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Hello! How’s the first week of the year panning out?

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Mine? Well, it’s been pretty relaxing & I generally have more time for myself as I’m not back at Broadway yet (I’ll start on 29th)! So far I’ve been reading about Shaker interior (I borrowed this book from my neighbour). I love the book & I can’t get over my love for their black stove with thick piping going across the room. If I’m allowed to, I’d love to do that in our house!

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And then culinary-wise, I’ve been test-making a recipe for puff pastry! I won’t publish the recipe just yet because it needs some work on it still & it also needs a loooong write-up for all the tips & tricks – - for example; – - even down to a simple thing like how to hold your rolling pin = most people would probably hold at the edges, but actually you have to rest/ grip your hands at the same distance as the width of your pastry. This way you can apply the same pressure on both sides, resulting in same thickness throughout. – - Anyway, here’s some pictures of Galette des Rois that I made with my handmade puff pastry, in time to celebrate Epiphany!

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As you can see from the picture above, I’ve left it in the oven a tad too long! Lol, oh well, I still like it for it can look… ‘rustic’!? For the filling inside, I made two creams (crème d’amandes & crème pâtissière) & mixed it together to create crème frangipane, in to which I then mixed in a tiny amount of dark rum. The rum is gorgeous with its distinct sweetness & it’s a fabulous way to lessen the eggy taste/ aroma.

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For me, a strong tea with no milk or sugar goes really well, it cuts the buttery-ness & refreshes the palette.

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Meet Lyla & Roger, my favourite fève charms. I put both of them in the same galette, side by side, because I think that they are made for each other.

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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.

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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.

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(The baubles)

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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.

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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!

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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??)

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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…!!

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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!

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

Tamami xx

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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…!

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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!

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I’ll be thinking of you all.

xxx

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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! ^^

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

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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!

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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.

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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!

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Happy thoughts to you all, Tamami xx

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A couple of weeks ago I was invited to attend a preview do for Waitrose’s new cookery school. It was on Thursday evening, which was not exactly great as it’s my chocolate making day but I wanted to go so much, I decided I’d make a little less to make up for the time-loss.

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Now, I’m a sort of person who h.a.t.e.s going to places alone. I get uncomfortable, be it waiting for a friend to turn up at the bar, or going to cinemas on my own. So I asked my friend A to accompany me. She also has great interest in food & teaches Japanese home-style cooking here in London, so a perfect companion for the night I think!

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Soon as we got our coats checked-in, we were handed a glass of champagne. Champagne is my favourite alcoholic beverage (next to Japanese plum wine) that magics delirious happiness in me. Hmm… - And then came very tasty canapés. Ah! We’re getting treated finely tonight aren’t we! (champers fueled giggles with A.)

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(Another one? ~ oh go on then, bend my rubber arm why don’t you.)

(Behind the scenes, making our nibbles.)

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Drink in one hand & camera dangling on neck, we nosed around. Gosh, it’s such a dream place. If I was to ever open a school it’ll be like this. A spacious open plan set-up of cooking workshop area, eating area & impressive bar. There’s also an auditorium for demonstrations in the next room equipped with hi-tech live-camera above the front work-top so that seated students can see what the chef is doing in detail on a mounted telly. Not bad.

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Equipment freaks that we are, we looked in draws in the workshop. I instantly fell in love with the following two; a ‘Lékué Decopen’ for piping,

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& this, oh God I want it so bad, a titanium ‘Kenwood KM070 cooking chef major mixer‘, WITH induction cooking technology!!! I’ve never heard of such a thing! Apparently you can make béchamel sauce in it, & even risotto. Well, with just under £1000 to buy just one of these, it better do. I have never ever been interested in food mixers before, even the lovely KitchenAid, but this… God, I want one. (did I just say this twice?)

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Anyway, back to writing about the evening.

There were only around 17 bloggers that attended & from Waitrose’s side there were around 7 chefs, aswell as more bods from management & PR. (Pamper-ometer, tick!) After champagne, we watched head pastry chef James Campbell (formerly Gary Rhodes’ group head pastry chef ) make italian-meringue based macaroons in orange marmalade flavour. And then it was our turn to do the same. The ingredients were already measured out set neatly by our work table, & ofcourse we don’t do the washing up later.

