Supper club sponsored post: Making food and creating mood

Supper clubs aren't all about the food, they're about the loveliest company and beautiful surroundings. Enter Neptune.  Perhaps most well known for their envy-inducing kitchens, Neptune is a go-to destination for hand-crafted furniture, textiles and accessories for both home and garden. Every one of their designs was made to work together with ease, promising instant elegance in every setting. So it’s only fitting that they are supporting The Simple Things Supper Clubs, to help you host an event to remember. Download our free stationery designs – menu cards, invitations, place cards and donation envelopes. 

From finding the right table linen to gleaming glasses and relaxed serveware, take a peek at the Neptune tabletop collection. Plus, garner style ideas from Neptune as they share their tips and tricks to effortless entertaining on their blog. 

Escape: Caravan of love

See, do, stay, love the UK. This month: slow living in a showman's wagon in Scotland. Words and photography by Sarah-Lou Francis.

Our new series comes from online UK travel guide This is Your Kingdom, whose handpicked contributors explore favourite places, special finds and great goings on.

You can read about one we love each month in The Simple Things - turn to page 74 of the April issue for more of this Scottish showman's wagon adventure - and plenty of others at thisisyourkingdom.co.uk.

Sarah-Lou Francis is a contributor to thisisyourkingdom.co.uk. She is a lifestyle and portrait visual storyteller, blogs at lapinblu.com and shares stories from and behind the blog on Instagram as @lapinblu. 

 

 

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From the April issue

Escape posts

Spring posts

Wisdom: April cover reveal

Let rain never stop play – put on some mood music, pack a nice lunchbox and head outdoors. Go on, have a poke around a park, garden or hedgerow. Get your hands dirty and find good things to nibble. When you come home to a hot bath and banana bread, you’ll enjoy it all the more. Pop on a jumpsuit, browse your bookshelf and learn something new. Take time to find some headspace or stretch your limbs. It’s spring and all’s well. Feeling better now? That’s The Simple Things for you.

View the sampler here

Pretty in pink

The fashion-led trend for all things pink, with shades from Barbie through to Ladurée macaroons is just the ticket this spring. 

Our shopkeeper, Louise Gorrod, has scoured The Stuff of Life to find the prettiest of pink products. From pink patterned papers for craft projects by Cambridge Imprints and bright pink bowls from Quince Living to subtle delicate pink blankets and cushions from Mourne Textiles and LAB. One thing’s for sure there is a shade for everyone.

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Images from top, left to right: Personalised foil calligraphy destinations print by Milly’s Cottage, £29.00 | Candy-floss blanket by Mourne Textiles, £96.00 | 10 sheets of patterned papers by Cambridge Imprints, £20.00 | Linen scarf by The Linen Works, £32.50 | Bright mixing bowl by Quince Living, from £12.00 | Moroccan leather pouffe by The Glam Camping Company, £120.00 | Kvadrat pink cushion by LAB, £63.00 | Dragonflower baby bag by Lou Hopper Shop, £70.00 | Woodlands wallpaper by Sian Zeng, £65.00 per roll.

Recipe: Muhammara and an easy flatbread recipe

Want to be wiser? Eating a handful of walnuts a day can improve your memory, concentration and cognitive function, according to a recent study. Swap hummus or baba ganoush for this walnut pepper dip and, as well as treating your tastebuds, you’ll be recharging your brainpower.
Turn to page 128 of April's The Simple Things for a Muhammara recipe.

Want to make your own flatbread? We're trying Nigel Slater's recipe, as it reignited his passion for pita. Try it here.

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From the April issue

Middle Eastern recipes

Bread recipes

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Welcome to The Simple Things Supper Club!

A cross between a dinner party and a restaurant, holding your own supper club is a thoroughly modern way to gather food-loving friends and strangers round your own kitchen table for a home-cooked meal. So spread the word, plan a menu and rearrange the furniture – guests are coming for dinner...

Come to The Simple Things Supper Club!

