BANANA AND POLENTA LOAF

Ok, so this is a bit of a weird way to open a food post, but I hate to bake. There, I said it (again).
I don't know if it's because we inherited our oven from the previous owners and it's a bit crap (they didn't leave it because it was the best oven in the world, did they now?) or just because the whole process is so exact and regimented. I find the fact that you do a little bit, then have to wait sometimes up to an hour to see a result, really, really frustrating. I'm an impatient soul by nature, something I wrote about briefly in 2012 (whilst posting photo's of food with god-awful graphics), so I like to see results fast! I guess that's why salads are my favourite thing ever, and why hob-top cooking appeals so much.

So, where's she going with today's dose of inane babble you may be asking yourself at this point? Well, I made you a cakey loaf type thing. A banana & polenta cakey loaf type thing, to be exact. AND it wasn't rubbish! Hurrah. It's semi sweet and it's fairly dense, and when cooled goes insanely well with a big spread of salted butter (says's she who isn't meant to eat too much dairy - ssssshhhh)!

Hope you like :)

LISTENING TO...

New York Morning - Elbow

It's a really interesting video, so go on, watch it right through :)

(and I still have a bit of a thing for Guy Garvey!)

A FEW FINDS FOR FRIDAY / WEEK .09

01 - A while ago a friend of ours told me about Herb Lester's Travel Guides. I love all of them, aren't they fab?

02 - Making a raw and vegan version of this nutella cheesecake is on my to-do list!

03 - I love a good home office tour and this one from Lisa Congdon does not disappoint. 

04 - I need a new LBD. This one is perfect.

05 - My favourite etsy find this week.

06 - Emma Dibben's illustrations are beautiful and I feel like I want to fill my house up with them!

I can't believe I haven't posted all week! Well, I can believe it, because this week has been packed full to the rafters, but still. We've all been so busy with the day to day, that I'm feeling pretty exhausted. It's been a good week though and although I'm not complaining, I'm glad tomorrow is Saturday! We're away for the weekend again and it looks as though the weather will be as kind to us as it was last week so I'm hoping to get a couple of good runs in by the sea :) On that note, I should really go - those weekend bags aren't going to pack themselves!!

Oh, and before I forget, the nominations for the MAD's close at midnight tonight & so far i'm nominated in the Best Food Blog and Most Innovative Blog categories! I'd love it if you could spare me a vote? You can do so here! Thank you so much to those who have already nominated, it really does mean a lot :)

Have a good, sunny and relaxing weekend - see you next week!

xox

A FEW FINDS FOR FRIDAY / WEEK .08

01. - Sweet pots, homemade mayo & pickles? What is better than that? Answer: nothing.
02. This cup is beautiful.
03. Check out this place. It's pretty much perfection!
04. I have a thing for candles and I imagine this one is lovely.
05. Baby I'm Bored car sticker! I remember seeing this on someones blog before but couldn't ever trace it back, then yesterday I found it again. I'm hoping it's a wink to Mr Dando. Hi Evan, I'm still here ;)
06.  Ray Bans. Ahhh, these perfect Ray Bans.

Happy Weekend folks :)

Mwah x

SPRING '14

Everyone (me included) is so desperate for the Winter to be over, that Spring brings with it such great expectations. Today, even though we did actually wake up to a frost we were treated to a beautiful Spring day, full of sunshine and crisp blue skies and it got me thinking.

I'm going to enjoy these next couple of months of warmer times, and I'm especially looking forward to taking more walks with the kiddos, eating a lot less stodge, drinking (& creating) some interesting waters' to keep at hand, and planting a whole bunch of stuff to get cooking with throughout the summer months.

Ahh, I do welcome March!!

What are you looking forward to?

original images: pinterest

FIVE FINDS FOR A FRIDAY / WEEK .07

01. GO HERE - I don't think there is a thing wrong with Le Bal Cafe. I know i would visit if I was local!
02. DO THIS - Have you heard about Bullet Journal? I love lists, I make lists, I lose lists. This helps me be on top of five peoples' busy schedules! I'm so glad I heard about it.
03. EAT THIS - A Bahn Mi bowl? Yes. Yes indeed. This will be happening at some point in my kitchen over the next week (and forever more I should imagine), because we are still Sriracha obsessed here!
04. WEAR THIS - I think it's fair to say that I have total hair envy.
05. D.R.I.N.K - Ding ding! It's blood orange bourbon time! TFI Friday...

