Cutting The Cheese( rude in the U.S. but literal here), Champion Chutney, Perfect Pounders, Utterly Buttery, A Bouquet Of Vases, Double Lanterns and The Sherpa Of Scent Muses On...... Vetiver!

 

Cutting The Cheese( rude in the U.S. but literal here), Champion Chutney, Perfect Pounders, Utterly Buttery, A Bouquet Of Vases, Double Lanterns and The Sherpa Of Scent Muses On...... Vetiver! Bonjour! Ça va? No I am not in France (yet!), just having a moment! This week was a mix of wonderful and debilitating. My 'sausage hand/arm' remained swollen for the better part of seven days, which was both painful and restrictive. I have never been stung by wasps before, so had no idea that my body would react so badly - I shall now be on my guard! On a happier note, I have a new car! I purchased my Audi TT (my mid-life crisis car) many years ago and she and I have had many happy adventures together - I still believe her to be the prettiest vehicle on the road! But the time has come to part company, mainly because I have been sitting on the floor for a decade, and hauling myself from the car-seat after a long day was getting embarrassing( not the action itself but the guttural, groaning noises that I have been uttering!). Also, a sports car is not very practical in the country as they are low to the ground and get covered in mud, so I was seeking a loftier position! I decided that I would 'lease' a car, which is what all my friends are doing. Technology is moving so quickly that one doesn't quite know where it will end, so a nice 4-year contract offers flexibility. I wanted to find something that would be environmentally responsible but couldn't leap straight to an electric vehicle as I have nowhere to charge it and we have very limited access to charging points in Amberley i.e. none! I found a lovely, hybrid-vehicle, which is self-charging, rather handsome and elevated, so I am now the proud owner (well renter is probably more accurate!) of a Toyota CH-R Icon in metallic grey. To be honest, I am still quite nervous around it as I am unused to an automatic ( a friend's genius tip of taking my left shoe off has worked wonders), the huge screen (whatever are they for?) the fob (I don't really see that this is any better than a key) and the myriad peeps and beeps that come out of nowhere. It seems that I am being constantly warned  about some potential hazard and it is quite unnerving - the sound of progress is deafening! BUT, my entrances and exits from this vehicle are a masterclass in grace and dignity and are all carried-out in complete silence. We have a winner! In other news, I attended my first Trade Exhibition in eighteen months this week. As it was in Islington, no Covid Tests were required(!) and I was so happy to be back with suppliers and searching for new talent again - it has been far too long. I have another in two weeks and cannot wait. I am hoping that by the time the Spring shows roll around, in Paris and Frankfurt, that travel may be a little easier - we can only hope! At the store,  it has been a kitchen-fest with the arrival of some pieces that I have hankered after for eons! Shop Now - Acacia Wood Cheese Slicer - £17.00 Shop Now - Mrs White's - Celebration Chutney - £5.00 As you know, I adore cheese - especially hard cheeses from around the UK - and still believe that a cheese sandwich (with our Celebration Chutney on the side) is as ambrosial as it gets at lunchtime.  We pretty much always serve a cheese course when entertaining, but I like to cut the blocks into small, more manageable pieces and place at either end of the table so that everyone is served in half the time. I find that even using one's full body weight and a large knife, it is hard work, so have been searching for a reasonably priced, traditional, cheese slicer (you know, the ones with the steel wire). I succeeded in my quest this week and am delighted with this model, which is quite light (the base is Acacia), and not too large either so it's easy to store and to move around the kitchen. I can now achieve perfect square blocks and sensational segments with virtually no effort. I love it and have become quite adept already. An absolute must for dinner parties - and a crafty cheese sarnie! Shop Now - Burger Press - Quarter Pounder - £14.00 I found a really great recipe in House and Garden this issue for corn fritters with a lime and chilli mayonnaise. We eat a lot of suppers that involve some sort of patty, from vegan burgers to the aforementioned fritters, but it is often hard to get them evenly cooked when made in the hand as they are inevitably thicker in the middle. I wanted to source a burger press( which obviously works as well for veggies and vegans as it does for omnivores), but everything I found was of petit-proportions. Finally I found the perfect design - a quarter-pounder press! Two of these patties will satiate the heartiest of appetites and the fact that the shape is perfectly flat will ensure even cooking all the way though. There are some fantastic recipes for patties out there and you can even roast them if frying is not to your taste (I use a baking rack, which works perfectly). Shop Now - Butter Box - Ridged Glass - £8.00 We also have a new 'ribbed' butter dish which is an amazing price and lovely and roomy, so holds larger, artisanal pats as well as my favourite, slightly salted 'President' which always reminds me of France. Shop Now - Large, Ribbed, 'Smoke', Glass Vase- £24.00 Shop Now - Large , Ring, Black Glass Vase - £35.00 Speaking of ribbing, we have taken possession a very large order of vases. Once again I liked so many different shapes and sizes, so just bit the bullet and purchased them all! Among my favourites are a large, ribbed circular vase  in 'smoke' grey which would be glorious with something log-stemmed. There is a really curvaceous piece that reminds me of the Michelin man and we have clear, or pale amber and a cracking, black, globe vase. that looks particularly fetching, teamed with white blooms! Last but not least, is a 1960's inspired circular black, glass vase with a stylish 'ring' at the base. Please ignore the size of the images as they are not accurate in terms of comparison with each other - our designer is en vacances and my image manipulation skills are rather limited! Normal