Want to see how it’s done? Or just enjoy an evening out with other readers and The Simple Things team? Click here to book a place and find out more.

Run your own supper club

You’ll find the recipes for our supper club menu in the April issue – 46 – on sale 30 March. Or order one directly from us here

Scroll down to send us your email address, and we will send you our FREE supper club stationery pack and beginner's guide! (Choose from three designs: Spun gold, Knife, fork & spoon or Watercolour)

Each pack has a sheet of 4 invitations, 12 placecards, 2 menu cards and 2 cut-and-fold donation envelopes. You can print them on an A4 printer and we recommend printing them on 150gsm weight paper.

Thanks to Neptune for supporting The Simple Things Supper Club. A British brand, Neptune is renowned for its hand-crafted furniture, gorgeous textiles and home accessories. They curate the finest designs for every room of the home, indoors and out.

Send me my Supperclubs Stationery

Just enter your email to receive a link to download your supper clubs stationery. We'll also send you our fortnightly newsletter and our friends at Neptune Furniture will be in touch too.

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Listen: Rainy day playlist

This playlist from our April 2016 issue is music to accompany puddle-splashing and shower-dodging. Plus, some cheery tunes for sunny intervals and bright sunshine days. 

Listen now

More from our current issue…

More fun for rainy days…

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Competition: Win a year of books from The Folio Society (closed 13 May 2016)

We’ve teamed up with The Folio Society, publishers of illustrated editions of the world’s greatest literature, to offer one reader a book of their choice* every month for a year. To enter, tweet, instagram or upload a pic of your bookshelf and give us your details below.

The Folio Society publishes an extensive range of fiction and non-fiction, so the only problem the winner will face will be which of the titles to choose each month. Selected from the best-loved books in literature, each Folio edition is produced with careful attention to detail and high production values. 

Enter now

* The winner will receive a single Folio book each month, worth up to the value of £50. Closing date: 13 May 2016. UK residents only. For full terms and conditions, see icebergpress.co.uk/comprules

Visit foliosociety.com to find out more and browse its titles. 

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From the April issue

More competitions

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Competition: Win a custom deluxe bedding set from The Wool Room (closed 16 May 2016)

THE WOOL ROOM IS GIVING AWAY THREE LUXURY SETS OF DUVET, PILLOWS AND MATTRESS PROTECTOR, FOR A WARM, COSY, HEALTHIER SNOOZE

You’ll never need to count sheep again when you can drift off in your own wool cocoon. The Wool Room, the UK’s leading provider of British wool beds and bedding, is offering readers the chance to win one of three sets of wool duvet, mattress protector and pillows, worth almost £500 each.

Wool does so much more than keep you warm – this amazing natural fibre guarantees a better night’s sleep than with synthetic bedding as it regulates moisture levels, heat and humidity as we sleep.

The Wool Room has also developed its wool bedding to make it machine washable, so you can have both luxury and practicality.

The Wool Room’s bedding is approved by Allergy UK as being effective at eliminating house dust mites and other allergens, making it a great choice for asthma and eczema sufferers. It’s also much more breathable than other natural fibres.

Cocooning yourself with a wool duvet, mattress protector and pillow, then adding a wool mattress or bed for ultimate cosiness, makes for the most comfortable night’s sleep, according to The Wool Room. So confident are they you’ll love it, there’s even a free no-quibble 30-day sleep guarantee for any bedding set bought. 

Launch me!

Each Custom Deluxe Bedding Set includes a duvet, mattress protector and pillows in the weight/size of your choice.

For more about wool bedding, visit thewoolroom.com.

Closing date 16 May. For full T&Cs, see icebergpress.co.uk/comprules. 

