Author Archives: Annalisa Barbieri

Big pants for a small child

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As soon as a child is out of nappies, the question of what to put them in next arises. And let me tell you, finding pants, knickers, for a small girl-child that are not

frilly
fluffy
have stupid logos on
or writing on saying things like ‘love’ or ‘princess’
pink
or tiny

is not easy. I loathe logo-ed knickers.  Really, passionately hate them. And I believe, have always believed, that pants should be big and cover your kidneys because I have a Napolitan mother who told me these things (still tells me these things).

I’m also really fernickety about good quality stuff. This is why my house is full of Miele kitchen appliances. I searched very high and very low for simple, plain, not small, white knickers. I’m not stranger to finding things, having once been Dear Annie and having written a few consumer/shopping columns. But it was an impossible ask.

John Lewis did not let me down with plain white childrens’ knickers. But they weren’t BIG enough and after a few washes, I’m afraid to say, they just looked crap.

Then I remembered.

As a child, my French uncle, who was (is) impossibly glamorous and designed plane engines, and his wife, my Parisian aunt and Godmother, Josette, had bought me a pair of knickers once, when I was a child, that were my absolute favourite pants. And I remembered they had a little boat as a symbol, on the label.

Petit Bateau.

So I went in search of them here in the UK and lo, here was a company that made simple, big, white pants.

Let me tell you a few things about Petit Bateau childrens’ underwear:

  • the quality is superb. After two years of daily wear and 60 degree washes, they still look like new.
  • the fit is superb
  • they are beautifully plain, although you can also get coloured ones (which I do buy occasionally) and this year they’ve introduced ones with writing on which is a big, big no-no for me.
  • they are expensive
  • PB also makes thermal underwear for children which is unsurpassed in looks, comfort and quality. It’s made of wool and silk/cotton but constructed so that only cotton fibres are next to the skin.

The last time I made a purchase of PB pants and vests was when my eldest was six. Since then I’ve thought “can I really justify paying £4 for a pair of pants when for that price you can get at four pairs  (and, I know, in some places even cheaper). So last time we were in Johnny Loulous being measured for shoes, I bought a pack of four for £6.

And the quality is crap. After a few washes (40 degrees as they’re coloured, but at least just stripes and stuff and no logos).

So back I went to PB, braving the nearly always surly staff to stock up. I really can’t recommend the make highly enough and if you’ve got more than one child, such as I have, to pass down to, it makes them even better value and in price per wear, they can’t be beaten because they last so long.

The plain white ones are code 66637 00110 and called Lot de 2 Culottes (be careful cos the ones with writing on are packaged so you can’t see the writing) and cost £8.50 for two. Matching vests (thin straps) are 6663100110 and called 2 Chemises a Bretelles and cost £10 for two.

I’ll put a photo up later.

Absent but busy, baker

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Anyone visiting this blog probably thinks I gave up on the sourdough.

Wrong!

I bake all our own bread several times a week! I just ordered a new banneton, this time going for the more expensive Matfer one at £26.99 (just saying it made my eyes water), rather than the cheaper one I got last time which has already fallen apart after 18 months use (the other, cheaper ones, are fine still but the 1K round one was the one I used most). Matfer are industrial strength so they should last. I did toy with Vannerie which are hand made but really, that is too much for me.

Am also toying with idea of baking cloche, anyone have one? I feel it’s a bit superfluous as my oven is a great oven which makes lovely sourdough, and next year we’re building a wood fired oven in the garden. But I did wonder if anyone had one, and if so what they thought of it?

I did mean to do a post over the summer, as I had so many enquiries about ‘what to do with my starter when I go on holiday’. Honestly people. You just put it in the fridge, enjoy your holiday, and refresh * the starter when you get back. One friend even thought he had to bring the starter with him on holiday. I’d have loved to have seen customs deal with that.

*take out half of it, refresh with 125g strong white bread flour, 100g cold water, stir and leave for about 12 hours before using it to make dough.

