Travel: Positano

This time last year, five friends flew out of rainy London to spend five days enjoying the beautiful town of Positano, on Italy’s Amalfi Coast.

I’m starting this post in fairytale style, because that’s sort of how it felt – full of stunning scenery, lovely sunshine and completely stress free.

I’d say the holiday could pretty much be divided into – eating, climbing steps, messing about on/in the sea, reading, playing cards, absorbing sunrays.

We stayed in a large AirBnB apartment with a seaview veranda, which was pretty close to everything we needed and was owned by an Italian guy who sounded more British than us!

I wanted to share a few photos with you, as well as a few recommendations for things to do an eat – my only regret of the whole holiday was not thinking ahead and hiring a vintage Fiat 500.

DO…

• Hire a pedalo: When we looked back over the holiday, all agreed a big highlight was the hour we spent on the pedalo we hired from an old guy on Spiaggia del Fornillo – it was equal mix sunbathing, taking the slide into the sea, and (perhaps a little cruelly) pedalling away at speed from whoever had just entered the water!

• Take a boat to Bagni d’Arienzo: For just 8 euros a small boat will take you to and from this private beach, just 5 minutes along the coast, and you’ll secure a sun bed for the day. That’s if the boat doesn’t break down! We ended up taking a water taxi – and pretty much had the beach to ourselves as a result. Sunshine + a good book + cocktails delivered to your sunbed + dips in the sea = bliss. When the skies turned grey, we decided to walk back – and earn our afternoon pizza!

• Use your legs: Part of Positano’s beauty, is the way the buildings all stack up on each other over the beaches – but this also means lots of steps wherever you go. The locals must all have the most incredibly toned legs. Putting in a little effort to walk to places was definitely worth it though – for example Spiaggia del Fornillo had a much prettier and less crowded beach than the main Spaggia Grande – and the walk to it was a visual joy

• Meet the locals: On our last night, walking back from dinner, we were attracted by loud music and followed our ears to what seemed to be a party in a hotel car park. A party which seemed to be almost exclusively made up of Italians, who were handing out endless trays of food which seemingly appeared from nowhere. Feeling intrigued but a little like gatecrashers, it was great when the woman manning the drinks table called me over and offered us all a beer, for free – explaining that this was the town’s mayoral election party but of course we were welcome to join in. So we did – even having a dance to the upbeat band (who played our favourite song – see below!) and applauding the candidate, even though we had no idea what he was saying!

EAT…

Food probably took up 90% of our time – when we weren’t actually eating it, we were thinking about it

And we were so enthusiastic about getting tucked into piles of silky pasta and scoops of creamy gelato… that I barely took any photos of our culinary adventures!

So, in text, here’s our foodie highlights…

• Casa e Bottega: (pictured above) a homeware store and organic cafe in one, we had breakfast here on our first morning (my fruit, granola and yoghurt was so light and fresh, and I heard satisfied grumbles from those who opted for poached eggs and spinach) I went back for lunch one afternoon when the others were off elsewhere and had the most amazing salad – smoked mozerella, courgetti, sundried tomatoes, yum
• Da Vincenzo: recommended by the owner of the apartment we stayed in, we ate here on our first evening and were in no way disappointed. The complimentary mini, deep-fried goats cheese calzone we were given was described by more than one of the party as ‘the best thing I’ve ever put in my mouth’.
• Ristorante Saraceno d’Oro: we ate here twice, not only for the incredible food (a place to get great pizza) but for the brilliant atmosphere. We sat outside both evenings and were treated to super friendly service plus the bonus of being entertained by the lively Balkanic Jazz band – we perhaps got a little overexcited when they sang our song of the holiday Tu Vuo Fa L’Americano (you might know it from the film version of The Talented Mr Ripley!)

PS. The catalyst for us taking the holiday was built around our friend Matt Horan being booked to shoot a wedding there – you can see his stunning photos HERE!

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Weekend Review: Sarah Coleman

The weekend is what you make of it - there's endless opportunities whether you're at work or play. Today's Weekend Review comes from the talented Sarah J Coleman - who lives in Leicestershire but whose illustrations have been published throughout the world.

What do you do for work?

I am an illustrator and lettering artist, who goes by the name of Inkymole.

