Book Club: What I’ve been reading

As an English Literature undergraduate for the past three years, it’s fair to say I go through a lot of books, at a very quick pace. Initially, my main intentions for this blog were to record what I’ve been reading and provide my thoughts in quick reviews. So, I thought I’d start this (semi-)regular ‘Book Club’ feature documenting my latest paperback perusals.

 

Margaret Atwood, Cat’s Eye

 

 

 

“And yet it disturbs me to learn I have hurt someone unintentionally. I want all my hurts to be intentional.”

One of the literature modules I’ve been studying this year is ‘Margaret Atwood’ and, since my exam is coming up this term, I’ve been rereading some of her texts.

(Here I must credit some of my other favourites, which I am not reading for the exam: Blind Assassin, in which the exploration of narrative, the concept of writing, familial and gender relationships dominate the text and make for a truly remarkable, inevitably complex novel; and Oryx and Crake, in which modern ideologies concerning gender, science and technology are explored through to their logical yet terrifying conclusion. Next on my list, once I finish with my exams of course, are the two novels which follow Oryx and Crake: The Year of the Flood and MaddAddam.)

 

Cat’s Eye, however, has undoubtedly been my favourite to study: another frightening narrative, Atwood delves into the complex and horrifying realities of the power dynamics between young girls. Going far beyond the modern concept of ‘frenemies’, Atwood explores the hierarchies and power-plays within school-girls’ ‘friendship’ groups, and the subsequent and damaging effects. The idea of language as societal construct, power hierarchies and the concept of ‘self-hood’ are all de-constructed within this context of school-girl bullying.

Jessie Burton, The Miniaturist

 

“Growing older does not seem to make you more certain. It simply presents you with more reasons for doubt.”

I finished this book within a matter of days: I honestly could not put it down. Transported to seventeenth-century Holland, we follow the young protagonist through her new life as a married woman in Amsterdam. Although it can be said that the characters often find themselves in implausible situations, this novel is about the exploration of surprising dark magic, hope and ultimately disaster, and is certainly a troubling coming-of-age narrative. A fantasy story in which it seems anything can happen, I’d certainly recommend this as a book to take on holiday, or as something light to read in bed with a hot cup of tea.

Diane Ackerman, A Natural History of the Senses

“We carry the ocean within us; … our veins mirror the tides. As a human woman, with ovaries where eggs lie like roe, entering the smooth undulating womb of the ocean from which our ancestors evolved millennia ago, I was so moved my eyes teared under water, and I mixed my saltiness with the ocean’s.”

With beautiful, emotional prose that flows as naturally as “the leaves to a tree”, for me, Ackerman’s non-fiction study of the human senses never fails to impress. The emotion the prose evokes catches me by surprise every time I pick it up, and encourages me to reconnect with my own consciousness and the right side of my brain, returning to the external world with a more sensual and optimistic approach than ever before. A physical, sensory overload more than welcomed when I’m feeling bogged down by essays and exams, I’d recommend this book anywhere and at any time.

Hozier and The Sindercombe Social, Shepherd’s Bush

At the beginning of this month, my friend Liddy and I went to see Hozier, something we’d booked ages ago and had been looking forward to ever since. We made an evening of it and got dinner and drinks at The Sindercombe Social (literally about 100 yards from the venue) before heading to Shepherd’s Bush O2 Empire for the gig.

We both order the smoked bacon, avocado and blue cheese burger, which was delicious. The bacon was a bit undercooked for both of us – we like it crispy – but the rest of the burger, and especially the blue cheese sauce, was amazing. Served in a brioche bun with a side of fries, this was a satisfying and filling meal for both of us. I was just the right amount of full when we left.  

 

 

The crowd was already buzzing when we got there. It’s hard to believe that undeniably talented Hozier can still be so humble when faced with over one thousand adoring fans packed into an arena. During the show, kindness and gratitude emanated from every word he said in the short interludes between countless flawless numbers.

A few hummed bars of Angel of Small Death & The Codeine Scene opened the show and the crowd exploded. Hozier’s soulful entrance was well received as he faultlessly continued with the rest of the song. 

A light show accompanied many of the upbeat blues-vibe tracks, including the more well-known Take Me to Church and – my personal favourite – Jackie and Wilson. 

 

During one his most sombre songs, In a Week, the lights simply shone on Hozier and Karen Cowley (from supporting act Wyvern Lingo and a member of Hozier’s band), as they mesmerised the audience with this heart-wrenching track about two deceased lovers.