The Tangle Teezer

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Probably loads of you have already heard of this. It was a ‘Dragon’s Den’ reject a few years ago. But I hadn’t heard of it, or seen one, or noticed them hanging there in haircare aisle. One of the juniors at my hairdressers used one on my head two weeks ago and I said “what’s that?”

And what it was was a Tangle Teezer or a hairbrush that looks like a dog/horse’s grooming brush (I actually think the addition of a strap around the back of it would be no bad thing).

They come in three permutations. This one which is the original, and you can pick them up from £9 to about £13 depending on where you shop and what colour you go for (I actually choose black but I got this flourescent pink, that’s Amazon for you). Purple glitter, for example, costs the most as it’s ‘limited edition’. There’s a child’s version which is round and comes in a flower pot and then there’s a mini version. I think this is the best – read easiest to use.

Anyway, children love it – it sails through dry or wet hair with ease and every one fought to use my daughter’s at swimming (because of its design, it’s really easy to clean so that didn’t freak me out like it normally would). The the point of it is that it’s a tangle destroyer that works without pulling the hair. I love it, it’s kinda massaging. You can’t style with it, it’s really for just combing knots out. Not 100% sure how it’d cope with really thick hair, it struggled with the thicker bits of mine.

You might be able to see here that the ‘teeth’ are in two lengths – that’s apparently the secret of its success. And they’re bendy.

Anyway, you can buy them on line or in Boots/just about anywhere.

The perfect drinking glass?

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La Gigogne. Very difficult to take a picture of a glass..

You may have gleaned, from one of my other posts, that I’ve got a thing about glasses. This may be because my beverage of choice is plain old water, and thus I need to get my kick from the vessel in which it’s served.

I am crazy for these Duralex glasses. Duralex almost went bust a few years ago, which must take some doing considering that its glasses are so beautiful, simple, iconic and various other words that you wouldn’t marry with a company that almost went bust. Perhaps its most famous glass is the Picardie. (That link not only takes you to a picture of the Picardie, but a rather good article on Duralex in general, in the Independent.)

But I’m not so keen on the Picardie. My particular favourite is the slightly lesser known, far simpler Gigogne glass. It looks a bit like a bowling ball with two lines etched around it (not easy to see in the pics, but you can just make them out). It sits so nicely in the palm of your hand and the 160ml size makes a lovely glass for children, too. Not so crazy when you realise (see below) how resilient Duralex is.

It comes in three sizes: 220ml, 160ml, 90ml. It’s the middle size you can see here and it is perfect for serving water, red wine (I really do not like traditional wine glasses, they make me hyperventilate, especially the ones we have which are on stems about a foot high and I always fear knocking them over because I am quite clumsy. My partner is rabid about serving wine in the correct way, at the correct temperature, in the correct glass and then you holding it in the correct way. Me? I drink the Italian peasant way, in a glass rough worker’s hands can pick up easily) or even, as you can see below, cappuccino. It holds, to my mind, the perfect proportions of a good cappuccino – not too much milk, one espresso shot.

You can also serve desserts in it – individual style trifles, mousses, you get the picture. Even though there isn’t one of it holding such a dessert. Another time.

Duralex glasses are virtually unbreakable: tempered, can stand hot or cold, chip proof, can go in the dishwasher or the microwave. No wonder they were used in school canteens and put to various other commercial uses in the 60s and 70s.

I cannot imagine a more hard working, plucky glass. And all for a coupla quid each. I got mine from Rinkit via Amazon. They are surely due for a major come back.

Update. Johnny Loulous has now started stocking them. I now have them in both the medium and large size. I prefer the large for water (I drink a lot of water).

The Museum of Brands, Packaging and Marketing

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This little museum is just a short walk away from where I grew up. I’ve been meaning to go there ever since I discovered its existence, a couple of years ago. It’s a lovely way to spend an hour or so and unless you’re unlucky, it should be nice and calm and not too busy.

