Playlist | Whatever the weather

Never let rain stop play. Our latest playlist celebrates all kinds of weather, whether sunshine or showers.

Take a listen on Spotify here.

Sponsored post | Live the Dream with Blackdown

As Part of its Fusion Brace hut, Blackdown Shepherd Huts has created the ultimate bedroom retreat to switch off and fully recharge. Can someone dim the lights please?

There are times in life when the busyness of the everyday builds and builds and the only remedy is to retreat to the sanctuary of a serene bedroom, with a good mag (The Simple Things, of course) and a warming mug of tea.

Better still, instead of collapsing, exhausted, into a weary sleep, imagine if you could properly unwind and recharge, perhaps with a long, leisurely bath before curling up under to covers to drift into a dreamy slumber.

If this sounds completely idyllic, then Blackdown Shepherd Huts may just have created the dreamiest of bedrooms thanks to its Fusion Brace hut – its most innovative shepherd hut to date with two huts joined together perpendicularly by Blackdown’s signature glass walkway.

Fusion’s full-height, rich velvet headboard, against which you can arrange a mountain of pillows to sink into, is sumptuously paired with a handcrafted Naturalmat king-sized mattress, both are made for pure relaxation. Alongside the Tom Raffield bedside lamps, which add a warm and cosy glow.

The curved stargazer roof window guarantees the best seat in the house for nature’s light show – lie in bed and watch the stars, and once sleepiness sets in, simply pull the blind for a restful night’s sleep. Come the morning, you’ll wake, fully refreshed. Open the blind and let the sun’s rays wash over you, gently warming your skin. In fact, dragging yourself out of bed will likely be the day’s biggest challenge.

Designed to be screen free, the Fusion bedroom is slower living at its finest. Instead, immerse yourself in a great book or put pen to paper and journal your thoughts away in a beautiful notebook, always, of course, with a good mug of tea close to hand.

Whether it’s at home or away, a night in Blackdown Shepherd Hut’s Fusion bedroom is sure to leave you feeling ready to tackle life’s busyness once again, and will certainly inspire future sweet dreams.
For more information and inspiration, visit blackdownshepherdhuts.co.uk or follow on Instagram: @blackdownshepherdhuts 

Competition | Win one of 5 vouchers for £200 to spend at Lazy Susan

We have five Lazy Susan vouchers to be won, so you can create a fuss-free outdoor space
to relax in this Spring

Spring is here and with it, the prospect of getting outdoors and enjoying fresh air, sunshine, and all that your outdoor space has to offer. For many, the arrival of spring often means laborious chores maintaining garden furniture ready for the year ahead. However, if you’d prefer to be sowing and potting rather than sanding and treating, then Lazy Susan garden furniture may be the answer.

After years of struggling to maintain his teak garden table, it became clear to Michael Scott that the long-term solution was not fighting a losing battle with wood, but using cast aluminium instead. After much searching, product testing and deliberation, Lazy Susan was born, back in 2007, and now features timeless designs that are maintenance-free, rust-proof and can be left outside all year round.

There’s also a range of finishing touches, such as cushions, parasols and accessories, which are crafted with durability in mind. If this sounds like your cup of tea, then The Simple Things has teamed up with Lazy Susan to offer five lucky readers the chance to win a Lazy Susan voucher, worth £200 each. So, whether you’re looking to furnish a garden, patio or balcony area, Lazy Susan has sets suitable for all spaces, in a variety of sizes, which are powder-coated for resilience – all you need to create equally long-lasting outdoor memories this spring and summer.

For more information, visit lazysusan.co.uk or call 01243 684873.

How to enter

For your chance to win £200 to spend at Lazy Susan, enter by clicking the button below and answering the following question by the closing date of 14 May 2024.

Q: What is Lazy Susan furniture made from?

Terms and conditions

The competition closes at 11.59pm on 14 May 2024. Five winners will be selected at random from all correct entries received and notified soon after. Subject to availability. The winners cannot transfer their prizes or swap for cash. Details of our full terms and conditions are on p125 and online at icebergpress.co.uk/comprules. 

