Sausage and Egg Pie - Recipe

Ingredients

6 eggs
800g sausages
Mixed herbs
500g puff pastry
A beaten egg
Salt and pepper

Method to the madness

Bring a pan of water to a boil and boil the eggs for 4 minutes. Plunge directly into cold water and leave. Then skin the sausages and mix with the herbs and season with salt and pepper.

 

Peel the eggs carefully - this took me forever! I don't think there is any quick way, but let me know in the comments if there is!

Divide the pastry in half and roll half of it into a rectangle that fits in a baking tray. Grease the tray with butter and lay the pastry on top. Add a layer of sausage meat, leaving a little space around the outside. Put the eggs down the middle, making a little groove with your thumb as you go for added stability.

Next build the remaining sausage meat around the eggs.

Roll out the other half of the pastry. Brush the edges of the first sheet with beaten egg and lay the other sheet of pastry over the top, pressing to stick and crimping to pimp. Now brush all over with egg and make a few slits in the top. 

Preheat the oven to 200C. Brush with a beaten egg or milk before baking for 25-30 minutes until a light brown in colour. Try not to eat in one sitting.

xxx

  

50 Facts About Me

Thought I would do a 50 facts about me blog as a way for people to get to know me. It's actually really hard to sit down and think about these. I was going to do 25 but it turns out I can actually ramble on and I could have done more than 50 in the end!

1.  I can’t whistle

2. Night time is my favourite smell

3.  I am 25 years old

4. Sunflowers are my favourite flower

5. When I am sad I listen to Disney songs. Actually I listen to Disney songs whatever my mood

6. Pancake day is my favourite day of the year. I will eat them for breakfast, lunch and dinner

7. I don’t like chocolate

8. I bite my nails

9.  I really love dates, prunes and figs

10. When I was 8 I convinced all my friends that I had written the lyrics to the song ‘Eternal Flame’

11. I hate being alone. I can’t be on my own for more than a few hours before I start to feel funny

12. I am terrified of birds – this is called Ornithophobia. My friends all think it’s hilarious.

13.  I once managed to convince a friend I was Portuguese for a year

14. My favourite colour is purple

15.  I am appalling at Maths. I struggle to add 2 + 2 if put on the spot. It’s sad but true

16. I love rollercoasters

17. One of my biggest regrets in life was giving up horse-riding

18. I lived in Cardiff for 2 years and it was the best time of my life

19.  My dream job is to work in PR/Events although I wouldn’t mind being a published author

20. Warthogs are my favourite animal. It’s just the way the run, it’s too cute

21. I have a scar on my eyebrow from when I was 5 and fell onto my dolls house chimney and part of my eyebrow has never grown back

22. I am very allergic to mosquito bites and will swell up at alarming proportions if bitten

23. I’ve never been in a limo

24. I won’t dive into a swimming pool because I am terrified of snapping my neck on the bottom

25. I don’t really like tea that much and I never dunk my biscuits!

26. I sucked my thumb until I was 10

27. I have had 5 braces as a result of the above but they never sorted out my bottom teeth which are still a bit crooked

28. I have 2 younger brothers

29. I kept a diary for 11 years (2001 – 2011) and have just started it up again

30. I lived in Portugal for 8 months when I was 18

31. I have never broken a bone

32. I have kept a blog for 3 years and I love it

33. I love travelling

34. I am studying part time to get my degree in English Literature

35. I live in London which has been my dream since I was 5.

36.  When I was 8 years old I really wanted to be a catwalk model

37. I never wear jeans

38. I want to get married in a church even though I am not religious

39. I met my boyfriend at Glastonbury

40. I have gone to the toilet in the same cubicle as Charlotte Church

41. I love sour sweets. I am constantly on the look out for the sourest sweet out there

42. I dropped out of college to move to Portugal and I don’t regret it at all

43.  I have really good reflexes

44. I wear hardly any make-up even when I going ‘ out out’. I only wear eyeliner,  occasionally mascara and lipstick.

45. I am going grey already. I pull a new grey hair out every week

46. I can’t stand marmite but my boyfriend loves it and I won’t let him kiss me if he’s eaten it

47.  I can’t drive

48. The smell of coffee makes me feel really ill

49. I hate spicy food. I just don’t get it. Why would you ruin a meal by making it so hot it burns your mouth?!

50. I love to sing. Especially at my boyfriend. Really loudly. 

There we have it, feel like you know me better?

xxx

October Favourites

So I thought it might be time to do my first favourites blog!