services will resume next week! Shop Now - Balloon 'Amber' Vase - £26 Shop Now - Medium 'Bubble' Vase- £25.00 I am most grateful to a lovely, Danish, glass company from whom we purchased a very clever little collection of illuminators called 'Double Lantern'. These designs hold a candle at one end and, when turned the other way up, will hold a tea-light. We stocked these a couple of seasons ago and they sold out very fast and we have a huge waiting list so I have been nagging the brand to re-issue. They have no plans to do so but discovered a few rogue boxes in their showroom so allowed me to purchase them all. They make adorable gifts and I use them in the garden - the candle end when there is no breeze and the tea-light when it's windy! Once these have been sold there will be no more sadly. Shop Now - Double Lantern Candle/Tea Light Holder - Medium - £8.50 Shop Now - Double Lantern Candle/Tea Light Holder - Tall - £8.50 And now for the second instalment from The Sherpa Of Scent! This week I thought that we would channel one of my favourite notes -  Vetiver! This is actually a tall grass, but the part of the plant used in perfumery is the root from which the essential oil is extracted. Vetiver smells earthy, warm and dry with a little leather, some smoke and a hint of wood. Historically, the finest quality vetiver in perfumery came from Haiti but, as you can imagine, the terrible events of recent years have decimated the crop many times which has meant that countries like The Philippines now also play an important role in production. Vetiver was long-considered a masculine note and used at the base or heart of a panoply of gentlemen's fragrances. However tastes, and technology have combined to produce a number of unisex Vetiver scents that have brought this magnificent note to a wider audience.  One excellent example is 'Vetiverissimo' from Bruno Fazzolari in San Francisco. This is a sensational example of a modern Vetiver - sleek and sophisticated, with a warm, rather knowing allure, adding spice, resin and an intoxicating cedarwood to the signature note. A very dear friend, who is a prominent Human Rights lawyer and extremely stylish, has made this scent her own and it will always remind me of her. That said, this is a truly unisex scent and would also be a dapper addition to any gentleman's fragrance wardrobe. Abel's 'White Vetiver' is a 100% natural scent created by a nose from New Zealand . This is a cashmere sweater of a scent. The opening is lime and mint, which segues effortlessly into a Haitian vetiver crowned with caramelised woods.   Shop Now - Vetiverissimo from Bruno Fazzolari - £113/30mls Shop Now - White Vetiver from Abel - £118/50mls Up in the Highlands, Castle Forbes make one of my most treasured fragrances '1445'( a date that celebrates the Forbes' Clan Chieftain being honoured as first Lord Of Scotland. The spiced-vetiver at the base, is balanced with lighter green and citrus notes of petitgrain and lemon, plus the unmistakable hit of tarragon at the heart. This a fresh, vetiver-cologne for gentlemen. Ramon Monegal is a great Master Perfumeur and his work forms a large part of my personal fragrance wardrobe. 'Umbra' is one of them, a hirsute, Haitian vetiver layered with seductive oak moss, Canadian fir balsam, geranium bourbon and Tonka beans from Brazil. Quite an international roll-call, and this scent typifies Ramon's pursuit of excellence, only using the finest ingredients from around the world. This is a bear hug of a scent!   Shop Now - Castle Forbes 1445 - £60/100mls Shop Now - Umbra from Ramon Monegal - £130/50mls Escentric Molecule 3  is made with Vetiveryl Acetate, an aroma chemical that could be described as something of a hybrid, a combination of natural and synthetic. Made from vetiver oil that is treated with acetic acid, the smooth and refined aroma that maintains the distinct woody character of vetiver whilst bringing an intriguing bitter freshness to the note. This is nuanced, easy to wear, contemporary in style and unisex in nature. What would happen if you dropped your spice rack onto a dry wood pile in the middle of a grapefruit orchard? The result would be 'Wood Haven' from Kerosene. Strictly speaking, Vetiver is not the lead here, however I had to include it because it is used so wonderfully well. Combined with a bright, citrus scents of grapefruit and lemon which waltz with spicy ginger and pink pepper, this fragrance is all wrapped up in a punchy, vetiver/guaic/cedar base. This is THE best woody/vetiver combination that I have encountered, and a magically intense experience! I find Vetiver to be an extremely comforting note, it is quite smooth and sultry like a good Malt Whiskey and, as we move towards Autumn, well worth investigating. Like all the classic ingredients, this has a strong personality, however there are literally hundreds of interpretations from which to choose. These are just a few of my favourites and I hope that they assist you to find one or two of your own!   Shop Now - Escentric Molecules 03 - £46/30mls Shop Now - Wood Haven from Kerosene - £165.00 I am home alone this w/e as the GD is visiting Les Parents. My to-do list is huge, starting with a drive back to Kent this morning to retrieve my wallet, which I dropped on the street yesterday and a very kind individual rescued for me! Then it's back to the gardening as I am hoping to get both back and front gardens under control now that the wasps have departed. While I remember, my thanks to all those who wrote to me last week, it is always so lovely to hear from you - my 'sausage hand' seems to have raised a smile or two! We popped down to Amberley on Thursday to meet the current owner of our cottage( absolutely lovely) and measure for the sofas so we have decided and ordered an olive-green, velvet, button-back for the formal sitting room and a lovely blue/grey velvet 3-seater with matching footstool for the den. The latter comes in 4-pieces as we are nervous about getting it through the door! We will have to sell a lot of our furniture as it is too large for the cottage, so hoping that this will pay for the lion's share - moving is not an inexpensive exercise! Wishing all a lovely, relaxing and sunny Bank Holiday! Michaelx

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