Store Street Espresso, Bloomsbury, London

Last week we went to London, where I got to see the Georgia O'Keeffe exhibition at Tate Modern - not a chance I was going to miss it! I needed a city trip before tuning into autumn. We dined at the Wild Food Cafe in Neal's Yard, walked in Covent Garden, Westminster and St. James's Park, and went to the Whole Foods Market on Kensington High Street, which always feels like our London food-home. The kids even asked, We are going to WFM, aren't we? And there was coffee. In the heart of Bloomsbury I had the best latte. I had promised a coffee-geeky friend to go to Store Street Espresso at 40 Store St (to be exact, it's part of the Fitzrovia district). It was a promise I happily fulfilled during our Bloomsbury/Fitzrovia stroll and the coffee shop lived up to my expectations.

I was under the influence of the Bloomsbury group upon entering Store St Espresso. We had walked from Bloomsbury St into Gower St and at No. 10 I spotted the blue plaque of Lady Ottoline Morrell. I knew it was there, yet my heart skipped a beat. She wasn't exactly a member of the group but she was a patron of the arts and if you have read the diaries and letters of e.g. Virginia Woolf you will know Ottoline. This was my state of mind when I ordered my latte.

It was a very warm and sunny day in the city and we had done a lot of walking when I sat down and had my first sip; it was superb. Store St Espresso is my idea of a good café. It has that minimalist, rustic look with industrial touches. The atmosphere is ideal; it's an unpretentious café. The guests seem to mind their own business, on their laptops, phones or reading. I guess some would call this a place for hipsters but while I sat there I noticed all kinds of people with one thing in common, there to enjoy their coffee.

The location of Store St Espresso is great. The street is quiet, close to parks and The British Museum. I urge you to grab a coffee if you happen to be in the neighbourhood. Well, I urge you to eat in. There is a great window nook if you like people-watching and in fine weather you can sit outdoors.

I am not done with my trip on the blog but during our stay I certainly got my London fix. My mind is still wandering the streets of Bloomsbury, thinking of Virginia Woolf and her circle of friends. It's also lingering at the Tate, admiring O'Keeffe's paintings. Fortunately, the Scottish summer turned on its charm when we got home, enabling me to start writing this on the patio with a cup of coffee, and finishing on a chair in the front of the house, next to the hydrangeas, while admiring the sunset.

How I love August days like these!

Whitby the historic sea front town

On Saturday I celebrated my birthday in Whitby, the historic, picturesque sea front town in North Yorkshire. The harbour splits the town into two parts, with the older located on the East bank. Whitby has old houses, narrow cobblestone streets from mediaeval times, beautiful shopfronts, colourful doors, taverns, cafés, sandy beaches and cliffs, not to mention the famous ruins of the Whitby Abbey, the gothic church on top of the East Cliff.

Whitby is probably familiar to those who have read the Gothic horror classic Dracula by Bram Stoker. Count Dracula is shipwrecked off the Whitby coast and comes ashore disguised as a black dog, and then the "fun" begins! After having been to Whitby I must say that it is the perfect setting for the tale.

The marina in Whitby and in the background the North York Moors National Park

The view from the 199 steps in all directions is simply breathtaking. When you look over the old red rooftops it feels as if you have travelled back in time or have entered a fairy tale. I can recommend entering the town from the steps, which have an adjoining donkey track (there is parking on the East Cliff by the Whitby Abbey ruins). When you walk down the steps you step right into Church Street (see my images below), a charming narrow cobblestone street, where you will find all kinds of wonderful shops, inns and cafés.

Everywhere you look there is something to photograph but on Saturday the town was packed with people, which made it difficult to snap photos. We drove to Whitby and on the way into town you have to pass the North York Moors National Park, which has a beautiful landscape.

Marie Antoinette's Patisserie in Church Street

There was only one thing I spotted in Whitby that bothered me (not for the first time). As we were walking in Church Street I saw the sign of Marie Antoinette's Patisserie with the phrase 'let them eat cake'. It's a phrase commonly misattributed to the Queen. She was supposed to have said it upon learning that the peasants couldn't afford bread. The fact is she never uttered these words; it was just French Revolution propaganda. It so happens that in my bag I had my copy of Must You Go?: My Life with Harold Pinter by Antonia Fraser (an early birthday present). A few years back I read Fraser's biography Marie Antoinette: The Journey, where she corrects the 'let them eat cake' story and I think it's my duty to do so too, in case you spot the quote in my photo of the sign.

I took some photos of the Whitby Abbey, which I might share later. As I said earlier, there were so many people in Whitby that day that made it difficult to take photos. This trip was also a pleasure trip for the family and I wanted to spare them; it's no fun continually having to stop walking while someone is photographing. The idea is to return to Whitby on a weekday and go for a stroll with the camera while they relax on the beach.

A peaceful spot in the village

Last year when I moved to South Yorkshire I was under the impression that I was moving to a small town. It wasn't until people started asking me how I liked it in the village that I realised that I was living in one. I guess in my mind a village is a place that has a few brick houses, narrow cobblestone streets and an old post office with a vintage bicycle by the entrance.

This beautiful spot by the church in Auckley is probably one of few that has that village-feel to it, if one excludes the sound of traffic coming from the main street. The church is called St. Saviour and since I'm not a churchgoer I have never been inside it. I didn't notice the bench until I was walking with my son on a gorgeous spring day and saw the tree in bloom. The spot was like a magnet pulling us across the street; it looked so peaceful. Then we spotted the engraved plaque under the tree, which somehow made it more special.