First up on the list is my favourite song of the month:

I have always loved Basement Jaxx. There music is happy and upbeat and never fails to put a smile on my face.I was meant to go and see them at a concert last year but instead I decided that climbing over a park fence and seriously twisting my ankle was a better idea and therefore I was in too much pain to go. Some day I hope to be able to see them. I also love this video - look at them dance!

Next on the favourite list is a beauty favourite. I went to a spa at the beginning of the week and they had the below in the bathrooms there and it smelt so gorgeous that I had to go and buy some in shower gel form:

 

It smells so sweet and it might be too sweet for some but it's like a yummy dessert and I almost wish I could eat it. I might have to go and stock up on hundreds of bottles so I never run out. I am also loving the Fair Trade Shea Butter and Honey Original Source body wash.

My fashion favourite has to be my boots with the fur. I have mentioned these in my autumn/winter haul blog and they are just as good as I thought they would be. They are fur lined and comfy, sturdy, so far waterproof and I haven't managed to put a hole in them yet which is something I always seem to do!

My favourite food of the month is definitely something tasty. Asda's chosen by you ricotta and red pepper pesto is so lush. I haven't been using it on pasta though, instead I have been spreading it on wraps and making salad, tomato, feta, ham and ricotta and red pepper wraps which are so good I always want a second. I couldn't think of having anything else with my lunch now.

My favourite life event of the month is that I have started my Open University course. I am really looking forward to this one and reading all of the books that come with it. I have just started to read Northanger Abbey which for my sins I have never read! I also need to read Jane Eyre this month and decide which book to choose in my first essay.  This OU course will be the 5th and penultimate year and I would recommend it to anyone, even if you are just doing one course. 

And finally my favourite website of the month - I have FINALLY got round to registering for Pottermore and I couldn't have been more excited about setting it all up, buying my pet - I got a ginger cat and getting my wand which has a dragon's core. Even thought I consider to be slightly grown up it didn't even matter as I answered the questions the sorting hat put to me with extreme anticipation and a few squeals of delight. Then I got told this...

I'm not too sure how I feel about it to be honest. There's never been a nice Slytherin! And I like to think that I'm nice. Anyway the level of detail is just brilliant and I'm spending far too many hours devoted to this site. It's such a clever idea though and so addictive - all of my friends are getting sorted!

And that is my list of the best things from October! I hope they inspire some purchases/thoughts

xxx

Mexican Pork and Beans - Recipe

Ingredients

Tin of mixed beans in tomato sauce

600g (21oz) diced pork

1 courgette

Handful of mushrooms

1 onion, diced

1 pepper

2tsp Worcestershire sauce

½tsp chilli powder

1 garlic clove, crushed

1tsp sweet chilli sauce

60g (2oz) barbecue sauce

1ltr boiled water

Method to the madness

Chop up all your vegetables and then place into a large saucepan with the beans, 1litre water, the pork, onion, Worcestershire sauce, garlic , sweet chilli sauce and chilli powder  (I also had some left over fajita spice so I chucked that in as well).

Bring to boil then reduce the heat to low, cover and simmer for 1 hour until the mixture has started to thicken. I broke up the pieces of diced pork, by using 2 forks to roughly pull the pieces into shreds (although this might have worked better if I’d left it in a bit longer). Add the barbecue sauce, mix well and cook for a further 10 minutes.

