you'll get between 12-16 cookies per tray).

4. Bake for 12-15 minutes until golden (I baked for 13 minutes). Leave to cool on the trays for at least 10 minutes. Will keep in an airtight container for a few days, or will freeze well.

Hope you like them!

A long weekend in Portugal

One of the places that I've never been during our time in Europe was Lisbon, so when Mum and Dad said they were travelling through Portugal during their European sojourn, it seemed like a perfect opportunity to visit. I flew over bright and early on Saturday and met them at their hotel (booked for free with my credit card points - score!) before we all headed off via the metro to explore the town.

It's a lovely, grand city with beautiful streets and squares. We tried lots of delicious pastries and checked out the shops. Dad bought a really nice pair of leather dress shoes and Mum kept up her hunt for a new handbag (more on that later). I got treated to a new pair of sneakers which was very generous! We walked up to the castle overlooking the central city via the cathedral, then down lots of steps through the Alfama district where dozens of little eateries were being set up with music and brightly coloured streamers everywhere. We found a little bar that I'd read about and Mum and Dad had a shot of ginja each and I had a lemonade that was true lemonade - literally lemon water that was sour as anything but very refreshing in the heat. After a black seafood paella for Mum and I and pasta for Dad it was back to the hotel for a well-earned sleep.

The next morning we found a great café down the road for breakfast that really took Mum's fancy and which served yoghurt, fruit and all sorts of pastries, as well as fabulous fresh orange juice. Then it was off to Sintra. After some very windy and narrow roads we found a park and arrived at the Quinta da Regaleira, an elaborate palace and garden complex. There were caves and grottoes, towers and even a 27m well in the gardens, and the house was equally twirly and decorative. Definitely recommended.

In the grounds of the Quinta da Regaleira

We had lunch in the main village area on a terrace then drove to Agrada Beach which was absolutely gorgeous. Huge, pounding surf and a triangle of golden sand between the cliffs. I was the only one of the three of us who swam but I'm not sure you could really even call it that as the waves were so big it was all I could do to keep upright as they rolled in (and in fact didn't succeed - got completely bowled over at one point and got sand everywhere!). I had really wanted a swim so I'm so pleased we managed to get out that way. Drove back to Lisbon with the help of Martha (the name allocated to the car's gps), then finished the day with some tapas at a little place by the Campo Pequeno bull ring.

On Agrada beach

So happy to be at the beach!

Day three saw us driving to Porto after another breakfast at our favourite local café. We hit rain on the way but the roads were clear and it only took about three hours. It seemed to take more time to actually find the hotel's parking building in Porto once we arrived among the windy streets! But the sun had blazed its way through the clouds by the time we arrived and so it was up the Torre dos Clerigos for a great view over the city. Dad, being not so keen on heights, wasn't a massive fan but climbed the whole way up which was pretty impressive! We had a coffee at the Majestic Café to recover then hit the shops. Mum found a really lovely Spanish handbag to contemplate buying and Dad and I loved the shop with all sorts of brightly coloured socks for only €1 each - barganza.

After a false start at an average restaurant for dinner we found our way to one I'd read about called Traça which was absolutely delicious. We shared a six person table with a guy from Quebec (who very generously said that my French was "impeccable") and a couple from the Chilterns in England who were all really friendly and chatty. The food was excellent - I had a whole octopus tentacle which was as tender as butter and Mum had a rosé port cocktail with tonic and mint that was fabulous. I would definitely go back if ever I was in Porto again.

Our last day saw us walk over the top level of the Luiz I bridge (designed by Gustav Eiffel) to the Gaia side of the river which made Dad's legs go all wobbly but I got some great photos of Mum with the view behind. To recover we headed down to the port houses and choose to do a tour at Offley. The guide was very slick and we tried three different ports - a white, a ruby and a reserve tawny. Sadly I could only really sip them and appreciate the aroma but both Mum and Dad liked them (white and reserve tawny the most respectively). Then it was back out into the drizzle for lunch. Dad tried a francesinha and Mum enjoyed the local sardines. I also picked up a box of custard tarts as a present for Adrian (which sadly are a bit smushed in my bag on the plane as I write this but I'm sure they still taste delicious).

We then trekked over to the other side of town for the best gelato in Porto at Gelataria Sincelo (supposedly). I had port and ové mole (egg custard) and Dad had passion fruit and mandarin. They were pretty good I have to say! After that it was out into the rain and back to the shops where Mum bought her lovely bag and a pair of sandals, Dad got a leather belt to go with his new shoes, and I got a pair of earrings that I've decided are my graduation present from Adrian ;) Such extravagance! But you only live once right...

