Are clogs comfortable...or acceptable?

SJP rocking the clog on the streets of NY

Recently, i've noticed a quiet movement across the streets of Soho. Well, quiet might not be the right word. Perhaps clip clopping might be better?

A great thing about working in Soho is that you're right in the heart of magazine land, and, consequently, the streets are paved with PRs, models, stylists and all the super fashionable people that make up that world. I'm inspired every day by different people's beautiful outfits, and my personal style has certainly changed a lot since i worked in East London- namely it's a lot more natty little jackets with jeans and jewelry, and less market stall mash up. Probably a good thing all round.

For the last couple of seasons there have been a LOT of solid soled shoes around, i've noticed a lot of people rocking what is effectively a clog! A clog? In Soho?! Of course, Swedish Hasbeens have been the clog du jour for a while now, but it wasn't until i saw my colleague Linda clopping around in her beautiful fawn ankle boots - with wooden heeled clog soles - and proclaiming that they actually ARE the most comfortable shoes in the world, that i truly became tempted to try it for myself.

I am a very lucky blogger, because the lovely Lotta From Stockholm offered me a pair of their braided clogs to try for myself. I wore them for a sunny day in Cornwall, so teamed them with a full on 70s ensemble of vintage coral skirt and stripy top. I wish it were warm enough to ditch the tights!

The shoes are made of good quality real leather, with a solid wooden base and a good grippy sole. When i first put them on they did feel a bit weird - i'm used to soft ballet pumps every day, and these are definitely not so forgiving! But within ten minutes of walking around the house the leather warmed up and hugged the shape of my feet, and i really didn't notice the 'hard' sole at all.

The wood is shaped like the contours of your feet, so they're actually pretty good for you! I'm planning to wear these with my pink jeans and jacket throughout the summer. Compared to many sandals, i reckon these could face the rush hour stampede no problem!

I'm definitely sold on clogs. Though i wouldn't wear them every day, they are quite heavy and probably would become a little tiring, they are completely suitable for my average commute/walking about.
If you're feeling the clog love, check out Lotta From Stockholm's range.

The first Autumn weekend

Outift: Topshop cape, Accessorize scarf, Forever 21 bag, Pull & Bear boots, Primark jumper, Urban Outfitters knit Skirt

This is a pre-scheduled post, as I am now sunning myself and riding camels in marrakech, weeeeee!

This past weekend was (I felt) the first perfect autumn weekend. No indian summer heatwave, no horrid drizzle, just crisp clear days perfect for jumpers, tights and sightseeing.

The boy and I had a lovely touristy day. We tend to stick to south east London at the weekends, as there is so much lovely stuff to see anddo on our doorstep, and I work in town all week anyway. However the beautiful weather inspired us to don jumpers and scarves and head to Covent garden, just for a mooch around.

 

 

Salted Caramel Laduree Macaroon, dreamy! I also strongly recommend the vanilla...

In the evening it was my friend Kiera's birthday party at Jam Circus. All round a jolly lovely day!
How are you making the most of this seasonal shift?

Project Nigella: Chocolate Courgette Brownies

Yes, you read that right. Courgette. In a brownie. I have reached new levels of baking madness.

(By the way, if you work for Lomography UK, and were looking forward to your monday treat, but are now wondering how you're going to hide it under your keyboard or in a film canister and pretend you've eaten it, go with me here! Just give me two minutes..)

So yesterday Dikki and i went to visit my friend and fellow hooper Gina, and her husband Wayne. I make hula hoops, and Gina wanted a custom size so came to me. She had previously mentioned that as Wayne is the caretaker for a college they live onsite in the school house, so i delivered the hoop to her and took the opportunity to see their amazing home and massssssssive garden - featuring a rather impressive vegetable patch where they've had a great season of giant onions, giant squash, giant kale and giant courgettes. They very kindly picked us some fine specimens and sent us home with proper local dulwich organics!

As usual, i was already planning to do some baking today, but the courgettes had me googling. I'd been half planning to make carrot cake, so thought i'd do carrot and courgette cake, but when i came across a recipe for chocolate courgette brownies on the Corner Cottage Bakery Blog my plan was sealed! (Dikki was not convinced)

I adapted the recipe slightly, adding crushed walnuts, milk and white chocolate chips for a bit more texture and added sweetness. I also changed some of the quantities by a teeny bit. Here's what i did...

Ingredients
120ml vegetable oil
200grams caster sugar
100g dark brown sugar
3tsp vanilla extract
250gram plain flower
70gram cocoa (it really is worth using the best you can get. I think the richness of the Green & Black's really helps these brownies)
1.5tsp baking powder
pinch of salt
250gram courgette, peeled and grated
Chocolate chips and walnuts optional

Method
1. Preheat the oven to 180o/c
2. Mix together vegetable oil with the sugars and vanilla
3. Stir in the flour, cocoa powder, baking powder and salt
4. Stir in the courgette, chocolate chips and walnuts until it's all mixed together and you can't see any green courgette anymore
5. Spoon the mixture into an oven tray lined with greaseproof paper. Bake for 25 minutes

As Hanna says on the original recipe, and as you can see in the picture above, it does make a very dry batter. The more you stir it the moister it gets, as the water comes out of the courgette. I think i should have stirred mine a bit more, or maybe added a splash of water, as my brownies didn't quite bind together enough in the oven

The final product is deliciously moist, with a proper chewy top. As i said, mine's a little crumbly, but still delicious - even a dubious Dikki says he wouldn't know there was courgette in it.

Give it a go, these are proper moist, chewy, chocolatey brownies, that actually do count as one of your five a day!

Project Nigella: Clemmie Cupcakes

This weekend i made Clemmie Cupcakes - orange cakes with orange icing (that turned out pink)

I'm calling these Clemmie Cupcakes in honour of my friend and colleague Liana, who can proudly eat two bags of clementines in one setting. There should be a prize for that.

Last week i bought a whole set of piping nozzles from eBay. First on my hitlist of fancypants overachieving icing techniques was roses. This month on Food Network they are having cupcake month, and i've watched the two minute tutorial for this in just about every ad break, it looked pretty simple, and indeed it was! For a first go i was pretty pleased with how they came out.

However, Dikki wanted a go, and it all went downhill from there. We had piped willies, worms, general mess, piping on his arm, piping on the counter. There was a lot of laughter but needless to say my beautiful batch of cupcakes didn't turn out as beautiful as expected!

Project Nigella: Apple cupcakes with vanilla frosting

Not only did i master a new piping technique (more on that later) i am pleased to say that this simple recipe has made some truly scrummy little cakes!

I adapted the recipe from this glorious apple muffin recipe - it contains no butter, so makes a really light batter, perfect for loading with apple!

Makes 8 muffins, or 24 little cakes

Mix 200g plain flour, 100g caster sugar, 2 1/2 tsp baking powder, 1/2 tsp salt in a large bowl, and a generous amount of cinnamon.

Add one egg, 90ml skimmed milk, 80ml vegetable oil and 5 drops of vanilla extract. Stir until just combined - it will be a thick lumpy batter.

Chop a whole dessert apple, and fold into the mixture. Put into paper cake cases - the prettier the better! Then bake for 20 minutes at 200.

Now, my favourite bit, the frosting! I made buttercream frosting, with vanilla essence. I then striped it, my new favourite techique! To stripe frosting paint 3 or 4 lines of colouring all the way down the inside of your piping bag, and as if by magic, it comes out like this!