Escaping to Switzerland

Last week, my lovely friend Sam invited me and some of our friends to stay in his chalet in Villars, Switzerland. So, very early on a Tuesday morning, we all piled into cars and set off towards the Channel Tunnel - we had a long drive ahead of us, but the beautiful Swiss mountains were waiting at the end of it!

Up until this trip, I had never visited Switzerland in the summer. It was a very different scene to the ski season - the mountains and villages were quiet and wonderfully green! Even better, the air was warm as the sun beat (for the most part) down on us.

Sam took us on the walks he and his family did when they were there, and so we found ourselves firstly jumping aboard a cable car (thankfully unburdened by skis!) and bobbing our way up the mountainside, before starting the surprisingly gruelling hike to lunch.

It was weird seeing the slopes which, on skis you wouldn't think were hard. However, with all the bare earth and rocks showing (and the odd tree stump!) I started to think just how terrifying some of the slopes were....

They were worth the climb though when you got to see views like these!

One mildly terrifying walk saw us balancing along a ridge at the peak of a mountain, sheer drops on either side! Luckily however we all made it across... Just!

My favourite walk however had to be when we found ourselves scrambling up a river, jumping from rock to rock, before deciding to go for a paddle (or in the boys' cases, a dunk) in the icy river.

Greg even had a Lion King moment...

...and I attempted a more of a Tarzan pose.

Part of the reason we'd come to Switzerland was to witness Swiss National Day, a big day of celebration in Switzerland on the 1st August each year. Unluckily, this year it absolutely bucketed it down with rain, and so the celebrations were somewhat dampened, but that didn't stop the Swiss Guard parading in the street, stamping their clog-like shoes as they marched, or a band of people playing the giant Swiss Alpine Horn!

We later watched the flashes of fireworks through the clouds from the chalet's balcony before retiring to a rather furious game of Articulate, Champagne glasses in hand, as the Swiss partied on into the night!

Switzerland in the Summer was just simply wonderful. Everywhere looked stunning, and the fresh mountain air was so welcome after living in polluted London. More so however, it was just great to go away with friends and some good quality time with them. So thank you Sam!

Visiting Italy: Tuscany

Finally, after weeks of excitedly waiting, it was time to go on holiday. I had spent the week writing lists and faffing over how to fit everything I wanted to take into our ridiculously small luggage limit (7.5kg of hold baggage each!? What?!)  but now it was time. The boyfriend and I were heading to Italy!

We were off for two weeks and had decided to travel around a little bit, so our trip involved a few days in the Tuscan countryside, a couple of days in Florence and a few more in Rome. It was going to be glorious!

We landed at Pisa airport and after a couple of short trains, we arrived in the small village of Rignano Sull'Arno that was to be our home for our Tuscan stay. It was beautifully hot, the sun beating down a sizzling 35^oc, and, after setting off walking for all of about 10mins, we found ourselves to be a tad lost.  Wandering around, we discovered just how hilly a tiny village can manage to be (very!), before eventually and exhaustedly finding the gates to our accommodation.

We had booked all our accommodation for the trip through Air B&B (basically a site where people offer up their spare rooms to tourists for very reasonable prices) and we seemed to have struck gold. Our very friendly host Leonardo (how much more Italian can you get?) showed us into our own little stone cottage which had a little sitting room, kitchen, a large bedroom and a rather unexpectedly modern bathroom. He showed us around, recommended his brother’s pizzeria, and then left us to inspect the pool.

The view from the pool was amazing. The ground to the side of the pool just dropped away and suddenly we had this beautiful view over the Tuscan countryside. We could see for miles and miles all around! I was instantly very happy and knew where I’d be spending all of my time!

Tuscany was wonderful. I managed to read an entire book (something I haven’t done in a long time), get a tan (something I haven’t done in even longer), eat some great pizza (Leonardo’s bro’s place turned out to be really good!) and just generally catch up on some well needed sleep. I was in bliss!

Soon however, it was time to go to Rome…

Recipe: Lemon Curd and Raspberry Cream Naked Cake

Although Autumn has crept upon us, this week has been beautifully sunny. To celebrate the season's last salute to Summer, I set about baking this little naked cake. To me, nothing screams 'Summer!' more than raspberries and cream and, well, I just have a weakness for lemon curd! Put the two with cake and I must surely be onto a winner?

To recreate this little beauty, you will need the following...

For the lemon curd:
The grated rind and juice of one and a half lemons
50g butter
65g sugar
2 eggs

For the raspberry cream:
150ml double cream
5 or 6 raspberries
2tbsp icing sugar

For the Sponge:
100g butter
100g sugar
100g self raising flour
2 eggs
juice of one and a half lemons
1tsp baking powder

I always start by making the lemon curd. This is very simple. All you have to do is whisk up your two eggs in a bowl with your lemon juice and rind. Then pour this over your butter (cut into little bits) and and sugar which should be in a heat proof bowl. Place your bowl over a pan of simmering water and stir together the mixture until the butter melts. Continue to stir until the mixture starts to thicken which should take around 7mins. Once it has thickened, take it off the heat and let it cool- it should thicken more as it gets cooler. Once it is cold, you will have a tangy lemon curd, ready to be used on your cake. (And don't worry! You should have a plenty extra left over as well!)

