Love this #69: Saltcreake Designs

A sunny Saturday morning in Norfolk and we popped along to see who and what was in the pop-up shops at the Dalegate Market in Burnham Deepdale. A fantastic idea and somewhere I'll be stopping in again the next time we're in Sunny Hunny. 

This weekend there was a sweet company, an artist and some woodcraft with items made from new and reclaimed wood. MOH was quite taken with a standard light made from an old beam, and it was lovely but something else had caught my eye.

And that was these upcycled home decor pieces by Saltcreake Designs - aren't they fab?

I loved them, but just don't have the space for them right now so I didn't leave with one, although I would have been more than happy to. I am though, adding these to an ever growing list of home items so that when I have the right space I know just what to buy. 

My favourite was the picture frame and chicken wire noticeboards, such a lovely idea. My dad and MOH were in agreement though and couldn't see the attraction of some jubilee clips on a board with some old jars, or a picture frame with chicken wire. Clearly it's one of those things that divides the genders in my family.

What do you think?

A new - and modern - coffee set

We're back from a weekend in Norfolk and I've a few Norfolk posts to share with you this week. I make no apology for that, as it's a beautiful place and one of those places that I find it easy to chill out and recharge in. As usual when leaving mum and dads, I left with more than I arrived with and full of cake, which of course is never a problem.  As well as our purchases - it's rare that I'll visit Norfolk and not buy some fish at the Fish Shed in Brancaster Staithe and so take up space in mum's fridge too - there were some aquilegias, lupins and foxgloves from dad's garden, a giant lettuce he'd grown and something more unusual, a coffee set.

But not just any coffee set.

This one, a Midwestern set called Plant Life, was a wedding present to my parents from my granddad, which they've hardly used (their words) since their wedding in 1958 and as I've recently developed a taste for coffee (thanks to Nespresso) when it was offered, I was thrilled to bring it home.

I have memories of the best dinner service coming out for special occasions as I grew up, and wanting  to be extra careful with it and not drop or damage it. I've a skill for being a tad clumsy you see, but I think I managed not to break any of this and I'm hoping that record continues. 

It's been a while though since I looked at the design more closely. I'm not sure back then that I ever really looked at it in the same way I do now. But now that I do, it makes me smile. Its images and drawings are still modern and contemporary, or at least not dated, if you prefer to think of it that way. 

And I've just the place for it too.  

It's now proudly sitting in my dresser, where I think it looks great. It goes nicely alongside my Le Creuset Classic orange casserole and the Norfolk-crafted earthenware noodle bowls and I love it against the duck egg blue and the wood. 

Bringing it home was the prompt I needed to spring clean the dresser's display cupboards and rejig what went where. Now it looks prettier but is still - probably more - functional, which is just as well as I've promised to put this to good use. 

Now, who's for coffee?

My Graze Freakshake Challenge

When Graze.com got in touch to see if I'd like to create their latest Freakshake recipe I was intrigued. I didn't know what a freakshake was to be honest. Timeout says they're "a creamy, thick and delectable cakey mash-up of heavenly psychedelic joy. They’re basically a big-arse milkshake with a shed load of cake, crazy toppings and cream piled on top that began life in the Aussie capital, Canberra."

So I was intrigued to see what would arrive.  When I opened the package I quickly realised the Timeout description was probably a bit off for this recipe. I can't imagine what they described would have anything as healthy as chia seeds in, or the mango & coconut protein topper (that's the smaller packet at the front in my picture below).

I wasn't that disappointed though as I've been meaning to get my smoothie game together, but you know how it is I'd convinced myself they were hard work and took a lot of time to do. In actual fact they don't, it probably takes more time to retrieve the blender from the back of the cupboard where it'd been banished over winter!

I also received a recipe for The Graze mango & coconut sky high shake and I should say now, that it sounded good. I didn't have all of the ingredients it used to hand so decided to take the challenge a step further and use the ingredients I had.  I'll share both the Graze recipe and my alternative choices.

So what's in The Graze Freakshake?

There are chia seeds soaked in water, coconut water and desiccated coconut.  An unusual addition of ground turmeric, which I was keen to try as I've read about its qualities as a Sirt food. There was some frozen mango, some cucumber and the juice of a lemon and a lime, plus ice cubes.  On top there is coconut yogurt, the graze mango & coconut protein topper and a passion fruit.  

Sounds good doesn't it?

My substitutions

Instead of coconut water I used a mixture of apple juice and water.  For the frozen mango I substituted a frozen banana and instead of the cucumber I used some strawberries and raspberries from the allotment. I didn't have a passion fruit so omitted that from the topping.

So how did it taste?

Great! It was everything I expected and the chia seeds and desiccated coconut were unusual additions. MOH regularly has chia seed porridge for breakfast - and I do occasionally - he has a pet name for them of frog spawn, and if you've tried them you'll know why.  Obviously they don't taste of frog spawn, or at least I imagine they don't but both of these ingredients gave the shake some body.

My version of the Freakshake was quite clearly a different colour - the red berries influencing it. I like mango - but struggle to peel it, always finding the stone and blunting my knives. I'm sure there's a knack but I don't have it so far! I also didn't realise they could be bought already frozen, so I might be looking out for those.

MY TASTY FREAKSHAKE

A CLOSER LOOK AT THE GRAZE MANGO & COCONUT PROTEIN TOPPER

And while it already added to my colourful week, I decided to experiment with what was left. I added some raspberries into these small lolly moulds and topped with the Freakshake mixture.  They're now in the freezer and I'm looking forward to trying these out.  In fact my blender is no longer at the back of the cupboard as I've proven to myself smoothies or shakes (whatever you call them) don't take that much time, and obviously depending what you put in them, are better for you than a can of fizzy drink, which is often our go to drink on a hot summer's day.

The Graze mango & coconut sky high shake 

(my substitutions where made are shown in brackets)

Ingredients

15g chia seeds soaked in 4tbsp water
300ml coconut water (200ml apple juice and 100ml water)
1 tbsp desiccated coconut
1/4 tsp ground turmeric
1/2 mango, frozen (1 banana, frozen)
1/4 cucumber (3 large strawberries and a handful of raspberries)
Juice of 1 lime
Juice of 1 lemon
4-5 ice cubes

Toppings
4 tbsp coconut yogurt (4 tbsp plain greek yogurt)
1 punnet graze mango & coconut protein topper
1 passion fruit

Instructions

Blend all the ingredients in your blender until smooth.  Serve over ice or pour into a glass, add your toppings and enjoy immediately. 

If you try this - or are a regular smoothie drinker - let me know how you get on or your favourite flavours in the comments.

 

This is a collaborative post but all opinions remain my own.