How’s your holiday been? Mine was alright-ish I guess, just pretty much stayed at home, which to be honest just felt like any other usual day with the family.

.

Today, I took down all the Christmas decoration around the house & D chopped up the Christmas tree to a manageable size to take to the recycling centre. The living room feels stark without the 6 foot tree that was festooned with “un”-colour-coordinated baubles, but having them tidied away feels so ‘right’ in that “New year = fresh start” kind-of-way, it’s good. I feel ready to tackle things again.

.

(The baubles)

.

The baubles for the tree are all vintage, purchased on several occasions on eBay. That’s why it’s all different sizes, colours & textures! I decorate the tree with these & with multi-coloured fairy lights thrown in the mix too. It is very definitely colour-overkill & uncoordinated. Lol! But y’know what, I like it just like that – ‘uncoordinated’. I wouldn’t want top-to-bottom colour coordination or an expensive ’gold-theme’. Mish-mash & haphazard, that actually suits me.

.

Most are plain coloured silk woven baubles (perfect for a house with children because it doesn’t break!), but I also have some unusual ones in the mix that I love love love! Below are pictures of some of them!

.

There’s apple shaped one, pointy one, disco ball one… Then there’s frazzled ones that’s seen better days, & a bauble that I can’t bring myself to take its old sticker off (…17… maybe it used to be 17 pence??). There’s also a gold bauble that got transformed in to a Santa face! Cuuuute I think & it deserves a noticeable part of the tree to hang from, but my son is unbelievably spooked out by it (!!) – he thinks it looks like a head that is chopped off, so it got dangled out of sight at the back of the tree … (maybe this year Santa face has centre stage hopefully??)

.

The beauty of eBay is that all of these were dead cheap (for example just 99p for 20 baubles!). And now & again there’s a nice little surprise – unexpectedly amazing bauble in the mix (the apple-shape), or like one of the bauble box had ‘Made in GDR’ stamped on it – that’s German Democratic Republic, former East Germany! To think that these baubles & box had been around for atleast more than 21 years…!!

.

. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .

.

Dearest readers, I was going to write about how my trade went in the last two Saturdays leading up to Christmas, but I’ve run out of time, so that’s ’til next time I guess!

.

On that note, I’m signing out for the night,

Tamami xx

.

Above picture was from last Saturday! It was the first ever time in my five years of trading at the market that it snowed so heavily! It was a day of lots of happenings, & it deserves a proper write-up, so it’ll have to be in another time…!

.

Because right now, it’s 5am on Christmas Day, & all I want to say to you is…

Merry Christmas everyone!!!!!!!

Have a fantastic day, what ever you are doing, let loose, be jolly & be merry!!! It’s been a heck of a year & we all deserve a big ol’ knees up don’t we!

.

I’ll be thinking of you all.

xxx

.

Ps: you’re perhaps wondering why I’m up at this stupid hour, but I’d like to defend myself by saying that I slept from 7pm last night & woke up at 1am! – After finishing at the market, I had a few glasses of red wine & got stuffed with good food that my mother made, which totally finished me off, lol, I very almost nodded off at the dinner table! Seriously! – After a comatosed heavy sleep I’m up & I feel rather refreshed! ^^

.

Hello! How are you all keeping in this cooooold weather? Wrapping up warm I hope??

.

Last week I purchased a repro US Military ECW (Extreme Cold Weather) snorkel parka on eBay, & just got it delivered to mine on Sunday (which got us surprised as we didn’t know delivery service was operating on Sundays! It must be a special Christmas season thing…). The parka is definitely bulky around the shoulders unfortunately…, but it’s seriously warm (they don’t tag it ECW for nothin’ baby!) so I’ll be looking forward to wearing it at the market for the first time this coming Saturday! Just don’t laugh if I’m moving a bit stiff! Lol!

.

Anyway, I’m typing this quick message to say that this year, Broadway Market will be open on FRIDAY 24th December instead of 25th! (25th is Public Holiday.) The special Christmas market will open from 9am & finish slightly earlier than usual at 3pm. And then next year, the market will commence from the 8th of January, although I will be on my annual break for 3 weeks & will be back at the market from the 29th of January.

.

The Christmas market on the 24th will be very special with festive atmosphere… – I love it when greetings like “Merry Christmas!” can be heard left right & centre! It’s a time when one can’t stop feeling anything but festive. It makes me grin & feel proud to be working at such a friendly market. So if you’re going to be in London, & have some time to spare, hop on down to East London & hang out with us – I’d love to catch you this side of the year before my break!

.

