..from 2015

2. The Green Kitchen.

We have cooked many recipes from The Green Kitchen this past year, including our favourite winter-special, Beet Bourguignon (http://www.greenkitchenstories.com/beet-bourguignon/ ). The book and the website might seem a little too Scandinavian perfect, with beautiful David and Luise, and their daughter Ela, showing us no less than a happy, healthy and balanced life. It makes you wonder if you’ll ever be able to reach such levels! However, apart from that, since Emile turned vegetarian this year the Green Kitchen  has been a life-saving source for more creative vegetarian lunches and dinners, even for the kids. We also look forward to their new book “Green Kitchen Travels”, which is definitely in our Xmas list!

4. Lulu Lemon.

Sometimes I joke with my friends that I practically spend my whole life wearing yoga clothes. I work seven days a week – although less so at the weekends-, and I find myself changing a couple of times a day into, you guessed it, more yoga clothes. When I go out to buy groceries, in between clients, you will find me pushing the supermarket trolley in my Lulu Lemon pants, which actually look great with a pair of biker boots. I was introduced to them by a Canadian client two years ago, and although I have tried other brands, Lulu Lemmon ticks all the boxes. I am a big fan of their pants, tops and sports bras, which look  simple and neat, plus they allow me to move in all poses with ease -very important in my job.  I also like their sustainability policy and the transparency of their manufacturing process.

You can shop online at http://shop.lululemon.com/.

And the men’s collection is also great!

Montserrat

6. Soup for Syria. 

This was perhaps our biggest inspiration this year. Barbara Abdeni Massaad, a food writer and cook, has put together a wonderful book with soup recipes from acclaimed chefs and cookbook authors around the world to help raise money for Syrian refugees.  Originally, £2 was going to this cause for each copy sold, but, as the issue grew, the publishers decided to give EVERY penny from the price of each copy to this life-saving project. Contributors include: Yotam Ottolenghi, Sami Tamimi, Anthony Bourdain, Mark Bittman, Alice Waters, Paula Wolfert, Claudia Roden, Sally Butcher, Ana Sortun, Greg Malouf, Aglaia Kremenzi, Joe Barza, Carolyn Kumpe, Wendy Rahamut, and many others. All the soups in the book include easy instructions and beautiful  illustrations that will warm your heart.

You can visit the website and order your copy (and more copies for your family and friends) at http://soupforsyria.com