I've been craving stilton with apples/grapes and rustic bread for a few days now. Luckily, I have a gigantic piece of mature stilton in my fridge and today I gave in to my cravings, went a bit 'cheese mad' even - stilton for breakfast, and lunch! I might even have it for dinner, haven't decided on that one yet.
See, that was my breakfast. Even though cheese is 'full of fat' (as my sister described), I think I managed to make it appear healthy, look at all the apples and grapes, oh, and avocado!
And here's my lunch. I've never tried Waldorf salad before, but I knew it has apples, grapes and stilton in it, obviously, I had to make it.
The salad doesn't need a recipe, it's way too easy. Throw some romaine lettuce leaves together, add grapes, apples, crumble the stilton on top. It usually has celery in it, but I'm not a fan of it, so I left it out. Mayo as a dressing? I don't think so, use fat free greek yoghurt with lemon juice instead (think protein, and live active cultures, which promote good digestion). Sprinkle some walnuts on top and season with salt and pepper.
I served it with some fresh whole wheat bread and it was delicious. I've got this idea that my lunch always has to contain some meat, otherwise I won't be satisfied and still feel hungry. Now I know it's not the case, as this salad filled me right up!
I also thought of a New Year's resolution - I have to drink at least 3 cups of green tea daily. I'm talking big mugs, not those 'normal' ones everyone has.
Green tea is amazing and has all kinds of benefits, which increase with the amount of tea you drink. I believe this is a resolution I can actually keep up with, it will boost my metabolism, keep my energy levels stable, and prevent skin damage. Yes to that!
I made this today for lunch and was so impressed by it, I had to have seconds. The recipe is inspired by 'chicken curry noodles' from my Wagamama's cookbook, but I rarely do exactly what recipe says to do, so I turned the dish into a warm, filling, and healthy soup.
It is very quick and easy to make, doesn't cost much, and will do you good - I packed mine with favourite veggies (I usually end up with more vegetables than noodles). This is a perfect dish for those who are health conscious (e.g. my sister, who is training hard to achieve her fitness goals) and love food full of flavour (me, that is).
Here's what you need to feed two hungry people:
1 tsp coconut oil,
1 tbsp peanut butter,
2 small chicken breasts, sliced
noodles enough for two (choose your favourite - egg/whole wheat/rice),
a big tbsp of green curry paste,
1 clove of garlic, minced
3 spring onions, chopped
half chilli, finely sliced
big bunch of coriander leaves, chopped
a piece of ginger, finely chopped,
juice and zest of half a lime, other half reserved for serving,
a big splash of soy sauce,
1 tbsp fish sauce,
1.5 cups chicken stock,
0.5 cup coconut milk,
a selection of your favourite vegetables (I used chesnut mushrooms, baby sweetcorn, mangetout, baby broccoli, and yellow pepper),
a small hand full of toasted coconut flakes for serving (if yours isn't toasted, just pop them in hot pan for a couple of minutes, until they brown a little).
Heat the coconut oil in a pan and cook your chicken seasoned with salt and pepper until it's cooked through. Shred it into smaller pieces, add peanut butter and a glug of soy sauce, then leave it on low heat for another few minutes.
While chicken is cooking, get yourself a big saucepan, heat a little piece of coconut oil and fry garlic and spring onions for a minute. Then pour chicken stock, and coconut milk, add sliced muchrooms, green thai curry paste, lime juice, zest, ginger, fish sauce and some soy sauce, bring to boil. Noodles usually take few minutes, so pop them in the saucepan when your chicken is nearly ready. If you're like me, and prefer your veggies crunchy, put them all in together with noodles and let simmer for few minutes until the noodles are soft. Check if you need more seasoning, I always find it that it needs more soy sauce, add the chilli.
Transfer the chicken on top of the noodle soup and sprinkle generously with spring onions and coriander. Serve with a wedge of lime and toasted coconut flakes on top.
Boyfriend and I slurped the soup moaning how tasty, fresh and fragrant the soup is. I will definitely make this again and again.
The end of December was a busy period - Christmas, birthday, New Years Eve... All that eating, drinking, traveling and recovering!
And I know, I abandoned the blog a little, but here's what I've been up to.
I got my hair chopped off just before my birthday, I felt like I needed a change, as I've had long hair for a while.
At 9am on my birthday Agne comes in to my bedroom singing 'Happy birthday' and carrying a cheesecake with candles, way too early! But then she brought glasses of champagne jelly, that she made from scratch, and I was wide awake! Very impressive, chef.
Then there was a birthday dinner at Le Truc, great food and company.
On New Years Eve I got a train to London for a late birthday dinner with my sister and Simona, we went to Flat Iron restaurant to try the steaks, and we were not disappointed!
