Island Treasures

This weekend the boyf and I went down to the Isle of Wight to visit his fam. It was a lovely, relaxing weekend and I am super excited about my new shopper and vintage tin - both gifts from his ma and sis. Love!

Gobble Gobble!

For those in London celebrating American Thanksgiving today/this weekend, be sure to visit the Selfridges Food Court to stock up on essentials for the big feast. After all, who could live without American Thanksgiving favourites such as; Mac N Cheese, French's Mustard, Lucky Charms, Oreos, jarred hot dogs, egg nog mix, and Shake N Bake??

Okay, so maybe you won't be going to purchase any of those things, but at least go visit if only to have a laugh. I would like to clarify that I am Canadian, so please correct me if my views on these gobble gobble "classics" are wrong! x

Ratatouille

... and I'm not talking about the movie! Lucky Joli Lapin readers, here I share with you one of my favourite family recipes that my dad recently sent over to me. Enjoy!

Onions
Garlic 4-5 cloves
Zucchini
Red, green, yellow peppers
Eggplant
Tomatoes
Olive oil
Thyme
Bay leaf
Rosemary



Slice & salt eggplant. Later rinse, pat dry and cut into ½ inch cubes. Coarsely chop or slice the vegetables. In a large stock pot or oven proof casserole, brown the onions & garlic in some olive oil. This will be the pot for the final assembled dish.

In a separate frying pan brown each of the vegetables separately in olive oil. When they are browned, add them to the first pot. Do not stir them together, try to keep the layers intact.

Add the fresh or canned tomatoes last. Add water to cover the vegetables if necessary. Season with thyme, bay leaves, rosemary, salt & pepper

Continue to cook over low heat if on stove top, or put in a 400 degree oven for at least 1 hr.

Let stand to cool to close to room temperature.

Bday Decor

My beautiful birthday flowers and cards - what a lucky girl I am!

Flower Power

I absolutely love having flowers in my house, but when my bank account is running low (not that its ever on a high) sadly they are the first to be knocked off of my mental 'necessary purchases' list. However, I have found ways to fulfil my love of flowers in the home and not break the bank. Instead of visiting a wonderful florist, I simply wander over to my local Tesco and pick up a small bouquet for under a fiver! This autumn-coloured arrangement really perked up my kitchen, and two weeks later they're still holding up - now that's value! Sometimes it really surprises me how much joy I can get from spending £3. Ta! x

My Precious Parsley

I haven't had too much luck growing parsley this year. So far, looks great in store, but once home has tended to die quite quickly. I've been neglecting my sad little patch of home grown herbs out on my deck since early September, having given up all hope. But a couple of weeks ago I decided to bring my parsley inside to see if it might have better luck sitting pretty on my kitchen windowsill... and look how well it's done! Super tall and green as anything! So happy now :)

Fish Pie For The First Time

I ain't nevah made a fish pie before, but when I spotted the 'Fish pie with colcannon topping' recipe in the November issue of Sainsbury's Magazine (aka my favourite non-fashion magazine) well, I knew I had to try it! Silly me, I only glanced at the recipe before heading to the shops to stock up on fish parts of all sorts and didn't notice the way-more-intense-than-anticipated details. Anyhoo, it turned out delicious and the leftovers tasted even better the next day at lunch time! If you're feeling ambitious and craving something fishy then I highly recommend trying out the following:

Fish Pie with Colcannon Topping (Sainsbury's Magazine November 2010)

Serves 8

1kg smoked haddock fillets

500g white fish filets

a couple of bay leaves

200ml vegetable stock

600ml skimmed milk

2 x 180g packs raw king prawns

200g cherry tomatoes, halved

50g butter

75g plain flour

100g mature cheddar, grated

For the colcannon

1kg maincrop potatoes cut into chunks

1 small savoy cabbage shredded

100ml skimmed milk

2 spring onions chopped

40g butter

1. preheat the overn to 180C, fan 160C, gas 4. Place the haddock and white fish fillets in a shallow roasting tray (or dish) with the bay leaves. Mix together the stock and milk and pour over the fish, cover with kitchen foil and bake for 20 minutes.

2.For the colcannon, simmer the potatoes in boiling salted water for 15 minutes or until tender; drain and return to the pan. Meanwhile, bring another pan of water to the boil and blanch the cabbage for a few minutes; drain and set aside. In the cabbage pan, heat the milk with the spring onions. Mash the potatoes with the butter, then mix this with the warm milk, spring onions and blanched cabbage; season well.

3. When the fish is ready, using a slice, transfer it to a large bowl and discard the bay leaves. Tip the fish cooking liquid into a jug. When the fish is cool, removed the skin and discard any bones. Break the fish into chunks and mix the prawns and tomatoes.

4. For the sauce, melt the butter in a pan, add the flour and stir over the heat for 1 minute. Take the pan off the heat and whisk in the fish cooking liquid, a little at a time. Return to the heat and simmer for 5 minutes until thickened. Take off the heat and stir in three quarters of the cheese. Mix with the fish prawns and tomatoes. Transfer to a large buttered ovenproof baking dish.

5. Top with the calcannon and scatter with the remaining cheese. Bake for 45-55 minutes or until bubbling and lightly golden.

Enjoy! x

Chocolate Souvenirs

Pin-up girl chocolates from Germany! Aren't they great?! Too special to eat I say.

My Mantel

My mantel from left to right: a drawing by my brother on the back of a coaster from Germany, a coaster from the Bowery Hotel in NYC, a Rupaul birthday card, a photo of my brother and I as kids, brooch by Amanda Fatherazi - a gift, vintage hand-painted fawn figurine - a gift, vintage tray found on the Isle of Wight for £1, blossom branch light - a gift, fragrant candle from TK Maxx.