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Showing posts from February, 2009

Ripailles by Stéphane Reynaud

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This is quite possibly the best French cookery book on the market, a book of such beauty you will want to stroke it.  Inside it's tactile padded cover Ripailles is packed recipes with photography you will just want to pore over.  A Sunday that begins well must end well. Out comes the boules, the crowd is reassembled, hunting and fishing memories turn into epics, football matches into World Cup finals...It’s a ripailles and it’s good. It’s late, the leftovers have gone, the dregs of the bottles have dried up, the yawns become contagious, the time to say goodbye has come...bring on next Sunday.  Acclaimed Parisian chef Stéphane Reynaud writes beautiful recipes that combine his passion for traditional French cooking with his enthusiasm for modern cuisine; from simple home cooking to more complex, intricate dishes.  In Ripailles, which loosely translates into English as ‘feast’, Stéphane presents the very best of the French kitchen and delves into the origins of French cuisine. With a

Mrs White's Swell for Leather - extremely polished polish

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Based on a Victorian recipe for waterproofing shoes, this rich, thick paste polish is an absolute dream for nourishing, cleaning and polishing fine leather. Tested on the sumptuous seats of a vintage Railton, one application summoned up that as-new look from dry, dusty leather which hadn’t been touched for many years. Almost all the linseed oil sold in the UK is produced here, so this polish is around 90% UK-produced. Linseed oil is rich in GLAs, otherwise known as Omega 3, 6, and 9 fatty acids. These nourish the leather in the same way they nourish you, and linseed oil has been used for centuries to keep hides looking like new. Thanks to our variable climate, British bee products are commonly more concentrated, powerful and fragrant than imported alternatives. They also have less impact on the environment in terms of the miles they travel to get to our venerable boiler. We melt the wax slowly, so the full depth of the wax’s fragrance is preserved, and so the polish is creamy, light, a

Dictionary of French Building Terms - c'est magnifique!

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'My aunt's feather is on the table,' whilst probably a useful bit of information to some; it is of no use at all when what you are trying to say is 'the oil-fired combination boiler is in the neighbour's dove cot.' This essential dictionary and phrase book includes every term you need to know when buying, maintaining, renovating or building a home in France. The things they don't teach you at school, or ever really comes up in general conversation. I did A-level and whilst at one stage I could have held my own during a discussion on Truffaut I couldn't tell you one thing about guttering.  Accessible and comprehensive, it includes the technical words you won’t find in an ordinary dictionary for tools and equipment and every aspect of painting, carpentry, roofing, plumbing and drainage. It also equips you with terminology for planning structural changes such as extensions and determining boundaries. An appendix of emergency phrases will make this a book yo

Mrs White's Domestic Help - the amazing powers of natural, organic lavender

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The concentrated fragrance – and the cleansing and deodorising power – of natural organic lavender, captured in a handy spray. Mrs. White, our Great Grandmother, always used a little lavender oil when dusting; adding a few drops onto her duster before wiping down wood and paintwork. We have decided to share her secret in the form of Mrs. White’s Domestic Help.  Lavender oil not only smells amazing, but it also has natural antibacterial and grease cutting qualities. It is also a sleep aid so we can’t think of a better way of buffing up your bedstead but it has a million uses, as we've discovered after living with our test cans for a little while, including as a really handy and effective travel hand cleanser for picnics, long journeys and such like. Not only is Mrs White's Domestic Help fantastic for refreshing woollens, and for spritzing ironing and upholstery, it's also turned out to be a really effective hard surface cleaner, too!  It degreases and wipes away even ingrai

The Roulliers of Peckham & Camberwell

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I am posting this as I would love to hear about my family’s history, hopefully back to its Huguenot beginnings. I get regular emails from Roulliers all over the world, it seems apart from me, we are are taken the clan to the four corners of the Earth. I am a Roullier on my maternal side, my mother’s family home on East Dulwich Grove, opposite Alleyn’s School, was destroyed during the war. My Grandfather, Richard Roullier, was a volunteer fireman and was killed by a bomb dropped on his fire station at around the same time. With him, and the house, all our family records were destroyed. Grace, my Grandmother who eventually remarried, never discussed her routes much with me, and my mother’s memories are very sketchy. My Grandmother died a longtime ago. To me it is strange that my branch of the Roullier family, as probable lace makers, never settled in the East End but instead chose rural Peckham & Camberwell, which was then in Surrey, where they appear to have flourished. The first Ro

Kicten compost pail with charcoal filters

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We all want to recycle, but we face daily challenges, only thing preventing us from doing so is the prospect of some rather unattractive smells. The brand new Compost Pail from Roullier White is the perfect solution for recycling food waste -the generous size bin comes complete with carbon filters inside the lid to keep your kitchen odour free. Its tight fitting lid makes it insect and pest proof and the practical handle makes it easy to carry out to your compost bin when full. Made from high quality stainless steel, which will not rust, the Compost Pail is dishwasher safe and sits neatly on the worktop or under the sink. Ideal for vegetable cuttings, tea bags, coffee grounds, egg shells and much more. Comes with two replaceable carbon filters which last for 4 - 6 months. 22 x 18 cm. Pop along to or East Dulwich store; Roullier White 125 Lordship Lane East Dulwich London SE22 8HU. or click here to buy online

