Sloe picking

A couple of weeks ago, just after the first frost, my friend P and I went sloe picking. She’d been promising to take me for ages, so I made sure to have a bottle of gin ready and waiting for when the first frost would come, which is apparently when you know sloes are ready to pick.

P’s mum told us about a woodland near her house which had loads of sloes, so one Saturday morning we wrapped up warm, took the dogs with us, and went picking.

At first we weren’t exactly sure what a sloe looked like, and were frightened of picking something poisonous, but thanks to Google, we found the right berry and filled our boots.

And how cute are her dogs? They were pretty worn out after the long walk!

We ended up picking way more sloes that expected, which meant I didn’t have enough alcohol. Not a problem though, I went straight to Sainsbury’s and bought some vodka, to have something a bit different. I followed Nigel Slater’s recipe for the sloe gin and vodka, but I’m pretty sure I messed it up. I don’t know for sure as the whole thing takes about 10-12 weeks to do its thing. At first they looked terrible, but now, about three weeks later, they’re looking pretty good. And it made absolutely loads, hence all the jam jars I ended up using! One thing I would say though, sloes are an absolute bugger to prick. Eurgh, it took me hours! The end result better be worth it!

I can’t wait to try some, only 6 more weeks to wait!! Have you ever gone foraging before? Ever made or tried sloe gin?

Aperol Spritz

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I think I’ve blogged about it more than once, but I am currently involved in a serious love affair. Oh, Aperol Spritz, you stole my heart from the first taste in a student bar on a cold night in Venice, and I’ve been hooked ever since.

When I first got into the Aperol Spritz scene it was new, exciting, foreign, and a little exotic. Now you can buy Aperol in Sainsburys. However, the fact that it’s now a whole lot easier to get my fix is nothing to cry over.

Lately my obsession with the orange sparkling cocktail has taken on a new dimension. I already have two tumblers which are my pride and joy, and recently I’ve added to my collection.

Aperol sunglasses, so Vogue dahling.

An Aperol sunhat. Everyone wants one.

However, my Aperol collection is by no means complete, and I’m always on the lookout for new Aperol pieces.

In the meantime, it would be improper if I didn’t share how you make a proper Aperol Spritz.

3 parts prosecco

2 parts Aperol

1 part soda

1 chunk of orange

Afternoon tea, 140 Park Lane

As you all know, I’m a massive fan of Groupon! I recently saw a deal for an afternoon tea Groupon that involved gin. Sounds like my kind of deal!

I went a couple of weeks ago with Ryan and we had a great time. It was my first afternoon tea so I wasn’t 100% what to expect, but I’ll definitely go to another one.

The afternoon tea was at 140 Park Lane, as part of the Marriott hotel.

Gin cocktails to start, served in a tea pot.

Regular tea, served in a regular tea pot.

Excited at the arrival of the food! Cakes on the top shelf, scones and crumpets in the middle and sandwiches on the bottom.

A hot, buttery scone, with clotted cream and jam. Served the Devon way, of course!

I was actually surprised at how filling all the food was. I couldn’t finish my amount, I was so full!

Ryan and I spent the rest of the afternoon going round London, enjoying the M&M world, cocktails at Dirty Martini and to top off the day – tickets to Wicked!

Have you ever been to an afternoon tea?