Pizza instead of wedding cake?!

A traditional wedding cake tends to have multiple layers and the couple will often have a fruit cake layer on top (I always think it's because no one likes fruit cake so the smallest layer is fruit cake to please the mother in law!) Then the other layers could be a Victoria sponge or chocolate sponge and they are beautifully decorated.

It is also traditional to keep the top layer of the wedding cake for your firstborn child's christening...however this wouldn't be possible if the cakes were made of anything that is perishable like chicken nuggets! 

This is the latest craze where people have been trying to make their wedding day extra special by making it personal to them and they have been doing this by not having a traditional wedding cake but rather choosing their favourite food as a substitute! 

A couple had chicken nuggets as their wedding cake stacked in tiers and recently another couple had pizzas as their wedding cake! I would have loved to have seen their guest's faces as they got a slice of pepperoni pizza after dinner!

I'm a traditionalist and personally would prefer a proper wedding cake made of sponge!

Wonky Vegetables

An interesting idea on the news this weekend stated that perhaps best before dates should be removed from food items as it causes a lot of food wastage each year and I actually agree this will prevent food that is perfectly fine being thrown away. 

I feel there are many ways to get around all this food wastage and this may be a good start! Another thing some retailers are doing is selling "wonky" vegetables at a lower price and these would normally be rejected just because they didn't fit a perfect specification such as size or colour the retailer demanded. To be honest, I am perfectly happy eating wonky vegetables especially if they are cheaper as it all goes down the same way!

With all the multi-promo offers  attracting consumers to purchase more than is needed it is easy to point the finger of blame to the retailers but consumers need to take some of the blame, retailers only make offers, they don't force purchases!

Food waste is a huge topic at the moment and more things need to be done to prevent food that is perfectly fine, being thrown away. All this food could be discounted or given to the homeless and food banks instead of being thrown away!

Below is an interesting article for more of the facts...

http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/science-environment-39747327?ocid=wsnews.chat-apps.in-app-msg.whatsapp.trial.link1_.auin

Turkish food at its finest!

Anyone who knows me, knows I love all different types of food but I have a certain love for all Turkish foods! Anything Turkish is amazing in my eyes, the food, the culture, the friendly people and the language is so interesting as you say it exactly how it is written.

Mousakka, sticky rice, their breads, baklava, stuffed peppers, proper chicken kebabs....the list never stops! In Turkey, cooking for someone is a way to show your appreciation for them, so I was extremely lucky to be invited over for dinner at my friends house where she cooked her favourite childhood Turkish recipes for me!

Their food is so tasty and full of fresh fruit and vegetables and flavour so I knew I was in for a treat!

My friend had cooked me sticky rice which is one of my favourite rices. In the UK rice tends to be quite plain and we rely on rich, creamy and spicy sauces to make the rice taste better. In Turkey, they cook the rice with a bit of oil so it becomes a bit sticky but full of flavour! My friend had also cooked me a traditional Turkish stew with chicken and a variety of vegetables including carrots, peas and potato. It is quite similar to a British stew except it has a warming spice throughout each mouthful. She had also made borek - this is a filo pastry filled with potato, cheese and spices including chilli - if you ever get the chance to try these homemade from a Turk, don't hesitate!

We enjoyed our candle lit dinner complete with Turkish tea and then Turkish coffee and fruit for dessert...again Turkish coffee is something everyone should try, It is a rich coffee with a subtle hint of smooth and rich chocolate which definitely finishes a meal off perfectly!

Foodie Shopping Spree

I know it has been a few weeks since Mother's Day but I absolutely loved shopping for presents for my mum and went into some of my favourite shops. Whenever I buy presents for my close family and friends, it is always hard to choose what to buy as I want to buy everything for them, but realistically that would not fit into my budget! Sometimes I buy a couple of lovely items and other times I prefer doing hamper-style presents where you buy a nice bag or basket and get little pieces to go in it.

Last year I bought mum a spa voucher so this year, I decided to buy something different but there is a slight theme in her presents and no surprises the theme was FOOD! I went into M&S and John Lewis as they are two of my favourite shops and my mum and I have similar tastes so I bought things I would like as I know she loves them too!

