The Long Table

There's been a lot of hype about The Long Table since the massive queues spread word like wild-fire that this is THE place to be on a Friday night in London.  The Street Food craze is just starting to take off in London and The Long Table is nurturing the concept in the best of ways.  Held in a disused parking lot up in the "Hipster" north of London, some of the coolest/tastiest vendors have joined together to create this awesome hang-out.  Live music (including funky strings), local beers and cocktails (with bubbles!), big open bonfires to keep everyone warm and last but not least, Long Tables to sit at to soak it all in.

I'd read that we need to be there by 6.30pm if we had any chance of getting in without queueing - we arrived at 6.20pm and turns out we were a bit late, the queue was already snaking down the lane and around the corner.  Turns out it opened a bit late, so once we moved, we were in pretty quickly.  (However, I can't say the same for the even longer queue that was still there when we left 2 hours later!)

We walked straight into the queue (yes, there's still lots of queueing once inside), for a Yum Bun - a steamed bun stuffed with pork belly, cucumber and hoisin (a cross between duck pancakes and pork buns), and vegetarian option for Ben using mushroom.  We both agreed these were amazing and almost walked straight back to the end of the queue for seconds.

BUT we forced ourselves to keep exploring - we munched on Caribbean vegetable pancakes (OMG, the surprise of the night, tasted a bit like a flat spring roll - delish!), Shoo Foo Doh (japanese pancake), Meatballs from my beloved The Bowler (who's hopefully going to grace us with a vegetarian option in 2012!), and finished off with a slice of fresh-out-of-the-portable-wood-oven Pizza slice.

Honestly, I could have stayed all night, but my stomach was begging otherwise and we had friends to meet, so we reluctantly left the cool kids to their evening and left hoping with all hope that The Long Table becomes a permanent event long after it's expected xmas final date.

ps - please excuse the terribly grainy, night-time, iPhone photo's...

More from my weekend

On Sunday we decided to take a trip to South-West london.  Our lease expires early next year, so we'll be looking to move.  We want to move to an area we haven't yet lived, and as well as having friends down that way, we also like the vibe that is many pubs and restaurants that we haven't really been so close to before.  

I had just recently read on LiveUrbanLoveRural about a formal garden hidden away on Streatham Common, so we couldn't resist a little sneak peak whilst we were down that way (for the record, we will NOT be moving to Streatham)!

Streatham Common itself is quite big and rises up on a slope - we both agreed that if it snows this winter it would be our top pick for tobogganing! It took a little while to find the garden (tip, entrance is just beside the cafe!).  And what a lovely little oasis we discovered...  manicured lawns, terraced gardens, frog ponds, lots of garden seats and a few braves soles bundled up reading or just soaking-in the serenity.  Oh, and LOTS of squirrels - although they were all quite shy so was difficult to get good pics!  Also, given that we're in the depths of winter, all of the plants were looking quite sparse and brown - not so pretty for a photog session!

My Weekend

the ice skating rink in action at westfield

tea in bed

a quick visit to GotCraft?

pretty lights everywhere at westfield 

a new hair colour

homemade gluten free vegetarian quiche

landlord delivery of THE WORST couch in the world (even more excited about moving now!)

my love rockin his paris hat

Gluten-Free Vegetarian Quiche

So I threw this little gem together for dinner tonight.  I've been wanting to attempt gluten-free pastry for a while and I had a leek in the fridge that needed using so I concocted this deliciousness.

For the pastry:

200g Gluten Free Plain (All-purpose flour)
100g Butter
6 tablespoons water

Using fingers or a fork, combine the flour and butter until it resembles breadcrumbs.  Add the water and mix until it forms a kind of dough (this only takes a couple of minutes).  Roll the pastry between 2 pieces of cling film (as much as you can - I didn't manage this too well, but I think the pastry is too "wet" to roll on a dry surface).  Press into a quiche tin and blind bake for 10 minutes or so.

For the filling:

This is entirely up to you - use whatever veges you like, or have in the fridge.  I used the following:

1 small onion
1 leek
A handful of broccoli (chopped small)
Half a red pepper
Half a block of feta (cut into squares)
Handful of grated cheddar
Salt & Pepper

For the cream mixture

300ml cream (I only had double cream so I thinned it with a little milk)
3 eggs

Saute the vegetables until soft (don't forget to add salt & pepper!) and spread over the base, add the feta. Pour the cream mixture over the veges and then sprinkle with the cheese.

