happy thanksgiving

via martha stewart

today is thanksgiving for us which equals a busy day of cooking!

here is the menu:

brown sugar, mustard-glazed ham

green beans with hollandaise sauce

creamy garlic mashed potatoes with gravy 

stuffing with celery and onions

cranberry sauce (maybe if i have time...)

apple cider

no dessert this year! ill be whipping up pumpkin chocolate pie after our visit to ry's family for a non-traditional thanksgiving (indian food). im bummed that there will be no turkey to eat this year (turkeys are way to big for two people) so we decided to cook a ham instead with the traditional sides. ill be missing my mom's paella, turkey and cranberry salad. YUM. maybe she will freeze some leftovers for me :) a pregnant woman hopes. 

hope you have a wonderful thanksgiving weekend. enjoy your black friday too. will you be participating in some sales? i love cyber monday so much more than black friday- no crowds!

happy thanksgiving friends! hope you enjoy time with your loved ones. 

*and im sure most of you already know the gender of baby but im waiting to post pictures to "officially" reveal it here on ze blog ;) 

**check out martha stewart thanksgiving menus here (super helpful when planning!)

a simple gift to a friend (and leftovers for me)

glossy strawberries all lined up in a row

i used mainly dark chocolate but added some semi-sweet morsels to take the bitter edge off

and some butter to keep it shiny and smooth

im not very good at making the strawberries look "perfect"

but hey- its still yummy

tucked away neatly in a bakery box with some parchment paper

a gift tied up and ready for a friend

chocolate dipped strawberries are one of my most favorite gifts to receive and give

Harajuku Hamburger

I had to help the lackey at the supermarket deli measure a 1/6th of a pound. This is what I'm talking about some lackey who can't convert measurements has a job in a supermarket deli, and I don't? I stopped caring anymore and will do most anything for money. I've dropped my standards, morals, and dignity. It's really desperate and sad now. Nobody realizes how desperate I am not my parents, not potential employers, not people providing services in a community setting. NOBODY! Plus seasonal hiring is over, and I missed it! And I'm moving which adds more insult to try and finding a job.

Which leads me to another story I decided to try Jarlsberg cheese. I wanted to because Shirley likes it. I didn't like it. Well i ate it plain. It might taste different in a sandwich. I'm not big on Muse either.

I saw the commercial for Gwen's HL line at target. At first I thought it was a commercial for hamburgers. But then I heard the song "Harajuku Girls" play, and I thought "What a strange song to use to promote hamburgers"

Note to Gwen: If you ever do make a hamburger for a restaurant I'd buy one (I have a great name for it "A Little Something Refreshing")

Review & Giveaway: Devo Black Truffle Oil

     
Have you ever tried black truffles? The rich flavor is parallel to none (and so is the price tag-Dean and Deluca in New York will not part with a kilogram of truffles for less than $1,400!). Tasty and ultra flavorful Black Truffles grow on the roots of truffle oak trees-often less than 30 cm or so below the ground. Truffles grow in random regions and since they cannot be seen specially trained pigs and dogs are used to find the truffles. Black truffles are highly aromatic, pungent and will even change the taste of eggs if you store them next to some.
   


My Review
       I was sent a sample of Devo's Black Truffle Oil to review. Devo explains their Black Truffle Oil as "" late fall, early winter truffle made using the tea method which steeps ripe truffles for extended periods of time in olive oil. This closely guarded, proprietary process yields our heady, complex and black truffle oil. A bit more tame than our White Truffle Oil. Fantastic in cream based soups, risotto and mashed potatoes." Devo's Black Truffle Oil is rich and delicious and adds a wonderful flavor boost to almost anything. Since receiving the truffle oil I have used Devo's Black Truffle Oil over pasta, potatoes and Cous Cous. It is wonderfully fragrant and rich!


I have included the recipe my husband concocted while using some of Devo's Black Truffle Oil. I hope you enjoy it as much as we did! I highly recommend the Black Truffle Oil from Devo...it would make the perfect gift for the chef in any family!

Cous Cous with Devo Black Truffle Oil, Sorrell Pesto, and Proscuitto over Arugula

    Make cous cous according to directions. Place proscuitto and Devo Black Truffle Oil in pan and cook until proscuitto is slightly crispy. Add oil and proscuitto to cooked cous cous and place over a bed of fresh arugula. serve and enjoy!

