A day out in Clifton, Bristol

You may or may not know that I've been without a sofa for the last month. I recently moved y'see and I've been saving up for a new one. (But things like car tax and insurance popped up and all the pennies were suddenly gone. Damn.)

While waiting for a new sofa,  I've mostly been having picnics on my lounge floor and really appreciating that sitting on the floor isn't actually as comfy or as 'cool' as I thought it might be.  And it's kind of hard after a while.

So I went to see a second hand sofa in Bristol and while I was there I decided to pop along to Clifton.  Clifton is a really cool village in Bristol that's just bursting with a cool creative urban vibe ...and a few Banksy originals dotted in between.

My Twitter followers were fast to recommend lots of their favourite eateries, so I set about finding one of them, the Primrose Cafe.  And I was far from disappointed!  I LOVED this place.  Walking down this little 'laneway' street reminded me of Melbourne so much - and the coffee was perfect.  I was one happy Clifton coffee'd up bunny.

a)  Thank you Primrose Cafe for this perfect coffee!  Do you send by courier? ;)

b) Beautiful colourful, fresh fruit and veg from 'Reg the Veg' shop in the same laneway.  I wish I'd bought my shopping bags!

c) A cool tea-towel in a shop window!  Clifton is full of artsy shops and galleries with cool unique finds from independent traders.  I liked them all!

d) The cool laneway - outdoor seating!  This looked even more beautiful in the sunshine (but it sadly went in behind the clouds when I took this photo!)

e) A really sweet little flower shop.

f) Crumbs magazine - I'd followed these guys for a while on Twitter so I was excited when I found a copy in a cafe here which I leafed through while sipping on a cup of tea.  I discovered so many other Bristol eateries that I am already planning my next excuse to go!

Thank you to all the Twitter'ers that recommended their favourite cafes!  I'll be back soon.  Love you all x

Creamy spring vegetable pasta with basil - Gluten Free

They say you eat with your eyes and I could not agree more!  I just love to put lots of colour in my food.  The more colourful the plate, the tastier, and also healthier for you!

So when I threw together this spring vegetable pasta, the colours were the first thing that hit me - closely followed by the incredible fragrance of the basil.  I LOVE basil!

By the time I served this up - I quickly snapped a picture and then dived straight in.  My version was Gluten Free and made with Doves Organic Gluten Free pasta, but you could use normal pasta if you're not following a gluten free diet.  Throw it in a large serving dish and let everyone dive in - social style!  If you don't have this shape of pasta, this dish would also work amazingly with Fettuccini too!

Here's how I made it!

Ingredients


450g Doves Organic Gluten Free Pasta (from Wholefoods Market)  (or use normal pasta if not following a gluten free diet )
1 tbsp Olive Oil
1 small tin of sweetcorn (no sugar or salt added!)
1 Red bell pepper - cut into thin strips
1 Large courgette -  cut into thin strips
2 cloves Garlic, finely chopped
2 cups Cherry Tomatoes, halved (and half again if you have the patience!)
¼ cup Fresh Basil, roughly chopped plus extra leaves for garnish
1 tbsp Lemon Juice
40 g  Parmesan Cheese
1 tsp Olive Oil, to finish


Bring a large saucepan of water to the boil. Add the pasta to the boiling water and cook according to packet instructions.  Add a dash of olive oil (to stop sticking, and a pinch of salt).

Meanwhile, in your groovy kitchen, heat the oil in a large sauté or wok style pan over medium to high heat. (I say groovy because as I made this I had some groovy music on in the background...I did a little dance - I'm glad you didn't see. I dance like my Dad.) ;)

Add the corn and bell pepper and fry to soften for 2 minutes.

Add the courgette and garlic and cook a further 2 minutes.

Add the tomatoes and toss to combine everything together, season to taste with salt and pepper.

Drain the cooked pasta in a colander and add to the pan of vegetables.  Mix it all up together good!

Add the basil, lemon juice, half the parmesan and some more salt and pepper. This is the flavouring part of the recipe - here's where you taste a bit and adjust the seasoning to your own taste :)  (I call it cooks-perks!)

Serve onto a large plate and garnish with the remaining parmesan and basil leaves.

Grab a fork.

Dive in.

Don't look back :)

Speedy Thai Style Fried Rice - Gluten Free!

