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Blue Coffee Box was founded by father and son, Jon and Harvey Butt in May 2018, UK’s gourmet coffee club in a letterbox-friendly box. This is a gourmet coffee subscription service that has been handpicked from 22 countries selected for coffee lovers alike. It is freshly hand roasted in the UK, and delivered straight to your door with the origin and tasting notes. These coffee beans are ethically sourced.  

Coffee Subscription Box

You can choose from a bag or a box. 

We received a box- 2 large packets of coffee along with a card which outlines their tasting notes – a great way to collect information about where your coffee comes from. This subscription is curated for you or for your loved one as you can choose which coffee suits you! 

Choosing from 5 different ways to recieve your coffee subscription – ground, pour over, aeropress, espresso grinds or whole beans which they recommend. The next step is selecting the strength of your coffee light, medium or dark. If you’re daring you can opt for the ‘surprise me’ bean, I’m sure you’ll be in good hands! You can also choose whether you want decaf or a bit of both – one bag decaf and the other one standard. Then your next option is to choose how often you’d like the delivery – every 2 weeks, monthly or bi-monthly.  

Then comes the payment plan. We personally prefer paying each month but their popular service is pre paying 6 months in advance for 3 deliveries or you can pre pay a whole year. For all this their prices are decent and for your first box you can get £3 off using my discount code – WC3 Free UK delivery, Europe £3.99 and the rest of the world £6.99. Don’t worry you can easily cancel your subscription too! 

We had the pleasure of trying two different packets – Anasora Guji and Cajibo.  

We loved the packaging, a pastel blue which is gentle on your eyes, and not an overly complicated design. The ground coffee we opted for was covered in tissue paper. We didn’t have to open the packets to get the smell as you can easily smell it through the box. The coffee bags are easily tearable and can be sealed up when not in use.  

More information about the coffee can be found on each of the bags, including the process, growing process and region. You also get a roasted-on date, this is to ensure your coffee stay’s fresh. For best flavour and freshness you should use your coffee within 4 weeks, but each bag is good for around 3 months.  

These bags go a long way! We only finished the coffee this week! 

Anasora Guji 

The Anasora Guji is a beautiful caramel ground coffee, light in flavour and very smooth- easy to drink. Great for introducing to non-coffee drinkers, who would like to start drinking coffee or that prefers a smoother finish. 

Cajibo  

A stronger flavour than the Anasora Guji, the ground coffee beans were a darker caramel colour, we also found it smooth to drink however myself and Claire had different views on which coffee we preferred; she found the Cajibo her favourite out of the two, whereas I loved the Anasora Guji as it was much lighter in flavour and she loved the stronger taste.  

Overall, this coffee subscription box is a great gift for yourself or for your loved one. Each box is filled with useful information about the coffees and location that enlightens your knowledge about coffee. We highly recommend this subscription! Don’t forget if you’d like to buy Blue Coffee Box subscription head over to their website and use my discount code to get £3 off your first purchase! 

*Disclosure: The products in this review was provided by Blue Coffee Box on a complimentary basis.

The pair also own restaurant; Trullo a traditional Italian restaurant in Highbury & Islington, and earlier this year they opened a second Padella in Shoreditch.  

Padella has always been busy, I’ve never seen it without a queue. It was the perfect excuse to go and try their fresh pasta, plus we had heard from everyone whose been that their pasta dishes were exquisite and we had to go and try it for ourselves! 

Marissa and I visited Padella in September, when it was still warm. We got there for 12pm and were met by the Padella staff who told us to join the queue on their Walkup App (an app that will alert you when your table is ready! This was great as we could easily wonder around Borough Market or even go for a cheeky drink) but we didn’t have time as our table was ready within 10 minutes.   

The Padella team were friendly and all wore masks to keep to the government rules and regulations. There was perplex glass dividing us from everyone else to keep a suitable distance. We were sat by the window, which we thought was perfect as we both love people watching! We had the table for an hour and a half- plenty of time!  

The food came out quickly, for starters we shared the Burrata with Fiorano olive oil with bread, and the Cobble Lane Cured Saucisson with whole peppercorns.  

We had never tried Burrata before so we were both very excited and oh my gosh, it was so creamy and fresh, it just melted in our mouths. I would have easily eaten more, or eaten it on my own! However we weren’t impressed with the saucisson as there were only a few slices and for £5.50, we thought wasn’t worth it. 

For our mains we both chose the Pappardelle with 8 hours Dexter beef shin ragu. It was absolutely delicious – the pasta, was cooked to perfection and it was very saucy which I just loved! The ragu was divine, highly recommend this dish! We did add a bit of olive oil to the dish but it was tasty as it was too! We were surprised how affordable Padella was, especially being so central. Their most expensive dish is £11.50! 

