Sushi by the Sea

It is so easy to get tangled in the chaos of work, friends and endless commitments. Time can slip away from you and before you know it it has been months since you've even seen your own family.

I feel like the last couple of month have been spent working tirelessly, with so much effort and energy going into getting stuff done and weekends and bank holiday taken away from me by nature of what I do I feel I've barely had a moment to take a deep breath and relax.

With a lot of the big projects I've been working on getting ticked off I can finally start to reclaim my time, and yesterday I took a day of to spend my big sister. Having not seen her over my birthday a couple of weeks ago I was in for a treat.

After spending the morning doing some much needed summer wardrobe updating we worked up an appetite. Both lovers of food and eating out we headed for Australasia's Grand Pacific in Manchester's Spinningfields. Taking a seat in the chilled out and airy canopied garden we sipped champagne and took in the tastes of the Pacific.

Sashimi, nigiri, California rolls; soft shell crab tempura and grilled aubergine. Beautifully blissful. Content and well fed I felt the most relaxed I had in weeks.

The relaxed feeling has not left me yet, as I write this I sit in the sunshine of my balcony with the laid back sounds of Swim Deep. Don't let this weekend ever end. Now someone get me a Gin & Tonic.

Great Manchester Run 2014

Yesterday I ran the Great Manchester Run, the largest 10k in Europe with 40,000 people taking part.  It was a scorcher of a day which made it pretty tough going luckily I had a good soundtrack to keep me motivated. 

Admittedly this isn't the greatest running soundtrack I've ever created, I tried to pick songs with a beat that would help keep my pace, I think some of it might be a bit slow though.  Still, I love all the songs so it keep me happy all the way around.  The playlist is also the perfect length for a 10k.

You can't beat a bit of D&B mid way round to get you motivated.  You can listen to my Pavement Pounding playlist via Spotify -

Ez-eeh Prawn and Chorizo Stew

I ran the Great Manchester 10k today. Managed it in under and hour which I was pleased about but it was a scorcher in the city today and the heat made it pretty tough going. All that running and sun made me pretty lazy this evening. I caught up with the Master Chef finals and cooked a easy supper to eat slumped on the sofa. 

This was very much a throw what ever I had in without measuring supper - 

1 red onion roughly dices

1 clove garlic crushed 

Passata

Half a zucchini cute into small cubes 

Zest and juice of half a lemon 

Handful of fresh basil

Small piece of chorizo diced

King prawns 

Glug of olive oil

Goats cheese to serve 

Add olive oil to a frying pan and cook the onions and garlic until softened then add the zucchini and stir fry for a minute. 

Pour in the passata, stir and then turn the heat down to a simmer. Add in the chorizo, half the fresh basil and the lemon zest and juice. Simmer for a couple of minutes.

Turn the heat back up and add in cook king prawns, allow them to heat through and then serve. 

Sprinkle the remaining basil on top and crumble a little goats cheese. 

I had a good wedge of crusty brown bread to go with this quick, easy Spanish still stew. 

Speaking of easy, or should I say Ez-Eeh, how awesome is the new Kasabian single?

Trouble in Paradise

It's 5 years, can you believe it, since La Roux released her debut album.  Today she announced she'll be back with her second, Trouble in Paradise, on July 7th.

Let Me Down Gently is the first single off the album, to quote the Guardian "it's full of synths and sighs, melancholy and determination"



Paradise conjures up ideas of summer for me so here's a little summer recipe to go along side La Roux. Summer tart (No, I'm not suggesting that La Roux is a tart).

1 sheet of ready made puff pastry (who has time to make their own)
Leek
Courgette cut into ribbons
Spring onions
Peas
Asparagus
Green beans
Pinch of tarragon
tbls flour
300ml milk (I used skimmed)
1 vegetable stock cube
tsp olive oil

Take a leek and cut in half, with one half spilt down the middle and slices, the other half cut into rings. Heat a frying pan with the olive oil and fry the split leeks until softened.

Crumble in the stock cube and add a splash of water to the leek mix and stir well.

Sprinkle the flour on to the leeks and mix in well to cook off the flour, then add the milk a little at the time to create a white sauce. Adding a little at a time will avoid lumps. Then sprinkle in the tarragon.