Happy thoughts to you all, Tamami xx

.
(ps: no pics this time! Maybe I’ll add one when I get a chance…)
.
.
I’m currently writing this sitting on my green couch, laptop on my lap, still rather merry from sipping red wine all afternoon/ evening.
.
Right this moment my Mr.D & our son ‘I’ are at his school, camping on the school field for the night (!), & so I’m at home, a very quiet home, & loving it. – Although having said that, & having spent the most wicked time this afternoon/ evening with them at the school camping site, sitting on the grass in the sun, white puffy clouds passing by the bright blue sky, the children happily playing with their friends, us adults boozing & munching, I kind of regret not signing up myself for the whole over-night experience too – but our toddler S we think is too young to sleep outdoors yet, she is also currently potty-training, so here I am at home with her instead. But hang on, then again this brings great opportune for me to blog doesn’t it? So with firm warning from me to you that it’s all probably gonna sound disjointed & that I’m probably going to make grammatical mistakes, here’s my write-up on what’s been happening recently…
.
x . x . x . x . x . x . x . x . x . x . x . x . x . x
.
Craftacular:
Last week I took part at the Craftacular event I told you about in earlier posts! I made three special things for the event;
- homemade lemonade (honey + vanilla extract + lemon juice, topped with sparkling water) + ice cubes,
- banana & strawberry frozen yogurt smoothie,
- croissant sandwiches (with Bavaian ham, Jarlsberg cheese, Lamb lettuce, Japanese Cupie mayonnaise (the one & only!), & Dijon mustard).
.
The lemonade was the greatest hit of all, Mrs A (my trusty helper for the day) & I were pouring it out to cups non-stop for the good first half of the fair. Many many visitors were gagging for something cold to drink – it was over 30 degrees that day, sooo hot – & as soon as the doors opened, the visitors who’d been queueing out in the sun decided to form a queue for the icy lemonade straight away. We ran out on it so quick that we made a second batch afterwards, which also sold out. – So yes, I’m very very happy about this one. ;)
.
On the other hand, the frozen yogurt smoothie was a bad mistake. Oh…, never-again I say… Despite nice comments from customers, it soon proved to be a nightmare, as A: it was messy, B: the frozen yogurt took ages to slush in the Waring bar blender, C: because of the lengthy time to make it, there was a back order & customers waiting, which is not good is it?
.
Croissant sandwiches, was tasty, I was proud of it, & was good value at three quid, but didn’t sell all 50 as I’d hoped. Again, not good is it?
.
Lemon was definitely the choice flavour of the day it seems as both lemon drizzle cake slices & lemon cream tarts sold out very quickly. Actually, the chocolate cake & cheese cake slices also did very well, but y’know what, I have to admit that I totally misjudged on how many fruit tarts & plum cupcakes to make…!! I had quite a lot left, so at the end of the day I decided to go around the craft vendors to give them out for free…!
.
Despite the misjudgment on quantity, it still was a good day, the first 2-3 hours was pure crazily busy! The organizers & other food vendors were so sweet to be around with, aswell as the crafters who were all so talented & inspirational. I just adore the type of craft that they were selling – when I walked around the hall later on in the day, I wanted sooo many things! I did buy two items in the end: a brooch that says “Super!” (because I jolly-well am!!! well, I like to tell myself…) & a emilythepemily raindrop t-shirt.
.
x . x . x . x . x . x . x . x . x . x . x . x . x . x
.
Anyway, I don’t know if any regular customers have noticed that I was not at the market this Saturday? Sorry if you were looking for me…! A collection of little reasons (excuses) made me decide not to go… (like potty-training & camping.) But y’know, it felt really good having the one-week-rest. Physically, the recent 30 degree hot weather has been hell to work in – in the kitchen with the oven on all the time & then under the tarpaulin at the market. Mentally I was drained of energy too as sales figures are dramatically down when it is this hot (people generally don’t buy cakes in hot weather but instead buy salads or ice-cream), it’s rather depressing!
.
And furthermore, it struck me even more than before that my one-week-rest also means that it is a one-week-rest for D & my parents too, who look after the children when I can’t, dealing with a kitchen that is out-of-bounds, D driving me to & fro. It may seem like a one-woman business, but if looked at like this, it so isn’t. Also, this Saturday morning, I was able to take my son to the Japanese Saturday School for once. Really, the boy was so happy. So happy. Holding my hand, showing me the ropes. I felt happy & awful. I feel bad.

.
Just a quick note to remind you that this Saturday I won’t be trading at Broadway, but instead will be at Craftacular in Bethnal Green (read more about this in my earlier post).
.
As well as selling my usual heart tarts & cakes, I’ll be selling my new homemade lemonades (with honey, vanilla extract & sparkling water), banana strawberry frozen yogurt smoothies, & croissant sandwiches.
.
Don’t miss out! Come & say hi!
xxx

(See you there hopefully?? xx)

.

Hallo~!

I am very very excited to announce to you that on Saturday July the 10th I will NOT be at Broadway, but instead will be setting up my stall at the Craftacular event!

.

.
As the name kinda suggests, there’ll be spectacular handmade crafts, & it is sold by their designers/ makers. Think etsy, think folksy, that kind of wonderfully original/ cool/ indie stuff!!!!

.

From looking at the flickr pictures from past years’ events & the video archive, it looks like it’s gonna be a blast! And, if you’re a reader who lives in London (or, if you are from abroad thinking of a trip to London), I so would love for you to come…!

.
Many many crafters applied to be part of this, & the chosen sixty vendors had been carefully handpicked on the basis of quality & uniqueness of wares, so I’m sure it’s going to be top-notch.

.

I’ve been looking through the list of vendors on the Bust site, & I already have my eyes (…with purse on the ready) on Bonbi Forest‘s earrings & bracelets, badges & corsage brooches from Peppermint Twist, more corsages from A Alicia, suede rabbit purse from Jill, raindrop T-shirt from emilythepemily & ofcourse I am very curious to see what Tatty Devine might be up to (& purchasing the bunting necklace if they have it)!
.
So it seems like I’m there to shop! LOL! I’ll try not to spend too much of my day’s earnings… I promise/// (cough…)
.

Aaaanyways, aswell as baking my usual suspects, I will be making a few things especially made for the fair! Hopefully something savory & something to drink (tbc – I’m still brainstorming).

.

It’s all very exciting but I must admit, I’m a bit nervous. I’ve never ever done anywhere other than Broadway before (despite being asked several times in the past from other fairs), so this is a rather special ‘first’! (& hopefully not the last?!) I have no idea how many of what to bake, & I am worried as to how it’ll go down with the shoppers… My ex-(business)partner-in-crime Mrs.A will be helping me out all day, so atleast I’ve got good company to see me through…

.

.  x  .  x  .  x  .  x  .  x  .  x  .  x  .  x  .  x  .  x  .  x  .  x  .  x  .
.

SATURDAY JULY 10

Shop. Craft. Dance! 

