YUMMEI: February 2013

The Liebster Blog Award

Recently the gorgeous Lulu Johnson, from the Berry Diaries; nominated me for the Liebster Award.

Playtime with Chobani and Nuffnangx at the Renaissance St. Pancras Hotel - King's Cross - London

After meeting with the lovely Kelly from Nuffnangx, I was kindly invited to an event co-hosted by Chobani and Nuffnangx, at the Renaissance St. Pancras Hotel.

An invitation to have cocktails, cake and sample the famous Chobani yoghurt?!

Hello baby...

Soho Joe - Soho - London

I don't normally tell people these things, but...I have a new lover.

Want to meet him?

Say heyyyy to Soho Joe.

I was warmly welcomed into the arms of Soho Joe after ambling around Dean Street; the seduction of the candle light illuminating from within was just too much to resist.

Dark, warm, and sensuous.

That's my Soho Joe.

Recipes - Yummei Spring Rolls

Since it is Chinese New Year, I thought that I should probably stop being such a sloth and make something.

Besides everyone likes deep-fried food.

There is nothing better than to bite down onto something hot, hard and crispy ;]

Oh don't you look at me like that, you know it's true.

What you will need:

This will feed a family of 10 (depending on how small you make them). I make them bite-size.

Filling:

1 large carrot - finely grated
1 large red onion - diced into small cubes
3-4 Cloves garlic - diced
1 egg
6 pieces of Cloud-ear fungus or Shitake Mushrooms(you don't need to use this, I just did because of CNY) - finely sliced
Handful of Vermicelli rice noodles - soak for about 30seconds-1minute in warm water before.
150-200g Pork or beef - minced/diced/smacked up
1 tbsp Sesame oil
1-2 tbsp Oyster Sauce
Salt and pepper

Essentially you can use any vegetables/meat you want. Just slice and dice.

Wrap:

1 Pack of Spring Roll Pastry (i.e. TYJ Spring Home) - this comes in a huge pack of squares, cut them up so you get 4 small squares.

Method:

Dicing: slice/grate/chop all your vegetables + Vermicelli noodles and toss into a large steel bowl.
Mix: Arm yourself using chopsticks/fork/spatula and stir the mix up so all the ingredients are well blended together.
Crack in the egg and mix again: this helps to combine the mixture together.
Folding: Grab your square of spring roll pastry, and plant it diagonally on your work surface so it looks like a diamond

b) Dollop a teaspoon of the mix in the centre of the diamond.

c) Take the bottom corner and fold it over the mix in the centre.

d) Take the right hand corner and fold it over to the centre of the diamond.

e) Do the same to the opposite side.

f) Now, you should have something that resembles an open envelope.

g) Using the dollop of mix as a guide just roll it up to the top corner.

h) Rub some of the raw egg on the last corner to seal the spring roll, so it won't collapse when you fry it.

Catch my drift?

No?~

Recipes: Amaretto and Pear Cheesecake

When it comes to baking/cooking, I won't do it unless it requires minimal effort.

This Amaretto and Pear Cheesecake Recipe is my secret weapon.

Super easy, no cooking required. Perfect.

What you will need:

Base:

150g caramelised biscuits (i.e. Lotus; not the gooey ones)
50g unsalted butter

Filling:

300g full-fat cream cheese (I used Philadelphia)
125g caster sugar
450ml double cream
2-3 standard shots of Amaretto Liquer (I used Disaronno)
100g amaretti biscuits, (roughly crushed cave-man style)
1.5 tins of pear quarters (chopped into small cubes ~1cm)

Sex Appeal:

70% cocoa dark chocolate

Method:

1. For the base: toss the 50g of unsalted butter and the caramelised biscuits into a food processor and blitz. Then tip the mixture into a 24cm springform cake tin, and press it down gently. Send it to the refrigerator to set.

2. For the filling: whisk the cream cheese and sugar until it's well blended, and then add in the double cream and amaretto liquer (have a swig of liquer yourself as well) and whisk away to form soft peaks. Fold in the the crushed ameretti biscuits and chopped tinned pears.

Have a taste of your filling and add more liquer if you're feeling naughty (this always happens to me).

3. Spooning:] Spoon out the filling and dollop on top of the biscuit base.

4. Chill: Leave your cheesecake in the refrigerator until it sets, so approximately 1 hour.

5. Decorate: (Optional) Since I didn't have a grater and I used a sharp knife and shaved off curls of dark chocolate on top of the cheesecake, for added seduction.

6. Undress from the tin and serve.

Technology Destroyer!

Being the smooth operator that I am, after 3 months of being the proud owner of my iPhone 4S; I managed to murder him.

This is a catastrophe because;

A) During my time in Morocco when I stayed in the Sahara Desert; my Fujifilm F80 EXR camera sadly never recovered from being sand slapped in the face.

B) I was using my iPhone 4S as my main camera, and that drowned in a chasm of liquid doom, also known as the... toilet. (But i tell everyone that it was the bathtub so SHHH!)

So... that means that I am a massive failure of life, and also am a shadow of my former self.

Life just isn't the same and now I have a Nokia 3310. Talk about old school baby.

(But only til I can claim back my Blackberry Curve from my 12 year old baby sister)

I need suggestions for a new camera. Help?

Til I find my new partner in crime, I will just have to sulk and drown my sorrows in ice cream.

Labels: blog, camera, destroyer, destruction, fail, fuji, fujifilm f80 exr, help, iphone 4s, need a new camera, new camera search, review, sad, technology

Yalla Yalla - Lebanese - Oxford Street - London

Nothing get's me out of the house faster than a dinner date with friends.

Or in other words....okay the ONE word; food.

J. & W. had a burning desire for some Lebanese.

Normally I would head to Maroush, but I wanted to try something different, and heard that Yalla Yalla's second, and more spacious branch had recently opened in Oxford Street.

Amidst all the shops and offices in Oxford Circus stands Yalla Yalla.

It's hard to miss the black and yellow exterior of Yalla Yalla, nor the buzzing young crowd of people normally queuing out the door.

The interior is cosy, and is set out in a cafe style, with long high tables.

Ideal for groups, but sitting on the stools at the high tables can feel abit uncomfortable if you're 5ft 3 like me, but after a few cocktails and good company you won't really care. (Just be careful not to lean back, lose your balance and fall head first on the floor.)

YUMMEI

26/02/2013

The Liebster Blog Award

21/02/2013

Playtime with Chobani and Nuffnangx at the Renaissance St. Pancras Hotel - King's Cross - London

20/02/2013

Soho Joe - Soho - London

11/02/2013

Recipes - Yummei Spring Rolls

04/02/2013

Recipes: Amaretto and Pear Cheesecake

02/02/2013

Technology Destroyer!

Yalla Yalla - Lebanese - Oxford Street - London