Treacle and Ink

Graze Box Freebie

2012-01-18T12:07:00.001Z

I like Wednesday mornings. On Wednesday mornings I get post. Each week my Graze Box arrives and oh does it make me happy!

I use Groupon quite a lot and I got a free £5 reward from them last month. This nicely coincided with an offer Graze were doing for 4 boxes for £5. Which for me then meant 4 free boxes. Nice one.

I had a look on their website to see what the options were. You can choose from 3 boxes – an Eat Well box, a Boost box and a Light box. The Eat Well box has healthy snacks but the odd treat here and there. The Boost box is the healthiest box packed with goodies full of vitamins and minerals. The Light box is full of their lowest calorie items.

I chose the Boost box. If I’m getting a snack box delivered, I want it to be full of nothing but goodness. I don’t need the odd treat because they’re treats enough in themselves. And this way I know that whatever I’m snacking on will give me lots and lots of goodness.

I’m not so bothered about the low-calorie items, either. The thing I’ve learnt the most this year is to ignore calories from natural foods. An avocado has roughly the same amount of calories than a Mars Bar. Some people would look at the calorie content of both those foods and think “well for the same amount of calories – I’ll just have a Mars” but avocados contain good fats which lower cholesterol and are a great source of vitamin E. Whereas the Mars Bar will be empty calories, full of sugar, bad fats and nothing beneficial at all. I’ll have the high-calorie nuts and seeds. They make my nails shiny!

This week I got some dried pineapple, normal and sour mango (gorgeous) raisins, coconut, banana, fiery seeds and mixed nuts. So tasty and really filling as snacks go. Also, because they’re in small containers, I don’t gorge myself on them all at once – which is something I totally would do if I had a huge slab of chocolate right in front of me. Or a packet of biscuits.

At £3.49 they’re a tad on the expensive side – but I wouldn’t mind treating myself to one once a week. I can spend almost that on a bag of dried fruit and at least this way there is variety. But I certainly wouldn’t buy one more than once a week! Even though it would be very, very nice.

So I’m offering you the chance to have a free box yourself! You’ll have to sign up and put in your card details, but if you order for once a week you have enough time to cancel the subscription (it sets it up automatically) or go on the hunt for another code! (I know that on the TV at the moment gives you a free one with the code YUM4 – but not sure if that’s still available!)

Simply enter this code and get your free snack box! LXCX11RD (and get it quick because this is for a limited time only - UK only I'm afraid!).

Hope you enjoy them as much as I do – and let me know what you think!

Virgo

2012-01-14T12:35:00.000Z

Do you visualise the Virgo girl as a gentle, virginal maiden, pure as the driven snow? You may be about to get some illusions shattered. She is no White Rock nymph in a gauzy tunic kneeling by the pool. Sorry to spoil your image.

A Virgo woman can leave her husband for a man she met beside some faraway ocean, bear her lover’s child before the benefit of marriage, and face a hostile world with her head held high. That’s not very maidenly or virginal. There’s a lot to learn about this tender, fragile little symbol of spotless womanhood. For one thing, her spine is made of stainless steel.

It’s quite true that she’s basically shy. No argument there. Virgo girls don’t climb up on soap boxes to make fiery, aggressive speeches or chop up saloons with hatchets, like Carry Nation. They don’t get arrested for drunken driving, either, and i’ll give you a five-pound note for every one featured in a burlesque show. But a Virgo woman is a woman. She has all the necessary wiles and weapons, including a determination to pursue happiness wherever the path happens to lead her. A few prickly thorns along the way won’t cause her either to faint or cry weakly for help.

When you hear a Virgo woman who has outraged the laws of society, be sure you read between the lines. She is basically pure-minded - true. But so is love. Real love. And Virgo is not interested in any other kind. She’ll climb the tallest mountains and storm the raging seas in galoshes and a pea jacket, once the spirit of Mercury has been exalted, which can considerably dim that wispy, chiffon image.

Remember, too, that Virgo’s true ruler, the distant Vulcan, is the god of thunder. A Virgo woman who recognises her marriage as imperfect and finds a love without flaw (or thinks she has, which is the same thing), won’t hesitate to cut former ties. When she does she’ll use the knife, she’ll be as cool and precise as a surgeon. Much as she hates to break the family circle, the Virgo hates hypocrisy more.

Once she’s accepted a love as true and ideal, the purity of her own concept of the relationship reigns supreme over all the pieces of legal paper in the world. She’s the one woman in the zodiac who can be deadly practical and divinely romantic at the same time. The situation of the love affair beside some faraway ocean may seem casual and immoral on the surface. Actually, it’s a predictable example of a Virginian behaving true to character when caught in a difficult decision. She’ll suffer agonies of embarrassment over the condemnation of society in such an affair; but that won’t alter her course of action any more than it will alter the purity of her motivation. It’s a perfect example of the firm practicality of Virgo’s earth element, blended with the mental, airy, ideal-seeking Mercury. There’s a white heat to Virgo love, once it’s ignited, that can put the passions of other Sun signs to shame by its very intensity and singleness if purpose. Igniting it may take some time, however.

I will admit that the fiery, physical aspect of love may be somewhat subdued in the typical Virgo female, but there’s a mysterious, quiet, waiting quality in this woman and ‘passion of the spirit’ is a most satisfactory substitute to men who prefer the delicacy of understatement in romance.

She’s a perfectionist, but that does not mean that she herself isn’t perfect. She has her negative traits, and they can be very trying. To begin with, Virgo females have this dogged belief that no one can do things as orderly and as efficiently as they can. What really drives you wild is that - usually - no one can.

They’re also sticklers for promptness. Did you ever keep a Virgo woman waiting for a date? When she’s upset or cranky, she won’t rage and storm and break bottles over your head, but she can be shrewish and fussy when you’ve annoyed her. You might as well expect a frank scolding. An occasional Virgo woman can come pretty close to behaving like a virago, but most of them don’t carry it that far. Take her flowers. Admit you’re wrong and don’t argue. It won’t do you a bit of good, you can’t win with a Virgo. The earth is her element, so she appreciates the creations of nature, and the posies will soften her irritation. As for the apologies, keep them brief and accurate. The Virginian is nobody’s fool. Her clarity of vision will spot an elaborate lie by the smoothest talker, and the faintest smear of lipstick on the edge of a collar. She may be pure-minded, but she’s certainly not naive.