Oh my goodness what a lovely weekend it was here in the UK!  The first bit of spring sunshine - the blossom is coming out and it's the second time I've been out for a walk without my coat on. Hurrah!

This weather really inspires me with my cooking and I tend to always turn to Thai and Asian inspired dishes.  I'm going to share with you my secret go-to Thai fried rice.  I make it all the time, it's really yummy and I've been making it for years - it's like my Saturday night takeaway - but this is really much better than takeaway rice!  And it's SO quick too!  And it's gluten free as I use Tamari instead of soy sauce (Tamari is fermented soya beans instead of wheat,  which is what soy sauce is) I usually call it Angie's special fried rice - here's how I did it!


Ingredients

1 tablespoon of Sunflower oil
1 clove garlic – crushed or finely chopped
½ a red and green pepper (capsicum for you aussies)
broccoli – a good handful (I had some left over from Sunday lunch)
2 egg - beaten
1 pack of king prawns
2 tablespoons sunflower oil
Some leftover rice (or cheat and use 1 pack of Uncle Bens micro rice like I did)
A small bunch of coriander - chopped
4 spring onions, finely diced
2 tablespoons sesame oil
2 tablespoons of Tamari

Method

Add a tablespoon of sunflower oil to a hot wok and add the beaten eggs.

Scramble together immediately and when just cooked, tip onto a plate.  And keep it to one side.

Return the wok to the heat and add the other sunflower oil.

Add the garlic, peppers and broccoli, stir fry together until beginning to soften.

Add the prawns and stirfry some more.

Now add the rice.  Stirfry for another minute or two and then add the tamari and sesame oil

Add the spring onions.

Keep stirring until rice is heated through.

Add the Egg back into the wok and stir through.

Turn off the heat and add the coriander.  Stir through.

Serve and enjoy!

*Adaptations - If you want some heat or like chills, add a finely chopped medium chili at the same stage as the garlic :)

If you don't like prawns you can add chicken or leave out entirely and just enjoy with the eggs :)

I've been browser window shopping.... Kitchen Crushes

Ok, I admit it . I've been on Browser Window shopping expedition.  And discovered these beauties!

I've been cooking up leftovers these past few days and really not been too inspired at all.  I did cook up a delicious ratatouille this evening though from a bunch of courgettes, red onions, peppers (that were going a bit soft) and some leeks (Mmm leeks, I'm really into leaks at the moment, stick them in anything and they make it so sweet tasting!)  And a tin of tomatoes and some tomato paste.  A slosh of balsamic and some cheese on top - and it was like melting veg heaven. (Sorry I didn't take a photo, I was too hungry and by the time I thought about it, it was all gone - yum yum.)

A ::  I LOVE this so much.  I've wanted to try a coffee pot for some time, but not sure how to use one - any tips?  I love coffee and I love aquamarine.  So this is just too damn perfect.  It's from Anthropologie online (not discovered Anthrophologie yet? Oh my, you really must, it's one of those amazing shops from America that haven't come over to the UK yet.   I discovered it in New York two years ago and I bought this really cute sweater there which has a pocket (like a kangaroo) on the front that you can keep you hands warm in.  I'm wearing it now actually... I LIVE in this sweater. One of those buys where you totally get your money's worth.

B ::  One of my favourite cookbooks is Yotam Ottolenghi's 'Plenty', and I have yet to get his new book Jerusalem.  I'm in need of some new cooking inspiration so think this will do the trick.  Jerusalem is written by the fabulous Yotam Ottolenghi and Sami Tamimi and Published by Ebury Press.  On the Amazon page you can view pages of the book too!  Really tasty looking food!

C ::  I love this book - Phaidon books just do the coolest covers, don't they?  And this one's all about recipes with eggs.  I love eggs;  Full of Chromium (which gives you lots of get-up-and-go energy and iron too).  I eat scrambled eggs with spinach wilted through for brekkie every morning which really sustains me all morning until lunch.)  How to Boil an Egg is by Rose Bakery and published by Phaidon.

D :: KitchenAid does it again.  My favourite colour and my favourite mixer!  I've had my Artisan KitchenAid mixer for 3 years now and it just makes everything you put in it so fluffy; from cakes, to mash potato to egg whites.  Mine's not this colour, but I wish it was! They've just bought out a new range with heaps of other cool gadgets.  Take a look.