WARM HALLOUMI SALAD WITH CHICKPEAS & LIME

Is it still February? Just? Phew! Then here is my second salad of the year, just in time. This is a lovely warm and comforting salad with just enough zing to keep it fresh tasting. Halloumi is one of my most favourite cheeses, and it's the one way that I can guarantee I'll get a salad down my kids necks ;)

So, c'mon #getyoursaladon

LIFE SNIPPET

We spent half term down in Crackington Haven, which is a beautiful little Cornish village situated on the North Coast. We've been visiting since Dexy was three, and Flo was two and we love going back every year if possible.

This year we holidayed with our friends and their three boys so we had a house full, which was fab (although we did drink quite a lot of margaritas.... hmmm, i wonder why!)

Here are some iPhone pics of our stay because yep, I went and left my SD card at home so didn't get my SLR out once. We had beautiful weather every day except one and there wwas rock pooling, sand castle building and fish & chip eating a plenty. Exactly how a Cornish holiday should be, right?

I'll be back tomorrow with a salad recipe for #getyoursaladon, a little blog fun I'm having with Lucy and talk about being very chuffed at being nominated again for this years MADs and general other chit chat about blog re-design ideas.

See you then!

LISTENING TO...

God's Gonna Cut You Down - Johnny Cash 

I love the Johnny Cash version of this song, yet I've never seen this video. It was made after his death i think, but it's still good.

WE LIKE TO READ / THE HIGH STREET BY ALICE MELVIN

Last Christmas all three of my kiddos were really lucky in the books department and got some excellent ones to add to their (slightly out of control) collection! I'm really glad that all three of them love getting a good book and settling down with it. Dexter has just finished the Tom Gates series and is eagerly awaiting more, and Florence is all about Captain Underpants at the moment, having just finished the Clarice Bean paperbacks (which are awesome!). Little India is currently obsessed with The High Street by Alice Melvin and to say we read it a lot is an understatement! 

LISTENING TO...

They Might Be Giants - Birdhouse in your soul.

I remember spending hours trying to learn the lyrics to this when I was about 9! I would sit with my massive yellow Walkman playing my copy (which I'd recorded from the top 40 off of my mums radio in the kitchen) over & over again. I think i used to write the lyrics down too, probably to practice acapella in front of the mirror!

Paid off though, here at 34 years old I still know every word! Skillz. 

PORTABELLO MUSHROOM BURGER

Every now and then, I crave burgers - who am I kidding, I'm always craving burgers, but as a fully signed up member of club grown-up, I realise that I can't eat them every day. Every now and then though I notice I've got some lonely little leftover Portobello mushrooms sitting in the fridge, and what better way to use those up than with a juicy vegetarian take on the old fashioned cheese burger ?! 

This recipe is simple stuff. I served it with some Mexican Slaw and a homemade ketchup / mayo / pickle combo and it was delicious. It would also go well with some sweet potato wedges and a big old dollop of homemade tomato ketchup!

FIVE FINDS FOR A FRIDAY / WEEK .04

01 - Sometimes a recipe makes me say a naughty word out loud. This one did exactly that!

02 - I'm hoping to get some more houseplants. I just kill everything though, that's my problem. I think this post would help.

03 - Do you have a teenager? This laundry bag from Hunkydory Home is fab!

04 - There's this saying: "Know when to give up & have a margarita!" Cor, how refreshing does that look?! 

05 - I think I'm grown up enough for a grown up watch and I'll take this one please.

FIG, AUBERGINE & ROCKET PIZZA

I think this is the first pizza recipe that I have posted on here, so yay for that. It's also the first time I've had fig on a pizza, so a round of applause to that too. It's also the very first time that I've posted a recipe that is semi-shop brought so hooray for occasionally taking the pressure off!
I made this pizza last Thursday when I wanted something that could be made and consumed in the 1hr 15 minutes that my big kids were at their Woodcraft folk club (hippy street cred? check!). 
India was in bed, I poured a glass of something that may, or may not have been alcohol free, and I made this delicious pizza topping - lovingly created on top of a Sainsburys pizza base (other supermarkets are available people ;).
Had it been the weekend, I probably would have made my own dough, because let's face it, it does taste much better that way, but for a quick supper, this is 100% the way forward for me and I don't feel guilty, not one. little. bit! 