Sponsored post | Meet the people at co-operative wholefoods company, Suma

“We’re just a bunch of ordinary people trying to do the right thing”

Leading the way in the wholefoods market, we chat to Suma co-operative member Sophie Ziegler-Jones to find out how the co-op is going from strength to strength

Hi Sophie, tell us a little bit about Suma

We’re a vegetarian wholefoods wholesaler and we also sell directly to customers via our online shop. I think most people will know us for our Suma food, Ecoleaf household and ALTER/NATIVE bodycare ranges. We were set-up as a worker co-op where everyone is paid the same wage and has an equal say in how we’re run.

How did Suma come about?

It started in Leeds, in the 1970s, when our founder, Reg, spotted a gap for bulk vegetarian provisions. Back then, people thought wholefoods were just for hippies! He set up a collective and would deliver after hours from the back of his van – I guess you could call it an early zero-waste store! Since then, we haven’t looked back.

Ingenious! How have things changed since then?

Well, the wholefoods market has gone from strength to strength; vegetarianism has become mainstream, closely followed by veganism. Sustainability and environmental impact – which we’ve championed from the off – are now the urgent issues of the day. Suma is still run on the same principles as day one: cruelty-free, sustainable, ethical, fair trade, organic and co-operative.

You must have racked up some serious eco-credentials over the years

Where to start? We’re certified by the Soil Association, the Vegetarian Society and the Vegan Society. We’ve been cruelty-free since day one and all our Ecoleaf and ALTER/NATIVE products are approved under the Leaping Bunny programme. We’re Fair Tax certified and proud members of Business Declares, too, a network of businesses acknowledging the climate emergency.

We can tell that you’re passionate about the industry

It’s hard not to get excited. We regularly win awards – in fact last year, we were chuffed to make it to the top of Ethical Consumer’s Best Ethical Supermarket listing, which is no mean feat given their stringent criteria. I think our new and ambitious sustainability strategy played a big part in this.

Oh yes?

Our aim is to be Net Zero by 2030. We already do a lot to support the environment, like reducing waste and carbon emissions, supporting local suppliers and organic agriculture, while promoting fair trade, co-ops and B-Corps. We plant trees every year to help prevent flooding in our local area and are continuing the switch to electric and bio-gas fuel vehicles powered by food waste. We’re also working towards being a ‘zero waste to landfill’ business and are already really close to that.

That’s incredible!

Thanks. It’s going to be hard work, but we know it’s the right thing to do and that’s what we’re about – we’re just a bunch of ordinary people trying to do the right thing.Suma is clearly setting the bar for the competition. All of our members live and breathe wholefoods. We’ve always been a trailblazer for vegetarian, vegan, and sustainably-sourced wholefoods and aim to support innovative, independent suppliers who aren’t stocked by the big supermarkets. We offer a huge range of products from storecupboard essentials, such as cereals, soups, sauces and baking ingredients, plus everything to keep your cleaning cupboard and bathroom cabinet well stocked, too. New product development is really important to us and we often bring to market UK firsts. One product that we’re excited about is our new gluten-free oat pasta. The future is very exciting, indeed.

For more information, to find your nearest stockist and to shop online, please visit suma.coop

Wellbeing | Slowing Down

There are plenty of lessons we can learn from nature, but one of the most important is that nature is never in a rush

There’s a valuable lesson for most of us here as we hurry around from one task to another, rarely taking time to pause and reflect. We’re increasingly impatient, seeking instant gratification. We’ve lost the ability to be bored, to idle away an afternoon feels wasteful and indulgent.

Yet this downtime is part of our cycle just as it is in the natural world. We too need time to germinate, grow and produce, followed by fallow periods of rest and rejuvenation. Often the expectation is that we spend most or all our time in the productive stage, but if we don’t take time to find new inspiration and let our minds wander, we soon end up burnt out or stuck in a creative rut.

Neuroscientists now understand what happens in our brain when we stop and do nothing and have found that this is when creative and intuitive thinking happens. Rather than filling your time with more stuff to do and rushing to finish so you can move on to the next thing, allow yourself some time to do nothing and let your mind wander. Often you’ll find that your best ideas or solutions spring into your conscious mind when daydreaming.

Lie down on a rug and look at the sky for a while and see what thoughts arise. Try to be patient and let events in your life take their natural course as they do in nature. Plant some seeds and observe how with daily watering and sunlight they slowly grow into seedlings and plants producing fruit, vegetables or flowers. Slow down and observe, listen, reflect, and ponder. In the words of Ralph Waldo Emerson, ‘Adopt the pace of nature: her secret is patience.’