What do you love most about your work?

It's very varied and I never know what's coming next. I love pens, pencils, paper, stationary and colours, so using them every day is extremely pleasing!

What's been you proudest career moment so far?

There have been several! The show my partner and I put on in 2006, called If a Girl Writes of the World - a collection of work rooted in the words of writer, rapper and artist Sage Francis. We'd been fans for a long time and his words are incredibly visual, very rich and writhing with imagery. We opened it at the Truman Brewery in Brick Lane, before Brick Lane became too expensive to exhibit in, then a few months later took it to Manhattan where again we secured a massive downtown site for a fraction of what you'd pay now! Then it went to Rhode Island, home of Sage Francis himself - and I'm proud to say he not only flew to the UK to open the original show, he opened the next two as well. The show led to some significant and long-lasting opportunities and friendships.

Another one was getting the cover of US Playboy, one would be my covers for Harper Lee's To Kill A Mockingbird and Go Set A Watchman and another would be my work for the Robert Burns Museum. There are a few - maybe I'm easily pleased!

What's your passion outside work?

I suppose there isn't really an "outside work". My partner and I are always working on something and whether that's music related, chocolate related, show related or something else, we've always found it difficult to work out where the humans stop and the "work" starts.

We do weight training - love the gym - work on our cars (it's getting into show season now), we have always had music coursing through our veins and we love eating. Oh yes, we love eating. And films, but we don't watch enough. We also love to read, but again don't really do enough of that!

When is your weekend?

It depends what projects are on! It might not be a weekend, sometimes it can be three days in the week - or none at all.

How did you spend the last Saturday and Sunday?

We went to the gym twice. We saw off a mate who was leaving his job. I did some work and caught up on a bit of paperwork.

We looked at potential carpets and we had a meeting about the sofa we're having built to fit our strange and wonderful top-floor living room (it's not as posh as it sounds, it's just that our house is upside down!)

I drove to Rickards' Farm, about 10 miles away and got a box of organic veg. Talked to my sister in Blackpool who's just had a baby, then Leigh went out and saw a mate - while I had a quiet night to myself with a sea  mud face mask, some drawing work and Demolition Man on iTunes!

How typical was it for you?

Very typical in that it was different from all the others! The only consistent thing week to week is the gym. We always go Saturday and Sunday and have got into a habit of building everything else round it, and the protein shakes that follow, ha ha!

What would your dream long weekend away?

Not keen on the phrase "dream" as I always reckon that makes it seem like you could never achieve it. I love visiting my sister in Blackpool - it's so ornery up there, chilly, gusty, robustly cheerful and very northern. Leigh and I have found ourselves in London of a weekend killing time which is excellent; "no agenda".

I think going somewhere not so far away that the travelling ruins us, with plentiful vegan food to choose from, knowing no clients are after me and being with Leigh, just about describes it.

What is your ideal Sunday menu?

THE REAL SUNDAY MENU

We tend to only eat two meals at weekends, and it usually looks like this...

Breakfast: Organic deluxe muesli - a special mix from Leicester Wholefoods - mixed with cocoa nibs from Cocoa Amore, dried apricots, pumpkin seeds, soaked almonds, Brazil nuts, sunflower seeds and Udo's oil, with soya or oat milk. I have less muesli and chuck in a Weetabix and a handful of cornfalkes - a sort of 'can't make my mind up' cereal bowl. Leigh has mint tea and I have Brew Tea Company's loose decaf in a pot.

Dinner: Something we've cooked. On Sunday I made a dinner with homemade red onion gravy, roast red potatoes, carrots, white sprouting broccoli and roasted tofu.

THE IDEAL SUNDAY MENU

It's all happening in New York. We have left SO much money behind restaurant tills there...

Breakfast: Avocados on toast, tofu scrambles, hash browns, free coffee, pancakes with maple at Earth Matters in Manhattan. Sadly it closed down about a year ago, so it is only a wonderful memory now!

Lunch: Sacred Chow, near Washington Square. Anything from their menu, but it must include a stout ice cream floater.

