There is nothing nicer than finding something you had either forgotten or thought was gone forever, such as an outfit hidden in the back of your teenager’s cupboard. Or a Chanel handbag tucked snugly away in its box (unfortunately, this hasn’t happened to me, but I can hope). Or my mother’s evening watch that I had hidden so safely that I couldn’t find it for five years (believe me, I had to make a lot of excuses). One day it was joyously rediscovered, sitting in the bottom of a jug (shows how many jugs I have!).
Even in the kitchen, there is nothing better than discovering an old recipe written on a scrap of curled paper, or torn out from a newspaper, or — even better — written by my grandmother at the back of an old cookery book. Just staring at her writing and thinking about the cake sitting magnificently on a doyley brings it and her back to life.
So today I made a discovery. I am having a dinner party tonight, and was a bit bored by my dessert repertoire. As I was trying on a brand new pink silk shirt dress, it happened, and I assure you it doesn’t happen very often. I realised I had made an outfit mistake. “On no,” I thought, “I look like mutton. I won’t be seen brown bread in this.” And then there was a lightbulb moment, from deep in the dark (very dark) recesses of my mind. And there it was on a plate, ready to serve up.
So this week, what does the Jewish Princess make as she hangs up the pink silk shirt dress in her teenager’s cupboard and then rediscovers a lost black belt? She runs down to the kitchen to whip up her vintage brown-bread ice-cream with a modern JP twist — caramel.