Right, must close the browser window now before anything else catches my eye!  Have a great weekend and I'll see you bright and early for more lovely food and kitchen inspiration on Monday!

Fig and Goat's Cheese Salad

I can't believe I've not discovered the awesomeness of figs before.  Where have I been?  Mars?   Sure, I've tried figs before, but they've just passed me by -  until now!

Some foods are just goddam perfik together.  Take figs and goat cheese;  Win.  Then put figs, goat cheese and a sweet vinaigrette (if you don't have pomegranate, you can just use good old balsamic vinegar)  and it's a win win WIN.

SO sweet, SO creamy, SO lovely.  And SO simple.  Lick your lips, this is a summer salad winner.  Did I mention this is also gluten free?  Yes, yes it is!  (I am a little excited, can you tell?)

Ingredients

2 tablespoons pomegranate molasses / vinaigrette or balsamic vinegar
3 tbsp extra virgin olive oil
A good handful and a half of rocket mixed leaves (with some spinach)
4 figs, cut into halves or quarters
3 oz fresh goat cheese, cut into chunks or goat cheese curds

Place pomegranate molasses (or balsamic vinegar) or vinagrette with the oil and a little salt and pepper in a bowl. Whisk loads.

Toss the rocket and salad leaves with dressing. Pile on a plate and top with figs and cheese (crumble it over and try not to eat some while you're doing it... I did... well a lot...it was yummy:)

Drizzle with a bit of extra olive oil and sprinkle with salt and pepper. Scatter pomegranate seeds on top if you're feeling ultra fancy and you have some, I didn't, and I wasn't feeling fancy.

So this salad is really going to be my springtime go-to salad.  I can't believe I've not got into figs before!

Did you know I went out without my coat on today?  Yes, it's crazy.  A few more degrees and maybe I'll take my shoes and socks off too.

Here's a few notes from my weekend.
1.  Bowls.  More bowls I saw in John Lewis (I'm getting a bit of a bowl addiction!).  I'm imagining eating some of Winstone's Ice Cream from these lovely ones.  I hear they've got a new coconut flavour and I am just desperate to try some, in the sunshine, with my shoes and socks off!

2. This is a new coffee shop in Cirencester - Coffee #1.  It reminds me of what Starbucks used to be like - more Central Perk from F.r.i.e.n.d.s TV fame... very cosy, retro and did a nice selection of blended fresh juices.

3. Diamond Cucumber.  Just because.  Regular sliced cucumber is so boring, so I jazzed it up a bit.  It was a delicious organic cucumber too... and SO sweet and juicy.  You see, I AM getting into these springtime salad days!!

I hope you all had a great weekend too.  Chat or tweet me @dishesundressed or pop by my Facebook Page where I share even more foodie fun!

Pretty inspired by pastel kitchens

Hey everyone! It’s that time of the week where I daydream about pretty kitchens that I wish were my own.  So, imagine my excitement when I came across Interior Stylist Selina Lake and her candy coloured, vintage and retro style inspired rooms recently!

I really wish this was my kitchen.  Look at the Belfast sink! (You know how much I’d love a Belfast sink like that!)  The pops of pretty pastel colours just make me want to get into that kitchen and bake something special.  And I’d invite you all over, of course!

And look at these dining room tables – the colours, the styling, the vintage feel… Wow.  Really inspirational!  You wouldn’t want to eat out ever again!

Selina has just launched her colorful new book, Pretty Pastel Style, and the photography in it is beautiful  (these photos are a selection of my favourites from the book).  It’s full of ideas on how to use a pastel palette, with handmade, vintage, modern, simple and retro styles.  Definitely what I need to style my new place - you know how I said I’m still trying to work out where to put everything!

She is already a best-selling author with three previous books, Bazaar Style, Romantic Style and Homespun Style all enjoying great success.  Interiors and style blogging queen Holly Becker at Decor8 blog is a big fan and I can totally see why.  You just want to hop right into the photographs and hang out in Selina’s beautiful rooms with her!

I absolutely love this retro pink coffee machine (you know how much I love good coffee too!)  I can almost smell the espresso.  Fancy a cup?

And check out this cheesecake.  I would need a serious amount of willpower not to indulge in that pretty pink thing!

