Tacos + Noodles

Huzzah! I have some new recipe books! I've been having cravings for a lot of spicy Mexican food over the last few months so finally decided to pop down to Waterstones and check out what they had. After sitting on the floor for about half an hour with a pile of books I decided that nothing took my fancy so I bought a small book titled Tacos, Quesadillas and Burritos. It's great and to be honest, exactly what I wanted, a chance to have a bit more variation on my basic cooking skills involving tortillas. So the first recipe from it this week was ancho roasted butternut squash tacos with homemade guacamole. I have to say, they were excellent! On departing Waterstones and feeling like a teeny book only costing a tenner left me feeling unsatisfied, I quickly browsed a few others, and also ended up with Yotam Ottolenghi's 'Plenty'. This book is epic. I would highly recommend it. He's not a vegetarian but it's a vegetarian cookbook which is ace, because I hardly ever buy meat. There's never good meat to buy at the shop on the end of the road and normally by dinner time I'm too tired to go any where else!! It's written in sections of vegetables as well which is great. On Tuesday I travelled on the long long long (grr.) mega bus to Plymouth to visit lady friend Jade who's just had a beautiful baby girl, Ivy so I decided to treat the happy couple to a night off in the kitchen and make Ottolenghi's 'Mee Goreng', a Mayalsian street food recipe. It was lovely :) and I couldn't even quite find the exact ingredients for it, so I'm sure if you did it would be even better. 

   A good charity shop a couple of weeks ago has got me 2 new additions to the kitchen, an egg-poacher... any tips on turning these out without breaking it all would be appreciated :) and a recipe book stand which is now a lovely feature on top of our TV!! And a cooking dilema where I couldn't choose what to make between a pot pie and sautee chicken bought me a great pot pie dish pictured above. My decision depended solely on what cooking ware the charity shop had to accommodate my dish. So pot pie it was. My first ever pastry topped pie! Nom Nom. 

   Other outings this last month have taken me to Cheddar Gorge caves on a random tourist day out with a friend visiting from Aus, a morning in Milan with a great iced coffee - seriously like no other - and an epic adventure at Outlook Festival, Croatia!! Would highly recommend it. My newest addition to the camping essentials is an eye mask and a waterproof wash bag :) another few years and I will be the worlds best camper. I have some feedback from a borrower of the waterproof picnic rug... best thing ever! Cheers!

Jars of yummy stuff

What better to do than spend my only day off this week in the kitchen. Shame it's the smallest room in the house! Here are some photos of my creations... the recipe test for milk stout steamed pudding went really well and tasted amazing before I put in on to cook. Not having the right equiptment, or looking on the internet to find out what a '1.2 litre pudding basin' was I filled a glass pyrex container almost to the brim with cake mix. The recipe said to cover with foil and add a huge pleat into the top for expanding room. I managed to make shift a 'steam basket' with a wok and lid, and steamed for 2 hours. Just from the way the cake felt after about 1hr 45mins I got the feeling it was cooked under there, but I waited the full 2hours and took it out. Should have done it earlier... the cake had oozed all down the sides of the container and looked awful!! Taste wise.... amazing!! It only looked burnt due to my lack of equipment and the mass amounts of dark chocolate and stout in the cake. So recipe test says 'oui. Nom Nom'. Pictured here are also my Indian spiced chutney and apple mint jelly + chilli jelly. Both tasting great with cold cheese on toast :) 

   

Cooking Frenzy

Clearly I've been too busy cooking to write a blog for a while. Also work... as I am now officially General Manager of the Pump House which is mega exciting. It's challenging but exactly what I need, am I'm loving more than ever the world of cooking. Chef bf's birthday recently bought me to bake some epic rainbow cakes which I filled a little to high with cake mix, and oozed all over the baking tray. Looking pretty oozy cool tho!! They were decorated in the end to look like ice-creams with wafers and sundaes with a cherry on top and chocolate sauce. Unfortunately due to the evil theft of my iphone the photos are yet to come :( The lovely cakes were topped off with pirate birthday candles. 

   After making a batch of not so great cakes a while ago, I went on Amazon and an hour later I had 5 cupcake books on their way to me in the post. I am now on a venture through them all to become great at baking cakes. The best recipe I have found so far for vanilla cupcakes is from the Hummingbird bakery, my version of these were covered in a white chocolate ganache with sugar frosted fruit, the ganache however didn't come out quite how I wanted... a bit yellow like, kinda looked like snot. But they tasted good!! 

   As well as cupcakes I have also got into making my own chutneys and jams from a preserving book which the ma bought me for Christmas. So far I have produced a Mediterranean Chutney and a red onion marmalade, and today on the stove I have a chilli jelly and a Indian spiced apple, apricot and walnut chutney :). I have also been recipe testing for the chef bf's cook book due to be published in May 2013, so on the cards later is a Milk Stout steamed pudding. Nom Nom!