I’m not implying that she’ll go through your laundry, at least not before you’re married. After that, it will be in her house, and she won’t feel so guilty about it.

This girl has a mental block when it comes to admitting she’s wrong - like a block of wood right in front of her brain - so you’d be smart to take the blame straight away. Most of the time she’ll be right, frustrating though it may be. So why fight it? When you’ve put her back into her normal mood, she’s such an exquisite delight, you won’t care who won or lost.

If you can bear the wound to your male ego, you might profit from taking her financial advice, or letting her handle the budget. She’s concise and practical, and she catches tiny errors even a CPA might overlook.

Brush up on your manners and your grammar if you’re dating a Virgo female. She won’t take kindly to abuse of the language, swearing or drinking from the finger bowl. Don’t chew celery close to her ear and it’s better if you pass up corn-on-the-cob all together. That’s enough of a challenge without trying to eat it daintily in front of her. Tell the waiter to cut it off and serve it to you on the plate. You’ll never pass inspection with sloppy clothing either. Once in love with a Virgo, you might as well resign yourself to shaving twice a day, and the same goes for showers. Splash on aftershave lotion, brush off the lint, spruce up your hair, wear a fresh shirt, mind your manners, and polish your shoes before you go a-courting this girl. And here’s a very valuable tip: the next time you’re late, pretend you don’t realise what time it is. Walk in her door angrily, When she asks what’s wrong, tell her that silly, ridiculous, blasted library (that’s about as profane as you’ll dare to get) keeps closing five minutes before they’re supposed to, according to their rules. It wouldn’t be so bad now and then, but they lock the doors on you every night when you have all those heavy scientific journals to put away. She’ll forget all about the tardiness.

Don’t take her to the racetrack and let her see you throw away a week’s pay on Golden Chance in the fifth, on the nose. Save your off-colour stories for the man at lunch, and tell her constantly you’re glad she’s not the flighty type. You are, aren’t you? She’s not a clinging vine, either. Virgo goes to no extremes. She can take care of herself, thank you. But she doesn’t have to act like a man to do it.

Don’t overpower her with your physical charms or bear hug her in the underground, and don’t rush the goodnight kiss on the first or even the tenth date - wait for better things. In general, underplay the whole scene. Move in slowly, with grace and taste, or you’ll end up in the orchestra pit with all the other banjo thumpers. Speaking of the theatre, she’ll probably love it. Parades, too. The pomp and pageantry, the dramatic emotion, give her an outlet for her own tightly controlled emotions. Besides, she’s one great critic. Her highly developed intellect and artistic taste combine to give her a keen perception. If you could make Broadway producers understand this, you’d be showered with free passes to out-of-town openings. A Virgo woman will call the critics’ reviews in advance almost every time. Discrimination is one of her keywords. She loves plays, concerts and books, but she’s severely critical of their content.
She’s just as critical of your tie and how you wear your hair, who you do and what you say. To criticise is as natural to her as breathing is to you. Virgo is the eternal perfectionist, and without her, we would all be pretty messy and sloppy around the edges. Don’t criticise her, however. That’s against the rules. The golden rule definitely does not apply here. What she does to you, you’d better not do to her. Her crystal-clear thinking makes her inwardly as aware of her own imperfections as she is of yours and she judges herself frequently and harshly, which is why she feels she doesn’t need any help from you. Of her, it can truly be said that she’s ‘her own worst critic’.

One nice thing about being in love with this woman is that she’ll do all your worrying for you, and possibly even enjoy it. She’ll keep you from goofing without robbing you if your manhood, an art that women born under any other Sun signs might well imitate.

As for the matter of faithfulness, you may hear of a rare Virgo female who, for her own unfathomable reasons, has decided to toss away virtue with vengeance, but there’s usually a desire to prove something to herself at the bottom of such a spree, and it won’t last long. Virgo females who take an occasional whirl down the primrose path of promiscuity are clever enough to cover up the lapse, and such behaviour is most certainly an exception. Ordinarily, if she really loves you, you’d be safe to trust the typical Virginian woman with the sexiest man you know on a desert island for a month. For two months? Well, Virgos are human, you know. They’re not walking, talking computers. They have hearts warmer than people suspect and emotions that can thunder with feeling, even if they don’t care to rent a billboard to advertise it. The emotional nature of Virgo is controlled, but not nonexistent. Remember that. It will give you courage.

The Virgo girl is annoyingly meticulous about small things, but she can also be the kindest, most generous and affectionate little creature in the world. Consider her perfectionism a virtue, instead of a vice. With all the impulsiveness rampant in the world, what would we do without the sharp eye and mind of a Virgo? Even when she’s irritating you with her critical ways, there’s a lovable quality about her that’s downright irresistible. But of course, you’ve already discovered that, or you wouldn’t be shaving twice a day and going to the library every night. Her modest manner and soft, clear eyes have done their job well. You’ve probably even found out how much fun she is when people don’t pick on her, and what a clever wit lies inside that pretty head. It’s a lovely and strange thing, that when Virgo woman laugh, it often sounds like the peal of little bells.

She has no illusions, so don’t try to sell her any phony ideas. To her, truth is beauty - and beauty is truth. Get used to her emptying the ashtrays every three seconds, be kind to her stray kittens, and she’ll perform the pipe and slippers routine with feminine grace. She’ll share herself cautiously, only with one she trusts, and little things mean a lot to her. Despite her modesty and natural shyness, she’s tough enough and strong enough for others to find comforting when dark clouds gather. The quiet courage and deep sense of responsibility of Virgo women often acts as magic glue to hold large families together. She’ll probably be a good cook, and she’ll never poison you with her soup. Your house will be clean and cosy, and the big bowl on the coffee table will hold apples instead of chocolates (bad for teeth and general health).

