Clas Ohlson is a brand that’s been on my radar for a while. I first came across them around 18 months ago while searching for a waffle maker.

The company is committed to providing products and services that solve small everyday practical problems. As well as making a life-changing purchase that improved our weekend breakfasts no end, I was immediately impressed by the huge range of items on offer.

Although they carry leisure, hardware, electrical and multimedia products, it’s usually the homeware that draws me in. Not only do they sell all sorts of sensible things that are sure to make your life easier, they also have a beautiful range of decorative accessories, not to mention some incredibly stylish lighting. However, when they approached me about a possible collaboration, it was a kitchen appliance that stole my heart.

The Braun Multiquick Hand Blender has been on my wish list for a while. I love making soup, but it’s always been a messy task that I’ve had to complete in batches using my teeny-tiny Magimix. For obvious reasons, this piece of kit has revolutionised the process and I know it’s going to get plenty of use from hereon in.

Homemade Thai Green Curry Paste and Super Simple Sweet Potato Soup

Although I chose to share this recipe because it showcases the Multiquick so well, it’s genuinely a firm favourite. Obviously, it’s perfectly acceptable to use shop-bought curry paste instead, but making your own is incredibly easy and it always tastes better.

Whenever I prepare this soup from scratch, I make sure I buy the ingredients for a Thai Green Prawn Curry or Nigella’s Curry in a Hurry too. That way it fits neatly into my weekly meal plan and I’m technically working on two dishes at once.

You will need:

Thai Green Curry Paste

  • 3-4 green chillies, de-seeded and roughly chopped
  • 2 shallots, peeled and roughly chopped
  • 5cm piece of fresh ginger, peeled and roughly chopped
  • 2 garlic cloves
  • Small bunch of fresh coriander
  • 2 lemongrass stalks, chopped
  • 1 lime, grated zest and juice
  • 8 kaffir lime leaves {or the zest of an extra lime if unavailable}
  • 1 tbsp fennel seeds, crushed
  • 1 tsp ground coriander
  • 1 tsp black peppercorns, crushed
  • 2 tsp fish sauce {if you’re vegetarian/vegan use light soy sauce instead}
  • 3 tbsp olive oil

1. Place all the ingredients in the Multiquick’s 500ml chopper attachment or a food processor and blitz to a paste. Use straight away in the soup recipe below and store the remaining paste in a jar in the fridge for up to 3 weeks.

Super Simple Sweet Potato Soup

  • 1 tbsp olive oil
  • 4 shallots, peeled and chopped
  • 1-2 tsp Thai green curry paste
  • 750g sweet potato, peeled and grated
  • 1L vegetable stock
  • 50g creamed coconut {from a sachet or can}
  • Handful coriander, roughly chopped
  • Lime wedges and mini naan bread to serve

1. Heat the oil in a large saucepan and soften the shallots for 4-5 minutes. Stir in the curry paste and cook for another minute until fragrant. Add the grated sweet potato and vegetable stock, then bring quickly to the boil before simmering for around 5 minutes.

2. When the sweet potato is tender, remove the soup from the heat. Stir in half the creamed coconut, season well and then cool briefly before whizzing with a hand blender. Divide the soup between bowls and top with creamed coconut, fresh coriander and a spritz of lime before serving with warm naan bread.

I’m keen to make the most of my Multiquick, so let me know if you have any delicious soup recipes to share.

Love Audrey xxx

This is a collaborative post. You can read my full disclosure here.

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Love Audrey
Homemade Thai Green Curry Paste and My Super Simple Sweet Potato Soup
Homemade Thai Green Curry Paste and Super Simple Sweet Potato Soup
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May in photos 🤳

1. Finally, some Franky weather. One of the best things about this month has been dusting off my summer dresses and being able to wear sandals ☀️

2+3. Coronation weekend. So many thoughts 💭 But the food was good! I made a vegan version of my mum’s famous coronation chicken and it was delicious.

4. Jesse staying upbeat during yet another trip to hospital. That steroid buzz though. IYKYK.

5. Some of the food served at the first meeting of Bristol Cook Book Club since 2020. It felt so good to get this going again. I can’t wait for our next feast!

6. Me among the cow parsley, snapped by Jesse.

7. I’ve been thinking about creativity a lot this month while working through the ‘The Artist’s Way’. 

8. Breakfast outside.

9. {Still} scrapbooking December. Fingers crossed I can finally wrap up this project in June 🤞🏻

10. Izzy’s final show at The Tobacco Factory. After tonight, she’ll be done with college {and compulsory education} forever 🤯

We packed a lot into this month. Enough to fill two carousels! This might explain why I’m so tired! I’m looking forward to June though. Everything’s better when the sun shines ✨
@_charlieswift has been raving about ‘The Artist’s Way’ by Julia Cameron for years. I finally caved, ordered the book and agreed to work through the course with her and some other artists. 

The book focuses on ‘guiding you through the process of recovering your creative self’ to ‘help you unleash your inner artist’. It’s early days {I’ve only read as far as week two and I haven’t even started my morning pages yet - IYKYK}, but I’m enjoying the process so far. 