For dinner last night I served this with brown rice, a sprinkle of cheese and a splodge of guacamole and crème fraîche, but there was enough left over for lunch so I put the pork and bean mixture, guac and crème fraîche into a tortilla wrap and reheated at work.

I literally don’t think I have the words to describe how incredibly tasty this recipe is. I think it’s definitely going to be a meal time staple. You must try this! 

Trust me - it tastes better than it looks! 

xxx

Dear Diary,

Whilst I was on holiday I had quite a bit of time to think and so I got to thinking that I have lost a sense of direction and I drifting along. Perfectly happily I might add but at the same time I need to find things to challenge myself. Some might call this a mid twenties crisis.

With this in mind I realised that I have let the last 2 years without really recording it at all. From 2001 to 2011 I kept a diary, I used to write nearly every day. I found it therapeutic and I loved looking back at my 13 year old self and seeing how much I have changed. I stopped writing for a number of reasons really, I was being lazy, I started blogging more, I had other distractions. As a result of this though I now don’t have any record of the last 2 years which I regret so much.

I have decided to start writing my diary again. I am going to make sure I take the time to jot everything down because I think when I’m 60 I will love to look back at my life and remember what it was like to be young and living in London.

With this in mind I went out and I bought a new diary from Paperchase, I don’t think anything inspires me more than a fresh, blank page.

I love the design, it’s very me indeed.

I always do a title page at the beginning and for this I picked a relevant quote that describes life brilliantly for me and added a small doodle of the London skyline as I still feel happy whenever I look at it and realise that I live here. I thought it was appropriate as hopefully most of this diary will be filled with my time here.

I am so looking forward to starting afresh!

xxx

Autumn/Winter Mini Shop

I went away for 2 weeks and when I came back it was autumn, which is fine by me because Autumn/Winter are my favourite seasons and conveniently I had just got paid!

I am also lucky enough to work a 10min walk away from Westfields, Stratford so it is just a hop, skip and a jump away from lots of lovely shops. 

Unfortunately however I only had 40mins as I popped over in my lunch break so I might have to go back and have a proper look but the below are some bits that caught my eye that I think will be brilliant in my new wardrobe.

Firstly; every year I say to myself that I am going to buy some nice sensible leather gloves because I am a grown up but then every year gloves like these come along and I just can't help myself. Look at their faces!! How was I meant to leave them on the shelf?!

 Primark - £2

I got a plain black baggy warm jumper as well which I can wear to work and also for tv days.

 Primark - £7

The top also goes really well with the below midi-skirt which has an elasticated waist (perfect for allowing for those warm carby winter meals). The fabric is stretchy and a in a very autumny green colour with black threaded through

Primark - £8

I also picked up this tartan long sleeved top. I have never worn anything tartan before so I am a bit unsure how I feel about this but it looked really warm and tartan is doing the fashion rounds at the moment so I thought why not. I've been wearing this with leggings and boots.

Primark - £6

This was my favourite clothes item that I bought, although it was from Primark it has a Dorothy Perkins feel about it and the material is quite thick which I find sometimes lacks in Primark clothes. It comes to just below the knee and although not ideal with the short sleeves I plan on wearing this with a black cardi over the top on colder days.

 Primark - £13

I also needed a new scarf and after looking around and picking up some plain black ones (ideal when you have to get on the underground as the dirt wont show) I found this one  artfully arranged on a hanger. It is super soft and quite long which I find important. Although I normally prefer snoods the colours on this made it too pretty to pass up and as I used my student discount in Dorothy Perkins this scarf actually only cost me £3 with the savings!

Dorothy Perkins - £12

I also picked up these earrings because you can never have enough jewellery and the looks a bit like autumn leaves! 

Primark - £1.50 

And finally - my favourite item that I picked up have to be these boots. I was looking at some Chelsea boots but the ones I had last year fell apart quite quickly and I wanted something quite sturdy. I found it in these boots. They are black - so versatile with outfits, they have a small heel to them which provides a thicker sole with a decent grip which will be fantastic if it starts to snow. They have the softest fur around the top for keeping my feet warm and they are SO comfortable. I love these shoes!