The company did send me a product or service.

This in no way has affected my opinion of the product or service. This review is my opinion and has been written in my own words.

No McRibs!? WTF!?

Ok so that place I went to where the manager wasn't there was a McDonalds.

Can you believe that they had no McRibs! The manager didn't order enough! That place is so poorly run good thing I'm not working there! RED FLAG!!!!!!!!!!!!!

I can't wait to move to another McDonalds that I hope is run better than this place!

a craving for pumpkin

via a cozy kitchen

spotted these pumpkin chocolate chip pancakes on a cozy kitchen and now im really really hungry.

sunday ry made some pumpkin chocolate chip cookies and they were wonderful. im wondering if 

there is a pumpkin spice hot chocolate that could be made...ill google it!

Cheese.... cake?!

"A cake... of cheese?!"

Aah, good old Peter Kay, always cracks me up. Unfortunately for my waistline, I absolutely love cheesecake. I'm actually quite good at making them, though to be fair that's the nature of cheesecakes, rather than my technique. My Mam spotted this Mary Berry (her off The Great British Bake Off) recipe in one of her magazines, and like all recipes she wants to try, she gave it to me to whip up. So, like the good daughter I am, I set about making her a cheesecake. Totally selfless act, you understand...

To make Mary Berry's Lemon and Lime Cheesecake, you will need:

For the base:

100g digestive biscuits

50g unsalted butter

1 tablespoon golden caster sugar

For the filling:

250g mascarpone cheese

397g condensed milk (full fat or it won't set)

Juice of 1 lemon

Juice and zest of 2 limes

3 tablespoons lemon curd

8 individual cheesecake pots (I save the GU pudding pots and they are perfect for this) or you can make one big cheesecake in a springform tin.

Method:

1. Put the digestives in a plastic bag and annihilate them with a rolling pin until you've got crumbs. It helps to create a perfect texture if you picture the face of somebody annoying inside the bag.

2. Put the butter and caster sugar in a pan and melt slowly. Be careful with this as the butter will take only a split second to go from perfectly melted to burnt and bitter.

3. Pour the crumbs into the buttery mixture and stir to combine. Share the mixture between the 8 pots and press it in firmly. Put in the fridge or freezer to set whilst you make the filling.

4. Whisk the mascarpone and condensed milk in a bowl until smooth.

5. Add the lemon curd, lemon juice, lime juice and most of the lime zest (you want to reserve a little sprinkling for each cheesecake for a little decorative touch) and whisk again.

6. Get your pots from the fridge/freezer (I prefer the freezer as it sets quicker) and spoon in the cheese mixture, smoothing the top over once you've finished. I literally have enough mixture to fill the pots, so no leftover tasting sessions, sadly.

7. Adorn each cheesecake with a sprinkling of the remaining lime zest, then put in the fridge to set for a minimum of 2 hours. I like to leave it overnight as it is a bit firmer and creamier.

8. Remove a cheesecake from the fridge, grab a spoon, find a quiet, relaxing spot in the house and devour. Yummers! 

Do you like cheesecake? What is your favourite flavour?

xoxo

What I ate Wednesday

Happy humpday folks! I don't know about you, but I'm counting down the days until the weekend. I'm off out to dinner with the girls on Saturday, but most of all I'm looking forward to some lie-ins! Some of you may know, some of you may not, but for the last month or so I've been having work troubles. They seem to be easing again now but I've been working overtime on my beloved Thursday's off, and the end is nowhere in sight. It's not killing me, but I do miss having a day to myself. Thursday was my productive day where I'd catch up on things around the house, pamper myself, and watch trashy TV that I've been Sky+ing all through the week, but instead I've had to go to work. I'd much rather be at home with my overflowing basket of dirty laundry! Anyway, not long until Saturday. The countdown begins...

Here are my eats from yesterday. Don't forget to check out Jenn's blog for a full list of WIAW participants. I love What I Ate Wednesday posts and it's my favourite part of the week {except the weekends, natch ;)}.