There are cabinets full of packets of washing up liquid, sweets, chocolate, biscuits, bleach, stock cubes…you get the picture. It shows how packaging has changed over the years (or, not so much in some cases) and it’s a great trip down memory lane. I found it comfortingly nostalgic. There are good toilets, a very simple cafe (simple as in the staff have a kettle and make the tea) but a few tables to sit at – very peaceful (or was when we went) with a TV showing ads from the past on a loop – which provided excellent entertainment.

The shop has some great postcards (55p showing vintage ads).

I loved this place. Go.

Ottolenghi is round the corner if you want to spend lots of money on great pastries.

Museum of Brands:

Opening hours
Tues-Sat 10.00:18.00, Sun 11.00:17.00
Closed Mondays except Bank Holidays
Last entry is 45 minutes before closing
Closed Christmas Day, Boxing Day, New Year’s Day, Notting Hill Carnival
Admission
Adults £6.50 (including Gift Aid),
Children (7-16) £2.25, Family £15.00, Concessions £4.00. Group discount 10% (groups of 10 or more are asked to pre-book).

Revolutionary new treatment for verrucas!

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Bet you’re glad you discovered this blog. It’s so full of useful, glamorous things. Don’t worry. I’m sure I’ll sneak a designer bag in next week.

Maybe.

In the meantime, something more useful. How to treat a verruca without spending very much money at all.

Despite growing up next to a swimming pool (and using it regularly) I have never had a verruca. But my eldest caught/grew/developed one a few months ago. Now for those that don’t know, a verruca is simply a wart that grows inwards (because the weight of walking on your foot means it can’t grow outwards), and those black bits you see are the blood vessels.

So we did the usual and bought Bazooka that Verruca and nothing really happened. Then another verruca grew and I started to worry that my child would become like one of those freaks that has a verruca farm on her feet (this happened to my cousin, she had about eighteen of them). So after a few months of painting on Bazooka and nothing happening I texted my friend Mary, who is a GP, and asked her if I should take my daughter to the docs to have the verruca frozen off with liquid nitrogen. “Yes, you can,” she texted back, “or you can try something else that seems to be having lots of success.” I bit my fingers whilst I waited to hear what that something else was. Perhaps something illegal. That would be exciting.

“Electrical tape” she texted.  She said it would take a few months, but the Bazooka had done nothing in a few months so thought it was worth a try. So I bought some, from the market stall. It was 35p (yellow, if it matters) and I swear in less than a fortnight, all the verrucas had gone.

This is, of course, ground breaking news because it could bring down the fortunes of various over the counter remedies. I don’t know, perhaps it was fluke, but try it. I’m guessing electrical tape works the best as it’s very sticky and watertight, but all you do is cut a little piece, stick it over the verruca and replace every day/few days.

Let me know how you get on.

A 2014 update: we only use this now for verruca treatment and it’s amazing, especially if you can catch them early. For us it’s effective in less than a week.

Madeleines

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Spot the eager small child trying to reach up for a madeleine

It started with the purchase of a madeleine tray. Because, ya know, I don’t have enough baking tins. Then came the hunt for the perfect madeleine recipe.

Big disappointment. Many were nothing more than a sponge recipe that you then baked into a shell-shape.

Then I came across a recipe by Heston Blumenthal in, I think, The Times. If I recall the tale correctly he made these for his wife when he was courting her. They are exquisite.

Here’s what you need:

125g unsalted butter, plus a bit extra for greasing the mould
100g icing sugar
40g ground almonds
40g plain flour, plus again a bit extra *
3 large egg whites
2 teaspoons of honey
Finely grated zest of a lemon
Salt

*I have made these, really successfully (like can’t tell the difference successful) with rice flour for those that can’t have wheat. I made these for the super talented opera singer Sarah Connolly with rice flour and she LOVED ME FOR IT. I think she may have even shed a tear, although that may have  been at my singing.

This is what you do.

Don’t preheat any ovens just yet.

Put the butter into a small sauce pan over a medium heat and melt it, keep it on the heat until it starts to sizzle and, Heston says, have a nice nutty scent to it. I have an atrocious sense of smell so this never happens for me and I do it by eye, it goes darker is the only way I can describe it and takes about five minutes. You’re making beurre noisette.