There was no cake, but Lina surprised us with Birthday/New Year cupcakes. I wish I had a lifetime supply of these badboys.
Happy New Year from Corsica club, danced until I couldn't walk anymore!
Next afternoon looked like spring has come to the capital, cherry blossoms and blue skies...
Boyfriend and I had to catch a train back to Brum, while he was sleeping, I was smiling at birthday pressies from my London gals.
Festive period is all over now, and everyone knows January is the time to suddenly feel sorry for your liver, maybe start a detox cleanse / join a gym and start planning a sunny getaway. I don't have any New Year resolutions yet, but I have already started making changes in my diet as I want to get the good eating habits back, which I had before I let myself go in December. We will see how that goes.
Christmas has come and gone so quick - it was lovely having some of my family celebrating together here, but most of our loved ones had their white Christmas in Lithuania. They sent us lovely greeting cards, and the best part is that we received a whole lot of photos from my cousin. These pictures sent us right back to that one very hot weekend in beautiful Lithuania. Lovely.
My cousin got married on a beach, and it was so hot that I think everyone were wishing they wore a bikini or shorts.
Wish I was on a beach right now!
I already did a post about Digbeth Dining Club, but there is something else and very special arranged for the two weekends before Christmas. It's called Digmas. Digbeth Christmas, get it?
It's a pop up event with great street food, warming cocktails, vintage clothing, jewellery, art, music, and everything else you need for a different day out in Birmingham. My mum and I visited it on Sunday, but it's on next weekend too, so don't miss out and get yourselves down there, you can thank me later.
Mulled wine and boozy warm cocktails (I'm sure they have some sort of healing qualities), are served at the bar.
One of the main reasons I had to be here on Sunday, was Original Patty Men (follow them here) and their Krispy Kreme Patty - yes, a juicy burger, crispy bacon and melting cheese in a Krispy Kreme doughnut. Look at it.
Let's just say, I wish I could have this burger every day. And I'm extremely sad for everyone who hadn't tried it, but I'm sure we will see more of this filthy goodness from Original Patty Men next year!
Digmas is on next Saturday and Sunday in Gibb street, from 12pm until late. Follow Digbeth Dining Club for updates.
I've been seeing lots of great gift wrapping ideas on Pinterest recently, and I'll be honest, I like wrapping presents for others as much as unwrapping mine. Here are my favourite ones:
All of these are easy to do, don't cost much and I just love the pop of neon colours. As weird as it sounds, the deep neon pink stickers/washi tape/gift tags are impossible to find in UK (I found lots of pink, but its not as bright as I want).
So I had to move on and do something different, and this is what I came up with.
All I needed was brown kraft paper, washi tape and string - you can make every present look different by trying out a range of patterns and colours.
Tomorrow is the first day of December, which reminds you that time flies - next few weeks will be filled with festive drinks, work do's and cozy evenings with a big duvet and heating on full blast (I read somewhere, this December might be one of the coldest in years). Sooo... I suggest you to sort out the presents for your loved ones now, and then relax knowing you don't have to rush through packed stores and worry about deliveries not turning up in time for Christmas.
Stores and magazines have brilliant gift guides, which can give you some idea of what to get for family and friends. For those who need more inspiration, here's my list of gifts that don't break the bank and would make your loved ones happy. I didn't categorise them into groups like 'for parents', 'for boyfriend', etc., it's more of a bundle of things, which you can look at, and hopefully spot something, important person in your life would love.
Let's see what we have here...
1. Beautiful kitchen towel from Etsy, (£8.30).
2. Tasty tea bundle, including spiced winter red tea, chai tea and chocolate flake tea, from Teapigs, (£10).
3. Whiskey dictionary print from Bouf, (£9).
4. Butter London nail polish in The Black Knight, from Selfridges, (£12).
5. An album frame from Urban Outfitters, (£12).
6. Carhartt Cable Beanie from Asos, (£35).
7. Beautiful hair ties from Anthropologie, (£20).
8. Jamie Oliver herb growing set from Debenhams, (£14 normally, £11.20 now with 20% discount).
9. Little Norway spruce Christmas tree from Not On The High Street, (£10).
10. Shore Leave dip dye tee from Urban Outfitters, (£22).
11. Mulled wine mugs and spices from John Lewis, (£15).
12. Hand knitted bobble hat from Urban Outfitters, (£24).
13. Art print from Rockett St George, (£14).
14. Set of 4 measuring cups from Not On The High Street, (£18.95).
15. Zodiac coin purse from Anthropologie, (£18).
I could go on and on, but this post would get way too long... I hope you found inspiration here and have an idea a of what you're going to surprise your friends and family with.
My only advice, don't leave it 'til too late!
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