BREAKFAST - 7:00am

The weather has been so lousy that when I woke up I was craving something warm, sweet and filling, so I decided to make an apple and blueberry porridge. It was simple to make and really yummy too:

1/3 cup oats

1/3 cup apple juice (I love, love, love the Innocent one - I'm not a huge apple juice fan in general but this is especially nice)

1/3 cup milk (I used Rice Dream Vanilla rice milk but you use whatever milk you prefer)

1/2 grated pink lady apple, no peel

1 cup frozen blueberries

Mix the oats, apple juice, milk, grated apple and half of the blueberries together, then microwave to your desired consistency. I like it quite thick, so mine took about 3 1/2 minutes in total due to the frozen fruit and thin milk. When cooked, stir through the rest of the blueberries (I do this for extra texture but you can cook them all with the oats for a smoother, gooier porridge) and serve. See, simple!

LUNCH - 12:30pm

My yummy breakfast filled me up until lunchtime, so I didn't need a morning snack. Lunch was a big bowl of spinach and lentil soup. I roughly followed Laura's recipe but added some extra curry powder for an extra kick. At first I wasn't sure I liked it, so I blended it a bit and found it was much more enjoyable. I know where I went wrong with the recipe (I used different quantities of ingredients and didn't adjust the seasonings to match) so I'll be trying this again once I've finished the batch I've frozen.

MID-AFTERNOON SNACK - 4:00pm

I had a carton of chocolate flavoured Rice Dream rice milk and some 'cookie dough' balls. Two of them were cinnamon and raisin flavour and two were chocolate coconut flavour. These are essentially balls of peanut butter combined with ground almonds, and flavoured with different things. Once I've perfected my recipes, I will share them with you but I'm still experimenting at the moment. They were okay, nothing to rave about.

TEA - 6:45pm

I've eaten this every single night since Sunday and I'm still not bored! I had a big salad with lettuce, cucumber, red pepper and sugarsnaps, topped with a massive dollop of houmous (tonight's one was my current favourite, caramelised onion. Wowwee, it tastes so good!), some beetroot, and some wholewheat mini pasta shells mixed with some pesto, pine nuts and a teeny bit of cheese. So lush! Then later on in the evening I had an attack of the sweet tooth, so I had a glass of Innocent's Strawberry and Banana smoothie. It satisfied my sweet craving and filled me right up. Win-win :)

Don't forget to join in the WIAW fun!

xoxo

What I ate Wednesday

Morning loves, hope you are having a good week so far? Mine is a bit strange, and as soon as I can make sense of it in my head I'm sure I will share it with you all, but for now let me share my yum yums from yesterday. As ever, check out Jenn's blog for more WIAW Party-Goers :)

BREAKFAST - 7:00am

I started my day with a mug of hot water and some lemon. Then, my breakfast was something I've been eating a lot of recently. I had a bowl of 'muesli' consisting of a couple of tablespoons of Rude Health Puffed Rice, a couple of tablespoons of Rude Health Apple & Cinnamon Granola, a chopped Pink Lady apple, some green grapes and some Kara Dairy Free Coconut Milk. I'm not a massive cereal fan but this is so delightful and quite refreshing. I loved the crunch of the cereals, the crispiness from the apple and the sweetness of the milk - yum!

MID-MORNING SNACK - 11:00am

This morning's snackage was some chopped strawberries. I'm making the most of them as the strawberry season is coming to an end!

LUNCH - 1:30pm

I ate some lemon and coriander couscous with some cucumber and green pepper. I also had some carrot batons and a tiny tub of red pepper houmous. I love houmous and would gladly eat it every single day. I followed it with a pot of Alpro Vanilla Soy Pudding, which was just delicious. It was very creamy and really satisfied my sweet tooth. I couldn't tell that it was soy either, it tasted really indulgent.

TEA - 6:45pm

I didn't need an afternoon snack as my lunch was quite big and filling. I had intended on making a vegetable and halloumi kebab (halloumi, mushrooms, yellow peppers and tomatoes, brushed with some basil and olive oil) but the skewers I was using weren't very good and no sooner than I had thread them on, they fell off. So I just grilled them as they were and served it with some couscous, flavoured with parsley and vegetable stock. This was really yummy and I'll definitely be attempting this with good skewers soon!

