A could-do list for January
Things you might want to do this month (no pressure!)
Turn up your internal central heating with spicy stews and aromatic teas
Have your sledge at the ready for the first snowfall
Enjoy the peace and order that this month brings
Take a pot of steaming soup to a friend or neighbour in need
Change your route for a month and notice new things around you
What would you add? Come over and tell us on Facebook or Twitter.
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Finding hygge
January is full of possibilities. Plans and hopes and dreams. As it should be at the start of things. But no need to rush. The warmth of hearth and home is what we need during these dark midwinter days. Appreciating what we have and where we live, embracing being indoors, cosy and comfortable together — a hygge life. Let your mind wander while you sit; make the case for adventure, for exploring the unfamiliar, for strange languages, for the mountains and for the stars and where they could lead you.
January’s The Simple Things is all about hygge. Pronounced hue-gah, hygge is a Danish word to portray a feeling or mood that comes taking genuine pleasure in making ordinary, every day moments more meaningful, beautiful or special. Get your copy now for plenty of ideas to try this month.
We might not have the snow here but you can pretend you’re in Scandinavia with one of these fun Nordic experiences. If you can’t beat them and all that...
l If you’re going to Paris and fancy a very different experience, head to the Insitut Finlandais and spend the night in a Finnish wood cabin (above). The cabins are a temporary installation (until May) designed in a pared-back Nordic style and guests will be treated to a taste of the Finnish hospitality with a traditional breakfast and themed events from music to film screenings. kotisleepover.com
l There’s plenty of hygge to be had in London this winter. At Southbank Winter Festival (until 25 January) pop into the Rekorderlig Cider Lodge to sample the new Spiced Plum cider and huddle round firepits with bowls of Swedish food. Or go to Winter Wigwam in Hoxton and feast at a long table, warm up with hot mead by the fire and join a hair braiding or ukulele session. queenofhoxton.com
l It’s bound to be chilly in Scotland but keeping warm is easy in the new 40ft loch-side sauna with panoramic views of Loch Tay in the Taymouth Marina. When it all gets too sweaty, you can jump into the loch to cool off before cosying up by the firepit.
taymouthmarina.com
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Christmas: Share your favourite decorations with The Simple Things
It's one of the best bits of Christmas... Getting the box of decorations out of storage for another year and opening it up. The first glimpse of those favourite baubles, the ones that take pride of place year after year, always make us smile. Even though we like to add to our collection every year, the continuity of the heirloom decorations is reassuringly peaceful - a tonic before the madness of the Christmas rush sets in.
The Simple Things team would love to see which decoration embodies Christmas for you so, before you take down your tree, take a high res snap and send it to us.
Email: thesimplethings@icebergpress.co.uk
Twitter/Facebook/Instagram: @simplethingsmag
Hygge: January cover reveal
January is full of possibilities. Plans and hopes and dreams. As it should be at the start of things. But no need to rush. The warmth of hearth and home is what we need during these dark midwinter days. Appreciating what we have and where we live, embracing being indoors, cosy and comfortable together — a hygge life. Let your mind wander while you sit; make the case for adventure, for exploring the unfamiliar, for strange languages, for the mountains and for the stars and where they could lead you. Happy New Year from The Simple Things.
Get hold of your copy of this month's The Simple Things - buy, download or subscribe
View the sampler here
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Buy back issues, subscribe or try our sister mag, Oh Comely
Hangover-busting body oil
It’s worth having this uplifting body oil ready for those dreaded hangovers that can take you by surprise at this time of year. After the first obvious step of a bacon sarnie, try taking a hot shower, then applying this soothing tonic
Things you’ll need:
3 tbsp jojoba oil
3 tbsp almond oil
8 drops eucalyptus essential oil
8 drops peppermint essential oil
8 drops lavender essential oil
4 drops tea tree essential oil
4 drops geranium essential oil
1 This is the easiest of recipes. Simply combine all the oils in a glass bottle and shake until they’re mixed and ready. Use this body oil after a refreshing shower and, voilà, hangover no more!
Why this works...
Eucalytpus is invigorating and purifies the body. Peppermint supports digestion, improves focus, boosts energy, helps to clear headaches and eases muscle pain. Soothing lavender has antibacterial and anti-inflammatory properties. Tea tree reduces bad odours and can help to stimulate the immune system. Geranium helps skin to stay healthy. Jojoba oil contains vitamin E and has high levels of antibacterial iodine. Almond oil calms irritation and is moisturising.
Taken from All Natural Beauty by Karin Berndl and Nici Hofer (Hardie Grant).