Dinner: Either a full-on fake-meat hog-like session at Red Panda, where the vegan meats as so lifelike you have to check everything twice to make sure you haven't wandered into the wrong place (I don't even like meat, but I like whatever they make this stuff from). Or something more ladylike at Mogador, East Village - fresh hummus and bread with olives, really good Turkish coffee, and more bread with olive oil.

I'd like to be eating all of these meals with Leigh and my family, including the new babe who'd probably enjoy all the lights and sparkle!

What's in your fridge?

Gherkins, two jars of Indian lime pickle, oat milk, soya milk, unmayonnaise, sprouted mung beans, "cheese" (including fake parmesan which is really good - and I never liked real parmesan!), tofu, tofu wieners (kind of hot dog things), Udo's Oil, Vitalite, half a lemon, cocoa butter, organic face cream, a bottle a Cava (gift from a client), vinegar, ketchup, brown sauce, soya and oat cream for puds, Booja Booja ice cream in the freezer section with peas and pies, greens, kale and purple sprouting broccoli in the salad section.

What are you currently listening to, when you draw?

It's quite varied - early in the morning I do BBC Radio 1, switching to 6Music, then Rinse FM or some albums or mixes we've found online. Today from 1pm, I will be diving into a massive archive of rave and jungle mixes that have been unearthed recently and put online - who knows what they'll be like!

How can people see more of your work and get in contact?

At inkymole.com - I can be emailed at sarah@inkymole.com or you can always tweet me @inkymole - alternatively I like hanging around instagram, find me @inkstagram.ink

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Recipe: Labneh

I'm never more excited about a weekend than when there is the prospect of a food festival, and this weekend sees the return of what is quite possibly my favourite of all local foodie events. The Melton Mowbray artisan cheese fair. With 61 artisan cheesemakers and over 300 varieties of cheese on sale Its the largest event of it's kind in the uk. Cheese is a bit of a passion in our household and there is some preparation undertaken in advance of this momentous occasion, a strict spending budget needs to be set (To then be ignored!) But most importantly the fridge needs to be cleared to make way for our cheese hoard. This year however we were a little over excited and found ourselves in the preceding week with no cheese. This doesn't happen very often in my house and does induce a certain amount of panic, but fortunately I have an emergency recipe up my sleeve. 

Labneh holds it's origins in the middle east and is created by straining the whey from greek yoghurt. This results in a creamy tangy cheese, texturally it's almost akin to cream cheese but has so much more flavour. Cheesemaking can seem a daunting and highly technical pursuit but this recipe is really very simple, all you need is 2 ingredients, one of which is in fact optional. You also need just a little patience, but the end result is well worth it.

You will need:

• 500g full fat greek yoghurt
• A good pinch of salt, around half a tsp (optional)
• a cheese cloth or jay cloth for straining
• a wooden spoon and a measuring jug 

Place the yoghurt and salt together in a mixing bowl and stir to combine. Transfer the yoghurt mix into the cheese cloth. Tie up the four corners of the cloth knotting them tightly around the wooden spoon then place the cloth, with spoon attached into the measuring jug, using the wooden spoon to suspend the cloth so the bottom of the straining cheese is a few cm away from the base of the jug. Adjust the tightness of the knotted cheese cloth as necessary to achieve this.

Place the jug into the fridge and allow to strain for 18 to 24 hours, the longer the cheese is left the firmer it will become, go for less time for a creamier texture.

The strained liquid can be used instead of water in the making of a loaf of bread, it will add a creaminess to the finished loaf and create a firmer crust.

Labneh makes an amazing addition to a meze style platter, simply place it into a bowl and drizzle with a little olive oil. I like mine generously slathered over a nice slice of bread, preferably sourdough, and perhaps just a sprinkle of Dukkah just to keep with the middle Eastern theme.

If you are visiting the Melton Mowbray cheese fair this weekend have a great time and hope to see you there!

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Weekend Review: Matthew Cook

The weekend is what you make of it - there's endless opportunities whether you're at work or play - and we love hearing how you spend yours. Here's the third of our Weekend Reviews, from Matthew Cook, collector of beautiful vintage artefacts and baker of amazing cakes. 

What do you do for work?

I'm currently having a "gap year" from my career, I work on the service counters at Waitrose.

What is your passion outside work?