Cook for 30-45 minutes until brown and set firm in the middle.  (The pastry should also have come away from the edge of the tin).  Leave to cool and set slighty for 5-10 minutes, then don't delay, eat while fresh and warm!

Voila!

My latest....Blog Crush!

I'm in dream-land! Well, yes, that tends to happen when your dream is to live in New York (a very UNattainable dream for us unfortunately), and then you stumble upon an awesome blog of a cool chick who lives and loves everything fun and fantastical in New York!!!

I've been following Kim's HILARIOUS blog, Yep, They're All Mine, for a while now (maybe stalking is a better word :), who recently met up with Daina, aka New York State of Mind - before you knew it, I was addicted!

Get ready for some drool-worthy food, fun city adventures (will definitely be stealing some ideas for when we finally managed to visit NYC) AND awesome pics... oh and don't even get me started on how adorable her kitty Boo is!!!  So if you dream of New York as much as I do - you will LOVE it!!!

Granger & Co

Finally!  Bill's London restaurant, Granger & Co, the one we've waited with bated breath for so long is here! Granger & Co opened early this week - without any fanfare and is already causing a stir in Notting Hill.

We decided our first trip would be Sunday brunch so 9 of us agreed a semi-early start to allow enough time for getting a table.  We certainly weren't disappointed with the queue - we added our name to "the list" at 10.30am, were sent on our way to enjoy a coffee at a competing cafe (note to bill, we would have been more than happy to wait outside with a cup of your own coffee!) and finally sat down at 12.15pm.  Unfortunately, because of the way tables were turning over, 4 of us managed to squeeze in, with the other 5 having to wait another half hour - in this time a table of 4 became available that we asked if an extra chair could be squeezed in - the rather flustered english maitre'd declined our request...a little while later, another 4 became available, we managed to speak to the Australian manager [who i'm quite sure is also an import, looked very similar to the manager at Bills in Sydney we saw in January] who had no problem adding that extra chair - gotta love that Aussie can-do attitude!

So finally seated, we had quite a long time to peruse the menu (even though we all knew what we were having).  There have been many reviews so far complaining of the slow service, which I do have to agree with, however this place has been open less than a week with a constant 2 hour wait all day every day so I don't hold this against Granger & Co at all - especially as the wait staff were so upbeat and friendly - I have no doubt things will settle down and the team will get into a better rhythm.  

So with all this time to get used to our surroundings, it was hard to not to get caught up in the buzz and vibe in the packed dining room.  The restaurant is light and bright owing to the large windows and high ceilings and clever use of mirrors on doors and walls. The kitchen is a few steps up at the rear of the restaurant and whilst not entirely open you can get some of an idea of what's going on up there.  It was also really lovely to see Bill himself working the floor, everything from chatting to guests to clearing tables - I just love this hands-on attitude!

We started with drinks, which we couldn't NOT try the coffee - desperately hoping for that little taste of home that England fails to deliver on a daily basis.  My latte was strong and lovely and creamy - the way us Aussies like a good latte - tick!

The hot chocolate sounded tantalising, however, we all agreed this was a fail - i'm sure the Callebaut chocolate is lovely, but mixed with only warm milk, this wasn't enough for it to blend through so were left with a cup milk with chocolate that sank to the bottom. 

And then finally, the food!  With 3 of us ordering the Ricotta Hotcakes and one serving of Corn Fritters (sans bacon for Ben of course), I guess we can't comment too much on the menu - however, these favourites of Bill's didn't disappoint, reminiscent of Bill's in Sydney it was a very welcome taste of home.  The Ricotta hotcakes were light and fluffy with honeycomb butter oozing over the top - delish!  The only negative point on the Corn Fritters was that they seemed quite a lot smaller than in Sydney, but they lived up to their reputation!

We finished with a few more beverages - Mimosa, Bill's Mule and China Green Leaf tea (which came in the cutest little teapot ever!).

Fair to say we all walked away very happy customers!  

A couple of final points:

- we all left quite cold - with all the comings and goings of the masses, the main door was open more than shut, and in this chilly weather this didn't make for a very cosy temperature inside.