(Clean & stylish)

(Macs. Italian meringue based are easier to make (compared to french meringue version) as there’s no drying period, but I think the result-texture is harder & chewier… – although it is less so as you leave it for a couple of days.)

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We then had a cocktail master-class. Orange & vodka mix poured in to  sugar-rimmed  glass, & then another cocktail which was coffee flavoured.

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(My friend A making cocktail.)

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We also sampled two more flavours of macs. Eggnog one which had chantilly cream filling which was delicious, & mulled wine one with edible glitter on its surface. Everyone seemed to love the glitter on it, but I personally don’t, although I do understand the attraction of its prettiness. The reason why I don’t like them is simply because I don’t want to eat it. It’s the same feeling I have to edible gold leafs.

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Anyway, all in all I was very impressed with the place & the chefs who were all friendly. I thought that the price for classes (all-day classes are £175) are reasonable if you think that there are three chefs to 24 pupils which is good going.

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Hello! How are you keeping in this Autumn?

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I must say, I’m actually doing really good – yeah, it’s getting too cold for standing long outside on Saturdays, but I wear TWO layers of Uniqlo ‘Heat Tech’ garments under my clothes, & I recently bought my first ever wool socks which won’t let the cold penetrate from the ground so much as cotton. (I just can’t believe I never had any before! I’m hooked… so if you haven’t got one, please, I recommend you go out get a pair too!).

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The cake sales are on the up (on some weeks it’s still down, but it’s mostly up). And I’m thinking: “… like, finally!”, after the rather unfruitful Summer period when it was almost not worth the time & effort to be there every week. (I put the blame on tightened purse strings due to the economy’s downward spiral.) Although, having said that it being not worth the effort, I WAS there pretty much throughout, my main drive was because I felt strongly that I mustn’t look unreliable to not be there regularly – I mean, it’s a sure-fire way of losing loyal customers right?

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So anyway, my Summer 2010 was spent moaning about the frustration of bad sales to any ear that would listen – well, the victims were mainly my dearest stall neighbours actually – so I’m sure they’re just as happy that my sales are up finally…! lol.

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Nowadays, it’s just great to be making chocolates truffles & hot chocolate drinks again, because I missed making them (I only sell chocolates during the cold season, from mid-Autumn to mid-Spring). Delicious cakes could surely give people great pleasure, but when I see people eat chocolates, it’s like watching a cat in a cream factory, y’know, really savouring it for what it is ~ there’s nothing like it, there’s a small dose of magic in chocolates.

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Recently I got to thinking that perhaps my children would be reading this blog when they are older. At first I couldn’t quite make up my mind on wether I liked the idea of it. Can’t explain well, but I guess I worry about what they would conclude out of reading this. Recipes to hand-down to them is definitely going to be a plus, but what about all the other things I have been writing here? The ups & vulnerable downs. Perhaps I might come across as self-absorbed? Or perhaps they’ll relate to my passion for what I do.

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I guess the one thing I am proud of conveying to them from this is that I NEVER write anything negative about anyone. And that’s the same when I talk to people in everyday life too. I might like my girly gossips but I hate speaking ill of anyone. Because if you turn it around & imagine somebody else saying that about you, you’d sure get hurt. I also believe what goes around comes around. If you sow the wind, you’d reap the whirlwind. On this note, it’s important to remember that it works the other way too – if you treat others with kindness & respect, IT WILL be returned to you. It could even start with just a simple act of smiling to people you meet. For example, when I work at the stall, I always like to beam my best-est smile. Real smiles. Not fake because a lie always catches you out. Anyway, it’s easy to smile & say thank you because I still can’t believe how great that anyone would want to spend their hard-earned cash on things I make.

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Our boy ‘I’ will be seven in December. Already. (Has seven years passed by that quickly?) He wants to be a footballer, artist & head-teacher (yes, all three in one!). He is very good with reading at school & what’s more important, he has good social skills. He’s amazing with dancing & is tall & very handsome too. I’d like to think he’d make a good pop-star but he absolutely hates the idea of it!