Marissa was stuffed after her mains whereas I had a bit more room for some dessert! I ordered their chocolate and salted caramel tart- tasty and the cream worked well with the tart. A velvety chocolate with subtle hints of caramel and salt, it was the perfect dish to end the course with. 

We highly recommend visiting Padella if you haven’t done so already! (Once lockdown ends, but in the meantime you can order their pasta kits via their website – 4 mouth-watering pasta dishes to try!)

The signature dishes are the gnocchi with nutmeg butter, pici cacio e pepe and Pappardelle with 8 hours Dexter beef shin ragu. 

Before this, new information was being released by the World Health Organisation about the health benefits of CBD. However, finding good quality oils was still a challenge, so Michael and his business partner Martin Kaprockyj started the company to fill this gap in the market.

CBD

After a year of research and another 6 months of gathering equipment they were ready to make their own CBD oils! Michael and Martin started selling their CBD products in February 2018 and they are now available in 4 different strengths from 150mg – 1000mg.

Whilst they were developing their oils they realised how good the plants were in teas. They experimented with different strains of legal cannabis as well as different mixes of buds and leaves to develop their cannabis tea. Each cup of tea contains between 25-40mg of CBDa- the raw form of CBD, which is more efficient and works faster.

We had the pleasure of trying their cannabis teas and their CBD infused chocolates! We received 3 pouches of teas and 3 different chocolates. At first glance the packaging is eye catching – it’s very unique, straight away you can see what it helps you with from the creative emoji like logos at the bottom of the packaging.

These products arrived at the best time as Claire and I were both on our periods. My personal experience of my period is usually that it’s uncomfortable for the first few days and the same with Claire, however her pain is a lot worse as she suffers from Endometriosis, and she would have to take up to 6 strong paracetamols on the first day and 4 on her second day. However this wasn’t the case when she drunk the cannabis tea a few days leading up to her period, she only needed 2 paracetamol on her first day! It also helped her sleep better, and to feel less anxious.

(If you would like to have more information about Endometriosis, check out Claire’s video over at LetsbeClaire)

I was a bit skeptical about how it would work and honestly it did make me feel calmer and more relaxed but I still woke up in pain around 2am so I’m unsure whether it worked for me. However I’d like to give it another go on my next cycle but perhaps I’ll drink it every 6 hours on my first day to see what the outcome would be.

The first tea we tried was their cannabis herbal original tea bag- we brewed it for 5-20 mins like it advised on the packet under a small plate. The original had a prominent cannabis smell but drinking it reminded me of green tea with a bit of an earthy taste, it was relaxing drinking it before bed.

The peppermint was more enjoyable, the tea smelt and tasted like your ordinary peppermint tea, so I’d highly recommend something like this flavour to ease you in if you’ve never tried it before! There are 10 tea bags in each packet and it goes a long way if it works for you!

It is advised to drink it every 6 to 8 hours so if one cup isn’t working for you try 2 or 3.

There were chocolate gifted to us too, I personally thought it didn’t work although I would love to try it throughout the day next time! It is advised on the packet to break them in halves and place it under your tongue for the CBD oil to be absorbed quicker. This is to be taken every 4 hours or if you are on medication you can take these after 2 hours after your medication. However I would personally advise to speak to your GP before taking medication with any CBD products.

The chocolates were delicious- velvety smooth dark chocolate a little bit bitter but the texture is gorgeous. The mint dark chocolate was also tasty too; a refreshing flavour. My favourite chocolate is their chocolate orange, it instantly reminded us of the orange creme from quality street; also a smooth chocolaty texture – the orange wasn’t overpowering, and the sweetness was well balanced.

I personally felt that Body and Mind Botanical products didn’t help me, however it worked really well for my partner and Claire. They both felt calm and relaxed and was able to sleep like babies. I would like to give it another go as I was a little envious that they both enjoyed it so much!

Thank you for reading, let me know in the comments below if you’ve tried CBD before and what are your thoughts!

*Disclosure: The products in this review was provided by Body and Mind Botanicals on a complimentary basis.

The Hand & Flowers

We arrived on time and our waiter Jamie greeted us at the door and showed us to our table, the pub was bright with natural light seeping through the windows, we had the perfect spot, table for 4 with an enclosed wooden seating area with glass walls giving us some space from the restaurant. The table was set up neatly with our menus sealed, I managed to open it with the butter knife as I didn’t want to ruin the menu.

Keeping everyone safe they were all wearing PPE and each table had anti bac, which I found reassuring.

Jamie made us feel welcome, wished me ‘Happy Birthday’ and The Hand and Flowers team wrote me a birthday card, which was a touching gesture.