LISTENING TO...

The Be Good Tanyas - The Littlest Birds.

So pretty.

FIVE FINDS FOR A FRIDAY / WEEK .03

01 - I would love this somewhere in my home. Beautiful.

02 - I have been crushing over this new-to-me blog Junkaholique these past few days. I love it and I'm so glad i (finally) found it.

03 - What will you be doing when you're 64? I think Muse has the right idea!
04 - I think I'll get this card from Southwood Stores for Florence's 7th birthday next month. She'll find it funny!
05. I think this salad might be my second input to #getyoursaladon - a little instagram fun I'm having with Lucy from London Loafing! This kale one was my first.

LISTENING TO...

Blind Melon - No Rain

This has been in my head all week. I used to love this song - ah to be 13 again with all that angst!

KALE & QUINOA SALAD WITH POMEGRANATE, APPLE & FETA

I had a plan for this year - I was going to make and blog about a new salad every week. Partly because I think salads get a bad press, especially in the stodgy wintertime, and partly because salads are one of my favourite types of food. But, as with all plans I seem to make regarding this blog, it hasn't quite worked out that way, and here we are in week 3 of January and I've only got one salad under my belt. Oh well, let it be 'a salad a month' instead, or 'a salad when I get around to it'.

We are really onto a winner here, with our debut salad of 2014. It's got kale, it's got quinoa and it's got pomegranate - all great for you and perfect for this time of year. The added apple gives it an extra sweet kick & the walnuts provide a really nice texture. 

This salad really is quick, easy and tastes absolutely delicious - enjoy!

VEGAN CHOCOLATE AVOCADO PUDDING

So, 2014 here we are. Here we are and my first recipe of this delightful new year is a pudding. That's not right, is it, puddings in January?!
Well, yes actually because if there ever was a pudding that was super good for you, then this one would be it. I'm not talking about fruit salads here, or melon boats harking back to the '80's (now there's an idea), no,  I'm talking about a pudding pudding. Rich, chocolaty and so good you'll find yourself eating it at 9am on a Sunday morning whilst writing a blog post, when your husband is sweating it out on the badminton court (ahem).

Ladies and Gents, I present to you this vegan chocolate avocado pudding. It's easy peasy to make, tastes fantastic and is jam packed full of goodness in the form of avocados, walnuts, coconut oil and cocoa. All perfect for easing any New Years diet guilt (life's too short!) and if you want to / need to, you can make it 100% raw by dehydrating overnight or freezing the base instead of slightly baking it, and by being a little strict about a couple of the ingredients. It's good stuff, I promise and even though some of the ingredients may make you raise an eyebrow, go with it because it's worth it.

IT'S NYE!!

original image:source

Hello! Did you all have a good Christmas?! 

We didn't *sad face* 

Yep, Christmas 2013 was a total washout and we were all sick. We seemed to take one day each in turn to ruin Christmas, it was such a shame. We had to postpone trips to see family and cancel things and it was all just a bit rubbish. Argh.

So, because of that, we are turning today / tonight into our Christmas night & NYE rolled into one. The plan is to have a nice big family buffet then get the little miss into bed by 7pm so we can relax with the older kids watching films, playing games & seeing if they can make it until Big Ben strikes! Who knows if they will or not - I doubt it very much considering Flo couldn't keep awake for the Dr Who special a month or so back - but we shall see. I'll be sneaking myself a few glasses of something sparkly because I'm attempting a six-month alcohol free zone, starting tomorrow! Yep, 6 months!! I'm looking forward to it actually because apart from three pregnancies, i don't think I've ever gone that long without a glass of something! Oooops!

I haven't made any other NY resolutions though, i just want to be a little healthier, read more and possibly take up a yoga class, because it's virtually impossible to practice at home these days with India hurtling about the place! So, that's in for us - I hope you have a lovely time this evening and I'll see you next year!!

xox