Win! £500 to spend at Anthropologie (closed 31 Oct 2015)

Get ready for the chill with Anthropologie's cosy new autumn range

Inspired by the worlds of art, design, entertaining and individual style, Anthropologie is a one-of-a-kind shopping destination, offering an aspirational assortment of home décor, fashion accessories and gifts. Whether it be a renowned illustrator, emerging ceramicist or far-flung designer, exclusive collaborations and a penchant for unexpected finishes lay at the heart of its house and home collection. The result? Witty twists on everyday items and covetable pieces to treasure.

As the new season arrives and autumn’s transition takes hold, Anthropologie turns its attention to helping you create the cosiest, and most unique, of homes. Paying special attention to snug elements for every room, the collection brims with knitted throws and textured cushions to add extra layers to sofas, handmade quilts imbued with the richest hues to add warmth to bedrooms, and delicate accessories to transform your bathroom into a restorative spa.
anthropologie.com

We have two £500 vouchers for Anthropologie to give away. The winner will be selected at random from all completed entries. An e-voucher will be emailed to each winner. It can be redeemed in store or online and can be spent on clothes or homeware.

Competition closes at 23:59 on 31 October 2015. View Iceberg Press’ full terms and conditions on page 129 of October’s The Simple Things and at icebergpress.co.uk/comprules

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Recipe: Saffron G&Ts

Saffron G&Ts

Add a golden hue to your gin and tonic with a pinch of saffron and slices of fresh mango

Serves 4–6

pinch of saffron
pinch of sugar
crushed ice
slices of fresh mango
handful of fresh mint
250ml gin
500ml tonic or sparkling water to top up

1 Crush saffron with a pinch of sugar in a pestle and mortar – or you can use the back of a spoon and a small bowl.

2 Shake the saffron with the gin and leave to infuse for as long as you can.

3 Pour the gin into an ice-filled jug or tumblers packed with slices of fresh mango and mint. Top up with tonic or sparkling water.

Read more:

From the October issue

Cocktail recipes

More saffron recipes

Recipe: Raspberry vinegar

From Fern Verrow: Recipes from a Biodynamic Farm by Jane Scotter and Harry Astley. 

Raspberry vinegar

Makes 6 x 250ml bottles

1kg berries
600ml cider vinegar
granulated sugar

Always use the freshest fruit you can get hold of, but remember it doesn’t matter what the fruit looks like, as you’re going to mash it up for its juice. It is important that the fruit is dry, especially if you are using strawberries and raspberries, so try not to wash it. You can also use a mixture of elderberries and wild blackberries for a foraged, more savoury vinegar.

1 Put the berries into a large ceramic or glass bowl. Add the vinegar and gently crush the fruit with a potato masher or a large fork. Cover tightly and leave in a cool room for at least 5 days, stirring once each day.

2 Line a sieve with a piece of sterilised muslin, set it over a bowl and pour the fruit and vinegar into it. Tie the corners of the muslin together and suspend the bag over the bowl for 12 hours for the juice to drip through.

3 Measure the juice and allow 450g sugar for every 500ml. Put the juice and sugar into a large stainless steel saucepan, place over a low heat and slowly bring to the boil, stirring until the sugar is completely dissolved. Boil for 10 minutes, then remove from the heat and leave to cool. Pour into sterilised bottles and seal straightaway. It should keep for at least a year. 

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From the October issue

Preserving recipes

Fruit recipes

Recipe: Hardwick lamb curry in a hurry

Lamb curry and a decent beer is hard to beat. This is camping-friendly lamb curry doesn’t take hours and all goes in one pot. If you are in the Lake District, seek out Herdwick lamb and a local ale for a campsite meal to remember. Discover more in Pitch Up Eat Local by Ali Ray (AA Publishing). 

Herdwick Lamb Curry in a Hurry

Serves 4

vegetable oil
2 tsp each of ground turmeric and garam masala
1 tsp each of ground cumin, ground coriander and chilli powder
500g lamb leg steak, cut into bite-sized cubes
a small handful of green beans (about 8), trimmed and cut in half
a bunch of spring onions, sliced, including the green bits
350g basmati rice
1 x 400ml tin coconut milk
100ml vegetable stock (made with a cube)
a small bunch of fresh coriander (mint will also work nicely), chopped
salt and pepper
a big knob of butter

1 Heat a glug of oil in a large saucepan with a lid, and stir in the spices for a minute.

2 Add the lamb, beans and spring onions, and jostle them about in the pan so that the lamb browns, about 2 minutes.

3 Now add the rice to the pan, stir well, and then add the coconut milk and the stock.  Bring up to the boil, then turn the heat down to a simmer, put the lid on and leave for 10 minutes.