After a few minutes of settling in we ordered our drinks – a pint of Estrella Damm, a non alcoholic cocktail – Cucumber Collins (Garden 108, Apple Juice, Chamomile Tea Droplets and Dr Polidori Cucumber Tonic), Dill Me In (Broken Clock Vodka, Fresh Lemon Juice, Caster Sugar, Fresh Dill and Egg) and the Cherry Ramos (Neat Gin, Cherry Syrup, Cream, Lemon Juice, Lime Juice, Cherry Bitters, Egg White and Soda Water). The Collins was tasty and refreshing a perfect summer drink. Dill Me In was also refreshing with hints of lemon citrus seeping through every sip. The Cherry Ramos was a fun cocktail – it reminded me of a sweet cherry shake, quite deadly if you’d ask me as you can’t taste the alcohol!

The drinks arrived with nibbles- whitebait and homemade bread that was tasty, we all devoured it all within seconds.

For starters:

Wingy chose the Courgette, Pea and ‘Chantilly de Chèvre’ Tart with Lamb Chorizo and Mint.

Chris chose the Demi Fish Pie with Saffron Aioli and Sauce Bouillabaisse au Beurre.

Asiel chose the Glazed Omelette of Smoked Haddock and Parmasan.

For myself I decided to have the Duck Liver Parfait with Orange Chutney and Toasted Brioche.

When our dishes arrived we were amazed by how aesthetically pleasing it looked, so creative! I managed to have a bite of everyones dishes. Asiel’s was smooth with tender haddock pieces! Wingy’s dish was rich and full of flavour with a light and crispy tart. Chris’ pie was also flavoursome and the ingredients complimented each other well. My own plate was minimalistic but I enjoyed it thoroughly – the parfait was smooth with hints of saltiness, that married well with the sweetness from the chutney and toasted brioche.

When our plates were cleared we were already ecstatic to try the main event!

Essex Lamb “Bun” with Sweetbreads and Salsa Verde

Reg Johnson Tempura Fried Chicken, Roasted Hispi Cabbage, Black Truffle and Sauce Vin Jaune

2 Slow Cooked Duck Breast with Sweet and Sour Onion Tart

Hand & Flowers Chips to share – as we heard that this was the best!

When our mains arrived we were yet again pleasantly surprised by the presentation; our partners chose the duck – absolutely delicious the duck breast was exquisite – tender and full of flavour, the tart was good too although I personally felt it could have been its own dish, as the textures were so different nevertheless they both loved it! Wingy had the Chicken – the flavours were phenomenal, rich… creamy… the flavours were dancing in my mouth. I chose the lamb bun, I first thought I would need an extra side with my dish as it looked minuscule, but size doesn’t matter! The richness from the lamb almost defeated me, all the components were compacted in a small pastry parcel with cabbage, shredded lamb and the lamb cutlet.

We all enjoyed our dishes and their chips were cooked to perfection – a fluffy middle with a crispy outer layer.

It was such a lovely dining experience at The Hand & Flowers but it was ashame that we couldn’t eat more, as I would have loved to try their desserts! Nevertheless we have a perfect excuse to go back!

Thank you, Wingy for this generous treat!

Mostly Muffins

Mostly Muffins sells over 8 different types of desserts with several varieties of each of them. They also do bespoke orders, such as macaroons, birthday cakes & much more..

Chikumo bakes her delicious treats at home, but says she would love to have a dessert bar one day!

We had the pleasure of trying her tasty regular mixed treat box – brownie, millionaire shortbread and her biscoff blondie which isn’t available yet! All of the desserts that Mostly Muffins sell have been developed and perfected by Chikumo herself. She used the finest ingredients and products which are locally sourced.

The box was sealed with a sticky label with certain ingredients ticked, I liked how the desserts were individually wrapped preserving freshness and flavour to each cake.

The brownie – the sponge was delicious- soft and moist, it was a lovely chocolatey flavour and not overly sweet. I ate in a matter of seconds! I would have easily eaten more!

The Biscoff Blondie isn’t available yet but wow it made my mouth water, a fluffy sponge with caramel bits that melted in my mouth a perfect element of surprise! I enjoyed it thoroughly with my tea.

The Millionaire shortbread- a rich chocolate layered top with a generous amount of caramel, and a perfect shortbread bottom- yummy! It was a real treat- it felt nostalgic, we’d always have it with our tea when we were kids!

How the mixed treat box works – you’ll get a tray of bakes and cookies depending on which size you select. The regular box you’ll receive 1 cookie and 2 tray bakes. The tray bakes vary for example it can be brownies, caramel slices and sometimes a weekly special- the sacral brownie and the rest would be a mixture. There is also an option to join a monthly subscription with free delivery in the UK.

This means Chikumo doesn’t waste any products and everyone is helping the environment. She can be flexible too with customers requesting specific orders.

