Colour lovers: aqua & red

The combination of these bright colours make a bold statement. It's the contrast of hot and cold: warm shades of red and cold shades of blue. The effect is slightly softened by the fact that both shades are going towards yellow. To avoid making it too overwhelming only use small quantities of red and aqua and toning down the shades in brightness to pastels or mix with white, grey or sparkling silver. The colour combination is reminiscent of a nautical themed colour palette and will remind us of summer and the beach. Check out the palette at colourlovers

Oscar night

Tonight is Oscar night at the 83rd Annual Academy Awards. If you are a film buff like me this is a good reason to get your popcorn out and review the films of the last year. To spice it up a bit you could try my popcorn recipe with hot chili. For the recipe click here

Lemon poppy seed pancakes

Pancake day is coming up soon! This is one of the dishes that I would not make according to a recipe but from experience. The batter has to have the right consistency: not thin like a crepe and not too thick as they will become too dense and you want them nice and fluffy.
The base is one egg and 4-5 tablespoons of yogurt that I whisk up. Add some sugar for sweetness. Then sift in self raising flour and a small amount of baking powder. Now add some milk if the batter is too dense or some more flour if too thin. As there's not much fruit available at this time of the year I use the juice and zest of one lemon and 1-2 Tbsp poppy seeds to flavour the pancakes. Shallow fry in a on both sides in a little bit of butter and serve hot it with maple syrup and crème fraiche.

Dorset apple cake

This recipe is my version of a Dorset apple cake. Great classic that I gave an update and made it slightly healthier with wholemeal flour.

DORSET APPLE CAKE

200g wholemeal self raising flour
50g plain white flour
1 tsp baking powder
100g brown sugar
pinch of salt
100g butter
1 tsp ground ginger
1/2 tsp ground cardamon
1 lemon (juice and zest)
2 medium eggs
5-6 tbsp milk
2 apples
almond flakes

Preheat the oven to 170°C and grease a 20cm baking tin. Sift the flour, spices and baking powder in a bowl. Cut the butter into small cubes and rub in to form breadcrumbs. Add the sugar, salt, lemon juice and zest. Beat the eggs with the milk and add to the mixture. Peel the apples and cut into small pieces. Add as well. Spoon into the tin and sprinkle with almond flakes. Bake for 35-45 min.

Colour lovers: rose water

Rose is the color halfway between red and purple and is the basis of this palette. The complementary colour of rose is a yellowish spring green. So pairing it with a greyish, slightly blue green like teal (named after a member of the duck family) makes it a less harsh contrast. Check out the palette at colourlovers

February

Tea rose rose