If, like me, you find this cheesecake pretty inspiring - I found this gluten free cheesecake recipe on one of my favourite vegetarian foodie sites Green Kitchen Stories.  Go try it, it’s incredible (and almost healthy).

Pretty Pastel Style by Selina Lake is published by Ryland Peters & Small and is available from www.rylandpeters.com

Midweek Muse

Need a bit of a mid-week pick-me-up?  Then feast your eyes on these gorgeous bowls that I found in Cath Kidson.

I recently moved into a new apartment and I have to admit I've been here 2 weeks and still haven't unpacked properly.  I just can't decide where to put everything!  But it is very exciting having such a 'blank canvas' of space and just letting your imagination go wild as to what it will look like.  I can really see lots of pastels in this new place, I want it to be as colourful as possible to remind me of the colours I desperately miss in Australia.

I have found a lovely new tea room not too far from me though which does an amazingly good coffee and has an art gallery up stairs. It's the Lavender Bakehouse in Chalford. I popped in recently and this pretty china tea cup caught me eye!

If you like pretty pastels then check back tomorrow where I'll have something else I'm certain you will love ♥

Discovering local venison - burgers and steaks!

A twitter follower recently alerted me to a local source of venison in Berkeley, Gloucestershire. I got so excited that I hopped in the car and went on a beautiful road-trip south of the County to Berkeley Castle Estate where I made an incredible discovery; local, free roaming venison; Burgers, sausages, steaks, mince and much more.  The venison comes from Whitcliff Deer Park in Ham, Berkeley and Spetchley Deer Park in Worcestershire and you can buy it direct from the Berkeley Estate who can take orders for any specific requirements you may have.
(For more information and contact details visit the Berkeley Estate website!)

The popularity of venison is growing year on year - mainly due to it's health benefits and being such a lean and tasty meat - it's also incredibly easy to cook too.  So why not try some yourself?

I served my burger with sweet potato fries - SO tasty, once you've tried sweet potato fries, normal fries just don't compare (and feel like puffs of tasteless air).  I popped the burger in a bun with a Cereiac Romalade, topped with tomato, gherkins and red onion.  Simple, but so tasty, my friend whaffled down two of them.

I also made a mustard mayo to go with the chips.  Wow, I forget how easy it is to make your own mayo and how much nicer and natural it is than the stuff in the jar.


Ingredients
Celeriac remoulade
2 large free-range egg yolks
2 tsp Dijon mustard
1 tsp wholegrain mustard
2 tsp white wine vinegar
150ml/5fl oz sunflower oil
50ml/2fl oz good-quality extra virgin olive oil
pinch salt
1 small celeriac

Sweet potato fries
2 large Sweet potatoes, skins on, cut into thin slices.
about 50ml Olive oil
Corse salt and cracked pepper

To serve
1 red onion, finely sliced
3 gherkins, drained, sliced
4 soft white bread rolls, cut in half
tomato ketchup

Method
For the celeriac remoulade, put the egg yolks, mustards and vinegar into the bowl of a food processor and blend until well combined.

With the motor still running, gradually add the sunflower oil in a thin stream, until the mixture thickens.
Add the olive oil in the same way, until the mixture is creamy in texture. Taste and add a drop or two more vinegar, if necessary. Season to taste with salt.

Peel and grate the celeriac on a cheese grater.  Mix together with the mayo to bind it together and set it to one side.

Meanwhile preheat the oven to 210 degrees. For the sweet potato fries, cut into thin slices and line a baking tray with parchment paper.  Brush the paper with oil and lay the fries on top.  then brush each slice with some more oil.  Season wth a good helping of coarse salt and pepper.  Cook for approx 20 minutes until just golden and starting to crisp up.

Heat a frying or griddle pan.  Brush each Venison burger with sunflower oil and season with salt and pepper well.

When the pan is starting to smoke (no oil in it, always oil the meat, not the pan!)  add the burger and cook for approx 3 minutes each side and then take off the heat and leave to rest.  Venison is lovely a little medium.

Cut open a bread roll, slater the celeriac on the bottom and place a burger on top - now top with sliced tomato, onion and gherkin.   And enjoy.

Now, if you're gluten intolorant, or want something a little more carb-free, then the Venison steaks are for you!