Mostly Muffins are a perfect treat if you don’t fancy lifting a finger in the kitchen, or if baking isn’t your strong suit like myself and would like desserts sent straight to your door.

To request a bespoke order contact Mostly Muffins by their email [email protected] or direct message through their social media –

Instagram @mostlymuffins & @adiaryofachik

Facebook Mostly Muffins

Twitter @mostlymuffins

Highly recommend purchasing these delightful cakes!

*Disclosure: The products in this review was provided by Mostly Muffins on a complimentary basis.

Rice Paper Crisps

From there I decided to try other ways to use rice paper, which I will be sharing with you all below starting off with the rice paper crackers!

Ingredients:

Rice paper

Olive oil

Salt

Smoked paprika

A tablespoon of oil in the frying pan making sure the pan is medium hot, cut the rice paper into 8 segments so it can fry easily and evenly. Once it looks like crackers take it off of the heat immediately. Season to taste.

This snack is great if you want something quick and easy to make, and you can put whatever flavouring suits you! This snack is great for parties, an evening in or if you fancy treating yourself.

Rice Paper Pancakes

Next I decided to make rice paper pancakes and fry them.

Ingredients: 

Rice paper

Olive oil

Peppers

Vermicelli noodles

Edamame beans

Sesame oil

Wet the rice paper and lay it in a dry cloth, have all your veges laid on the side with the vermicelli noodles cooked with a bit of sesame oil. Place them at the bottom of the rice paper and fold each side in, then roll the parcel up. In a medium-hot pan drizzle some sesame oil, fry them until crispy. These pancakes goes well with a dipping sauce – soy sauce, sweet chilli sauce and peanut sauce.

Peanut Sauce: 

To make the peanut sauce – you’ll need soy sauce, chilli flakes, sugar, peanut butter, sesame oil. Mix the ingredients add extra to your own taste.

The pancakes were crispy and flavoursome and filling! I recommend putting in less filling if you want a light snack. Either way this is fun to make and great to entertain your friends with!

Rice Paper Parcels 

My last recipe using rice paper is baking rice paper parcels in the oven, using it to lock in the juices of salmon fillets.

Ingredients:

Salmon fillet

Crushed garlic

Lemon

Seasoning

Rice paper

Asparagus

Turn the oven on for 200 degrees. Season the salmon fillet with salt & pepper, crushed garlic on either side and drizzle lemon juice. Fry the asparagus in butter, place the asparagus and seasoned fillet onto the damp rice paper and roll it into a parcel. Bake for 20 minutes in the oven until golden brown.

The salmon was juicy and cooked to perfection with a thin crispy layer.

I hope you all enjoyed reading my rice paper 3 ways recipes post!

Starting off with the most mouth-watering cinnamon buns I’ve ever tasted by Sweet Doris. I first encountered the buns at ‘Summer in the Square’ located in Portman Square Garden, a week-long food market that was in correspondent with Wimbledon. There were so many tasty treats to try but what caught my eye was her cinnamon kebab, since then I’ve kept going back for more!

Sweet Treats

Sweet Doris is a cinnamon bun company and all the buns are freshly baked daily. All ingredients are organic and free range, creating the richest flavours and they are made-to order and delivered right to your door.

Natasha Williams founded Sweet Doris in 2018 and was inspired by her Grandma, Doris who past away in 2015. Natasha thought it would be fitting to start a home baked company to honour her Grandma, as she would always bake freshly bread rolls and cakes for as long as Natasha and her family could remember. She taught Natasha how to bake at the young age of 4. Natasha wanted to bring something different to the market by giving it a twist using different fillings and toppings.

Sweet Doris have 13 flavours altogether and 9 vegan flavours, all ranging from £3.00 to £3.50 each.

Natasha’s favourite buns are the mini cinnamon bun kebabs and caramel popcorn.

We ordered 4 different vegan flavours:

The Mini Cinnamon bun Kebabs

The Apple Cinnamon bun

Caramel Popcorn bun

Lotus Biscoff bun

They were all as delicious as the next, I must admit I’ve tasted her originals and I wouldn’t know the difference! Our favourite one from the 4 were the mini cinnamon kebabs, delish! The Lotus Biscoff was amazing too and very sweet in flavour, I’m salivating just thinking about it!

The Mini Cinnamon bun kebab – a light and fluffy bun with a gorgeous cinnamon middle, baked to perfection!

The Apple Cinnamon bun – the bun was moist, the flavour was moreish and there was a slight hint of tartness coming from the Apple cubes, the two flavours complimented each other well.

Caramel popcorn – rich in flavour, a luscious cinnamon bun with caramel intertwined, finishing it off with a vanilla glaze and popcorn topping, yum!