- where's the vegetarian options Bill? Looking at the lunch and dinner menu's there a limited number of vegetarian options!

Regardless - we loved it - we'll be back - probably many times!

Origami Apartment

You guys - have you seen this awesome video of a teeny tiny apartment in New York???

Grand Designs eat your heart out - this is completely genius.

If I had to relive my single days, I could SO see myself living here AND inviting you all over for cocktails!

Gluten Free

I've been really concentrating on what food i've been putting into my body lately, after the discovery of Ayurveda and essentially following a Paleo Diet.  One of the biggest things i've been conscious of is limiting my gluten intake - which means no bread, no cakes, no pasta... NOOOO!!!!  Sounds awful, but actually i'm finding it quite manageable.  And hot tip - that full bloated feeling you have after eating a big bowl of pasta - non-existent with gluten free!


Tonight's dinner for example, was a lovely pasta bake, made with gluten free pasta that I honestly couldn't even notice the difference. 


So i've been desperately wanting to try Emily K's Gluten Free Pumpkin Bread recipe which I discovered on her blog not so long ago.  I figure that as soon as I start discovering some yummy alternatives to some of my beloved treats, this new eating style won't be so difficult to stick to!


Well, i've just pulled this out of the oven and it is TO DIE FOR! Lovely and moist and gorgeously spiced - especially lovely with the festive season approaching :)


So, what did I do?  Essentially I used the exact same recipe, but instead of the Crisco/Butter, I substituted pure Coconut Oil.  I also used a little extra pumpkin, as the gluten free flour mix I used (Doves Farm) recommends using more liquid.

Preheat oven to 350 degrees [approx 180 celcius]


[I used a square cake tin as I don't have a loaf tin]
Whisk together in a bowl:
1 1/2 cup gluten-free flour
1 1/2 teaspoon cinnamon
1 teaspoon baking soda
1 teaspoon salt
1 teaspoon ginger
1/2 teaspoon ground nutmeg
1/4 teaspoon ground cloves
1/4 teaspoon baking powder


[instead of the nutmeg, cloves, ginger - I used the same measurement of mixed spice]
Mix in a small bowl:
1 1/3 cup almond milk
1/2 teaspoon vanilla [I used vanilla paste]

In a large bowl, add
6 tablespoons butter flavored crisco [I used Coconut Oil]
Gradually add and beat on high until lightened:
1 cup white sugar and 1/3 cup brown sugar
Add in one at a time 2 eggs.
Add 1 cup pumpkin puree. [I used an extra tablespoon or so for moisture]
Mix until just combined.

Add flour mixture in three parts, alternating with milk mixture in two parts on low speed.
Scrape into prepared loaf pan.
Bake at 350 degrees for 45-60 minutes or until toothpick comes out clean. 


Post Note:  I've found the next day that the cake isn't quite as spicy as when first out of the oven and also has quite a strong taste due to the almond milk.  If dairy isn't an issue for you, I would recommend substituting back normal butter and milk and I personally would add more spice (but this may be because I used a mixed spice, rather than individual spices).

A little light reading...

for my Body, Mind and Soul :)

7 and 15

Wow, what an amazing way to start a day, an email from lovely fellow blogger little random happiness awarding me a Versatile Blogger Award!!!

I must say, i'm just a tad excited and honoured, to think that my humble little blog is loved by someone a few thousand miles away (AND I must say I have a little reciprocal blog-crush of my own :)

I do admit, however, that I didn't really know about this little award before now, so i've clicked on over and found out more!  Basically, in the spirit of discovering new blogs, I pass on the award to 15 of my own fav blogs (and share them all here to hopefully get y'all over to their blogs to soak up the goodness), and to get to know me better, I tell you 7 things about me that you may not know!

7 things...

1. I have a MASSIVE phobia of spiders - all the plastic ones around for Halloween at the moment literally make me squeal and send shivers down my spine - I avoid the Halloween section at all costs!

2. I'm a sci-fi nut (Star Wars, Battlestar Galactica, Firefly, X-men etc etc etc... one of my favourite things when I was little was my C-3PO moneybox!)

3. Reading is my escape (especially on the tube) - but not any old tat, books must have a special story to tell

4. Love, Lilly xxx is how I sign off my letters, emails etc to family - hence my blog name was born

5. I spent my childhood riding horses and secretly hope that one day I can live on a simple little farm and ride every day (preferably near a beach and a city - asking too much?)

