Image Source: Alice

Its Pancake day, whether you like them sweet or savoury its yum yum yum!

Check out my October post for Perfect American Style Pancakes recipe

The Gentleman of the house has been wanting to take me here for ages and the other weekend we popped in for a coffee. Located in the City of London Prufrock is dedicated to providing people decent coffee

“our message is really to approach your coffee like you are a cook. Weigh your ingredients, regulate temperatures, time your extractions, clean your equipment, and read and taste as much as you can so you know what you have sourced and love what you are serving” – Prufrock Website

A light and airy large room with a counter bearing pastries and a brew bar where you can see the coffee being made. Theres probably a load more I could say about coffees and science but I only nipped in for an espresso (very nice) and may have more to say when I return again. When we went there it was really quiet but apparently its usually busy. They have a huge array of coffee making equipment available to buy

They also run a barista resource and training centre catering from individuals to groups

www.prufrockcoffee.com/

Invading Cupid’s Realm by William Adolphe Bouruereau (image source)

Strapped for cash: A present does not mean expense, when the gentleman of the house and I were poor students he would occasionally surprise me with a gift of chocolate buttons and I thought it terribly romantic. Later when he had a little more cash started getting me Green & Blacks bars (image source)

Her absolute favourite: If you know his/her absolute favourite chocolates then you may be on to a win (however make sure its something they actually do like, not something you buy every year and they are too polite to say anything) (image source)

The Chocolate Connoisseur: Did you know you can now buy single estate chocolate bars (image source)

Its all in the presentation: If you want to make a real splash (and have a pretty box to use later) I saw these in the Leonidas window and couldn’t stop going ooooh (image source)

Alternatively there are these much cheaper tiny truffle boxes from Charbonnel & Walker (they’re so adorable and yum too) (image source)

Dairy Free, Glutan Free, Vegan: There is even chocolate available for those with specific dietary requirements. Booja Booja  truffles are all these and they also sell raw organic cacao beans! Im definitely curious to try those (image source)

Alternatively why not treat yourself to your favourite chocolates this valentines day, at least you will always know what you like (yum yum yum)

illustration by Charles Edmund (“C.E.”) Brock for Northanger Abbey. Image Source: Solitary Elegance

“Dear creature! how much I am obliged to you; and when you have finished Udolpho, we will read The Italian together; and I have made out a list of ten or twelve more of the same kind for you.”

“Have you, indeed! How glad I am! — What are they all?”

“I will read you their names directly; here they are, in my pocket-book. Castle of Wolfenbach, Clermont, Mysterious Warnings, Necromancer of the Black Forest, Midnight Bell, Orphan of the Rhine, and Horrid Mysteries. Those will last us some time.”

“Yes, pretty well; but are they all horrid, are you sure they are all horrid?”

“Yes, quite sure; for a particular friend of mine, a Miss Andrews, a sweet girl, one of the sweetest creatures in the world, has read every one of them.”

The first book mentioned is The Mysteries of Udolpho (1794) by Ann Radcliffe.  I started reading this years ago at University but had to give it back to the library and never got round to buying it to finish. My uni library had really quite a good selection of Gothic Fiction and Victorian Sensation novels. Throughout Northanger Abbey, Catherine is Reading this novel and a few clues to the plot are given. One day I need to finish it so I can discover what is ‘behind the veil…’. I have a free copy of it via iBooks but its not quite the same as a real book. The Second, The Italian, or the Confessional of the Black Penitents (1797) also by Ann Radcliffe I have not yet read

Source Valancourt Books

The Seven Horrid Novels refer to the list given by Isabella. Apparently these were originally thought to be made up titles until research undertaken in the early 20th century unearthed them. The majority come from a fad in German lurid horror romances in the late 1700′s. Thanks to this Wikipedia page, I have a list of them and have found the majority of them on amazon. This is thanks to Valancourt Books who have issued reprints of rare Gothic novels spanning the period between 1790 and 1830. There are some quite lurid titles including ‘The Cavern of Death’ and ‘The Animated Skeleton’. The seven horrid novels are as follows:

• Castle of Wolfenbach (1793) by Eliza Parsons
• Clermont, a Tale (1798) by Regina Maria Roche
• The Mysterious Warning, a German Tale (1796) by Eliza Parsons
• The Necromancer; or, The Tale of the Black Forest (1794) by ‘Ludwig Flammenberg’ (pseudonym for Carl Friedrich Kahlert; translated by Peter Teuthold)
• The Midnight Bell (1798) by Francis Lathom
• Orphan of the Rhine (1798) by Eleanor Sleath
• Horrid Mysteries (1796) by the Marquis de Grosse (translated by P. Will)

My plan is to read them all, but not until I’ve finished the mountain of books I’m reading currently. My plan of reading only one book at a time went slightly wrong (and owned books always have to be abandoned in precedence of library books)

Another book mentioned in the novel is The Monk (1796) by Matthew Gregory Lewis (also free via iBooks)

A Darkling Plain by Philip Reeve – Book 4 of the Mortal Engines (or Predator Cities) quartet. Far in the future after civilisation was destroyed in the sixty minute war, and the earth became unstable traction cities were built to move and prey on each other. Over a thousand years later a war rages between those who follow Municipal Darwinism and those who choose to re colonise the bare earth.

Heartless by Gail Carriger – Book 4 of the Parasol Protectorate series sees our soulless heroine Alexia investigating a threat against Queen Victoria, and of course drinking many cups of tea. Set in a Victorian London where vampires and werewolves are integrated into society, I can’t tell you much about the plot without giving away details of the earlier books. The series is Soulless, Changeless, Blameless, Heartless and Timeless should be out this month or next

Images from Amazon

I heard about The Canary via Mrs Stokes, and on walking past could see people using pretty china teacups and the food on the counter looked rather delicious.

I went first with Hayley and had carrot and apricot soup (how random!) but soon after that I discovered the broccoli quiche with Waldorf Salad. Oh its so Yum. They have quite a range of leaf teas to chose from which come in pretty mismatched teapots and cups.

http://www.thecanarytearooms.co.uk/menu

When we were in Sri Lanka on our way to Kandy our driver stopped at a little roadside cafe. This was just perfect as we’d been on the road since around 6am and had not had a proper breakfast. Im unsure of the location but if the GPS on the camera can be believed then its somewhere near Horana in the Western Province (though thats just a guess)

We had a beautiful pot of Ceylon tea and fresh pineapple. What we learned from the cafe owner is that its really nice dipped in salt and pepper (although this varies with variety ofpineapple sweet or sourness)

“Our shop is all about exploring the flavour of coffee, focusing on how region, variety, processing, roast and brew method affect the taste” – Colonna & Smalls

Where best to start than with my favourite coffee shop Colonna and Smalls, where you will often find me sat at the brew bar mesmerised by the Syphon (otherwise known by me as the magical science coffee, ooh pretty lights)

The shop opened in a small room a couple of years ago and expanded and expanded till they moved to their current bright and airy premises last year. They run three espressos at a time (single origin and blended) which change all the time. The board has tasting notes for both drinking it black or combined with milk. They also run three filter methods, the Syphon, the Aeropress and the Clever dripper with a different coffee on each. Also they have nice cake and pastries

The staff are really helpful and friendly, helping you decide which bean or method will best suit your tastes. The menus also give you helpful information. As a regular customer they’ve got to know my likes and dislikes (Likes: Earthy, Dislikes: Bright) and can help me chose which coffee will be right for me that day.I love the excitement of reading the tasting notes and trying to find the smells and flavours. Thanks guys for opening my eyes (and nose and taste buds) to this fantastic world of coffee I never previously knew about

http://colonnaandsmalls.co.uk/

p.s If you want to know more about the magical science coffee ill be writing a separate post about it, once I’ve done my homework so i can explain it right… oh and the fancy cold coffee apparatus (below)