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Then ofcourse, there’s our little girl ‘S’ who is two & a half years old already. It still seems like only a little time ago that I wrote about her birth on this blog. And documented about the time when I was pregnant with her. She is so sweet, so gentle & very clever. I can see positive determination & good concentration skills in her. She’d like to be a school teacher too (actually it was her idea to be a teacher first & ‘I’ copied!).

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When they are old enough to start reading this, I wonder what great people they will be. And I wonder what I will be doing too – I have been thinking that this trading every week at the market thing, I’m probably going to stop in the next year or two. There’s one or two projects I’d like to get my teeth in to. And besides, with the family-life needing more of my energy & attention, the balance of work & family is not quite right anymore & it tires me out & the rest of the family members. Time for re-adjustment. I always think that my children come first in priority stakes, & work? probably third or fourth. You get just one-shot at being a Mother whereas you can re-establish work many times. What I need is a job that can allow me to stay at home & makes lots of money while at it!! lol. But doesn’t every mother want that?!

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About the picture above – that same day there was another blog reader, & she was also from just as far away: CANADA! It is just too exciting for words! The fact that there are people from out-of-country coming to the heart of East London of all places & to put seeing me as part of their journey…! Wow… really…, thank you!!!!!!! Isn’t it weird & wonderful - I sometimes find that there are certain customers who I think are suspect-blog-readers – they’re just taking more pictures than that of usual & observes my face more than the standard fair. Perhaps it’s all my wishful imagination but it makes me beam out a smile of all smiles anyhow. ^^

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One of the many baking questions I get asked is how to scale a cake recipe to fit another size or shaped pan.
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There is an universal formula you can use:
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(volume of the preferred tin) ÷ (volume of the original tin)
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For this, you need to find out the volume of the two tins.
The formulas to work out the volume of a pan according to shapes are the following:
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ROUND
(3.14 x half the diameter x half the diameter x height)
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SQUARE or RECTANGLE
(length x width x height)
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NOVELTY CAKE TIN
First work out the volume of tin by weighing how much water goes in. Water is 1g = 1 cm³
(The mass of 1 cubic centimetre water at 3.98°c equal to a gram. (it’s the temperature at which it is at maximal density roughly). So we can use that number you’ve weighed as the measure of volume.
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MULTI-CAVITY TIN (like a muffin pan)
Again, work out the volume by pouring water in one cavity, & multiply that with how many cavities there are. Weigh it in grams, & use that number as the volume.
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Here are two examples:
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To convert from an 8″ ROUND cake tin (with 2″ height) to 10″ ROUND cake tin (with 3″ height) you’d do this:
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(3.14 x half the diameter x half the diameter x height) ÷ (3.14 x half the diameter x half the diameter x height)
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(3.14 x 5 x 5 x 3) ÷ (3.14 x 4 x 4 x 2) = 2.34375
So here we now know that we need to multiply the recipe by 2.4 times.
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But if the height of the pans are the same, use this simpler formula:
(dimension of preferred tin ÷ dimension of original tin) x (dimension of preferred tin ÷ dimension of original tin)
For example,
(10÷8) × (10÷8) = 1.25 x 1.25 = 1.5625
So here we now know that we need to multiply the recipe by 1.6 times.
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To convert an 8″ ROUND cake tin A to 10″ SQUARE cake tin B (when height is the same):
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(length x width) ÷ (3.14 x half the diameter of A x half the diameter of A)
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(10 x 10 ) ÷ (3.14 x 4 x 4) = 1.99
So here we now know that we need to multiply the recipe by 1.99 times. (I like to round it to 2)
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Please note:
- If both tins in question are of same height, you don’t need to measure the height for each.
- The examples are in inches, but of-course the same formula works in centimeters too!
- When I get long answers like 1.5625, I personally like to round it UP to 1.6.
- Although the oven temperature should remain the same for both occasions, the baking-time will change.
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It’s all probably elementary bit of maths for you all, but for me it certainly isn’t! There is a reason why I’m a baker & not a mathematician…

