Mid-year Resolution

Food: Mascarpone, baby spinach, lettuce, tomato and walnut salad...

Fri, 28 Oct 2011 07:55:36 -0400

Food: Mascarpone, baby spinach, lettuce, tomato and walnut salad (with parmesan)

In my MA timetable I have a two hour lunch break on Mondays, which is pretty good for being able to come home and make myself a nice lunch instead of making rushed sandwiches before I leave in the morning. Here’s today’s Monday creation :)

24/10/11

Reading: Harry Potter and the Chamber of Secrets I’ve got...

Fri, 28 Oct 2011 07:50:05 -0400

Reading: Harry Potter and the Chamber of Secrets

I’ve got a lot less time to read now my Masters is getting underway, but I’m determined to get through them all again!

21/10/11

Food: Toad in the Hole Made this from a pretty simple recipe,...

Fri, 28 Oct 2011 07:43:30 -0400

Food: Toad in the Hole

Made this from a pretty simple recipe, and was happy with how it turned out. Great comfort food :)

8/10/11

Drink: Silver Mercedes at TGI Friday’s Vodka, cranberry...

Fri, 28 Oct 2011 07:40:00 -0400

Drink: Silver Mercedes at TGI Friday’s

Vodka, cranberry juice, Champagne and orange sherbet. Sooooo good.

6/10/11

Food: Honeycomb (above) and DIY pizza (below) Had a cooking...

Fri, 28 Oct 2011 07:28:49 -0400

Food: Honeycomb (above) and DIY pizza (below)

Had a cooking night tonight, made strawberry and yoghurt cookies (not pictured), honeycomb (thanks to a recipe I found on Tumblr) and had top-it-yourself pizzas with James. I had ham, beef and anchovies cos that’s how I roll.

5/10/11

Activity: Music in the City Headed into town to check out the...

Sun, 02 Oct 2011 17:49:54 -0400

Activity: Music in the City

Headed into town to check out the festival seeing as I’ve been spending loads of time working to get students to help out there. Was really great visiting all the little vaults and seeing bits of my town I hadn’t explored before, as well as going to the SoCo creative hub and playing some tuuuunes. And getting free books from booksforfree.org :)

1/10/11

Food: Smoked haddock and potato soup Neither photo shows the...

Sun, 02 Oct 2011 17:41:05 -0400

Food: Smoked haddock and potato soup

Neither photo shows the finished product, but this was one good tasting dish. One little problem I found, after cubing the potatoes and leaving to simmer for a while they still weren’t soft enough to mash into a soupy texture, so next time I think I’ll boil them for a little bit first to soften up. This is the last of Lucas Hollweg’s recipes I’m making for this week, I think me and James need a little bit less indulgent eating…

28/9/11

Food: Macaroni cheese with bacon and mushrooms Another one from...

Sun, 02 Oct 2011 17:25:06 -0400

Food: Macaroni cheese with bacon and mushrooms

Another one from Lucas Hollweg’s book, and it was, again, SO GOOD. I am a really big fan of plain old Heinz macaroni cheese from the tin but this one was really worth all the extra time and effort. Another thing I could eat every day (if I didn’t mind being really fat).

27/9/11

Food: Leek and mascarpone risotto Okay, you have no idea how...

Mon, 26 Sep 2011 18:13:15 -0400

Food: Leek and mascarpone risotto

Okay, you have no idea how good this was. And it’s okay for me to say that, because lately quite a bit of my cooking has really disappointed me. But this was so good! I got the recipe from Lucas Hollweg’s ‘Good Things To Eat’, the first recipe I’ve tried from this book. Note gonna post the recipe on here cos it’s his, not mine to give away!

I know it’s the most boring food photo ever. But all that matters is that this was the best risotto in the world.

26/9/11

Reading: Harry Potter and the Philosopher’s Stone Because...

Sun, 25 Sep 2011 13:08:08 -0400

Reading: Harry Potter and the Philosopher’s Stone

Because I haven’t read these books in ages, and they’re still awesome.

24/9/11

Food: Brunch pizza Had a day off work, and really didn’t...