At just over £4 for two humungous steaks, it's ridiculous value for such a quality, free ranging, local and organic piece of meat.  SO healthy too.  Packed full of goodness!

I simply cooked mine and served with a Bearnaise Sauce, some roasted tomatos and some of the sweet potato fries.  It was like a posh, healthy version of the burger!


Ingredients
2 venison steaks
2 tbsp sunflower oil
25 g unsalted butter

I got my béarnaise sauce from Tesco from their Finest selection.  It was a simple task of heating up - so super-quick, but if you want to make your own, try the recipe here.  This sauce smells and tastes incredible!

Brush your steaks with sunflower oil and a generous helping of salt and pepper.
Put a frying pan over a medium heat and when it start to smoke, add the venison steaks.  Then add the butter to the pan.  Cook for approx 3 minutes on each side.   Remove steaks and leave to rest on a chopping board for the juices to relax and distribute to the meat.  This makes the steaks amazingly delicious and tender.

Serve with some oven roasted tomatoes on the vine, the sauce and some of those delicious sweet potato fries.

Eating local produce is great for the local economy, reduces carbon footprint, and above all, you know where the meat has come from, how it's been lovingly cared for and reared, and I was surprised at how incredibly reasonable the price was too - you'd never get it at this price in the supermarket!
(For more information, local farm shops that supply and contact details visit the Berkeley Estate website! but be quick, the season ends at the end of April - so enjoy it now while it's still available.)

Lazy days in Lake Atitlan

My brilliant mate Emma is travelling the world at the moment, currently in Lake Atitlan, Guatemala (how coool is that?!) and although I'm very jealous (very! Just look at all the colours and sunshine!) the photos she's taken are just making me drool... ! She's an amazing photographer and here she shares a few tasty ones exclusively for you and me in this very special foodie postcard from Gautemala... over to you Emma!

The food here focuses on combining healthy with yummy! The fruit and veg, fresh from the nearby farmers markets, are full of colour and flavour. My favourite time of the day has to be breakfast - for me it's such a treat to eat out for breakfast!

My favourite cafe here, Cafe La Peurta, bakes a 3 seed wholewheat bread, which toasted is to die for, and you can tell the jam is homemade. It's served with a pot of their house blended breakfast tea or freshly squeezed watermelon and pineapple juice. I just love the colours! I think I could eat here forever :)

We stumbled across a little veggie cafe the other day, and although my boyfriend doesn't really believe a meal is a meal without meat, I managed to persuade him to give it a try! I ordered the rainbow salad with homemade bread and thickly spread homemade hummus. The hummus was amazing! He went for goats cheese salad, all multi-coloured and organic. Food here is not just delicious though, it's almost a decorative art form!

There's this amazing little juice stand in the village, run by a family of beautiful Guatemalan girls. The girls wear the traditional Mayan dress, made from local fabrics. Traditionally the vibrant colours and patterns denoted the village they come from. I think it's so wonderful how they've held on to their traditions in this way. The juices are so delicious, and they are cheap too! It's a win-win!

So let me share with you my current favourite juice recipe, courtesy of the lovely Mayan girls. It's super scrummy! (and if you make yourself one, you gotta let me know what you think!):

2 beetroots
2 carrots
2.5 oranges
fresh ginger

Juice. Blend. Enjoy.

I love it here! I do, I really do! Guatemala has surprised me in so many ways! Its natural beauty, its vibrant colours, its love of good food, and its warm, gentle approach to life. I've been staying at Lake Atitlan in the Highlands for the last week, and it's the kind of place that's hard to leave. Ringed by numerous immense volcanoes, the lake is famed not only for its S-P-E-C-T-A-C-U-L-A-R beauty but also for its prominent Mayan culture and traditions.

Emma Jackson is a portrait and lifestyle photographer, usually based in the Cotwolds in England, but travelling around the world in 2013. www.paperlotusphotography.com

This week's kitchen fancies...

I fancy a lot of things;  Orlando Bloom, Ice lollies on the beach,  Sunshine... (if anyone finds where the British Spring went please give it a nudge...we miss it!)  And I really fancy going on a camping trip   to my favourite place, St Ives this summer too.

But apart from all that, I currently have a bit of a kitchen crush on these lovely items this week!  Don't you just love the colours?

