Sunday 28 October 2012

Convert

Has anyone been watching Jamie Oliver's new series on Channel 4? You know, the 15 minute meals? I'm going to have to be honest with you - I've never really rated Jamie. Jamie's Italian? No comment. Cook, maybe. Chef...? Naaaaaaaa. One series later..? Let's just say I'm not quite convertée, but as Queen of my own Palace, I'm for sure digging quick, smart, one-man recipes for a nutritious, healthy & fresh meal. Mushroom farfalle? Yes please. Apple & pomegranate salad? Yus PUH-lease.

I'm sort of coming round to his ideas the longer I watch him "wazzing up" this and that (check out his camembert parcel idea before you judge me)... I'm back now, by the way. Hiatus in the duster and all thoughts of a break in the pan. I'm back with more - maybe you've noticed the new tabs? Try the 'on love' and 'on food' tabs, you'll catch my drift. Being the type A organized control freak that I am, it seemed only right to diversify my blog into the various 'love', 'travel' and 'food' (in progress, bear with me) categories as promised. Let me know what you think! 

xxx

Friday 26 October 2012

On Hiatus

Until further notice. Hopefully we'll meet the other side. Wishing you all a wonderful weekend. 

x

Monday 22 October 2012

A New Love

One advantage of having a single-mindedly Italian-Indian eating boyfriend (well, technically cheese-eating, favourites being macaroni cheese, margherita pizza & paneer), is that while he orders something similar every time we go out to eat, I have the time and leisure of working your way through the entire [vegetarian part of any given] menu. So none of that having-to-choose-between-two-mains-you-reeeeeally-want-and-never-knowing-what-the-other-would've-been-like quandary. Good for a curious consumer like me, I hear you think. 

On the flip-side, though, it means we rarely frequent non-cheese serving establishments. Namely sushi bars ("why would you wanna eat raw vegetables?!?!"), Thai, North African, Spanish etc etc etc. Yerrrrr, not too big on the Extra Mature British Cheddar Cheese in those regions, I'll be honest with you. So truth be told, on the rare occasions I slip out for a meal with one of my girls or work colleagues or school friends, trying something completely different is a real treat. 

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Take Friday for example - off I was whisked for a Thai meal in Abbot's Langley at one of those few restaurants which scores 5/5 on Trip Advisor almost every time; Pin Wei. Sometimes I tend to steer clear of cuisines that I know use a lot of meat in their dishes because I assume that any vegetarian option they might offer will assimilate the 'Chicken Tikka Masala' story - devoid of any authenticity. Alas, a plate full of spring rolls and some noodles later, all inhibition is blown out of the water. The food was amazing, light and fresh, and I spied rice from a bamboo steamer for the first time in my life - enlightened. I'm a little scared I might have sparked up one love affair too many... after all, how much can one girl eat?!

xxx

P.S. Mr Boyfriend, if you're reading this, Prezzo dates with you are the best thing ever ;) This most definitely isn't a complaint but a mere observation that by veering away from our Italian Indulgences, albeit temporarily, I'll continue to appreciate them forevermore. So please keep the Cannelloni coming. Ty. 


Pin Wei Restaurant, 35 High Street, Abbots Langley, Herts, WD5 0AA

Saturday 20 October 2012

Changes and Chip Sandwiches

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To say the week's gone by in a whirlwind would be a massive understatement. A hurricane, more like, with change coming in wave after tidal wave. A flood of university assignments and today, with a flash of lightning, a new job (now there's a phrase you've seen around here before) - definitely too much to think about. Is it absurd that at this particular point in time, I could take or leave Christmas, it's tomorrow morning's lie in that has me squirming in excitement...? Sad, I know. Even sadder that I rounded off my Friday night constructing the world's tastiest (read unhealthiest) chip sandwich. 

Wishing all of you a beautiful weekend! 

xxx

Friday 19 October 2012

Halloween To-Dos

Seeing as I missed Halloween and Guy Fawkes last year (yeah, ouch, double whammy - a good thing in a way as I was some place hot and happy) it seems only fair one compensates with double celebration, no? Anyone who knows me knows how particular I am for marking special occasions - be it Easter or Eid, Navratri or New Year. So it's for sure befitting that I have an entire to do list this Halloween. 

1. Find (or make, if that's what it takes!) a costume with some imagination. The hunt for an outfit can be really quite disheartening - for unless you can convince me otherwise, a nurse/policewoman/cowgirl/Snow White/whatever costume consists of stockings, a corset, peplum & perspex platforms outside the privacy of one's home constitutes a sex worker's outfit.