You’ll probably never see your youngster running around the neighbourhood with a runny nose, a jam-stained face or torn sneakers. You won’t find tiny fingers scattering your tobacco or colouring on your private papers, either. She’ll be a firm disciplinarian. Virgo women seldom have more than one or two children, and don’t need motherhood to satisfy their femininity. But once baby has bounced into her life, she’ll never neglect his physical, moral or educational needs. She may not supply his emotional needs as easily, but if she’s sure of your love and knows she’s appreciated, she’ll relax and give her offspring plenty of warm affection. Little ones often find Virgo mothers delightfully funny and gentle. They’ll be firm, and try to instill good habits, but they have a tender touch that tells a child he’s securely loved.

Remember the poem that says you shouldn’t buy bread with your last sixpence, but ‘hyacinths for the soul?’ Give this woman both. You may often catch her bust sewing or mending, and if you have a really typical Virgo wife, your house may be full of the heavenly mixed fragrance of fresh flowers and hot, home-made bread, baking crisply in the oven. It’s pretty nice to come home to. She’ll dust off your old dreams and make them shine again, and you’ll have a woman who will never borrow your razor or use your toothbrush for her mascara. She’ll nurse you like an angel when you’re ill, and she won’t embarrass you by flirting with your best friend. She’ll dress neatly and be able to talk to you about something besides nappies and beauty parlour gossip. You’ll get every ounce of loyalty and devotion you deserve. She won’t throw emotional scenes of jealousy or throw your money away foolishly. She’ll keep your secrets in her heart, help you organise your work, and probably won’t get wrinkled in middle age. Now, really, isn’t that all worth minding your manners and keeping your fingernails clean? Her eyes are cool pools of pure love, and when she smiles, she can light up a whole room with her radiance. Better keep her. You may never get so lucky again.

An Extract from Linda Goodman's Sun Signs

Prawn and Avocado Quinoa

2012-01-05T12:36:00.000Z

"You know you're middle class when all your have in are prawns, avocado & quinoa" was Matthew's Facebook status the other night.

It made me chuckle. Of course we had more than that in our fridge, but I did quite like that we had enough tasty things to throw something together that was absolutely delicious and just what we needed.

I had prawns and rocket left over from my Spaghetti with Prawns & Rocket speciality and avocado left over from the Banana, Spinach & Avocado Smoothie that I have been making every single morning. And quinoa is one of those handy staples in the cupboard.

After a long walk back from town on Sunday afternoon after Matthew picked up his iPad (I fear I shall now become an iPad widow) this was just what we needed to put us on until a light dinner that evening.

I cooked the quinoa and as that was simmering away, I heated the prawns with a bit of garlic and added them to a bowl of chopped avocado, spring onion and some cherry tomatoes. Then I poured in the quinoa once it was done, threw in a few handfuls of salad leaves and mixed it all up with my hands.

Simple. Perfect.

This will be great for summer days. I'm not so much bothered about the weather turning warmer, but I will be happy when the sun stays out for longer. I do very much like the days when I am at home in the daylight!

A Reflection

2012-01-03T13:00:00.000Z

2011 was a bit of a strange year for me. I don't really think I achieved that much. I didn't move house, I didn't change my job, and I didn't do as much crafting and blogging as I would have liked.

But I did have some realisations about my health which is definitely a good thing. I experimented with my diet and by the end of the year there was a very clear answer - vegan is the way forward. I never felt better than when I omitted meat and dairy from my diet and I could definitely tell when they started to creep back in towards the end of the year.

This year I am making that change for good. If I eat meat or dairy, it will be in tiny quantities and on very rare occasions. This year my priority is my health: food, exercise and skin routines.

This was my breakfast this morning.

A green smoothie made from avocado, banana, spinach and apple juice. So delicious and terribly good for you. I'm loving getting a dosage of leafy greens in the morning and apparently avocado helps maintain concentration and is good for the brain! Perfect after I've dragged myself out of bed at 6.30am.

In the last couple of months of 2011 I discovered Zumba and I'm really looking forward to carrying that on in 2012. For the first time I was able to do a class and actually enjoy it. I pushed the 20 minute barrier, danced for a full hour and felt amazing afterwards. I even did a few classes on my own which is absolutely unheard of. So yes, Zumba is the way forward when it comes to getting fit and shedding a few pounds I think. Who knows - I might become a gym junkie by the end of the year? Hmmm... I wouldn't count on it.

I would also like to get good at photography and properly get my blog/macbook organised. That means sorting out all my pictures and deleting useless files and easily update this thing more. The main reason why I don't blog as much as I'd like is because I find it hard to fit everything in. But no - no more excuses. I shouldn't look at other blogs and envy them, I should put more time and effort into my own. I'm terrible for wanting instant gratification and I know that's never going to happen when developing my blog. I have to become addicted to social media and log into Twitter before Facebook, and comment on blogs whenever I read them instead of keeping my thoughts to myself.

I'm hoping 2012 will be an important year for me. A year to look back on and remember positively, instead of a non-feeling when I think of 2011. And I know one way that's going to make that happen, we're going to Disneyland Paris for my birthday...... Eeeeeeeeeee!

A Cheap and Personalised Wedding Gift

2011-11-27T11:50:00.001Z

My friends Beth & Jeremy got married a few weeks ago. They're going skiing in Austria on their honeymoon and their wedding invitations asked that if we wished to buy them a present, a contribution to their honeymoon would be very much appreciated. Of course, we donated to their honeymoon fund, but I always like to give a little gift.

When my friend Katie got married, I made a video of her hen party so she could always happily look back at her 'last night of freedom', but Beth was soon to become an Army wife and I wanted to make sure she had a little wedding-themed something to put up in her new home.

I had seen these pictures all over Pinterest and I loved them. They're available on Etsy but they're so expensive and I could hardly justify spending so much on something I could make myself - even if the quality wasn't as good - it would be a little more personalised.

I spoke to the Chief Bridesmaid to ask what the colour theme of the wedding would be. I thought it would be nice to include the colours of the wedding to tie it all in nicely, and I was told she was going for autumnal colours - ivory, gold and deep red. Gorgeous.