.
12pm – 7pm York Hall, 5-15 Old Ford Road London E2 9PJ

1 minute from Bethnal Green Tube Station     

.

An indie shopping mall in York Hall! With DJs, drinks, DIY and an alternative food court of sweet and savoury treats.

SHOP at over 60 stalls of the hippest in handmade.     

CRAFT a fascinator headpiece with The Make Lounge; screen-print a tote bag with Mr Wingate; colour-in jewellery with Tatty Devine.     

DANCE to DJs The A-Maisonettes, The Vinyl Vendettas, She Runs With Wolves (Ladyfest Ten); learn to Lindy Hop and Jitterbug with a special beginner’s class by Swing Patrol from 5.30pm to 7pm.      

Goodie bags for the first 100 through the door, raffle and more. Admission: £2. *Sign up for the fascinator-making workshops (1pm-2.30pm and 4pm-5.30pm) on the day, places limited.

.
.  x  .  x  .  x  .  x  .  x  .  x  .  x  .  x  .  x  .  x  .  x  .  x  .  x  .
.

Eeek…

Wish me luck…

.
It’s Monday late evening. The children are asleep upstairs & the house has a blissful hush except for the distant humming of the fridge. There’s still washing-up to do in the kitchen from dinner, but instead I sit typing this because I finally have a chance to share with you the exciting news I’ve been dying to tell you since the weekend.
.
Tommy from ‘This is Naive’ has featured me for her ‘People at work’ series! It comes with a whopping 52 pictures of me & how I work at home & at the market. I’ve never had photographs taken while working in the kitchen, & I am so chuffed to bits – please check it out on her blog page!
.
Tommy is a Super Woman. Fact. I truly dig her passion for photography, blogging, & honing in on sharpening ‘her very own’ style. I love people who follow through their ‘Passion’ & it was with pleasure that I got to spend time with her for three days in a row! We talked loads & loads – we seem to have similar opinion on a lot of the things!! ^^
.
So on Thursday I piped, rolled & coated chocolate truffles in front of her.
And then on Friday, Tommy stayed on a bit longer to photograph the process of:
- lemon drizzle cake (which is her favourite cake)
- baked cheese cake
- lemon cream
- & tart bases filled with crème d’amandes. I didn’t get to show her any of the decorating because it happens at night after the children are in bed… Which is a shame because I would’ve loved Tommy to have taken beautiful pictures for those too!
.
On Saturday early morning at the Market, Tommy came while I was still setting up. While taking pictures, an eight year old girl who often hangs out with me (her mum is another stall holder) was counting the truffles as she always does. She also told us a few jokes which made us laugh. Wanna know what the joke was? Little girl: “What do you call a blind deer?”
Me: “Er…, I don’t know, I have no idea…”
Little girl: “You silly! It’s No-eye-deer” LOL! “Here’s another one. What do you call a blind deer with no legs?”
Me:“Oh dear… er…, er…”
Little girl: “Still no-eye-deer!!!!”
Me: D’oh!
… Ah yes, a very silly joke indeed, but it still made us laugh okay?!
.
Anyway, enjoy Tommy’s Coco&Me documentary!
.
(All three photographs above taken by Tommy of ‘This is Naive’)

(Still trooping on with the usuals!)
.
.
So…, since my last proper post back in January, there’s been two important chocolate dates for me. There was the Valentine’s Day & then Mother’s Day which fell on the 14th of March in UK this year.
.
((By the way, I recently found out that Mother’s Day is or was also called ‘Pudding Pie Sunday’ in Surrey of England! And I’m loving the naming…! I couldn’t find out exactly why they also call it like this, but I think next year’s Mother’s Day I’ll get me some puddie-pies, y’know, just for the name’s sake.^^ Hmm…! This reminds me of eating Galette de Rois on Epiphany – another pastry that is especially consumed on a fixed calendar date! Actually, coming to think of it, there’s loads of other calendar specific confectionaries isn’t there, like chocolate Easter eggs, Simnel cake, Christmas fruit cake, Christmas pudding… Were there any other?))
.

Anyway, I am chuffed to bits to report to you that business had been ah-mazing on both occasions, selling out on the chocolates, & that is despite me making record amounts! I think the people in this country are so good at remembering to treat their loved ones. Or perhaps maybe like me, the ladies are good at constantly reminding the men not to forget to treat us on those dates…
.
Of course there’s those good-sales days & then there’s awful days too. For example the last two weeks’ been pretty grim because of the rainy weather. It was particularly dispiriting when heavy rain seeped all over my chocolate tarts. And totally annoying when people take cover from the rain right in front of my stall & obstruct any view (at which point I give off an aura of ‘G.O. A.W.A.Y.!’ & beam it intently toward their backs). And when at the end of the rainy day I shout “saaaaale!” but no passer’s by glance my way, well my friends, it ain’t just the weather that is feeling rainy.
.
Then again… (you probably know this because I go on about it), I do very much love Broadway Market & the customers there. It has it’s special moments & it brings out my ear-to-ear smile when regulars bring their friends or their parents around & introduce me saying “…and this is the lady that makes the best cakes!”, or when another says “I start every Saturday morning with your hot chocolate”. And just last week, there was a lady that said; “I always buy cakes from you when I have a party.” …Yayyyyy! (Cabbage Patch dance time everybody!)

