editorialgirls

We are Kirsty and Lydia, and we work on commercial books in Michael Joseph Editorial at Penguin. Personal tumblr, views our own etc.

[googlyeyebooks]

“If he be Mr. Hyde” he had thought, “I shall be Mr. Googly Eye.”

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Easter baking - I wasn't in last Tuesday after the Easter bank holiday (due to a horrible bug which robbed me of 2 days holiday) and yesterday we were entirely useless and forgot about #tastytuesday !

So here is our belated Easter post. Although Easter almost seems like a distant memory it actually seems more appropriate to post this now as it is almost starting to look like Spring (a dangerous thing to suggest I know, but the weather can't get much worse...).

I was home for the whole bank holiday and took the opportunity to do some baking with my mum and sister. We are never going to be professional bakers so I've long since embraced the homemade, organic approach to cupcakes (more school fete than bake-off).

We used a basic vanilla sponge recipe (which was delicious) and took several attempts at piping our buttercream icing - concluding that to get that professional swirl we simply needed a bigger nozzle!

My mum did want to be slightly ambitious with our decoration and so we painstakingly dyed our fondant icing yellow and began to mould INDIVIDUAL daffodil petals, to then be assembled on top of the cakes. 

I think they turned out beautifully! The whole family enjoyed them after a hasty Easter egg hunt in a snow shower...

Lx

(If you are interested in your cakes looking professional, take inspiration from http://afternooncrumbs.com/)

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Teaching K to cook: Last week, all inspired by our #tastyTuesday ambitions we decided that Kirsty should come over to mine for dinner to make Mary Berry's Golden fishcakes from scratch. I have made these a couple of times before but it was K's first time, and she seemed particularly enamored by the technique of poaching fish in milk (see above), not to mention her meticulous peppercorn counting.

The ingredients list is very simple and the flavour is lovely - I always throw in a few more bay leaves than the recipe calls for as I love strong flavours, and the lemon zest makes them taste lovely and fresh.

They turned out BEAUTIFULLY, actually golden! And they were delicious! As they are stuffed full of potato and fresh fish we only needed a salad accompaniment (with a honey mustard dressing made from scratch, naturally).

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So #tastytuesday has anyone ever cooked pearl barley? Well, I forayed into the world of grains this week to make a souper healthy and money saving soup. (Yes, souper.) I've always relished the surprise of discovering little pearl barleys in a mouthful of shop bought soup but have never used it in my own cooking, until now. It turns out to be a very time consuming little grain - 60 minutes to boil! (not to mention the rinsing and washing to prepare) - but well worth the wait. Throw in some red lentils, roasted red peppers and tomatoes and enjoy a nice hit of protein and fibre. I strongly recommend to all.

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This weekend my sister came over to do an 8 mile run with me (we are both training for a half marathon) so I thought it would only be right to bake some muffins to go with our post run coffee.

I chose a semi healthy banana and blueberry recipe, using honey rather than sugar and I replaced normal flour with wholemeal as it was in my cupboard. I think I was a little over zealous with the bananas as they did turn out a little stodgy, but the sweetness of the blueberries made up for it.

It was such a beautiful day, lots of APRICITY for our run through Brockwell park, and the muffins sufficiently revitalised us.

Lx

[editorialgirls]

Deipnosophist

Deipnosophist (n.)

 A person who is learned in the art of dining.

From Satisdiction by Ammon Shea

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I love cook books (don't we all?) and I love charity shop shopping. This weekend I wandered into Oxfam Books in Herne Hill and found these beautiful Penguin paperbacks, and this amazing Hendrick's gin book - complete with a history of Hendrick's and a host of gin cocktail recipes! I discovered Hendrick's gin a couple of summers ago - if you haven't tried it, do! (With cucumber, naturally). These books are super sweet, and look lovely on my bookshelf.

Lx

[vintagebooksdesign]

  REVENGE – Yoko Ogawa – Silk Bound Edition

These three different editions of Revenge by acclaimed Japanese writer Yoko Ogawa have been produced in collaboration with Midori Kunita-Cockram of the Jade Bookbinding Studio.

Each one has been hand-bound in a chemise constructed from vintage silk sourced from Japan. Some were constructed from actual kimonos and others from specially sourced rolls of silk, and as such each one is entirely unique.

We have produced a total of only 100 numbered copies using three different fabrics; each one is signed by the author and beautifully wrapped in Japanese Shoji and Chiyogami handmade paper.

You can purchase these limited edition copies from the Random House website.

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Covet. 

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I've been wanting to make this yummy red lentil, spinach and almond dish, from Jules Clancy's 5 Ingredients, 10 Minutes book, for a long time. And now I finally have a flat of my own, free range of the kitchen and all my lovely kitchen appliances and crockery close at hand once more.

I love red lentils (which is lucky as a vegetarian), I always have them in the cupboard in case I feel the urge to whip up a red lentil and pepper soup, and they're super quick to cook. I also love spinach (cooked, NOT raw), and I'm obsessed with almonds.

So this was the perfect 10 minute dinner for me after getting in a little later than normal from a super fun book launch. And it was true to the 10 minutes. Although I did go over the 5 ingredient limit by throwing in a little cumin - my all time favourite ingredient. YUM.

Lx

Pre-order the book here! Explore the lovely recipes here! @jules_stonesoup

[editorialgirls]

Cachinnator

Cachinnator (n.) 

A person who laughs too loud or too much. 

It's #wordwednesday number three! And this one is perfect. K is infamous for an indescribably loud and irritating laugh. Indescribable until now, that is... Tweet us if you use it in a sentence. We'll be using it all day. 

From Satisdiction by Ammon Shea

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#tastytuesday dinner: naan bread pizzas

K was a little more than scornful when I told her that we could make naan bread pizzas for her visit to my new flat. Needless to say she ATE HER WORDS. And lots of naan bread pizza.

The frying pan plate served perfectly in my half-moved-in state.

[editorialgirls]

#tastytuesday lunch

Pasta with crushed peas and ricotta, from Jules Clancy's 5 Ingredients 10 Minutes. 

Pre-order it this very moment - it's worth it. And sate your immediate appetite with one of these delicious recipes.

[editorialgirls]

Look at this! It's amazing! 

via the consistently delightful @rkhooks. Her blog is the tastiest of all. 

[vintagebooksdesign]

MOD - Richard Weight

Strip away the jacket – featuring photography from Dean Chalkley’s wonderful project ‘The New Faces’ – to reveal the flash of colour you get from the lining of a sharp suit.

Richard Weight’s MOD is the story of one of the biggest and brassiest youth movements and of it’s legacy.

It’s a book for anyone who is, or ever has been, young and British.

[editorialgirls]

We want this! 

[editorialgirls]

Apricity

Apricity (n.) 

The warmth of the sun in winter. 

Happy inaugural #wordwednesday. Tweet us if you manage to use it in a sentence.

From Satisdiction by Ammon Shea

[editorialgirls]

A little festive cheer for the office. Lunch break very well spent. 

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