Eat Voila, Beaconsfield

I only have great things to say about Eat Voila, Beaconsfield. The class is ran by Vanessa Adonis who is just great. She has a wonderful way with food and the menu is innovative but doesn't require ingredients that you need to travel to then end of the earth to source. 
I opted for a Fine Dining module. For starters, we whipped up poached pears, with pan-friend smoked haddock and hazelnut oil. For mains it was sticky, zesty chicken dish and hazelnut infused rice. And, for desert it was classic pear clafoutis. I liked how the key flavours ran through the menu, but different cooking techniques balanced out any repetitiveness. When you cooking to entertain, especially anything other than a 10-man lasagne, the key to success is in the preparation. To prepare for both the starter and the desert, we learnt how to poach pears. A poached pear is a very versatile addition to any fine dining menu (or so I have learnt.) 

Recipe:

500ml of water

250ml good quality white wine

150g caster sugar

Measurements apply to up to 8 pears (pealed, halved and cored)

For the starter, wait until the pears have cooled, thinly slice the pear halves lengthwise almost to stem end, leaving the stem end intact. Press gently down on the pear once plated to create a snazzy fan shape. This, served with pan-friend smoked haddock and a dressing of finely chopped fresh mint, parsley, lemon juice, honey, olive oil and hazelnut oil, makes for a fabulous starter 

Queen of Tarts

Read on for a bit of an unconventional recipe for anyone out there craving Tarte Tatin but missing the heavy based, oven-proof frying pan that most recipes require. After lots of googling and recipe book flicking I stumbled across this recipe in Rachel Khoo's The Little Paris Kitchen Book. In the recipe, Rachel recommends cooking the puff pastry separate to apples to stop soggy bottoms. Nobody likes a soggy bottoms. 

150g puff pastry (pre-bought unless your crazy and showing off)

4 apples, preferably cooking apples but I used Bramley

150g of melted butter

100g caster sugar

1 teaspoon salt

Recipe:

Pre heat the oven to 180°C. Roll out the pastry on a floured surface and cut a couple of mm wider than the shape of your tart tin. Place the pastry on a baking tray and prick all over with a fork. Bake for 30 minutes or until the pastry is all puffed and golden. 


Meanwhile, make a salted caramel by sprinkling a thin layer of sugar over the bottom of a pan and place on a low heat. Once the sugar has began to melt, add some more sugar. Repeat a couple of times until all the sugar has melted. DO NOT STIR. Not even once or the world will end. When the caramel is like brown, take the pan of the heat and add 2/3 of the melted butter and the salt (stand back as it as it may splutter.) 


Pour the caramel into the tart tin and swirl around to cover the bottom and sides. Peel, core, and eighth. Nestle them into the caramel in nest rows. Brush the apples with melted butter and sprinkle with some sugar. Bake for 30 minutes. Remove from the oven and leave to stop bubbling. 
To assemble, place the pastry on top of the apples. Then place a large serving plate on top and flip the tart away from yourself n case any hot liquid runs loose. serve straight away with double cream or a dollop of créme fraîche. 

Bon appétit.

Turkish Delights

Tabbouleh

Last week we went on a girls holiday to Kalkan, Turkey. I had the perfect week and of course, we feasted like kings. One day we hired a boat to take us on a private trip from cove to cove (which ended in group tattoos. Whole new kettle of fish.) Me and Charlie spent the evening before cooking up a storm in the kitchen to serve as lunch the following day. We served spanish tortilla, crispy bruchetta and fresh tomato and basil salad and the finest tabbouleh you've ever tasted. Here's the guilt and trouble free recipe:

250g giant couscous; the food so good they named it twice
Half a cucumber, chopped into chunks
Handful of sun dried or sun blushed tomatoes
Handful of mint, roughly chopped
Handful of parsley, roughly chopped
Juice of half a lemon
1 tsp cumin
3 tbsp good quality extra virgin olive oil
Maldon salt and pepper
Simply cook the giant couscous and bung it all together. I think finishing off with a few pomegranate seeds and some crumbled feta cheese would have added a little extra sha-bam.