Also, I’m getting lovely visits from blog-readers every week nowadays too! I think it is soooooo awesome, it is unbelievable really. Although every time one comes, I’m so thrilled I probably come across too intense with all my questions…? Hope not…!!
.
So let’s see what else has been happening… Oh yes! Let me tell you about the two wonderful new experiences that came out of blogging.
.
Well, I got invited to an underground restaurant! (… check this wiki definition if the term is unfamiliar!) It was sometime back in January this year, a particular organizer contacted me via comments function on my blog, & I went with two of my girlfriends! It was surely an experience! ^^ (If any reader knows of any other good ones in London please let me know!)
(Left: Denmark’s Mary welcome drink with black pepper vodka & horseradish. Also a small hot chocolate mix take away present. Right: Main brunch was gravlax, meatballs, dill potato & scrambled eggs.)
.
And this one’s been the story I’ve been meaning to write for ages! It was way back in November last year, one talented Mr Anžej Dežan from London College of Fashion interviewed me about the market & blogging for his magazine project. And God, I tell you, from all the excitement of the situation, I… was… babbling…! And probably mostly nonsensical. I’d squirm if I was to hear back the recording on his dictaphone… (well, I hate the sound of my voice anyways – please dispose it in to the infinite abyss Anžej! Lol!). So, many congratulations to him for making any sense out of me & writing an excellent article! ^^
.

.
Hello dearest readers! How have you all been? It’s been so long since I updated with you. So sorry… The blog has been on my mind like everyday, all the time, but I’m so knackered, it’s been regrettably put on the back-burner. Although today, I am finally writing this way over-due post… from bed (!) with my stinky cold, a tissue box by my pillow for my nose that is ever-so-good at forever reproducing goo… (Ah, sorry…, not the most appetizing of images to write about on a food blog…)
.
So anyways, what I wanted to say was that I am not trading this Saturday 3rd of April.
.
I’m currently writing another post about what’s been happening (the only upside to being bound to bed is that I finally have time to write!), so in the meantime here’s some pictures of rabbit things from my home to set you in the mood for Easter!
.
(Large Bunny driving car chocolate mold circa 1950)
.
(Smaller chocolate mold & a rabbit snow-globe by ‘&K Amsterdam’ on the right.)
.
(My favourite wooden hares that I was selling at my stall last year.)
.
Happy Holidays! x o x o x o

.
To dearest blog readers, Merry Happy Christmas to you!!!! How are you spending your day? (or if you are reading this after-Christmas, how was your day?)
.
For me it’s going to be the same-old really:
First thing in the morning, our children will see that “Santa’s” presents had “magically” arrived, & that the milk & biscuits that they left for him had been neatly finished. (… aka by me as I write this!) Then later on I’ll drag myself to the kitchen to cook up our Christmas dinner which we’d probably start from around 5pm. I’ll be roasting duck this year (much tastier than turkey in my opinion!) There’ll be lots of Christmas crackers & more presents to be opened before dessert.
.
You’re probably wondering what the dessert is?? Well, it is ‘upside-down pineapple cake’! I was asked by my friend Rainbow to make one for her West Indian Christmas do, & I made two so that I could serve it at mine too! ;)
.

.

It is ultra simple to make: arrange pineapples on top of caramel, then pour pound-cake batter above that! And when baked, turn over! Design-wise I stayed away from the cliché retro look of pineapple rings with glacé cherry centres. Instead I cut the rings in half & made a wave pattern, then arranged some almond slices like heart shapes on top. Later on I realized that, hey!, the pineapple halves could look like rainbows!? Just like my friends name!
.
Anyway, I leave you with a Christmas quote, just like how I do every year. This year, it is a scan from the most fabulous Christmas Card we received this year sent & designed by our friend A. – So clever with the nectarine peel! Soon as I saw the card, I fell in love.

Finally, may I once again wish you a very Merry Christmas to you. I was telling a friend just the other day that if it weren’t for this blog, I probably wouldn’t have carried on with the stall as long as I have. And that is the truth. So thank you for all your support.

.

Best wishes to you all with love from Tamami xx

Hi!
Quickie message to say that there are only two more market days this year, the 12th & the 19th. And then I’m going to take most of January off like I always do every year.
So, if you wanna sample some Coco&Me cakes & chocolates (aswell as my creamy hot chocolate drink!), don’t miss your chance, hop on down to Broadway Market in the next two Sarturdays!
Hope to see you there! xoxoxo
.
x . x . x . x . x . x . x . x . x . x . x . x . x . x . x . x . x . x . x . x . x . x .
.
ps: I know, I know… I’ve been slack with posting blog entries! Like always, there’s loads to write about – but never the time…
.
Since my last post, I’ve managed a second-degree-burn on my right wrist. The culprit was the cheese cake that I always rave about. I dropped it as I was getting it out of the oven, upside down, & the hot cake wrapped itself on my wrist. It hurt like hell, no joke. The burn is about 5cm, & the skin peeled off & it was really raw for a long while… I’m afraid that it’ll leave a scar… which will be ultra annoying because it’s a place where it is so visible…
.
(The absolutely gorgeous smell of gingerbread cookie fills our living room!)
.
On a lighter note, here’s a picture of an IKEA gingerbread house I decorated with my boy. We just copied the decoration design that was on the box! LOL! And instead of icing, I just melted & piped white chocolate. The little bambi next to it is my new addition to my ever-growing animal theme collection. It is made by “&K Amsterdam” & it uses real lamb fur! I got it at Selfridges department store & they had the bigger Mummy n’ Daddy version too. I was in the store for about a good 10 minutes contemplating getting those too, arranging it side-by-side, picking it up & down, but in the end I just got the ‘child’ one only. I kind of regret not getting them now though… I might have to go back!
.
Really looking forward to Christmas – how about you?
.

(Meeaaoow…)

.

Here’s a belated picture of this year’s Jack o’ Lantern for Halloween.

.

I TRIED to carve a cat this year, complete with the body, but, when I realized that the cat’s eyes are suspiciously looking similar to “the eye” in Lord of the Rings, I kind of lost interest in finishing the project…
.