Sometimes I feel like an eighty-year old when I talk about the weather on the blog but it feels as if summer has already arrived! We were in London on Tuesday and the city was bursting with life; people in shorts or skirts in the sun; all outdoor tables at cafés and restaurants occupied and everyone looking happy. We ended our day in the Chelsea district and enjoyed good (raw) food and coffee at Startisans, a pop-up café with street food on the Duke of York Square. I could have sat there until the evening enjoying the scenery and people watching.

Have a wonderful weekend!

Spring blossoms 2015

I am head over heels in love with this spring. In love! With every year I turn more and more into a spring person; nature continues to stun me this time of year. I snapped these cherry and magnolia blossoms yesterday in the gardens of Walkers Nurseries garden centre. Luckily, they are everywhere these days, everywhere! Sometimes I wish there were a spring-glue so one could enjoy these blossoms a little longer. The good news is that after the spring blossom season comes the season of the peonies - another thing to look forward to.

Cloudy Day in South Yorkshire | Bread buns

Today is Shrove Tuesday, or Pancake Day, in the UK and some other countries. The sun is out, the birds are singing, and the day is filled with promises, at least one: I have promised to make pancakes. Yesterday, however, we had clouds. My son and I went for a walk in the grey weather before heading back home to bake bread buns with sesame seeds. There is no song called Cloudy Day in South Yorkshire but the song Rainy Night in Georgia was constantly playing in my head and I started thinking about the lyrics:

I feel like it's rainin' all over the world,
How many times I wondered, It still comes out the same
No matter how you look at it or think of it,
It's life and you just got to play the game…

~ • ~

It's life and you just got to play the game ... that's a good line.

Yesterday in Iceland was bolludagur, 'Bun Day' or 'Cream Puff Day'. It's an old tradition and in most homes the day starts with the children spanking their parents with a stick that has crepe paper glued to it. The population of Iceland is about three hundred and thirty thousand (pause for laughter or astonishment) and according to the news over million buns are baked and devoured. They usually have a chocolate glaze and are filled with jam and whipped cream. I still remember the Sundays when my mother was busy in the kitchen preparing for the day, which is on a Monday, and I remember my lunchbox filled with buns.

Yesterday, very untrue to Icelandic tradition, I made bread buns. I wasn't in the mood for the cream puffs and the kids didn't complain. Come to think of it, I haven't baked the traditional ones in a long time. The last time may have been in Denmark in 2010! I guess it's a tradition I haven't held on to.

I seldom use yeast so I find it interesting that lately I have been baking these bread buns frequently. All that kneading must be grounding. Well, I do have a long-standing love affair with sesame seeds.

Speaking of sesame seeds, I just read that there is a new cookbook coming out: Sesame & Spice: Baking from the East End to the Middle East by Anne Shooter. The words sesame and baking caught my attention. I have no idea about the recipes in it, whether they are all sugary or leaning towards healthy, but the cover looks good. It's time to start the pancake making but first I wanted to share the bread buns recipe.

Those of you who have been following my blog are used to recipes with spelt flour. I like mixing white with wholegrain spelt flour when making bread or buns. These days, however, it seems to be hard to come across the white one, at least in this area of the UK. To make these buns I simply use organic plain flour or bread flour. Instead of warming the milk, which is common when baking with yeast, I boil the water and mix it with the milk and honey. Sesame seeds are a good source of calcium, magnesium, and iron; in my opinion, you should eat some every day. We love these buns with hard-boiled eggs and cucumber, or home-made pesto.

BREAD BUNS WITH SESAME SEEDS

450 g organic plain flour or bread flour
2 teaspoons fast-active dry yeast
1 teaspoon fine sea/Himalayan salt
2 tablespoons sesame seeds
125 ml milk (½ cup)
100 ml boiled water
½ tablespoon organic honey
1 tablespoon vegetable oil
topping: 1 egg white or milk and sesame seeds

In a large bowl, mix together the flour, yeast, salt and sesame seeds with a wooden spoon.

In a smaller bowl gently stir the milk, boiled water and honey. Let it sit for 1-2 minutes. Add the oil to the mix before slowly pouring it into the larger bowl while stirring gently.

First mix the dough with the spoon, then knead well with your hands on a floured surface for 5-10 minutes. Return the dough to the bowl and cover it with clean, damp tea towel. Set aside for 1½-2 hours in a warm place, or until doubled in size.

Divide the dough into 8 parts and roll into balls. Place them on a baking tray lined with baking parchment and flatten each slightly with the palm of your hand. Brush each one with egg white or milk and sprinkle sesame seeds on top. Bake at 200°C/400°F (180°C fan oven) for 12-14 minutes.

Uppskrift á íslensku

Bread buns with sesame seeds ready for the oven

West Midlands spring blossoms

I am totally smitten with this spring season that, much to my delight, arrived early this year in the West Midlands. Sunday was spent on the patio / in the garden in 18 degrees (about 65°F) and sunshine. Yesterday, between studying for an exam, I grabbed my camera and went for a walk in the neighbourhood to capture some of the spring blossoms.

There are gorgeous cherry and plum trees all around (I wish I knew the name of all the varieties) and now I'm waiting for the magnolias to start blooming, especially two specific trees that I pass by every day.

I was born and raised in Iceland and these kinds of blossoms hardly exist over there (spring arrives late - it's still snowing there). This is the first time living abroad that I see trees in bloom so early. I already knew I had turned into a spring girl, but now I can say for certain that I'm an early-spring girl.

Has spring arrived in your corner of the world?

The White Cliffs of Dover

I am dealing with slight post-travel blues. I miss the sea and I miss being at sea. We took a ferry from Dunkirk to Dover in beautiful weather; I drank latte on the deck and ate home-made biscotti - bliss. It's only a two-hour ferry ride and when the White Cliffs of Dover start rising out of the sea it gives me a big thrill. Such a beautiful landscape.

Bon week-end!