Once his set had finished and Hozier had thanked the arena, every member of his band and the crew, he left the stage only to return a minute later after relentless hopeful screaming to perform an encore. Alone on stage again, Hozier played Cherry Wine from his first album beautifully. He then welcomed back his band and played the less well known Run. Finally, introducing the next track as something they “don’t play very often but like to have fun with”, the band began to play a charming and unexpected blues rendition of Amerie’s 1 Thing much to the audience’s delight.

 

 

Hozier’s remarkable ability to capture an audience existed on stage just as well and infinitely more prominently than it does through our speakers. I cannot get enough of this truly overwhelming artist and since he announced that he’ll be back on tour in June, I don’t suppose I’ll have to.

Pavlov’s Dog, Reading

Mine and my flatmate’s favourite food-serving pub in Reading was refurbished at the beginning of this month, so we took advantage of the weekend and went to check it out. The food there has always been great quality and the prices are student friendly. Despite their good burgers, before the refurb, Pavlov’s Dog was dark and gloomy, the furniture seemed old and outdated, the bar was too high, and there was never enough sunlight. 

We were so surprised walking up to the pub today. The outside has been repainted in different shades of blue, so much more appealing than the old black, and the windows were full length and beautiful!

 

We were pleased to see that the interior had been entirely transformed, too. A gorgeous floor, brand new, comfortable furniture and light coloured walls covered in cool, framed art work made for a much more inviting environment. The bar sported neon signs, retaining some of the old darkness, but with a new, less gloomy, vibe. The place was packed, not surprising for a Saturday afternoon, but the energy was different. The crowd included a lot more young people than usual, and we actually struggled to find a table.

We found a small table for two in the small ‘upstairs’ room (it’s actually only about five steps higher than the rest of the pub), which was flooded with sunlight – exactly what we wanted.

We were disappointed to see that the old beer and burger deal had disappeared from the menu, but the prices were still cheap overall, and you could get a soft or alcoholic drink for cheaper than the usual price when you bought a burger.

The service was fast and the staff were very friendly. I ordered the classic hot dog which might actually be the best hot dog I’ve ever had. A frankfurter in a classic hot dog bun (I hate the sweet buns you sometimes get with hot dogs) and a smothered in a traditional combo of English mustard and ketchup. Neither Abi nor I had strong feelings about the battered onions, which weren’t crispy enough to be satisfactory – I ended up picking most of mine off. The chilli fries were nice, but not hot enough, but Abi proclaimed that the sweet potato fries (her favourite side order) were some of the best she had ever had.

 

All in all, Pavlov’s Dog is a much nicer place to grab lunch, dinner or a drink than it ever was. The food is as great as it always has been, and even though the new refurbishment will undoubtedly bring in a much larger crowd than before, it is still an affordable and friendly environment.

 

Pudding for Dinner – Pancake Day

Pancake Day is without a doubt one of my favourite food-related holidays. I love sweet things; it wouldn’t be a lie to say that the idea of eating pudding as a main meal crosses my mind at least once a day. But today, this is absolutely acceptable (and encouraged)!
I prefer fluffy American pancakes to English ones most of the time, but there’s something about Pancake Day that demands at least one batch of traditional lemon and sugar crepes. My mam ate savoury crepes every Pancake Day and, the sweet-obsessed child I was, I never understood – why would you have dinner when you could have pudding?
However, I scoured Pinterest and found three delicious looking recipes for pancakes that are a tad fancier than what I ate as a twelve-year-old, and I think I’ll be trying one or two of them (yes, mam, the savoury one – gasp) later today.

{Left} Mushroom crepes with poached eggs

{Top right} Orange buttermilk pancakes – with orange honey butter

{Bottom right} Vanilla crepes with peaches and cream

All recipes were found on Pinterest, but you can find the original posts by clicking on the {links} above.

Things to be thankful for

It’s the end of another week and the end of yet another year. I’m travelling away from home once more and I can’t quite seem to wrap my head around the idea that it’s 2015 already. It seems like only the other day I was starting my 2014 diary and now it’s all over. However, it has been a great year and I’m thankful for so many things and so many people.