Dorothy Perkins - £32

Like I said I haven't quite finished my Autumn/Winter shop yet but I need to wait for my bank balance to top back up again as unfortunately Leigh tells me that paying bills is more important that buying new clothes........

xxx 

Going on a summer holiday....

I have been a bad blogger because I have been on holiday!

Ideally I would have been blogging about the holiday whilst I was there but as there was, gasp, no wifi at the villa it made it very difficult to update my blog as it’s a bit fiddly to do it on the phone as brilliant as it is.

I have been in Menorca for 2 weeks with Leigh and his parents, his brother and wife and 6month old son. I haven’t been on a family holiday in about 5 years so it was really lovely actually. It was so nice to have a holiday where we didn’t have to do anything at all. The last few holiday we have been on – Europe last year, New York, and Glastonbury have all been quite hectic with not a lot of time to just stop and catch a breath.

We stayed in a modern 3 bed villa on a complex called Son Parc on the north coast of Menorca. A beautiful little harbour could be found about 20 minutes drive away and there was a snug little beach nestled within the complex just a short walk away with warm shallow waters and 2 beach restaurants at either end. 

The flight over was only a couple of hours and we flew early in the morning to give us the whole day on the Sunday. We somehow managed to pack both mine and Leigh’s clothes into one suitcase as I refused to pay the extra £30 Easyjet demands for more luggage. We breezed through check in, grabbed a cheeky McDonalds breakfast and had a quick nap on the plane and then we were there. Leigh’s parents had arrived the night before so they were there to pick us up and it was only a 30min drive to the villa, although we stopped off at my favourite supermarket – LIDL to grab lots of rolls, parma ham, chorizo and cheese. I love tapas meals especially all washed down with some Sangria.

To be honest the majority of the holiday was just spent either lounging by the pool or at the beach. Because we didn’t have a car ourselves it made it a bit tricker to explore the island and see some of the things that I wanted to in this instance I really was ok with not doing anything. Just having a holiday where I didn’t have to be culturally aware and inquisitive and instead just getting a bit tipsy on Cava Sangria and soaking up the sun was a nice change from the holidays that we’ve had recently and I didn’t feel guilty about it at all.

Because we didn’t really do too much I fear that this blog may be redundant but I will jot down the key events of the time we spent there. For the first week it was just Leigh’s parents, Leigh and myself so the week seemed to go quite slowly. The weather was a bit iffy on a couple of the days so those were the days that we decided to go out. On one of the days we went to Fornells where the harbour that I mentioned earlier is found. There is also a fort that was built under English rule, so we spent some time walking through the foundations. We also stopped off at a couple of the little shops along the way selling local produce, including the famous Menorca sandals.

 

Although originally I didn’t think we would have enough money to go out for dinner every night, in the end we did anyway just because it was easier and the food was really tasty. I did miss cooking though. There were several restaurants on the complex, and we went to a couple of them more than others. One of our favourites, Pinomar, had a lovely outside area and we ended up going to this one 3 times in the end, including a night that Leigh and I went out by ourselves . We had ordered Seafood Paella which had to be done 12 hours in advance so they could order the fish in fresh. I thought it was gorgeous, there were big chunks of squid and crab, prawns, crayfish and mussels and the rice had been soaking everything up for a while so it was flavourful, but Leigh said it was a lot of effort for not much return, which I do sometimes find, with crab especially.

We went to a couple of different beaches, although I’m not too much of a beach person. I like to go a couple of times because they do tend to be beautiful but I do wonder why people go so often when by the pool you have free sun loungers, a toilet, cold drinks, no sand, no saltwater etc. The main beach that we went to was lovely though, the sea was shallow but with some waves and it was relatively warm and there was a nice restaurant which did good omelettes, salads and massive burgers.