The more I look at it, the mouth looks like that of the cheshire cat from Alice In Wonderland, a little vampire touch with the fangs, & it could look X-massy too, what with it’s snowman bod… LOL! One confused Jack o’ Lantern this year then! Oh well, I tried didn’t I, & they say that’s the important part…, right…??

.

Anyways, did you have a wonderful Halloween?

I couldn’t go to my favourite A’s fang-tastic party this year because our little one got sick at the very last minute before leaving// It was a shame because I just love going trick-or-treating with the kids… Let alone missing the Martha-esque home-entertainment that A is famous for… You wouldn’t believe what a downer that was! – Then again, atleast our son got to go though! It would’ve been a real shame if he didn’t.

I managed to hurt my ankle pretty bad…
.
It actually first started to hurt about 2 months ago.
At the time I decided enough’s enough, I didn’t like the Chubsy-Ubsy in the mirror, so I went on a diet. – I jogged everyday & ate low calorie & healthy foods. I would read every food label for calorific content, & do a bit of maths to make sure I am within the daily set limit. (by the way, did you know that baby biscuits make a really tasty low calorie snack?)
And every time I jogged, I could push myself a little further than the previous day & I loved that feeling of accomplishment. But being an obsessive character that I am, when I decide on something, I have a tendency of doing it excessively.
.
Two weeks of that went by. But one morning, when I woke up, my left foot hurt. I thought that I sprained it perhaps, so I put jogging on hold (& subsequently the low-cal healthy eating too…!) but never saw a doctor about it. Besides, I am so busy with the children & then the stall work, I didn’t give it much thought despite it hurting.
.
I know I know, now I feel pretty silly about leaving it unattended like that. Because last Sunday morning, as I got out of my warm bed & ran to the toilets, I pulled on the sore muscle big-time. Like, BIG-time that I couldn’t walk… This finally made me go to the doctors though. I was told it’s Achilles Tendonitis, a sports injury. – I never thought I’d be suffering a SPORTS injury of all things!
.
So guys, no Market this week, I’ve gotta rest my feet. But hopefully next week okay?
.
I seem to be having a string of bad luck this year.
- Two weeks ago my iPhone got nicked in the bus which made me very upset. Like, why steal? Did they look through the family pictures on it? Don’t they have any guilty conscience? It was an invasion of my privacy & I felt uncomfortable & insecure for a while. It was also new, after having the last mobile for 8 years.
- Just before the Summer my laptop got broken by my son spilling a mug full of tea… I had that laptop for 5 years & I was proud of it.
- Our Dvd player got broken by our little one.
- Earlier this year I was pretty ill too.
- And now this.
Maybe I read too much in to this, but in terms of yin and yang, this year feels rather yin. I can only hope next year is yang.
.

(Children’s story book: “ノンタンのたんじょうび”) 

.

I love this book. 

In this 1980 Japanese children’s book titled ‘Nontan’s Birthday’, a white cat called Nontan receives a surprise birthday party organized by his friends.

“I wonder what they are doing?”

Sensing something is up, Nontan tries to get a sneak peek at what his friends are up to but fails to see anything as they shut the curtain!

At the end, he is invited in to the house to find the table full of cookies shaped like him!

“Woow! Amazing! Me as cookies! Thank you!” 

.

((Lucky cat. I wish somebody did a surprise for me like that too!))

.

The inside front & back pages has a really good cookie recipe that I want to share with you. It is ultra simple to make & its taste takes you back to sweet memory of childhood.

.

Nontan Cookie Recipe (with my extra notes): 

.

Ingredients:

> 80g of room temperature unsalted butter   
> 80g of castor sugar   
> 1 egg   
> 200g of flour   
> 5g of baking powder
> extra flour for dusting the surface

> raisins/ nuts/ etc for decoration optional

.

Method:

• 1. Cream the room temperature butter in the mixing bowl (cream it to the extent of it being as soft like mayonnaise).
• 2. Add the sugar & thoroughly mix until very airy & very creamy.
• 3. Mix in an egg.
• 4. Sift in the flour & baking powder to the mixture & fold it in. (Here, don’t be tempted to over-mix. Stop soon as you can’t see the flour. The flour will form gluten & the cookies will not rise as much & turn out tough!)  
• 5. Wrap the cookie dough in cling-film & refrigerate for more than 30 minutes. (It loosens the gluten & the butter within will get solid again. If you don’t rest it the texture & the flavour will be sacrificed. Also, top tip for wrapping it in cling-film is to flatten it so that it cools quicker.)
  
• 6. Flour your work surface. Take ⅓ of the dough at a time & roll to 5mm thickness. (You wouldn’t want to roll it out all in one go because it’ll take up space & the dough won’t keep cold.)
• 7. Now have fun & make Nontan shapes. The book has the following suggestions;
  … Cut 5cm squares & use a toothpick to dot a face pattern on it.
  … Shape the dough like a face & use nuts/ raisins as the eyes & the mouth.
  … Cut a cardboard contour of the face & using a knife, cut around it on the dough.
  … Take some of the dough & add cocoa powder. Shape a big Nontan face & then use the cocoa dough for facial features.
• 8. Place on a baking sheet & bake in a pre-heated oven of 180 degrees for 10 to 15 minutes. (Half way through, you might want to change the direction of your tray in the oven so that it is evenly baked.)
• 9. Once baked, take the baking sheet off the tray & cool on a rack.

.

My son loves to make Nontan cookies. And I love that he enjoys baking, even if he’s handling the dough ’til it’s melting, or patting it so hard that it is too thin… not forgetting to mention the flour-y mess EVERYWHERE…

.

Normally my cookie baking rules are: 

• to measure the ingredients precisely to the gram.
• to handle it less as possible. For example, never roll the same dough out more than twice because the extra flour from the work surface would muck up the delicate ratio of flour. it will also deteriorate the dough.
• to work quickly as possible, so that the butter in the dough doesn’t melt & deteriorate texture & flavour.