Crab Sandwiches

My crab sandwich was a little ray of sunshine on a rainy day in Bembridge. It left me ready for round two. I went to the local fishmongers, The Best Dressed Crab Ltd, a modest bunch, who supply crab and lobster to all the local businesses. Hats off to them. I bought a pot of crab, quick stir to mix the brown and white meat into a glorious crab paste, smother a warm baguette or some soft, sliced bread in the mixture, NO need to season as it's so delicious all on its own, a drizzle of lemon juice and Ta-dah. 

The Isle of Wight

Ah, the seaside. There are times when I want to throw it all in, pack my bags and live the humble life of a fisher-women on a house boat. This is a genuine, naive dream I've had for many years. Fresh air for breakfast and fresh fish for dinner. Wouldn't it be nice? This weekend, I was in the Isle of Wight with my family who have a house in Bembridge. We went for lunch at The Beach Hut a fabulous little spot which overlooks Forelands beach and Culver Downs. Started by Emma and Jon Guy in 2012, it has built itself a great reputation amongst locals and foodies alike serving delicious seafood with a Mediterranean twist. What's great about it is that stumbling down the steps and coming across a cafe in such an idyllic location you think even if you get a paper plate with  a cheese toastie you know you've lucked out, location alone. However, Emma Guy, winner of the 2011 Isle of Wight, Masterchef dishes out culinary delights, all simple and relying heavily on good quality, fresh fish. I had a classic crab sandwich and it was delicious. Juicy crab  meat squished between two slices of soft, seedy granary bread. A squeeze of lemon and simple green salad with balsamic glaze and that was it. The beach Hut classic. It was delicious but it was also £8.95.  

Soup-er Man

Of all the soups in all of the lands, no soup is more soup-er than French onion soup, especially when you have to break your way through  a bubbling gruyere crust to get to it. Finding an authentic French onion soup, complete with sizzling, cheesy gratin was high on my list of priorities when I arrived in France. On Saturday it was my anniversary and Henry, who of course knew the way to my heart is food so took me out for dinner on Ile St Louis; the lovely islet tucked away behind the Notre Dame. It's such a magical place at night. 

Prix Fixe menus let you explore French Cuisine on a budget, it's a 'the more you eat, the less you pay,' policy. In England we call it Pizza Hut buffet. In this part of Paris you can tell all the food will be of be an equal standard, with restaurants catering to please tourists like myself in search of everything from onion soup to snails, so its fair to judge a book by its cover and choose the restaurant with the best table cloth! 

I started with a terrine of French onion soup. It was rich and sweet and the blanket of chewy, crispy croutons smothered in molten gruyere, was just what I had been searching for! Henry had baked camembert with a balsamic glaze and salad. For my mains I had roast duck with a sweet, smokey glaze served with a fluffy hybrid of mashed potato and a rosti.

Next weekend I'm going to perfect my recipe for French onion soup and gruyere gratin so keep your onions peeled. 

Paris

The waft of crepes, check. The hum of a saxophonist, check. Flimsy metro tickets that you've lost within minutes, check. Je suis arrivé à paris. So here I am, three days of feasting in the cheese and wine capital ahead of me, life is good now lets tuck in. 

Lotus Caramelised Biscuit Spread

While I'm on the topic of condiments, I must do a shout out to my favourite of all the spreadable joys on the market. Lotus' caramelised biscuit spread is a game changer. It turns a civilised person into a serial finger-dipper. Whoever though of turning a crisp, crunchy caramelised biscuit into a smooth, creamy spread you can justify at breakfast smothered on toast, is honestly, my best friend. 

Little Miss Muffet

I've always had a guilty crush on lemon curd. I'm talking spoon, jar, midnight snack addiction. Its sticky, gooey, smooth, sweet, tart creaminess- I just love it. So I decided to make a day of my condiment making session and had a crack at two types of curd; lemon and passion fruit. I discovered its very easy and less time consuming than a chutney so this makes a great, swift gift. To make lemon curd (a Delia recipe so you know you can trust it,) all you need is:

4 waxed lemons- zest and juice

200g golden (unrefined) caster sugar

100g unsalted butter- cut into cubes

4 eggs (3 egg whites and 4 yolks)

Create a bain marie (heatproof bowl over a fitting saucepan of boiling water,) and gently heat the lemon zest and juice, sugar and butter, stirring until the butter has melted. In a separate bowl whisk the eggs and stir them into them into the lemon mixture. Whisk all the ingredients until well combined and leave to cook for 10-13 minutes, stirring occasionally. The mixture should become thick and creamy in front of your eyes. It's magical. Once the mixture is thick enough to cling to the back of a metal spoon, it's ready! Take off the heat and leave to cool, stirring occasionally. Once cooled, spoon into sterilised jam jars and seal. It'll keep in the fridge for about 3-4 weeks!

