Tuesday 6 December 2011

Beet and chocolate cake

So having seen this recipe from the gorgeous blog Bon Appétempt and having just purchased my organic goodies from the market, I came straight home and decided that my purchased beets just had to be mixed with my dark dark chocolate.
So I changed the recipe a little…I'm not a fan of cocoa powder or baking powder so skipped both of these…I find that if you whisk the eggs more you actually don´t need rising agents…yay!
I also don't have cup measurements so just guessed really…but it turned out fabulous!
And instead of the poppy seeds I added some wasabi to my cream and let me tell you…genius. Beetroot and wasabi are one of my favourite combos and it did me proud yet again.
















































































































So for this deep red velvety cake all you need is :

roughly 8oz cooked and mashed beetroot
roughly 8oz dark dark chocolate (fork out on the good stuff!)
a handful of fine sugar
1 cup of flour
5 eggs seperated and whisked
about half a block of butter cut into small pieces.

Melt the chocolate over hot water and add the butter in small pieces. Adding butter to the chocolate increases the richness and the texture.
Get your mashed beetroot (I used a food processor but doesn´t matter) and put in a big bowl.
Once the melted chocolate/butter mix is slightly cooler add to the whisked egg yolks (this slightly cooks the egg yolks and will become thicker)
Fold into this the whisked egg whites and then add the flour and sugar.
Mix all together and put in a spring pan and cook….I'm rubbish with times and heat so I just go by smell…once you smell it, its normally cooked!

A couple of things that I would change for next time though is add more chocolate…and maybe even some chilli!


Caminata

At the beginning of December lots of things start happening in this part of the world. The first and second of December villagers do the Caminata of the Virgin of the Guadalupe. This is basically where the the churches congregation remove the statue of the Virgin and walk it around the village for others to see. Its a reminder of who they worship and give thanks too.
I was invited to a caminata in my local village. It was lovely to see that sense of community is still alive. The kids got dressed up, the men cooked the food and then the women served it up.There was dancing and singing, old wives tales, gossip and a really lovely day…


















































Friday 2 December 2011

Leftover day

I, normally hate leftovers. I would rather give my guests a doggy bag than face the spare bits and pieces that are left in my fridge for the next day. But having given away 6 ample doggy bags there was still spares left.
It got to 4pm and realising that I hadn´t yet eaten I raided….
Take a couple of boiled potatoes, left over roast lamb and fry it all together in some top quality butter. Garnish with baby roquette and what do you have. MAGIC!

































































Ten minutes and an awesome meal..

Tuesday 29 November 2011

The bottom of the State

Today was a travel day. Having spent the weekend in Playa del Carmen at the Jazz Festival (not that much Jazz but lots of Festival!) we had to come back through the state for the boys work.
I in my 4 years had never ventured to where we would go. It was a long trip and although the scenery was totally different to where we live, I'm not sure I would recommend it.

















































Tuesday 22 November 2011

The perfect day

Yesterday was literally the perfect day. It was a long weekend and so Monday was decided to be a beach day.
There's no need to say much apart from the weather held, the friends were friends and it was perfect. Hope you all had a great weekend.


























































































Sunday 20 November 2011







































And these are a couple of 'treats' my friends left for me after a night round at mine!
























Land of Tequila

Mexico. To some that word evokes a scene of violence, drugs and heat. To those of us that live here Mexico means colour, vibrancy and tequila. Ok, and heat.
Arriving back to Mexico in August is no small thing. Where I live, the heat will literally melt the skin from your bones. An instant cold to hot. An instant assault to the senses. In a good way.
We're at the end of rainy season at the moment and although the nights are getting cooler, the days are most definitely the perfect heat. Gone is the humidity. Well, most of the time. Back are the bright blue skies that are mesmerising. Back too, are the friends I missed dearly no matter how good my travels were. And of course my animals. Back is the mix of bright eclectic colours that not only knock your senses into an artists palate but are also a heady dose of 'It's my wall and I'll paint it the colour I want'. Back to my life is the meld of old and new. It's beautiful. Lovely to be home.



















































































































































Thursday 10 November 2011

Oh how I've missed you...

Yes it's true. I can´t quite believe how slack I am (minds out the gutter people) in not writing for so long.
A lot has happened since my last blog and I'm going to give you a quick but obviously thrilling overview…
First off. Wild strawberry picking…bangarang. They may not look like much but for those of you who have picked your own wild berries. You simply can´t beat the taste! I was, like any good granddaughter, weeding my Gran's garden and happened to come across these little beauts. Now being that I'm allergic but not in the I'm going to die kind of way, (phew) I just could´t resist. It was worth the puffy face for 10 hours. Honestly.