The words above are an extract from our wellbeing editor’s new book Just Add Nature by
Rebecca Frank (National Trust Books, out 11 April).

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Recipe | Crab, Radish and Chilli Bruschetta

When the sun shows its face, let optimism win over the actual temperature and lure friends outside with something tasty… Or maybe just throw open the back door and tuck in indoors

This recipe for crab bruschetta will bring some spring zing to the lunch table and the promise of many more outdoor meals to come. Serve on crusty bread with big wedges of lime.

Serves 6

Ingredients

200g fresh crab meat
Zest and juice of ½ small unwaxed lemon
½ small red chilli, deseeded and finely chopped
50g mayonnaise
1 handful of finely chopped fresh parsley
6 slices of fresh crusty bread (such as sourdough or baguette)
2 tbsp olive oil
1 small garlic clove, peeled and cut in half
6 large radishes, finely sliced
2 small limes, cut into large wedges

To make

1 In a large mixing bowl, mix together the crab meat, lemon juice, chopped chilli, mayonnaise and half the chopped parsley.

2 Brush the slices of bread with the olive oil and rub them with the raw garlic clove, then toast on both sides under the grill.

3 Top each slice with the crab mix, then sprinkle with the remaining parsley and lemon zest. Top with the finely-sliced radish pieces and add a twist of freshly ground black pepper to each slice. Serve immediately with the lime wedges.

This recipe is from the gathering feature in our March issue, which is a ‘Plant Party’. Get together with friends to swap houseplants, seedlings, cuttings and seeds and when you’ve finished swapping, sit down to a seasonal lunch of crab bruschetta, halloumi, basil and beetroot skewers, ricotta and spinach dumplings and spring mixed pea salad with mint and pistachios. Finish with a homemade lemon and blueberry tart. The recipes and styling are by Kay Prestney and the photography is by Rebecca Lewis.

More recipes to welcome in Spring…

More from our March issue…

Language | Buttons

We defy anyone not to smile at the sight of a tin of buttons, so we’re taking a moment to consider the humble button and its place in the English language.

The word ‘button’ comes from the Old French ‘boton’ meaning ‘bud. ‘Bouter’ means to thrust or push - like a bud bursting into bloom, you see? - and we guess, like the way a button pushes through a button hole. It’s all starting to make sense. It’s striking how much buttons crop up in metaphors, sayings and phraseology, though. 

Should you be ‘as bright as a button’, you’re probably smart and quick-witted enough to spot the double meaning of bright as in shiny and bright as in clever. Or perhaps you’re as ‘cute as a button’, a phrase some think refers to a button quail, which were allegedly very cute little birds indeed. 

If you’re less cute and more prone to angry outbursts you might ‘bust your buttons’ in reference to Bruce Banner, whose shirt would bust open, buttons popping all over the place, whenever anger turned him into his alter ego, Hulk. On the other hand you might bust your buttons because you have swelled with pride, although perhaps not with pride at your own sewing skills.

And don’t boast about the source of that pride too much or you might be asked to ‘button your lip’, a phrase originating in The States, used as a (slightly) politer way of asking someone to stop talking. This is less likely to be a problem if you’re the sort of person one would describe as ‘buttoned up’, meaning excessively conservative in appearance or approach; not the sort to loosen your collar, much less let your hair down or chat away garrulously. 

Fascinating stuff. And if you wish to share it with friends who seem less fascinated than we are, you may want to ‘buttonhole’ them, that is to grab them by the buttonholes on their coat to prevent their escape while you talk at them. 

And with that, we’ll button it. 

The buttons pictured above are from our March issue’s back cover, the first of a new series we’re calling ‘Treasures’. We hope you like it.

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Poetry | Carpets of Flowers

In our March issue, we look at outings where you can see flowers en masse. Here are a few poets who were inspired by the sight of hosts of golden daffodils, bluebells, heather and more.

Wordsworth’s Daffodils

We’ll start with the ‘daddy’ of flower carpets. “Continusous as the stars that shine and twinkle on the Mily Way, They stretch’d in never ending line along the margin of a bay. Ten thousand saw I at a glance, Tossing their heads in sprightly dance.” Wordsworth was wandering (lonely as a cloud) around Glencoyne Bay in Ullswater with his sister Dorothy when he spotted the daffs that were to inspire one of the most famous poems of all time. 