It took me quite a while sitting through craft shops finding the exact colour of paper that I wanted to do this. What colour background did I want? Is this the right shade of gold? Is that paper coloured on both sides? Can I put this paper in the printer? Do these colours clash with my frame?! (Luckily not - I had found the last Ribba frame in Ikea that was more off-white than brilliant white which I was so thankful for) but eventually I found the right combination.

First I started off cutting out little hearts in gold card and folding them in half. This card needed to be coloured on both sides because they'll have a '3D' effect.

I cut out way more than I needed because I didn't really know how many I wanted until I saw them all arranged by the frame.

I stuck them down on alternate sides similar to the original picture and left one space open for my red heart. I chose a nice font and printed out a variety of styles and sizes on the red card to see which looked best. I then cut it out and stuck it in the gap. The text was their wedding date - 22/10/11

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Perfect. It went into the frame et voila - a personalised wedding gift handmade to a fifth of the cost of buying it from Etsy.

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I'm so happy I made this. I was lovely to be able to hand over a physical gift as we arrived and I very much hope the bridge & groom liked it.

Cranberry Orange Vodka

2011-11-26T14:10:00.001Z

This year I wanted to make my friends a present they’d really enjoy. And my friends like their booze. So I thought I’d whip up a festive tipple for them to enjoy over the holiday season.

I first got the idea from the delicious magazine website and hunted around for other recipes just in case. I came across this recipe and decided that was the one for me (when someone can’t show a final picture because they drank it all – that is a good sign).

I bought some 1.5lt jars from Ikea and decided to make 3 litres. I bought 6 500ml bottles from a shop in town for around £3 and figured I could jazz them up a little with a salt dough ornament to make them more fancy. I could have bought some small one-glass bottles of wine and used those bottles (after drinking the wine, of course), but as I’m only giving this one gift, 500ml seems more generous.

I got Carlie to get me some cranberries and oranges and bought some very basic vodka from Tesco.

First I juiced 8 oranges. I could have peeled them but I figured if I can juice them – why not? After I drank the juice and gave some to Matt’s friend who was round (he was very impressed) I cut the peel into smaller pieces and divided it equally between the 3 jars.

Then I poured on the vodka and let it sit for a while as the cranberries cooked.

I had six 330g bags of cranberries so cooked 2 bags at a time with 300g of sugar and 2 teaspoons of vanilla extract.

I cooked them on a low heat for 30 mins or so until most of the cranberries had turned into liquid mush.

I then turned off the heat and left them to cool before spooning into the jars of vodka and orange. There was a little bit of cranberry mixture left over so I whacked that in a jar and popped it in the fridge to enjoy at another time.

I repeated the cooking and cooling of the cranberries two more times so all three jars were full. Then I let them sit for a week behind my sofa, occasionally shaking them and admiring their rich colour.

Then after a week, I strained the liquid through a sieve to catch the large pieces of fruit, and then passed it through muslin to get out all the little bits of orange.

Poured into my bottles, these look absolutely gorgeous. A lovely present for anyone who likes a festive drink. It’s wonderful on its own, with tonic or a bit of sparkly for some extra festive fizz.

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There’s still plenty of time to give this a go. Definitely one for the Christmas and New Year parties!

My Cookery Books

2011-10-02T11:08:00.000+01:00

I have a bookshelf near my kitchen that is full of books. The middle shelf is bowing because it's so full. Most days, one of these books will be on my coffee table as I flick through them quite regularly to get some inspiration in the kitchen.

I pick up cookery books very regularly. Some brand new, some on sale, and some on the market. I don't care if they're new or battered - but what I do care about is the pictures.

A cook book for me has to have pictures. Otherwise I cannot visualise how yummy it looks and then I don't know if I want to make it.

I have a lot of Jamie Oliver books, and ones by Nigella. But recently I've been buying healthier books (and buy 'healthier' I mean ones that are mostly vegetarian or with few red meat recipes).

I love Sophie Dahl's book, and Eat, Cook, Smile is just wonderful. Both of these are broken down into seasons which I just adore. Seasonal eating is the best kind of eating, in my opinion, because not only does it mean you can get cheap, local produce, but it's what nature intended - and I can't really argue with that.

Skinny Bitch and The Kind Diet are both vegan cook books but are both very different. The Kind Diet is less of a recipe book, more a book to change your thoughts about food. It's less preachy than Skinny Bitch - which I do think is a bit OTT at times - but both have good recipes. I prefer to use recipes that don't require meat substitutes (tempeh, seitian - which I can't eat any since it's pure gluten) but there are some real gems in there.

Gwyneth's book is similar to Sophie & Bill's books as recipes do contain meat, but favour fish and white meat instead of red. I like this - as I do eat fish, and sometimes eat chicken, but I try to eat veggie most of the time.

If you're after a healthier cook book - I'd definitely go with Sophie, Bill & Gwyneth. You can't go wrong.

If anyone has any recommendations then please give them to me! I can't wait to break that bookshelf!

A Beautifully Personalised Gift

2011-09-27T10:01:00.001+01:00

Late last year, I bought a table to transform my hallway. I haven't done anything to it since then. Well, except maybe put lots of shoes under it.

A few weeks ago, though, I was given a present that would start the changing process.

For my birthday, my parents gave me this:

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It's a giant canvas with words that represent my life so far. Names of friends and family, streets I've lived on, schools I've attended, places I've worked and been on holiday to, hobbies and items from my childhood. The name of my first pet.

When I opened this present I cried a little. My parents never fail to disappoint. They really are the best.

There was only one place for it to go, really. The hallway. The colours were perfect for that space and I needed something huge as a bold statement piece above the table.

The hallway is slowly turning into a room instead of just a place we walk through multiple times a day.

The next thing I plan to do is add an artificial plant, some photo frames and maybe add some ornaments from the bookcase in the living room.

I'm happy with it. And I'm even happier with my present. It's just perfect.

I hope other parents will consider creating something like this for their kids. An 18th or 21st would be brilliant - but I quite liked it for my 25th. It's a semi-milestone.

