FLORENCE KNIGHT: THE LAUNCH OF 'ONE' AT ANTHROPOLOGIE, TASTINGS INCLUDED!

Florence Knight launched her first cookery book - One - at a cooking demo/book signing event over at Anthropologie on Regent Street. The restaurant under which she serves as head chef, Polpetto, will incidentally be re-opening its doors in Soho in the new year. The book is structured under chapters of key ingredients, from salt to chocolate to olive oil. And thanks to both Florence & Anthropologie, I can thoroughly recommend it! Tastings included: beetroot & a light cheese dipping spread, treacle-marinated mackerel served with creme fraiche & watercress on rye, & honey-heavy chocolate truffles. Yum!



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{all photos & edits by me}

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BLOOMS & BUBBLES: ANTHROPOLOGIE + THE FLOWER APPRECIATION SOCIETY + THE ROYAL APOTHIC

A few weeks ago, Anthropologie invited me to have a look at their new range in collaboration with the Royal Apothic: beautifully packaged soaps & scents, as presented in The Gallery, on the Kings Road. Also in for the evening were the girls from The Flower Appreciation Society: gorgeous handmade flower crowns were crafted to individual taste, & we walked around feeling like the faeries from A Midsummer Night's Dream (or maybe boho queens like Florence)..

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{all photos & edits by me}

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PREVIEW: BOHEMIAN FLORAL HEADPIECES OVER AT ANTHROPOLOGIE

A quick preview of photos I'm working on at the moment: a rather fabulous evening last night hosted by Anthropologie, with the Royal Apothic and the Flower Appreciation society..



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{photo 1 by me, 2 by Sophie, edits by me}

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Su Blackwell @ The Gallery / S/S Anthropologie 2013

 Ah, Anthropologie! I love their collections, from clothing to homeware, party dresses to butter dishes to dresser handles!

I had a peek at the lovely pop-up fairytale creations from Su Blackwell at The Gallery during my last visit, at an event hosted for the release of the book. Thanks Alice for inviting me!

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{all pics by me or Michelle}

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Photo Editing - Tips

Whilst I adore my Canon, & have a whole lot of tricks & technicalities yet to learn before I really master this camera, I think post-production editing can be really undervalued. What seemed like an OK picture can be turned into a lovely one! I use lunapic, a free online site, & mainly play with the RGB colours (I add blues & reds & remove greens & yellows), increase colour saturation, adjust contrast, & tweak exposure. Here are a couple before/after shots, taken at an event hosted by Anthropologie.. more of which soon..!

(I'd love to see some of your before & afters too!)

happy snapping!

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{all pics by me}

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Easy Potato Curry

I live in arguably one of the curry-central corners of London, & yet I'm hopelessly inexperienced with our "local cuisine". A good curry can be extremely satisfying, a bad one, however, could probably give you food poisoning. I feel like I don't want to waste my ventures into the foray of spice without some proper research. One on the must-visit/must-do list is the Nepalese restaurant Gurkhas: if there's a Time-Out review sellotaped to the inside window, it's probably good. Plus I have heard many a good word said about it, nary a bad.

One reason why Curry Night may not be one of my regular indulgences is that feeling of heaviness it entails. Curries cannot be taken lightly when pursued in the outside world. Eating in, however, allows for a little more measurement, a lighter touch, & perhaps some portion control - us Brits need to learn to ask for doggy bags; instead, we savour every last morsel, wiping the plate clean with some of that Naan... Cooking at home? Get those tuppaware dishes out, we'll make sure there's leftovers for tomorrow...

Recipe by yours truly. Serves 2 or 3 easily.

Recipe

1 onion

1 tsp garlic

1 tbsp olive oil

1 tbsp dijon mustard

1 tbsp finely chopped chilli

1 tbsp ground cumin

1 tbsp ground ginger

1 tbsp cayenne pepper

3 large potatoes

1 tin tomatoes

1 tsp brown sugar

glug of sherry (optional)

2 tbsp creme fraiche/double cream/Greek yoghurt

sea salt & black pepper

flaked almonds

handful of chopped coriander

1. Roughly chop the potatoes into 1-inch chunks. I like to keep the skins on for extra flavour & texture. Boil until cooked, about 15 mins.

2. Meanwhile, finely chop the onion & fry with the garlic in the olive oil.

3. Once lightly browned, add the mustard, chilli, cumin, ginger & cayenne, mix well, & fry a minute or 2 longer.

4. Add the tomatoes to the pan, plus the brown sugar & some seasoning, plus sherry if using.

5. Simmer for 10 mins, letting it reduce & thicken.

6. Add the cream or yoghurt & stir in well.

6. Stir in the potatoes.

7. Serve with the flaked almonds & chopped coriander.

Variations:

 - swap pine nuts for the almonds.

 - use cumin seeds instead of ground cumin, lightly toasting with the onion.

 - add beans to the curry: white beans or butter beans might work well.

{all photos by me}

Behold the Oreo

Nothing beats an oreo soaked in milk, on a day begun with a morning run & several hours of studying, as a precusor to an evening of poker. Except, maybe 2 oreos..

dish by Anthropologie.

{photo by me}

Have Nothing in Your Homes That You Do Not Know to be Useful and Believe to Be Beautiful - William Morris.

perfume can be so irresistibly bottled! chance by chanel, l'air du temps by nina ricci.

stacked teacup saucers (graduation gift!), & pimenton from sevilla.

old journals, on an even older wharfedale speaker that used to belong to my grandfather.

cocktails at 6! sweet sherry in an anthropologie glass, coaster from morroco, & watermelon wedge tissue-box by kleenex.

{photos by me}

Want.Need.Have.

Want:

Need:

Have:

Arid Hues Sweater, GBP68.00

Diving Bell Trinket Box, GBP58.00

Inside-Out Bowl, green, GBP8.00

All by Anthropologie.