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From the April issue

More competitions

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Wellbeing: Finding everyday silence

Taking time for quiet doesn’t mean taking a vow of silence or sitting alone on a mountain (though those can work, too). Here are some tips for peaceful living...

l In conversation, don’t just prepare what you’re going to say next. Pay attention to the other person and speak into the spaces. Don’t be afraid of pauses in conversation.

l During moments of waiting, don’t immediately reach for your phone or book. Take a few minutes just to observe what’s going on around you.

l Allocate areas in your home for space, where little is displayed. A blank wall painted in a calming colour; a shelf with just one item on it. This helps promote a sense of quiet calm. 

l Enjoy quiet time together. Instead of turning on the TV or music, spend some time with your family reading, or doing the crossword, a jigsaw or another quiet activity.

Turn to page 96 of March’s The Simple Things to read Loma-Ann Marks’ feature on how to seek out peace in a busy, loud world.

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From the March issue

Why being alone can be good for you

More Wellbeing posts

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Home style: The alarm clock and other morning rituals

The alarm clock is hard to love. It’s what startles you from the deepest of sleeps and jangles you into the day. It’s persistent and bossy, and won’t be silenced until you pay it attention. And the most annoying thing of all is that it does all of this for your own benefit, like a finger-wagging head mistress.

In an ideal world, of course, we would be woken naturally by the gentle caress of dawn and the soft rays of sunlight streaming through muslin curtains. But the reality is that it is more usual to be jumpstarted into the new day by the insistent clamour coming from the bedside table. 

Turn to page 108 of March's The Simple Things to read the rest of Clare Gogerty's alarm clock potted history, plus her selection of the three best alarm clock buys.

And while we're moaning about mornings, here are our top picks for making early hours more bearable. 

Linen pyjamas | The Simple Things Shop

Dressing gown | Verry Kerry

Blanket | The Simple Things Shop

Felted wool slippers | Toast 

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From the March issue

Style posts

Homes and interiors

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Spring clean

Finally we are beginning to see signs that spring is on its way. Daffodils, blossom, Easter eggs and, dare we say it, the odd sunny day. 

While it might not be time to put away our winter coats just yet, it is time to think about welcoming the new season into our homes. What better way to do so than with a spring clean. Whether you plan to set aside an entire weekend to clean from skirting board to ceiling or you’re just going to resolve to give those curtains a spin in the washing machine, our Shopkeeper, Louise Gorrod, has the selected the perfect cleaning kit from The Stuff of Life to make those chores a little more enjoyable.

Images from top, left to right: Organic cotton ironing board cover by Orche and Ocre, £18.00 | Linen laundry bag by The Linen Works, £28.00 | Vintage style enamel wash bowl by The Glam Camping Company, £9.99 | Linen kitchen towels by LinenMe, £10.99 | Birch wood round brush by Cachette, £20.00 | Handcrafted scrubbing brush by Cachette, £12.00 | Set of 3 Kaleidoscope storage boxes by Cambridge Imprint, £18.00 | Organic cotton peg bag by Orche and Ocre, £12.00 | Natural belly basket by Olli Ella, £25.00.

Home remedy: Sleep peacefully pouch

If you toss and turn, are kept awake by tomorrow’s to-do list or are troubled by bad dreams, this aromatic herb pouch will help encourage a lovely, floaty, restful sleep. 

Things you’ll need
3 tsp chamomile flowers
3 tsp peppermint
3 tsp sage
3 tsp valerian
3 tsp thyme
small piece of cotton fabric piece of string
..not a single sheep!

1 Place the ingredients in the centre of your piece of fabric and fold the corners in, so the herbs sit like the stuffing inside a cushion. Secure with string and place inside your pillowcase or next to it.

2 This is the last in our series of traditional Alpine remedies. To discover more, get a copy of Vinegar Socks by Karin Berndl & Nici Hofer (Hardie Grant) 
 

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From the March issue

Alpine remedies

Mint chocolate face pack recipe

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Recipe: Almond, honey and cinnamon fig rolls

The tip for steaming the still-warm rolls in an airtight container after baking comes from pastry chef Stella Parks’ Brave Tart blog (bravetart.com), and it keeps them wonderfully soft

