The Pudding Pantry opened earlier this year and is run by 3 friends who all have a passion for desserts and coffee. It is located in the Trinity Square area of Nottingham City Centre and funnily enough is across from a gym! You may think this is a good or a bad thing, I personally think it is genius. They have a small outside seating area and also a open hatch to order and collect through instead of going into the store. All of their cakes are baked fresh and are constantly changing. Cinnamon Apple Doughnuts with a Maple Glaze, Bacon Brownies and Peanut Butter and Chocolate Cookies are just a few of the items that have been on offer since opening.
Their menu features a small selection of items for Lunch such as sandwiches and soup, plus a kids option and also pizza. However, as soon as you open the menu the first page is a the listings of homemade pancakes with toppings and delicious milkshakes.
I went for the Homemade Pancakes with Salted Caramel sauce. Oh my that sauce was like the middle of a soft Worther's Original sweet, people in the UK will understand this but I am not sure if these are worldwide. The pancakes were light and fluffy however, I could tell they were pre-made in store before ordering as they were not warm at all. I still managed to eat them all with just one bite left as it was just a little too much for me though.
The restaurant is decorated in pastel colours with a kind of rustic cafe feel. There are comfy settees, chairs with tables and booth type seating with all of the woodwork made by a contact of the owners and all of the colours and branding of the company designed and created by their graphics designer friend. Overall, the vibe is very relaxed and perfect for the young, student scene of Nottingham. I can imagine this to be very successful now that term has started again and I may have to return to try one of their homemade cakes!
Let me know if you have been here or are thinking of trying it xx
I've been wanting to experiment with some smoothie recipes lately as I have had a blender in my cupboard for a year collecting dust. I have a pretty cheap blender that has a jug with a handle as the container so it all gets blended in the cup you can drink out of and take away with you. Perfect for breakfast when you might be in a rush out the door. I love cinnamon and now it is getting a little colder and Autumn is upon us I thought it would be the perfect ingredient in a smoothie to start the day. This recipe can be adapted so easily so if you want more or little of anything you can change it to your own taste or dietary requirements, such as changing milk for almond milk - which would be yummy in this! Or maybe add some protein powder for a boost.
Ingredients
1 Small Chopped Banana
3 Chopped Medjool Dates
1/2 tsp Ground Cinnamon
1/2 tsp Vanilla Extract
1 1/4 cup or 310ml Milk (I used semi-skimmed but use any)
1/2 cup or 50g Uncooked Oats
Method
1. Place all of the ingredients into the blender and blend until smooth. Serve in your favourite glass or jar.
Erm, that's it! Let me know if you try this or a version of this xx
Fashion
Oh the warm clothes. I feel like in summer I can throw on any old shorts and top and not care too much. In Autumn I wear different styles of shoes, gorgeous jumpers and knitted dresses. The bags get bigger, all the new season style comes out and everyone looks amazing. Did I hear shopping trip?
Makeup
From barely there soft summer makeup to hello dark lip. Makeup gets darker, heavier and once again everyone is putting in a little more effort to look better. My makeup collection is taking a turn and more risks are about to be had with plum lips and cranberry eyeshadows.
Life
For me Autumn means going back to school, college or university. This Autumn is my last one to do this as I am going into my third and final year of my degree. For pretty much the past 16 years summer has ended and the early mornings start once again as I had back to study. This also means early morning trips to Starbucks where I ditch the Iced Coffee for Vanilla and Pumpkin Spiced Lattes - large of course. Now I'm an 'adult' Autumn also means finishing university and going for dinner or drinks with friends andgossiping talking about our day. Oh and who can forget the build up to, wait for it, Christmas! All the lights and German markets! It makes me giddy just thinking about it.
Autumn and Winter has always been my time of year where I feel everyone is happier, we are all getting cosy in our warm clothes and houses and it really does give me a confidence boost.
Let me know what you love about Autumn and what you're excited for this year xx
Oh the warm clothes. I feel like in summer I can throw on any old shorts and top and not care too much. In Autumn I wear different styles of shoes, gorgeous jumpers and knitted dresses. The bags get bigger, all the new season style comes out and everyone looks amazing. Did I hear shopping trip?
Makeup
From barely there soft summer makeup to hello dark lip. Makeup gets darker, heavier and once again everyone is putting in a little more effort to look better. My makeup collection is taking a turn and more risks are about to be had with plum lips and cranberry eyeshadows.
Life
For me Autumn means going back to school, college or university. This Autumn is my last one to do this as I am going into my third and final year of my degree. For pretty much the past 16 years summer has ended and the early mornings start once again as I had back to study. This also means early morning trips to Starbucks where I ditch the Iced Coffee for Vanilla and Pumpkin Spiced Lattes - large of course. Now I'm an 'adult' Autumn also means finishing university and going for dinner or drinks with friends and
Autumn and Winter has always been my time of year where I feel everyone is happier, we are all getting cosy in our warm clothes and houses and it really does give me a confidence boost.