Only one?? My cat, Thomas, takes up a lot of time. I also love cooking - or more correctly, I love baking. I love being outdoors, in the sun, on my bike, in the garden or at an antiques fair. I love blue and white, and ceramics, and paper and linens... oh, and string and tags!

What is your mantra for collecting items, what do you specifically  look for in an object for it to be added to your collection?

I was trained largely by the Conrans, so "Plain, Simple and Useful" plus a touch of William Morris - "Have nothing in your house that you do not know to be useful or believe to be beautiful." I sometimes fail on both counts but I do prefer the simpler, less ornate and things with purpose.

When is your weekend?

I am usually off work Thursday and Friday, but often work short days in the week too. This allows me to get the boring stuff, such as ironing and food shopping, out of the way on those days so my "weekend" can be just for fun.

How did you spend last weekend?

I spent last weekend waking up the garden. Some new herbs, rosemary, thyme, marjoram and sage plus old terracotta pots rescued from my parents compost heap. Then there was trellis to fix ready for sweet peas and the flagstones to scrub. After all that I needed something warm and comforting for supper, so I made cauliflower cheese with mashed potatoes. I always keep some biscuits and a cake on the go for treats at work. Last week it was a moist almond loaf cake with dried cherries soaked in brandy plus a batch of really crumbly hazelnut cookies. I do the shopping for my parents and look after their house and garden too, so there was plenty of pruning and two large lawns to mow, very badly! The first proper cut of the year, next time I'll have to be more careful and keep the lines straight.

How Typical was it for you?

I do some of those things most weekends, but it depends on the weather, sometimes it's just baking and a DVD after doing the routine essentials of life.

What are you currently reading?

I have a very short attention span, so trying to read anything too taxing takes forever! I've enjoyed a few John Harvey novels, based locally and methodical Police procedural. I'm on the final one now. I like to dip into Nigel Slater too, "The Kitchen Diaries" I have all three. Sometimes he makes me feel guilty for not being seasonal enough but theres usually a good idea or two in there too!

Are you sweet or savoury?

Sweet. As long as cheese can be counted as sweet?!

Do you have a signature recipe?

The almond cake is a trusted favourite. It's based on an almond tart from Donna Hay, but I hate making pastry, so I just make it without. It always comes out delicious no matter what you add.

What's in your fridge?

Organic unsalted butter, always, usually Rachel's Dairy. Organic apple juice for my muesli, a cauliflower from the nice ladies on Newark Market (they grow them themselves, they are always 60p and sometimes they are so large that one lasts me all week!) Olives, Kaltback cheese and a bottle of fino sherry. A little jar of rose harissa, oranges and lemons, various types of goats cheese and a bottle of champagne - well, you've got to be prepared!

Tell us about your ideal Sunday menu...

Breakfast: Little fluffy pancakes with tiny blueberries and ricotta, drizzled with runny honey, a big pot of rich, but not bitter coffee. This would be with Thomas the cat, I don't do chat in the mornings!

Lunch: Sourdough bread with figs and goats cheese, toasted under the grill. Honey, walnuts, plenty of salt and pepper and some olive oil, with slices of avocado and a tasty tomato on the side, followed by a coffee ice cream lolly - all in the sun of course. My ex-employer and very good friend Priscilla Carluccio would be an ideal guest. She could be trusted to bring a bottle of wine and, like me, she relishes a snooze in the sun after lunch. We'd enjoy the food and not have to make too much polite conversation.

Dinner: Mushroom risotto with a watercress salad and some crispy slices of ciabatta, a glass or two of spicy red wine and a little cup of chocolate mousse with fresh raspberries. Nigel Slater would be an interesting dinner guest, lots of stories to tell i'm sure. Or one of my cheffy friends from London. Or perhaps one person from each of my previous places of work, you'd need a very large table though!

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Recipe: Olive Focaccia

One of my favourite weekend pastimes is baking. This comes as a surprise to many, as I spend my days creating sweet treats, So this is how I balance it out. My weekdays may be filled with cake, but on the weekends I like to bake bread. I've had a love affair with bread since I first learned the craft whilst working as a pastry chef in a bustling little restaurant in south east Leicestershire. It was soon after that I stopped buying supermarket bread and began to bake my own. Sourdough, ciabatta, cinnamon rolls, challah, anything goes. Although this particular recipe has remained with me since those early days, I know it so well I can remember it off by heart, in fact this will be the first time i've written this recipe down for quite a while. It's the recipe I always return to when all I really want is a simple, delicious slice of bread. 

