101 things in 1001 days: Host a dinner party and make it beautiful

April 27, 2015April 27, 20152 Comments

So, I’ve been meaning to do this for a while and with many of my 101 things being to improve my ability to cook this one seemed like a good one to test out my newly improved skills at the stove. It’s not that I’m bad at it, I just never make the time and when I do it’s something easy or quick. Although it often tastes rather wonderful it’s never exactly a culinary masterpiece. Now, as you all know I recently moved into a new house and despite telling myself I would have a housewarming it’s been a couple of weeks since I moved in. Perfect excuse for a get together and to invite a couple of wonderful friends round; on the menu, dips and chips to start, vegetarian chilli for main and chocolate fudge brownie dessert for dinner. Pretty simple but pretty tasty.

I started by buying a number of little tea light candles and crimson napkins. The house is so beautiful and the colours are so warm that once I had set the table with the round smooth chocolate coloured plates and had put out the jewel coloured coasters; a criss-cross design of ruby, emerald and sapphire squares it all looked a little wonderful. I then set about on the chilli. I started by cutting up two onions into little squares and two peppers; one red and one green. These were gently softened in the pan with some oil which took a little longer than thought but all in good time; let em get all soft and yummy. I then added the Quorn and browned that off which is a little difficult to do when it starts and ends the same colour but I cooked it off a little. Then I made up 400ml of vegetable stock. It did say 200 and a glass of red wine but I had none in so I just popped in a little more stock. After adding this to the pan with a tsp of chilli powder, ground coriander and cinnamon I pushed up the heat and let it bubble away. I then added two tins of chopped tomato and a tin of kidney beans and turned down the heat. I then let it cook for a little longer and then added a few more shakes of chilli powder.

When my guests arrived I stuck the rice on and popped a stick of garlic bread in the oven and turned the chilli onto a low heat to warm up. I served the food with guacamole, sour cream and a bowl of chopped up chilli just in case it wasn’t hot enough. Chilli probably wasn’t the best choice because I had no idea for the life of me how hot people like their chilli. If it’s my mother cooking it you better be ready for some serious heat but I just wanted a kick at the end and then everyone could add heat accordingly. I must admit I think it tasted pretty good and was just the right amount. The only small error is I didn’t quite cook enough rice which is a little silly because when it’s me I always end up with a huge amount left over but for five I wasn’t sure how to judge it. Saying that people did have seconds and there was a little left over for dinner the next night. I then served the pudding with passion fruit frozen yoghurt which I think went down a treat.

Overall I think it was a roaring success but then it is me. I’ve always marvelled at my mother’s ability to organise a three course meal and even with almost everything ready I was a little stressed and flustered despite being overly prepared. (Printing out four different chilli recipes and having dinner cooked an hour in advance, I was looking pretty good.) I’m really intrigued to do this again and serve something a little more complex. I make a mean Thai green curry and think that would go down a treat. It was the perfect way to celebrate my new house and the move, and something I will definitely be doing again.

101 things in 1001 days: Grow a plant from seed to flower

March 13, 2015March 13, 20155 Comments

Evening readers and happy Friday, the weekend is upon us and tomorrow I will be travelling down to Silvy for Mother’s Day which I’m really excited for. My little pudding of a sister has rather hurt her leg and I cannot wait to give her a cuddle and make sure she’s okay! It’s been a really busy, emotional and tiring week but it’s ended pretty perfectly and today’s 101 things in 101 days is pretty darn cute.

So as always a little background as to its inclusion on the list. It is a well-known fact in our family that my mother is pretty awful at keeping plants. It doesn’t seem to matter what she does they just wither and die. Sorry mum. But my Grandmother is an absolute whizz; she is the ultimate green fingered lady and I thought I’d find out whether I possessed any of her gardening skills. The last time I tried to honestly grow anything was back when I was in year two, attempting to grow cress on a wet paper towel in a Tupperware box for a school project. The results were pretty awful and although at the ripe old age of six I think the fault of this lies elsewhere I wondered whether it was time to have another go.

In my tiny little terraced house in Stoke on Trent, there isn’t much of a back garden and with my very little knowledge of what soil to use, when you should plant flowers and how often you should water them I traipsed off to my local supermarket to see if there was anything a little more basic. Upon arriving I found the most adorable purple pink bucket with a handle with a number of purple hyacinth bulbs included. I wandered home and after reading the instructions buried the three bulbs under the soft soil and gave it a water, and the waiting game began.