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Image: Unsplash
Christmas Survival Tummy Tonic
Settles the stomach after overindulging in rich foods, making it as much of a festive essential as sprouts and brandy butter
MAKES: 415g
KEEPS: 1 year
INGREDIENTS
Dried ground herbs:
15g angelica root
15g chamomile
15g liquorice
15g marsh mallow root
15g artichoke roots or milk thistle seeds
340g jar of runny honey
1 Mix the ground herbs thoroughly with the honey to make a paste or thick syrup.
2 Take 1–2 tsp in a glass or cup of hot water, 1–3 times daily for as long as needed.
Found in The Domestic Alchemist: 501 Herbal Recipes for Home, Health and Happiness by Pip Waller (Leaping Hare Press)
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Merry Christmas from The Simple Things
Christmas: Boxing day walks
Cheek-chilling walks, daredevil dips or a day at the races, turn to page 74 of December’s The Simple Things for plenty of energetic ideas to persuade you from your sofa to make a day of it on the 26th
Read on for three Boxing Day walks with a twist.
Go with a guide
Joining a guided walking tour can bring a whole new dimension to your country ramble or parkland stroll. Check out the National Trust (nationaltrust.org.uk). Hinton Ampner in Hampshire,
is holding a four-mile tour around the estate led by the head gardener; at Bodiam Castle in East Sussex a guided walk also offers an exclusive preview of the castle interiors followed by a breakfast bap.
Take to the streets
Explore the urban landscape on your doorstep. You may think you’ve seen it all before, but have you? Stop to read plaques and signs, take the turns you usually pass by, and discover a new-found love for those familiar streets (see our feature on urban walks in October 2016, issue 52).
Set up a treasure hunt
It’s just not Christmas without a quiz. Add a bit of fun and healthy competition to your festive walk by setting up a Christmas- themed treasure hunt. The prize? The last of the mince
pies of course!
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Pukkapedia: Herbs to help rebalance
Many of us take the new year as a cue to give our bodies an MOT, with rebalancing what we eat as good a place as any to start. Nature’s medicine cabinet contains many cleansing plants.
Fennel, a key ingredient of Pukka’s Detox tea, is great for easing nausea and indigestion and can help to reduce the other physical effects of alcohol. A warm cup of fennel tea will help to relieve digestive ailments, making it a handy hangover tonic and a gentle cleanser.
Marvellous matcha
Matcha is made from a special type of powdered green tea. It’s packed full of antioxidants which help to fight free radicals built up by pollution, exposure to alcohol and those not-so-healthy party foods. Sip this tea, perhaps with a squeeze of lemon, the next time you feel the need to rebalance your body. Or try Pukka’s Clean Matcha Green.
Turn to page 15 of January’s The Simple Things for more rebalancing herbs, including Mint, Ginger, Rosemary, Chamomile, Parsley and Turmeric.
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Competition: Win a copy of The Wicked Plants Coloring Book
Some plants are the root, berry and bark of all evil. In January’s Miscellany we take a look at the darker side of horticulture.
In The Wicked Plants Coloring Book, Amy Stewart and Briony Morrow-Cribbs offer up 40 menacing plants in gorgeous, vintage-style botanical illustrations to colour. from the vine that ate the South to the weed that killed Lincoln’s mother to the world’s deadliest seed.
We’ve got five copies to give away. Enter below
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Listen: Scandi playlist
Some are moody – some, poppy: songs with a Nordic soul to make you feel cooler.
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WIN! A walking holiday worth £600
Have a breath of fresh air and head into the hills with a three-night guided walking break with HF Holidays
There’s a drama that comes with mountain ranges and rolling hills. Snowdonia, the Scottish Highlands, the Lakes... the UK is home to some spectacular mountain scenery – close enough to home to be enjoyed in a short break. Walking specialist HF Holidays has teamed up with The Simple Things to give away a guided walking break for two, staying at one of its 19 country houses. Your first challenge? Deciding where to go...
HF Holidays has been organising walking trips for more than a century, so the company knows its stuff. All of its UK guided walking breaks come with a choice of walks each day – easier, medium, harder – which means you can pick a route to suit your mood/the weather/energy levels.
As well as bases at Derwent Water in the Lakes, Glencoe and two properties in Snowdonia, highlights include escapes in the Yorkshire Dales, the Cotswolds and Peak District, and coastal getaways from Northumberland to Dorset. All HF Holidays UK locations are within National Parks or Areas of Outstanding Natural Beauty. Its country houses can be as sociable or relaxed as you like.
Walk together during the day or explore independently. Meet up in the bar before dining with fellow walkers. Each house offers a different experience; from legendary packed lunches to dedicated boot rooms, maps and books galore… If you’re new to walking, opt for one of HF Holidays’ taster breaks – self-guided and guided walks, from gentle rambles to longer hikes. And there are experts on hand to give advice on everything from boots to routes.