When I was at the market, it was about 4 o clock, so it was 'POUND FOR A POUND' time and it would have been rude not to buy a bowl of juicy , juicy passion fruit. To make the curd I used;
11 passionfruit
2 large eggs
2 egg yolks
150 g caster sugar
100 g unsalted butter, cubed

Scoop out the passion fruits' seeds and flesh into a sieve. Use the back of a metal spoon to strain the juice though the sieve into a bowl. Keep the flesh and seeds for later. Beat the eggs and sugar together. Melt the butter in a bain marie. Once melted, stir in the egg mixture and passion fruit juice. Whisk all the ingredients until well combined. Keep cooking and stirring constantly until the curd has thickened. Once you have a curd-like texture, stir in the seeds and pulp. Let it cool slightly and spoon into sterilised jars. Seal and keep in the fridge. 

Sweet, Sweet Chilli Jam

No point beating round the bush when it comes to chilli jam. The more you make, the more you will inevitably eat. It's not one of those pickles that lurks in the back of the fridge and has a sell by date that makes you feel old. It's in the popular gang in the condiment playground. The recipe was simple and made one very large (750 ml) jar and one 250 ml jar. I went to a local London market to get my ingredients which you must do or you'll be spending an absolute fortune on ingredients. I wangled all this for £9 (top right are a passionfruit that will feature in my next blog post.)

What you will need for this fool-proof recipe is:

Food processor or time to do some serious chopping

Heavy bottomed pan e.g. Le Cruset (quite important as need to cook slowly to avoid sugar burning)

• 8 red peppers, deseeded and roughly chopped

• 10 red chillies, roughly chopped

• finger-sized piece fresh root ginger, peeled and roughly chopped

• 8 garlic cloves, peeled

• 400g can chopped or cherry tomatoes

• 750g golden caster sugar

• 250ml red wine vinegar

First you need to de-seed the peppers and cut into touch chunks. Then you need to put the pepper,  chills (including seeds,) garlic and ginger into a food processor and whizz until finely chopped. Then scrape into your heavy bottomed pan (I hope I have never been described as heavy bottomed) along with the sugar, tomatoes and red wine vinegar. Bring to the boil and remove any of the white scum that might come to the surface. Once bubbling, turn right down and allow to gently simmer for 50 minutes. Stir occasionally. After 50 minutes, the jam should start to thicken quite rapidly, turn the heat up a notch and continue cooking, now stirring frequently so it doesn't catch and burn (that naughty bottom, up to no good.) You should now be left with a sticky, bubbling volcano of goodness. Turn the heat off and allow to cool slightly before you ladle into sterilised jars. Put the lid on while the jam is still hot but allow the jars to cool completely before storing in the fridge for up to 3 month.  It will not make it 3 months. Far too delicious. 

Sunday Jammin'

Homemade gifts are a forgotten art; left behind in your primary school years where you got 50p a week pocket money so your only option was to give your old man a handkerchief that you made in a textiles class a month ago. Queue the cycle of life repeating itself. Being a twenty something, in my first job in London, I'm a little strapped for cash so I've gone all Kirsty Alsop on my family and friends and for the time being, its homemade cards and presents. My dad is into his cheeses (and unbeknown to him getting a fancy cheese board from his birthday) so I decided to make him a little line up of jam's, chutney and curds. Stay tuned for some sweet jams. 

Sweet Potato Brownie. Yep, you heard right

Ta-dah. Sweet potato brownies, recipe courtesy of Deliciously Ella. I tweaked the recipe slightly, adding vanilla essence for some added sweetness and 70% cocoa powder instead of cacao (purely because I couldn’t get hold of any cacao in Waitrose, but after reading that all the benefits of unrefined cacao powder are lost in the process of baking, I stand my ground that it’s probably not worth splashing out in Holland and Barrett if your buying it purely as a baking alternative.) Texture wise, they don’t compete with the gooey, sticky, chewiness of a classic brownie. Nobody likes change…. But, the flavour is surprisingly moorish, especially after being left for the day as they toughen up and take on a sweeter flavour. I’d recommend if you are trying curb bad habits but in all honesty if you want a treat that melts in your mouth, sticks to your teeth and leaves you with a guilty smile of pleasure, they just don’t suffice. Here's the recipe:

2 x sweet potatoes, peeled and cubed
16 dates
2/3 cup of ground almond
1/2 cup of rice flour
Couple of drops of vanilla essence
3 tbsp maple syrup
4 tbsp cacao or unsweetened cocoa powder

Makes 8 brownies

First you need to steam the sweet potato until it’s soft and fluffy. Then you need to blitz the sweet potato and dates for a few minutes until it forms a sweet paste. In a mixing bowl, combine all the other ingredients with the paste and give it all a good stir. Line a baking tray with over proof paper and pour your mixture into the tray. Smooth using the back of a spoon and place in the oven for 25 minutes at 180 degrees. You’ll know the brownies are cooked by poking a knife through the centre and it coming out clean. Once out the oven, don’t be tempted to tuck in till they have cooled down as they are texturally much butter once they have cooled down and become chewy. Cut into squares and enjoy!

Chocolate Illusions

Food has always been my passion, the Ben to my Jerry, and I have struggled to adjust to the raw, plant-based, ‘Hail the Kale’ food Revolution that has snuck its way into my social media. I encourage healthy eating and locally sourced produce but I will never turn down nor judge anyone else who orders a side of chips with their meal that already comes with chips (there’s never enough, I understand.) I’m interested in the fuss and the apparent satisfaction that comes with this juiced-up lifestyle so have had a gander at the recipes on http://deliciouslyella.co.ukElla is a wizard at taking a recipe high in trans fat, sugars and all measure of sins that I tend to turn a blind eye on and transforming it into a similar dish with more health benefits, than health warnings. Neither the gooey Chocolate Brownies or the Triple Layer Chocolate Cake with fudge frosting and raspberries are my handiwork. Neither, are they naughty. I am still dubious as to whether they will taste as good as they look. I’ve got the recipes to both and will cook one over the Bank Holiday weekend. The proof will be in the pudding.

Dollops of Chutney with Soul

Rubies in the Rubble celebrates everything I love about food. Since trying a sample of Spiced Banana chutney on a oat cake at Borough Market last week I’ve been having sweet, sweet chilli dreams. It is defiantly a first class product with luxury branding and prices steering it away from similar projects that address food wastage in the UK that tend to be associated with the second rate, charity focused products. Rubies in the Rubble suggests it is quality cooking and a quality recipe that produce a quality product, not polished fruit and veg in pristine rows. After all, giraffe bananas make for the best banana bread and apples that have got into  a few punch ups in the fruit bowl are perfect for crumbles. This logic applies even more so in the instance of chutney because the process of preservation eliminates the issue of shelf life. Hats off to Jenny Dawson and her delicious chutneys.

India has arrived!

My copy of Rick Stein’s India has arrived and taken its place on the bookshelf. Nestled next to Jamie, Delia and the small minority of chefs I regularly turn to. The pages are bright and vibrant and it’s a great one to flick through just for the pictures. Although the recipes don’t scream ‘Yep, I’ve already got all those ingredients in the cupboard,’ you’ll notice a lot of the key ingredients are repeated in most the recipes. All they require is one trip to an Indian food market for bulk packs of cumin, Kashmir chilies and frozen coconut. I decided to cook a roast with a twist on Sunday. I served up spiced whole leg of lamb from Lucknow, which was tender and juicy and coated in a creamy, nutty crusty. For sides I cooked Ricks spiced roast potatoes and onions and Kachumber salad. The recipes for both sides are on my Recipe page. All your usual British roast trimmings would have equally complimented the leg of lamb!