Can anyone see a word they or phrase they like? Or fancy being a bit nosey? I'm happy to explain them!

Gluten & Dairy Free Chocolate Beetroot Cake

2011-09-26T11:21:00.002+01:00

It was my birthday the other week. I've turned 25.

For my birthday I went to the Royal Pavillion in Brighton for the day, and then I went to Buckingham Palace and the Natural History Museum the week after.

I had such an amazing time - I would urge anyone to go to Buckingham Palace if given the change because the state rooms are beautiful. Speaking of which - has anyone seen the Queen's Palaces on BBC1? Love it!

Every birthday needs a Birthday Cake and since we had a lot of veg delivered I thought I'd use up some of it and make a Chocolate Beetroot Cake.

I have many, many recipes for this cake - but I chose to use the one in my most recent cookbook - Cook Eat Smile by Bill Collinson. He has a cafe in Brighton called Bill's and it's an absolute must for everyone visiting the area. I trust his recipes so as I'd never made this cake before, and it would be my birthday cake I wanted to reduce the risk of it going wrong.

Especially as I was adapting it. I have no idea why I insist on adapting recipes I have never made before, but I did and it worked so I must have done something right.

For the Cake
3 medium beetroot (approx 300g)
300g caster sugar
3 eggs
250ml vegetable oil
75g cocoa powder
250g gluten-free self raising flour
1 1/2 tsp bicarbonate of soda
1tsp xanthan gum

For the Filling
200g icing sugar
1tbsp cocoa powder
100g dairy free butter (I used soya butter)
cherry jam

Preheat oven to 180 degrees and lightly grease two round 20cm spring-form cake tins.

If using raw beetroot, boil for approx 30 minutes until soft enough to poke with a fork. Leave to cool for approx another 30 mins until cool enough to handle. Grate coarsely and put to one side. Add sugar to a large bowl and mix in the oil and eggs until smooth. Add the beetroot. It will turn lusciously pink like this.

Then add the cocoa powder and mix well. It will go rich dark purple. Slowly add the flour, bicarb and xanthan gum. This will take a while and the mixture will become quite thick but keep working with it.

Pour the mixture into the cake tins (or half into one, as I did as I don't have a second tin) and pop into the oven. Bake for 30-35 minutes. Stick a skewer in towards to end to check to see if it's done or not (the skewer will be clean if it's cooked through - although I'm sure everyone knows this).

Leave to cool.

Make the filling by beating together the butter, icing sugar and cocoa powder. Spread the bottom of the top cake with cherry jam and the bottom cake with chocolate buttercream. Once you have done this put the cake in the fridge straight away. I took my time doing this (by 5 mins) and the buttercream had started to melt a bit. Sprinkle the top with edible glitter if it's a special occasion or if you just want to be a bit fancy.

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This cake was deliciously moist and flavourful. The beetroot worked perfectly with the chocolate. It wasn't overpowering. It was perfect.

I took some into work the day after and everyone commented on how good it was. Even the boys who don't like any of this 'gluten-free dairy-free nonsense'!

Share it with lots of people. I didn't manage to eat it all and I do love the cake.

Thrift Store Frames and Online Prints

2011-09-25T10:14:00.000+01:00

This corner of my living room was okay. It was nice, but it was missing something.

And that something was a picture or two. I have quite a lot of canvasses around the flat so I wanted something a little bit different. I'd been looking for A4 prints for a few months and everything I found was ridiculously expensive. Even if I wanted to buy a print and frame separately, the cheapest A4 frame I could find was £12 from BHS and I was not spending £24 on frames alone.

And then I came across a gem of a shop in the North Laines. It's an antique store that has a million bits and pieces, including some gold A4 frames for an unbelievable £4 each. I was sold.

But once I had the frames, I had no idea what to put in them! Even the prints I found were expensive and just because I'd spent just £4 on a frame didn't mean I would allow myself extra to buy a print. So I did a bit of googling and tried to find some large images of my own.

And I did. So I popped down to Colourfast - this amazing print shop in Brighton and got them to print out the images for me on good quality paper. £1.20 each! I could have printed them at home but I figured I wanted to at least make some attempt at making an image from online look good!

Would you like to see the result?

Doesn't that space look so much better? I decided to go for Alice in Wonderland prints because I wanted something a little personal but pretty, too.

It's a bit hard to get a picture without the reflection, but you get the idea.

I like that they're a little unusual and I also like that they cost me only £5.20 each. Especially when I have prints that cost ten times that amount in here. Oh internet. I like you.

I just think they make that corner look finished now. There are still a few more spots that aren't 100% finished yet - but I'm getting there. Slowly but surely.

Fig, Halloumi & Rocket Salad

2011-09-24T10:54:00.002+01:00

When my ultimate veg box arrived last week, there were 2 figs in it. I've never eaten a fig before. They were never fruits of choice when I grew up, and I've never known what to do with them so I've never bought them from the supermarket.

But here they were, in my veg box, begging to be eaten.

A bit of googling showed that figs went really well with honey, and in my experience anything that goes well with honey also goes well with cheese and rocket.

I rarely eat cheese these days, but If I do it's either goats cheese, halloumi, or cottage cheese. This was a day for halloumi.

I grilled my figs and fried the halloumi with a sesame seed crust for a bit of crunch and general goodness. I lay the figs and halloumi on a bed of rocket and topped with a dressing of honey, olive oil and balsamic. And some pecans for a little added something.

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It was the best lunch I have ever eaten. The perfect combination of sweet and salty. A seriously good treat for a weekend afternoon.

Salt Dough Christmas Ornaments

2011-09-23T11:19:00.006+01:00

I think I found the best way to make christmas ornaments ever.

Why haven't I used this stuff since I was 5 years old?!

So as I was ~~obsessively trying to find~~ casually browsing through Christmas pictures on Pinterest I came across a picture that made me very happy.

