How to | Perfect creamy instant hot chocolate

I’m often asked by the boys at work to make them a hot chocolate, I know, big softies eh! Apparently I can transform an instant hot chocolate from a watery, powdery drink, into something that tastes creamy and indulgent.

You’ll need: instant hot chocolate//boiling water//marshmallows (optional but really, really good)

Add the stipulated amount of hot chocolate that the side of the jar says.

Boil the kettle and add a small splash into the bottom of your mug. Only a very, small splash!

Here’s the secret tip: mix it up really well so it becomes a paste at the bottom and smear it around the sides of the mug. This is what makes it so creamy and frothy.

Add the remainder of the boiling water, and keep stirring as you add the water. You’ll end up with something that looks a little like this…

Now, for the optional marshmallows. Add to the hot chocolate whilst just boiled and they go from perfect marshmallows, into an ooey, gooey, sticky, yummy, mess!

So, if you’re always a little disappointed by instant hot chocolates, try my tip, and see what you think! You can also add a spoonful of instant coffee, and make a mocha if you fancy, which is what I do for one of the boys at work. I know, I know, I spoil them !

Sloe picking

A couple of weeks ago, just after the first frost, my friend P and I went sloe picking. She’d been promising to take me for ages, so I made sure to have a bottle of gin ready and waiting for when the first frost would come, which is apparently when you know sloes are ready to pick.

P’s mum told us about a woodland near her house which had loads of sloes, so one Saturday morning we wrapped up warm, took the dogs with us, and went picking.

At first we weren’t exactly sure what a sloe looked like, and were frightened of picking something poisonous, but thanks to Google, we found the right berry and filled our boots.

And how cute are her dogs? They were pretty worn out after the long walk!

We ended up picking way more sloes that expected, which meant I didn’t have enough alcohol. Not a problem though, I went straight to Sainsbury’s and bought some vodka, to have something a bit different. I followed Nigel Slater’s recipe for the sloe gin and vodka, but I’m pretty sure I messed it up. I don’t know for sure as the whole thing takes about 10-12 weeks to do its thing. At first they looked terrible, but now, about three weeks later, they’re looking pretty good. And it made absolutely loads, hence all the jam jars I ended up using! One thing I would say though, sloes are an absolute bugger to prick. Eurgh, it took me hours! The end result better be worth it!

I can’t wait to try some, only 6 more weeks to wait!! Have you ever gone foraging before? Ever made or tried sloe gin?

Cosy

As it has now hit December I’m favouring all things cosy. Think jumpers, socks, hot water bottles at work, and hot chocolate with marshmallows.

If you pick up a low calorie hot chocolate this is a rather sin free mug of cosiness, so much so, I have a bag of marshmallows in my desk at work. I love the way the marshmallows melt and go all gooey, sometimes I eat them and then have to top them back up with fresh marshmallows whilst it’s still hot. This is my favourite winter pick me up treat at the moment.

What’s keeping you cosy at the moment?

Aperol Spritz

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I think I’ve blogged about it more than once, but I am currently involved in a serious love affair. Oh, Aperol Spritz, you stole my heart from the first taste in a student bar on a cold night in Venice, and I’ve been hooked ever since.

When I first got into the Aperol Spritz scene it was new, exciting, foreign, and a little exotic. Now you can buy Aperol in Sainsburys. However, the fact that it’s now a whole lot easier to get my fix is nothing to cry over.

Lately my obsession with the orange sparkling cocktail has taken on a new dimension. I already have two tumblers which are my pride and joy, and recently I’ve added to my collection.

Aperol sunglasses, so Vogue dahling.

An Aperol sunhat. Everyone wants one.

However, my Aperol collection is by no means complete, and I’m always on the lookout for new Aperol pieces.

In the meantime, it would be improper if I didn’t share how you make a proper Aperol Spritz.

3 parts prosecco

2 parts Aperol

1 part soda

1 chunk of orange

A delicious weekend hanging out with the bestie

Last weekend my BFF Tara came to visit. It felt like we hadn’t seen each other in forever, so I was really excited for her to come up to Surrey and hang for a few days.