Fancy Picnic Strawberries

Picnic Strawberries. Today we had lunch in the garden for Abi’s birthday. I was going to bake a sponge or maybe some brownies and then I looked outside over Costa del Beaconsfield and decided against spending the morning in the kitchen. Instead, I made some chocolate coated strawberries which wouldn’t have looked out of place in a box of Thornton’s chocolate. Not rocket science but it’s good to get the technique right or eveyrhting gets a little bit messy. All it took was 3 packs of milk chocolate,  3 packets of white and 2 punnets of strawberries. I used Sainsbury’s value chocolate as it melts really well and at 30p for 100g, no-one’s complaining! Make sure you melt the chocolate s-l-o-w-l-y to avoid burnt lumps. Once you have two separate bowls of smooth, glossy chocolate, dunk a strawberry in till its got an even coat. Holding it by the stalk, let a little excess drip of then place on a chopping board. Once both punnets have their coats, pop in the fridge for 10 minutes. The chocolate should stay runny but might require a 15 second blast in the microwave. Then, using a teaspoon, dribble opposing chocolate over the strawberries and return to the fridge for a further 10 minutes. Then use a straight spatula or a sharp knife to ease the chocolate strawberries off the chopping board and into your mouth!

Why Rosie Radish?

It might disappoint some, but I haven’t decided to take a U-turn with my food blog and started hugging trees and digging for victory (although obviously I’m a big supporter of organic and locally sourced produce.) Alas, I was reminded of my favourite childhood book featuring dungaree-clad Rosie the rabbit. Absolutely nothing to do with being named after the protagonist. I’ve loved cooking since I was little. Throughout school me and my friends would create after-school chocolatey concoctions as a ‘light snack.’  I’d clear out cupboards every weekends cooking apple crumbles and flapjacks. Not even a tight uni budget stopped this sweet tooth. And now I still like to cook whenever I can, getting inspiration from all the delicious pictures I see on blogs and social media and hopefully rumbling a few tummy’s with my own snaps and recipes. 

Waking up too early
Maybe we can sleep in
Make you banana pancakes
Pretend like it’s the weekend now
And we could pretend it all the time
Can’t you see that it’s just raining?
There ain’t no need to go outside

Jack Johnson

The Rivier Boat Restaurant in Richmond

The weather has only gone and done a complete u-turn from the bitterly cold winds and occasional hail storm of last week. The sun was beaming through the curtains when I woke up this morning, after one too many glasses of Pinot Grigio last night. Me and Henry picked Richmond as our brunch hot-spot (with Southwark and Putney acting as close contenders.) We walked along the river and decided on the Boat Restaurant, a little gem anchored by Richmond Bridge, where we discovered last summer. It’s the perfect place to go for brunch on a sunny day on the River Thames, you couldn’t ask for a better location, the menu is simple and delicious and the staff are lovely. I had a spicy Bloody Mary and Eggs Florentine; a toasted muffin with wilted spinach and poached eggs smothered in Hollandaise sauce and parmesan cheese. C’est parfait!

Rick Stein's roast: The Romeo and Juliet of food combos

A couple of weekends ago, Henry and I went round to a friend of his for a roast. After a long week at work and missing the last few of my mamas roasts, I was very eager to tuck into tatties, a juicy chicken and ladles of gravy. From my first sniff, I knew this would be no normal roast. Had they got the day wrong? Did they not realise it was Sunday- Day of the Roast? Why did it smell like the Bucks Tandoori on a Saturday night? Little did I know I was in the humble abode of a city slicker with a soft spot for Delia. Its rare to come across a guy in his early twenties who puts recipe books onto his Christmas list. Courtesy of Henry’s friend (who’s name escapes me) we sat down for an Indian banquet of aromatic beef, slow cooked in stock and spicy spices), Stein’s signature spiced roast potatoes and onions and a refreshingly zingy salad. Recipes to follow once my Amazon order arrives!

An Oxymoron: A rhetorical figure in which incongruous or contradictory terms are combined

Crisps are commonly associated with Walkers, McCoys, Kettle chips; made for sharing but often integral to a cosy night in alone. Go back a few years and you’ve got Wotsits, Monster Munch and Quavers bringing your lunch box to life. Naughty, delicious, wafer-tin slices of fried or baked potato. Heres a conundrum for you; are vegetable crisps an oxymoron or an epic creation here to save the day this January. New year, new you, new diet, go to my recipe page to find out how to make your favourite and awesomely healthy new snack.

Vegetable Crisps

Root vegetable of your choice: Baking potato, sweet potato, parsnip, carrot, turnip, beetroot, pumpkin

Sunflower oil (FryLight works well)

Malden salt (or any other sea salt flakes)

Method:

So simple. All you have to do is peel the vegetables to create thin strips of raw vegetable. They can be as wide as you like as long as they are wafer thin. Go crazy- 2 carrots probably creates a small snack so don’t hold back as if you make too many you can keep them fresh in tupperware. 