This wednesday I made a Black Forest Gâteaux.
I arranged the cherries on top to spell number 3, because I baked it to take to a 3 year old’s birthday party.
The cake was constructed with Kirsch-syrup soaked chocolate genoise sponge layers with alternately piped kirsch chantilly cream & whipped chocolate cream. There are also lots of de-stoned black cherries (Kirsch-syrup soaked) hidden inbetween the layers.
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Wh, what? Booze soaked cake for a children’s party?? – Don’t worry – it was for consumption by the mums only. (There was a separate cake for the children, baked by the mum.)
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Actually, I especially made it for the birthday girl’s mum ‘A’, who’d been handing down bags n’ bags full of girl clothes for my daughter S. Literally tonnes of it!! And good stuff too, from the likes of Petit Bateau & Polarn o. Pyret, as well as cute vintage finds. I hardly ever buy new clothes for my daughter other than a few key pieces & some underwear, & that’s all thanks to the generosity of ‘A’!
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Now, why Black Forest Gâteaux. – Well, here’s what it was. The one week prior to the party, my daughter S & myself were outside ‘A”s house, all dolled up, warm Tarte Tatins (there were two) tucked safely in the bottom netting of S’s pram. Just as I was going to ring the doorbell, ‘A’ opens her door. She welcomes us in with a slight puzzled look. Noticing how quiet her house was, I ask “Oh, am I the first to arrive?” – And just at that moment, it struck us both – Yes, I had gotten the dates wrong. The party was on the next week.
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Oh.my.gawd… shame on me. How-do-I-do-this? I’m a fool. ‘A’ insisted on inviting us in regardless. I decided to give the Tarte Tatin to ‘A’ anyway, & keep the other one for taking around to a different friend later. While our daughters played upstairs, we sat on her sofa with a mug of milky tea cupped in our hands. Our conversation was naturally (?) about sweet things (!) & about her new found admiration for M&S Black Forest Gâteaux (all butter, soft & chewy) dessert cookies. “They’re very good, Tamami…” ‘A’ wistfully expressed her review of it with a sigh of yearning. She also shared her realization of how we don’t ever come across a good Black Forest Gâteaux in London – … like, never! And she was so right!
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So, to cut the story short, I made another cake for the correct party date, but this time a Black Forest Gâteaux. Upon research on google images, I realized that the cake seriously suffers on the looks stakes, oooh so ugly & retro in a bad way! I boiled the culprit down to the chocolate flakes patted on to the sides together with all that cream with swirly piping. So I simply avoided that & just had fun with piping simple round blobs. I think it also ties in with everything-else (the sponge & the cherries) that are also round. The simplicity of the look (& flavour) needed the addition of whipped chocolate cream in to the equation, alternating it with the white chantilly cream to step it up.
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The cake went down well with the crowd at the party, & no slices were left after 10 minutes upon serving. But oh, I should also share with you a story of another clumsy slip-up. The birthday children (it was a joint birthday) were celebrating their FOURTH, not third birthday… Ooops…
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I really don’t know what is wrong with me lately. I’ve been making mistakes more than my usual fair. It’s all very minor incidents – like forgetting to take my cake knifes on Saturdays. One time I forgot to sift in the flour to THREE lemon drizzle cakes, & ended up with an oily souffle kind of thing which obviously didn’t make it’s appearance on the stall table. What a waste of ingredient, time & energy… Also, this week, my regular customers might perhaps have noticed that my ‘Luxury Brownies’ looks have changed. Yes, it was because I initially forgot to add the nuts in the batter. When I noticed this halfway through baking, I took the trays out to scatter the nuts on top instead. But guess what guys, it looks so much tastier now! And I realized that with this method, I now have control on the exact distribution of nuts per slice! A mistake turned to better results. Perhaps I shouldn’t feel so down about making mistakes afterall!
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On Friday, ‘A’ popped around with a packet of M&S Black Forest Gâteaux cookies as a thank you pressie to me for the cake. – Yes, the cookies are very good ‘A’… but with 120kcal PER cookie, I think it is e-v-i-l (says Tamami as she sadly reaches for the last cookie in the packet…) ^^

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(ps: no pics this time! Maybe I’ll add one when I get a chance…)
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I’m currently writing this sitting on my green couch, laptop on my lap, still rather merry from sipping red wine all afternoon/ evening.
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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…
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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).
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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. ;)
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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?
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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?
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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…!
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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.
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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!
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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.

