Dark Chocolate Salted Popcorn | FOOD

Dark Chocolate Salted Popcorn

FOOD

Some of my favourite kinds of evenings are ones involving films, food and more food. I love a sweet treat, but I’m seriously impatient and when it’s just that bit too late to turn to the cook books I usually head for something a little easier. Still involving chocolate, of course, and a tiny bit of effort, but without the sitting and staring into the oven for half an hour aspect. Popcorn is the perfect treaty taste. I’ve always, always, been a salt over sweet kinda gal when it comes to my popcorn flavouring, but you know what, I think this combo is the perfect middle ground. The bitterness of the dark choc with the sea salt is just mmmmm. Perfect for snacking, film watching and general munching, it’s great, give it a go!.

You will need:

• One large bar of dark chocolate chopped into tiny pieces.
• A few large pinches of sea salt
• Half a packet of Popcorn kernels
• Coconut oil or any oil that you fancy 

Portion size:

This will make quite a large bowl of popcorn, we ate it pretty quickly between six, but if you want a smaller snack amount you can aways use less of everything!.

Let’s get making:

Step one: Pop a lashing of oil into a large, deep and v v hot heat standing saucpan (I use a le creuset one, just something that can stand v hot temperatures). Please be very careful as the pan does get super hot!.

Step two: Once the oil is hot, throw a couple of corns in and wait for them to pop. Once they do you can put the others in too, and the lid back on. Give them a few minutes to pop away!.

Step three: When you can hear that they have calmed down a bit (you can have a peak, but be careful of the hot oil, it can spit out of the pan!) remove the pan from the heat.

Step four: Pour your chocolate onto the popcorn when still warm, a bit at a time, mixing it thoroughly whilst doing so. Do the same with your salt, and keep on mixing so it spreads evenly!

Enjoy!

Toast Post | FOOD

Toast Post

FOOD

I’m a big lover of toast, you can’t beat a tasty sourdough chunk with a heaped pile of goodness. I wanted to share a few of my favourites with you, so here goes… four lovely, yet beautifully simple ways to eat TOAST – whether it’s breakfast, lunch or a midnight snack, hopefully they will fulfil your toast lovin’ in a bit of a snazzier way than usual. Enjoy!

Avocado & Chilli:

Okay, so this can be as super simple as squishing up your avocado and adding some salt and pepper, to going slightly fancier and adding lemon and a pinch of chilli – it really all depends on how much time you have!. If I can I’ll try and throw it all in, so here goes – it really is the simplest, yet tastiest, thing.

Step one: Take one Avocado, a pinch of salt and pepper, a dash of dried chilli flakes and the juice of half a lemon and mash it all together! Lather onto your toast…perfect. 

  Pesto mozzarella & tomato:

So for savoury toast number two I’ve gone for my homemade pesto as a base and then some fresh tomatoes and mozzarella – a classic combo. 

Step one: Slab a layer of pesto down, cut into your tomatoes thinly, pull some pieces of mozzarella and layer onto the toast. Oh, and of course, a pinch of salt & pepper!.

Almond butter & Strawberries: 

This one is something I make a lot, whether it’s on toast, rice cakes or apple. I’m a full on lover of almond butter, or any kind of nutty butter to be honest!. This is one of my favourite combos though, the strawberries give that perfect juiciness to your bite, so get strawberry slicing because this one’s a good’un. 

Step one: Spread a generous amount of almond butter onto the toast and layer up your cut strawberry slices!.

Mascarpone, Pistachio & honey:

This one’s for all you sweet tooth’s out there, it’s full of texture and honeyed lushness. It’s perfect if you don’t have too much time in the mornings, but love a sweet brekkie. 

Step one: Pop a dollop of mascarpone on to your toast, give a small hand full of pistachio nuts a crush and sprinkle on top and finally go crazy with your favourite hunny – there you have it, a perfect sweet toasty treat. 

Glittery Gold White Manicure | BEAUTY

Glittery Gold White Manicure

BEAUTY

This summer I've been all about a white manicure, but to add a bit of glitz, I've been adding some sparkle (in the form of gold glitter). The two tones work well together and it's surprisingly easy to do at home. Here's how to did this:

Things you need: white nail polish, gold glitter, top coat.

Step 1: Paint two thin coats of white polish on nails and let them dry completely.

Step 2: Apply top coat (making as straight a line as possible) along the bottom half of the nail.

Step 3: Generously sprinkle gold glitter on the wet top coat.

Step 4: Using a toothpick or small brush, clean up the area by scraping off extra glitter from the top of the nail and along the fingers.

Step 5: Repeat steps 2-4.

Step 6: Once all of the nails are finished, apply topcoat to the entire nail, sealing all of the glitter in.

Pleated Sweater Dress | FASHION

Pleated Sweater Dress

FASHION

I've always loved the concept of sweater dresses, but I rarely think they end up being as flattering as they sound. If it's just a sweater that kind of extends down the leg, it can resemble a sack really easily. And while this one has a nice loose fit , that wears just as well with flat boots as it does a pointy toe pump, the pleated panel peeking out from under the hem helps keep its shape while still looking relaxed.

Ginger Lemonade | FOOD

GINGER LEMONADE

FOOD

So, over the past few months I’ve really discovered ginger, I mean I’ve used it before whilst cooking, but recently I’ve got a whole lotta love for this little stem. I’ve, been making apple and ginger juices like crazy, so thought I would give something new a go. After looking online at different ginger drinks, I came across Port and Fins lemonade and thought it looked lovely, so I’ve taken their recipe and changed things by  a touch. Go have a look at their beautiful site,  and lets give this a go..!.

You will need:

1 cup of freshly squeezed lemon juice (this is around 5 large lemons)

1 cup of ginger syrup (recipe below)

3 cups of water

Fresh mint or rosemary to garnish

Ginger  Syrup:

1 cup of sugar

1 cup of water

¼ cup of ginger, sliced thinly

Lets Begin:

Step one: To make the simple syrup, bring 1 cup of sugar, 1 cup of water and the ginger slices to a boil in a medium/small saucepan. Boil for 2-3 minutes then remove from the heat. 

Step two: Let it rest for 30 minutes and then strain out the ginger slices.

Step three: In a large carafe/jug/glass bottle, mix together the simple syrup, 3 cups of water and the fresh lemon juice.

Step four: Pour into glasses over ice and garnish with your sprig of rosemary or mint (as you can tell I’ve used both!)

I hope this quenches your thirst on a hot summers eve – YUM!