4 After 10 minutes, check that the rice has cooked, but don’t stir it. If it’s not done, let it cook for another couple of minutes.

5 When ready, stir in the fresh coriander (or mint), keeping a little back to garnish at the end.  Season with salt and pepper, then add the butter and gently stir through.

6 Serve with the remaining herbs sprinkled on top, accompanied by a good local ale. 

Read more: 

From the October issue

Camping recipes

Curry recipes

Recipe: Smoked garlic and tomato relish

This relish will use up your tomato glut and, possibly, tempt you to buy some cheese and biscuits to go with it.

Says Lia Leendertz, ‘I made this relish with some smoked garlic I picked up at my local greengrocer which gave a gentle smoky taste, but it works well with ordinary garlic, too.’

Makes 4 jars
1 onion
6 smoked garlic cloves, sliced oil for frying
1 green chilli, seeds removed, finely chopped
800g chopped tomatoes, seeds removed
200ml red wine vinegar
200g sugar
50g capers, rinsed

1 In a large pan, heat a little oil and gently fry the onions until they start to soften. Add the garlic and chilli and slowly soften these too.
2 When the onion is turning translucent add the tomatoes, stir and cook gently for a few minutes. Then pour in the vinegar and the sugar.
3 On a low heat, stir to dissolve the sugar, then bring to a simmer. Simmer and stir for about 40 to 50 minutes, or until the mixture turns jammy. It is ready when you can draw a brief line across the bottom with a wooden spoon.
4 Allow to cool slightly, then stir in the capers and add plenty of salt and pepper, to taste. Pour into warmed jars and seal. 

Sterilising for preserves
If you don’t sterilise your jars before you seal your preserves then they will quickly go off. I tend to go a bit belt and braces and use both sterilising tablets and a warm oven. This usually involves dissolving sterilising tablets in warm water and then bathing the jars in the water for around ten minutes, but check instructions on your particular product. I then rinse them off (you don’t have to, but they can leave a slight taste) and put them in a low oven for about half an hour. This has the added benefit that the jars come out completely dry and warm, so you can pour warm preserve into them and get a better seal. Seal while still warm, label when cold.

September's The Simple Things is on sale - buy, download or subscribe now.

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From the September issue

Seed to Stove recipes

Tomato recipes

Event: The Nomad Cinema

The roaming pop-up that gives back! 

With 100% of profits going to edu-environmental charity The Sustainability Institute, The Nomad Cinema creates memorable cinematic events in unique and quirky locations across the capital, all for a good cause! With a host of indoor and outdoor venues including the Royal Academy of Arts, Meantime Brewery, Fulham Palace, Brompton Cemetery, Grosvenor Square and many more, The Nomad’s festival atmosphere creates film magic wherever it roams, then disappears into the night, leaving no trace…

The Nomad is the sister cinema to North-West London’s critically acclaimed community indie cinema The Lexi – a truly independent, volunteer-run film-lover’s gem in the heart of up-and-coming cultural hub, Kensal Rise. A state-of the art boutique digital cinema with good old-fashioned heart and soul, the Lexi hosts regular Q&As, special events, outreach projects, as well as exhibitions in the gallery bar!

The Nomad’s September highlights include Wes Anderson’s The Grand Budapest Hotel at Fulham Palace, Little Miss Sunshine and Withnail & I in Queen’s Park, as well as fashion doc IRIS in hipster hangout, The Hoxton Hotel. October features a new indoor venue in King’s Cross with a brand new back-to-back two-screen format, as well as a creepy Halloween programme in Hyde Park’s The LookOut – a treehouse-inspired cabin, hidden in a copse of trees… Looking further ahead, the Nomad’s ever-popular Christmas season will this year be hosted in another new venue, this time in Victoria, with something for everyone – from feel-good classics to alternative wintry titles.

www.whereisthenomad.com

Think: Emily Dickinson

Emily Dickinson was a prolific poet, but most of her 1800 works remained undiscovered during her lifetime. After her death, her sister Lavinia found a cache of her work and set about publishing the poems, with their unconventional punctuation and capitalization, and their themes of loss, love, death and immortality.