In John Lewis, I picked up a beautiful little wooden crate that had fudge, lemon curd, stem ginger biscuits, orange whiskey marmalade and strawberry and champagne jam. I also found some cute chocolates that spell out LOVE so put them in my basket also!

I then went to M&S in search of Turkish Delight which is a family favourite treat! I also found some Swiss chocolates which I couldn't resist, so they fell in my basket also! Mum loved all her presents and laughed at the foodie theme, and asked me if I thought she wasn't eating enough!

The Urban Monk Café, Kingshill House

The Urban Monk Café in Kingshill House is a lovely place to visit for a cuppa, a light lunch and a catch up with friends. The menu changes each week and it is always varied and full of delicious soups, sandwiches and hot lunches.

I went in December and had a delicious butternut squash soup with croutons and it was served with olives, a mini stuffed tomato, feta cheese cubes, rocket and spinach, a variety of crackers and pickle and a cranberry and cheese filo parcel (see picture). It was so tasty and filling yet there was still room for dessert! I had a trio of mini desserts which included an Oreo and Baileys pudding, a mini cheesecake and a mini mousse.

As it was such a great afternoon, I also went for lunch (see picture) with my mum in February and had THE crispiest bacon in deliciously thick brown seeded bread which was also full of salad and tomatoes and complemented my massive teapot perfectly.

The best thing about this café is that all the food is completely homemade and you can spend ages just chatting with friends and everyone who runs the café are so friendly so pop along and visit them! There is also arts and crafts on sale and all this money goes to charity and includes things like homemade cards and homemade fudge which I would recommend! They also have activities to entertain children (at those who are children at heart!) so at Christmas, we sang carols and for Easter there is an Easter egg hunt so it’s perfect for families too.

If you do pop along this Friday, the menu includes;

-         # Spiced lamb flatbread with homemade cabbage pickle

-         # Pastrami and emmental sourdough bread sandwich with rocket and mustard

-        #  Homemade cream of mushroom soup

-        #  Various cakes

-        #  Cream teas

Don’t forget to visit! The café opens 12-4 so see you there 😊

The postcode is: SN1 4NH 

The Polly Tea Rooms, Marlborough

The Polly Tea Rooms or "Polly's" as it is known by the locals in Marlborough is well

known for it's delicious afternoon tea so my family and I went for a treat as we were

all reunited because everyone was home from uni.

There are loads of cakes to choose from and each time you go, different cakes are on
offer so when we went the following were available; triple chocolate, red velvet cake,
lemon drizzle, a classic Victoria sponge, fruit cake, scones and a rainbow cake as well
as several others.

I absolutely love lemon drizzle cake so would normally have chosen that but the Victoria 

sponge (pictured) looked so inviting and delicious that I couldn't resist it so had a huge slice 

of that with a classic British cup of tea! We all chose different cakes and my sister chose the 

rainbow cake (pictured) which was incredible!

For Mother's Day, I bought a full  afternoon tea for my parents and they had little sandwiches 

with different fillings, scones with cream and jam, a variety of little cakes and tea and coffee. 

They sent me a photo and it looked great so that's on the bucket list to do soon!

Cream tea debate - what comes first the cream or the jam?!

Cream teas. This has been a debate for I imagine centuries, who makes the best cream teas, Cornwall or Devon. The only difference being that in Cornwall, the jam goes on the scone and then the cream goes on top, whereas in Devon, the cream goes on the scone and then the jam goes on top. The question is, which way is the best way or is it just down to preference?

I like to test things for myself so (for research purposes only!) I bought some scones (with raisins in of course as they are the best ;)) some strawberry jam and some cream. I then made a typical Devon scone and then a typical Cornish scone and tried both, cleansing my palate with a good old British brew of course! 

To be honest, I thought both were lovely but my favourite was the Cornish, with a little cream on top but I like to smother the scone with jam but couldn’t do this as easily when putting the cream on first. I would definitely recommend that everyone does their own experiment though just to see if you agree with me or not! 

Homemade cake is the best!

My friend recently made a gorgeous double chocolate Victoria Sponge which was so rich, light, gooey and dare I say it, moist! After devouring a huge slice of it, I asked him how he had made it as it was so delicious! He then sheepishly admitted to cheating slightly by using Betty Crocker Chocolate Fudge Icing but to be honest I don’t blame him as it was so delicious!