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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).
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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.
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Don’t miss out! Come & say hi!
xxx

(Bear cub – Homemade butter cut out with cookie cutter.)
(Heart shape buttermilk pancake)
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About time for some recipes from yours truly. xx
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First, I would like to write about how easy it is to make butter in your very own home. Not just any butter, but a deliciously creamy one, quite unlike any that you’ve had before, I promise. And all from JUST one ingredient; double cream (& salt to taste), which you JUST over-whip until the liquid has separated & leaves you with the semi-solid, which is the butter (more precisely, butterfat). Stupendously easy right? Told you!! ^^
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And here’s the revelation. The left over liquid is, guess what? Buttermilk!!!! So don’t throw it away because we are using it for our pancakes later.

(Buttermilk extracted from double cream!!)
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Here’s what you’ll need to make butter:

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And to make it:

To store, you can just scoop it in a Tupperware & refrigerate, or, if you like, you can roll it to 1.5cm thickness or more in-between greaseproof paper like the picture below, then freeze it for a while (1-2 hours) to make it hard to cut shapes using cookie cutters!!! (… it is best to use simple shapes that don’t have intricate corners. Also, you might want to use a cooks’ blow torch to ease them out of the mold.)

Guide notes:

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Next, let’s make some fun looking pancakes!
In the recipe below, I have used silicone egg rings to make shapely pancakes. And also had some fun drawing on them. Ofcourse, you can approach this the usual/ easier/ quicker way by just freehand scooping & pouring! – And as for the recipe itself, it produces very moist pancakes that is very (very) moreish, I can assure you it’ll disappear from your plate in nooooo time… Ever since I made this recipe, we always have buttermilk in our fridge for a quick fix up!
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Buttermilk pancake recipe:
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Ingredients:

You’ll need the following things:

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Method:

Guide notes:

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Some more designs:
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This one is an evolving message on a pancake as they eat! The surprise is right at the bottom!
(… With car-shaped butter!) You have to pipe the letters mirrored – which can get confusing!! (notice the ‘Y’ in ‘today’?)
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And there’s the three bears:.
This one, I used my stencil to dust a bit of icing..
More playing around…
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And finally, a picture of a squirrel butter, which ends my longest ever recipe post!!!!

(See you there hopefully?? xx)

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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!

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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!!!!

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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…!

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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.

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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)!
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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…)
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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).

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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…

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SATURDAY JULY 10

Shop. Craft. Dance! 

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

1 minute from Bethnal Green Tube Station     

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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.

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Eeek…

Wish me luck…

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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.
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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!
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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!! ^^
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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!
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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?!
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Anyway, enjoy Tommy’s Coco&Me documentary!
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(All three photographs above taken by Tommy of ‘This is Naive’)