A salt dough snowflake decorated with red pen. Simple! So on my day off earlier in the week, I decided to experiment. I got some old Tesco Value plain flour hidden in the depths of my cupboard (which has to be at least 1 year old because I can't eat that stuff anymore), and measured out half a cup into a large bowl. Then I added a quarter cup of salt and a quarter cup of water (and a drop more when it needed it). I rolled it out and placed the dough on a baking sheet, cut out some hearts with the only cookie cutter shape I owned, made a hole with a toothpick, and baked them at 100 degrees C for an hour or so (turning them over when hard enough to cook the underside).

When they cooled, I decorated with a red pen.

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But I didn't want just hearts. I wanted something more Christmassy, and with that I bought some star and circle cookie cutters and did the same again. But with the circular ones, I tried something a little different. I fished out a small stamp and stamped the dough with ink before I cut and baked it. Then I finished it off with a little glitter.

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I liked the stamped ones. I liked them a lot. So I made more. Only this time I bought some Christmas Stamps and got out the red ink. But this time I didn't use a cookie cutter - I used a knife (I know, I'm crazy) to get square shapes. I made the top border slightly bigger to accommodate a hole for hanging and when I took them out of the oven I was very happy.

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They were almost perfect. What they needed was a bit of glitz and glam. Out came the glitter pens again and they got a mini makeover.

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How cute is the snowman with his green hat?! And I love the silver glitter on the snowflake.

This is something you definitely have to try. And if you have lots of paper leftover then have a look at this post I did last year about Paper Baubles - so cute and perfect on branches from the garden.

I'm selling these ornaments on Folksy - £4 for a pack of 10! I can also ship to the USA so please let me know if you would like any.

And So It Begins...

2011-09-22T15:16:00.000+01:00

Two years ago my knees gave way and I had to stop work for 2 months. The bad news was that I could only stay in my flat for those 2 months. The good news was that it was the end of October, and I had two whole months to plan for my very first Christmas away from home. Me and Matthew spend the entire Christmas holiday in our first place together and we had a brilliant time.

Last year, however, things were a little different. I was working full time and by the time the end of October had arrived, I had a million and one things to do. I ordered my supplies for making my homemade presents, but the Christmas rush meant that I had to wait 3+ weeks for it to arrive because of the amount of orders. I didn't get things as cheaply as possible, and I had completely underestimated decorating for the festive season.

In our modern first flat, we went for a modern theme, and with little space going for us, we opted for a slimline popup tree from Argos.

We were also incredibly poor, so I just nipped to the pound shop to get some baubles and displayed them in vases and bowls. And everything worked well there because it suited the decor nicely.

But the following year we'd moved. And we didn't live in a modern flat anymore. Instead, we had moved into a Victorian house with high ceilings and big spaces. The decorations worked fine, but they weren't as grand as I had hoped. The tree looked so tiny and the colours didn't really match... but I did the best I could and added some mood lighting with candles.

But this year I want to do more. This year I am starting early. September is upon us and now is the time to start the preparations and with Pinterest I have a huge helping hand.

I've already started on my decorations and ideas are in the bank for homemade Christmas presents. I will also be making a few more things to sell in the office building I work in to try and make some extra pennies.

The next few months won't purely be based around Christmas, but I would like to post up some of the things I'm working on so you can get a head-start if you wish.

Carlie's Fresh Produce

2011-09-03T08:37:00.000+01:00

I first met Carlie a couple of months ago when I was walking down the road from work on my lunch break. He was shouting, and I was intrigued. He was shouting “cherry tomatoes, a pound a pound!” and as I walked over, I was given one to taste straight away. There were women queuing up to buy his veg, all trying samples, and when I asked for a pound of tomatoes and a few more things, I asked him why I’d never seen him before. Surely I would have known about such a fruit and veg man 2 minutes from where I spend 80% of my days! But his answer eased me somewhat. He only opened up the day before, and he would be there 5 days a week.

The next day I walked past again with 2 of my friends from work. This day, he was sampling blood oranges and all of us bought 3 each. We shared them with others at work, and gradually this became a mini tradition with new produce until half the office were talking about him.

Carlie is better than the usual supermarket shops for a number of reasons. The first reason is the atmosphere of the place. Just check out this stall! This entire Farm Market has been created in the alley between two rows of terraces houses and Carlie’s stall is right at the very front.

He’s super friendly. You can chat to him about anything, and he’ll always tell you what he’s planning on getting in. He’ll also tell you if what you’re wanting isn’t ripe enough, or is going off, and will leave you to make your own decision. He won’t push for a sell.

He’s cheap! 2 punnets of strawberries for £2.50 – they’re £2.50 each in the supermarkets. 50p for 3 raw beetroot – they can go for 3 to 4 times that much in the shops. I bought veg for the week for an amazing £5 the other month, and he’ll always do a deal if you buy more.

The food is fresh. He buys it straight from the farms the day before it is sold on his stall. It’s local. And the freshness means it lasts for longer. I once had a punnet of cherry tomatoes in my fridge for over a week and they were still firm.

I’ve been so inspired by this guy. Not only have I been able to get all the best food for the cheapest prices, but I’ve been inspired to create meals with the veg he has to offer. I’d never eaten a Jerusalem artichoke before and I certainly couldn’t find any in my local Tesco.

But the best was yet to come. A few months back I decided to get an organic veg box delivered - for the times when I couldn't carry food back, and thought it would be nice to know that we'd always have veg in, even when we didn't have time to nip to the shops. It was nice at first, but it dawned on us quickly that even though there was plenty of food, there was too much of each type of veg. We couldn't eat an entire bag of spinach and spring greens in one week. We didn't want a huge bunch of carrots every week in the summer, and sooner or later we gave it up.

Then I found out Carlie was doing a veg box for the same price. As I like his produce anyway, and I got the impression that we'd get a little bit of everything, rather than a lot of a few. So we figured why not and asked to have one delivered.

Let me show you what my organic veg box looked like...

What you'd expect from a veg box I guess. Now compare that to Carlie's veg box...

But wait, it gets better...