Almond, honey and cinnamon fig rolls

Makes about 24 rolls
For the pastry
125g butter, softened
75g light muscovado sugar
1 egg yolk
seeds of 1⁄2 vanilla pod
75g plain white flour, plus extra for dusting
75g wholemeal flour
50g ground almonds
pinch of ground cinnamon
pinch of salt

For the filling
220g soft dried figs, any hard stalks removed
1⁄2 small eating apple, skin on, grated
1 heaped tbsp honey
1 tsp finely grated orange zest
2 tsp orange juice
pinch of ground cinnamon pinch of salt

1 To make the pastry, cream together the butter and sugar in a large bowl, or stand mixer fitted with the paddle attachment, until pale. Beat in the egg yolk. Add the vanilla, flours, ground almonds, cinnamon and salt and gently mix to form a soft ball of dough. Flatten into a disc, wrap in cling film and chill for 15 mins.

2 In a food processor, blitz the figs, apple, honey, orange zest and juice, cinnamon and salt to form a sticky paste.

3 Preheat the oven to 170C/Fan 150C/335F. Line two baking trays with baking parchment. Remove the chilled dough from the fridge, place between two pieces of cling film and roll out to a large rectangle about 3mm thick. The dough will be quite fragile and sticky.

4 Cut the dough lengthways into three long strips. Spoon or pipe a third of the fig mixture down the centre of one strip and use a palette knife to help you gently fold one side on top, followed by the other, to create a long, enclosed tube. Press the edges of the pastry together to seal, then repeat with the remaining two strips.

5 Use a sharp knife to cut each length of pastry into 5cm-wide rolls, then place each one, seam-side down, onto the prepared trays.

6 Bake for 20 mins or until lightly golden and slightly puffed. Then carefully transfer to a plastic container with a lid to cool completely. This steaming gives them their characteristic cake-like texture. The rolls will keep in an airtight container for 3–4 days.

Recipes from Homemade Memories by Kate Doran. Photography by Helen Cathcart (Orion Books) 

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From the March issue

Biscuit recipes

Cake recipes

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The best things in life aren't things

Image: Katharine Davies

Recipe: Chicken Balmoral Pie

A pie is a great crowd pleaser and this won ‘Best chicken pie’ in the British Pie Awards 2015

400g puff pastry
75ml oil
25g butter
2 x 150g chicken fillets, boneless and skinless
50g finely chopped shallots
1 clove garlic, crushed
50g sliced white button mushrooms
25g smoked bacon, finely chopped
150ml white wine
25g plain flour for dusting
300ml fresh double cream
Chopped fresh parsley
100g thinly sliced haggis (optional)
1 medium egg
7-inch foil dish
Salt and white pepper

1 Preheat your oven to 180C/Fan 160/350F. Lightly dust the countertop with the flour and roll out the pastry to 3mm thick, cut to size, lay in a pie dish and rest in the fridge for 30 mins. Leave enough pastry spare for the lid and trimmings.
2 Warm oil in a frying pan, then add butter. Put the chicken fillets into pan and cook 8 mins on each side, then lay on a tray to cool.
3 Add chopped onion and garlic for approx 4 mins before adding the mushrooms and smoked bacon. Cook for a further 4 mins. 
4 Add the white wine and reduce by half, then add double cream and reduce until the sauce thickens for 5 mins. Stir in parsley then leave to cool.
5 When chicken and sauce are cool, remove pastry from
fridge and place 2 tbsp of sauce on the base of pastry. Slice the chicken fillets and arrange slices of chicken on base of pie.
6 Add 2 more tbsp of sauce and sprinkle over a small handful of chopped parsley, then arrange haggis, if using, on top.
7 Egg-wash the bottom of the pastry lid and place on top of the pie to seal it in place. Use the trimmings to decorate the top.
8 Egg-wash the pie and leave in fridge to rest for 15 mins. Make three small holes on top to let steam escape. Bake for 35-40 mins until golden brown.