Friday night when she arrived we went out for a walk and a mooch, enjoyed a drink in the park, and had a super long catch up. We came back to my flat and got started on the wine before deciding where to go for dinner. We settled on Thai, and a restaurant I’d never tried before. It was seriously good and I am trying to work out when I can next go back!

We had crackers and dips to start whilst deciding what to eat. I particularly enjoyed the satay sauce. For starters we chose to share a couple of dishes, a good choice I think. We shared some fish cakes which were ok, and some really delicious prawn and pork dumplings. Oh I could have gorged myself on these delicious dumplings. Mmmmm!

For our main again we decided to share as we were both torn between a few different dishes, and again I’m so glad we did. I love having a friend who I can share a few different dishes with so I can try more things. We opted for the ‘weeping tiger’ which was chargrilled sirloin steak strips in a sweet and smoky dark sauce and again, really, really tasty. We also shared  chargrilled king prawns topped with a spicy chilli sauce. I loved the prawns, they were so fat and juicy and delicious with just the right kick of spice, although I would have been a bit gutted to just have four prawns as my main! On the side we chose some coconut rice, which was sticky and coconutty and yum. Wonder if I can recreate this at home?

We were so full from all this food we decided to skip dessert and just go home to watch tv, chill out, gossip some more, drink more wine, and snack on some chocolates. A really perfect Friday night with my BFF!

Saturday we decided to head up into the big smoke and go round all the big posh department stores. Attempting to do them all in one day was maybe a bit ambitious, but we saw a few and were pretty tired by the end of the day! We walked the length of the King’s Road, spending an inordinate amount of time in my new favourite shop Anthropologie, and sampling some yummy treats at the food market in Duke of Yorke square outside Partridges.

From the King’s Road we headed to Harrods in Knightsbridge, and went all the way to the top on the Egyptian elevator. We also spent a very, very, long time going round all the food halls and deciding which treat to buy, having decided we both needed to come away with a Harrods green bag! We both opted for a macaroon, and as is the theme with the weekend – they were delicious! We also spent ages in the Christmas shop in Harrods and I even went so far as to buy my first Christmas thing this year, a present for my Mum!

From Harrods we headed up to Oxford St and did Liberty’s and a quick stop in Choccywoccydoodah. I bought some chocolate (quelle suprise for the chocoholic!), and then we headed down Regent St for a mooch. There was a really strange festival on for NFL the whole length of Regent St, and I still don’t really get it, apart from being a pretty elaborate marketing gimmick.

From Regent St we headed over to Covent Garden for cocktails, a sit down and some dinner. We were both pretty knackered by this point! My favourite place to go in Covent Garden for drinks is Dirty Martini, a hidden away cocktail bar in the main Covent Garden square that does crazy good happy hours most of the time. Hailing from Plymouth I love a good gin cocktail, so we picked a Cherry martini and a raspberry prosecco fizz thing, both of which were really good.

After a couple of cocktails we headed to TGIs for dinner and more cocktails and that is where the photos end I’m afraid, as we just enjoyed ourselves.

I had a really super, delicious, weekend with my best friend and I can’t wait for her to visit again soon!

Afternoon tea, 140 Park Lane

As you all know, I’m a massive fan of Groupon! I recently saw a deal for an afternoon tea Groupon that involved gin. Sounds like my kind of deal!

I went a couple of weeks ago with Ryan and we had a great time. It was my first afternoon tea so I wasn’t 100% what to expect, but I’ll definitely go to another one.

The afternoon tea was at 140 Park Lane, as part of the Marriott hotel.

Gin cocktails to start, served in a tea pot.

Regular tea, served in a regular tea pot.

Excited at the arrival of the food! Cakes on the top shelf, scones and crumpets in the middle and sandwiches on the bottom.

A hot, buttery scone, with clotted cream and jam. Served the Devon way, of course!