Fruit and Veg overload!! I counted - there are 29 different types of produce there. And I have to list them - because I just do.

lettuce
celery
cucumber
oranges
apples
pineapple
bananas
nectarines
globe artichoke
peaches
strawberries
tomatoes
cauliflower
courgette
aubergine
leeks
spring onions
onions
red onions
chard
swede
beetroot
potatoes
broad beans
carrots
chili peppers
garlic
ginger
runner beans

Oh my word. Can you believe they both cost the same price?! £15 for almost 30 different things. It's insane. Last night for the first time in a while, I actually looked at all my food and made something without having to nip out to the shop. I made a tomato stew with carrots, courgette, celery, and cauliflower and served it over mashed potato. Absolutely delicious.

Now to get the cookery books out, the delicious magazine and bbc good food websites and find a way to eat all this! I'm thinking cauliflower curry, chocolate and beetroot cake, peach crumble.... yum.

Playing Tourist

2011-07-13T05:47:00.000+01:00

Sometimes, when old friends get together, they can't help but intend to act like grown ups...

But sooner or later, the child in them emerges.

Whether that be daring each other to go as close as they possibly can to the sea... and end up almost losing a shoe.

Or making a ridiculous pose on a well-known tourist attraction...

Climbing on a child's ride and attempting to recreate this famous Friends image...

And spending 4 whole pounds each to go on a ride that feels so unsafe, you think you're going to fall into the waters below...

We had a great time. A more than great time. It's so lovely to see friends that are away from you for the vast majority of any given time period. Especially when you get to act like teenagers again.

A Month Without Spending: An Update

2011-07-12T21:26:00.000+01:00

Wow. It's almost 2 weeks into June and I've only just got round to thinking about my month without spending.

In June, I banned myself from spending money certain things. I was very successful with a few of my banned items... others? Not so much.

~~Travel~~
~~Clothes~~
~~Magazines~~
~~Books/DVDs~~
Lunches
~~Kitchen Equipment~~
~~Home Accessories~~
~~Cat Toys~~
Alcohol
Chocolate/Sweets
~~Make-Up/Skincare~~

Lunches, alcohol, chocolate and sweets were my downfall. But I'm okay with that. I managed to not spend a penny on anything else.

Although as it would happen, on the very first day of July I ran out of make-up. Typical.

Since then I've bought myself a bikini for my holiday and I've had a pretty good weekend with some friends. But that's about it really. I've realised that I don't actually need a brand new item of clothing for every single new thing that I do. And I don't need that salad spinner. Not quite yet.

Maybe I'll do this again? I think so. It's nice cutting back for a while when I need to.

But on more positive news - Matt is working at my office full time for a while. Yay full time pay!

Note To Self

2011-07-09T10:43:00.000+01:00

When making toast for a guest, do not let this be the time that said guest introduces you to the incredible website, Pimp That Snack.

Would you like some butter on that charcoal?

Gluten-Free Banana Bread

2011-07-07T10:23:00.002+01:00

I still get a bit nervous when I'm about to embark on some gluten-free baking. With my last attempt being very successful, I was unsure that I'd have another success on my next attempt, but I was pleasantly surprised!

I had some bananas that were getting a bit too ripe and normally I'd make a banana bread - but I'd never made a gluten-free one before. Would it work? Could I still get away with using Nigella's recipe? My trusted recipe that has never failed me?

I wasn't sure. But I gave it a go. I did search online first to see if I could find a good recipe, but they all contained random ingredients and I hate that about gluten-free baking. Hate it. I saw a comment on a Dove's Farm recipe where a woman said she'd added a teaspoon on xanthan gum and hers had come out really well so I figured it couldn't do any harm.

It didn't do any harm at all. In fact, this banana bread did not crumble. It was perfect. Delicious. It tasted as though it was full of gluten. If you gave this to a normal person they wouldn't know the difference. I promise.

Follow Nigella's recipe. But add a teaspoon of xanthan gum when combining the flour (I used Dove's Farm Gluten-Free Plain Flour), baking powder, soda etc. I also didn't do the whole bourbon thing. As much as I like my alcohol, I prefer to drink it - not use it to make fruit swell. Oh, and I used soya butter. Didn't make a difference. Did use eggs, though. Dairy free - not vegan.

I took my success out of the oven. This is what it looked like.

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And this is what it looked like, still warm, and smothered in soya butter.

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Nom nom.

Re-Covering a Fabric Footstool

2011-07-06T22:12:00.001+01:00

Last weekend, me and Matt walked past 2 little girls on our street. They were sat outside their house with a little stall, raising money for a charity. It was so cute and we couldn't help but pay over the odds for a Bridget Jones book, but as we walked away, I noticed something at the end of their little stall. A footstool. I bought it from them without a second thought.

So I did what any other normal 24 year old girl would do on a Tuesday night. I re-covered it. I am so Rock & Roll it's unbelievable.

Here it is in all it's old fashioned glory.

Yuck. But look at that potential!

I got straight into it, and the first thing I did was remove the legs with a trusty screwdriver.

The underneath was pretty tidy, and I didn't really want to undo all the staples, so I decided to leave the original fabric on and add my fabric over it.

So I chose my material and covered it to make sure I had enough. Look at that little kitty sitting on the fabric. I love that Ruby cat.

Once I'd cut the fabric to size, I turned it over and pulled the fabric tight underneath and stapled a section of it in place. I got the stapler specifically for this job. It's just a wall stapler from WHSmith. The kind teachers in school use to staple pieces of work to notice boards - nothing special.

The next task was to get the corners tidy. I'm not going to lie - this was the trickiest bit. I needed a lot of patience because it took a fair few efforts. But once I got the hang of it it was pretty easy.

Then I just stapled them in place! And cut off all the excess material. I did the same for every corner (obviously). By the time I'd done them all, the underneath looked like this.

Not the neatest thing in the world, but good enough. The legs got screwed back on again and that was that! Would you like to see the end result?

Ta da!

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Isn't it lovely?? So much better than how it was before. And it's an extra little seat around the coffee table when we have people round, which is always a bonus.

This is my second attempt at updating any piece of furniture (my first being the charity shop chair) so I am by all means a complete novice.

And if I can do it anyone can.

Living Room Update

2011-07-05T13:52:00.000+01:00

The living room is possibly my favourite room of the entire house. The ceilings are 3 metres high and the bay window really make this room a bit special, and the natural light in here is gorgeous.