For the second week we were joined by Leigh’s brother, wife (who are the same age as me) and little bubba – William who I am besotted with. He is such a little darling, full of smiles which show off his 2 bottom teeth which have just come through. Although Leigh and I aren’t married I’ve become his (unofficial) aunt and I spent most of the holiday trying to subliminally plant my name in his head so it’s his first word, although we figured Cara might be quite hard to say so I was trying to teach him RaRa.  

The weather also brightened up so I was finally able to get a good tan – luckily I tan quite easily although my legs were being stubborn this year and they only look slightly tanned in the right light.

For the whole 2 weeks we went to a pub/bar called BJ’s every night as it had free wifi, cava sangria, a pool table, a free quiz nearly every night and bingo. We managed to win the pub quiz on 2 occasions earning us some t-shirts and a holdall. There was a really nice atmosphere about the place, and although I normally try and go where the locals go it was nice to have a touch of home about the place, plus a litre of sangria was €8 which is nothing really. 

The week went quite a bit quicker with the distractions of other people around but luckily I still felt like we were away for a long time. I have come back stress free and full of ideas to get everything in my life sorted which is a positive feeling. I still have the ‘I’ve been on holiday’ smile as well, although I’m sure I will only need to be back a week before I am planning my next trip away! 

 

xxx

A fox named Reggie...

When my boyfriend and I first moved into our new house with our concrete low maintenance garden I thought “Great! I’m not a gardener so this should be quite easy”. Except we moved in March when it was bloody freezing and nothing had started to grow. My garden is now a wilderness with trees and creepers and plants that must have been hiding. I am patiently waiting for winter to arrive so it can do the gardening for me.

However because it is now so overgrown we have attracted a new visitor to the garden. I’m assuming that he is happy because he can hide. Well this is what I thought until I came down the stairs Sunday morning and there he was, curled up on our patio table sunbathing......

I managed to get some good pictures of him in the 4(!) hours he was there. It got a bit silly though, I ended up hanging my washing inside because I didn’t want to open the back door. I mean, yes he’s very cute and although there are plenty of urban foxes to be seen in London from afar it’s a bit special to have one so close but I am worried that once we start letting the cat out again once her leg is stronger that she is going to go straight into the jaws of hungry Mr.Fox.

We haven’t been feeding him and we are going to knock on the window if he returns to try to deter him but has anyone else got any suggestions on how to politely tell him that he needs to find a new sun lounger?!

Decorative Nails

So I'm not one to write beauty posts however I can't help but mention what I have found!

I might not have the time to do my make-up every day or lotion all the time but the one thing I do care about is having nice nails. Unfortunately I bite my nails and no matter how hard I try I just can't stop, so instead I have perfected the art of sticking on my own.

Imagine my delight then when I found some brilliant artificial nails in Primark. They were only £1 so I thought "Why not!"

They turned out to be one of the best things I have ever bought. I have had so many compliments on them, from friends, family and complete strangers! I don't know if I should spread the word in case they all run out.....

Look how completely and utterly gorgeous they are!

So I did what any sane person would do and I went and bought 4 packs before they ran out. And I may have bought some other kinds as well, but at £1 a pack you can't really blame me.

Who doesn't want tiny mustaches on their fingers?!

 Just a little bit amazing, even if they do make your eyes go funny.

There are no words to describe the above nails. I almost don't want to wear them because they are so bloody perfect.

You get 24 nails in a pack which does 1 set happily and perhaps another at a push, I didn't try the glue that came with them as I have my own special nail glue so I can't say how well it lasts but I've had the nails on for a week now and they haven't cracked and are sturdy. Also something that is very important to me as I work in an office and do lots of typing is that they are the right length to still be able to type quickly. These weren't the only types either - they had about 20 different nails, from a music note print to solid gold.

These nails are my new favourite thing and I sincerely hope that they stick around (if you will excuse the pun).


xxx