Lotus Bischoff – deliciously sweet, taste just like Bischoff itself, with a caramelised centre each bite was better than the last!

For dietary requirements message Natasha directly- she is so helpful and considerate and that it made it easy to order.

You can find them here!

Social media:

Instagram: @sweetdorisuk Twitter: @sweetdoris_uk Facebook: Sweet Doris

My second treat I’d like to share is Crosstown. I first discovered them through Claire she was constantly going on about them, the doughnuts are indescribably good – so many varieties to choose from! People at work were bringing them in and it started to become a tradition, whoever’s birthday it was they’d be getting doughnuts rather than a cake – which I preferred.

Crosstown is a scratch bakery, known for the world’s first yeast-raised sourdough base. They make all jams, compotes, fillings, glazes and toppings in-house, fresh every day. JP Then and Adam Wills are Co-Founders of the doughnut company. The pair first launched Crosstown in 2014 as a market stall on Leather Lane in London. The imaginative doughnuts were inspired by JP’s interest in speciality coffee and the Antipodean coffee culture. Crosstown has 20 locations across London, as well as events & catering segments and premium wholesale accounts such as Wholefoods and Harrods.

My favourite doughnut is their Matcha flavour – I just love everything Matcha! They have 13 flavours in total and 7 of them are vegan.

We ordered their vegan work from home treats through their website.

Coconut & Lime – soft bun with a refreshing flavour.

Yuzu & Pasionfruit – is definitely my favourite vegan doughnut, a citrusy flavour that bursts in your mouth.

Rhubarb & Ginger – is true to the name however personally it’s not my favourite flavour a tart rhubarb with ginger seeping through every bite.

Dark Chocolate Truffle – a rich dark chocolate that engulfs your senses leaving you feeling desired.

Tongan Vanilla Bean Glaze – love this flavour each bite was as good as its last.

Cinnamon Scroll – yum, you can’t beat a classic flavour!

To order your work from home Crosstown here’s the link!

Social Media:

Instagram: @crosstowndoughnuts Twitter: @CrosstownDough Facebook: Crosstown – Doughnuts & Coffee

Lastly I’d like the share with you all, our last tasty treat Bad Brownie – a gourmet chocolate brownie company. Founded by Paz and Morag in 2013, a pair of chocoholics! They first sold their brownies in a South London market- the people of Clapham loved it and since then they have been developing and creating more incredible flavours. In 2015 they were asked to appear on Dragon’s Den, where they pitched their idea to all the Dragon’s. Touker Suleyman was blown away by their fantastic idea that he wanted to take them under his wing and help grow their company, the show aired in January 2016.

I found their treats through Instagram and wanted to try them – the best decision I made! They have 13 flavours altogether and 6 of them are vegan & gluten free.

We bought the Vegan & No Gluten 12 Bite Brownie Box. I must be honest we’ve never tasted brownies like these before, they literally melted in our mouths! There were 3 different flavours neatly placed in the box, raspberry, salted caramel and cookie dough.

Raspberry – dark chocolate has never been a favourite of mine but having had some of this it has changed my mind – dark, rich and chocolatey ganache with small bits of freeze-dried raspberries sprinkled on top, heaven!

Salted Caramel – is definitely my favourite, an indulgent and rich flavour with hints of salted caramel, with gooey layered chocolate and a caramel filling – a moreish flavour that you can’t forget!

Cookie Dough – a smooth layer of cookie dough on top with the rich chocolatey ganache at the bottom, not our favourite but if you love cookie dough, we’d highly recommend!

To order your Bad Brownies head over to their website!

Social Media:

Instagram: @badbrownieco Twitter: @BadBrownieCo Facebook: Bad Brownie

I hope you enjoyed reading my favourite working from home sweet treats, as much as I loved enjoying them with my tea!

Juicing

Today I’m sharing our 3 favourite juices that Pinterest have inspired us to make! We’ve been enjoying a variety of flavours but these 3 have stuck and kept us feeling detoxed for longer, we literally look forward to it every weekend and mid week! 

First juice I’d like to share is Claire’s favourite – 4 pears, a thumb of ginger, a packet of celery, bag of spinach and 2 lemons. (sometimes we would swap the pears for apples, depending on what we fancied that week – the pears make the juice a lot sweeter). This is a refreshing flavour and gives a good punch from either the ginger or the lemon leaving you feeling ready for the day ahead.

Second juice is one of my favourites – thumb of ginger, 6 carrots and 4 sweet oranges. You get a nice kick from the ginger that really boost your mood. Sometimes we like to add extra ingredients – 1 lemon, half finger of turmeric and a pinch of black pepper. This juice is also very cleansing and very enjoyable- the ginger is the prominent taste followed by the sweet oranges, I just love the colour from the carrots and it gives your glass a lovely bright glow.