It was the first room I finished when we moved in over a year ago, and I haven’t stopped adding to it.

It’s amazing looking at the picture from the day after we’d moved in. I felt like the room was already finished…

But I was clearly wrong. 8 months later I finally got the coffee table I’d been saving for, and it makes the whole room feel better. No more giant void in the centre of the room, and it makes a great centrepiece for the beanbag chair and the chair I reupholstered to face. I love seeing the difference it makes. As it transformed the room from looking like this...

To this...

What a transformation! I cannot tell you how happy I am with how this room is coming along. Everything is fitting in bit by bit, piece by piece, and it's taken quite a while. But it's getting there, and the same treatment is being handed out for all the other rooms.

It's really nice having a constant project on the go - and I'm really looking forward to seeing how this room has developed in another year's time.

Tuna Steak Salad

2011-06-30T12:16:00.000+01:00

The other day I wanted tuna. I wanted tuna so much that I went to 3 shops to get exactly what I wanted. Matt was really hungry, but it didn't stop me wandering around for almost an hour so I got the food I had been craving all day.

What is with this weather? Is it hot? Is it cold? Raining? Dry? Can you make up your mind, please?? My body really cannot cope with this confusing weather. I don't know if I feel like eating salads or stews.

This day I wanted salad. Warm salad. A salad that I copied from a restaurant I love going to. A filling but refreshing dinner. One that leaves you satisfied, but doesn't leave you lethargic. That's what this salad is.

And it's only 5 ingredients. 3 if you can't be bothered with a salad dressing.

Tuna Steak
Salad Leaves
Cherry Tomatoes
Olive Oil and Balsamic Vinegar to serve.

Ohhhhh does it make you want to eat it right now? It's making me hungry.

A simple salad with a tuna steak.

It takes minutes to make (possibly an hour to find the tuna, though) and you'll be happy and free of hunger. Perfect.

Cuttlefishlove

2011-06-29T11:51:00.000+01:00

Whilst I was out on Sunday, I visited a little market in North Laine. We'd just popped in to have a nosey. Normally I'm not really a fan of much in a Vintage Fayre but one stall caught my eye.

I'm pretty sure my mouth dropped open when I saw these beauties.

These hair pieces are so gorgeous. Unfortunately for me, payday hasn't yet arrived, and I'm sticking to my rule of not buying myself anything this month. But you can be sure that next month I'm going to treat myself to one of the little ones.

They're made by Cuttlefishlove and are all handmade. She even makes custom orders, too. So when I go to Beth & Jeremy's wedding this year, I think I'm going to have a large one made to wear instead of a hat. I hope Beth likes it - she has told me I have to go wearing a Princess Beatrice hat...

That thing sold for over 81 grand at auction!! My lord!

The hair pieces may not be £81k, but they are pretty pricey. Totally worth it in my opinion, though. They're handmade and if you get a custom one - completely original. I'd prefer to buy a hair piece for a wedding that I can wear again, instead of a hat or fascinator. And I've seen these things first hand - the quality is amazing. I had a good look at it to see how it was made, and I was very impressed.

Cuttlefishlove is on Facebook, too, so go and 'like' the page. Add one to your wishlist, or hint for an early birthday present. Christmas is only 6 months away now.... (oh yes I did just do that).

Gluten-Free Chocolate Cupcakes

2011-06-28T11:14:00.001+01:00

My Mother is a bloody good hostess. When I went back to my parent's house to watch Take That a couple of weekends ago, she threw a little tea party before I left. No special reason. Just for lunch on a Sunday. That's the best kind of tea party.

She made a salad and sandwiches, some normal ones, some gluten-free ones with ham and salad for Dad, and some goats cheese and salad ones for me.

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She also made scones. And gluten-free scones for Dad. And gluten-free ones with just jam and no cream for me.

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She made chocolate muffins, too. No need for making two kinds of these. They're good enough for even the non-coeliacs to eat.

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Yum. Doesn't it all look so pretty set out like that?

But back to the cakes. They were better than good. They were awesome. When I got home I asked for the recipe because they were so delicious, and this weekend I got around to actually making them.

The key with making gluten-free anything is to try to avoid using substitutes. They just don't work as well. Instead, find recipes that are naturally gluten-free and go from there.

These muffins are naturally gluten-free. No flour. Just ground almonds - as simple as that.

3 eggs
175g caster sugar
200g ground almonds
6tbsp cocoa powder
2tbsp vegetable oil
1tsp vanilla extract

Beat the eggs and caster sugar with an electric whisk until mousey. Fold in the ground almonds, cocoa powder, vegetable oil and vanilla extract with a metal spoon.

Makes about 12 large muffins. Would make more cupcakes, obviously. Actually, it would make 12 large muffins if you make 12 in one batch. If you make 6 and then go to make another 6, you'll probably only get 9 because the air would have left the mixture somewhat.

Place in a pre-heated oven at 180 degrees C for 20-25 mins - check to see if cooked through with a skewer (but we all knew that, right?) Cool on a wire rack.

I think it's almost impossible to mess these babies up. I get really nervous when folding with a metal spoon. I always think I'll do it wrong - especially when I have that many ingredients to fold. But it worked. It worked so well that I exclaimed "oh my god, I have my chocolate muffin recipe!!!" when they came out of the oven.

I think I need to get a life.

But look at them. Ohhhhh....

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I was going to frost them - but I like the cracks and wanted them to stay that way. And I couldn't be bothered making frosting at 8pm on a Sunday night. I'd rather just eat them. Next time. And there will be a next time, because I love them so.

Maybe I'll experiment with this recipe and make flavours other than chocolate. We will see.

But I think you should make these. Even if you can eat gluten. And if you can't, well, you're welcome. You have now found your life-saver.

A Sunday In Pictures

2011-06-27T11:26:00.000+01:00

The Perks of Living in Hove, Actually

2011-06-26T19:02:00.004+01:00

As I write this, Elton John is playing at the Cricket Ground next to my house. 'Tiny Dancer' is blasting through my windows.

I have a glass of this.

Happy Sunday!