“Hope” is the thing with feathers - (314)
By Emily Dickinson

“Hope” is the thing with feathers -
That perches in the soul -
And sings the tune without the words -
And never stops - at all -

And sweetest - in the Gale - is heard -
And sore must be the storm -
That could abash the little Bird
That kept so many warm -

I’ve heard it in the chillest land -
And on the strangest Sea -
Yet - never - in Extremity,
It asked a crumb - of me.

Read more:

From the September issue

Things to make you think

More Books posts

September's The Simple Things is on sale - buy, download or subscribe now.

Recipe: Veg patch curry

British veg patch meets Indian flavours for a fusion curry with a taste of mellow sunshine

A celebration of early autumn’s harvest. Use fresh, seasonal veg from your patch or local farm shop for this delicious veg patch curry.

Serves 4–6
1kg fresh tomatoes
350g onions
1 bulb of garlic
4 bay leaves
5cm piece of ginger
2 red chillies
1 star anise
200g coconut milk
small pumpkin or squash
handful of French or runner beans
2 courgettes or yellow summer squash
sea salt
freshly ground pepper
1 corn on the cob
2 tsp fennel seeds
handful of fresh coriander or parsley

1 Preheat your oven to 200C/Fan 180/400F.
2 Halve the tomatoes – or quarter them if you’re using bigger ones. Peel and chop the onions into halves or quarters. Tumble everything into a large roasting tin.
3 Slice 1cm from the pointy tip of your garlic. Put it into the tin, still whole, with the bay leaves. Roast for 30 mins or until the tomatoes have a golden edge to them.
4 Remove the bulb of garlic and bay leaves. Tip tomatoes and onions into a food processor or blender. Squeeze in the garlic cloves from the bulb.
5 Peel and roughly chop the ginger. Thinly slice the chillies. Grind the star anise to a powder. Add the ginger, a good pinch of the chilli and the star anise, plus the coconut milk, to the tomato-and-onion mixture. Blend until smooth.
6 Gently simmer the sauce on the hob while you cook the veg.
7 Cut pumpkin (or squash), beans and courgette into bite-sized hunks. Peel the summer squash if you like. The skin is edible if it’s not too thick.
8 Season the vegetables and toss with a little oil. Grill your veg on the barbecue until it’s lightly charred all over. Or if you prefer, set a large frying pan over a high heat. Add the veg to the pan in a single layer when it’s smoking hot – don’t add any oil to the pan. Cook the veg in batches until it’s tender and lightly charred all over. To get the pumpkin and squash soft, you may have to add a few splashes of water. Put the veg in a low oven or next to the barbecue to keep it warm. 9 Cut the corn kernels from the cob. Fry the sweetcorn, remaining chilli pieces and fennel seeds in a little oil until fragrant and a little crisp around the edges.
10 Spoon the simmered curry sauce into a large bowl or platter. Arrange the grilled or griddled veg on top. Finish with the sizzled and spiced sweetcorn and some fresh herbs.

Turn to page 24 of September's The Simple Things for the rest of this Indian summer menu, including Saffron G&Ts, Herb & spiced lamb lollies with cardamom yoghurt, Golden roti, Thyme and griddled spring onion rice, and Rosy apple tarts.

September's The Simple Things is on sale - buy, download or subscribe now.

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From the September issue

Autumn roots

More Gathering recipes

September: Why we love stationery

Shopping doesn’t get much better than a visit to a stationery shop. Who can resist those shelves of sketchbooks, pots of gel pens, neon highlighters and banks of Post-it Notes? They all promise so much!

Those black Moleskine notebooks with their rounded corners and twangy elastic page holders are just waiting for Big Thoughts, novel outlines, haikus and sketches to be scribbled on their pages (preferably with a Kaweco foundation pen). And that set of highlighter pens and pad of Post-its have the potential to banish a world of chaos and discord, replacing it with calm orderliness.

This love of stationery is firmly rooted in childhood. The purchase of a new pencil case filled with coloured felt pens, a propelling pencil, Bic biro and animal-shaped rubbers was one of the few consolations of going back to school. Zipped up in their carefully chose case, the new stationery items whispered of a fresh start and the promise of triumphs ahead. (The same applies, of course, to the first day in a new job: a smart pen and notebook always cuts the mustard.)

