Brown Rice Cafe, Tokyo

Shibuya, Tokyo

The Brown Rice Cafe is the loveliest of peaceful spots, tucked away from the frantic pace of midday Tokyo. Luckily the wholefood, vegetarian menu- based on seasonal vegetables, brown rice and soy- is just as magical. Being vegetarian had its challenges when I lived in Japan, so finding places like this is extra special. I could have eaten anything and everything, but went for the seasonal set, and oh my, it was delicious. It was also like art on a plate.

So life has been busy, in contrast with this wee blog space being on mute. But then again, these pictures reminded me that a bit of quiet isn’t always a bad thing :).

Best Ugly Bagels

I love brunch and I love bagels so to brighten my day, some lovely friends took me out for breakfast Sunday and we gave Best Ugly Bagels a try. They make woodfired bagels on the spot and serve out fresh, warm creations in a cool warehouse-y space. There was quite a crowd but we didn't have to wait long at all, the staff were lovely and the results were delicious. I had NZ Oamaru cream cheese and Te Horo jam on a cinnamon raisin bagel and it was gorgeous. Plotting a return soon...

Good food, quiet times

This weekend hasn't all been about food, but almost :) There have been pot-luck dinners and especially social brunches that have evolved into long afternoons at the beach. We had the best flat whites from here and brunched here and while everyone's food looked amazing, I loved my 'empire eggs'- poached egg on cumin & coriander lentils, with relish on the side. Hmmmmm. 

Our endless summer heat has cramped my cooking style, but getting new ideas for yummy food made me resolve, now I have moved house and have a nicer, airier kitchen, to become a domestic goddess. I kicked it off right away this morning with a birthday party batch of Nigella Lawson's brownies. If you have never made them before, you need to. They are insanely good. The measurements in the recipe make a huge batch though, so next time I would halve it as I had brownie mix everywhere- I ended up improvising and making some of these brownie 'pots' when I ran out of tray-space! Soooo good though- everything will seem/feel/smell better for these brownies :)

The recipe is from, aptly, How To Be A Domestic Goddess, which is a gorgeous cookbook. 

Sweet nothing

This week has been a little too festive, in a nice way, but it's fair to say I'm looking forward to work finishing tomorrow. To celebrate our excitement for the last day at work tomorrow, we're having a festive shared morning tea and luckily I found the lovely Minimalist Baker website for inspiration. These candy cane-double chocolate cookies were so easy to make and are gorgeous {chef's tasting privilege ;)}. I forgot my peppermint essence so added crushed candy canes to the mix as well as using some for topping- the recipe is here.

It was my birthday earlier this week and as well as getting spoilt over the course of a few days, my parcels from afar included Nigella's How To Be A Domestic Goddess from my lovely parents- pretty much my dream book. This weekend I am going to choose something fantastic to cook for my Kiwi Christmas. Yum yum.

Sunday afternoon

The Sprouted Kitchen (Sara Forte)

Nigellissima (Nigella Lawson)

Taking pictures of a stormy beach seems to have cursed our Sunday weather, as there is some wild wind here today! That, combined with frantic post office trips for make the last Christmas post for the UK, means my day has been camera-less so I decided to take some pictures indoors in the weird stormy light. 
My new years resolution is to become a more exciting cook- thanks to the library {I love the library here!}, I am going to get some evening inspiration from The Sprouted Kitchen and Nigellisima. The Sprouted Kitchen has some gorgeously different healthy-sounding recipes; Nigellissima is less vegetarian friendly at first glance, but when you read through actually has some yummy options- but I just love her cookbooks anyway- I think I can try some treats from here out over the Christmas season. 
I have to say, in real time tonight, it will be painting my nails and watching Offspring on TV but at least I will be thinking about improving myself! :)

Little and Friday

Hurrah for time off work! Time to develop film and have cake catch-ups with friends...and get lots of sleep! I finally finished off this film during a trip to Little and Friday, a real Auckland gem. I have already bought my mum their cookbook and now I covet one for myself- the food is soooooo good. I am sure I am still on a sugar high from that carrot cake and my friend's lemon & coconut cake was pretty sumptuous as well. Quite aside from the lovely food, I also like the way they make their bottles of tapwater snazzy with mint and cinnamon- I want to try this at home now too. 

Spring madness

I've had an unintentional hiatus from being technical- which is an okay thing- but also from being creative- which isn't. Bizarrely, am taking a peaceful five minutes to go through scanned film and upload from my digital camera, and it is the most intense spring evening- the atmosphere is so heavy with impending thunder, you can almost smell it. 