Love lobster? Shell out on these wonderful French seafood bibs from Roullier White

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Lobster and chips with garlic mayonnaise and Black Velvets.  Place lobsters in boiling water for 5 minutes. Preheat your grill.  Cut the lobster in half from head to tail and remove the white sac in the head, the stomach, the green liver, intestines and any coral roe.  Arrange lobster halves, flesh side up, on a Roullier White Lodge Logic health gril l and grill for 2 minutes. Ease the meat away from shell with a knife and cut into bite-size pieces.  Douse with butter or olive oil and grill for a further 2 minutes, basting from time to time. Serve with chips, we love the chips from the Sea Cow, and garlic mayonnaise and a glass or two of Black Velvets (equal parts Guinness and Champagne). Clicke here to order your pack of 6 Bavette Cristacés Six generously sized pure cotton lobster bibs  50 x 50 cms Or pop into our East Dulwich store Roullier White, 125 Lordship Lane, East Dulwich, london SeE2 8HU

Mrs White's Truly Triumphant Trifle in a trifle

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Our Granny, Mrs White, made this trifle for the Silver Jubilee and we are still celebrating! 1 Swiss Roll, the idea behind a trifle is to use your old stale cake, but buy a delicious fresh Swiss Roll from the East Dulwich Deli 1 packet raspberry jelly Raspberries - or you could make it with cherries - but its a bit more work stoning them, and cherry brandy. Yum 500 ml custard 150 ml Cointreau Bonne Maman or Wendy Brandon's raspberry jam - East Dulwich Deli has Wendy Brandon's joyful jams Toasted flaked almonds Amaretti biscuits from the East Dulwich Deli Lots of lovely clotted cream Really good 70% dark chocolate from SMBS Foods Crumble the Swiss Roll into the bottom of your Roullier White trifle bowl and spoon on lots of jam, don't eat it all though Pour over the Cointreau Add the raspberries Prepare the jelly and pour over the contents of your Roullier White trifle bowl Pop in the fridge to set, have a Cointreau or two Crumble on lots of Amaretti biscuits Pour on the cust

Happy St.Valentine's Day

Love in Black Creed's sensational new scent - the perfect gift for St Valentine's Day

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Last Spring the House of Creed released its most successful fragrance to date, ‘Love in White’, to wide critical acclaim. Roullier White welcomes the launch of her sister fragrance ‘Love In Black’, a mirror image, with the emphasis firmly on seduction rather than innocence. This sophisticated woman’s fragrance opens with the heady aroma of White Violets, sensual, feminine and beguiling, more than a little theatrical and utterly glamorous Virginian Cedar provides a woody note, warm and sensuous. Florentine Iris adds a little powder and Cloves a little spice, with delicious notes of Bourgogne Blackcurrant, Rose and traditional Violets from Grasse at the base. The dry-down takes around 20 minutes. A little black dress, a slash of damson lipstick, luminous porcelain skin - think Theda Bara, Mata Hari and Pola Negri all rolled into one - the ultimate seductress. Please call us on 020 8693 5150 with your order and will despatch for next day delivery free of charge or email us with your num

On our Night Stand; Corvus by Esther Woolfson

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A Radio 4 book of the week and an absolute joy from cover to cover. When I finished it I felt as though a dear friend had moved away. As my bedroom overlooks Peckham Rye Common, home to a huge murder of crows - and indeed that is the correct collective noun, I checked with the Crow Society, although there is also the less poetic horde - this book had particular pertinence for me.  Esther Woolfson has been fascinated by corvids, the bird group that includes crows, rooks, magpies and ravens, since her daughter rescued a fledgling rook sixteen years ago. That rook - named Chicken - has lived with the family ever since. Other birds have also taken their place in the household - a magpie, starling, parrot and the inhabitants of an outdoor dove house. But above all, it has been the corvids (a talking magpie named Spike, Chicken the rook, and, recently, a baby crow named Ziki) that she has formed the closest attachments with, amazed by their intelligence, personality and capacity for affectio

Love Food - St Valentine's Day Feasts Made Easy

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The absolute last thing one wants when organizing a romantic, and seductive, dinner for two is the proverbial headache. This fail-safe and stress-free Valentine’s menu is guaranteed to warm the cockles of your loved one’s heart - or vice versa! Using only ingredients that are aphrodisiacs, these simple recipes will excite more than just the taste buds! Although aphrodisiacs have been the subject of folklore since Aphrodite first put her lovely name to them, scientists are substantiating the belief that there really are certain in-the-mood foods. Italian pharmacists recently discovered that oysters contain compounds that are effective in releasing mood enhancing hormones. Long before this breakthrough Casanova is said to have eaten 50 raw oysters every morning to help him maintain his momentum. To start your feast what could be easier than a plate of raw Galway Bay oysters from Sopers, the famous fishmongers in Nunhead? Allow 6 oysters each and serve with plenty of lemon and Tabasco sa

Emilíana Torrini - Sunny Road - Music Video

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