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Let me tell you about something special that happened last month that made me very very very happy.
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I was given a painting!!!!
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It was from the artist Christian Ward, in return for the wedding cake I had made for him back in mid 2008. The wedding cake was a gift from me to him & his wife A, one of my closest girlfriend. My friendship to Mrs.A go back all the way to our college days. We shared a flat for more than four years I think. And actually, Mrs.A is the one who initially started Coco&Me with me – she’s the one without whom I wouldn’t be doing what I do nowadays. So it was only natural that I make a cake for them as a gift, despite their offer of payment – I mean, how could I charge them when I owe so much to her for changing my life for the better?
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So that was back in 2008. Then just last month, I was told that he’d like to give me one of his paintings & I was like: Oh-My-God! Because I knew Christian Ward does amazing paintings. You’ll see what I mean – just check out his other works on the following gallery websites:
Max Wigram Gallery
Patricia Low Contemporary
The Saatchi Gallery
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I obviously felt as though my cake does not have the same value as his work. It is such a huge honour… Plus I’ve never owned a painting ever before…
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I’ve taken some pictures of it to show you, but perhaps my photos don’t do it justice. The colour is a lot more mysteriously luminous, & has the power to draw you in to the unique world. Me & my other girlfriend’s ‘personal take’ on this is that we think it maybe depicts the after-life, as the cherry blossom could mean ‘transience of life’. Yet it is in full blossom, in the glorious midst of beautiful life. And it has varicolored pools of aura. I find it very calming & spiritually cheering.
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.(Close up.)
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I really love the painting. Thank you Christian! It means a lot to me. I sometimes stop in front of the painting, & have a look, have a calm breather, & then go back to my busy day.
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(And here is a picture of the wedding cake I made for them. – Three tier wedding cake with white chocolate cigarette surround. Inside is a dark chocolate sponge cake with raspberry ganache layer.)(Close up.)
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So far I have made four wedding cakes. All of which went to very special people in my life, & I feel so honoured to be part of their special day. One was to a local regular customer, another to a special blog reader, & ofcourse there was one that was for my stall neighbour Ms.S that I documented here on the blog back in 2007. – Ms.S & her family still talk about the wedding cake to this day, so sweet, & makes a point out of always buying cakes from me for family get-togethers!
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PS: You’re all probably wondering what’s gotten in to me, posting stories on here three times in a space of two weeks!! ;-) LOL…!

(Still trooping on with the usuals!)
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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.
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((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?))
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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…
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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.
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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…!!
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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.
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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.)
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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! ^^
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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…)
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So anyways, what I wanted to say was that I am not trading this Saturday 3rd of April.
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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!
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(Large Bunny driving car chocolate mold circa 1950)
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(Smaller chocolate mold & a rabbit snow-globe by ‘&K Amsterdam’ on the right.)
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(My favourite wooden hares that I was selling at my stall last year.)
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Happy Holidays! x o x o x o

(…with unicorn pattern embossed)

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(It is ultra c ♥ r ♥ e ♥ a ♥ m ♥ y & the texture is melt-in-your mouth like a soufflé!)

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This must be one of the most easiest of cake recipes!

• It doesn’t involve separating eggs.
• Nor whisking any time-delicate meringues, so you can take as much time leisurely making it.
• There’s minimal washing-up to do too, as all the mixing happens in one bowl.
• As for the biscuit base, you can further avoid washing-up by simply massaging the store-bought biscuits & butter in a food bag! Of course you can do it the usual way by using bare hands, but do it my way, you’d also avoid getting unpleasant biscuit-mash in your nails & your fingers buttery.^^ On that same note, I also suggest cling-filming the 3 middle fingers when pressing down the biscuit to the base.
• There is no adventurous water-bath method to contend! (Some cheesecake recipes use the water-bath method to cook it gently so that it doesn’t crack, but I for one have a long hate-relationship with the method ever since the water seeped in to my cakes via the removable bottom in many occasions in the past…)

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The texture of the cheesecake is creeeeeamy! I managed this by tweaking the balance of the ingredients so that it uses tons of double cream/ sour cream/ cream cheese, but as little as possible of flour (… flour creates the ‘structural pillar’ that holds the cake in the inflated spongier shape – please read my blog-entry on flour for explanation of this).
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I sell my cheesecakes down at the market. And I’m happy to say that it’s been a hit no problem. It’ll always definitely be in my line-up because it has acquired a bit of a following ^^

- Like the lady who said: “I used to buy your flour-less chocolate cake all the time, but now I converted to always buying the cheesecake!” And the spectacled-man who’d get disappointed if it’s sold-out. There’s also my favorite tomato-seller girl who’ve been buying the whole cake for 4 weeks in a row, but says she never gets to eat as much as she’d like to because her boyfriend & her family loves it too!

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The pattern:

When I first started selling the cheesecake, it had no pattern on top. Although I was perfectly confident with the taste, I felt the presentation needed ‘Something’. Y’know, that ‘Something special’ for the wow factor & for the customer to justify their purchase. For a long while I was thinking of a solution to this; & I was enquiring around to see if I could get an iron stamp that I could heat & emboss/ burn a pattern with. But, one, it is difficult to get hold of, & secondly it’s never in a pretty pattern!