But for home-baking with my son, I’ll throw all those rules out of the window any day…!

(Glass of milk, a must.) 

.

It was an eye-opener of an idea that he stuck the sprinkles in the holes to create rainbow-coloured facial features. He also gently pressed half of the fluted cutter to emboss a smile!(bottom left)

.

In many occasions I feel blessed that I run a Market stall. It is because, not only is it a special time when I get to do a “me-thing” away from the house chores, it is also a time when I get to meet all sorts of people. Come Saturdays, I get to meet fellow stall-holders to whom I love chatting to, meet dear friends that come visit me, & then there are customers who drop by my stall who I love engaging in a bit of chat with.
.
One such lovable customer I love talking to is E who is a regular face at my stall. After several visits & chats, we found out more about each other. She is a doctor, & bless her she would ask about how my children are doing every time, & if I tell her that ‘oh, baby S has a cold’ or something, she would always give me proper advice.
.
Two weeks ago, on another of those across-the-table chats, she mentioned that her friend is the Chef Patissier of Browns Hotel. Browns Hotel?! Isn’t that where the reaaally famous Tea Room is?! When I expressed “Ooooh!” sounds amongst other words of excitement, E promised to get me in contact with the Chef.

Cut the fore-story short, Chef Patissier F kindly allowed me to visit him at the hotel. So last Monday off I went to Mayfair London, donning on nice pair of heeled shoes so that I don’t look out of place in the posh hotel.
.

(Browns Hotel is London’s first ever hotel) 

(A blurry picture of the tea room that I took extra quick because I didn’t want to disturb any of their customers! It was 1pm, 2 hours before the tea service so it wasn’t crowded yet. On the left there’s a baby grand piano.)
.

As I briefly wait in the reception for F, I see how grand the place is aswell as their clientele affluent & feel glad that I wore nice shoes. As I thumb through their leaflet I read that Queen Victoria & Winston Churchill often took tea here, Rudyard Kipling wrote ‘The Jungle Book’, & Alexander Graham Bell made the first successful UK telephone call from the hotel.

.

(F is on the right)

.
F turned out to be very friendly, & very generous. And we clicked right away. As we talked ingredients, merits of Italian meringue over French meringue for macarons, shelf-life of handmade truffles, he would hand out things for me to taste. Truffles made with single origin Varlhona & Amedei was truly divine. I couldn’t remember when I last ate a Criollo. I learnt that truffles shouldn’t be stored in a fridge as it’ll change the texture of the ganache.

.
As he explains the ratio of fruit to sugar for jams (100 fruit: 80 sugar), I got given a table-spoon of homemade strawberry jam that was delightlful. Then on to tasting a chocolate macaron which had whipped ganache middle & I listen intently as possible to his recipe whilst I gorge on it. Hmm. I love chocolate macarons…
.

This year Browns Hotel English Tea Room won The Tea Guild’s Top London Afternoon Tea Award & I can easily see why. F’s pastries are all made expertly, with the best ingredients & it tastes amazing. The tea room decor has original wood paneling, cosy fire places & it oozes sophistication & history. The location of the hotel is a stone’s throw away from Piccadilly Circus & it’s perfect for stopping by after shopping. Now, I don’t think I’ll ever get to stay there since it costs something like half-a-grand per night, but on hearing that F had already made the Christmas fruit cakes earlier this Spring & has been topping it up with brandy regularly ever since, well, my curiosity will likely take me back to the hotel this Christmas just for that…!

.

It was super nice of F to meet me just before he gets very busy with the tea service. What also made me happy about all of this is how my stall customer have cared for me enough to think better for me & connect me to him. I feel blessed. And what’s more, now I have F to telephone when I have pastry questions!
.

(Mass amount of plain & fruit scones)

(More pastries that I tried in the kitchen)

(Here’s even more that I took home! And yes, I skipped dinner that night.)

.

(La Fromagerie on Moxon Street. – I sneaked this shot with my new iPhone camera!)

.
Back in the beginning of June, I wrote a quick article on Jauntsetter about where to go & what to do in London. Jauntsetter is a weekly e-newsletter for New York women, packed with great travel tips & recommendations. Check their website out & see if your city has been featured!
.

Here’s the article:
x . x . x . x . x . x . x . x . x . x . x . x . x . x . x . x . x . x . x . x .
.
Tamami’s Perfect London Weekend:

.

Saturdays:
Well obviously, my first recommendation will have to be Broadway Market where I have my chocolates & cakes stall! It’s a once-a-week Farmer’s market in the heart of east-end London. It currently has about 80 stalls, a third of which are non-food stuff like cool vintage wear, independent designers’ hats, dresses, handbags, etc. Walk alongside the canal to get there or get a direct bus from Angel. You can buy goodies to take to the park opposite and mingle with the arty locals & young trend-setters. Soak in the bohemian atmosphere. Later, head to the pubs (on the market) where people spill out to the streets, sitting on pavements in the summer.

.
Sundays:
Check out the British art galleries in style. First see what’s on at the Hayward Gallery (past exhibits include Bruce Nauman and Dan Flavin), then stroll alongside the river to Tate Modern. Head to the stylish top floor restaurant for lunch and insist on the window seat to enjoy the fantastic river view with St. Paul’s Cathedral opposite.

.

Another Sunday fave is to go to Columbia Road Flower Market. Get down-to-earth mug of tea from a cafe in the courtyard on Ezra Street & enjoy the day.

.

If you haven’t purchased any huge plants to weigh you down, head to Brick Lane (just a 10 minute walk away) to buy the famous bagels at the Brick Lane Beigel Bakery. It’s super cheap at 20p per plain bagel. People buy in dozens so that they can freeze them at home. The Salt beef bagel (£2.60) is also a legend.
.