Once you have a mountain of peel, divide into baking trays so you have one layer of peel per tray. The peel will shrink so don’t panic about over crowding. Spray or lightly coat the peel.

Place in an oven at 180 degrees for roughly 12-15 minutes. depending on your oven and how many trays you have in there, this will vary, so just keep an eye and once all the peel has crisped up, they are ready to come out. They will need a shake after about 5 minutes to stop them sticking to the tray.

Once they have called down, chuck ‘em in a bowl and sprinkle with rock salt, roughly crushed between your fingers.

Tuck in….

Crystalized grapes

Crystallised Grapes 

Hummingbird Bakery mulled wine cupcakes with a cream cheese frosting with a hint of orange.

Makes: However many little sparkly balls of crystal good-ness you so desire…

Ingredients:

Grapes

Egg white

Granulated sugar

Method:

Simply separate the the egg white and dip each grape into the egg white. Once the grape is coated in egg whites, roll it into a bowl of granulated sugar. The crystallised grapes just need to be chilled till they’re shells are hard. Then its up to you how you wish to present them. Place on top of a dollop of brandy butter as the perfect accompaniment to a mince pie or nestled amongst berries on a Christmas pavlova. 

Cloudy Bay, Pelorus Vintage 2008

Cloudy Bay Pelorus Vintage 2008, named after the dolphin Pelorus Jack, the legendary dolphin who followed ships between Wellington and Nelson in early 1900’s. Bubble wrapped and nestled in three layers of jumpers, this very special bottle of bubbly was backpacked through New Zealand, Fiji and America. In the heat of the moment, and after a few hours spent sampling the finest wines the Marlborough vineyards had to offer, I bought this bottle to bring home as a family Christmas present. My dad popped it open on Christmas Day and I was instantly reminded as to why I decided to lug it around the world. ..

Thinspiration

I never do any television without chocolate. That’s my motto and I live by it. Quite often I write the scripts and I make sure there are chocolate scenes. Actually, I’m a bit of a chocolate and will eat anything. It’s amazing I’m so skinny.

Dawn French

Jean Philippe chocolatier and patisserie at the Belagio. A little $6 slice of heaven.

Honey, I'm home!

I’m back from my travels with a highly neglected blog that is in desperate need of some tender loving care. What better way to spend a frosty Wednesday afternoon than to fill this blog with the memories and stories my friends and family are all bored of hearing eh? Here’s the rest of every delicious morsel that went through these lips! 

The largest chocolate fountain in the world at the Bellagio hotel, Las Vegas

'Honey. You can't have a Creme Brûlée frap WITH cream.'

I’ll be honest, I tried for all of minutes to fit into the notorious ‘LA lifestyle.’ As I stood in the first of many Starbucks queues in Laguna Beach, I began a mental game of tennis, eyes flicking from the seasonal frap board to the classics, and then a second wave of panic came over me: ‘Do I join the incessant request to ‘Make that a skinny,’ or do I go with my gut and not be a pedantic sheep.’ I was a pedantic sheep, but not just any old, I’m sure i made them all snigger when I probably made customer history in asking for a skinny Crème brûlée frap with cream. I was understandably shot down by the glowing honey who was serving me, who definately takes hers black, one sweetener. 

Bruxie's Waffles

It began with waffles and ended in Mac'n'Cheese.

Sit back, loosen your belt and prepare to commit diet suicide with my Vegas Diet. I actually had a To Do list for my time in America, not the naughty, little black book kind, nor the organised, FiloFax kind, I had to To Eat list and I am proud to say I ticked every box. There were a handful of quirky Mexican shacks in Laguna Beach, selling juicy burritos and fresh, crispy fish tacos I’d had my eye on from the word Go. I didn’t get to itch my scratch for a fish Taco until the Monte Carlo food hall. It was perfection; salty, crunchy, tangy goodness in a blanket of guacomole, nestled in a soft tortilla wrap. Next on the agenda, waffles. I first met Bruxie on Black Friday. We were ‘cruising’ back from Fashion Island in Newport when my eyes locked with Bruxie. I started with a Belgium waffle oozing with Tillamook Cheddar & Gruyere Cheese followed by another waffle gloriously stuffed with sweet cream and strawberries. Next on the agenda was a big, juicy burger with a side of hand cut, double, triple, quadruple fried chips and where better to indulge that in the Hard Rock Cafe with a beaker of strawberry lemonade? My quest for American cuisine ended in The Cheesecake Factory with a smooth, gooey, crusty baked Mac’n’Cheese… God save America!

