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! ;)