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Taking Time to Live Well
On sale now, October's The Simple Things is all about the FORAGE. With such a beautiful cover, we've been inspired to get outside, hunt for colourful leaves and put them to crafty use.
Try one of the ideas from our pressed leaves Pinterest board and let us know how you get on - share your pictures with us on Twitter, Instagram or Facebook.
Master how to fold a flapping bird (or ‘crane’ as it’s correctly known) and you will always have a dinner party trick up your sleeve. A paper napkin can, with a bit of dextrous folding, be transformed into a thing of wonder. Your fellow diners’ jaws will drop as you crease and sculpt and then reveal a creature whose wings flap when they tug its tail.
One of the marvels of this Japanese art is that all it needs is one piece of square paper. Pre-cut squares, some bi-coloured, some patterned, can be bought at Paperchase, £8.29 for 49 squares, which is not too crippling an expense when you consider that no glue, scissors or tape are necessary. Ingenuity is all that’s needed, that and some good, clear instructions.
Back in the Seventies, the king of origami was Robert Harbin who introduced the word* to the British public via TV programmes and a series of books. His books are still as good a place as any to learn but there is plenty of advice on YouTube and on dedicated websites such as origami-instructions.com and origami.me. The trick is to master a few basic folds (inside and outside reverse, the petal fold, the valley and mountain fold) and a couple of bases (bird base, diamond base, kite base, waterbomb base) and then a world of paper folding will, well, unfold for you. Soon you will be surrounded by ninja stars, hopping frogs and lotus flowers and a circle of slack-jawed friends.
* The word ‘origami’ comes from the Japanese ‘ori’ meaning folding and ‘kami’ which means paper.
Words: Clare Gogerty
Want to try more? Head over to Pinterest where you'll find paper ideas galore.
Raw fruit and veg ready for juicing. Image from Juice by Rosemary Ferguson. Photography by Nassima Rothacker.
There's a buzz about raw food and summer is the best time to swing the balance in favour of raw in your diet. And juicing is 'a thing' again - it tastes great, feels virtuous and justifies a new kitchen gadget.
Turn to page 56 of August's The Simple Things for Rebecca Frank's juice 101, including four delicious recipes, a rundown of those nutrient powders, a gadget guide for buying your juicer, and a reading list.
Or head over to Pinterest, where we've been compiling our favourite raw recipes.
August's The Simple Things is on sale - buy, download, subscribe or look inside now!
Violet scones with honeyed cream - a recipe by Pip McCormac. Photography by Yuki Sugiura
Celebrate Afternoon Tea Week 2015 with a recipe for Violet scones with honeyed cream
Parma Violets can taste soapy, but violet flowers, used sparingly and baked, are far subtler.
The honeyed cream is what provides the real sweetness here. It’s thick and indulgent and removes the need for jam or butter, although a dollop of lemon curd goes well if you have a really sweet tooth. If you don’t have violets, use lavender, rosemary or rose petals.
Makes 12 scones
50g butter, plus extra for greasing
225g self-raising flour, plus extra for dusting
25g sugar
150ml milk, plus extra for glazing 1 tsp vanilla extract
3 violet flowers, chopped, plus extra for serving
100g clotted cream
2 tbsp runny honey
1 Preheat the oven to 225C/Fan 205/435F and grease and line a large baking tray. In a food processor, mix together flour, butter and sugar until it resembles breadcrumbs. Pour in the milk and vanilla extract and beat to a stiff dough. Add the violets and give a final few pulses of the processor to combine them into the mixture.
2 Lightly dust your worktop with flour, and place the dough in the middle, sprinkling a little flour over the top. Roll out the dough to about 2cm thick. Take a 5cm round cutter and cut out discs, placing them on the baking tray. Roll the leftover dough out again and cut out more rounds, repeating until the dough is used. Try not to roll the dough too many times as this will lead to tough scones. Brush the top of each with a dab of milk and place the tray in the oven for 12-15 mins until golden. Transfer to a wire rack to cool.
3 Just before serving, put the cream in a bowl and fold in the honey – you want a ripple effect – and top with a few violet petals. Cut the scones and spread a bit of cream on top.
Recipes from The Herb & Flower Cookbook: Plant, Grow and Eat by Pip McCormac (Quadrille). Photography by Yuki Sugiura
And if you're inspired to eat more flowers, head to our Petal Power Pinterest board for a sweet and beautiful selection of ideas:
August's The Simple Things is on sale - buy, download, subscribe or look inside now!
The colourful Hamburg home of Sandra Lorch and Tom Oehne, both jewellery designers, manages to pull off modern-meets-vintage without a hint of fustiness. Turn to page 94 of April's The Simple Things for a tour of their beautiful home, or read on for Sandra's top style tips.
1. Group your collections. I love Danish teak candlesticks, and grouped them together with other things in the same material, like my bird by Danish architect Kristian Vedel. I put my collection of single bud vases together on a table, too.
2. Be selective. Once we came up with the look of our apartment, we were rigorous about what to include and what to leave out.
3. Don't be afraid of contrasting colours. I love to combine yellow with the colours of the sea, and red with green. It brings out the luminosity of each colour.
4. Resist perfection. I hate it when an old building is totally sanitised and its original features removed. We sanded the floors in our flat to reveal the beautiful old planks, for example.