1.  Motief sweaters are still all the rage gang! Remember those cute christmas sweaters we all wore (you know you were one of them!) well, they're back for the Spring and Summer with this cute little Puffin jumper from Joules!  Don't you just LOVE him!!

2.  While I was looking on the Joules website, I also came across their home and garden section (go and look if you want to be inspired!)  and saw these darn pretty cake tins.  Perfect for a picnic, don't you think?!

3.  I've recently moved house (you'd laugh at the current place for my TV which is an upturned storage box! It's actually quite cool!) for the first time in a long time I have my own place again and it's SO lovely to be able to have a kitchen that I can leave things out and not discover somebody else has eaten the leftovers! My new kitchen is tiny and small but perfectly formed - a bit like this one in the picture which is from the House to Home website, but without that lovely duel belfast sink!

4.  Below is a lovely freebie for you all I found via ZU blog!  Yes, April is here, so this freebie will help you organise your month with lots of lovely recipes, things to do with friends and reminders!  I love it!  I just had to share it with you all! You can download it here.

This is a lovely printable from http://zugalerie.blogspot.fr/ :)

Enjoy your weekends!  Have fun and I'll see you back bright and early on Monday with a special blog guest post all the way from Gautamela!

Don't forget to follow me on Twitter @dishesundressed and Facebook where I send you lots more goodies throughout the week!!  See you there :D

Easiest, Cheapest and Healthiest Seafood Paella... Ever! (and it's Gluten Free!)

Copyright Angie's iFoodcam

Is this possibly the quickest, healthiest, cheapest, TASTIEST seafood paella EVER?!  (Oh, and it’s also Gluten Free!!)

Well, let’s see!  Can I make a meal for 4 for less than £5?

(And transport you to a lovely beach café in Spain?)

Ingredients

2 garlic

1 red bell pepper/capsicum (diced)

1 medium onion (diced)

400ml Kallo gluten free chicken or veg stock

2 tsp paprika

1 tsp turmeric or (2 saffron threads if you’re feeling posh)

150g white rice

1 pack of prawns (and any other shell fish if you have it!)

Frozen peas (or any other frozen veg, if like me you forgot the peas - so I used frozen broccoli and carrots!)

1 Lemon

Black pepper to taste

Parsley (if you have any, don’t worry if not!)

1 tbsp of sunflower or veg oil, or Fry light spray

Method

Heat 1 tbsp oil in a large pan or deep bottomed frying pan.

Cook the onion, pepper and garlic until soft.

Boil the kettle and make the stock (chicken or veg, you choose ;)  set aside for a moment.

Stir the rice, turmeric and paprika into the onions and peppers until all the spices have covered the rice and made a nice colour. 

Pour in the stock and bring to boil again - then, when bubbling, turn down to simmer for 15 minutes until the water is absorbed and rice is just tender. (Put the lid on, or cover with some foil – make sure it doesn’t dry out too much and just add a splash more water if you need to).

Add the prawns and peas for the last few minutes until heated through.  Season with pepper (no salt please! Prawns and stock already make it salty enough) stir through some parsley (if you have any, I didn’t) and serve with the lemon wedges to squeeze over which really balances and brings out the flavours beautifully.

Serve with a glass of crisp white wine.  Perfik!  (Close your eyes and pretend you're in Barcelona.  I did ;)

The results….

Ok, so how much did this cost?

Garlic – 34p for the whole clove (34p divided by 8 cloves = 4p ish)

Bell pepper – (3 for £2 from Tesco = about 66p)

1 medium onion 54p

chicken stock – (barely registers, approx 24p for one cube from the pack)

2 tsp Paprika 6p from bulk section at Wholefoods Market

1 tsp Turmeric 4p from bulk at Wholefoods Market

1 pack prawns (I got 2 for £5 from Asda – so £2.50 each)

Rice (I got about 450g for around 1.43 from Wholefoods Market bulk section, about 47p for the amount I used.)

Frozen veg (99p for value saver pack, so less than 20p for a good handfull)

4p + 66p + 24p + 54p + 6p + 4p + 2.50 + 47p + 20p +

= £4.75 for the whole thing

which was about 4 portions worth (I had two helpings and my friend had two also – yes we were full after, but very happy! )

So there you have it, less than £5 and gluten free.  Ta da!!