For more info, visit hfholidays.co.uk/taster or call 0345 470 7558
HOW TO ENTER
For your chance to win a three-night guided walking break for two on a full-board basis at a country house in the UK, courtesy of HF Holidays, enter below
The winner gets to choose from any of HF Holidays’ UK country house locations, subject to availability and some peak-season restrictions. You have until 31 October 2017 to take your holiday. And you cannot transfer it or swap it for cash. The closing date for entries is 8 February 2017.
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Illustration: Joe Snow
Christmas: How to light your Christmas pudding
These methods will set off your plum pudding with aplomb
These two loved and trusted ways of getting a fabulous flame on your pud both rely on the same essentials – that is getting your brandy, your serving implement and the pudding itself warm. Our additional serving suggestions include keeping your audience calm and seated, and moving anything flammable well out of range.
FLASH IN THE PAN
1 Pour cooking brandy into a small pan and gently warm until it begins to start steaming.
2 Tip to the side of the pan, then light.
3 Angle the pan away from you and pour over a warm pudding.
LADLE IT ON
1 Fill a metal ladle or large metal spoon about three-quarters full of cooking brandy.
2 Heat over a flame.
3 Carefully tip the candle flame towards the brandy to light.
4 Pour your flaming brandy over the top of the pudding.
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Illustration: Joe Snow
How to be a better caroller
Hark! The herald angels sing... more harmoniously by following our suggestions
While these tips won’t magically gift you the voice of an angel, they will improve what you’ve got, or at least make you more confident about it.
Take the stand
Singing is a lot about breathing. Stand with legs apart, chest lifted up, and shoulders back to help with air flow.
Stay hydrated
Step away from the egg nog. Water keeps vocal cords hydrated and happy.
Open wide
To create air space within your mouth, your tongue should be forward, touching your bottom teeth; your mouth open (long, not wide).
Tune in...
Singing with others is great for aspiring improvers – listen to other voices to work out when you’re getting it right. Resist the opportunity to belt it out – mid-volume is better.
... and keep going
Stronger voices come with practice, so keep carolling, whether in the shower or the car, and by next year you should be ding donging merrily on high.
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Christmas: Gingerbread tree decorations
Edible tree baubles with built-in festive fragrance, as well as heaps of homemade charm
Makes 20
180g dark brown sugar
4 tbsp golden syrup
100g unsalted butter
350g plain flour, plus extra for dusting
1 tsp bicarbonate of soda
11⁄2 tsp ground ginger
1 tsp ground cinnamon
1 egg, beaten
For the icing
White icing pen or ready-to-use decorating icing (transferred to an icing syringe) – both available from Lakeland or Hobbycraft
1 Melt the sugar, syrup and butter together in a pan. Simmer for 2 minutes, stirring to dissolve the sugar. Set aside to cool for 10 minutes.
2 Tip the flour, bicarbonate of soda, ginger, cinnamon and beaten egg into a large bowl. Add the syrup mixture and stir to combine. Gently knead in the bowl to form a soft, streak-free dough. Wrap in cling film and chill for 30 mins.
3 Remove from the fridge and set aside to soften for about 5 mins. Preheat the oven to 200C/Fan 180C/400F and line two baking trays with baking parchment.
4 Dust a work surface with flour, roll out the dough to around 1⁄2 cm thick, cut out your shapes and place on the lined baking trays. Keep re-working the dough until you have used it all. If you’re hanging the biscuits, make holes for the string – a skewer or chopstick works well.
6 Bake for 8–10 minutes, until a darker brown. While still hot and on the baking sheet, sharpen up the holes with your chosen instrument, before transferring to racks to cool.
7 Once completely cool, decorate the biscuits with white icing, then loop through some string for hanging.
More scents of Christmas on page 24 of December’s The Simple Things, including Orange pot pourri, Filo mince pies, Pine drawer sachets, Chestnut and mushroom pate and Herb smudge wands.
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Recipes: Lia Leendertz, photography: Kirstie Young
Recipe: Fig and pomegranate rum trifle
You’ve got to have a trifle - it’s Christmas!
Serves 8–10
300ml pomegranate juice
3 shots rum*
600g Madeira cake
16 figs
Seeds from 1⁄2 pomegranate
600ml double cream
2 x 500g pots fresh custard
Edible gold leaf, to decorate (optional)
1 Mix the pomegranate juice with 2 shots of the rum in a bowl. Chop the cake into chunks and dip briefly into the rum and juice mixture before layering into the bottom of a glass trifle bowl. Halve six of the figs and arrange, cut side facing out, around the side of the bowl.
2 Scoop out the flesh from the remaining figs and chop finely, before mixing with the last shot of rum. Spoon the mixture over the sponge and top with a sprinkling of pomegranate seeds, reserving enough to decorate the trifle.