Browning’s Snowdrops

Always here early in the year and then gone so fast, Robert Browning’s snowdrops in ‘The Lost Mistress’ are all about the fleeting magic of those carpets of little white bells, using them as a metaphor by which to compare his neverending love: “For each glance of the eye so bright and black, Though I keep with heart’s endeavour, Your voice when you wish the snowdrops back, Though it stay in my heart forever.”

Stevenson’s Heather

Robert Louis Stevenson’s ‘Heather Ale’ is all about the dark magic of an ale brewed from heather and the magical sight of the carpets of blooms that made them. “From the bonny bells of heather They brewed a drink long-syne, Was sweeter far than honey, Was stronger far than wine.” The flowers, the ale and the legend are all intertwined in mystical fashion in this celebration of the wildness of the heather flower. 

Anne Bronte’s Bluebells

Bronte views the bluebells not in carpets but each as its own little person: “A fine and subtle spirit dwells In every little flower, Each one its own sweet feeling breathes With more or less of power.” The sight of one amongst a carpet of other flowers brings back to her memories of childhood and deep, and slightly disturbed, feelings. 

If you’ve been inspired to wander among the daffodils, too, turn to page 58 to read our feature, ‘Show Time’ by Cinead McTernan, in our March issue.

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More from our March issue…

Sponsored post | Guild Lane

Discover the Timeless Beauty of GILD by Guild Lane

Experience the timeless allure of gilding with GILD by Guild Lane—a game-changing solution for designers, decorators, and DIY enthusiasts. Simplifying the intricate craft of gilding, GILD empowers you to achieve breathtaking metallic finishes with ease and affordability.

GILD Gold, embodies the richness and warmth of pure gold leaf. Its water-based formula ensures smooth application, featuring a semi-viscous flow with self-levelling properties for exceptional coverage. This luxurious gold enamel paint leaves a durable, lustrous finish that maintains its vibrancy and remains tarnish-free over time.

Crafted for versatility, GILD Gold adheres flawlessly to various surfaces including paper, wood, glass, metal, ceramic, plastic, and even textiles. With minimal odour and rapid drying times, projects are completed swiftly with professional-quality results. Whether tackling large-scale endeavours or smaller tasks, GILD Gold offers the perfect alternative to gilding with traditional gold leaf, in one easy step.

Set foot into the newly transformed Drawing Room at Solberge Hall—a Georgian Manor near Yorkshire being transformed as a lavish wedding venue. Designed and styled by Avalana Design and installed by decorator Lucia-Kreate, this creative team of two has infused the space with opulent contemporary glamour. Adorning the historic architectural accents with GILD Gold, including the ornamented fireplace, skirting, cornices, picture rails, window reveals and doorways, this dynamic duo has seamlessly blended traditional elements with modern sophistication.

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For more info please visit guildlane.com or find them on instagram @guildlane

Make | Natural Watercolours

In our March issue, we met artist Caroline Ross who makes pigments and paints from natural materials, largely earth. We were inspired to give other natural materials a go. Here are a few ways of making natural paints and dyes from things growing nearby or sitting around your kitchen.

1. Onion skin - makes beautiful pinks and yellow colours. Boil in water, strain, cool and use as a fabric dye. 

2. Beetroot - for a lovely deep pink, boil beetroot for a couple of hours then blend and strain through a muslin to make paint. 

3. Blueberries - make a blue or purple paint when you mash, strain, mash again and then add a little flour to the juice to thicken.

4. Spinach - create a green paint by steeping the leaves in water.

5. Paprika - mixed with water makes an easy orange paint. 

6. Wood ash - mix with a little water to make grey.

Turn to page 46 of the March issue to meet artist Caroline Ross and find out about the earth pigments she uses in her painting.