The Waterfront, Sydney

My wonderful big sister Charlotte treated me and Alexa to dinner at The Waterfront restaurant as a belated birthday present. She organised the best seats in the house and we were wined and dined under the stars. We shared a seafood platter, but not just any old seafood platter, Paremsan crusted scallops, callamari with a creamy lemon mayonaise, muscles marinated in a spicy tomato relish and prawns the size of my fist. I kept it classic with a chicken tandoori pizza, served with a big dollop of tatziki and a sprinkling of roast cashews. The panna cotta served with sweet peaches, raspberry coulis and crumbled biscotti sealed the deal on a very enjoyable night!

The Yasawa Islands, Fii

Fijian cuisine is fresh and exotic. They have exhausted the uses of a coconut; coconut water as a refreshing drink, coconut milk for mild fish curries, coconut cream for the traditional cold starter ‘Kokoda,’ desiccated coconut for baking and chunks of fresh coconut for snacking. In a Fijian cooking lesson we made Kokoda (pronounced Ko-kon-da) by marinating white fish in lime juice which naturally cooks it, adding it to finely sliced tomato, cucumber and onion and finishing with coconut cream. 

The Almighty Ferg

Ferg Burger in Queenstown, New Zealand is no less of a landmark than Lake Taupo and Franz Josef Glacier. The Southern Swine consists of a fresh bun that can only be described as ‘squishy,’ a New Zealand prime beef pattie, streaky bacon, lettuce, tomato, avocado, red onion, alioli and tomato relish. With every bite, you become ever-increasingly assured, that ‘Ferg loves You.’

Byron Bay, Australia

The laid back, easy going, hippy haven lifestyle that Byron Bay has down to a T is perfectly matched by this little Moroccan lair that we stumbled upon. I can’t remember the name but its next to Happy Herbs on the main road. Who can say no to date and walnut loaf smothered in butter and a pot of peppermint tea for breakfast?

Fishing Trip with Mr Trung, Hoi An

Just our luck, the day the typhoon hit Vietnam in September, we had organised a fishing trip with Mr Trung. Despite the down pour, we spent the morning catching shrimps and  sardines. Flinging the sacred fish on the back of our bikes, we went to Mr Trung’s family home, where his wife provided a very authentic cooking lesson. We began by making spring rolls: mincing pork, slicing carrots and green beans, crushing peanuts and seasoning with the world and his wife before rolling into rice paper and deep frying. Then we prepared the fish and lemon and garlic marinade before rolling in banana leaves and cooking over an open fire. It was an incredible experience and the family recipies Mrs Trung trusted me with are safely locked up in my diary.

Food Market, Gili Trawangan

Me at the food market at Gili Trawangan! Where I was in my element surrounded by fresh fish BBQ’s, endless versions of noodles and fried rice, chicken sate, sweetcorn frittas and corn on the cobs! The Backpackers flock from all over the island to eat like a king for a dollar or two.

The Fast and the Furious

We decided to play it safe and pay a little extra to get the fast boat to the Gili’s! The other option being the 9 hour s-l-o-w boat. Little did we know that the current that runs between Lombok and the Gili islands makes the waves so choppy we found oursleves clinging onto the rails of the top deck. In a desperate attempt for some mid-day rays we perservered. A little under 2 hours later, we arrived, drenched and bedraggled at Gili Trawagnan! We saw Anna and Alex in the distance waving frantically and were helped down a rickety ladder onto the golden sands, to begin our 4 days in paradise!

Happy Birthday Bro!