EVENING SNACK - 9:00pm

One of my favourite TV programmes was on last night (Don't Tell The Bride, new series) so I had 2 squares of Lindt dark chocolate with a touch of sea salt. Oh. My. God. My current favourite thing ever. It shouldn't work (erm, salt and chocolate?!) but it is totally lush. I've got a stash at work, a stash in my living room and a stash in my bedroom. Thankfully 2 squares is always plenty to satisfy my craving, so I don't feel too guilty. Delish!

I was asked to be on this series of Don't Tell The Bride by the way. We applied for the previous series but our photos weren't clear enough at the time, so they phoned us back when this series was starting to be filmed. It took me all my courage and bravery to apply first time around that I reverted back to scaredy-cat about being on telly by the time the phone call arrived, and chickened out. I'm still in a huff about not finding a wedding venue yet, so I do have moments where I regret turning it down, but ultimately I think we made the right decision. Mr L knows me too well for our wedding to make dramatic TV, and I can't stand the thought of cameras following me everywhere. Urgh. Still, it makes great viewing.

And that's it! What's the best thing you've eaten today, and have you ever been on TV?!

xoxo

Spiced carrot and lentil soup

Despite having some rare sunny days this week, the evenings have been cold and dark and the mornings have a distinct chill in the air. It's had me craving something warm and comforting, so I made up a huge batch of spiced carrot and lentil soup. Quick, simple, hearty and wholesome, and perfect with a crusty wholemeal roll. Yum!

Ingredients

300g carrots, grated

150g dried split red lentils

1 litre vegetable stock

120mls milk

Pinch of chilli flakes

1/2 tsp mild chilli powder

1 tsp ground cumin

1/2 tsp mild curry powder

1 tbsp olive oil

Salt & pepper to taste

Method

♥ Dry fry the chilli flakes in a large saucepan for about 30 seconds, then add the olive oil.

♥ Add the grated carrots (I don't bother to peel mine before I grate them - I just make sure they are cleaned thoroughly, but it's up to you) and fry for a few minutes until they've softened slightly.

♥ Add the spices and stir through. Continue cooking for a few minutes, then add the vegetable stock.

♥ Bring to the boil and simmer for 5 minutes, before adding the milk and lentils. I used Kara Dairy Free Coconut Milk, and it added a lovely sweetness to the soup. Bring the soup back to the boil, then simmer for about 15 minutes until the lentils have softened, swollen, and absorbed most of the liquid, like this:

♥ Season with salt and pepper to suit your tastes. The next step is optional but I like to transfer to a food processor and pulse for a few seconds until it's still thick in consistency but smoother in texture.

I've frozen mine in batches, and I've noticed that when reheating I need to add a bit of water or more vegetable stock, as the lentils continue to thicken the soup. This is really delicious and will become a staple through the forthcoming colder months. It's vegetarian, low fat, super tasty and very filling - what more do I need?! Yummers!

What are your foodie staples for the colder months?

xoxo

tender mercies

via

sometimes you just can't cook

its funny coming from me who normally loves to cook!

but when you have a tough day- the last thing you want to see is your oven

thank goodness for caring and attentive visiting teachers

my visiting teacher S came by and delivered me dinner yesterday

yummy sloppy joes, rolls, smashed potatoes, lemon butter broccoli, fresh cherries and zucchini brownies

so delicious 

home-cooked meals are the best

 feeling so blessed

another day that i know that God is looking out for me

Hello Panda review (double chocolate)

I took an interesting take on this review. Let's start off regular stuff here is a picture of the bag. I'm recycling the box picture from my previous blog about these. These ones come in a gold bag.



These cookies are chocolate filled with a chocolate cookie on the out side. I bought these like 2 months ago.

Here is a picture of the cookies.



I was disappointed I did not get an (American) football panda cookie this time.



I tasted these. I like these better than the ones with the vanilla cookie and the chocolate filling. It is the same filing though. They have a robust chocolate flavor. I let my dad have some. He was not my "guinea pig". He likes double chocolate stuff anyway. For his birthday he always eats a chocolate cake with chocolate frosting.

What I ate Wednesday

Happy Humpday sweeties :) Another dose of What I Ate Wednesday - join in the party over at Jenn's blog!

BREAKFAST - 7:00am

I have been indulging in smoothies this week, either eaten in a bowl or drunk from a glass. Either way, they are a yummy and filling start to the day! Yesterday's smoothie consisted of orange juice blended with a bit of mango and passion fruit yoghurt, frozen mango, frozen papaya, and frozen pineapple.