It was really nice to be able to share somewhere I'd been with Mum and Dad (Porto) but also to explore somewhere new together too. The four days went far too quickly - I don't want to go back to work tomorrow! Let's hope there are lots more European jaunts in my future.

Finest sands in England

Today was forecast to be a scorcher in London, with temperatures up to 26 degrees C (yes, I know that's not a scorcher everywhere, but for early May in London it definitely counts). Given how pasty we both are, and how long it had been since we'd been to the beach, we made the trip down to Margate, a seaside resort about 1.5 hours away from London on the high speed rail.

It's the kind of place that had a heyday, fell into decline, and is now on the way back up. Think amusement and bingo halls crossed with craft beer and gelato. It's also got the Turner Gallery of Contemporary Art which was interesting but given the glorious weather we only really gave it a cursory glance.

We spent the most of our time on the beach, soaking up the sun and reading. I got to about waist deep in the water but it was so cold that was as far as I could manage - bit better than Adrian who didn't go in at all!

It was decidedly more chilled out than Brighton and the gelato was definitely just as good (we got salted caramel, peanut butter and jelly, pear and chocolate, and rhubarb and custard....mmmmm....).

If this weather continues we'll definitely be back!

Easter in London

After thinking that we might go to Iceland for Easter, and then quickly changing our minds when we saw how much last minute flights and hotels were, we decided to stay in London this Easter and do all those things we've been meaning to do for ages, but never got around to.

To start, I went to the Serpentine Gallery in Hyde Park with a friend. The best exhibition was at their Sackler wing by a collective called Das Institut - lots of neon accompanying brightly lit perspex/mineral cut-outs and projections. A very small, but perfectly formed, exhibition. I'll have to get back in the summer to see one of their famous pavilions.

It was a gorgeous Good Friday and so after sitting in the sun eating ice-cream, we wandered past the Royal Albert Hall into South Kensington and then home.

One other interesting thing we saw were these bracelets that were hanging in the trees in the park - apparently it's a Bulgarian tradition to mark spring. The bracelets are called a "Martenitsa" and from the 1st of March, when you see a blossoming tree or a stork or swallow returning from migration, you then take off the Martenitsa and either tie it to a tree or place it under a stone. If you place it under a stone and go back the next day, the type of insect closest to the Martenitsa will determine your luck for the year (larva, worms, ants = good, spiders = bad). How interesting!

Saturday we finally made it to two places we've been meaning to go to for absolutely ages. First stop, Burger and Lobster Soho. Despite having been open for a few years now, this place still regularly has queues down the street (no reservations) so we didn't do too badly only having to wait half an hour (and inside, perfect considering it was raining...).

The drill is that they've got three options: a lobster, a lobster roll, or a burger, all served with french fries and salad, and all for £20. We shared a grilled lobster and a lobster roll (much better value than a £20 burger!) and I have to say, it was pretty delicious. Loved the lobster bibs and everyone was very friendly despite the rapid turnover. We had an early dinner, arriving at 5.45 (hence the short queue), so by the time we left, it was carnage in the waiting area.

Then it was off down the road to go to The Mousetrap! This is the longest running play on the West End and is currently in its 64th year. We were really surprised with how full the theatre was, but I guess people are coming for the exact same reasons as us - to see the phenomenon rather than the show per se. But it was really good, very tightly acted, and of course, we're not going to tell you "who dunnit"!

Easter Sunday started with a breakfast of champions (in bed no less!)...

...followed by the annual hot cross bun baking session. Given the overdose of buns that occurred last year with the bun-off, we decided not to include the competitive angle, but try the Edmond's recipe in the KitchenAid (rather than mixing by hand as Adrian did last year). They look pretty good don't you think?

Adrian spent Sunday afternoon at the Imperial War Museum and I worked on the article that my co-author and I are contributing to the Oxford Research Encyclopedia of Climate Science. Between the sudden spring-time showers, the sun was streaming in on our new Persian carpet and it all felt pretty idyllic.

Later that day I made sunbutter, as a friend had given us a big stash of sunflower seeds. While I thought the food processor was going to conk out given how hard it was working, it all came together in the end and is pretty delicious.

Easter Monday was about finishing off my article, clearing up the garden after Storm Katie (lots of branches strewn everywhere), and having a walk in the sun followed by a drink at a local pub (and then running home in the rain!).

So, a happy Easter was had here in London - hope it was the same for you!