To start off with it didn’t look good, after calling my mother, never a good idea seeing her track record keeping plants alive is pretty low she told me that the bulbs should have been poking out the soil not buried underneath. Then the plant disappeared. I live with two other lodgers and one had decided that I wasn’t watering it enough and had popped it outside which confused me for a number days until upon taking the rubbish out I unearthed it. I stubbornly brought it back in but the next day it had once again been placed outside. After upending the culprit, my housemate Gabriel told me that he had noticed it was getting a little dry and as I’ve been so busy thought it would survive better on the wall outside. Anyway, it’s been a couple of months but slowly but surely one of the buds has broken through and with a little bit of extra sunshine last weekend has opened its petals.

Because of the way the sunshine travels over the garden I think it would have been better to place it in the middle of the garden but no knowing a huge amount and worrying it wasn’t getting enough water I think it’s been a little deprived of potential growth however I’m going to keep it and maybe add a number of others to our little patch of concrete outside.

101 things in 1001 days: Leave a message in a book (and leave the book somewhere)

March 2, 20156 Comments

Good evening readers, a very sweet 101 things post today on mylittlebookblog.

Just under a month ago on Friday the 6^th of February I came home after an incredibly long week at work and immediately turned the boiler on and poured a large glass of rose. Washing and plaiting my hair, popping on my pyjamas and grabbing hold of the book I was reading I got into bed before realising I had three missed calls and a number of texts. Calling back the first missed call which was an unknown number a very excited Miss Anna Simpson answered the phone telling me that her wonderful boyfriend Adam had proposed at the top of the Shard.

After a couple of excited screams and laughter she told me that they would be in Soho for the rest of the evening and that if it would be so special to get the girls together and come down and celebrate. Immediately phone was put down, playsuit on and my hair dried whilst constantly phoning my friends to discuss plans I threw my purse, makeup, book, phone and phone charger into a bag and called a couple of taxi firms. Within forty minutes I was on a train desperately trying to call Hope and Leanne. See after a full day of work all of our phones were almost drained of battery and attempting to meet up in the same spot in Euston was proving difficult but on planning I settled down to read.

Upon finishing the book I thought to myself wouldn’t it be perfect to complete one of the 101 things in 1001 days challenge and write a message in said book and leave it on the train to commemorate such a special jounrney. So borrowing a pen off the girl sat next to me (who I happened to know,) I quickly penned a message into the book. It read.

To the person that finds this book my name is Lizzy and I run a lovely little book blog called mylittlebookblog.com. I’m completing a list of tasks and one is to write a message in a book and leave it somewhere. It just so happens that right now I am on a last minute train to celebrate the surprise engagement of two friends. I’m leaving this book here to commemorate this incredibly special journey and what today means to my two dear friends. Marriage is a crazy adventure of love, hope and faith in one another and as this lovely book is based on faith in religion it was rather fitting. Maybe you’ll get in touch and let me know where this book ends up or maybe not. Thank you for picking me up, having a read and being part of this special journey. Lizzy xxx

Leaving the book once I hit London we had an incredibly special evening celebrating the engagement of two incredibly dear friends. The wine was flowing and the stories of the engagement told with excited giggles from us girls trying to get a good look at the ring. It was a perfect night and upon travelling back to Milton Keynes later that evening, nearing midnight there was many a talk about who would be the next. We’ll have to see whether that comes true.

I’ve left this post a month to see whether anyone did get in touch and nothing so far. It could be lounging around somewhere waiting to be picked up but I’m not too hopeful. Either way, it was an incredibly lovely way to commemorate a special evening with two people that really are perfect for each other.

101 things in 1001 days: Taste five cocktails I’ve never tried before

January 22, 2015January 22, 2015Leave a comment

Recently I’ve been really struggling to complete any of the tasks on the 101 things in 1001 days list and I’m slipping behind a little in terms of my schedule. Browsing through the list yesterday I spotted one that I had missed, that being ‘taste five cocktails you haven’t tried before.’ In the past few months or so I know I’ve tried a number of new cocktails that definitely add up to over five however I’ve picked a few of my favourites.

Last year, sometime during July me and my then housemate Laura discovered the Coconut margarita cocktail; the usual recipe with a dash of Malibu. This has started a little bit of an obsession with this new type of margaritas. Tequila is a favourite of mine; however recently our bar of choice for cocktails changed hands and was re-named (The Kiln) quite suitable seeing the provenance of the potteries to Stoke-On-Trent. Although the menu is now missing the delectable coconut margaritas they have introduced two new flavours; the first passion fruit the second raspberry. Despite trying the two a number of times me and my cocktail buddy Ollie have yet to decide which is the better of the two.