I was actually surprised at how filling all the food was. I couldn’t finish my amount, I was so full!

Ryan and I spent the rest of the afternoon going round London, enjoying the M&M world, cocktails at Dirty Martini and to top off the day – tickets to Wicked!

Have you ever been to an afternoon tea?

Wine tasting evening at La Gourmandina

A few weeks ago Ryan and I headed into the city for an Italian wine tasting at a little deli come cafe come restaurant, La Gourmandina. I first heard of the place through my daily Emerald Street newsletter, brought to you by the same people who do The Stylist magazine. If you live in or around the city and don’t currently receive Emerald Street emails, I recommend you sign up. They send out a daily email that’s always pretty interesting and they always recommend a new bar or restaurant for you to try. Which, if you’re like me, makes you want to eat out every night!

After a little snooping around La Gourmandina’s website, I decided it was the kind of place I needed to go to, and then I saw they were holding a wine tasting and decided it was the kind of place I had to go to. One Thursday evening Ryan and I made the trip up there, and it was definitely worth it.

We arrived a bit early, so we decided to have a cocktail and some olives. We both went for my favourite ever cocktail, an Aperol Spritz.

Once ready, we were led into a back room which had been reserved for the wine tasting. I think there must have been about 30 people in attendance, which seemed like a good amount. We were introduced to the main speaker, a wine merchant from Italy, and our host, one of the waiters, who happened to be from the same region as the wines.

Both were absolutely brilliant, and so knowledgeable about the wines and the region and why the Piedmont in particular is unique for the way they produce their wines. It was quite a relaxed atmosphere which enabled people to chat and ask questions throughout which I thought was really good. We also got taught how to taste the wines, how to smell them, how to sip them at first, how wines age, and how to tell the alcohol content. All important stuff!

We tried five wines in total, one white and four reds. I am not a massive fan of white wines, so this was a-ok with me! Although, the white wine we tried was pretty good. As we progressed through the evening the wines got more expensive and older. My favourite was the Babera d’Asti Superiore and the Barolo, but I also really liked the Dolcetto d’Alba, which suprised me. Dolce means sweet in Italian, and I’m not normally a fan of sweet wines, but this was nice.

After the wine tasting the venue offered a discount to anyone staying on for dinner, so Ryan and I decided to stay! Definitely a good decision. We decided to go for an antipasti platter with cheeses, meats and pates. It was incredible, and just like being back in Italy!

Ryan and I had a great evening out at La Gourmandina and I will definitely consider going to any more wine tasting events they do. Brilliant value for money!

Vinopolis

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Every few weeks my best girlie friends from Uni and I take it in turns to host for the weekend. It was my turn to host in February and we decided take a day trip into London. We thought long and hard about what we wanted to do in London, and eventually due to budget constraints ruled out a show, our number one option. I had been dying to go to Vinopolis ever since I heard it even existed, but had been trying hard to find someone to go with me. As girls who all love our wine, this seemed like a perfect opportunity.

After some scouting around the Vinopolis website we decided on getting the ‘Essential Package’ as it was cheaper and we had the option to purchase more wine tokens if we wanted to. Then, just as I was about to buy the tickets, I found a code on their website for 241 vouchers. Ah-mah-zing! All four of us went for £54!!

We got there early so took advantage of 241 cocktails in the Bar Blue before hand,of course!! I had a Rhubarb Mojito.

Havana 3yr, homemade rhubarb cordial, fresh lime, brown sugar, mint
muddled and charged with layer of Dark Caribbean Myer’s Rum

It was pretty tasty until I reached a very strong layer of rum at the bottom, and I love me a mojito. Bleugh!!

Once we got into Vinopolis proper we sat through a 20 minute talk about how to taste wine and know a bit more about the composition of wine with alcohol and things. It was really enjoyable and definitely benefitted the remainder of the evening.

I really enjoyed getting to know a bit more about all the different wines and which wine I might like that I hadn’t tried before. I typically always stick to red wines (a habit I picked up living in the Chianti region of Tuscany I guess!), but it was good to try some white wines I might like too.