Third juice is a lot sweeter than the other two – 4 sweet beetroot, 4 oranges and 6 carrots. It’s a lovely juice to drink on a sunny day, relaxing outside your balcony/garden. The main flavour is beetroot and if you love that, I’d definitely recommend it!

We sieve the juice to make sure there’s no bits at the bottom, and pop them in the fridge for an hour and its ready to enjoy! I hope you enjoyed our 3 favourite juices that we regularly consume. 

Happy Juicing!

3 Picnic Recipes

We all bought something to the picnic – I made some smoked paprika hummus to dip the crisps in, Sam made Kimbap which was a real treat, Claire made her delicious pasta salad. Sam also bought along some bubbly – I would highly recommend ASTI sweet sparkling wine!

Here’s how we made the dishes:

Smoked Paprika Hummus

Ingredients:

Lemon

Water

Tahini

Salt

Olive oil

Canned Chickpeas

Smoked paprika

Garlic (2 or 3 cloves)

Drain the chickpea liquid (aquafaba) into a jar to use in another recipe. Cover the chickpeas with water and simmer for 20 minutes (this will help the hummus become much smoother in texture). Whilst that is cooking use a blender and put the rest of the ingredients in – tahini, water, lemon, minced garlic, salt, olive oil, smoked paprika and mix it altogether. Once 20 minutes is up drain the water and pop the chickpeas into the blender for about 3-4 minutes, to taste I like to put more tahini and smoked paprika into the mix. Once everything has been blended store the hummus in the fridge.  Personally, I like to wait 24 hours before I dig into it as this allows the hummus to thicken.

Sam’s Kimbap

We were so delighted when Sam made Kimbap as we hadn’t had it since our trip to Seoul last October, which you can read all about my food experience here. It was as tasty as we’d remembered, juicy and full of flavour – a real treat! We fantasised about it for days…

Ingredients:

Short grain rice

Korean seaweed

Medium to Firm Tofu

Carrots

Spinach

Cucumbers

Picked Daikon

Burdock

Sesame oil

Sesame seeds

First cook the rice in less water than normal (set aside for it to cool). Cover the tofu with corn starch fry in a pan with some oil over medium heat and add some salt, in the same pan add the sliced carrots adding a bit of salt and sesame oil until cooked through. Blanch the spinach and quickly rinse with cold water and squeeze the excess liquid out – season with cooked garlic, sesame oil and salt. Slice the cucumber length ways, now you have all the ingredients ready, add a small amount of salt, sesame seeds and sesame oil into the rice – it’s now time to roll! Take your seaweed and face it shiny side down onto the mat with the rough side facing you, add your rice onto the seaweed, layer your ingredients horizontally, including the burdock and pickled radish when ready – start rolling, make sure you firmly roll using the mat until you reach the end. Brush some sesame oil onto the roll and cut into 8 equal pieces.

Claire’s gf pasta salad

Ingredients:

Red lentil pasta

Onions + Garlic

Olives

Oil

Vegan Pesto

Vegan cheese

Salt + pepper

In a pan cook the red lentil pasta (al dente) and drain the water. In a different pan drizzle oil and sauté the chopped onions and minced garlic, add the pasta, pesto, cheese and olives, mix well and season to taste.

We had an amazing day eating and catching up in the sun and enjoying each other’s company. The food was delicious, and we were all talking about it for days to come. We made sure there was cutlery for each dish so we could easily share without it being contaminated so don’t worry about not being able to share!

I hope you enjoyed our recipes as much as we enjoyed eating them!

As most as you know my ultimate favourite takeaway has got to be Taro, I’ve spoken about them at every opportunity I get! It’s so delicious and very comforting especially through these difficult times, and I’m so grateful they are still providing us their mouth-watering food. On our recent delivery I opted for a new side – edamame pancakes! I will definitely be ordering more in the future! I made the mistake of ordering katsu curry without sauce, however I was amazed by how deliciously crispy the chicken was and how much flavour was packed in them, so much so that I didn’t miss the sauce that much.

But my all-time favourite dish from Taro has got to be their Salmon Teriyaki Bento – you get so much in the box – sashimi, nigiris and a small salad with it and not forgetting about the warming miso soup – I’m salivating just thinking about it!

Claire’s favourite option is their vegetable bento – Tofu steak, Inari sushi, Roll sushi, Korokke, Edamame, Beansprouts, miso soup. They offer other vegan dishes too like Tofu Steak Don rice dish, vegetable curry, they have few selections of rolled sushi, and Hand-rolled Sushi (Te-Maki). I love that they have options for everyone to enjoy!