The next new cocktail of choice, came about when me and my darling mother travelled to Glasgow for a weekend away; if the margaritas is unavailable I will normally go for a Cosmopolitan made rather famous due to being the favourite of the Sex and the City gals. This ‘cosmo’ was laced with strawberry and burnt orange and was rather wonderful however my mother decided to go for a orange based cocktail with a chilli kick. Blended with a dash of Tabasco this cocktail was delicious to say the least and although I don’t remember the name of it so well it was incredibly lovely. The next new cocktail choice came on a night out in Milton Keynes only a month or so ago; my dear friend Leanne is a big fan of the creamy cocktails either with a hit of coffee or chocolate liquor. We went to Las Iguanas a favourite of ours and tried the utterly delicious Crema Chido. A blend of Mexican liqueurs, Xta, with honey & aniseed
flavours, shaken with Kahlua, cream & almond syrup. It’s not something I would particularly pick however it was really good.

The final cocktail is one that I had whilst once again frequenting the bar The Kiln with one of my philosophy student friends. When the chain swapped hands they definitely increased their range of interesting cocktails and this one was named Wine gums from their Candy Shop menu. Sporting St-Germain elderflower liqueur, Chambord, Bombay Sapphire, apple juice and lemon and at the bottom of the glass was a selection of actual wine gums that became sticky in the alcoholic liquid. It not only tasted delicious but the wine gums were devoured and were pretty great. There are a number that I haven’t mentioned that didn’t make it onto the list however these were my favourites of the bunch!

101 things in 1001 days: Watch a Marilyn Monroe film

December 15, 20144 Comments

Good evening readers, hope you enjoyed the review yesterday. Today’s post is another 101 things in 1001 days. I’ve actually been keeping really up to date with the list which is wonderful. Some of the things on the list are taking a lot of time to get off the ground, I’ve been trying to grow a plant from seed to flower for some time now, but there is a good range of different things to-do. So, the ones that are quick and easy to get started I am trying to get through to free up some months in the future. Today is another film related post so hope you enjoy.

This one came up mostly due to the same reason as my post wanting to watch an Audrey Hepburn film. I love Marilyn Monroe, she is a style icon even now, she was a real woman and she was utterly gorgeous. But once again my love for her is built on fickle and shallow foundations. So, when I was last pottering around Hanley shopping centre looking for Christmas presents for my girls back at home I picked up the film ‘Some Like It Hot.’

So Monday, whilst sick from work, bundled up in a woolly jumper, fleecy pyjama bottoms and cosy knitted socks I sat down to wrap presents with this delightfully funny film on in the background. I actually really enjoyed it, I forget how much I enjoy old comedy films and I need to see more of them because they have some much content and it focuses on the actors rather than the special effects that we see in most of the films released today. Monroe was delightfully lovely and although Mumma B had warned me from watching it because she is a little ditsy I thought it was all rather wonderful. I liked the story and the way it was told and I almost forgot about the job I was supposed to be doing! Additionally Tony Curtis is a very handsome man and I felt a little for his old-school charm. Overall a truly loveable film that I can’t wait to watch again.

101 Things in 1001 Days: Watch a film starring Audrey Hepburn

November 19, 20149 Comments

Good afternoon my lovely, lovely readers; it’s time for another 101 things in 1001 days post which I hope you will all enjoy. Now this point on my list is due to my terrible habit of putting off things that I really want to do, but instead just don’t. I have explained this before but if I really want to do something instead of getting it done, I put it off, and put it off. It’s so ridiculously silly because I want to desperately do the task in hand. So I put them on the list and then I have to!

See, I love Audrey Hepburn; she is an absolute star. I think she is the ultimate female, stunningly beautiful, a style icon and one of my big female crushes. Posters of her adorned my walls throughout my years at university but, I am a fickle fan. My love for her is completely shallow; I have never seen any of her films, which means yes, all the posters denoting her in Breakfast At Tiffanies, ultimately mean nothing to me. I have tried to watch the film before but just never got round to it. So on my last trip to the Potteries in Stoke on Trent, I picked up a copy (and a copy of the Breakfast club which I have also never seen) and a few nights ago I snuggled up in my favourite spot, with my duvet, a bowl of salt and vinegar spirals and a glass of wine and sat down to watch.