Second. My Europe trip has come to an end. Sniff sniff.  I managed to visit lots of friends and family, one being on the West Coast of Scoltand. Booootiful! Gosh, really really lovely. And on the up side am back in Mexico for 2 months before I pack my bags, well ok, they`re already packed, and set off to god knows where to do god knows what. But that's the exciting bit isn´t it!? I mean the world really is my oyster. Minus the slime and grains of sand in your teeth. But it is mine. Things I know I don´t want to do? Work in an office..be someones tea maiden…I really just want to gain experience from someone else OR start something else again…so who knows.

Day of the Dead happened just as I was getting back which as usual is Awesome! Here it is not trick or treating, it is a two day celebration where you make alters to your loved ones that have passed. Cook their favourite food for them and invite round friends and family who knew them to talk about memories of that person. A really lovely tradition if I must say so myself!

My animals were in hyper mode seeing me again. Always nice when one is remembered by ones pets!! They are so adorable. All rescues and I need to find them some good homes, unfortunately I'm not made of millions so cannot take them with me, plus quarantine..not fair.

I've been learning some new recipes from my Uncle who is vegan and I will soon be posting about nut milk etc…it rocks. Literally.

So here are a few photos for you motley crew.
Happy days!








Sunday 18 September 2011

Be mine Bahrain

Oh sweet Lordy. I love this country. Take away the fact that it's piping hot and there's never a cloud in the sky. Take away the fact that the Arab world has a bad rep and what do you have? An awesomely awesome country. Now I hear a little yelling in the back there shouting about that it isn't a democracy, the women are forced to cover up blahdy blah blah. But hold on folks. Actually, what this means is that nobody is poor, everybody has the right to an education (including women and they get it), everybody has the right to health care and they get it, most of the women want to cover up as a respect to their bodies/husbands and there is no crime. Literally no crime!

Can I go on record and say that the sheik, however rich the dude is (and having seen his camels I can tell you, the dude is rich) loves, loves, loves his countrymen and his country. And this is THE important factor when it comes to non democratic lands.

For those of us who live in a democratic world I ask you this. Do you really feel like your rulers listen to your needs? I ain't talking about needs as in crackberries and designer clothing. I'm talking about your health needs, your educational needs....really, do they? In my heart of hearts I say no.
I'm not saying that democracy is bad, it's all gravy when, the rulers actually do right by their people and not squander the people's money or, only make laws when it benefits backers back pockets. What I'm saying is here, it works. Just because it's not like other 'western' countries you shouldn't just pass it off as wrong or bad.

Not only that but it's tan all year round, food is amazzzzinggggg and well, your surrounded by water (no one mention the word tsunami).




























- Posted using BlogPress from my iPad

Saturday 10 September 2011

In the middle of somewhere


Yes, so I know I'm late and I know that I'm rubbish at making all my spaces into lovely beautiful areas but, I have not found one, not one tutorial that speaks human! So firstly a cry for help...I want to learn how to make my blog pretty, flowing and so my pictures don't appear blurry (click on them and they come up a beaut!). Help me please, I'm doing this from an iPad on blogpress.

Second off, I'm in Kyrgyzstan...have you heard of it? I certainly had not but don't be fooled people, this country (formerly Soviet owned) is stunning. Big sprawling mountains tempting you to walk up high to reach the snow peaks, amazing dessert land where floppy eared donkeys roam around together and salt water lakes that never freeze surrounded by sandy beaches. Somewhat Bavarian forests and Swiss chalets give the whole country a feeling of not knowing where it is itself.
Speak to the people and it's either in Russian or Kyrgys...like I speak those! But friendly and charming they are. Similar to Mexico in that there are no rules on the road, fresh produce can be bought on the sides of the road and things are cheap, it's literally a great place if your outdoorsy. Horseback trekking in the mountains (my bottom is rather sore!), camping under snowy peaks, swimming and skiing can all be done year round. And cheap. Get the chance to stay in a Yurt and hallelujah! Downfall is that the cooking is not great, they may have the produce but sure as hell don't know what to do with it!

All in all though it's been an amazing week and would seriously consider coming back for more...

































- Posted using BlogPress from my iPad