Pie made by Boghall Butchers in Scotland. The British Pie Awards takes place today, 9 March 2015 in British Pie Week (7-13 March). britishpieawards.co.uk

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From the March issue

Fish pie recipe

Chicken recipes

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Outdoor project: Plan and plant a living wall

Succulents look great huddled together in a living wall, and they’re low maintenance too.

As natives to all sorts of arid areas around the world, succulents have developed fascinating plant shapes, leaf forms and unique colours. This uniqueness gives them an otherworldly appearance that works remarkably well in a living wall. If planted in a moveable system, they can easily be shifted indoors in colder weather so the living wall can be enjoyed all year.

What you need

Plants - these work well in vertical gardens: 
Burro’s Tail (Sedum morganianum) 
Hens-and-chicks (Sempervivum tectorum or Echeveria elegans) 
Jade plant (Crassula ovata) 
Medicine plant (Aloe vera)
Pink vygie (Lampranthus blandus) 
Plush plant (Echiveria pulvinata) 
Senecio (Senecio Spp)
Stonecrop (Sedum acre)

Tools
1 living wall planter (Try Minigarden, £42.99, from Garden Beet, www.gardenbeet.com)
Screwdriver and screws
Tape measure
Spirit level
Cactus or succulent soil mix
Organic fertiliser
Trowel

What you do

1. Use a trowel to fill the planter with soil mix.
2. Measure an appropriate amount of organic fertilizer into the soil; mix well. 
3. Plant the succulents carefully into the soil, being gentle to prevent stem breakage.
4. Water well.
5. Hang the planter on the wall, according the manufacturer’s instructions.

How to care for your vertical garden

Watering: succulents are drought tolerant, but they appreciate generous summer watering. Let the soil dry out between waterings. Overwatered plants can be mushy, discolored, rotted, and limp; leaves will often turn white, completely losing their colour. Under-watered plants will stop growing, turn brown in spots, and then drop their leaves. Consistent, even waterings with time to dry out in between drinks will ensure a healthy plant.
Temperature: these tough plants can thrive at temperatures as low as 5C at night, but prefer day temperatures in the range of 20–30C and average nightly temperatures no lower than 10–12C. This makes them excellent candidates for most balconies or patios during the summer.
Light: bright, even light is best as succulents scorch when in direct sun, and turn leggy when out of it. Many walls, fences, and gates have bright light conditions without direct light, making them an excellent location for succulents.
Drainage: plants in quick-draining soil made for cactus and succulents. If you cannot find this, mix one part potting soil, one part perlite, and one part course builder’s sand in a bucket. 
Feed: fertilise during the summer with an organic fertiliser recommended for cactus or succulents.

Where to buy

Most garden centres sell succulents. Surreal Succulents (www.surrealsucculents.co.uk) has a good selection of echeveria, sedum and crassula, from £3.95 per plant, which can be ordered online. Also try Easy Cactus (www.easycactus.co.uk), which sells various succulents including echeveria and crassula.

Adapted from Grow a Living Wall by Shawna Coronado (Quarto, £16.99)

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Escape: A house lost in time

Escaping for a peaceful weekend at a house lost in time makes spring all the more exciting. This Welsh cottage inspired Laura Pashby to explore its old charm and the wilds of the surrounding countryside.

Our new series comes from online UK travel guide This is Your Kingdom, whose handpicked contributors explore favourite places, special finds and great goings on.

You can read about one we love each month in The Simple Things - turn to page 66 of the March issue for more of this Welsh cottage adventure - and plenty of others at thisisyourkingdom.co.uk.

Laura Pashby is a contributor to thisisyourkingdom.co.uk. She blogs at circleofpinetrees.com and shares daily stories on Instagram as @circleofpines. 

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From the March issue

Escape posts

Spring posts

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Food Made Good: Yeo Valley HQ

The Food Made Good awards exist to celebrate everything exciting about British restaurateurs, chefs and suppliers doing the extraordinary to make food good – delicious, ethical, sustainable. 

Yeo Valley HQ Canteen, long-time friends of The Simple Things, have been nominated for the People’s Favourite Award 2016.