Let me know what you love about Autumn and what you're excited for this year xx
If you haven't heard of Bill's, it is a chain of restaurants that originally started as a small grocery store in East Sussex. After a flood ruined the store Bill re-opened the shop and added a cafe. It was a huge success and the rest is history.
Bill's has recently opened a restaurant in Nottingham and I recently went with my boyfriend for lunch. The building that the restaurant is in used to be a bank but you would never know. From what I have seen the chain decorate all of their restaurants with a relaxed and quirky decor that shows off their own selection of purchasable goods such as aprons and kettles, but more of this later.
They are open from morning until late evening and pride themselves on serving food "Breakfast to Bedtime, and everything in between." Everything is on the menu from Pancakes with Syrup to Fish Finger Sandwiches and Scones to Steak. There is definitely something for everyone, no matter what time of day.
To start things off I ordered their Iced Coffee - not the best I've had and I suspect it had some kind of powder added, but it was drinkable so I was happy.
As we were there for lunch we didn't get any starters and went straight for the main. I had a Halloumi and Hummus 'burger' with Skinny Fries.
This was some good food right there. It has baby gem lettuce, roasted peppers, grilled halloumi, hummus, sweet chilli and yoghurt. Oh my gosh it was so tastey! It tasted so fresh and the halloumi was not rubbery at all, with a healthy portion of hummus on the bottom I was in heaven (I probably could have eaten two).
I saved myself from the second and headed for the dessert menu. It is a small menu however, they also have a selection of baked goods if you don't see anything you fancy. I ordered the Scones with Clotted Cream and Jam. These were some of the best scones I have eaten and were worth the wait the have them hot straight out of the oven. They were buttery and filling and I only ended up eating one, yes I ordered these just for me hehe! The boyfriend agreed though that they were good scones.
As I mentioned before they sell their own selection of goods in their restaurants to take home. On the tables with the cutlery and napkins you will find a brown paper bag with a small pencil in it. Open out this bag and you will find a checklist on the back - this is where you can tick what you want, using the small pencil, and have the waitress bring you your items. They sell anything to go from jams, chutneys and sweets to beer, aprons and truffles. We didn't order anything but I couldn't help to take a picture of some of their selection.
Overall, we very much enjoyed our first experience of Bill's and would be happy to return.
Let me know if you have ever been to Bill's and what you thought! xx
Yamas, 5 Thurland Street, Nottingham NG1 3DR - (0115) 950 1000
Yamas in Nottingham is a beloved restaurant that I have been to many of times yet I think is still a hidden gem in the city centre. It is a Mediterranean Meze and Tapas restaurant that is independently owned by a Greek gentleman who also works there serving tables and being the perfect host. None of the dishes are expensive and they also have set menus for larger groups or new customers who aren't sure what to order.
We got there early at 6pm to have a meal before going to see the new film 'Lucy'. It was pretty quiet but picked up by the time we were leaving. Starting the night with a bottle of Beaujolais, not very Mediterranean but I love red wine, we looked over the menu and chose around 3/4 dishes each to order.
And we are never disappointed by what we get! Salmon and Prawns in a creamy tomato sauce and Lamb Tagine with Apricots.
A huge bowl of Greek Salad - red onion, tomatoes, feta cheese, black olives, cucumber and rocket.
Our favourite dish of Octopus! We always order this as it is so nice and not at all rubbery, served in a tomato sauce.
Giant Butter Beans and Saffron Rice.
Chorizo with peppers and onions.
And to finish...who can resist dessert! The menu is very Greek and rich and so are the desserts. The options are limited but with something for everyone from Yoghurt and Honey to Chocolate Fudge Cake and Cheesecake to traditional Baklava - layers of filo pastry and almonds drizzled with honey.
We drank our wine, had good conversation (if you have seen my Twitter you will also have heard about a terrible YouTube viewer!) and at the end were offered complimentary shots of Amaretto or Sambuca. We both chose Amaretto (which we always do when they give us these options) and were given a pleasant farewell and handshake at the door.
I recommend this restaurant to anyone looking for intimate or casual dining that has a great atmosphere and even better food.
Let me know if any of you decide to go or have been anywhere similar I can try! xx
Ah who doesn't love a cheesecake? That's right, everyone loves cheesecake and those who say they don't are lying.