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More from our blog…

More painting inspiration…

Recipe | Rhubarb & Marzipan Cake

Topped with forced rhubarb and almonds, inside the crumb are chewy nuggets of marzipan

You will need

(Makes one large cake)

250g plain flour
1 tsp baking powder
¼ tsp salt
70g butter
200g caster sugar
2 eggs
Grated zest and juice of 1 lemon
1 tsp vanilla extract
100g marzipan, cut into
5mm chunks
100g forced rhubarb, in 5cm chunks
15g flaked almonds

To make

1 Preheat the oven to 160C/Fan 140C/ Gas 3. Grease and line a 20cm cake tin with baking paper.

2 In a bowl, combine the flour, baking powder and salt.

3 Meanwhile, beat together the butter, sugar, eggs, lemon zest and juice in another bowl.

4 Stir in the vanilla extract and the marzipan chunks.

5 Fold the flour mixture into the wet mixture briefly. You want this to be barely combined and still lumpy.

6 Transfer to the prepared cake tin and then arrange the rhubarb chunks and flaked almonds over the top.

7 Bake for 40-50 mins, or until golden and a skewer comes out clean.

8 Leave in the tin for 10 mins before turning out onto a wire rack to cool completely before cutting.

This recipe is from our feature ‘Think Pink’ in our March issue, which also includes ideas for Pickled Rhubarb, Rhubarb & Ginger Negroni, and a Rhubarb, Beetrot and Goat’s Cheese Salad. The recipes are by Lottie Storey and the photography by Kym Grimshaw.

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Outing | Visit a Glasshouse

If you’re hankering to get out for a bit of lush greenery and a good blast of warm air, get thee to a glasshouse.

Glasshouses arrived in the 16th and 17th centuries as explorers began to bring back tropical plants. Of course, it was the Victorians who brought them to the middle-class masses, with their distinctive architecture, which you can still admire today in the palm houses of botanic gardens such as Kew and Belfast.

Dress for the environment with layers you can remove in the heat and take a bottle of water, too. If you want to make a day of it, modern versions, like the Eden Project, let you lose yourself in steamy walkways for hours. Smaller ones, like Sheffield’s Winter Garden, allow you to pop in from the grey February streets for a blast of tropical warmth.

You might see bananas, bromeliads and palms. Darwin’s Down House in Kent is home to a magnificent collection of carnivorous Sundews. Maybe you’ll be inspired to build your own small glasshouse or tiny terrarium when you get home.

This outing idea is taken from our February Almanac pages where we offer ideas for things to note and notice, plan and do each month.

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More outing ideas…

More from our February issue…

Breakfast Rules | How To Do a Full English

Photography by Alamy

Where breakfast is concerned, we think if a job’s worth doing it’s worth doing properly. Before you switch on the gas under your frying pan, read our ‘Full English Breakfast Rules’, which, if not actually enshrined in law, are certainly on the side of right.

1. Lard not butter for cooking sausages, please. It has a higher smoke point than butter so it achieves a crispier sausage without burning. It’s also high in Vitamin D. Who knew? Practically a health food. Vegetarians and vegans are permitted to use vegetable oil. 

2. A word about food-pairing: mushrooms should be eaten with sausages; bacon should be eaten with grilled tomato. Don’t ask us why; it’s just the rules. 

3. Hash browns have no place in a Full English (ignore the photo above!). Save them for your American breakfasts of pancakes that are a bit too thick and mis-monikered jams. If you need a bit of beige crunch it can be achieved by the addition of fried bread, the English Hash Brown. Fried potatoes are permitted if they are already cooked and left over from last night’s dinner. 

4. Beans should be served in a separate ramekin. It’s not about being fancy, it’s just about not mixing your yolk and your bean juice (or frantically chasing your beans round the plate with your fork until 11am).

5. Brown sauce is the best sauce. Tomato is acceptable. Anything else really belongs with another meal. 

6. You should include one, and no more than one, fancy extra. Black pudding for meat eaters perhaps? Grilled halloumi for vegetarians? But don’t stray too far from the original or before you know it you’ll be chopping smoked salmon and chives into your eggs, and then where will we be? 

7. Speaking of eggs… Obviously fried is best, sunny side up, with a yolk that spills all over the plate as you cut into it. Other types of eggs are available, but fried is really where it’s at.

8. Stay trad with your drinks. Orange juice or a good strong cup of tea, please. Absolutely no fancy milky coffees - we are not here for smashed avocado on sourdough type breakfasts. 

9. Toast should be served in a toast rack alongside your Full English (yes, as well as fried bread) to enable you to move seamlessly into toast and marmalade for ‘breakfast pudding’ from the same plate. Use your first piece of toast to mop up egg yolk and bacon fat as a sort of palate and plate cleanser before moving on to the marmalade or jam toast course. Toast plates are for wimps anyway. And you’ll save on the washing up. 