And it’s easy to see why.

This is a thoroughly ethical restaurant sourcing seasonal and local food and ensuring they have zero waste to landfill. The building is kept warm using biofuel and the layout (big canteen tables) encourages people to talk and connect with others.

As well as being a fantastic work canteen they open it to the general public and run special events to encourage sustainability. It is also decorated in a really creative and quirky way which makes it feel like it’s not taking itself too seriously, putting everyone at ease with the humour. And the food tastes fabulous!

If you want to vote for Yeo Valley HQ Canteen, head to the Food Made Good site now! The awards take place on 22 March 2016.

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From the March issue

Yeo Valley posts

Enter our competition!

Plenty of delicious recipes in the March issue of The Simple Things, out now - buy, download or subscribe

Recipe: Lemon, hazelnut and rhubarb cake

This crowd-pleaser of a cake is delicious served with cream for dessert and (if there’s any left!) with an afternoon cuppa the next day

Lemon, hazelnut and rhubarb cake

Serves 8–10

115g hazelnuts
225g white spelt flour
2 tsp baking powder
260g unsalted butter, really soft
4 large free-range eggs
130g honey (or golden caster sugar) 
130g maple syrup
finely grated zest of 1 large unwaxed lemon

For the filling and topping
250g caster sugar
1 bunch of pink rhubarb (approx 400g)
350ml double cream
2-3 tbsp honey
fresh flowers to decorate (optional)

1 Preheat the oven to 180C/Fan 160C/350F. Grease and flour two 20cm loose-bottomed sandwich tins.

2 Start by toasting the hazelnuts in the oven for 5-7 minutes; check after 5 minutes as they can burn easily. Once they are starting to change colour and release their lovely nutty aroma, remove them from the oven and leave to cool for a minute or two before rubbing off most of the skins. Whizz the nuts in a food processor into a fine meal.

3 To make the cake, sift the flour and baking powder into a large bowl and beat in all the other ingredients using an electric hand mixer. Be careful not to over mix – you want a light cake. Scrape the mixture into your tins and level the tops with the back of a spoon or a palette knife. Bake for 25-30 minutes, or until the cakes are golden and risen and a skewer inserted into the centres comes out clean. Remove from the oven and leave to cool for 5 minutes before carefully taking them out of their tins and placing on a cooling rack to cool completely. If making ahead of time, the sponges can be double-wrapped in foil and frozen. Be sure to defrost thoroughly before filling.

4 To make the rhubarb topping, mix the caster sugar with 250ml of water in a saucepan and bring to the boil. Meanwhile, cut the rhubarb into batons of approx 4cm. Add the batons to the boiling sugar syrup, then immediately remove the pan from the heat. Leave the rhubarb batons in the syrup as it cools. Use a slotted spoon to remove the batons from the syrup. Reserve approx half for the top of the cake and purée the remainder with a hand-held blender, adding a splash of water to loosen. Chill the poached and puréed rhubarb until you’re ready to assemble the cake. If making ahead of time, the rhubarb can sit covered in the fridge for 24 hours.

5 When you are ready to fill and assemble your cake, prepare the honey cream filling by lightly whipping the cream until very soft peaks form. Drizzle in the honey and whisk again until incorporated.

6 If your cakes are very peaked, you may wish to trim the tops for a nice flat surface to decorate. Carefully place one cake on your cake plate, spoon over two thirds of the honey cream, marbling through 1-2 tbsp of the rhubarb purée, and place the second cake on top. Spread the remaining third of honey cream on the top of the second cake, then top with the poached rhubarb and a few seasonal flowers, if you wish.

For the full Easter Gathering menu and projects - Fish pie with crunchy salmon and leek topping, Lemon, hazelnut and rhubarb cake, Felt bunny ears, Dip-dyed place-names - turn to page 24 of the March issue of The Simple Things.

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From the March issue

Gathering recipes

Cake recipes

Plenty more delicious recipes in the March issue of The Simple Things, out now - buy, download or subscribe