Grey, colour and curry

The weather has been so miserable here for the last week or more.  I love cold weather, I like the rain, I really love a good, sharp wind, and can even appreciate sunshine because it makes for great photos, but mild, dreary, grey and a bit drizzly?  Rubbish.

This was the grey sky seen from South Woodford tube platform at 9 o'clock this morning.

Someone once described living under these blank white skies as like living inside a Tupperware box.  I think it was either Bill Bryson or Paul Theroux - I wish I could remember who, because that describes it perfectly.

So I have been adding colour where I can.

I made this rainbow apron for the shop.

I really love the tea towel that makes this simple apron.  I bought it as part of a set when I was in France last year, and the lovely old lady who sold them to me explained that they used to belong to her Grandmother (which must make them at least a hundred years old?)  The linen is still really thick and sumptuous all these years later.

I wanted to keep the apron as simple as possible, to let the tea towel have the glory.  So I just added some straps and a pocket made from calico and ribbon.

And then I made another apron - in the same reversible style as the purple one in my last post - with some sunny Cath Kidston fabric and this pretty, vintage crinoline lady as a pocket.

And now I need to crack on and sew some more of these reversible aprons, because both the crinoline lady apron and the purple apron were snapped up within minutes of me listing them - woohoo!  This is very exciting, not least because I now need to buy more fabric.  Yup.  Amazing.  G doesn't belive me, but it's true.  I still have shelves and shelves of the lovely stuff, but very little of it is solid.  Too much patterned fabric in an apron can be too much of a good thing, so I'm off to the fabric shop tomorrow.

The final injection of colour into my week has come from this magnificent new book that arrived today.

The cover is eye-popping, and my photo above (taken in the grey afternoon light today) does not do it justice.  I love these beautiful, swirling, Indian designs, and always wish I could draw them myself.  Inside, there are more delights to brighten up the day.  This recipe is first on my list to make.

I was talking to Anna about curry recipes earlier this week.  The only other two curry cookbooks I have are The Ultimate Curry Bible, also by Madhur Jaffrey, and Cooking Like Mummyji by Vicky Bhogal.  The big curry bible I do use from time to time, although it does intimidate me somewhat.  Vicky Bhogal's book is one of my top cookbooks of all time, and I have made so many dishes from it, as well as learning some good techniques.  I really love her modern, light, quick take on authentic British Asian food.  And this is what the new Curry Easy book does so well too.  What Asian recipe books do you love?

It's time to get out the turmeric, chillies, aubergines, peppers and ginger and create some bright colours in the kitchen I think.