The Collective Kennington Park Cafe, is based in our local park that draws local residents to eat their tasty food. The collective is run by the same owners as Sugar Pot. Last weekend we ordered vegan garlic bread, vegan calzone and their collective pizza. We were very excited to try something different, when they arrived, we were a little disappointed by how the size of the garlic bread but nevertheless it tasted great. Claire chose the vegan calzone, it had been a long time since she’d had one and was ecstatic when she saw it on the menu, unfortunately it didn’t live up to her expectations, but she did enjoy it. I chose the collective pizza – I was surprised by the size of the pizza and how aesthetically pleasing it was. The taste was just right, salty and the grana padano really rounded the pizza off, scrumptious. Highly recommend the collective pizza!

Neat Burger serves a limited range of plant-based products and is in association with Beyond Meat and The Eden Project. For every product sold, a tree is planted! We ordered to share cheesy chips, fries, nuggets and a burger each. I chose their Chick’n Burger and Claire chose their Neat Burger and a pot of Neat sauce. We caned the nuggets – they were very tasty and full of flavour – it was just a shame the portion sizes were small. There were a lot of flavours in my Chick’n Burger – Crispy Chick’n Patty, Lettuce, Tangy Mayo but I felt the Chick’n itself was a bit slimy, nevertheless I ate it all! Claire annihilated her Neat Burger – can’t blame her though as it was packed full of delicious goodness – Double Neat Meat Patty, Lettuce, Tomato, Grilled Red Onions, Pickles, Neat Sauce – yum! The cheesy chips had an acquired taste, something that we might not dabble in again, but we couldn’t get over how tasty the nuggets were, we will have to order double the amount next time!

These restaurants have been getting us through our lockdown weeks and we are so grateful to be able to support these local businesses during these difficult times.

Let me know what you have been ordering through lockdown!

Starting off with my family favourite congee. It is so simple to make the base is literally rice, salt and water, slices of ginger and the topping is traditionally spring onion. We usually eat it plain if we are unwell but it’s optional to add toppings such as lotus root, mushrooms, chicken, pork, bok choy, soft boiled egg, crushed peanuts – you can add anything you like really.

Fun fact – Improves bowel regularity.

Recipe 1: My Family’s Conjee (China)

Ingredients:

•Rice (1 cup) •Ginger •Water •Salt •Mushrooms •Spring onion (garnish)

In this version I’ve added mixed mushrooms for additional flavour. To start pour the washed jasmine rice into the pan (it can be any type of rice) and 6 cups of water, add salt (you can opt to put meat into the pan at this point) once the rice is boiling reduce the temperature so it’s simmering, occasionally stir as you don’t want the rice to stick to the bottom. When the rice splits, add in the mushrooms (the cooking time can take up to an hour), once you’re happy with your consistency take it off the stove, and garnish with spring onions.

Recently Claire made her Nonna’s get well soon soup (pastina soup cooked in broth). Claire made it for me for the first time a few months ago as my wisdom tooth was in agony. Instead of tiny pasta she cooked it with rice as I couldn’t really chew my food. It was delicious and so warming, it’s exactly what you want when you’re not feeling good – and I’m excited to share her recipe with you!

Fun fact – you can feed pastina to babies starting from 6-7 months but in vegetable broth.

Recipe 2: Claire’s Nonna’s Get Well Soon Soup (Italy)

Ingredients:

•Pastina (1 cup) •Vegetable stock (add another half if you want a stronger flavour) •Vegan Cheese (the traditional recipe uses Parmesan but we don’t eat dairy!) •Pepper (to taste)

Pour water into a pan and let it boil, depending on the taste, pop one and a half vegetable stock into the pan, turn it down to simmer and add a cup full of tiny pasta into the mix. Season with pepper, let it cook and when it’s al dente grate the cheese into the mix, cook for another 5 minutes, then serve – top the bowl with more cheese and pepper.

My third dish is something I’ve never made before but it’s from a blog called HealthWISE, Hiba is a Psychologist + Food Coach. When Hiba caught a cold growing up her mother would quickly whip up her red lentil soup or shorabet ‘adas as it’s called in Arabic. Hiba makes it now whenever she is unwell or for her husband, it can also be eaten any time of the year.

I was fascinated by her get well soon soup as it was similar to the Chinese and Italian dishes but with a different base – red lentils. It’s optional to add toppings if you fancy such as olives, capers, strips of grilled Arabic bread, steamed leafy greens like spinach, swiss chard or kale or fresh spring onion.

Fun fact – Lentils are a healthy fat and a very good source of iron.