Sorry I missed the end of August birthday bender again. I wish I was there to celebrate and boss everyone around the kitchen at breakfast. Lots of Love. Ro. X

Best Place for Brekkie in Bali

Sea Circus. Getting lost on Instagram lead Alexa to Sea Circus. It was the Hangover Happy Meal that originally caught our attention- a proper greasy fry up, fresh fruit juice and 15 minute neck massage for $10. Heaven! We tracked it down and went for breakfast last Saturday before hitting the beach. I have a Very Berry fruit juice and Avo eggs and it was incredible. Everything at Sea Circus is fun. The Bombay Sapphire table vase, the wall of clocks, the token Bob Marley quotes, even the cups and saucers have a fun story behind them (http://seacircus-bali.com/blog/)

Best Bar in Bali

La Plancha. The boys took us to La Plancha on our first night in Bali and it was love at first sight. At sunset, La Plancha transforms from a colourful, quirky beach bar to an even more colouful and quirky beach bar. Two layers of chilled out ambiance, it was the first of its kind on Seminyak beach and stands out like a sore thumb with multi-colored umbrellas and lanterns drawing you in like a fly to light. Big bean bags come piling out onto the beach and as long as you get there early, you are set for the evening! When I think La Plancha, I think Sunny by Marvin Gaye (Mercury edit) and Bintang’s for $2.

Best Beach in Bali

Our best beach in Bali has been the stretch from Semiyak to Kuta. Where I first got up on a board, where we almost got Lex on a board, where we have had many romantic hand-in-hand strolls, the ice-creams, the banana juices, the fresh pineapples. The home of amazing beach bars like Ku de Ta and La Plancha, where we have consumed many a Bingtang. The beaches are why Aussies flock to Bali and now we know why!

Best Sunset in Bali

We have seen some incredible sunsets over the last few weeks. After our day trip to Padang Padang and just before our Red Snapper supper, we watched this amazing sunset on Jimbaran beach.

Happy Birthday Miss Sutcliffe

Luna2 Studios, Seminyak

The first day of our internship in Bali entailed lunchtime super-smoothies by the pool, watching the sunset with the company of a Mojito and over eating a five-course (saw off Lex’s pudding too didn’t I…) meal of Lobster bisque, seared scallops and pork cheek, Mahi-Mahi served with caviar and a flaming baked Alaska. All on the house of course. I don’t know who me and Lex thought we were calling each other from adjoining rooms to discuss the bubble bath menu and what we were going to watch whilst we were IN our Philippe Starck bathtubs. Harry Potter was the overriding favourite. Couple of Porn star Martini’s later we were out for the count in our king-size beds. A stack of legendry caramelized banana pancakes set me up for our first day at HQ. First impression alone, loving Luna2…

After a really tough 3 day week at Luna2..

Over the bank holiday weekend, celebrating the end of Ramadan, we beach crawled from Padang Padang to Dream land to Jimbaran. Padang Padang was hosting the annual Rip curl cup so was heaving! We joined the hundreds and hundreds of surfers piling down the cliff creeks onto the white sandy beach, trying our hardest to blend in with sun-kissed, bleach blond surfer chicks… However Jamie gave us away with his factor 30 and preference to the shade. There is not a lot to say about Dream land other than that it is not worth the detour through acres and acres of half constructed golf resorts. We raced to Jimbaran beach for a sunset- Bintang session. Jimbaran beach is cocooned by a vibrant stretch of fish restaurants. We were spoilt for choice and had no recommendations, other than to buy a chili-butter corn on the cob from a local beach-vender whilst you wait- so went with our gut instinct/favourite table cloths and picked Warung Ganesha. You order by the KG, pick your own fish and 20 minutes later your eating red Snapper, which has leaped 5 meters on to your plate, like a king! It’s very grounding to think that at 7pm, almost exactly 8 years to this day, 20 people were killed on these sandy beaches and in busy-hedonistic Kuta, the two sites targeted by the terrorist networkJemaah Islamiah. Harrowing as that fact is, it’s inspiring to see how Bali has moved on and how Jimbaran’s has been restored to the fish’n’corn-on-the-cob lover’s haven it’s always been!

Honeymoon-ing on Seminyak beach, Bali

How to deal with Post-Graduate Depression

Step 1. Go traveling. I was the last person to pack their bags up and buy an around the world ticket. I wouldn’t say I’m a work-a-holic but I do swear by keeping a diary and I have had a hefty selection of jobs in all my 21 years.  I want to graduate and get on that property ladder. Quote-un-quote. However as the prospect of unemployment became an immediate reality and exam-period boredom let my imagination drift a little further than endless graduate job applications, when Alexa planted the seed of going traveling together until Christmas in a dreary student travel agency in Newcastle, there was no chance in hell I was saying no.