After you’re satisfied with a bagel, turn in to Cheshire Street off Brick Lane for serious bit of shopping in the small selection of independent shops such as ‘Shelf’ & ‘Labour & Wait’.  If you go to the opposite side of Brick Lane, you’ll find yourself in the world of early Georgian architecture with narrow cobbled back streets (Fournier Street area). Think, Jack the Ripper walked these same streets back in 1880′s!

.

Shopping:
Marylebone High Street is great fun. Browse Skandium designer furniture store and Divertimenti kitchen store, dream that you have hundreds of pounds to spend here and then do lunch with your girlfriend at La Fromagerie (2-6 Moxon Street, off Marylebone High Street) where you sit at tables amongst the delicatessen.

.

If there’s room in your tummy, buy yourself a very decent hot chocolate from Paul and head towards Wigmore Street to check in on Margaret Howell clothing store. Then cross the road to St. Christopher’s Place to drop in on Marimekko to see if there are any good offers on their fabrics.

.

The best time of the year to come to London:
…is definitely during the Open House event (this year’s dates are 19th & 20th of September 2009). There will be 700 buildings of architectural interest across the capital opening it’s doors, completely for FREE! You get to go in to places usually never available to public viewing! Dream-come-true for one nosy person like myself!

.

x . x . x . x . x . x . x . x . x . x . x . x . x . x . x . x . x . x . x . x .

.

And talking of being mentioned in other places, sometime back in February, this blog got mentioned in Time Out magazine! I was so proud. (Check out the article in their online archive). Many thanks to Lady C!

.

.

& God knows when the last time I sold out without giving any discount…!

.

Recently in London, the weather is hot hot hot, reaching 25 to 30 degrees, every day. – It’s proving a bit hazardous for me, as last week, my chocolate tarts melted despite being in the shade of the tarpaulin sheet roofing. – So this week, I skipped making them, & concentrated on making more fruit tarts instead (x1.5 more than usual). This decision obviously payed off! – Phew!! Otherwise, what am I supposed to do with all them fruit tarts??
.
I also didn’t make lemon tarts at all because of the eggy-cream which would spoil too easily in such a hot weather. And I made slightly less of the brownies too, because I recently noticed that people seem to lose appetite for gooey chocolate in extreme weather like today. Funny old thing about the relationship of hot weather & food is that even “I” wanted to eat healthily – opting for the veggie salad lunch from a few stalls to my right. I also bought a big bottle of water to keep hydrated.

.

Today, MORE bloggy visitors came by – like the American lady from Berlin, mother & daughter who BOTH read my blog, & a Japanese lady. TTTTThank you!!
.
Last week I finally changed my mobile, after using the last one for 8 years! (This time I got the fancy new iPhone. C’mon, I deserve it…) My old phone has many old text messages that I couldn’t bring myself to delete – for example, there’s one that was sent from my D when our first child was born & I had to stay over night at the hospital without him. – The one below is another that I kept – sent to me from D all the way back in ’01. I just love the way he spelt coffee! As if like Al Pacino in his gangster movies!!

(Image courtesy of Ms.M – I always had problems photographing my chocolate bird tart – but look how beautifully Ms.M shot it!)

(Image courtesy of Ms.M – Apparently these serveware (from Boleslawiec, Poland) are hugely popular with the Japanese crowd recently. I can see why! It is soo rustic-cute!)

(Image courtesy of Ms.M – And this is my new tablecloth. It is natural linen with blue stripes)

(Image courtesy of Ms.M – And look! There’s the new cheese cake!)

.

x . . x . . x . . x . . x . . x . . x . . x . . x . . x . . x . . x . . x . . x
.

More & more I seem to write less frequently here – I don’t know exactly why not, because I actually have tonnes to write about!

Like…

I’ve been wanting to write about how I came to perfect my new ‘Baked Cheese Cake’ by slightly adjusting it week-by-week, 10 grams of this & that one week & oops, let’s go back a 10 gram another week, until I finally settled to its best ingredient ratio (It took 6 weeks of tinkering to perfect the creamy texture). And I want to write about how my regular customer (body builder with heavy tattoos) have been buying these cheese cake slices from its week 1 debut. And about how he ONLY buys cakes from my stall…!
.

And then I want to tell you about how I came to sell wooden rabbits alongside my cakes, &, &, &… the article I wrote for somebody else’s website about London, & about the little mention about me in a very famous weekly magazine… &, &…
.

& as for this ‘Baked Cheese Cake’, now that it is publish-ably good, I’ve been meaning to post the recipe here on my website, but yep, you know me folks! There’s probably going to be a looo-ng wait ahead ’til we see that post…! (Just like how it took me 6 months to post the Lemon Drizzle Cake recipe!)
.

Well… instead, I’m gonna tell you about my bloggy visitors. I’m starting to get a fair number of you guys visiting me at my stall now – it is so totally amazing! THANK YOU! There’s been Londoners, aswell as people from outside London – & quite a number of French people using the Eurostar, some Germans, & a few Americans! They all mention this blog & say that’s how they made a point of scheduling Broadway Market in their visit! THANK YOU! – If there are any readers who would also like to come to the market in the future, please come by the stall & let me know that you’re a reader – I’m always up for a chat!

.

About a month ago, a Japanese blogger came by my stall (early in the morning!^^ な〜んてね!また来てね！) & took Ah-MAZING pictures. Seriously good. When I saw these images on her blog page, I thought to myself “I want these…”. So I asked for her permission to use it on here. I’m sure you’ll all agree that this Ms.M has huge talent!

.

