Yellow fabrics by Fermoie

I am going through one of my phases of yellow textiles; I see yellow patterns everywhere. My relationship with this primary colour can get complicated because there are shades of yellow that I'm drawn to like bees to honey while others don't do much for my aesthetic side. The yellows that entice me are golden and mustard yellows; yellows with a hint of red in them, like turmeric and saffron. My latest crush comes in the form of fabric samples that I recently got from the English fabrics company Fermoie.

The wide-striped sample is a fabric called Cotton York Stripe (L-039) and the other pattern is called Cotton Rabanna (L-190), which seems to melt my heart each time I look at it. Both these high-quality fabrics are made from 100% cotton. I got more colours and patterns that I will lay on my table and show you later ... when my yellow phase is over. (In my image above, in the bottom-left corner, you see part of a photo by Chris Court in the book Gypsy: A World of Colour & Interiors by Sibella Court.)

Fermoie was founded by Martin Ephson and Tom Helme, the two gentlemen who also founded Farrow & Ball (which they sold). I like the simplicity of their palette that consists of five colours - reds, yellows, greens, blues, and neutrals - available in various light and dark hues. According to Helme,

Fermoie's aim is to capture the life, light and enjoyment of old woven textiles. We print traditionally with a light touch using pigments creating a subtle impression but with the depth of a woven fabric. (Fermoie - About)

The design is drawn by hand in their studios and printed on natural fabrics in their factory in Marlborough (the base cloths are woven in Lancashire). If you happen to be in the Chelsea area in London you will find their showroom at 2 Pond Place.

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!

Pesto with basil and Genoa memories

My Larousse Culinary Encyclopedia states that pesto comes from Genoa and I'm certainly not going to argue with it. I have actually been there, many years ago. The classic Italian pesto with basil, Parmesan and pine nuts is one of my favourite foods. Now that I have finally bought a new food processor, pesto for lunch is common in casa mia. The cookbook of my friend (Cafe)Sigrun is also to blame because she was killing me with pesto images while we were working on the manuscript. Her book has a classic recipe (different ratios than mine; there are endless versions out there) and a pumpkin seed pesto that made me go yum ... yum! Remember the scene in Julie and Julia when the editor was testing Child's recipe for boeuf bourguignon and rolled back her eyes in bliss? That's what I mean when I say yum ... yum! I promise to share her recipe in the autumn when the book has been published.

Back to Genoa. I arrived there via train from Zürich/Milan and grabbed a taxi to go to some tourist agency to buy a ferry ticket to Sardinia, as described in my travel guide (no Internet back then). The clerk looked at me with pity and said the guide got it all wrong; I should buy the ticket at the ferry port. (Stupid travel guide!) So I grabbed another taxi to go to the port and just missed a ferry - classic. Luckily it was a beautiful day and I remember sitting on steps at the port in the afternoon, reading and eating juicy peaches that I had bought at a market. Next to me were students from Milan (I was younger, only 18) and somehow I became part of their group without being part of it. I didn't speak Italian but it was as if they were looking after this lone Icelander sitting next to them. After all those years I still remember two friendly faces from that group; the two who spoke English. I wouldn't say I was insecure travelling alone but it was a long wait for a ferry and their company was comforting.

With a good food processor you don't ever have to use pesto out of a jar. I think many don't realise how easy it is to make and the beauty of pesto making is that you can change the ratio of ingredients: Want more olive oil? Use more oil! Want more Parmesan? Go for it! The reason why I use 60 grams basil is that I buy the leaves in a 30-gram bag and I get the texture I like. If we don't finish the pesto in one go I put the rest in a jar and add some olive oil before refrigerating. If you don't have a food processor you can use a mortar and pestle.

BASIL PESTO

50 g pine nuts
60 g fresh green basil
35 g Parmesan
½-1 clove garlic
½ teaspoon fine sea/Himalayan salt
a pinch of freshly ground black pepper
50 ml organic extra virgin olive oil

Lightly brown the pine nuts in a dry frying pan to bring out their flavour.

Before whizzing all the ingredients in a food processor, thinly slice the Parmesan cheese, and peel and coarsely chop the clove of garlic. While mixing/pulsing the ingredients, pour the olive oil slowly into the bowl, until the pesto thickens. (Depending on your food processor, you may have to scrape the sides of the bowl once or twice.)

Serve with e.g freshly baked baguette/bread and/or pasta, salmon or any other fish, meat or vegetables.

My idea for an easy-to-make lunch: I boil tagliatelle or linguine while preparing the pesto (I set the timer on al dente for the pasta). I let the cooked pasta drain while browning sliced mushrooms in light olive oil in a frying pan and add some sea salt. I top the pasta with the mushrooms and serve with pesto on the side.

Uppskrift á íslensku.