Arashiyama Bamboo Groves

A short bus/taxi/train ride from Kyoto, the Arashiyama bamboo groves are a world apart. They possess the same zen like character of many Japanese places but just a bit more amplified. The forest has been around for centuries but its origins and purpose (when planted) are not very clear.

The bamboo groves are a bit of a walk from the main town area so Ed and I fuelled up on Japanese fried snacks and matcha ice-cream before we started our trek. The area is serene and quiet with the lovely sound of bamboo trees whistling in the soft breeze. This is a very popular and highly photographed area so it was no surprise that the place was busy. However, Japanese tourists/day-trippers tend to be very quiet and respectful so it was all very pleasant.

After our maiko spotting in Gion, we were very excited to see what we thought was another maiko in Arashiayama. We eventually found out that we were wrong - apparently maiko/geisha dress-ups and photo-shoots are a popular activity amongst young Japanese women.

After a few hours of wandering the forest, exploring nearby temples and gardens, we made our way back to the train station to catch a train back to Kyoto. I must also mention that we taxied to Arshiyama and that was an interesting experience - we were under-charged (!!) for the taxi ride as when I originally asked the driver how much the fare was likely to be, he estimated the fare to be lower than it turned out to be. And he refused to let us pay the actual fare! Just another reason why I think Japan is quite wonderful.

Hope you are having a lovely Easter weekend! Ann x

Wearing Carven Paris map print dress, Helene Berman straw hat, Longchamp bag and Toms shoes.

To get in touch and see the latest on all my adventures, follow me on Bloglovin, Twitter,Instagram or Facebook.

Seville Orange Marmalade

It's been a while since I've a) blogged  b) shared a recipe and I'm about to rectify both these matters. Back in the days when we kept an allotment, I fancied growing oranges in our polytunnel and making marmalade with them. That didn't quite work out. When Mr. Tesco's offered Seville oranges earlier in the year, I decided it was time I finally made my favourite conserve.

I've blogged about jamming all sorts of fruit here but marmalade was a bit different to those previous experiences. It's messier. And takes longer. And its a bit more effort. Nevertheless, the outcome is highly rewarding. Here's how you do it:

Ingredients:

1 kg Seville oranges

2 kg granulated sugar

2 lemons

2.5 litres water

Method:
Halve the oranges and juice them. Set juice aside.
Scoop out all the pulp into a muslin cloth - tie the cloth up once done to form a bag.
Slice the orange peel into thin strips and set aside.
Extract lemon juice.
Add all of these into a large pan and top up with water and simmer for around 2 hours - you know you're ready for the next step when the orange peel starts to look soft and slightly translucent

Remove the muslin bags and extract all the juice from them as this juice is rich in pectin. Now add sugar and continue to heat the mixture until to gets to setting point. This can take 20 mins or up to an hour in my case. In the mean time, set a couple of spoons and small plates in the fridge to cool - you will use this to test the setting point of the jam

The key is to ensure that the mixture gets nice and frothy ( as in the picture above) and to not get impatient with the setting process.

Once set, decant the jam into sterilised jam jars, seal and allow to cool. Your yummy marmalade is now ready for consumption and should keep for a couple of months if stored in a cool dark place ( or the fridge in my case).  Happy preserving! Ann x