6. I LOVE the sun - I could sit out in it all day, every day!

7. I would love to live in New York - even just for 6 months - coolest city in the world!

15 blogs (and why)!

Emma Bradshaw - the very first blog I discovered - I love hearing her adventures with her "boys" and can't wait to (cyber) meet the new addition to their family

Gourmet Chick - another blog from the early days - a fellow Australian living in London (until recently :(  everyone's moving home), doing all the hard work of sifting through the good and the bad of the London restaurant scene - this has been my "go-to" site for MANY a gastronomic experience

Sarah Wilson - for all of the reasons in this blog post

City of Blackbirds - Eadaoin's photography is superbly dreamy - and she share's my obsession with Downton Abbey ;)

Explore. Dream. Discover - (formerly known as From Portland to Peonies) - I originally found Liz's blog via a wedding site, cause lets face it, that dress!  Liz has just moved from Portland to Amsterdam, does lots of fun stuff and has the cutest little pup named Henry :)

Paper Morning - coz Kae is creative and stylish and also has a husband who runs marathons :)

A Barefoot Day - because I like to walk barefoot too :)  [and wish I could more often]

The Daybook - cause Syd is funny and quirky in all the ways I wish I was - AND she's "this close" from welcoming a little baby boy into this world!

One April Morning - a relatively new find for me, via Sarah Wilson's blog - another blog that get's me thinking...

Anamu - a fellow expat who's just moved to London, a shadow of myself nearly 5 years ago

What Katie Does - a funky Londoner with retro taste and an uber-cute kitty cat! [and I hope one day soon I can ask her to doll-up Love, Lillyxxx]

Gossett Girl - Natalie had me at Hawaii! But I also love her crafty motivations and her awesome photo skillz!

 

tales of me and the husband - I can't find words to describe Bridget's story and now life - it's heartfelt and wonderful...

My Beat Boutique - Myrna is one incredibly brave fashion blogger, who pulls off the cutest outfits and is a savvy thrift shopper!

 

the lil bee - just love the "on my mind" columns each Monday - the power of thought (and 2 adorable little girls who love their visits to farms!)

Distractedly, absent...

I must admit, I have been non-too-inspired with blogging lately - the cause of this? The discovery of a fantastic new blogger - an Australian "chick" by the name of Sarah Wilson!  I've written about my love of how blogging can connect you to people all over the world, but Sarah's blog has had a profound impact upon me since I "stumbled upon it" just over a week ago and i've been glued to it ever since.

Sarah isn't your average blogger, she has somewhat a "celebrity" status in Australia via various media outlets (although, i'm afraid to say I hadn't heard of her until just last week), and her blog, as you will see, is a journey of discovery - of the soul, body and mind. 

In short, Sarah used to live a high-powered, high-activity life in Sydney, until she discovered she had Hashimoto's (an auto-immune disease).  So in a drastic turn of events Sarah was forced to stop, drop everything and prioritise her health.  For the past couple of years, Sarah has been on a journey of wellness, finding the delicate balance in all aspects of her life to be healthy, and ultimately, happy.

Reading through Sarah's blog, it was interesting to see my own reaction to her story - I don't think it's a massive secret that i've been feeling quite uneasy with life of late, so to read through Sarah's posts to find someone who has similar thoughts, feelings and health issues as me is incredibly enlightening.  Which has made me realise that in a lot of ways I have lost a certain connection to my old "self", which I now realise is down to living in a hectic, toxic city like London. 

You see, i've always been more of a holistic, down-to-earth, nature-loving, chilling-at-the-beach, soaking-up-the-sun type of girl - and growing up in Queensland, I was free to do this as I pleased as all of the above were within such easy reach.  But i've been living in London for nearly 5 years now, and the closest i've come to "nature" in this time has been a couple of trips home to Australia and very memorable (yet short and long-ago) trip to the Amalfi coast a couple of years back.  For the most part, i've been living in a concrete jungle, working 9-5, becoming unwell, and rarely getting the opportunity to get back to nature, and ultimately, myself.

