Every bride needs something red.
I spent the morning wedding shopping and came away with a big crimson bag full of Valentino.
Keeping with the scarlet theme, next stop was a healthy booze-free lunch at a much-loved fave of mine, Ottolenghi.
It seems like you can’t turn around without seeing one of Ottolenghi’s best-selling cookbooks everywhere you go – but have you ever looked at those recipes? The simplest salad has like forty ingredients! Ain’t nobody got time for that!
In London we are so fortunate to have a few of these delis from which to grab a scrummy lunch that would otherwise take half a day to prepare!

Seared beef fillet with horseradish and green peppercorn sour cream sauce | Mixed green beans with red onion, chilli, mustard seeds and herbs | Jersey royals with peppers, sun-dried tomatoes, feta, basil and mixed herbs

Roasted eggplant with walnut yoghurt, herbs and walnuts | Roasted cauliflower with wild garlic pesto, bitter leaves, parsley, chilli and toasted sourdough breadcrumbs | Green maftoul and moghrabieh with pistachios, fried onion, cumin and rocket
Beautiful food!
And holy moly! So good.
Too bad the weather wasn’t nearly as nice. Thankfully, the staff had plenty of wooly blankets on hand – in the perfect color!
My sugar detox was put to the ultimate test surrounded by all this sweetness!
Aren’t these blackcurrant meringues a thing of beauty?
Ultimately, I couldn’t resist the charms of this seductive little tart!
Nearly as tasty as my version!
It was time to keep moving.
… After I picked up a few of these mini-meringues on my way out.
What a gorgeous day to paint the town red!