10. Finish with a(nother) cup of tea and the crossword if possible.

In our February issue, we look at the history of breakfast from cereals and grapefruit to fry-ups and fancier fare. Turn to page 84 to read more.

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Listen | Time after time playlist

Our latest playlist is inspired by the March clock change to British Summer Time. You can take a listen on Spotify here.

The March BRIGHT issue of The Simple Things is available to order from Pics and Ink now.

We publish a playlist in each issue of The Simple Things – you might enjoy our playlist celebrating spring light or our ‘vårdrypp’ playlist, too.

Sponsored Post | Gift Some Spring Cheer

If you’re looking to treat someone (or maybe yourself) these inspirational gift ideas will get
everyone smiling

Bold by Nisha Katona

Impress friends and family without having to spend hours in the kitchen or a fortune at the supermarket. Bold by TV chef and cookery author Nisha Katona is about adding big flavours, surprising ingredient combos and incredible flavour to classic dishes, such as ‘Bengali Hash Browns’, ‘Crunchy-Nut Chicken Burgers’ and ‘Saffron & Orange Blossom Scones’. Bold is named after Nisha’s cooking style – and in honour of the first of her hugely popular Mowgli Street Food restaurants, set up in 2014 on Bold St, Liverpool. Available from good book retailers.

watkinspublishing.com

Friendinabox

This small business puts a lot of love and care into its pretty blue gift boxes, and gets regular feedback that receiving one is very special indeed. Whether it’s a happy or a sad occasion, the range of carefully curated gifts, words of celebration or support make a real difference. The letter – which can be as long as you wish – is printed on beautiful, watermarked paper and makes a wonderful keepsake. Most of us value words more than gifts, so Friendinabox boxes are a great way to show how much you care.

friendinabox.co.uk (or email: jane@friendinabox.co.uk)

What on Earth! Magazine

Looking for screen-free entertainment for your child? What On Earth! Magazine is a fun, fascinating and fact-filled way to fall in love with reading and learning. Every issue is packed with amazing facts, extraordinary feats, inspiring true-life stories, stunning photos, quizzes, puzzles and more. From nature to space, life on Earth, history, inventions and discoveries, we’ve got it covered. Subscribe today from just £26.99 and get a free copy of Britannica’s Listified!, worth £20.

whatonearth.co.uk/simplethingsmar24

Voxblock

Immerse young minds in a world of stories with Voxblock, the screen-free audiobook player. Suitable for kids from toddlers to teens, simply pop in the audiobook, press play and let the adventure begin! Award winning for ease-of-use, Voxblock has zero set-up and no need for Wi-Fi or downloads. There’s hundreds of audiobooks, from Fairytales to War And Peace. Voxblock will keep kids entertained and build literacy skills for years to come. Voxblock player £39.99, audiobooks start at £5.99.

voxblock.co.uk

Campaign | Finding Your Favourite Cakes

Regular readers will know that here at The Simple Things we’re big fans of cake. At the top of our manifesto is that ‘there should always be cake in the house’. But we want to know what YOUR favourite cake is.  

Please choose your favourite from the list below. Click on the button below and enter the type of cake in the box along with its number (or write ‘10 and your choice of other cake) by the closing date of 31 March.

1. Victoria Sponge/Sandwich

2. Ginger Cake

3. Carrot Cake

4. Chocolate Cake

5. Scones

6. Brownies

7. Fruit Cake

8. Coffee (& Walnut) cake

9. Lemon Drizzle

10. Other

Now share your own cake

 We seek out at least one recipe for homemade cake to include in every issue but we’d like to share a few of yours, too. Think of it as a cake swap!

We’re looking for those hand-me-down recipes that are passed on through family and friends, when often the original source is lost or forgotten. Amended, tweaked and altered over the years, they take on a life of their own and the ‘keepers’ among our recipes become worthy heirlooms. 

Send us the details of yours, we’ll select our favourites and with the help of our long-time foodie contributor, Catherine Frawley, we’ll test the recipes, make the cakes and present them for you to try for yourself. 