Wonderful, truly wonderful. If you love a little love story this is perfect; Hepburn is naïve, a little crazy, irrational and outlandish. Her character flits about charming everyone whilst also being in her own little world. Please, someone take me to a party like the ones she throws in her darling apartment; we could sit in the smoke fug and drink and natter whilst comparing outfits, it would be my pleasure. Hepburn and George Peppard, who plays her love interest, display such charming personas and their intoxicating performance together led me to feel a little warm inside and I loved the way that he was so desperate to capture the obvious love that is felt between the two of them but his inability to grasp it and make her his is so lovely and kept me so very entertained. It’s chic and heady and yet also funny. The characters are so droll and witty I couldn’t believe it when I read bad reviews; this film is delightful. The evocative cinematography and the humour combined made for a wonderfully charming and enchanting film. I loved it and my love for Miss Hepburn has increased a mile.

101 Things To Do In 1001 Day: Make Roasted Red Pepper Soup

November 13, 2014Leave a comment

Good afternoon my lovely readers, today’s post as you can see is a 1001 days post so if you’re looking for a book review you’re not going to find it here, but you will find a post about me being a culinary whizz. Well kind of. I was looking at my list of things to do and I worked out that I have to complete around three tasks a month and at the moment I am not keeping up with that and some of the bigger tasks can’t really be done over a weekend or even a month, as they need a lot of planning. So I sat down and looked at all the ones that I could do quite simply and this coming week I am going to be taking on three. I am off to Glasgow at the weekend with Mumma B which ticks off the task go somewhere in Great Britain you’ve never been before, and I am going to the midnight premiere of the new Hunger Games film (fingers crossed) next week with two of my wonderful friends.

Now this one today I actually completed about a month ago but my iPhone was broken and the photos from my old Blackberry were awful so I made it again last night with a different recipe and it tastes amazing; (well I think so anyway) So, I made roasted red pepper soup; it’s actually one of my favourites, right after Heinz tomato. For me you cannot beat that stuff, it reminds me of sick days snuggled up on the sofa, under the sick blanket (as we called it, I am sure it was riddled with disease) watching children’s films such as Barbie Rapunzel. This comes a close, close second and I now have a vat on it sitting on the side as long as neither of my house dwellers has devoured it whilst I’ve been at work.

I love cooking but I never really get round to it my life is either completely in a rush or I’m out of the house, so I’m either eating a toasted sandwich whilst furiously blogging and writing articles for the various sites I write for, or I’m out for dinner with friends, I just never MAKE the time and always think oh I’ll do it later. So after paying the water bill (I hate being an adult) I wandered around Sainsbury’s chatting away to my best friend whilst trying to remember the recipe for red pepper soup. I traipsed home with four red peppers, two carrots, an onion, stock jel thingies (yes that’s what they are) garlic, basil, chopped tomatoes, a new hand blender (last time I attempted to mash the soup as I did not own a blender, I can confirm it doesn’t work,) and a bottle of rose which is vital for cooking my mother tells me. Hair up, apron on and cooking could commence.

First I chopped up all the peppers; I must admit I don’t think I needed them all because they filled the roasting tray, splattered them with a little oil and sprinkled salt (and you should add pepper but I didn’t have any; shock) Pop them in the oven at 180. Then pour a glass of wine, following my mother’s wisdom as always. Peel the carrots, and chop them up with the onion and garlic. Then put a saucepan of water onto boil (two pints) and add the stock. I used a jelly type one rather than a cube but I don’t think it matters too much. Whack in the vegetables and boil for five minutes and then turn down to simmer for around twenty minutes. Pour another glass of wine (yes another.)The peppers should be done (don’t forget about them!) so bring them out the over and leave them to cool. The recipe said scrape off the blackened bits but mine were only a little so I left them on. Chop them up and throw them in the saucepan along with the chopped tomatoes and let it cook for another ten minutes. Blend and you’re done and dusted. The basil is for decorative purposes but I had some dried stuff that I popped in whilst it was cooking.
This soup honestly tasted delicious and it wasn’t because of the third glass of wine I promise. Definitely worth a go, I’ve popped in a link, and I don’t like celery that’s why it didn’t make it into the soup; if you were wondering. 🙂 Here’s the link: http://www.bbcgoodfood.com/recipes/7685/-roasted-red-pepper-soup