More style tips from back issues of The Simple Things are appearing on our newest Pinterest board, Nest: Interiors tips. Head over and take a look, or read more interiors posts now.
Nothing says spring quite like the arrival of magnolias, daffodils, narcissus and tulips.
Turn to page 18 for tips on following the progress of the magnificent magnolias, or page 93 for a sweet way to display spring blooms.
Want more? Head over to our Fresh board on Pinterest for a whole virtual garden - let's celebrate the start of spring proper.
Not got your March issue of The Simple Things? Buy now, subscribe or look inside.
With plenty of dark evenings and icy temperatures, there’s no better time than winter to settle down with a good book. Whether you’re getting stuck into the latest bestseller, or immersing yourself in the classics, guest blogger, Vicky from The Owl & The Accordion, rounded up a few key ingredients for the perfect cold-weather reading session.
If you’re going to spend an evening immersed in a book, the most important thing is to make sure you’re comfortable. Shed the day’s stiff tailoring or rigid denim, and sink into the cosiest clothes you can find; think chunky jumpers, woollen socks and the thickest flannel pyjamas. Checks optional.
Whether you’re heading to bed or settling down on the sofa with your novel, a good selection of blankets is the ideal accessory for a winter reading sessions. Mix up the fabrics and textures with vintage crochet, luxurious handweaving and the softest woollen wraps; for the ultimate in relaxation, pile them up and sink in.
There’s no doubt that reading is thirsty work, so make sure you’ve got plenty of tea on hand to keep you refreshed; if herbal is your thing, choose from relaxing chamomile, refreshing peppermint or a calming Jasmine blend, while simple Earl Grey or Darjeeling are great for traditionalists. If you’re going for a marathon reading session, you’re going to need a good selection of snacks to keep energy levels up – everyone knows that biscuits are a cuppas best friend, so mix it up with organic flapjacks, chunky chocolate chips and some florentines for a touch of chewy luxury.
Good lighting is an essential part of reading; while you want to be able to see the print, you don’t want to feel like you’re being interrogated with overhead lights and maximum wattage light bulbs. Table and desk lamps positioned behind either your left or right shoulder are ideal, as they won’t cast shadows over the page, and the light is still soft enough to create a relaxing atmosphere.
We'd like your book recommendations and have put together a new board on Pinterest inviting you to contribute your top reads. Head over now to have a look and to request an invitation. Plus, show us where you read yours - we love seeing The Simple Things out there in the wild.
Book group snacks Pinterest board
How to run a book club PLUS an easy book club cocktail recipe
Recipe and photography: Louise Gorrod
January is a good month for a good book. And if your resolution is to read more, consider joining one of the growing number of book groups in the UK and beyond.
Turn to page 86 of January's The Simple Things for Frances Ambler's feature on the reads, the snacks and the chemistry that make a literary get-together work. Or read on for our top tips to make your literary appreciation society a success.
1 Think about numbers: between six and ten people is good – small enough for everyone to be heard, not too pathetic if a couple of people can’t make it.
2 Pick a regular frequency: every 4 to 6 weeks allows enough time for books to be found and read.
3 Think about book length: this might not be the time to try out War and Peace: there’s a rule of book club that means the greater the page count, the lesser the number of attendees.
4 A few ground-rules may be helpful: are you going to allow people to speak in a free-for-all or take it in turns to comment? How are you going to decide what to read next?
5 Meeting snacks are heartily encouraged, see our suggestions on page 86, but be wary of competitive catering. One book group we know imposes a strict soup and sandwich-only rule.
6 The Reading Agency’s Reading Groups for Everyone offers even more tips on running a book group.
This requires a little preparation – making a simple sage syrup – but this takes barely 10 minutes and can be done in advance.
20 sage leaves
225g caster sugar
Gin to taste
Handful of blackberries, washed
1 bottle soda water
ice cubes
Fresh sage and blackberries, to garnish
1 Put the sage leaves and sugar in a small pan with 240ml of water and bring to the boil. Once boiling, turn down the heat to a low simmer and keep on the heat until aromatic and slightly thickened, about 10 mins.
2 Cool the liquid and then pass it through a fine mesh sieve and discard the sage leaves. (The syrup can be decanted into a sealable container and kept in a fridge for up to a week.)
3 Reserve a few of the blackberries for garnish and place the rest in a bowl or jug and add a glug or two of the syrup to sweeten. Mix the berries with the syrup and then pass the mixture through a fine mesh sieve, pressing down the berries with the back of the fork to extract all the juice. Discard the pulp and any
pips left in the sieve.
4 To assemble the drink, place some ice cubes in a glass along with a measure of gin and a glug of the blackberry/sage juice. Top up the glass with soda water, garnish with blackberries and sage leaves and serve. (Omit the gin for an equally delicious non-alcoholic version.)
Taken from www.buttercupdaysuk.blogspot.co.uk
Take a look at our Pinterest board.
We celebrate slowing down, enjoying what you have, making the most of where you live, enjoying the company of of friends and family, and feeding them well. We like to grow some of our own vegetables, visit local markets, rummage for vintage finds, and decorate our home with the plunder. We love being outdoors and enjoy the satisfaction that comes with a job well done.