Next, the cake. This is a super easy no fuss 'all in' recipe which my family has championed since before I could reach the mixer. Preheat the oven at 180 degrees and then simply bung all your cake ingredients into a bowl and whisk. Once you have a fluffy mixture, separate it out into two well greased cake tins- the ones I used were fairly small and shallow, with a roughly 6inch diameter. Then, pop your tins into the oven and let them cook for about 25-30mins, until golden brown. As soon as they're done, upturn your cakes onto a wire rack and leave them to fully cool.
N.B. you could also use one deeper cake tin and cut this in half once it's cool, although personally I never manage to cut it straight! If you do this, you will also need to adjust the cooking time appropriately. 

While the cakes are cooking and cooling, take the time to create your cream filling. Simply pour your double cream into a mixing bowl, add two tablespoons of icing sugar and your raspberries. Then, beat hard until the cream thickens to make stiff peeks. This can really take some work if you're doing it by hand but the end cake is definitely worth it!

Once you have your cakes, your cream and your curd, it's just a simple matter of assembling your cake! Take one cake and smear one face with lemon curd and do the same to the other cake, just with the cream. Sandwich together and vôlá, you are done! I used a sieve to dust mine with a little extra icing sugar and stuck on some raspberries and blueberries with some icing paste (icing sugar and a couple of drops of water, mixed to a thick paste) to make it a bit prettier.

I have to say, personally I think this cake is one of the most elegant and tasty things to come out of my kitchen. One mouthful and you can practically taste the summer sun! What do you guys think?

The Travel Diaries: The Forbidden City, The Great Wall of China and Da Dong Restaurant, Beijing

In the early hours of the morning, Jossi, her family and I jumped in a taxi and whooshed down the side of the Peak and to the airport. We were about to catch a short flight to Beijing!

Jossi's dad had visited the city on many occasions and so we had a well seasoned tour guide in our midsts as we went to explore China's capital. Jossi and I couldn't wait- it was both of our first times in the city and my first visit to mainland China! We only had the weekend, but were determined to see all the main sights so, armed with our water bottles and sensible shoes, we went exploring!

First stop, The Great Wall.

Just wow.

Nothing quite prepares you for how huge the wall really is. It stretches as far as the eye can see in front of you and behind, dominating the ridge line of the surrounding mountains. Looking over the top, you can see the terrifyingly sheer drop, and the ground far far below.

The wall itself is quite tricky to walk as the smooth stone waves up and down under your feet as it follows the shape of the mountain peeks. You can see notches in the stone where horses' hooves had worn in footholds as they patrolled the wall. You can imagine marching up and down the battlements, looking out for the ferocious huns and other invaders below!

The wall is simply spectacular and surprisingly fun to visit. You can see why it's seen as one of the wonders of the world!

After a walk around Tiananmen Square (The home of the National Assembly), we entered the Forbidden City which was another great place to explore. As the home of the Emperor of China and his household for nearly 500 years, and named the Forbidden City after the fact that no one used to be able to enter or leave without the Emperor's permission, it was steeped in history.

We walked through the expansive grounds, peering into rooms and around the gardens. The palace was very busy with people from all over China coming to visit the historic home of their emperors.

Our little watery friend came with us to see the sites!

I especially loved the gardens with it's ancient trees and beautiful pagodas.

All of our exploring was hungry work and so we visited some brilliant restaurants although not without making some rather large friends first....

The first was called Da Dong and was magnificent. Located in Peking, it promised some of the best Peking duck around and it did not disappoint! After being roasted, the duck was brought to our table while a chef prepared it in front of us. We were then presented with dishes of mellon, cucumber, spring onions and pickles, along with pancakes and sesame buns. Being the only westerner at the table, the chef then helpfully showed me the proper way to assemble my duck (much more elegantly than I possibly could!). We also tucked in to a fabulous (yet to me, rather mysterious) set of other dishes, all which tasted and looked amazing. Jossi's dad ordered a fish dish which arrived, complete with head and teeth!

Da Dong itself was also a beautiful restaurant. We ate around a flat, still pool where, on a centre island, chefs in tall white hats roasted the ducks in what looked like giant pizza ovens. The walls were decorated with shadowy silhouette projected onto the walls and interesting partitions broke up the dining space. It was very modern without being cold and I loved it!

The second place we ate was a Mongolian restaurant with a name I unfortunately can't type or say. This was my first experience of Mongolian food and I have to say I really enjoyed it! The restaurant's speciality were 'hollow noodles' which you can watch the chefs prepare in the restaurant.

Mongolian may not be the most photogenic cuisine (one dish was literally a giant lamb bone which you picked the meat off of) but it was definitely delicious and also rather spicy! Definitely something I'd like to eat again!

One evening we stopped at the Beijing branch of the American Club for dinner. Although the food perhaps wasn't some of the most interesting we ate in Beijing, it was definitely beautifully presented and I really enjoyed seeing how they made each dish look special!

The one food we didn't dare sample however was the deep fried insects, a local delicacy. Stalls in the street were selling scorpions on sticks, which were then plunged into vats of batter and fried in front of you. However, as hard as the store vendors tried, they couldn't convince us to munch on a creepy crawly! We did however try some bubble tea and toffee strawberries on a stick.

Beijing was fabulous and not at all what I was expecting. It was vibrant and lively and didn't at all fit the kind of 'repressed' view I'd previously had of mainland China. There was so much to see and do and I'm incredibly grateful I was given the chance to see it (thank you so much Jossi's fam!). Hopefully one day, I will get a chance to return!