Ms.M used Nikon D70 for these but recently upgraded to D90. Since then I’ve been pondering on getting myself a SLR camera like hers (I currently have Canon G9 – & now & then sneakily use D’s D80 for my blog pictures). What sealed the deal for my shopping conviction was when Ms.T, another blogger, came by my stall & showed me her Lomo LC-A camera. I’ve been a huge fan of her nostalgic-looking pictures on her blog – & so my thought turned to getting Lomo LC-A instead of SLR which would be alot pricier at £800+.

.

Also, the thought of going back to old-skool 35mm film made the idea twinkly romantic – it may be cumbersome to have to go get it processed everytime, but there’s that magical moment of getting the prints back – tangible, to hold in your hands, not the digital RPG representation on your computer screen.
.

Then! (yes, the story continues!) My cheap-skate mindset got hold of me when I read on the interweb that Olympus XA2 is a good & cheaper alternative to Lomo LC-A.

.

So from considering an 800 quid SLR camera to then a 150 quid Lomo, settling on a 10 quid 80′s camera from ebay (it should arrive next week!) …
… That, my friends, is how one can ride this recession…! I mean, I just saved myself 790 quid! (in principle…)

The thing about being a working mum is that some things end up being on a back-burner. Be it that towering pile of washing that needs folding or that strawberry plant (looking terribly sorry) which desperately needs watering. I look at these & think: “yes, I’ll do it when I get around to it”, but the fact is, I just about get around to it when it is soooo unbearable to look at, something has to be done or else…
.

I think to myself, well, it’s alright, it’s inevitable, they are not nice to live with but I’ll get by. C’est la vie. (D might have a different opinion here…!) BUT! When it comes to spending quality time with my children – well, that shouldn’t get forfeited because of mummy working right?. Surely a breach of unspoken contract. I start every morning with that belief system, but recently… …:
.

The other week my son asked me to put together a Thomas the Tank Engine cut-out. It looked really fiddly. I said, “Later, Love. I’m just washing the dishes”. He asked me again on another occasion – I said, “Maybe when baby S is having a nap because it’ll be difficult to concentrate if she’s around.” Then next it was “Maybe after dinner.” And then he’ll say “What about NOW, Mommy?!” I sigh “It’s too late now, it’s bedtime”.

.

Thursday, Friday & Saturdays I work full hours +, so by the time I managed to stick together his Thomas was a shameful five days later. I know… I’m crap. And I’m not happy about it. Ever since my second baby is around, I’m just so extra busy, my son is getting less & less of my time. You might say it’s normal, but… when he WANTS TO LEARN how to use a chopstick, I SHOULD be able to spend some time with him to teach, not say “maybe another time…” like I do…

.

I just don’t know how I’d cope as the children will need more & more of me as time goes. They’ll need help with homework & general guidance. And I can’t rely on their grandparents to look after them all the time. Something will have to give. Which reminds me of:
.

A couple of months ago there were three shops/ restaurants asking me to start (wholesale) supplying cakes to them. Plus, I was invited to participate in a chocolate festival too. It really would have been a wonderful opportunity to expand my business. I’ve heard of success stories of similar beginnings. But HOW could I do it? I’m already up to my neck with everything – with cramming in work, parenting, & housekeeping. I could start employing someone for baking more, & a driver for deliveries. Maybe rent a bigger kitchen. I could even start another market too if I go down that road. I know exactly how to go about it. I could easily double my income. But no. It’s just too much. Too much. I can’t justify giving away anymore Mummy-time.
.

These thoughts got me a little depressed at the time. Not sure exactly why. Maybe because it was a reality check that this is as far as it gets… Maybe I won’t be doing the market for long? When I see young families down the market, I occasionally feel wracked with guilt that I am forfeiting Saturdays (a family day) for my work. Maybe I ought to work at a supermarket check-out during school hours instead.
.

Anyway, last weekend the side mirror of our car broke off (don’t ask how), & I’m transport-less to the market this coming Saturday.

.
And, remember I told you that my brother lives in Paris? Well, it seems like he won’t be for long.

.

So put the two together, the decision came about to take possibly the last opportunity to visit him there – with just my son, just the two of us, traveling on the Eurostar train that my son has been obsessively talking about the past two years (boys, eh?). We’ll be visiting Euro Disney! I’m planning on quality time with him all weekend!
.
So, no trading this Saturday I’m afraid. Hope you understand…

.

(By the way, have any of you been to Euro Disney? Any tips? Like, should I purchase the tickets in advance or just buy it at the entrance?)

.

Update 06.05.09:

I just purchased the Euro Disney tickets online!

Update 10.05.09:

Just came back! Euro Disney was great!

Hi.
I ‘d just like to let you know that I won’t be trading this Saturday. Yes yes, I know, it’s the Easter weekend, & business would probably be great, but I’ve been steadily developing a cold since two Saturdays ago (the day that was cold & hailing). I’ve kept it under control since then, working through it nevertheless, but today, I’m seriously feeling under the weather. On top of that, there are other factors that add to my decision. – My parents are away & I have been paying for childcare whilst I work. Plus, D’s best-mate is coming to stay over this Easter weekend which would be totally fun, I really like the guy, but the house is a right old tip… & this cold is making me feel unmotivated to do anything about it…

.
So anyway, hopefully I will be able to use this spare time at home to finally post the ‘Lemon Drizzle Cake recipe’ (with process pictures!) that’s been in the pipeline since last October. The cake is the same one that I sell on the stall, & have several self-proclaimed fans/ followers that come back week-after-week for a slice. Funny thing is, all of these customers are male – so my presumption is: ‘lemon drizzle’ is the one cake to make for male guests…!?

.
I hope all of you have a fantastic Easter weekend! And I apologize if there were any bloggy-visitors who were planning to come to my stall this Saturday. Sorry, & I really hope to see you another time…
t xxx