Reclaim your Weekend - Kitchen Special

How to create a a kitchen that's not only practical and functional but super stylish too.

Created in Partnership with KitchenAid.

After the festive chaos of Xmas, January can be a welcome pause giving us time to re-centre our spaces, and re-acquaint ourselves with the quiet joy of preparing tasty, nourishing meals that can bring you back to life.

This week AA shares her tips on styling your kitchen so it's as practical as it is beautiful, turning it into the next place you want to linger longer.

After the festive chaos of Xmas, January can be a welcome pause giving us time to re-centre our spaces, and re-acquaint ourselves with the quiet joy of preparing tasty, nourishing meals that can bring you back to life.

This week AA shares her tips on styling your kitchen so it's as practical as it is beautiful, turning it into the next place you want to linger longer.

Reclaim Your Kitchen: Tips & Tricks

Spark Inspiration

It’s a common misconception that your kitchen surfaces need to be kept clear, with utensils and appliances hidden away, which in-turn means they are quite often neglected. Take inspiration from chefs and professional kitchens and display the functional. Having your appliances, utensils and ingredients out makes your space look homely and inviting. With everything in easy reach, and veggies piled high in generous bowls, you'll be inspired to create culinary delights and uphold your New Year healthy food resolutions.

Spark Inspiration

It’s a common misconception that your kitchen surfaces need to be kept clear, with utensils and appliances hidden away, which in-turn means they are quite often neglected. Take inspiration from chefs and professional kitchens and display the functional. Having your appliances, utensils and ingredients out makes your space look homey and inviting. With everything in easy reach, and veggies piled high in geneorous bowls, you'll be inpisred to create culinary delights and uphold your New Year healthy food resolutions.

KitchenAid’s new Limited Edition Light & Shadow Stand Mixer is no exception - and Abi's latest obsession. 

Its iconic design in sand-stone effect die-cast metal, and black ceramic studded bowl adds texture making it a fab worktop feature, it also gives your kitchen a professional feel. Coupled with the quality synonymous with KitchenAid it marries function and style effortlessly - and is the ultimate culinary companion.

To find out more about KitchenAid's Limited Edition Light & Shadow Stand Mixer, click here.

Discover KitchenAid

Create a Natural Flow

With so many of us favouring open plan living, it’s important that the kitchen should feel connected to any rooms that lead from it and flow harmoniously with the rest of our home. Decorate and accessorise your kitchen like you would your living room, not just rugs, but art, table lamps (portable LEDs if plug points are an issue), an extravagant light - and OF COURSE, botanicals & faux plants. These will help to integrate it with the rest of your pad.

Add Height & Scale

Open shelves are a great opportunity to style up your earthy kitchenware and recipe books. Just remember to create a skyline effect and mix up the heights and scale. Don't be afraid to go large.

Contrast Textures

Reign in the palette but mix up your textures. Gnarled wooden chopping boards, hand thrown mugs and glass jars all sit beautifully together and intrigue the eye.

Pockets of Glow

Kitchen lighting can be harsh. Soften it up by using table lamps or portable LEDs. They give an ambient glow and connect the kitchen to the other rooms that lead from it.

& Finally - Get Cooking!

Taking time to prepare something nourishing is good not only for our bodies but our minds and soul too.  An active kitchen engages all of our senses, just chopping and preparing ingredients can be a meditative process and cooking with friends or family is a brilliant way to connect and make new memories together. Abi loves to cook and is passionate about using ingredients that nourish.

This week, inspired by the fabulous ‘Green Kitchen’ and using her amazing mixer by KitchenAid, Abi has prepared a nutritious vegetarian tart full of rich colourful beets, creamy goats cheese and super greens.

Beetroot and Goats Cheese Tart

Ingredients

Tart crust 
1 1/3 cups (200g) plain flour

100g chilled unsalted butter, chopped

1 tsp thyme leaves

Filling
2-3 beetroots (approx 1 lb/450 g), 
1 red onion, peeled
3 garlic cloves, finely chopped
1 tsp fresh or dried thyme
salt & pepper
2 large bunches beet greens (or spinach)
3 large eggs
1/2 cup / 140 ml milk of choice
3.5 oz / 100 g goat’s cheese
10 walnuts, lightly crushed

2 tbsp honey

First add the Flour and Butter to your mixer, and turn it on to create a breadcrumb texture, then add the thyme to enhance the flavour of the crust. Add some water to bind the dough together and mix until combined. Gather the dough into a ball, wrap in clingfilm and chill for about 30 minutes.

When done, place the dough on a floured surface, use a rolling pin to roll out the dough until you have a rough circle big enough to have a 1-2 inch overhang. Transfer carefully to your pie dish and gently press into the sides and trim off any excess dough. The chill for a further 15 mins, then transfer to the over to blind-bake for 10 minutes.

Now to make your filling, sweat down the onions, and add some spinach to wilt. In a separate bowl, whisk the eggs and slowly add the milk, then crumble in in Goat's Cheese.

Add half the grated beetroot to your pastry case, followed by your onion and spinach mixture, then add the egg mix and stud the mixture with walnuts, add the rest of the beetroot, drizzle with honey and bake for 30 mins.