In the world of Spangled Moose I had a great weekend trading at this years Secret Garden party with house mate designer Kooky. I spent lots of time creating some labels which looked very shop worthy, using a typewriter font stamp set to put the prices on. Sexy. It was fantastic to see rails of hats up for sale and so many people loving them. My best seller by far was my festival inspired fluffy bear hats. I have a lot of 'oohs' and 'awws' and 'omg their amazing's'. This makes me happy :) Despite the mud it was a wicked weekend and I would highly recommend going. 

   As for camping, having done so much and having all the gear I am delighted to find new ways and handy tips which make camping life so much easier. The last camping trip me and the chef bf took to The Gower, it rained and we appeared to have a leak in the bottom of the tent, so before we went to SGP I decided to try and find a piece of tarp or something similar to keep the water out. Whilst having a pre-festival supermarket shop I stumbled across a fold up waterproof bottomed picnic blanket. Turns out it fitted perfectly and made my stay much more snuggly, it gave me a proper boudoir!! So even if you don't have a leak I highly suggest you all invest in a cheap picnic rug for your tent anyways. 

   So whats next on the adgenda, very excited about this years Outlook festival having bought our tickets nearly a year ago!! We thought it would never come. A cake decorating class in London for the little sisters birthday and much more baking a recipe testing. The crazy weather recently has made my greenhouse come alive in the last week, so perhaps some more planting and lots of nurturing our lovely garden :)

Well its been a while so where to start?!... Busy. Little. Bee. Feeling a little lost after a much needed week away in Lindos, Rhodes; a fantastic girlie hen-do with lots of new people to meet. Very much looking forward to the festival wedding, in which I have a DJ set and get to dress up as a cockatoo. In preparation, having not bought vinyl in about a year, I had a great shop at Chemical Records yesterday and can't wait for the delivery! It appears we bought the sun back from Greece so finding it hard to put my mind to anything (probably from the need to have a very long sleep) this week I have decided to potter in the sunshine, cut the grass and plant some tomatoes with basil and a selection of salad leaves which chef bf chose for me from Jekkas Herb Farm. I may have even got a better tan from the British sun than I did in Greece. A meeting with the boss pre-holiday has now positioned me as General Manager of the Pumphouse which I am very much looking forward to starting officially in 3 weeks. However, a long list of jobs and sorting to do in the meantime as well as taking over the wedding and events side of the business is going to leave me even more tired and slightly more brain dead than i currently feel by the time I get there.

In an attempt to improve my well-being which I definitely don't leave enough time for I decided to read a book on meditation which I picked up around Christmas time and naturally haven't found the time to get stuck in. When I finally got there, I was hooked and I would highly recommend it to anyone who is even slightly stressed, or just needs a little quiet time. Practicing meditation techniques on a daily basis can really improve your lifestyle in the long run. Honestly, it's hard to find the time to do it every day but I'm looking forward to fully getting things into practice. I am also in the process of reading The Tao of Pooh and The Te of Piglet which I also highly recommend. Some of its a bit waffly, I have to read a few pages a few times to get my head round it, but it's a beautiful book and it makes a lot of sense. 

In the world of tasty food I was recommended to go to a Japanese restaurant in Clifton called Noa. I went along with the bf and his fam and it was an absolute delight. We tried the cocktails based on a Japanese spirit called Scochu, mine tasted a bit like strong cranberry juice. The spirit on its own... I don't think I've ever made such a face but always good to try things once!! We had baked spicy prawns, calamari, soft shell crab, sushimi, nigiri and sushi. All epic. Desserts were interesting, can't say I was a fan of green tea ice-cream but the blueberry sorbet and green tea brulee was delish. However, if your still hungry I'd just recommend going for more sushi!! One of my fave dishes in Greece was Prawn saganaki. Basically seafood baked in spicy tomato sauce with feta cheese. So that's what's on the menu for me and the bf tonight :) looking forward to cooking and hopefully recreating a truly excellent Greek speciality. Shame I don't have a cute little clam dish to put it in :( 

 

Baking Day

Having been called into work on my day off this week, I've worked 8 days on the trot. I'm tired and have a vague list of things to do in my head, but so vague and so tired that I don't particularly feel like doing anything! But its OK to have a proper day off every now and again, right?! So today I've been baking, not fluffy cakes... as Sarah made an awesome cake this week so I feel I should make something healthier!! So wholemeal rolls with cranberries and peach. I did however manage to make my Rarebit which was epic! Nom Nom. I am loving being a good little chef at home :) And I think bf chef is loving it too :D Hmmm, so whats next on the list of things I want to bake? I've been told by the bf if I can make successful croissants then i can have his seed so perhaps I will give this a go soon. A home cooked roast has much been missed recently so tonight me and Sarah are having a well needed night in with a bottle of vino blanco and roast chicken (Heston style as recommended by bf chef), glazed parsnips, roast pots, broccoli with cheese sauce and homemade gingerbread + orange stuffing. Nom Nom.