Today I took myself on my first Artist Date - ‘a block of time… especially set aside and committed to nurturing your creative consciousness, your inner artist’. I decided to treat myself to a solo cinema trip to see ‘Are You There God? It’s Me, Margaret.’ The film was brilliant and taking time out midweek to do something just for me felt… kind of naughty? And fun! It definitely filled my creative well {again, IYKYK}.

Have you read ‘The Artist’s Way?’ Where would you go on a date with your inner artist?!
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Franky weather ☀️🌅🔆🌻✨

That’s it, that’s the caption.
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April in photos 🤳

1. Our trip to London over Easter was a definite highlight this month. Here’s the obligatory ‘flowers outside Liberty’ shot.

2. Finally! Some sunshine! More of the same please, Mr. Weatherman ☀️

3. Dressed for a day of sightseeing in my new favourite pink jacket. It’s Boden and I bought it in the sale 💖

4 + 5. Scenes from a trip to the big Waterstones in Piccadilly. This poem by @charlycox1 floored me. Crying in a bookshop. Not awkward at all.

6. I was proud of these steps, so I’m posting them here for posterity 🚶🏼‍♀️🥄

7. The Easter holidays also featured lots of lazy days 🎮😴

8. We bought a nutribullet and I’m officially in my smoothie era.

9 + 10. Dinner and drinks at @thecoconuttreeuk with our IzzyBee. Taking your daughter out for cocktails is a season of parenting I’m very much enjoying.

Not pictured: a family funeral and the chest infection I’m still getting over 🤒 How was April for you?
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Easter weekend in my hometown 💃🏼

No trip to London is long enough for me to see all the people and do all the things I want to do while I’m there, but we always manage to pack a lot in. It’s 17 years since I moved away, but somehow it still feels like coming home. Here’s some of what we got up to…

1. Being tourists.

2. Shopping at Westfield.

3 + 4. Hanging out and eating at Southbank.

5. Refuelling in Chinatown.

6. Enjoying the big Waterstones in Piccadilly.

7. Admiring the spring flowers outside Liberty.

8. Visiting the Imperial War Museum for the first time since I was a child.

9 + 10. Seeing Elton John at the O2 with my mama 👓🎹🎤🪩✨

I hope you’ve managed to enjoy the long weekend, whatever you’ve been up to! That sunshine though!☀️🤩
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March in Photos 🤳

1. How it’s going…

2. How it started.

3. My in-laws were involved in a terrible car crash earlier this month. They’re very, very lucky to be alive. It was a horrible time, so I’m grateful there was a happy ending.

4. My husband sent me this photo of a photo from our wedding day while he was visiting his parents. Turns out his mum carries it in her purse ❤️

5. While I was waiting for news from Derby, I took myself out on a walk and ended up in @thesmallcitybookshop. It was like my feet knew books would bring me comfort.

6 + 7. Just spring things.

8. Vegan lemon and almond loaf and a green smoothie from @theorchardcoffeeco 🍰🌱

9. I bought it 🌸

10. Other music? I don’t know her. 

How’s March been treating you? Personally, I’m ready for April and spring PROPER!
There is a past version of me who cannot believe I get to do this every day 💭📝💻

She’s around 12yrs old, working on her first novel in a little ring-bound notebook, dreaming up stories, devouring books and trying to imagine a life filled with words. Everything that makes my business possible now barely existed then, so even she’d struggle to conjure up  an image of what my life looks like now.

I’m grateful that I get to do this, for the clients who trust me to find the right words, and I’m grateful to that past version of me too. Without her, I wouldn’t be here now. Sure, she’d probably want me to hurry up and get back to that novel, but I think she’d be proud of the business I’ve built and the way I’ve managed to create a life filled with words.

What did you want to be when you grew up?
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Lockdown memories, three years on 🦠⏳

Very little of my life made it on to the grid in 2020, so this is the first time I’ve shared these images. They’re all from the first lockdown and most were taken between March and May. I think the arrival of spring will always remind me of this strange time.

When Boris made his announcement on the 23rd, our children had already been out of school for a week. Jesse, who was initially deemed clinically vulnerable, spent the next 6m shielding. He left primary school one day not realising he’d never go back. He did not see another child his age until the summer. Like many kids and adults in the same situation, the experience had a deep impact on his mental health. 

Izzy was in Year 10. As the pandemic raged on, she did most of her GCSEs online, celebrated her 16th birthday via Netflix Party, finished secondary school with minimal fanfare and missed out on prom completely. When she finally had a normal night out with friends in the winter of 2021, I cried quietly in the kitchen when she got home. Seeing her so happy and animated after a simple ‘cheeky Nando’s’ only highlighted everything she’d missed out on in the previous 18 months.

It’s easy to forget how little we knew about the virus in the beginning and how frightening that was for everyone involved. We had it easy in comparison to some, but I still marvel at the way we coped with it all. The way we isolated, home schooled and kept our businesses ticking over. My goodness it was hard! As my children often joke, I hope we’re done living through major historical events for a while.