So I guess what i'm trying to say, is that Sarah has inspried me to reconnect with myself, take a good hard look and start changing the things that are bringing negative energy into my life and finding ways to improve these.  I'm not sure if i'm quite ready to take on her 8-week sugar free program (although maybe sometime in the near future I will be), but there is a LOT of information on Sarah's blog that is giving me the power to realise I can improve my "London" life for the time being.  Ultimately, I would still be on the first plane home to Australia, but alas, that's not where my life is right now, so until that day, I must embrace the here and the now.

My action plan:

1. Experiment with an Ayurvedic "Vata" diet (which "type" are you - take the test here)
2. Explore Ayurveda further via Deepak Chopra's book - Perfect Health
3. Start to change out toxic beauty products with safe, natural products (a visit to Wholefoods for this)
4. Learn to meditate
5. Start a yoga class (as soon as my back is better)

Something else i've taken from Sarah's blog is the discovery of being a SCANNER.  I had heard this term before, but never really knew exactly what it meant - I do now.  And with that in mind, I would like to tell you to "stay tuned" to my progress, but I guess i'm not quite sure how long this new motivation will last - I would like to think that it is life changing, but I guess you never know!

Guess what i'm up to this weekend!

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It's nearly Friday!!!

Thank goodness - i've had a hideous week, topped off with Bronchitis and a super early start tomorrow for an MRI to hopefully diagnose my 5 weeks of back pain...

So, after all that, what can still make me smile?

This!  How cute!!!!

via here (but originally found on pinterest - where else?)

The Hunger Games

...i've just started reading the first Hunger Games book (I actually managed to read quite alot on my two and a half hour journey to work this morning - but THAT my friends is another story...)

...and i'm already addicted - even though I cringe to think how it has potential to be quite difficult to read(?) - I am sooooo incredibly intrigued to see how it all pans out.  Although given it's "teenage fiction" I can kinda imagine how it might end (no spoilers please!)

...and as with most books these days, it's being made into a movie, due to be released in March next year - I personally LOVE books that are made into movies (even though I will be the first to admit that the movie is NEVER as good), so i'm super excited at this eventuality!

It's Sunday!

I have had a SUPER busy week, like SO busy i've hardly had time to even sit down at my computer - so i've been missing my usual blog catch-ups, but i've now finally got a couple of hours to sit down and indulge.

And I have those couple of hours because......i've FINALLY got my xmas cake in the oven! I used THIS recipe, which is the same one I used last year, but with a few tweaks this time, I added a little extra dash of our 2010 vintage Damson Gin to macerate the fruit (I also left this 24hrs overnight) and i've also added pecan nuts - so fingers crossed it works out just as scrummy as last year!  

Some points about making a fruit cake: (1) you need a REALLY BIG bowl to mix this in.  (2) You will have what seems to be WAAAY too much fruit for what will seem a small amount of cake mix - just keep mixin baby - it will get there in the end. (3) You must, must, must wrap it up good with lots of layers or else it WILL burn. (4) You must make this a few months in advance to give yourself lots of "feeding" time - the boozier the better I say!

Yesterday, my friend Chris and I checked out the very first Renegade London Craft Fair - lots of fun handmade things to look at, but disappointingly a large amount of stalls were held by American traders who had come over especially - which isn't necessarily a bad thing, but I just thought there would be more talent in London/England to promote?

We also checked out the new Blitz Vintage Department Store which is basically just a massive building filled to the rafters with vintage clothes, shoes, furniture etc etc...

We had heard a lot of good things about Cay Tre vietnamese, so making the most of being in the East we decided to try it out for dinner.  I'm sorry to report that I didn't find Cay Tre very mind-blowing at all.  Perhaps we ordered the wrong dishes(?) - which I might add the menu we had last night was VERY different to the one on their website, so I really didn't get why there is always a massive queue to get into this place.

Luckily, to cheer me up, I discovered this amazing video (thanks Gourmet Chick for tweeting) and this documentary about The Ship Song Project.  If you're Australian, watching these will give you goosebumps, for everyone else, i'm not sure if you'll "get" it, but I hope you enjoy it all the same :)

Hoping this week goes REALLY fast to get my hands on one of these on Friday!

AND Crossing fingers I get my camera back from the Camera Doctor this week - I miss not being able to take fun photo's :(

My weekend

looked a little something like this...