It added a chocolatey, creamy and smooth topping that certainly finished the cake off perfectly! I have only used Betty Crocker icing once before and that was when I was making cupcakes for a charity bake event and I was on a really tight schedule and gave in and bought some icing to successfully decorate several batches of cakes in a short amount of time. To be fair, they went down a treat, but I always like to bake everything from scratch if possible so haven’t used it since.

Until tonight that is…having had a slice of that mouth-watering dessert, I am definitely going to use Betty Crocker icing in the near future! I especially want to try out all the different flavours...a spoon may even fall in the tub before I start decorating just for a quality taste! ;) 

Brands - who owns what?!

Brands always interest me as I always see them as separate to each other, but in reality many companies own different brands. The ones that intrigue me are the brands that I think are completely unconnected.

Below is a list of companies and some of the brands they own:

- Mondelez: Oreo, Cadbury, Milka, Philadelphia, Dairylea, Ritz

- Unilever: Comfort, Dove, Flora, Hellmann's, Lynx, Magnum, Ben and Jerry's

- Mars: Pet food, Dolmio, Uncle Ben's, Starburst, Wrigley's Chewing Gum, Mars Bars, Snickers

- Nestle: Kitkat, Maggi, Pet food, Nescafe, Breakfast cereals, cereal bars

- Proctor and Gamble: Fairy, Head and Shoulders, Herbal Essences, Oral-B

I find it interesting that many consumers are unaware some of these brands are even connected, especially when you may consider them to be "competitors" of each other, for example I always thought Head and Shoulders and Herbal essences were competitors so change my shampoo occasionally to try out a new brand and it turns out they are technically the same company!

I also had no idea that Mars who produce Mars Bars, Snickers,Twix etc. also offer pet food and sell Uncle Ben's rice. In my opinion, these products aren't connected and this leads me to ask; Does it hinder a company if they have items in different product categories?

Surely, you can't be a strong market leader in all categories when you have a variety of different products ranging from chocolate to detergent? However it clearly is worth doing as many of the above companies have a wide portfolio range. I love anything like this that makes me wonder how things work as I am so curious about random things!

Chocolate without sugar?

Chocolate is an indulgent treat that many people enjoy on a more frequent basis than we would care to admit. It is creamy, rich and melts in the mouth and there are not many people who would decline a square or two if they were offered. I have just eaten a few squares of dark chocolate which is my latest guilty pleasure, trying to kid myself it is healthier as it is dark chocolate.

My favourite dark chocolate to date is Green and Blacks espresso dark chocolate, it has a real bitter sweet taste to it and is a real treat. It definitely motivates my to finish my dissertation which no surprise is all about chocolate!

I got thinking, could chocolate be made healthier by using sweeteners or another sugar alternative? If this was possible, would consumers be interested in trying this or do they want chocolate to contain sugar?

This is good food for thought - obviously natural sweeteners would have to be used but in general how much do consumers know about sweeteners and are they willing to eat products with multiple sweeteners or are consumers suspicious of the potential long term affects of them?

These are all questions I hope to find the answer to!

Happy New Year!

Happy New Year! I can't believe it is 2017 already, the past 6 months have been really busy but last night as 2016 drew to a close and champagne bottles were opened, I began thinking of new year resolutions. As I'm sure many people will have decided theirs, I thought I would at least try and stick to mine this year as I am normally quite good at sticking to resolutions for a while then give in!

My first resolution is to continue working hard but giving myself more time to do things I love; socialising with friends and family, baking, cooking, tennis and generally enjoying myself, allowing myself time to do these things.

My second resolution is to complete my degree to a high standard and believe in myself which should make writing assignments easier! Must stop procrastinating!

Thirdly, I would like to pick up a new hobby, especially after I graduate. I would like to learn a new language so I become fluent in it, learn the piano properly or take up singing lessons so I have something fun to work on in the evenings.

I would like to get a job once I graduate and I want it to be something I really am passionate about like my previous job. Recently, I went for an interview and I loved the idea of this job so fingers crossed!

Finally, I want to go travelling and make plans - Rome, Egypt, Greece, Australia and Iceland are just some of the places I want to explore :)

Happy 2017 everyone!