Sun, 25 Sep 2011 13:00:54 -0400

Food: Brunch pizza

Had a day off work, and really didn’t feel like something sweet for brekkie… so hey presto, brunch pizza! (Useful as I got rid of leftovers!)

This was a layer of toast, with tomato puree spread over, a layer of wafer thin ham, sliced tomatoes, some chorizo and grated cheese on top. Sooooo good.

23/9/11

Food: Nutella cupcakes Although these look at taste pretty damn...

Tue, 20 Sep 2011 17:53:59 -0400

Food: Nutella cupcakes

Although these look at taste pretty damn good, they are literally nothing like I imagined. Firstly, the cakes themselves kinda collapsed on themselves (what the hell, new cooker?!) and then the icing was nowhere as light and fluffy as it should have been as I do not have an electric mixer or an amazing amount of arm power!

However, here are chocolate cakes made with Galaxy hot chocolate powder, Nutella frosting and a Malteser on top.

http://mybakes.co.uk/posts/recipes/nutella-cupcakes.aspx

20/9/11

Activity: Saints v Birmingham City Rubbish photo, but I went to...

Tue, 20 Sep 2011 17:35:10 -0400

Activity: Saints v Birmingham City

Rubbish photo, but I went to go and see Saints v Birmingham City, sitting in my friend’s great seats (it’s good knowing someone who works there). First time seeing Saints this season, hopefully the first of many. Really good game, finished 4-1 to Saints :)

18/9/11

Food: Baked salmon with chorizo rice and baby spinach This was...

Wed, 14 Sep 2011 16:41:48 -0400

Food: Baked salmon with chorizo rice and baby spinach

This was SO good, really. I found the recipe on the BBC’s Good Food pages, and while everything in it was good, the rice really needed a lot more time to soften. Next time, instead of 25-30 mins I’d probably do it for an hour. Apart from that, a bit more chorizo and it would be perfect :) Also, the original recipe calls for smoked salmon but I’m a bit too broke for that ;)

http://www.bbc.co.uk/food/recipes/baked_salmon_with_00771

14/9/11

Activity: I went to Bestival! I started my new job on Monday,...

Mon, 12 Sep 2011 14:10:00 -0400

Activity: I went to Bestival! I started my new job on Monday, and by Wednesday I was sent off to the Isle of Wight to document Solent students doing work experience at the festival. Came back with hundreds of photos, loads of audio and 9 different wristbands/passes. Pretty sweet way to start the new job!

7/9/11 - 11/9/11

Reading: How To Be A Woman - Caitlin Moran Because I need some...

Wed, 07 Sep 2011 16:41:00 -0400

Reading: How To Be A Woman - Caitlin Moran

Because I need some laughs after the last two books, even if I’m not ready to become a proper, fully-fledged Germaine Greer loving feminist (which I don’t think is the main point of it anyway).

5/9/11

Travel: I went to Gibraltar! Stayed in the Rock Hotel and it was...

Wed, 07 Sep 2011 16:33:03 -0400

Travel: I went to Gibraltar! Stayed in the Rock Hotel and it was as laaaavely as ever. Made even better by the fact that James flew out for a few days! I have been coming to Gibraltar since I was 8, and even though I hadn’t been since 2003 the people at the hotel still remembered me :)

I saw a ridiculous amount of apes, spent a lot of time by the pool and went to Catalan Bay for the first time.

26/8/11 - 3/9/11

Reading: One Day - David Nicholls I feel like I’m being a...

Sun, 28 Aug 2011 13:20:00 -0400

Reading: One Day - David Nicholls

I feel like I’m being a sheep in reading this book, as everyone else seems to be too. But I have had it sitting in my to-read pile and am looking forward to starting it. Plus I need to read the book before/if I see the movie!

29/8/11

Reading: Girl In Translation - Jean Kwok Should get me through...

Thu, 25 Aug 2011 18:22:19 -0400

Reading: Girl In Translation - Jean Kwok

Should get me through the plane journey to The Rock :)

26/8/11

Food: Chocolate and strawberry milkshake lollies Probably the...

Wed, 24 Aug 2011 09:04:57 -0400

Food: Chocolate and strawberry milkshake lollies

Probably the most basic thing I’ve made but they look cool. And taste good!

21/8/11