LUNCH - 1:00pm

I had a huge pitta bread filled with rocket, tomato and cheese, then put under the grill until the cheese was all melty and the pitta was crisp. Yummers. I had this with some beetroot (my latest obsession), some leftover cheese and some coleslaw. I followed this with a pink lady apple sprinkled with cinnamon.

TEA - 6:30pm

I wasn't too hungry in the afternoon, so when I got home I just made myself some pizza-toast. So simple and quick and tasty. Two slices of toast topped with chopped fresh tomatoes, a bit f pepper, a sprinkling of grated cheese and put under the grill until the cheese has melted. I followed this with a strawberry sundae - frozen strawberries blended with a frozen banana and some soy milk, then I layered it in a glass with some fresh strawberry slices. Mmmmm.

And that's it. I did get a bit peckish before bed but I figured since I'd had a lot of cheese, I wouldn't have a snack and instead made a cup of tea. Tea solves everything! I also managed about 3 litres of water, so I'm happy with that. No exercise as I slept late (whoops) but I am planning a double session tonight to make up for it. Wish me luck!

What was the yummiest thing you've eaten recently?

xoxo

What I ate Wednesday

Happy WIAW! Don't forget to join in the party over at Jenn's darling blog :)

My eats from yesterday :

BREAKFAST - 6:45am

Oh. Em. Gee. This was the most AWESOME breakfast EVER! I had a gigantic smoothie in a bowl. I underestimated how much I was using so it was piled up in my bowl. It was bloody gorgeous and as much as I wanted to, I physically couldn't eat it all. I left a good few spoonfuls! This one consisted of frozen banana blended with frozen berries (raspberries, blueberries, blackberries, redcurrants and blackcurrants) and some soy milk, topped with some desicated coconut, a handful of frozen blueberries, some pomegranate seeds and half a punnet of the Super Detox Berries from my Graze box, which is a mix of goji berries, green raisins, dried blueberries and dried cranberries. The tang from the frozen berries, the creaminess from the banana and milk, and the chewiness from the toppings makes a very scrumptious meal indeed.

LUNCH - 1:00pm

Unsurprisingly I didn't need a mid-morning snack as I was still super stuffed from my heavenly breakfast. Not the most appetising picture as it was a bit squished and squidgy, but for lunch I had a wholemeal wrap, spread with some red pepper houmous and filled with roasted vegetables (mushrooms, courgettes, peppers {red, yellow and green}, red onion and some cherry tomatoes sprinkled with some oregano and basil before roasting). Mmmm absolutely scrummy! I had some beetroot on the side, which I can't seem to get enough of at the moment. Love me some beets!

MID-AFTERNOON SNACK - 4:00pm

I had a major sweet tooth this afternoon so I had a nectarine and a peach. Most people hate peaches because of the fuzzy skin, but they are sweeter and juicier than nectarines so I adore them. Really enjoyed both of these.

TEA - 7:30pm

I had some kind of salad concoction, and just threw whatever I could find into a dish. It was couscous, spring onion, green pepper and some sweetcorn, on a bed of mixed leaves and cucumber, topped with some beetroot and tomato, then drizzled with some balsamic vinegar. For something so simple it was quite tasty, though next time I will leave out the sweetcorn (wasn't a fan) and use a sweet chilli sauce instead of balsamic (for a bit of a kick). I followed this with a dish of strawberries and blueberries topped with Rachel's Greek Style Coconut Yoghurt and some pecans. Then I was super stuffed and couldn't eat another morsel if you paid me!

DRINKS

I had about 3 litres of water in total and no tea or soda :)

EXERCISE

I did a 30 minute 'plod' before work. It was a mixture of brisk walking and jogging, but let's not get too excited as there was not enough of the latter for it to be classed as a run. I've always struggled to understand how people have the time to workout before work. I struggle to get my ass out of bed to shower, let alone workout, but I'm beginning to understand that people don't have the time, they make the time. So I decided to get up 30 minutes earlier and faff less with my hair ;) As it happens, I felt better for it. I also did some weights (with tins of beans)  and squats/lunges following a YouTube video when I got home from work. My legs are gonna ache like a bitch today, I just know it.