Recipe 3: Hiba’s Lentil Soup (Palestine)

Ingredients:

•Red lentils (1 cup) •Onion •Lemon •Water •Tbsp Ground cumin, salt & pepper to taste

Into a pan pour in some oil and chopped onions, stir and cook until soft and golden. Add your washed red lentils into the mix, and pour in double the amount of lentils of water into your pan. Once it boils reduce the heat and cook it until your lentils are mushy. Add a tbsp of cumin, salt & pepper to taste and cook for a further few minutes. Take the pan off the stove and pour in the lemon juice, and it’s ready to serve. It was very tasty, I’ll certainly be making this in future – I love the tangy taste that bought the flavours together. This would also be good to eat during the winter months – a hot bowl of red lentils soup snuggled up in front of the telly, how cosy!

I hope you enjoyed the 3 get well soon recipes, they are also tasty whenever the weather! I hope you’re all well and staying safe x

I would love to know your childhood get well soon soup or dish – please comment below! 😊

Triyit is tailored to match your likes and needs, there is a variety of products for you to try from food, drinks, tasty snacks, to cosmetics & grooming, healthcare & household, and everything in between.

Of course, I naturally I levitated towards the food categories. A couple of weeks ago I received their ‘Stay at Home’ campaign.

Snack Time

These were the life size products that sent me –

Wier’do pop – 100% vegan popcorn they were packaged well and I loved that the packet was full. The flavour was subtle, and it got flavoursome towards the end of the packet. I personally felt the popcorn wasn’t as fresh as it could have been but nevertheless it was an good experience.

Beef Jerky – hot & sweet – isn’t something I’d normally choose but I’m glad I tried it, the flavour was tasty and after a couple you do feel the heat slowly emerging through your tastebuds, personally I felt the jerky was too chewy for me but I can see why others would like it. This is definitely a great snack if you want something high in protein and this could be enjoyed anywhere you like.

Amarula- cream & marula fruit – it was creamy and refreshing, reminded me of a rich and creamier version of baileys, a great drink to relax and enjoy the evening in.

Creamy Beanies – suitable for vegetarians, low fat & sugar free – the salted caramel flavour hits your face once you open the packet, you are instantly met by the salty caramel smell- smelt divine, and the smell was fragrant throughout the drink experience, however I personally thought the mixture tasted watery and the flavour was too subtle for me. Sadly I felt the smell wasn’t as a good as the taste, but I tried it again with less water and it did taste creamier, although I still felt the instant coffee wasn’t as flavoursome as the smell.

Flyte clean energy- come in 2 different flavours red berries and mango passion have are natural flavours, and 100% planted based. I’m actually not a big fan of energy drinks but this was an exception and it didn’t have an aftertaste like most energy drinks I’ve tasted in the past. I received the red berry one, great taste in flavour and definitely something I’d look out for in shops if I need an energy boost.

I loved my first sample box to continue Triy It and receive new products, send them your feedback! My favourites were the creamy Amarula and Flyte clean energy drink, I will certainly be buying them in the future! Sign up here, for your sample box!

Yonkers snack al formaggie- tasty! light cheese flavour but it’s nice and crunchy and leaves you with a salty aftertaste, that left me wanting more!

Fronzies Gli Originali- reminds me of Knick knacks, the cheese flavour is a lot more subtle compared to the Yonkers!

Pan Di stelle- delicious, a crunchy bottom with a thin layer of chocolate on top and with a creamy chocolate centre, and it’s not overly sweet!

Millefoglie D’Italia mini snack – light and crumbles into your mouth and the hazelnut chocolate oozes out when you take a bite, delicious but dangerous as you easily eat the whole packet in one sitting.

Chocolate flavoured ringo biscuits – tasty, the biscuit is crispy, a lovely combo of chocolate biscuit and plain and filled with vanilla cream – it reminds me of my childhood favourite custard cream biscuits with a hint of chocolate!

Duplo Nocciolo – reminds me of buenos, but they have an actual nut inside, delicious- wish there was more of it!

Kinder cards – so tasty, thin crispy layers of biscuit bite and a white & milk chocolate middle, favourite so far from this month’s box!

Loacker Choco & coco – Loacker is one of my favourite brands and I’ve been excited to try it! I’m not the biggest fan of coconut, I would have given it to my partner but the wafer and chocolate was divine and the coconut worked well with it! Super impressed, will be looking out for this flavour in the future!

Goleader – personally was rather fragrant and it tasted like perfume, I wasn’t keen on the flavour and how tough the texture was.

Bonelle squisite- it is a jelly like fruit pastel and 100% vegan, so Claire and I shared them. They are rather sweet and I can only manage 3 in a row, but they taste really good!

My favourites this month has to be kinder cards, playful and tasty! Choco & coco you can’t go wrong with a loacker bar, always moorish! Yonkers snack al formaggie I just love the cheesy crisp crunch! I’m looking forward to trying the April box, I can’t wait to see which country it’s from!