2. Thrill Night at Thorpe Park - still on the list from last year.


3. Pumpkin carving


4. My faaaaavourite thing at this time of year, without a doubt, are toffee apples. Definitely on the to-make list.


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What are your Halloween plans? 

xxx

Thursday 18 October 2012

We Don't Do Dinner, We Have Tea

Remember this post? I feel it's going to be a bit of a déjà vu 
moment but something freakishly similar seems to be going down. Forget the days of "wha gwan" though because right now I seem to be calling everyone 'babs' and asking what's for 'tea'(on the phone to mum - "I've had my tea ma.") 'I'nt that right funny?' I don't know if it's something to do with the fact that English around here is so uptight I'd do anything to make it sound more...affable - but I blame the Sheffielder flat mate. 

In other news, I'm in complete disbelief that we've hit Thursday already - even greater incredulity that we're nearing the end of October. Christmas round the corner and New Year just beyond... I'nt that right scary?

xxx

Wednesday 17 October 2012

Top of the Pots

Now that I'm a one man army (two at times but dinner tends to be staggered in the flat as we show up home at varying times), it can be difficult figuring out what to cook. How tempting is it to just shove on some toast and be done with it?

The inconvenient prophylactic for CBA syndrome? An inopportune stomach growling in the dead of night when you're too hungry to sleep but too tired to do anything about it. Know the feeling?

Coming up to a month since I moved though, I'm definitely forming new routines - with regards to what's on the menu, there are definitely regulars (à la carte, I'd like to think) and then the specials that creep in at weekends or on days off when I really have time to cook, rather than assemble a meal.

The four fast-but-filling familiars: 

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1. Tomato Soup with salad and croutons. Mmmmm.

2. Pasta (yes, okay, predictable). Forget faffing with sauces though... you ever tried cream cheese with a spritz of lemon and oregano?

3. Good breakfast = good mood. I'm fast becoming a porridge addict - try it with yogurt and fruit, cream and dark brown sugar or ice-cream sauce (naughty, I know). Don't judge me for saying it's just as tasty at dinner time... 

4. An old boyfriend used to make the nicest creamy potato curry - it was SO flavourful that its taste is etched still in my mind. Lo and behold, I HAD to get my hands on the recipe (obviously tamper it to rid the fridge of spare vegetables) and see if I could replicate it. Good call, will most definitely share. 

More tomorrow. 

xxx

Tuesday 16 October 2012

Nine Nights

It's official. We're into my absolute faaaaaaavourite time of year. Already, I hear you mumble? It's not Christmas yet love... yes yes, just let me explain. I've honestly believed, year after year, that NO-vember is possibly the most inconvenient month ever (sorry if you've a November birthday, nothing personal). I mean look at it sitting so stubborn, so long, between the Hindu festivities and my Darling December. Grrrrrr. 

This time round though it feels like things are going to be a little different. Flatmate's birthday, maybe a sneaky holiday and bob's your uncle. It kicks off today with a gorgeous Indian festival known as Navratri - nine nights of sarees, sweets and shaking a leg to celebrate the triumph of good over evil... It means I get to eat things like this: 

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And wear things like that --->

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Nothing like a pop of colour when the weather outside's like...

Rain

xxx

P.S. Apologies in advance for any outfit pictures that may randomly pop up this week - I'm probably having a Bollywood Diva moment. You understand.

Monday 15 October 2012

Memory Lane


It's funny how certain places hold such vivid memories of times gone by, don't you think? It can often be a memory that has long left your conscience but it's as though the town, the park, the road you once walked has it retained and seeks to remind you of the good times, as a nostalgic friend might, each time you return. I was stood waiting for a bus outside the Galleria today when I had one of those 'flash-flood memory' moments - that one summer afternoon a friend and I cycled 30 miles to raise a little dosh for charity - a charity I no longer remember the name of with a friend I no longer know. My only recollection? Fits of giggles, scorching sunshine and for lack of planning(/desire to plan a route), cycling up and down, up and down the same track between St. Albans and Hatfield in an attempt to clock up the 30 miles that no-one was ever really going to check anyway. 

I'm sorry for the AWOL by the way - in between uni + work + own washing/cleaning/cooking (muuuuuuuuuum.....) it's the first time I've even had a moment to write something I want to. Back now though with the promise of prompter posting - thank you for sticking with me guys. Hope you've had a lovely weekend. 

xxx

Tuesday 9 October 2012

Making a House a Home

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1. You heard.
2. Cozzzzzy.
3. New-found love
4. Flowering dragon-eye tea

Yerrrr, these photos are rather domestic in nature, aren't they? That's sort of how I feel right now - totally engrossed in making the new place my space. A friend quite poignantly commented the other night that "it's getting homier" each time he visits - and you definitely know you're done when you can't actually think of anything you need in the way of a housewarming gift from the parents. #bittookeen. This whole "settling-in" business has been a whole lot more fun than expected though - more successful than stressful, more worthwhile than wearing. Shopping for furnishings, utensils, food-cupboard-fillers and the rest of the paraphernalia - made all the more enjoyable with a flatmate who's fast becoming a really good friend. 