1.  Lemon Frenzy - Lemon Cupcake, filled with Lemon Curd, topped with Lemon Cream Cheese Frosting

2.  Enjoying our weekend of Indian Summer

3.  Our picnic

4.  Up at 3.30am to watch the AFL Grand Final at the Aussie Pub - we lost :(

Water for Elephants

We finally watched Water for Elephants last night!  Have you seen it?

I was a bit worried that I might find it difficult to watch, seeing "Edward" transition into a less of a "teen frenzy" role (i'm more of a Jacob fan anyways), but I have to say I hardly even noticed and RP pulled off a very romantic character.  I found it hard to watch in other ways (yes, it's a little depressing at times), but I thought it was a lovely story, very well told.  Looking forward to watching it again already!

My year of blogging

Yep, 1 year ago today, I wrote my very first blog post!

@greenappleimages.com

That first post was nothing groundbreaking, actually, just a couple of sentences, inspired by literally a handful of blogs I had only just discovered - but it was a start and I haven't looked back.  It was a bit of a slow start, to say I was a little overwhelmed by the whole process of actually "creating" a blog entry and figuring out how to actually work this Blogger program is an understatement! 

At first, my motivation for this little blog was to record my adventures over here in the UK so my family and friends could keep up with me.  I also wanted it to be an outlet to write - "back in the old days" when i'd send emails to everyone to tell them about a trip, I had many a comment about how much they enjoyed my writing, and I actually really enjoyed doing it, so I figured this would be a nice place to start to explore that further.

But mostly, I have been inspired by so many wonderful people all over the world who share their lives with complete strangers (most of who become friends) - from budding bakers, intrepid travellers, first time mum's (of both babies and furbabies!), fashionista's and just normal people like me having a bit of fun!  Blogging isn't just about writing about life, it's about being creative, being inspired (and inspirational), a true place to let your creativity flow - the "www" really IS your oyster!

Heck, I had absolutely no idea that the blogging community was SO BIG, that there were literally 1000s of blogs out there that I had yet to discover and just how addictive this whole shebang really is! I probably shouldn't mention the amount of hours I spend each day devouring not only my favourite blogs, but also discovering new ones in the process (mostly becuase you'd think I never actually do anything else with my life :) 

I still have a lot of work to do to really let 'Love, Lilly xxx' shine, and I also have quite a few posts that i'm dying to share (let's just call them 'works in progress for now') but i'm enjoying the journey and have a sneaking suspicion that this little virtual world is going to change my 'real' world for the better!

2012

OK, I know it's still a few months away until we should REALLY be thinking about next year, but I am.

And you know why?

Well, because I have no leave left from work and no holidays planned for the rest of the year (boo hoo), so I desperately need to start fantasising about all the wonderfully exciting things we'll be able to do next year!

Here's a taster of a just a few of the plans we have!

all images @ google

I'm SO excited!!!

Have just found out that work has started on Bill's new London restaurant!

From what I can figure, it will be next to Mary's Living & Giving (177 Westbourne Grove, W11 2SB) - hint is in the purple sign of the shop next door!

pic via Bills Blog

Still no confirmation of an opening date (but said to be "November"), but I can guarantee that once I know what that date is, i'll be one of MANY queueing to get a table for that extra-special taste of home on opening day!

I'm not sure when I became so fanatical about Bill, but i've always had a soft spot for him, even before I moved to the UK - I just loved watching his cooking shows, streamed from his amazing light and airy house overlooking one of the most amazing Australian beaches - and of course, meeting him in person last year confirmed he's just one of those friendly, easy-going Aussies that you can't help but like!  Oh, and his food is to die for - eating at Bill's is always guaranteed to leave you feeling happy and content!

I have a feeling this will become a regular "Date Night" spot!  (hint hint Benny :)

Home, away from Home...

One of the things I miss most about living in Australia is having my own house.  

For the time we're in London, we will always be here temporarily, which means renting someone else's flat, sitting on someone else's couch (usually a worn out old ikea number), using someone else's dinner plates, sleeping in someone else's bed, etc etc, you get the idea.

The longer i'm here, the more I want my own house, to sit on a couch that I chose, to sleep in a bed that I chose (and doesn't have springs sticking into me), hang pictures, put up wallpaper and generally just make my own.

For now, I will make this rented flat as cosy as possible, and home will always be where the heart is, but I will still dream - and repin a ridiculous number of pictures to my "for my dream home" board on pinterest!

here...

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