Along the way maybe we’ll uncover some regional favourites, forgotten delights and a few twists on classics. You can choose any cake you like but (after much debate and discussion at TST headquarters) we’re defining a cake as ‘something you can keep in a tin’ (though we’re prepared to make an exception for fresh cream cakes). They can be traybakes, scones, brownies, buns and any kind of cake but not biscuits, cookies, doughnuts, tarts or other sweet things you have to eat with a fork or a spoon. Do feel free to tell us the story of your recipe if you’d like, too!

Look out for our big cake swap in the June issue! 

How to share your cake recipe

• Email thesimplethings@icebergpress.co.uk with 

• Your name, address, email and phone number in case we need to check details of the recipe

• Name of the cake

• Where the recipe came from (if known)

• The recipe – please include ingredients, equipment, method, cooking time and oven temperature

We’ll be in touch if yours is going to be featured in our June celebration of cakes. The closing date for receiving your recipes is 31 March 2024.

More cakes for your tin…

More from our blog…

Competition | Win £500 to spend at Crocus

Now’s the time to get busy in preparation for a blooming marvellous season ahead, and we have a £500 voucher to be won, plus discounts to help you on your way

As those first shoots of promise start to sprout in your patch, you may be filled with excitement about the year ahead, what to plant and the subsequent happiness that it will bring. So if you’re hankering to get growing, then The Simple Things has teamed up with our friends at Crocus to offer one lucky reader the chance to win a £500 voucher.

Whether you want to fill your containers with colour or redesign a bare border, Crocus has over 7,000 plants to choose from. Its website is designed with gardeners in mind, to help narrow down what is needed to create a space that will bring joy throughout the year.

With over 20 years’ experience of working with some of the best garden designers at Chelsea, the dedicated team of experts at Crocus know a thing or two about creating gorgeous gardens and pretty pots. Growing over one million plants in the Crocus nursery, the dedicated team of experts keep them all in tip-top condition, giving them final quality checks before sending them off to their new homes. Once established, Crocus’ knowledgeable plant doctors are on hand to offer advice on how best to care for your plants and enable them to thrive.

Reader Discount

However, if you’re not our lucky winner this time, but all this has planted a seed of inspiration, Crocus is also offering all readers 10% off every full-priced plant. Simply enter code SIMPLETHINGS10 at checkout. Valid until 31 March 2024. For T&Cs, see crocus.co.uk/terms.

For more information, visit crocus.co.uk or follow on Instagram at: @crocus.co.uk.

How to enter the competition

For your chance to win a £500 voucher to spend at Crocus, enter our competition by clicking the button below and answering the folliwing question by the closing date of 10 April 2024. 

Q: How many plants can you choose from at Crocus?

Terms and conditions

The competition closes at 11.59pm on 10 April 2024. One winner will be selected at random from all correct entries received and notified soon after. Subject to availability. The winner cannot transfer the prize or swap it for cash. Details of our full terms and conditions are on p125 and online at: icebergpress.co.uk/comprules. 

How To | Build a Nesting Box

Nesting season starts this month. If you’d like to encourage small birds to make their home in your garden, roll out the red carpet for them with a homemade nesting box.

This nesting box project by The Woodland Trust is a lovely, simple box to make that you can complete in an afternoon. Visit their page for the full instructions and to find lots more inspiration for encouraging birds to visit your outdoor space.

You will need

• A plank of untreated wood, measuring 1.4-1.5m in length, 15cm in width and at least 15mm thick for insulation

• A saw, drill, screws and nails

• A pencil and tape measure

• A strip of rubber

How to make the nest box

1. Measure, mark up and then saw your wood into the following six sections:
   • 2 Sides: one cut at 25cm x 15cm x 20cm, and another cut at 20cm x 15cm x 25cm (both pieces needs cutting at a diagonal so that the roof piece sits on a slant - this is for rain to run off)
   • Front – 20cm x 15cm x 20cm
   • Roof – 21cm x 15cm x 21cm
   • Back – 35cm x 15cm x 35cm
   • Base – 12cm x 15cm x 12cm

2. Use a drill to make a round entrance hole in the front piece. It should sit near the top and the size of the hole depends on the species you’d like to attract – 32mm is great for house sparrows, 25mm for blue tits.

3. Drill some small holes into the base to help with drainage.

4. Once all the wood is cut, sand it to ensure it’s safe for the birds.

5. Nail everything, excluding the roof, together.

6. Attach the roof using screws. Use a waterproof rubber strip as a hinge so that the roof can be easily lifted up for cleaning.

