After no time off in what seems like forever, I’m enjoying a run of 2 long weekends in a row! And happily the weather is perfect for it too! Last weekend me and Craig both decided to extend our weekends by a day and enjoy our champagne afternoon tea at Slattery which was a Christmas … Continue reading Weekend Treats
After winning awards in its first year in 2013 (including Event of the Year at the British Media Awards), the Cake and Bake show was back in Manchester this weekend. For a full 3 days Manchester Central was filled with exhibiting foodie companies, baking experts and suppliers of baking equipment, so again it was the … Continue reading Cake and Bake 2014 Comes to Manchester
Here's a bit of mid-week food porn to help you through hump day. I don't know about you but this week is dragging, and I realised the other day I've not had a day's holiday from work since Christmas! No wonder I'm flagging a bit! Anyway, I made this deliciously moist honey and walnut cake on … Continue reading Honey and Walnut Loaf Cake
I was recently contacted by Ilumi and offered the chance to trial a couple of their meals. I’d never heard of this company before, and wouldn’t necessarily always accept food from strangers (ha), but after doing a bit of reading up on Ilumi I was very impressed and decided to give them a whirl. Ilumi … Continue reading Ilumi Nut-, Gluten- and Milk-Free Meals
I hope everyone has had a lovely weekend. For me it’s been nice yet slightly unusual. On Saturday Craig and I enjoyed a date day – something we don't do enough! And it hardly cost us anything either, which is ideal for this time of the month. We’d received a free experience day voucher when buying … Continue reading Country Pursuits and Chocolate Mousse
This is another of the recipes from The Hairy Dieters - Eat For Life and the first I've tried in their "Fakeaways" section. The idea is to replicate the takeaway taste with just a fraction of the calories, and this recipe uses hardly any fat at all - just a tablespoon of oil. The book says that it … Continue reading Healthy Chicken Bhuna
Tuesday is pancake day, and everyone is going to be talking about pancakes. Which of course is going to make me want to eat pancakes. There's no use denying that on Tuesday I'm going to be making pancakes, but these days I usually like to try something different to the usual sugar and lemon combo. … Continue reading Banana Pancakes with Blueberries
Here’s something tasty to make. These honey and cayenne cashew nuts make tasty nibbles for a social gathering, or just for a solo evening in front of the TV (although you might want to reduce the quantities if you’re the only one eating them – they’re so moreish!). It’s actually adapted from a Joy the … Continue reading Spicy Honey and Cayenne Cashews
In case you were wondering, it’s a romantic pie because it’s Valentine’s Day on Friday and so I’ve added some cute hearts to this dish. Seriously though, I do think romance is something that is made not bought, especially when it comes to Valentine’s Day (see my post from last year), and I think the … Continue reading (Romantic) Chicken and Leek Pie
This amazingly simple recipe is (slightly) adapted from The Hairy Dieters "Eat for Life" cookbook, where it is known as "all-in-one spicy pork and rice". I'm pretty sure it can be classed as jambalaya though, so that's what I'll be calling it. It only took about 30 minutes in total to prepare and cook and … Continue reading Spicy Pork Jambalaya
English Rose from Manchester's Blog 