It’s reassuring in a world of technological devices, that stationery has never been more popular: John Lewis reports an increase of 10% in sales of notebooks and journals, and a 12% increase in Filofax purchases, since last year. It seems that we can’t get enough of multi-coloured paper clips, ring binders and hole punches. Lucy Edmonds of cool online stationers Quill London puts this down to an increase in home working: “People are giving more thought to their home office spaces, which means they’re willing to spend a little bit more on stationery they’ll enjoy using and that won’t get pinched.” She also suggests it’s an opportunity to accessorise: “Stationery is a great little everyday vehicle for design, pattern and colour,” she says. “Whether it’s a patterned notebook in your handbag or a brass pencil-holder on your desk.”

Read more:

From the September issue

Back to school picks from our shop

Download our free colouring card

Turn to page 43 of September’s The Simple Things for our picks for filling your satchel and feeding your stationery habit from four excellent small companies.

September's The Simple Things is on sale - buy, download or subscribe now.

Wellbeing: Be a better list-maker

Lists aren’t just for crossing off chores. Writing down your hopes and feelings is a powerful way to create a life you love. 

The arrival of autumn brings the irresistible urge to start again. Before you make a list of the things you need to do or change, consider that a new approach to list- making might be what you really need. Most of us use lists, even if it’s just for food shopping or when extra busy at work – but a list can have many more uses than just a physical reminder for you of what you need to do. 

Turn to page 86 of September’s The Simple Things to read Anna Hewitt’s guide to making lists. Or tick off the following tips to becoming a better list-maker.

1 Remember that how you want to feel is as important as what you want to accomplish.
2 In everyday to-do lists, include tasks that you enjoy, like going for a bike ride or meeting a friend.
3 Don’t be afraid to share your list with others for their perspective, feedback, and encouragement.
4 Be creative. Use colour, pictures, or a unique design to make your lists feel more interesting and appealing.
5 Boost your happiness regularly by making a list of three things you are grateful for each day.
6 At the end of each day choose one to three things that you will work on tomorrow – and let go of the rest.

Read more:

From the September issue

Wellbeing posts

Kick off the new term in style with The Stuff of Life

September's The Simple Things is on sale - buy, download or subscribe now.

Learn something new: Origami

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.

Follow The Simple Things's board Origami on Pinterest.

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From the September issue

Learn something new

More from The Simple Things' Pinterest boards

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Recipe: Spanish Tomato Toast

Start the day like you’re in a Spanish café. This simple breakfast makes good use of this month’s glut of tomatoes and extends that summer feeling long after your holiday is over. Very ripe tomatoes and good quality olive oil are a must. 

SPANISH TOMATO TOAST

Serves 2

2 large or 4 small ripe tomatoes (cherry tomatoes won’t work here)
pinch of salt
glug of extra virgin
olive oil
4 slices sourdough bread

1 Using a large box grater, or something similar, carefully grate the juicy tomatoes into a bowl. Grate until you can’t grate any more, avoiding knuckle
scrapes as best you can. 
2 Addapinchofsaltanda good glug of olive oil, and mix together to make a tomato ‘nectar’. Let the flavours combine while you char the bread.
3 Get a griddle pan nice and hot over a high heat, then char the bread for 2–3 minutes on each side. When all the bread is toasted, take it to the table along with your tomato nectar and spoon some over your toast.

Recipe from Breakfast: Morning, Noon & Night by Fern Green (Hardie Grant). Photography by Danielle Wood

For more ways to use a tomato surplus, turn to page 38 of September’s The Simple Things for Lia Leendertz’s tomato relish recipe.

September's The Simple Things is on sale - buy, download or subscribe now.

READ MORE:

How to ripen tomatoes indoors

Breakfast recipes

More from the September issue

Mellow: September cover reveal

Linger awhile. These are the last precious days of summer. Why rush through them when there is an Indian feast to share, cake to eat and pickles to relish? Pick up your sketchbook and take time to draw what you see. Explore a wild ruin and let your imagination go for a wander.
Kick back in a rocking chair and read a poem or a thriller – or simply daydream. These are the mellow days of long grass and honey roast vegetables. Unhurried days, full of The Simple Things. 

September's The Simple Things is on sale today - buy, download or subscribe now.

Sunday Best: Make it a day well spent

We’re heading into limbo time – those calm, contented months when summer drifts into autumn and (thankfully) the frenzy of December shopping and socialising seems a long way off. Just the time to practise slowing down a little and remembering what’s really important. Fun-filled, purposeful and restful Sundays are a good place to begin. 