- So next I thought what about stenciling with cocoa powder? But maybe not. It’ll be too smudgy…

- Then it occurred to me while I was embossing my chocolate bird tart. Ah! Just invert it! Cocoa powder & cookie cutter! Simply dab cocoa powder on the blunt end of the cookie cutter, then tap off the excess & stamp the cake!
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(I get asked A LOT at the market on how I do it!)

(My favorite stamp! – I love unicorns…)
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Note:

• I mixed together oat biscuits to the plain digestives to add interest in flavour. It also gives you a different sort of crunch compared to the pap the digestives can become.
• Resting the pressed biscuit base in the refrigerator while you make the filling firms the butter within.
• Sour cream tenderizes the cake, as well as enhancing the tang of the cream cheese.
• Excessively tapping away the air bubbles is the key to avoiding cracks on the surface that is the oh-so-common pitfall of baking a cheesecake.
• Lining the sides of the pan with baking paper also helps to avoid cracked surface. The common problem with the cheesecake is that it tends to stick to the side of the pan, but as it cools it tries to pull away from the wall. This tension ends up with a cracked surface. Whereas if you line it with baking paper, the paper will agreeably pull away with the cake too…
• The only down-side about this cake (if there is one) is that you have to keep your mitts off & leave it to mature over-night!

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So here it is! (Finally!) My baked cheesecake recipe.

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The Baked Cheesecake Recipe:

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Ingredients:

For the biscuit base:
70g Oat biscuits
(…Obviously it depends on brands, but for me it was 4 ½ biscuits)
85g Digestive biscuits
(…Obviously it depends on brands, but for me it was 5 ½ biscuits)
70g unsalted butter

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For the filling:
70g unsalted butter
90g castor sugar
330g cream cheese
90 ml sour cream
100g whole eggs (approximately 2 eggs)
100 ml double cream
25g flour
12 ml lemon juice

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Method:

• 1. First begin by greasing a 8″ round spring-form cake pan with butter. Then line both the base & the sides with greaseproof baking paper.
• 2. Now on to making the biscuit base. First measure your biscuits (70 grams Oat biscuits + 85 grams Digestive) in a food bag.
• 3. Crush them by hand or bash it with wooden rolling pin. Leave some chunky for interesting texture.
• 4. Melt 70 grams of butter. Put it in the food bag.
• 5. Massage the food bag to combine.
• 6. Empty the mixture in a greased & lined pan.
• 7. Press the biscuit mixture firmly to the base. I like to do the edges & work to the middle. (Optional: cling-film the three middle fingers for hygiene & to avoid buttery fingers!)
• 8. Refrigerate the pressed biscuit base while you make the filling.
• 9. Preheat the oven to 170 degrees centigrade.
• 10. Next, in a mixing bowl whisk the 70 grams of butter until very soft & creamy.
• 11. Add in the 90 grams of sugar. Whisk & combine.
• 12. Add 330 grams of cream cheese. Whisk & combine.
• 13. Add 90ml of sour cream. Whisk & combine.
• 14. Add 100 grams of whole eggs. Whisk & combine.
• 15. Add 100ml double cream. Whisk & combine.
• 16. Add 25 grams of flour. Whisk & combine.
• 17. Add 12ml Lemon juice. Whisk & combine.
• 18. TAP the bowl MULTIPLE times on the work surface to let the air bubble out. (take your time doing this as this is the key to avoiding cracked surface!)
• 19. Slowly pour the mix in to the cake pan. Tap it some more on the work surface.
• 20. Place the pan on top of a baking tray, & pop it in the oven. (You need the baking tray to collect the small amount of butter that seeps out from the bottom of the cake pan)
• 21. Bake for 30 minutes first.
• 22. Have a look. If it looks like it is starting to brown too much on top, cover loosely with foil.
• 23. Bake for another 10 minutes.
• 24. Skewer test. I like it when it isn’t thoroughly cooked. (But obviously not raw!) If there’s a tiny bit of curdle on the skewer still, it’s fine, take it out.
• 25. Leave aside – still in the cake tin – overnight to mature.