 

Wonderful friends and a consistently amazing boyfriend:: I have the most amazing people in my life these days and though we mostly live pretty far away from one another now, when a reunion comes around it’s as if no time has passed at all. As a (technically classified, but I’m not so sure) adult, I never thought I’d have such good, true friends, and a truly spectacular boyfriend, around me.

 

Supportive family:: My family has never failed to be proud of me my whole life, and this year has been no different. When things get difficult, I know there’s always someone on the end of a phone or a train journey away to keep me grounded.

 

Creativity:: Finding new and fun outlets for creativity will always be exciting. Writing, drawing, reading, DIY-ing and (I’m not afraid to say it!) colouring keep me from pulling my hair out with stress or taking it out on undeserving people. Take time out to invest in a project, a book or just to sit back and think for a while, and you’ll find it’s easy to procrasticate guilt-free sometimes.

 

An education:: It’s easy to complain about work load and deadlines and responsibilities, and this is by no means a resolution to put an end to that, but I am so grateful for the ability to have continued in my education. Not only do I love what I do, but I love where I do it and without university I wouldn’t have met some of my nearest and dearest.

 

I hope you all have a wonderful new year, and also take the time to reflect on the past one. 2015 is going to be a big old scary one for me, but keeping in mind the little things (and big things) that make me happy always eases the way.

Happy New Year, lovely people.
x

Salmon Chowder

Nothing beats a hot bowl of hearty stew, curled up on the sofa with a fluffy blanket, after the end of a long, cold day. And this beautiful salmon chowder was actually really simple to prepare and cook. The blend of root vegetables, creamy broth and hot, flaked salmon was exactly what I needed after a day of essay writing and library hibernating. 
Serve with a thick slice of heavily buttered bread and a twist of black pepper, wrapped up in front of your favourite Netflix show. I made enough for two servings so I think I’ll be having this for dinner tomorrow night, too, and hey, I’m certainly not complaining.

 

Find the recipe I used here. This recipe serves six, so remember to alter the ingredient amounts accordingly. 

London, in numbers

Going to London at Christmas time has been on my to-do list since I started university two years ago. I got to do it this weekend with one of my closest friends, and we had so much fun!

7:: hours spent wandering around the Southbank Christmas markets talking and laughing about everything with one of the coolest – and only – Londoners I know

45:: minutes waiting for a table at Wahaca, and every single minute was worth the wait

3:: beautiful ‘street food’ dishes in the restaurant. We shared pork pibil tacos, marinared chicken taquitos, and black bean and cheese quesadillas – all highly recommendable

2:: delicious cocktails – a mohito and a margarita, what luxury!

countless:: mulled wine and cider stalls, which flavoured the air with the most lovely mix of citrus and spices

15:: minutes walking along the Thames river, lit by the most beautiful light, searching for coffee

30:: minutes spent in the Rekordelig lounge, drinking apple and guava ciders

too many:: pieces of art work that I didn’t understand – but which were still pretty to look at – in the Tate Modern

3:: trains and tubes missed because of delays and cancellations

0:: degrees when I left the house this morning, and

-1:: degree when I got back, with

10:: frozen cold toes

DIY Jar of Layered Ingredients

October has been a month full of celebrations thus far. Two of my best and closest friends had birthdays, and it was also mine and my wonderful boyfriend’s four year anniversary (another celebratory /food-related post about this soon)!
I love birthdays, other people’s birthdays especially. Finding or making the perfect gift makes me absolutely giddy. 
Having always managed to fall just slightly behind the social-media bandwagon, I only discovered Pinterest very recently, and I’d be lying if I said I wasn’t hooked. Anyway, I found the most gorgeous DIY dessert mix jars, and decided they’d be a great gift for the birthday girl in question. (They’d also be really lovely as wedding or party favours, if the recipe was reduced down to fit smaller jars. The jars I used were just over one litre each).

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

{Photos by Evan Nutley}

These jars were really fun to make and the birthday girl loved them! They’re ideal as a gift for someone who loves to bake but doesn’t have a lot of time on their hands, and they look great, too.

 

Check out my Pinterest boards for more creative ideas and other lovely things. 

That September Feeling

Summer is nearly over and the dawn of a new academic year is resting ominously on the horizon for some, if it hasn’t started already. In preparation, over the past couple of weeks I’ve been planning and spotting some exciting things which have given me something to look forward to, while I simultaneously plod on with my third and final year.