We believe ‘the simple things’ are all about taking time to live well, to enjoy the now, slow down a little and remember moments that matter. Starting this month we’ll be highlighting our Sunday Best features throughout the autumn. Look out for our Sunday Best logo on cakes, things to plan and do and mini-projects for in and around the home. Tell us your #sundaysuggestions of what makes you happy at the weekend - share them on Twitter or snap them on Instagram. We’ll share the best ones every Friday.

Read more:

Cakes to bake

Simple style

A day watching old movies

September's The Simple Things is on sale today - buy, download or subscribe now.

Subscription offer - FREE Beefayre Wild Fig tea lights, lip balm and greeting card (expired)

Take out a subscription to The Simple Things today - pay just £11 every three issues, save 26%, and you'll get these lovely free gifts!

These glass tea light candles are scented with sweet, earthy fresh figs, with top notes of grape and vanilla, part of Beefayre’s new Autumn/Winter range. You’ll also receive a lip balm and greeting card with a design inspired by nature and a packet of seeds inside. Beefayre’s homeware, fragrance, beauty products and gifts are made from the finest natural ingredients, inspired by nature and the plight of the honeybee. The people at Beefayre are passionate about British wildlife and conservation – they put 3% of their profits back into bee and bug conservation. For more of their beautiful things see beefayre.com.

Please quote BEES15 or enter code online to receive your gift*. Very limited stocks, so don’t hang around!

To see all our offers for UK and overseas subscribers visit:

WWW.ICEBERGPRESS.CO.UK/SUBSCRIBE

(or call 020 7415 7238 – we are a small team so at busy times we may be an answerphone – leave us a message and we’ll call you back)

*Terms and conditions: Closing date Wednesday 30 September 2015 or until stocks last. Allow three weeks after the offer has closed for delivery. Saving compared with buying 12 full-priced issues from the UK newsstand. This offer is for new print subscribers only, check online for overseas prices. You will receive 12 issues in a year. Prices correct at point of print and are subject to change. For full terms and conditions, please visit: icebergpress.co.uk/tandc

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Reader events

Simple pleasures - the joy of a long hot soak

Enter our competitions

September's The Simple Things is on sale today - buy, download or subscribe now.

Event: Thornback & Peel screen printing workshop (closed)

Want to get into print? Come and learn screen printing at a special workshop hosted by Thornback & Peel at their London shop. You'll print your own mixed box of Christmas-themed hankies.

If you’ve ever fancied giving screen printing a go, here’s your chance. The people at Thornback & Peel are offering the chance to print your own mixed box of festive hankies, at a special workshop evening.

You can take your efforts home, so you’ll be ahead of the game when it comes to getting organised for Christmas. It’s an intimate event with just 12 places, so hurry to book yours.

About Thornback & Peel

Thornback & Peel was established in 2007 by Juliet Thornback and Delia Peel (Delia’s home is featured on the previous pages). They celebrate the quirkiness of British humour and design by borrowing imagery and combining modernist geometric patterns with 19th-century wood engravings. Their work is inspired by an eclectic mix of Victoriana, Mrs Beeton’s household management, Mr McGregor’s garden, 17th-century microscope imagery of the natural world, and Norfolk and Devon.

The Simple Things screen printing workshop

All equipment will be provided, just bring your enthusiasm. Enjoy a glass of fizz to get you into the festive mood, then pop on a pinny ready to screen print your very own Christmas- themed hankies.

Date: Thursday 12 November 2015, 6.30–8.30pm
Location: Thornback & Peel shop, 7 Rugby Street, London WC1N 3QT
Price: £25 per person
To book: Contact Emma on emma@thornbackandpeel.co.uk
Find out more thornbackandpeel.co.uk 

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Enter our competitions

Another reader event

Ready for Christmas?!

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Recipe: Raspberry fruit leather

Use this recipe as a template for all kinds of fruit leathers – it works really well with strawberries, apricots and nectarines too. Essentially, all it entails is making a thick, gloopy purée of fruit and sugar and then drying it out very slowly in the oven until you have a pliable leather as clear and vivid as a stained glass window. Remember to add the lemon juice if you are using fruit that is likely to discolour.