By the end of the evening we’d all tasted plenty of wines, and one of us even tried absinthe!!, and it was fair to say we were all pretty merry by the time we left, and we didn’t even need our extra drinks tokens! I wish I had a list of the wines I enjoyed, but I guess it just means I’ll need to go back! I definitely think Vinopolis would make a great date venue, as provided you both drink there would be plenty to talk about!

We finished the evening up in Zizzi nearby, for a very disappointing meal, and yet more wine! Even so, it was a really great night and reminded me how lucky I am to have such great friends!

Have you ever been to Vinopolis? What do you do when you haven’t seen your friends for a while?

Review | Chocolate Almond Breeze

I’ve seen Almond Breeze over the blogging world in the past few months and when I saw some in Waitrose a few months back I picked it up! I drank the plain one pretty quickly and wasn’t overly impressed with it. As a consequence the chocolate one stayed in my cupboard untouched until one wintery weekend when I was craving a hot chocolate.

I pulled the carton out of the cupboard poured a mugs worth into my favourite mug and popped it in the microwave for a couple of minutes.

The result? Rich, velvety, chocolatey goodness that left me wondering why I waited so long. The perfect substitute for dairy milk which I really find to be too much for me nowadays.

How to make the perfect coffee

No blog inspired by Italy should be without instructions on how to make the perfect coffee, right?

Before I moved to Italy I have to admit I wasn’t into coffee all that much. I saw it as something that would give me some energy, but it wasn’t really something I enjoyed all that much. However, a year in Italy changed all of that! Coffee became so important to me during the year there, and continued to be so right up to today. I remember in my apartment I would be the first person to wake up, put the coffee pot on, have a wash and when I came back everyone else would be awake to the smell of fresh coffee and we would enjoy an espresso together. I even became so hardened to coffee I stopped drinking espresso with sugar. Something not even all Italians can manage .

Once I came back to England and realised how Starbucks paled in comparison I bought myself a proper Italian coffee pot so I could continue my love affair with proper coffee. It’s not quite as easy as a teaspoon of the instant stuff and hot water, but trust me, it’s worth it!

First, you will need a coffee pot. You can pick these up from TK Maxx, in department stores and easily online. They come in various sizes but I would say you want one that serves at least four, but six is better.

Next, you’re going to need some proper coffee. And no, nescafe is not proper coffee! I am a big fan of Illy and Lavazza personally.

Once you have those two vital ingredients, you’re ready to begin! First you start by filling the bottom of your coffee pot with cold water. There’s normally a line you need to fill it up to.

Then you place the coffee filter on and fill with your favourite coffee. Today I used Lavazza.

Once it’s filled with coffee and compressed down, you can screw on the lid and place on top of the hob. It works well on gas and electric. And you just wait. Soon the pot will begin to make noises and bubble, and if you lift the lid you’ll see hot, freshly brewed coffee begin to fill the pot. Be patient and wait for it to fill the top. Then give it a couple more minutes to ensure it’s really boiling hot and bubbling lots! Now it’s ready!

Now, you have a couple of options. Personally I prefer mine straight up in an espresso cup, or topped up with some hot Rice Dream milk that I nuked in the microwave.

You can also add some syrups if that’s what takes your fancy. I got this fancy set for Christmas from Whittards which is great, but I think you can get coffee syrups everywhere nowadays.

Another way I really enjoy my coffee, particularly on warmer days is cold! Laura posted a fantastic recipe for iced coffee and it’s pretty spot on to how I make mine. Delicious! I even add a little syrup to my iced coffees to sweeten them up. and so pretty!

I have to say that since I’ve largely given up dairy I don’t drink as much coffee as I used to. The thought of hot milk in coffee makes my stomach turn and for some reason my body doesn’t like hot soya milk so that rules out alternatives in Starbucks etc! However at home I love to make my own coffee and a couple of cups of espresso at the weekend is a perfect treat for me.

 

How do you like your coffee?