Fabulous Friday Focaccia Foodie Treat!

How we did it, with our delicious home baked focaccia we had truffle pesto with

grilled mozzerella, sauteed mushroom and poached egg. 

So very tasty and the truffle filled the kitchen with its wonderful pungent aroma :) yum. 

We enjoyed every mouthful.

We all know its Black Friday so get out there and support local traders. Myself and Mum are off to a Christmas craft fair at Merville House on Saturday, check it out on Facebook, and we are looking forward to spying the stalls and maybe getting some inspiration from the artisans!

take care and have a fab weekend,

S x

Merville House Food and Craft Market

Especially for Caroline - Sundried Tomato Foccacia Bread!

I can't believe I've managed to post a recipe with pictures as well. I actually did it, so chuffed with myself and the results are great (though I have to say taking decent pictures AND getting decent baking results is not easy!). This is a combination of two of my favourite Focaccia recipes, Gordon Ramsay - Ultimate Cookery Course and Good Housekeeping - The Baking Book.

Gordon adds semolina to his version, as I do here and it really gives your focaccia an authentic Italian flavour. I'm planning on having some of this bread tomorrow for brunch with Mum, and I'll post a little pic for you of our accompaniments :).

So give it go, its tasty and satisfying with an Italian inspired casserole, hearty soup or something a little different perhaps?

However you eat it, enjoy it!

Lets do lunch!

S x

p.s. the last pic is steamed up 'cos it's straight out of the oven! Opps! :)

Sieve 500g flour, 2 tbsp semolina, 14g dried yeast, 2 tbsp dried rosemary, 1 tbsp salt, keep your salt and yeast separate
 ( salt kills yeast!). Make a well, Add 320 ml water
 and 60 ml olive oil,
 mixing your yeast first then combining the remaining dry ingredients

It should be a pretty wet mix, add more water if necessary

Knead for 5 minutes

Cover with a cloth or clingfilm and leave to rise/prove for
 60 minutes, or until doubled in size

Pull dough out onto a lightly floured suface

chop sundried tomatos

Divide dough into two equal amounts, then add sundried tomato and knead again for 3 minutes

Spread dough out as flatly as possible into a oven proof dish, lightly dusted with flour

Leave to prove for a second time for around 40 minutes or until double in size,
then press deep 'dimples' into the dough using your fingers, or the floured handle of a wooden spoon.

Stuff dimples with the remaining sundried tomato,

 I also like to use the 

olive oil used to preserve the  jarred variety 

of sundried tomato to drizzle 

over the bread so nothing goes to waste

Add olive oil, roughly chopped garlic and more rosemary
(dried or fresh depending on your pantry), sea salt and freshly ground black pepper.
 Place in a pre-heated oven at 200 degrees for 30 minutes until golden and thoroughly baked.

et fini!

More Bits That Got Finished

Here we are, the remaining pics of my bedroom. You will notice no pics of the ACTUAL bed yet, well that is in progress as we speak. I have a load of food ideas I want to share with you over the holidays, a real Christmas Feast! So stay tuned for home improvements, Christmas outings and FAB food  :)

Ceiling Rose and black chandelier,
 which I bought in a sale at Dunelm Mill

The white coving really makes the room feel finished and defined.

Crystal ball curtain catchers (£2.99) and my thrift shop curtains

Japanese postcards framed in a white-washed wood
with a gold paper mount surround.
The frames were £1 for all 3 at a car boot sale,
and the postcards are from my Aunt Gloria to my family decades ago

Thrift shop curtains and small vignette of objects on my Studded Cabinet

3D Elephant in black frame from Tkmaxx at about £7 <3,
Japanese Lady in white a gift from my Mum.
I used to play with it when I was a little girl :)

P.S, don't forget to look at the 'before'!!

• 'And so we move on to the REAL problem area.' my before post in August!
• Take care folks, S x

Other Stuff I Did Recently Was.......

The original piece on a lovely but rare sunny day here in Belfast!....and Mum.

revamp

I used upholstery studs in various antique effect gold, copper and silver tones to create some interest on the doors and drawers :) It feels great to run your fingers over!

I May Be Slightly Over-Optimistic But.......

Ok here are some of the before and afters. The room is not totally complete yet. There are still lots of things to do and upcycle, but this is what I've got so far. I still need to make a headboard for the bed, a blind for the window, put up more artwork, find and buy a bargain dressing table to glamorize. I apologize for my poor pics, but this is a speedy post before I pick mum up from her Alzheimers Programme ( its running for 16 weeks, after a bit of a dodgy start she seems to like it. This means I get 3 and a half hours on my own every tuesday! As you can imagine I have a lot of plans for these 3 and half hours, they won't all fit! :). ).
So quick before reminder of some brown furniture and how it looks now

Before

The After. I distressed this piece to get a shabby chic feel. Firstly I sanded the surface to key it for paint. Then 2 coats of grey emulsion. Once dry I rubbed all over the surfaces with an ordinary household wax candle (white, not coloured!). This provides a resistance to the top paint colour, whatever it is that you chose. Then 2 coats of your chosen colour ( white for me!). When dry sand again, try to go for the obvious areas where wear and tear would appear naturally and it's up to you how much of the base colour you choose to reveal! 

I replaced the existing wooden knob with a pretty glass one from B&Q (£3.95), it was a bit of a luxury buy I felt but added to the table. 

Its a perfect height for my tall bed ( more later about that!) and the shelves are handy for my bits and pieces that somehow make it to the bedroom with me at the end of the day.

Well one down, just a few to go. I DO think I'll get the upholstered headboard and window blind finished for Christmas but the dressing table depends so much on the auctions and the price, and this time of year is expensive!!!!!!

Hope everyone had an amazing Halloween and now December is around the corner I'll be thinking lots about ways to bring Mum some festive cheer! Have a lovely day, S x

Christmas Looms Large

Ok, feeling bad because I haven't posted recently, so apologies. The bedroom is progressing well. All paintwork is complete and at the minute I am busy building a headboard. Other completed jobs include the bedside table, my vintage cabinet and other little accessories like curtains, tiebacks, picture frames etc.
So its coming together nicely and if I'm lucky I'll be finished by Christmas. The auctions are a great source of all types of furniture and decorative objects, expect to see some great finds very soon!
Nearly there, can't wait to show you all,
:) S