You will need

• 500g strong plain flour
• 1 tsp fast action dried yeast
• 2 tsp salt
• 2 tsp sugar
• 30ml olive oil + 1tbls extra for drizzling
• 300ml warm water
• olives, thyme and sea salt to decorate

This recipe makes enough dough to fill a 33cm pizza pan, or a 36 x 25cm baking tray.

Place the flour, yeast, salt, sugar and olive oil into a mixing bowl. Slowly add the water to bind the dough together, you can do this either by hand, with a handheld blender or with an electric mixer. Once you have a wet paste knead the dough for around 5-10 minutes to build up the structure of your dough. You can test the elasticity of the dough by gently pinching and stretching it, if it pulls away to form a thin transparent sheet you know you're there, if it snaps you need to work the dough for a little longer.  Once you have a stretchy elastic dough leave to rest in a warm place for an hour or so.

Once the dough had doubled in size turn it out onto a well floured work surface and roll out to the size of your baking tray. Leave the dough to prove for a further hour or so. In the mean time, preheat your oven to 200

Once the dough has doubled in size, press your fingers into the dough to create indentations then drizzle over the olive oil, herbs, olives and salt.

Bake for 20 minutes, serve warm.

We ate ours with herb crust chicken, sweet pepper and Halloumi salad, watercress, avocado and sundried tomato, and a little homemade pesto.

All photographs by Matt Horan

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Brunch Club: Continental

This is the first in what we hope will become a semi-regular feature on our blog, celebrating the meal between breakfast and lunch - something Becca is passionate about...

Brunch Club is an idea I've had for a good number of years, but because of irregular working patterns and (let's be honest) an inability to juggle my social diary when I did have a Saturday/Sunday off, it's never really happened... until now!

I love breakfast food - like, really love breakfast food. There's mornings when I could really do with in a lie-in, but if I wake up earlier than intended and the idea of poached eggs and spinach or granola and honey-drenched yoghurt pops into my head, that's it. I'm compelled to get up and hunter-gather (i.e. stick the kettle on and open the fridge).

I also love spending quality time with my friends. And by quality I actually mean relaxed and lazy - time when there's no distractions, no pressure to dress-up or talk about office politics.

So last Sunday we held our first Brunch Club - just three couples. We prepared the food together, we ate - lots, we tidied away, we watched football, we talked weddings and business and kitchen designs, we listened to music, and we discovered I don't own enough crockery or cutlery to host more than four people at a time...

The Menu: Continental-ish

• Poached eggs and avocado sprinkled with pepper and lava salt
• Camembert baked with rosemary
• Continental meats and tomatoes
• Sourdough toast, warm croissants
• Icelandic layered pots (mini recipe below)
• Coffee, tea, orange and apple juice, mint and elderflower mocktails

The Recipe: Icelandic layered pots

This was the sweet element of our brunch, inspired by the breakfast enjoyed in an amazing hostel on my recent trip to Iceland.

Now, I'll admit, I cheated a little due to time constraints and didn't make my own granola - but Elle has a great homemade recipe you can try. I did however make the compote, which is mega simple and involves non of the faffing-with-thermometers you get with jam making.

• The night before: wash and cut up your fruit of choice (I went with strawberries and raspberries from Leicester Market). I used the American cups system for this recipe. Add three cups of fruit to a saucepan and add a splash of orange juice , plus a teaspoon of cinnamon. Heat until bubbling, then reduce the heat until the fruit softens - it helps to squash the strawberries down a little with a spoon. Add honey to your desired sweetness - I preferred to keep mine a little sharp. Cool down in a bowl, cover and pop in the fridge.
• The day of brunch: this is very much a 'do-it-yourself' dish. We just laid out the cooled compote, two pots of Skye (Icelandic yoghurt) and a bag of granola, and invited people to fill their own wine glass (did I mention my lack of serving dishes?) with layers of all three.

Are you a brunch lover? Any recipe, theme or restaurant suggestions for future Brunch Clubs are more than welcome!

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