Makes 2 sheets
A little groundnut oil for greasing the tins
500g raspberries
500g peeled, cored and chopped cooking apples
Juice of 1 lemon
130g honey

1. Preheat the oven to 70°C/Gas 1/4. Line two baking sheets of about 24cmx30cm with foil or several layers of clingfilm; lightly oil with groundnut oil.  
2. Put the berries, apples and lemon juice into a pan. Cook gently, partially covered at first, until soft and pulpy, about 20 minutes. Rub through a sieve or mouli into a bowl. You should have about 700g smooth fruit purée. Add the honey and mix well.  
3. Divide between two baking sheets, shaking the tins and smoothing with a spatula so the purée reaches right up to the edges. Place in the oven for 6-10 hours.
4. The leather should be a little tacky but no longer sticky and should peel easily off the clingfilm or foil. Leave to cool completely then roll up the leather in greaseproof paper or cling film and store in an airtight container in a cool place. Use within two months. Alternatively, you can freeze it, well sealed, for up to a year. 

Turn to page 120 of September's The Simple things (on sale 29 August 2015) for Postcards from the Hedge, where Mark Diacono is picking peppercorns and harvesting honey.

Read more

Autumn jam recipes

More Postcards from the Hedge recipes

More from the September issue

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Win! A canal boat holiday with ABC Boat Hire (closed 30 September 2015)

Do you fancy drifting quietly downriver playing skipper of your own barge? Enter our competition to win a boating break

When you board a canal boat for the week and set sail on the winding waterways, you get a chance to discover the countryside from a different perspective. Ducks and coots paddling beside you, butterflies alighting on waterlillies, woodland wildflowers creeping down to the water’s edge and pub gardens inviting you to moor up.

You’ll be captain of your own ship with no one to bother you. Full training is provided, along with buoyancy aids and a boat license. All the boats have small, fully-equipped kitchen areas, heating in case it gets chilly in the evenings and even waterproofs for the helmsman. You can choose from 14 start locations, from Falkirk in Scotland to Hilperton in Wiltshire. Dogs are welcome, too. Hop aboard and see the countryside at your own pace.

Find out more

0330 3330 590
abcboathire.com

Details and how to enter

l The prize includes one seven-night, self-drive, self-catering canal boat holiday for four people, at the winners’ choice of departure location. There must be a minimum of two adults to operate the boat safely. Bed linen, towels, fuel and damage waiver are included. Worth £1500. l Prize must be taken between 15 March and 15 September 2016, starting on a Friday, Saturday, Sunday or Monday. Subject to availability.

l View full terms and conditions and enter by 30 September 2015. You can see Iceberg Press’ full terms and conditions on page 129 of the September 2015 issue (out 29 September) and at icebergpress.co.uk/comprules/ 

More from The Simple Things

Enter all our current competitions

Watch: Go slow with a canal boat documentary

Escape: Britain's coastal islands

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Recipe: Barbecue baked apples

This is a super-simple way to cook. Local apples are everywhere now, and are an easy but delicious dessert for campers.

BBQ Baked Apples

You’ll need a lidded barbecue to make this delicious apple dessert. Or it can be cooked in the embers of a campfire. 

Serves 4

4 eating apples
1 large knob of butter
2 tbsp light brown sugar
1 tsp ground cinnamon
a handful each of sultanas and chopped nuts
2 tsp demerara sugar
a splash of booze if there’s some around (rum, brandy, cider but – NOT beer or wine!)

1Core the apples, leaving the bottom 2cm in if possible. If that’s too hard, take the whole core out, cut the bottom 2cm off the core and plug it back into the bottom of the apple. This is to stop all the melted butter flowing out later.

2Score a line around the centre of the apple.

3Put the butter, light brown sugar and cinnamon in a bowl.  Mix in the nuts and sultanas. Use your hands if it’s easier to blend it all up into a lumpy paste.

4Push some of the mixture into each apple until it’s all used up.

5Place each apple on the centre of a large double-thickness square of foil. Sprinkle a little demerara sugar and some rum or brandy (if using) over the top, then wrap each apple up tight in its own square of foil.

6Put the foil parcels on your barbecue away from the direct heat and close the lid. You’ll need to rotate the apples occasionally to enable them to cook evenly.

7They will take about 20 minutes to cook and go soft enough to eat (you don’t want them mushy), but this will depend on the size of apples and your heat source, so keep an eye on them. Serve with cream or plain yoghurt.

Recipe from Pitch Up, Eat Local by Ali Ray (AA Publishing with The Camping and Caravanning Club). 

Turn to page 72 of September's The Simple Things for Under Canvas, highlighting secluded, riverside camping pitches. On sale 29 August 2015.

Read more camping posts from The Simple Things...

• Recipes: The Picnic Loaf, Sunshine Hash, Campfire Beef & Beans
• How to pitch a tent like a pro
• Britain's best wild camping spots

September's The Simple Things is on sale today - buy, download or subscribe now.