3 Just before serving, whisk the cream to soft peaks. Use a little of the whipped cream to create a thin barrier over the boozy fig mixture. This will keep your decorative fig halves free of custard.
4 Spoon over the custard, followed by the rest the whipped cream. Sprinkle with the reserved pomegranate seeds and some edible gold leaf, if using.
*To make your trifle family friendly, replace the rum with an extra 75ml pomegranate juice
Turn to page 36 of December's The Simple Things for more of our pot luck pleasures feast, including:
Rosehip and blood orange punch
Red onion, goats’ cheese and walnut tart
Chicory, pear, stilton and pecan salad
Salmon en croûte with dill sauce
Honey and sage roast root vegetables
Clementine and chocolate bread and butter pudding
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Photography: Getty Images
Think: The gift of goodwill
Giving and doing good helps others while making you a happier person too. but only if you do it for the right reasons
December's The Simple Things looks at how giving can be good for you, as well as your cause. Or read on for a quick guide to being kind.
Altruistic could-do list
Show kindness
Give unwanted warm clothes to a homeless person, offer the toys/bike you were going to put on Ebay to a family who might appreciate some help this Christmas.
The Salvation Army, for example, runs a Christmas Present Appeal, salvationarmy.org.uk.
Donate
Many of us have a cause that’s close to our hearts, but if you want to donate to charity and feel bewildered by the choice of worthy recipients, GiveWell (givewell.org) is an independent evaluator that rates charities in terms of lives saved or improved.
Volunteer
Type your postcode in to do-it.org, a national volunteering database, to find opportunities in your community, from dog-walking to admin.
Be neighbourly
More than one million elderly people in the UK regularly go a whole month without speaking to anyone. If you don’t know a person who needs befriending, ageuk.org.uk can put you in touch.
Turn to page 90 of December’s The Simple Things for more.
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Image: Unsplash
Christmas: Juletid in Norway
The Norwegians are big on Christmas (Juletid) with celebrations starting on Christmas Eve at 4pm and lasting until 13 January. Here are some highlights:
- Santa Claus (Julenissen) delivers presents to children on Christmas Eve helped by a troupe of small gnomes (Nisse). Decorations are hung, the Christmas tree is lit and rice porridge served with butter, sugar and cinnamon is enjoyed.
- The Julebukk (Yule goat) is a leftover symbol from pagan traditions – some people wearing goat masks and costumes (Julebukkers) still go from door to door singing songs.
- Each city puts up a huge Christmas tree, usually on the first Sunday of Advent when local people hold hands and dance around it in celebration.
- On the 13 December schools celebrate St Lucia Day, when a pupil, wearing a crown of candles, represents St Lucia and leads a procession of children, handing out Lussekatter (edible treats; see our own cake tribute, saffron bundt cake).
Turn to page 96 of December’s The Simple Things for a Norwegian family enjoying the snuggest of Christmases in their alpine timber lodge - think crackling fires, twinkling lights and lots of tasty treats to savour.
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Photography: Peter Cassidy
Recipe: Saffron bundt cake with pears
Saffron-flavoured buns, for St Lucia’s Day, are a December tradition in Norway and Sweden. This saffron cake with pears is a twist on that
30g breadcrumbs
50g butter
100ml whole milk
0.5g ground saffron
2 large or 3 small pears
A little lemon juice
325g caster sugar
4 eggs
1 tsp vanilla extract
300g plain flour
2 tsp baking powder
1⁄2 tsp salt
50g Greek yoghurt
Icing sugar, for dusting
1 Preheat oven to 180C/Fan 160C/350F. Grease a 25cm Bundt or ring pan and dust with breadcrumbs, tipping out the excess.
2 Melt butter and add milk and ground saffron. Stir and set aside to infuse.
3 Peel and core pears and cut into bite-sized chunks. Add lemon juice, stir and set aside.
4 In a mixing bowl, beat sugar, eggs and vanilla extract until thick, light and fluffy using a balloon or hand-held electric whisk. Mix the remaining dry ingredients and sift into the egg mixture. Fold in until incorporated.
5 Add the yoghurt and saffron-milk mixture and fold gently until completely combined. Pour the batter into the prepared Bundt pan. Add pear pieces – they’ll sink during baking.
6 Bake for 30–35 mins until a skewer comes out clean. Cool before turning out. Dust with icing sugar and serve with whipped cream.
Recipe from Scandikitchen: Fika & Hygge by Bronté Aurell (Ryland Peters & Small).
Turn to page 59 of December's The Simple Things for more Christmas Cake in the house, including:
Cinnamon Danish pastry swirls
Cranberry, sherry and vine fruit cake
Mocha roll
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