 Hope you're all having a great week too. 

xxx

Sunday 7 October 2012

Tour Guide in St. Albans

There's nothing quite like playing tourist guide in a locale you know and love, don't you think? It forces you to look closely once again at sights you wouldn't usually bat an eyelid for. And what better than wanting a lazy stroll to the cathedral but waltzing straight to the centre of a hustling-bustling food festival? All autumnal, aromatic and bursting with promise, we're pretty sure that THIS is exactly what life's about. 

xxx

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Saturday 6 October 2012

A Trip to Bicester Village

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Yes, I heard you. There I was banging on about cheesecakes, chocolate cakes and the revelation of Pizza Express take outs - when in actual fact, I was on my way home from Bicester. Got it. Bicester Village. Where to begin. 

When I was first dragged up last year in my less than impressed demeanour (key word - dragged, I really didn't understand the point), it's fair to say I missed all the charm. Big deal, you'll pick up a Jimmy Choo handbag knocked down from £3934857858676 to just shy of £400... but, errrrrm, I don't usually spend even 10% of that on a bag. *Awkward* 

One trip later, a boy's holiday shorts bought, Crêperie Amélie spied, I'm a convert. Cath Kidston, love. Superdry, love. Random kitchenware stores, luuuuuurve. True, I didn't actually buy anything (just moved + student = times of frugality) but I'm pretty sure a pre-Christmas expedition with the shoe-loving, handbag-hunting flatmate will sort that right out. I can imagine it would be right charming with all the fairy lights as well. Must visit. 

xx

Bicester Village Shopping Centre is a designer outlet centre on the outskirts of Bicester, a town in Oxfordshire, England.


50 Pingle Drive, Bicester, Oxfordshire OX26 6WD

Friday 5 October 2012

Late Night Musings

It's late in the night and I'm having a pretty desperate moment as I type. Continue ONLY if you can empathise. 

Basically, I'm suffering from a super serious, severely severe sweet-tooth craving. You know the type? I'm tired, flued-up, still a tad hungry following a haphazard dinner... and my imagination is swinging gallantly between trashy pick and mix (think flying saucers *mmmmmmm*) and home-baked New York-style cheesecake with raspberry coulis. *gulps*. The thought's just too much. 

What did you say? You didn't know I had a penchant for desserts..? Well you must have missed this then. And this. Oh, and this. Recently homebound from Bicester, we took a Pizza Express pit stop and managed to get cheesecake to take away (for the first time, silly chocolate fudge cake had us waylaid all this time) - but even better... ohhh the memory is flashing before my eyes right now. God help me.

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xxx

P.S. This was at the Marks & Spencer Restaurant. WELL up there on my list of memorable sweet treats. 

Thursday 4 October 2012

Sweet Treat Deceit

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So you know that awkward moment when your mate comes to see you, rather inconspicuously packs you off to the kitchen with the bashful promise of instant brownies to satisfy the midnight munchies and you have no reason to think anything of it...? 

Only then he hijacks your FB, tweets on your behalf and moreover decides to introduce himself to your readership. Yerrrr, been there?! Oh, okay. Just me then...

All I'll say is thank God the brownies were a little bit of alright. Back tomorrow with a little more time and hopefully a little more to share.

:(

xxx

Tuesday 2 October 2012

Man of the Hour

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Hi everyone,

It’s Quiche with a Q. Sim’s been busy recently so I’ve been delegated responsibility to blog for the day which she doesn’t really know about (I delegated myself). I dunno what she usually talks about but Ima tell you about myself.

I’m the up and coming pharmacist you’ll be seeing on the front page of The Times for the cure of the common cold… but I’ll tell you a little secret now. *whispers* Just sleep a lot and bunk off work – you’ll be good in two days. But don’t tell anyone, coz this is gonna make me rich, like fortune 500 rich. **

But until my riches, I currently squat, hoping my rights will come in a few years time to be owner of this lovely flat of Sim’s (a.k.a. Miss Raj). For now, I’m stuck making Brownies.

You now know I’m a genius in pharmacy as well as squatter’s rights. Another hidden talent – telling the future. Some call it b*llshit (mind my language) - others call it magic. I call it my street act and I’m telling y’all now, day after tomorrow's gonna happen. I tell you, I see the future. And I do recommend watching the movie, I give it a ten out of ten.

‘Til next time Sim leaves her mac unattended (trust me, I know it’s gonna happen, I seen the future) I’m getting’ the f*ck outta here.

Quiche Man


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