It was 4:30 pm as we jumped into the car heading on our way to Londinium…

We were on our way to a book signing in Fitzrovia for the new Olia Hercules cook book and as I checked WAZE, my trusted sat nav, it said that we would be there at 17:38…

Perfect timing! The deli that it was at was open until 19:00 so that would give us plenty of time when we got there to meet Olia, get our book, have something to eat and have a lovely cardamom coffee…

And at exactly 17:38, we pulled into Warren Street and found the last parking space was indeed free. Woohoo!!!

A quick walk along the road and we approached my favourite deli Honey & Spice and stepped inside to meet her.

We met the kindest and loveliest smiling Olia who had already signed our book and put in a special message in it, from her to us.

If there’s something I love to do, it’s to see what people are actually like…

Behind the social media haze that often envelopes so many.

If you ever get the opportunity to meet authors, its a lovely idea to do that and to discover a little bit about them, their fave recipes in their book and its just lovely meeting people.

Olia’s latest book is a collection of her favourite recipes. You already know what my first question was don’t you, and when I asked her, what was her favourite recipe… Of course she couldn’t choose.

However the page opened on Vegetable Gratin Balkan-Style, so this was definitely on the to try list for this weekend.

Since getting Olia’s book, I’ve made 2 recipes laced with Dill!

And

I’ll try even more!

We chatted and laughed about me not being able to tolerate Gluten, then as I was leafing through the book with Olia, when my book fell open at a heart stopping page…

A Buckwheat Cake Tiramisu!!!

This recipe uses her Buckwheat Cake, yes, you heard that right.

A delicious Gluten Free Tiramisu!

And this is one of those “real” Tiramisu recipes with lashings of mascarpone in there. So I can see the recipe is the true Italian style Tiramisu, not the lighter equivalent, that so often graces so many books and kitchens.

Yes LOTS of mascarpone in this treasure, so its one I’ll definitely be trying and this will be next weekend!

So far I’ve made 4 of Olia’s recipes and all of these were absolutely delicious.

The Vegetable Gratin Balkan-Style, delicious layers of vegetables topped with a whipped Kafir and Feta topping, a real treat.

I’ve also made the Radish and Pomegranate salad which has turned my tastebuds upside down…

You see there’s one herb that I hate, or at least I thought I did until I tried this. And that is DILL!

Oh how I disliked that herb, until that is, I tasted it in a recipe from Olia’s book. And the rest as they say is history. I am now a “Dill” convert and all thanks to this recipe!

I also made the Chicken Porkolt dish which is absolutely sublime, I chose, not to put the full 300ml of water in and added just around half a glass so I could retain the rich savoury notes of the sauce and I’ve loved every mouthful of this delicious meal.

And the recipe that make me soooo happy, is the “Potatoes of My Childhood” recipe. I made this dish last night and as I read the story of this recipe, I knew it was going to be soooo good. But I never realised HOW good this could be! This is a delicious, yet simple dish that we all loved and there was absolutely none left. Olia says in the book she can eat half a portion and I’m not surprised, it was a real hit!

You’ll be amazed with how many recipes in here don’t include Gluten, OK the pasta dishes aren’t for me, but there are so many great recipes that I’m working my way through the others.

As you read Olia’s book, you’ll be transfixed with her imagery that is conjured up with her stories, her memories and her beautiful words on every page.

Now if you’ve not met Olia, she radiates sunshine and happiness, as she tells you about her recipes, you see her excitement and how her memories come to life in the words and pictures in her book. Some people that you meet in life, just radiate sunshine and Olia is one of those people.

Now, you know I was at my fave Deli in London, yes that’s Honey & Spice, and well, they were had already made and were featuring not one, but two of her dishes from her Home Food book…

So of course these were on the menu, the Radish and pomegranate salad, and Chicken Porkolt. needless to say, after trying these, I had to recreate these dishes within 48 hours of getting home! I added a couple more salads, a potato and a chick pea one for me and mum to enjoy our feast sitting outside the deli and enjoying the summer evening.

We also added a couple of cakes, for me, a delicious Gluten Free Apricot cake, mum had a Beautiful light clafoutis cake, topped with beautiful glazed fruits.

You see, Honey & Spice do the most incredible salads and cakes!

It was soooo busy on this summer evening and we had the absolute delight of sitting and sharing a table with June (who is a regular). We all raved about the food, the place and how it is a truly unique place that we all love visiting. We all enjoyed our food and I really do hope that next time we visit, we see June there too, she is a lovely person and it was a treat to spend time with her.

And then, it was well after 19:00, and time to leave. I had my bag full of purchases as I always stock up on herbs and spices and it was time to be homeward bound.

There are some people who capture us by their exquisite imagery in the written word.

Many cookbooks list ingredients and simply give us instructions, these are written to simply exchange a process to produce a set result,

Some however, help us through words and imagery to bring us into their worlds, their childhoods and their history and this is a special and magical skill to have. I’m amazed at how many recipe books I read from cover to cover as the stories told in them leaves us transfixed.

This is one of the best books I own, and my family are experiencing many of the recipes from here.

You Can get your own copy of this book too either at your local book shop, or through Amazon here, its one of those books that you read like a novel.

And as you can see, wherever I go, mum goes too. She thoroughly enjoyed meeting Olia, the experience, the food and enjoying a cocktail sitting outside Honey & Spice.

Travelling, enjoying good food and making memories is the most special part of our lives and I hope you take every moment to do the same too.

Till next time

Happy Baking!

Angela xx

P.S. Let me know what your favorite author is and which is your number 1 cook book?