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Showing posts with the label quarantine

My covid-19 summer: A reflection

Everything's been feeling a bit upside down It's crazy to think about how different the world looked at the beginning of 2020. Now, phrases such as 'social distancing', 'the new normal' and 'key workers' are part of our vocabulary like they've always been there. Tiger King, 'Run 5 Tag 5 Donate 5', and staring in disbelief at the empty supermarket shelves, wondering how you're supposed to make banana bread now everyone else has had the same idea...  As scientists discovered more about the virus every day, and cases and deaths seem to be doing nothing but rise, these qualms allowed us to feel united from afar. Not being able to find toilet paper began to feel quite comforting. Nobody's going to forget these times, especially those who have lost loved ones or been seriously ill from the virus. My heart goes out to everyone that has, and if that's you, I am so sorry. Another way lots of people have been affected by covid-19 is through...

Lockdown Baking Series: The 5th and final bake- Cinnamon rolls

As lockdown measures start to ease and we begin to return to some form of 'normal' life, it felt right to bring the Lockdown Baking Series to a close. But I wanted to end it on a (sugar) high, and what better way to do that than with cinnamon rolls? For years I've been using the excuse that recipes that use enriched dough (a classic bread dough with ingredients such as butter added) can't be made vegan and be just as good, because they wouldn't have the same richness that dairy and eggs bring. However, when I discovered these cinnamon rolls, I was proven wrong.    I first discovered this recipe when I had a craving for cinnamon rolls during Veganuary, and I haven't looked back since. They're just as soft and light, and even with plant-based margarine, they still taste surprisingly buttery. Now I know that a lot of people think the only suitably topping for cinnamon rolls is cream cheese frosting, which of course makes them more difficult to make vegan. Howev...

Lockdown Baking Series: 1. Doughnuts

My friend has a YouTube channel ( CaitlingGodfrey ) and she said in a recent video that she and the rest of her family are trying to bake as much as they can so they've got lots of treats during lockdown, which tickled me because in my family, we're trying to  stop  baking as much. Moving back home has meant I've got access to all my baking equipment again -plus my beloved Kitchenaid-, and having extra time too means it's all I want to do! I thought I'd start a series sharing my favourite recipes I've found during lockdown, and first up we've got a recipe for homemade doughnuts. This was my first time making doughnuts, and I can definitely recommend giving it a go. They're very naughty so I'll only be making them as a treat, and they're best on the day you make them so make sure you've got lots of people to share them with. If you're on your own at the moment or have the will-power to only eat one a day, then 1. please can you give me som...

Veggie Or Not, Here Are Five Recipe Books That Everyone Needs On Their bookshelf

This isn't exactly going to come as a surprise, but all of the cookbooks are vegetarian. But if you're a meat eater, don't stop reading! You don't have to commit to a 100% vegetarian or vegan lifestyle to enjoy these recipes (although I can promise you, you won't regret it if you do). 1. MOB Veggie- Ben Lebus The more I learn about MOB, the more I love them. It started off with one guy wanting to help young people cook delicious dishes cheaply, and it's grown so much since then. This book has helped me to experiment with new flavours at university without blowing all my weekly food budget on expensive ingredients. I love the fact that every recipe has a song associated with it too- it shows how much thought has gone into every single dish.  Favourite recipe- Veggie Nasi Goreng This is in the brunch section of the book, but I always make it for dinner and it's become a firm family favourite. Make sure you undercook the rice slightly when you boil it so it doe...

Seven Pages Every Bullet Journal Needs

My brother bought me my bullet journal for Christmas 2 1/2 years ago, and I've been hooked ever since! I'm very picky as to the designs I'll put in mine, which means I'm still only halfway through my first journal. Most of my inspiration comes from Pinterest. So, if you don't know where to start for ideas then create a Pinterest account RIGHT NOW. Ideas for pages there are endless, and if you've got a specific idea in mind but don't know how to put it onto a page, simply search : '(insert idea) bullet journal' for plenty to pick from. I don't have a particular theme to my journal -other than lot's of colour- because I would never be able to stick to it, but feel free to make everything match if that's your style.  Regardless, no bullet journal is complete without these pages: 1. Sunshine tracker This is one of my favourite pages, because I love how bright it is. I know it's a bit cheesy but it does make me feel all warm and fuzzy when...

Five Ways To Make Your Home More Eco-Friendly

Lots of people are using extra free time to have a spring clean and redecorate the house (or just watch Netflix- which is totally fine too). But if you're feeling extra motivated to changes things up around the house, why not make some changes for the good of the planet too? Here are 5 easy ways to make your home more eco-friendly...  1. Get serious about food waste. Via Unsplash It's become pretty common to have a food waste bin now, but we should still be trying to put as little in it as possible. When you chuck out food, you're not only wasting money, but also wasting all the energy and resources used to produce and transport it. Even if you're pretty good at not letting the edible parts of food go to waste, there are lots of ways to reuse food scraps. Potato peelings can be baked with a little oil, salt and pepper for some zero-waste crisps, coffee grounds are a great fertiliser for your plants, and you can regrow loads of fruits and vegetables from scraps (...

Five recipes to try out whilst staying at home

As I said in my self-isolating ideas post, now is a great time to get cooking from scratch. It's a fantastic activity that will leave you feeling accomplished, and you'll have something tasty to enjoy at the end too! So, I thought I'd share with you some of my all-time favourite recipes and some new ones I've discovered during lockdown too. If you're trying to shop less or struggling to find some ingredients at the moment, then check out some of the swaps I've included so you can still get in the kitchen. 1. Cornflake flapjack If you can't find flour or eggs in the supermarket at the moment but fancy baking a sweet treat, then this is the perfect recipe. Martha Collison (from Series 5 of The Great British Bake Off) posted a recipe for these on her blog and I knew straight away that these were going right to the top of my to-bake list. Adding cornflakes into the flapjack mixture makes them taste like the cornflake tart you might remember from school dinne...