Add in all the other vegetables.

Cut the pastry sheet into 4, divide the mixture between the pastry, placing in the centre. With a little milk wash the exposed pastry so it goes golden when cooking.

Bake in a oven at 200oC for 20 minutes until the pastry has risen and is golden.

Serve with salad or if like me you fancied a little less green on the plate then a tomato salsa works wonders.

Glorious

This post is a long time coming, the crazy whirlwind of life has kept me away from a week or so. Taking on extra stuff at work, birthdays and visits from friends from afar have taken priority the last few days and left me feeling pretty exhausted.

Late nights in the office, late nights dancing and late nights just trying to do my washing means I've needed a soundtrack that gets your foot tapping but keeps a certain level of calm at the same time. Foxes - Glorious does just that.

Foxes won a Grammy with producer Zedd for the dance anthem - 'Clarity', a good song to get you off your feet but certainly not my favourite.  The rest of the album showcases evocative vocals and big drum beats. Lyrically it might not be anything ground braking but the massive crescendoing (is that even a word?  I'll take it anyway) choruses on song such as 'Holding Onto Heaven' and 'Let Go For Tonight' will certainly get you singing at the top of your voice. 

 

All in all I think it's a decent debut from Foxes and good pop album to stick on anytime. Take a listen on Spotify here -

Summer Squash Supper

My boyfriend happens to be a really rather good cook so I'm always pleased when he offers to rustle up dinner. This is a perfect little summer supper which I recommend enjoying on a sunny balcony with a tall, dark handsome man and a cold creamy Chardonnay. 

Pappardelle pasta

Butternut squash

Chorizo (omit for veggie) 

Cherry tomatoes 

Chilli finely chopped

Sage

Smoked paprika 

Parmesan 

Olive oil

Salt & pepper

Peel and cube the squash and toss with a little olive oil, chilli and paprika and place on a baking try in the oven at 200oC for 25 minutes.

Boil a pan of salted water and cook Pappaedelle. 

Slice chorizo and quarter then dry fry in a pan for a couple of minutes until the oil starts to secrete. 

Halve the cherry tomatoes, finely chop the fresh sage and then toss into the cooking squash for the last five minutes.

Remove the cooked pasta from the water and toss with the vegetables then add the chorizo.  Serve with shaves of parmesan and freshly milled black pepper.

We enjoyed this dinner on Thursday night which was the start of our extra long bank holiday, so a suitably upbeat party song is needed.  I'm loving ZHU - Cocaine Model at the moment, summer vibes.

Fad Thai

Tonight I got home late so needed to cook something quick and easy for one to satisfy my grumbling tummy which does not like being left empty until 9pm. I call this Fad Thai because I fancied Pad Thai but didn't have all the appropriate ingredients so kinda made do with what I'd got. This recipe is perfect for something quick, simple and fresh. 

For one - 

Chicken (I had cooked left overs from a whole roast the other night) 

1 spring onion

1 small carrot, thinly sliced

1/4 of a red pepper

1/2 'basket' of noodles (larger appetites my want more) 

1 egg beaten

1 tsp olive oil

1 tbsp fish sauce

1 tsp crunchy peanut butter 

2 wedges of lime

Handful of fresh coriander, chopped

If using dried noodles, boil a pan of water. While the water is heating up prep all the veg. Once veg is prepped and water boiled place dried noodle in the water to cook as per packet guide. 

In a wok heat the olive oil and throw in the chopped spring onions and pan fry for a couple of minutes then throw in all the other veg and chicken (if using raw chicken cook this off separately first). Stir fry these for a minute and then add in the fish sauce and peanut butter and mix well to combine with other ingredients. 

By this point the noodles should be cooked. Remove cooked noodles from the water and add to the wok. Then add the beaten egg and mix well to spread evenly throughout the ingredients. 

Once the egg is cooked, which should only take a couple of minutes, squeeze in a wedge of lime and stir in half the coriander. 

Serve quickly and garnish with the other lime wedge and sprinkle with coriander. 

Easy peasy lime squeezey!

I'm loving Damon Albarn's new album, Everyday Robots.  The title track is helping me chill out after a hectic day.