7. Decorate your box with non-toxic water-based paints to finish it or leave it as is.

If you’ve been inspired to invite more birds into your garden, you’ll want to read our feature ‘Chirp Appeal’ in our February issue, from page 106.

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Recipe | Cheese Fondue

How do you fondue? Think oozy, creamy and elastic, rather than too stringy.

Serves 6–8

2-3 garlic cloves, peeled
200ml dry white wine
Juice of ½ a lemon
400g gruyère, grated
200g emmental, grated
Fondue pot with heater (optional)

1 Rub the inside of a large saucepan (or fondue pot, if using) with the garlic cloves.

2 Add the wine and lemon juice and bring to a simmer, then start adding handfuls of the grated cheese, whisking between additions.

3 When all the cheese is added, change to a wooden spoon and use a figure of eight stirring method. When ready to serve, transfer the melted mixture to your fondue pot and bring to the table. The heater should keep the cheese warm but it may occasionally need re-stirring to keep the cheese loose. If you don’t have a fondue pot, bring your saucepan to the table and place on a trivet.

4 If the cheese cools down too much, you can reheat it and bring it back to the table. Enjoy it immediately by using skewers to dip chunks of bread, veg or potatoes into the fondue, but never dip meat into a communal pot.

FON-DOS
• Only dip bread and potatoes into your fondue – veg at a push, but never meat.
• Use a fine grater for cheeses that are firm enough to grate, crumble or finely dice softer cheese and avoid ready-grated cheese as these melt less easily.
• If you’re not using an electric fondue, heat the mix in a pan on the stove and transfer it to a table-top warmer when ready.
• If the mixture begins to separate or split, add a little lemon juice.

This recipe is just one of the ideas from our feature ‘Cheese Please!’ from our February issue, which also includes recipes for side platters of roast potatoes, veg, bread and meats as well as a Beetroot Puree with Smoked Salmon, Raclette and a Black Forest Gateau.

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Recipe | Migliaccio (Shrove Tuesday Cake)

Traditionally baked in Campania, Italy, for Shrove Tuesday, its name is from the miglio (millet) once used to make it, now replaced by semolina.

Serves 12

Ingredients

400ml whole milk
¼ tsp salt
180g semolina
60g unsalted butter, plus extra for greasing
3 medium eggs
250g caster sugar
250g ricotta, drained
Zest of 1 unwaxed orange
Zest of 1 unwaxed lemon
2 tsp vanilla bean paste
½ tsp ground cinnamon
1 tsp orange blossom water
100g dark chocolate chips
Icing sugar, for dusting

To Make

1 Preheat the oven to 180C/Fan 160C/ Gas 4. Grease a 23cm springform tin and line with baking paper.

2 Put the milk, 400ml of water and salt in a pan and bring to a simmer. Reduce heat and gradually add the semolina, whisking vigorously. Keep whisking for 2-3 mins to produce a thick paste, then take the pan off the heat and, while hot, add the butter. Stir well, then pour into a wide tray. Line the surface with plastic wrap and set aside to cool.

3 Put the eggs and sugar into the bowl of a stand mixer. Whisk at high speed until the sugar has dissolved and the mixture looks pale and frothy. With the mixer still going, add the ricotta, a spoonful at a time. Remove the plastic wrap from the semolina and break into chunks. While the mixer is still going, add the chunks to the egg mixture in batches, making sure each one is incorporated before adding more.

4 Add the orange and lemon zest, vanilla, cinnamon, and orange blossom water to the mixture and whisk.

5 Add the chocolate chips and fold in by hand with a spoon or spatula.

6 Spoon the batter into the tin and level the surface. Bake on the bottom shelf of the oven for 85-90 mins, or until the edges start browning and the surface turns golden with large cracks; it’ll have a slight wobble if shaken. Leave the cake to cool in the tin – it’ll deflate as soon as it leaves the oven, but this is normal. Once cool, transfer to a serving plate and dust with icing sugar before serving.

Cook’s note: Migliaccio can be stored in an airtight container or the fridge, but it should always be wrapped in plastic wrap to avoid drying out. It’s best served at room temperature.

Taken from Giuseppe’s Easy Bakes by Giuseppe Dell’Anno (Quadrille). Photography: Matt Russell

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