Don’t panic. It’s not like making caramel. Set it aside and take a deep breath. You’re about to make something delicious.

Take your madeleine tray and grease it with some of that extra butter. Unlike when you make friands (more on them another time), don’t be tempted to melt the butter and brush it on. It makes the mads too greasy. Once you’ve buttered the moulds, sprinkle some flour over and tap off the excess.

This is where a flour duster must really come in handy. A flour duster is a kitchen gadget I do not (yet) possess.

Now, sieve the icing sugar, ground almonds and flour into a bowl. You’ll no doubt have some bits of round almond left over in the sieve, just chuck that in too when you’re done. Using a fork, whisk the egg whites into the sugar/almonds/flour. Just lightly and with no panic. You’re not making meringues.

Now add the honey, whisk it up a bit more. Now add the butter which should be warm, but not hot. Now the lemon zest and mix until everything is homogenous. To use Heston’s very particular word. Now add a bit of salt. I grind up some rock salt for this.

Now press some cling film or baking parchment onto the surface of the mixture and rest it in the fridge for at least an hour. I’ve left it overnight and longer. The gluten relaxes to produce a madeleine that is, to quote Ross in Friends (The “Manny” episode) “Lighter than air”.

I have, at this stage, transported the mixture on holiday, or to friends’ houses so that I can cook up fresh madeleines on a whim. But what you’re meant to do next is fill the moulds (which you could of course grease whilst the mixture is resting) with the mixture. Heston says they make 10 but I’m sure I’ve made 12. Anyway you fill with madeleine mixture and put it in the fridge again for half an hour (or longer if need be).

No-one said this was going to be quick.

Preheat oven to 170C.

Cook for 10-15 minutes. They should be dark brown around the edges but golden otherwise. Turn out (you may need to prise the edges with a knife) and leave for five minutes before eating. You REALLY need to eat these warm from the oven, they will never be that good again.

Nearly all gone..

Update, 24 June 2012

After several requests from my children to make chocolate madeleines, I decided to try to adapt this recipe. What I did was melt 50g of plain chocolate and divide the mixture made above into two.

Into one of the halves half I drizzled the melted chocolate and stirred it well. I then dolloped a spoon of the chocolate mixture into my madeleine tray, a spoonful of the plain mixutre and cooked as above. Result: fantastic. The chocolately bit was really chocolately. I had worried it might alter the mixture in some way, but only for the better!

The only thing I’d change is that, next time, I’d swirl the chocolate mixture into the plain mixture using  a skewer or something, to make it more marbled. Dunno why, just think it’d be nice.

But generally, I feel really very clever.

You can also add a handful of chocolate chips to the plain mixture.

IMG_1407

I love these tea towels

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It’s a joke in our house that whenever I’m on a particularly scary deadline, I iron tea towels. My partner can always tell when I’m procrastinating wildly because he comes home/downstairs/in from the shed and everything is ironed to within an inch of its life.

I only like industrial looking tea towels. The ones with the red or blue stripe and something (I’ve never worked out what) written down its length. I loathe cutsey, jokey ones. They are completely wrong. But I love these mid-century modern styley ones from M&S with their bright, graphic designs: £9.50 for three. I’ve seen similar for about £15 each so buy before they all go.

Mid Century-ish glasses with apples on

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I’m a total sucker for anything from the 1950s and 60s (and bits of the 1970s). It reminds me of my childhood, because invariably the stuff the grown ups had around them heralded from that time. I think my all time favourite year for design (and the year I think the perfect man’s suit was made, it never got any better) was 1963, coincidentally also the year my parents got married.

Anyway. I wanted some every day drinking glasses that had a pattern on that was jolly, a bit retro, reminded me of my childhood in Italy (sniff) but weren’t so expensive I’d never use them. I looked everywhere and then I found these from of all places – Tesco. £1.25 a glass or £6 for six. I love the design, which is a bit Scanda.

