OUT AND ABOUT | LORE OF THE NORTH BOOK LAUNCH AND EXHIBITION

Last Thursday saw the launch of Lord Whitney's book and exhibition for their exciting new publication Lore of the North at Munro House.

Lord Whitney, a collaboration between Amy Lord and Rebekah Whitney make regular appearances on the Leeds art and culture scene with their work on developing visual ideas and concepts for all manners of bizarre yet joyously canny projects (for example, see previous post here).

This book is the result of a project which started last year. The project was centred around celebrating the heritage and fantasy surrounding folklore and traditions in Yorkshire and the North of England. 

With funding and support by Grants for the Arts and Leeds Inspired, they have been able to produce a photographic series based on their findings, research and inspiration. The exhibition is on until 25 March.

Dinner was sorted for the evening thanks to the talented Ross over at Food&. 

Serving up a delicious Spring Vegetable and Rice Stew. I chose for mine to be served with some prosciutto from Friends of Ham and tried some gorgeous sourdough bread from Haxby Baker.

The stew was served on a bed of raw cabbage and was really fresh and uplifting. A nice hint of mint which really brought the dish alive.

RECIPE | LEMON AND POPPY SEED POLENTA CAKE

LEMON AND POPPY SEED POLENTA CAKE

A few weeks back I had the exciting ordeal of making a cake one of my much-loved lemon and poppy seed polenta cake's to be sent down to Duke Studios in Leeds for a fancy photo shoot to be featured in the August edition of the brand new and fabulous online culinary journal Food&_.

....the actual feature is listed HERE and below you can see the recipe for a delightfully moist gluten free lemon drizzle cake!

Cake:

200g Unsalted Butter

200g Ground Almonds

100g Polenta

2tsp Baking Powder (Gluten-free if this is for wheat or gluten intolerant people)

50g Poppy Seeds

2 Eggs

1tsp Vanilla Essence

3tbsp Plain Yoghurt

2tbsp Lemon Juice

2-3tbsp Milk

Zest of 3 Lemons

Crunchy Lemon Glaze:

Juice of 3 Lemons

130g Icing Sugar

50g Granulated Sugar

Lemon Icing:

1 tbsp Lemon Juice

115g Icing Sugar

Poppy Seeds and Lemon Zest to Sprinkle on top of the Icing

Method:

1.  Line and grease a 9" springform cake tin with baking parchment and butter and then pre-heat your oven to 180°C.

2.  Cream the butter and sugar together with a hand mixer or standing mixer until light and fluffy and pale in colour.

3.  Add the eggs and the vanilla essence to the butter and sugar.

4.  Weight out the ground almonds, polenta, baking powder and poppy seeds and fold into the wet mixture.

5.  At this point fold in the lemon zest, lemon juice and yoghurt. Mix it until it is all evenly combined. If the mixture feels quite stiff then add between 1-3tbsp of milk to loosen it.

6.  Place the mixture into the cake tin and bake for 30-40 minutes until firm in the middle.

7.  Whilst the cake is still in the oven, prepare the crunchy lemon glaze mixture. Once the cake is removed from the oven, whilst still hot, prick the cke several times with a skewer and top with the crunchy lemon glaze using a pastry brush or pallet knife.

8. Leave to cool and refrigerate over night. Before serving top with the lemon icing and top with poppy seeds and lemon zest.

Photography and Styling: Jonathan Finch and Katy Lanceley

FOOD&

Last Friday saw the launch of the brand new culinary resource and online journal FOOD&_.

I knew it would be impressive with such a great team working towards the launch.

A Leeds-based initative too, this is something close to home and absolutely lovely to see.

You can check out the website here, which hosts features, photo essays and recipes from all interesting avenues from various destinations all over the world.

I was lucky enough to attend the secret gathering launch party they put on last Saturday, styled and hosted by the brilliant Lord Whitney in their Leeds studio. Food and booze courtesy of the local lovelies Friends of Ham and Leeds Bread Co-op, I was spoilt rotten! Pictures are shown below.

Thanks for having me Food&_ and I look forward to your next series of features and perhaps a future collaboration!

Photos: Victoria Harley 

Styling: Lord Whitney