When do you make the time to exercise? Do you sacrifice other things for it?

xoxo

Whopper of a Deal

I had a great idea for a job agency one that specializes in getting jobs for ugly people. It should have a cute name too.



I'm thinking about moving to China because that's where the money is.



I had to go to school to take care of some stuff.



I think the school is banking on a lot of people putting the cart before the horse, and applying for classes before they can pay for them. I took bad advice and did that before, and I'm not doing it again.



I was going to ask the person at the booth a question, but he was obliviously a lackey student. He was just flirting with some girls! Good job!



I went out to get the 88¢ Whoppers. I was near a Burger King anyway.



I ended up giving a rather complicated order. My usual Whopper fixins: a standard Whopper with no katstup or onions. I'd also say no tomatoes or pickles, but I'll just remove them and eat them separately. No need to further complicate the order.



I ordered another in case my dad didn't feel like going out to get some for dinner. I'm not weird like him. He can't eat the same for for 2 meals in one day or have the same food the next day either. Except breakfast foods. The other one I ordered only had lettuce and pickles in it. I didn't want to put any mayo in it in case it spoiled in my backpack on the bus ride home.



Saw a kid with a rat tail there are those back in style?



I'm so cheap I brought my own drink from home to the Burger King. :P



Later when my dad went to get the Whoppers for dinner he was mad because the Burger king he went to was crowded. He hates going to free or cheap food promotions. They always piss him off.

My mom told me to eat all that Japanese snack food I'd been saving and meaning to review. Last week was pretty hectic. I guess I should review them in order of when I bought them.



So here would be the order Chocolate panda cookies, lucky sticks, vanilla panda cookies and melon Hi-chew.



It was fun to see John Cena on the Teen Choice awards wearing a Sue Sylvester tracksuit. It was a departure from his usual outfit consisting of jean shorts and a t-shirt. It was nice to Cory. I can a crush on him since he is older than me by 2 years, and he's playing a high school student. :/ @x@



But it was 2 things I like together in one place.

What I ate Wednesday

Aww I missed doing this last week as I was in the hotel from hell, so I was really excited to whip out my camera and get stuck in! I've been feeling a bit miserable with my food choices lately as I find myself stuck in a rut when it comes to meat-free meals. I really enjoyed today's eats though and can see myself repeating these and not minding! As always, check out Jenn's blog for more WIAW party-goers!

BREAKFAST - 6:45am

Breakfast today was so yummy - I had a bowl of summer fruits smoothie. I just blended up soy milk with some frozen summer fruits - raspberries, blackberries, redcurrants, blackcurrants, blueberries and strawberries. I like my breakfast smoothies to be quite thick as eating them out of a bowl makes me feel fuller, so I added the soy milk a little at a time until I got the right consistency. I add more if I want it as a traditional, drinkable smoothie, but either way is absolutely delish, if not a little bit cold! My only issue was the amount of strawberry seeds - flipping heck there were tons! 

MID-MORNING SNACK - 11:00am

I took a HUGE tub of sweet, juicy watermelon to work with me today, so snacked on some of that. Very yummy and refreshing. Nom nom nom.

LUNCH - 12:30pm

Early lunch today and I had two mini wholemeal pitta's, filled with fresh cooked beetroot and a little dollop of coleslaw. Much tastier (and messier!) than it sounds. I also had a pack of Walkers Sunbited 'crisps' in sour cream and cracked black pepper flavour. Meh, they were okay. Nothing exciting, though I'm not a huge crisp lover to start with.

MID-AFTERNOON SNACK - 4:00pm

More (unpictured) watermelon. Straight from the fridge so icy cold and delicious. Mmmm.

TEA - 6:30pm

A huge salad with lettuce, cucumbers, peppers, radishes, spring onions, tomatoes, beetroot, pickled onions and coleslaw, served with two crispy cheese and onion bakes. Loved every. Single. Mouthful. Yum yum. For my 'pudding' I had another smoothie, made with frozen peaches, frozen raspberries, fresh raspberries and a little splash of peach flavoured sparkling water.

DRINKS

I had tons of water today - about 2.5 litres. No tea (hooray!) but of course I've got my night time tea for tonight. Yum!

What did you eat today?

xoxo