(Image courtesy of T of this is naive. – I’m recently rabbit mad… The lemon drizzle cake has a rabbit motif too!)

(Flourless Chocolate Cake. – T of this is naive is so good with taking pictures I just HAD TO ask her to let me use her pictures on my blog!)
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How are you surviving the holiday? Got the “stuffed like a turkey with party-food” drab feeling like I have?
Now that the party season is officially over (my kid’s birthday, Xmas, New Year’s Eve & New Year’s Day parties in a short period of 3 weeks+ is way too much!), I am writing this in sparkly wishful anticipation of normal life to begin it’s cycle again. Monotonous simple life is sometimes the best for très-tired self I think.
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And oh, have you hit the winter-sales yet? Me? Not yet. I like going at the very end of the sales when retailers really slash-down their sale prices. Then again, nowadays I don’t buy clothes as much as I used to anyways. – Ever since I started to earn money by “cash-in-hand” literally “counting” my earnings & not by receiving some digits on a monthly pay-slip, I value “money” a lot more. I look at a price tag on a dress & think “but that’s almost ten cakes worth!” or “but that’s x hour’s worth of work!” & put it back on the railing. When I think about the number of times I shouted “end-of-the-day Saaaaale” on my stall, in the cold winter chill, just to get that extra bit more cash to take home, I just can’t bring myself to blow big money on a whim.
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Then again, maybe I’m writing make-believe. Because I spent 60 quid on a Christmas Tree & as for my kid’s birthday, God knows how much I splashed out to cater for 10 families that we invited. And I always have to buy organic when it comes to cucumbers & carrots too even if it’s more expensive (cucumber’s got high water content & as for carrots I eat them raw so for the benefit of mind I like em “safe”).

Er, so yess… just take the previous paragraph about value with a pinch of salt actually…
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Let’s swiftly change the subject back to about the Market as this blog is ought to be about…
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Trading on my last Saturday of the year was truly madness. Guess how many truffles I made for that day? SEVEN HUNDRED!!! Madness right? It’s because I read my blog-post about the previous year’s Christmas Market day & it inspired me to make that much for this time round. – I can almost hear all of you asking how I did with its sales. Well…, (drum-roll please!) it… (now hit the cymbals!) sold out! (Fanfare!) Alright alright, it took all-day to do it but it did. And as for the hot chocolate drinks, I made over 10 litres & sold out on those too. Madness! I am sooo relieved that waking up til 4am the previous night did the trick. As you can imagine, I topped last year’s figures. Whoo-hooo! GO GIRL!
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But just like last year I had lots of cakes left & I was calling out “saaaale!” near the end of the day. (I just never ever learn.) As I sipped Baileys that got handed to me by the cheese-boys from the stall behind me, my Christmas spirit fired up & I thought it best to just hand out those unsold cakes to the people who’d been kind to me. So off the cakes went one-by-one;
- to “Ladybird S” who gives me cookbooks & toys for my kids that she should be selling,
- to S of La Bouche for letting me use electricity from his shop to power my hot chocolate machine,
- to the fish-lady who gave me some fish in return,
- to the cheese-lady & the bookseller-man for being kind & for buying from my stall every week,
- to meat-seller R who gave me 3 packs of steaks to cheer me up after a horrible man grabbed a truffle & walked off with rude remarks (he was a type of man that would loiter outside pubs asking for a spare cigarette),
- to the Market boys for their good job & also for braving the cold weather (the temperature was on average 0 degrees centigrade that day).
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And ah, talking about the cold weather, again just like last year, I caught a horrible cold which confined me to bed the next day or two. (Like I said, I just never ever learn…!)
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Happy New Year Everyone!

And don’t forget to put away your Christmas Tree on the 6th (last day of Christmas)!

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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?)
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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.
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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! ;)
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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!
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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.

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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
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x . x . x . x . x . x . x . x . x . x . x . x . x . x . x . x . x . x . x . x . x . x .
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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…
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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…
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(The absolutely gorgeous smell of gingerbread cookie fills our living room!)
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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!
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Really looking forward to Christmas – how about you?
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