In the world of Spangled Moose, the creative side of me has been tired this week so I've been working hard on my online sales. My Etsy shop needed more views so by a bit of SEO I've increased my views by x4 per week. Loads of new products uploaded too :) 

http://www.etsy.com/shop/SpangledMoose

I received the first draft of my flyers from Graphic Designer friend Anina which look bloody amazing. I'm so excited I've booked in my next photo shoot for my summer items next Monday AM to get some great new shots for the flyer.

Instagram has kept up my creative side this week and I'm so pleased I've over 100 followers now. How exciting!! Keep 'em coming! @spangledmoose

 

Delivery!!

Hurrah!! It has literally been a year almost to the day in which I posted 8 of my lovely handmade goods to the other side of the world. Today I finally have my product :) 500 amazing replicas of my very own baggy bobble hats. I am one happy bunny. Question is where am I going to put them?! Sorting day in the cupboard me thinks! My flyers are on the way and the prospect of sending them all over the country and to the alps is very exciting! In the world of business I have also come up with a little plan for my future. So on the agenda this year is learning to drive and getting a vehicle big enough to transport my goods to all the right customers all over the country. So already in mind I have Freeze Festival and Nass Festival... comment your suggestions please!! This summer me and my housemate have scored a pitch at The Secret Garden Party which I'm truly excited about and cannot wait to have all my new products and promotional materials on display to the public.

In the world of cooking I have to admit I haven't been baking :( I've just been too busy!! I have however been told the secret of how to make perfect fluffy cakes so I think my next sessions in the kitchen  will involve fluffy cakes and Welsh Rarebit... an urge I've had to make since I took home some wedding leftovers from work... a phenomenal block of cheddar and stilton. I have been loving baked potatoes this month (especially sweet potatoes), sausage and mash and more curry!! Breakfast is always the meal I always look forward to as you already know my love for dippy eggs. Well dippy eggs, you now have a new contender... oats, honey, fresh fruit and nuts smothered in milk. Thanks to the bf I LOVE this new healthy treat for breakfast everyday and dippy eggs are now my treat for a day off, or lunch :) 

Hmmm, so its been 3 weeks, what else have I been up2? A lovely trip home to see the fam which included a fab tday out in Brighton jam packed with muchos charity shopping, sunshine and fish and chips and ice-cream on the beach! Couldn't have asked for more. I got a lush new coat for £10 an 2 new summer tops for £5 each, both with a bow and one with frills!! They look amazing, and those of you who know me... I don't do bows or frills so this truly is fantastic :) 

Yet to come before the summer... a girly trip to Greece and a 2 day surf trip with the bf to Cornwall. Cannot wait!!

Also check out my Etsy shop for new festival hats!! http://www.etsy.com/shop/SpangledMoose?ref=pr_shop_more

Funny Little Bump

Last week I came across a little lump underneath my sternum. How odd? 'little bump, why have I not noticed you before?' It was quite large and perfectly central so I thought it was nothing to worry about but as my bf didn't have one I decided to ask Google. I came across whats called a Xiphoid Process. One of those things that I guess unless your in some of medical profession you don't know about it until you find it. After confirming with my doctor today, this is what it is ... an Xiphoid Process is something that happens as you grow into adult hood, your sternum extends with the formation of a little lump made of cartilage. Interesting. See diagram...

Ah lovely kitty cuddles :)

In the world of Spangled Moose, as exhausted as I feel from a cold that isn't really there, I have had a very productive week. I've gone peak mad after my previous success with my first peaked hat and made 2 beautiful baggy peaked hats ideal for big hair or dreadlocks. I have added a peaked green visor to my collection which is almost identical to one I bought whilst snowboarding in Bulgaria. I was over the moon when I found it and had so many comments on it, it's time to be able to reply, 'Oh I make these... here have a business card'. Yesterday I had an email from China with a tracking number for my hats :) :) :) so come about a weeks time I will have 500 hats and some more samples arriving at my door. I've been trying to guess how big the box will be... guaranteed I will be able to play Jack-in-a-box on someone and I bet the cats will love it! I had my second product photo shoot which almost doubles the amount of products on my website which is a massive deal to me as its a huge step in getting my business to where I want it to be. Now I need the rest of my afternoon to get them all uploaded! My photographer is great, had my pictures ready to upload in less than 2 days. I would highly recommend him :) You can find him here http://tape-echo.com/ or @tapeecho on Twitter. Next step now is to start designing a brochure to sell my product. How exciting!! More time please?

In the world of cooking I had little energy last week, so little I was naughty and got a take out pizza one night :( so I saved all the things I wanted to make until Saturday afternoon when I had some lone time in the house. Some banging reggae and 4 hours later I produced some spicy homemade hummus, homemade breadsticks and cutie cupcakes. Mr piggy rockstar is my favourite. After giving them to chef bf and friends my favourite comment was, 'Yeah they were actually really nice!' After questioning it, he said because they looked silly they weren't expected to taste good. Hah. I enjoyed proving him wrong :) Infact, personally I think they were some of my best cupcakes yet :) Thanks to a belated birthday present from Mum I also have a great new addition to the kitchen.  Some digital scales. Hmmm they need testing... what shall I make next?