My main task for today was to cook for a friend's baby shower and I made these dark chocolate and sea salt cookies (recipe here)...I must confess to being a bit dubious ( salt...chocolate...?) but now I am convinced.  I loved the way they sparked on the plate saying eat meeeeee :) I also got into a flurry and baked my own granola- rolled oats, pumpkin seeds, almonds, raisins, local orange blossom honey, vanilla extract, ginger and lots of cinnamon. It is not going to last long- it might be my favourite creation in a while.

Now to perfect food photos and develop some film...

Spring is in the air

Spring is officially here next week- yay! - but the weather this weekend has been glorious...and what a difference that makes to everything :) Sunday brunch today was so wonderful- shared plates of sage & pumpkin risotto balls with paprika mayonnaise and warm banana bread with maple syrup and cinnamon ricotta {accompanied by great coffee and harbour views}. Yum, yum YUM :) I need to learn how to make all of these things.

Sweet

I am only just now, a couple of weeks on, going through some of my photos from being home in the UK- mainly as it makes me a wee bit homesick, which is daft. I almost forgot about this cupcake feast -at some point though I am going to have to recreate this carrot cake-cupcake from the Primrose Bakery. We had a bit of a family pilgrimage to the Covent Garden bakery while I was home and it was amazing. Seriously spoils you for cupcakes...

The icing on the cake...

I would very much like one of these as I type...just fluffy, buttery goodness. Instead I have to content myself with uploading photos as I have been terribly behind- and going to the gym :( This was taken for a white theme although I seem to have blighted my whiteness with chocolate sprinkles...everything is better for some chocolate though, surely?! :)

Betty's Tea Room

Sunday afternoon tea goodness, courtesy of Betty's Tea Rooms in Yorkshire. They know how to do a good cup of tea. As a bit of a scone & jam connoisseur {i.e. I'd have cream teas every week if I could}, Betty's scones, called Fat Rascals, are also the business. Here are some recipes I found online here and here, which I need to try. Yum. See you again soon Yorkshire :(

Relaxed

It's been a whirlwind couple of weeks...the end result is being home sweet home in England, if only for a couple of weeks. A few days ago we were even treated to some balmy, hot summer weather shock! :) Sitting in deckchairs in an orchard eating huge fruit scones smothered in the best blackcurrant jam, lazy in the heat and surrounded by family....that definitely feels restful :)

Where We Meet

I do enjoy taking pictures of my breakfast/ brunch, it's true....:) But weekend breakfasts are the perfect time to catch up with people. This week, I am also beginning to value my own day-to-day breakfast more- I suppose catching my own breath! It's a chance to press 'pause'- porridge, reading, 5 minutes of peace and quiet- a good by-product of boot camp I think! {which obviously also doesn't prohibit me from parmesan scrambled eggs & roast tomato...just means that I enjoy it more! :)}  
-as inspired by the projects over at 52 Photo Projects :)

Sunday papers

I never went for brunch back home, but if there's one thing I've learned from Antipodean life, it's to appreciate a good brunch or breakfast out. Quality people, lots of good coffee, pile of papers and magazines, some gossip and a "proper breakfast" {like this one, poached egg, grilled tomato & halloumi, rocket and dukkah on Turkish bread. Nom.} A real weekend treat- long live the Kiwi brunch date :)

Cookbook ♥

I  love reading cookbooks- geeky but true. It's the one thing I couldn't stand to have on my otherwise-beloved Kindle- they are just meant to get food on and be enjoyed! Unfortunately they are also quite pricey here, but I have a stack from the lovely library, with which I hope to domesticate myself and woo everyone around me- as well as practise my food photography!

♥ Nigella Lawson's How To Be A Domestic Goddess {I need to buy this book one day} and Feast

♥ Breakfast, Lunch and Tea: The Many Little Meals of Rose Bakery

♥ The Primrose Bakery Book

Lest all my teeth fall out, I am also going to try and cook my way through some of these healthy-looking recipes. Nomnom.

Edible Stories

I love the New Zealand appreciation for a good sociable brunch...

Happy holidays!

Being at home, tucked up in front of the fire and the twinkling Christmas tree, surrounded by lovely family....yay for Christmas weekend at home! Part of the fun of being home for Christmas is the making and decorating- at least I think so....the project for this afternoon has been finishing up a roll of film on a wintry walk and coming home to make these lovely gingerbread cupcakes. The recipe was excellent and came out perfectly [see also this lovely foodie blog}- I ended up it making them with ginger-spiked butter icing to finish and they received some rave reviews. 

Happy holidays one and all, may they be filled with laughter and hugs and sweetness of all kinds xxx