Worth straying away from Waitrose for, but then hurry straight back.

Baked ricotta and sweet potato salad

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This is so delicious that I started eating it and then remembered I hadn’t photographed it which is why it’s half eaten. But it looks very good when first assembled and will appeal to those who like prettiness on a plate.
 
 
If I had tons of money, one of the things I’d do is hire a chef. Someone to make wonderful little delicate salads for me. I love salads. I’m not talking limp lettuce with enough vinegar to make your hair shine, I’m talking big, blousey salads with lotsa things in them.
 
The problem is I don’t always feel like making them. Since my first pregnancy, sometimes preparing a salad can make me feel a bit sick. I have to do it before hunger makes me stupid, so a bit of pre-planning is required.
 
I’m hugely fortunate, but utterly deserving, because my partner is a fantastic cook, and I can sometimes boss him into making me a delicious salad, giving him the above reason/excuse and it seems to work. Despite me telling you all this, I’ve got quite a salad repertoire and this is one of them. It’s from Peter Gordon’s Salads. I think Gordon (The Sugar Club, The Providores) is hugely underrated by the at-home cook. I love Salads – published in 2005 – because Gordon proves that a proper salad can be a meal in its own right, not just an add-on to lessen the guilt.
 
The recipe below can withstand a lot of tweaking, so if as you make it you think “I can’t possibly eat this much spinach” then don’t put so much in. I found 400g waaaaay too much and only used about 150g. Don’t know if it’s a typo but see how you get on. I’ve reproduced the recipe here the way he printed it however.
 
Here’s what you need for four worthy people:
 
400g ricotta
half a teaspoon smoked sweet paprika
quarter of a spoon of cumin seeds – leave them as they are no need to crush
quarter of a teaspoon of ground cinnamon
2 tablespoons extra virgin olive oil
sea salt and freshly ground black pepper
 
600g sweet potatoes, Gordon says to scrub their skins, I peeled mine cos I didn’t read that bit
4 tablespoons of hot water
300g grapes off the stems. He doesn’t specify which, I used red seedless. You’d be insane to use seeded ones unless you want your guests to be spitting all over lunch.
2 tablespoons pomegranate molasses (I got mine from a food market)
3 table spoons of grapeseed oil (I used a mixture of olive and rapeseed)
1 teaspoon soy sauce
2 handfuls of olives, stoned and roughly chopped
2 tablespoons of baby capers, rinsed
12 mint leaves, shredded
2 tablespoons thinly sliced chives
400g baby spinach (see above)
 
First you preheat the oven to 180. Line a baking tray with baking parchment and then slice the ricotta into 2cm pieces. Don’t worry if it crumbles a bit. I sliced mine whilst still  in its little round container, and then lifted it out, and it worked fine. Mix the paprika, cumin and cinnamon together with a teaspoon of the olive oil and brush this on the cheese. Sprinkle with sea salt and cook for 15 mins. Take out and leave to one side to cool.
 
Turn the oven up to 200C.
You’re now going to cook the sweet potatoes and grapes together, so pick two containers that will fit side by side. If you don’t have, don’t fret. This salad is served at room temperature so you can just cook one at a time. I’d probably do the grapes first.
 
So, cut the sweet pots into thin wedges and place in a small roasting tin. Pour in the hot water, season with salt and pepper and drizzle over the remaining olive oil. I know it sounds mad but just do it. Bake until just cooked – about 20 mins.
 
Place the grapes in a non-reactive dish and pour on the pomegranate molasses, grapeseed/other oil you’re using and soy sauce. Bake for 20 mins. Remove when done and leave to cool.
 
Once everything is at room temperature, pour the juice from the cooked grapes into a bowl and mix in the olives, capers, mint and chives to form the dressing.
 
To serve, toss the spinach with half the dressing and place on four plates. Scatter the sweet potato wedges on top, then flake the ricotta on top of that. Scatter over the grapes then pour the rest of the dressing over the top.
 
Eat. You will enjoy it.