Today I was supposed to be having a fun filled solo shopping trip in Birmingham. I did the shopping but it wasn't very fun filled and resulted in only two photos being taken - FAIL. So instead of that being uploaded here is my Strawberry Layered Cheesecake recipe. This is really easy to make and has the added bonus of yummy condensed milk.
Tip: Don't forget the lemon juice. You may think the cheesecake will benefit without but oh no it makes it better and surprisingly doesn't taste like lemons.
Serves 12
Prep Time: 20-30 minutes
Ingredients
200g Biscuits - I chose Malted Milk
5 dessert spoons of Almond Butter
410g Mascarpone Cheese
1x 397g Tin of Condensed Milk
Juice of 2 Lemons
400g Strawberries
1 tbsp Jam - I chose Raspberry because that's what was open in the fridge!
1. Put all the biscuits in a freezer bag, or any kind of resealable food bag, and bash with a wooden spoon or rolling pin until they are all broken up. I like to keep some of the pieces a bit big so the base is still crunchy.
2. Mix the almond butter into the biscuit crumbs and combine until all the biscuits are coated. Pour into the base of a tin and flatten with the back of a spoon. Put this in the fridge whilst you do the rest.
3. Mix the mascarpone and condensed milk in a bowl. Keep whipping until it is nice and smooth.
4. Add the lemon juice and stir.
5. Chop the strawberries into a bowl and coat with the jam.
6. Pour half of the cheesecake mixture in the tin and smooth out. Add the strawberries and top with the rest of the cheesecake mix.
7. Leave in the fridge to set for around 2-4 hours then serve.
See told you it was easy! Let me know if you have tried this recipe and what you think xx
This is one of my own recipes for Healthier Egg Free Rhubarb and Ginger Muffins, instead of Egg I used Banana; I also substituted Milk with Almond Milk and swapped Butter for Fat Free Greek Yoghurt. I used paper muffin cases but I would recommend using lightly oiled silicone cases, as the muffins do not have butter they tend to stick to the paper cases. The filling is a Rhubarb and Ginger Conserve by The Mercers. The muffins are a basic muffin recipe so feel free to get creative with the fillings.
Makes 12 Muffins
Prep Time: 20 minutes
Cooking Time: 15-20 minutes
Ingredients
2 1/2 Cups Plain Flour
1 tbsp Baking Powder
4 tbsp Caster Sugar
1 1/4 Cups Almond Milk
1 Banana, mashed
1/2 Cup Fat Free Greek Yoghurt
1/2 tsp Vanilla Extract
6 tsp Rhubarb and Ginger Conserve
1. Preheat the oven to 190C/375F/Gas 5. Stand 12 paper or silicone muffin cases in a muffin tin, or simply grease the tin thoroughly. Sift the flour and baking powder into a mixing bowl and stir in the caster sugar.
2. Mash the banana in a separate bowl or jug and beat in the almond milk, fat free greek yoghurt and vanilla extract. Add to the flour mixture and fold together lightly. The mixture shouldn't be over worked, just fold enough until all the flour has been combined.
3. Separate half the mixture into the muffin cases and save half in the bowl. Top each one with half a teaspoon of the conserve filling, then cover with the remaining muffin mixture.
4. Bake for 15-20 minutes, or until the muffins are well risen and golden.
5. Remove the hot muffins from the tin and leave to cool on a wire rack.
Let me know if you try these and what you think xx
An easy healthy (ok, maybe not with double cream) meal that fills you up and hits the spot. This creamy salmon is rich but not too heavy and is perfect for those summer evenings where you want something quick and light; it is also really cheap, bonus! This recipe can be adapted to make as much or as little as you need or why not try chicken instead of salmon...completely up to you.
Serves 2
Prep Time: 10 minutes
Cooking Time: 20 minutes
Ingredients
2 tbsp Olive Oil
1 Large White Onion
2 Cloves of Garlic
150ml Double Cream
200g Salmon
5 Nests of Wholewheat Tagliatelle
Black Pepper To Taste
1. Cook the wholewheat tagliatelle as per the packet instructions, usually it takes around 10 minutes to cook
2. Whilst the tagliatelle is cooking, peel and chop the garlic and white onion
3. Drain the wholewheat tagliatelle, put on a serving dish or in a bowl and keep warm
4. Using the same pan you cooked the wholewheat tagliatelle in; put in the oil, onion and garlic. Keep these on a low to medium heat and continuously stir until the onions are soft but not brown
5. Chop your salmon into cubes. Put the salmon and cream in the pan with the onions and garlic and stir.
6. Keep on a low to medium heat and stir until the salmon has cooked, around 5 minutes. Season with black pepper to taste.
Let me know if you try this and what you think! xx
Disclaimer: All ingredients were purchased by myself and cooked by myself.
Subscribe to:
Posts (Atom)