1. Lady Gaga and Tony Bennett, Cheek to Cheek

I adore Lady Gaga. I think my obsession with her less theatrical stuff began when I heard her duet ‘The Lady is a Tramp’ with Tony Bennett, so I am absolutely thrilled that they are releasing an album together! I will definitely be buying this album, something I haven’t done in a long time thanks to streaming programmes like Spotify. The release date is the 23rd September (tomorrow – eek!), and I can’t wait to get my little paws all over it!

2. Andrea Gibson

If you haven’t heard of Andrea Gibson, I suggest you YouTube her immediately. Poet, activist and all around amazing person, her poems are about love and sociopolitical issues, making both accessible and relatable. On the 12th October this year my best friend and I are going into London to see her perform and we’re both so excited.
‘Maybe I Need You’ is one of my favourites:

https://youtube.googleapis.com/v/MXc8Ct7qezY&source=uds

 

3. Hozier

Another gig! This one isn’t until February 2015. My friend and I were lucky to get tickets for this since the first lot sold out straight away, but a new date was released that same day and we snapped them up instantly. He has two amazing EPs released, both available on spotify, and his album is scheduled for release in the UK on the 6th October. With a smooth, blues-vibe, velvety voice, I can’t resist, and might have to buy this album, too.

4. Autumn

Halloween, bonfire night, pumpkin-spiced everything! As I said in my last post, Autumn is definitely my favourite season. I can’t wait to play around with layering and finally getting to drag my boot collection out from the bottom of my wardrobe again. And let’s not forget the food! There’s just something about the beginning of Autumn which feels so fresh and crisp and new. It’s probably that I’ve long associated it with the beginning of the new academic year, and that September feeling (everyone gets that, right?) – new clothes, new stationary, clean, scribble-free note-pads. The huge dork in me loves all these things.

5. The beginning of the new academic year
Finally, although it is hugely daunting to begin a new year (not to mention the last year of my undergraduate degree) I am rather excited about it, too. Since the turn of the season I’ve been anxious to get back into routine, and I’m actually really looking forward to my new modules. I’ll be studying Philosophy of Language, English Language in the World, Margaret Atwood and Samuel Beckett. And writing my dissertation, of course! – which will be on Thomas Hardy and the publication of his works. I’m sure I’ll have something different to say about my work-load in a couple of months, but at the moment I’m really looking forward to it all. Hard work will pay off in the end, and this time next year, I’ll have a degree!

Spicy carrot soup, perfect for Autumn!

I am ordinarily very wary in the kitchen, despite the fact that I really love to cook, so I hardly ever cook or bake anything without following a recipe or method to the letter. However, I really, really wanted to make a spicy carrot soup last week, and to my dismay, I could not find a recipe on-line that I liked the look of at all, so it was time to pull my socks up and wing it. 

I wanted something with smoky autumnal flavours that would reflect the oncoming of autumn (my favourite season!) and ended up going with spicy carrot, with roast veg and sweet potato. 

The following recipe made 5-6 bowls.

 

Ingredients:

Half a kilogram of carrots, peeled and roughly chopped

1 large sweet potato, peeled and roughly chopped

2 red onions, peeled and roughly chopped

2 red peppers, cut into large slices 

1 litre of vegetable stock

1 clove of garlic, crushed

Pinch of dried chilli flakes

Olive oil

Crème fraîche (to serve – optional)

 

 

Method:

1. Pre-heat the oven to gas-mark 6. Place the chopped onions and peppers into an oven-proof dish, drizzle with olive oil, and season with chilli flakes (very hot! use sparingly), crushed garlic, and salt and pepper. Leave to cook for 20 minutes. 

2. Whilst the pepper and onion are cooking, heat two tablespoons of olive oil in a large sauce pan, then add the chopped carrots and sweet potato, cook on a low heat until soft (about 15 minutes), if they start to catch, add some vegetable stock. 

3. When the peppers and onions are cooked, add them to the pan with the other vegetables and pour in the rest of the stock. Cook on a low heat until all of the vegetables are soft all of the way through (about 20 minutes). 

4. When everything is cooked through, pour the mixture into a blender (or use a hand-held one) and blend until smooth. 

Serve with bread and a dollop of cream if you like! 

This went down a treat in my flat, both my boyfriend and best friend loved it, and it was so simple (and cheap) to make. I will definitely be experimenting with more soup recipes over the next few months so watch this space! 

 

Soup should be stored chilled in an air-tight container and can be kept for around a week.