My 10 Most Memorable Meals of 2014

I waited all year to finally treat myself to Bat Cake for my birthday from Asda

We live in an age when photographing what we're eating is now totally normal. When I flicked through my phone earlier today to remember what I've been up to this year I discovered that I too had fallen into that habit - I had so many food pics! But looking at them brought back so many memories...

Teler Pittas Made By My Bosses Mum

Sweet, crispy and wrinkled around the edges, these deep fried Bengali style doughnuts were a speciality of my mums. Yes they were very unhealthy but oh my, they were soooo yummy! You can't buy them anywhere, these are home-made through and through. For a really authentic version you need to track down a Bengali mum who's making a batch for her family. Thankfully I have my boss whose mum made me a batch during Ramadan. I was so over the moon when he brought in a whole tub for me. Every mouthful was a bite of nostalgia - they have this sweet caramely flavour and are quite stodgy, but when warmed up they taste like heaven.

Masala Chai Chocolate 

Generally speaking when it comes to chocolate I'll eat most varieties. Given a choice I opt for Hotel Chocolat though - they by far make some of the best in the world...but earlier this year I came across this Masala Chai chocolate made by Cocoa Hernando. It's the most surreal sensation to be eating chocolate that tastes EXACTLY like a cup of Indian tea - the traditional type you get in Mumbai, sold in little glasses on street corners. With a warming spicy kick and creamy texture, it really is something else in the world of confectionery.

Lovage Soup Taken From A Scottish Graveyard

I went to stay with a friend in Edinburgh for the weekend and was amazed when he whipped up this absolutely scrumptious soup using an ingredient I had never had in my life - lovage. Hearty, satisfying and ever so comforting, I'm not usually a soup person but this bowl of goodness was so delicious I finished every last drop in the pot. As for the lovage - he picked it the day before from his local graveyard. 

Beetroot & Avocado Salad - An Ottolenghi recipe

For a family do this summer I made this salad which impressed all my sisters. I picked it because it contained broad beans. When we were kids broad beans were a staple veg for us as my parents grew them at their allotment - this meant we would spend hours shelling them. I have very vivid memories of coming home from school and shelling broad beans into huge buckets. But eating them became such a chore. I don't think any of us had eaten broad beans much since those days so serving them up in a gourmet salad was a treat for everyone. Here's the recipe.

Bat Pie 

A couple of months back I heard about a pop-up cafe that served up meals inspired by TV programmes - I booked to go with a companion except he arrived late and we missed our slot. To make up for it he said he'd make me the meal of my dreams inspired by any film or TV progamme of my choice....I chose Batman of course. He came up with a 'Bat Pie' (vegetarian...thankfully no bats inside!) I was incredibly impressed...especially with the aubergine bat wing detail.

Hoppers/Uppams 

I discovered hoppers (also known as uppams) in Sri Lanka four years ago but they are very difficult to come across in the UK. Yes there are Indian restaurants on every high street in the country but few serve South Indian dishes and those who do don't necessarily have these fermented rice batter bowl shaped pancakes on their menus. Then a dear friend of mine took me to East Ham where there are a large number of South Indian restaurants. Until now I have mainly stuck with ordering dosas from them but she showed me that uppams are also on the menu so now I know where to go for my fix and I am so happy about that.

French 'Space Cakes'

There's nothing quite like a trip to a French Patisserie. Earlier this month I popped to Lille for my birthday and bought six incredible birthday cakes (in addition to the Bat Cake at the top of this post!) from three different patisseries (I couldn't resist). The ones that impressed me the most were these incredible space themed cakes named after planets. They didn't just look fabulous...I bought Mars and it was incredible, like eating an artistic masterpiece. 

Vegetarian Crispy Duck at Mr Kong

As a vegetarian there are some dishes you realise you will never eat in your whole life ...but then miracles happen - like Mr Kong, a Chinese restaurant in London's China Town that has a mock meat menu like nothing else I have ever come across. Their crispy duck is every bit as authentic as the real thing...it comes with plum sauce, pancakes, chopped cucumbers and is available by quarter, half and whole duck. I've had it three times this year on special occasions and it is so fun to eat. 

Nutribullet Juices & Smoothies

Every health junkie I know (in real life and in cyber space) owns a Nutribullet. I was lucky enough to be sent one to review but it wasn't something I wrote about and forgot about - it's revolutionalised my life. Every smoothie I have ever made from it has come out tasting amazing - I make them around five times a week and carry them with me so I can sip on healthy good stuff when I am on the go. My fave ingredients are spinach and a shot of wheatgrass with whatever fruit I have in the freezer, blitzed up with it.

Fine Dining At The Ritz

For years I have joked about lunching at The Ritz....thinking it will never, ever happen. And then it did...well kind of. I ended up staying for the night which included dinner of a 10-course seasonal surprise menu. It took over three hours to munch my way through so much exquisite cuisine and I was STUFFED in a way I have never been stuffed before. The entire experience of being at The Ritz was very special and very dreamlike; it's definately something I will remember for a long time. 

Sunset In Brighton

When I was at sixth form college I (like most 17 year olds) used to cover my folders with pictures of my favourite bands but there was one girl in my year who stuck photos of sunsets on hers. She liked carrying sunset around with her. At the time I didn't think much of it, sunset was sunset - the time my parents would pray and so my sisters and I had to turn the telly off.

As I got older things changed: I am now obsessed with sunsets - I've even had various shades of sunset coloured hair; but nothing beats the real thing. Last Saturday when I was doing my Christmas shopping in Brighton I looked up at the sky and this is what I saw....

The most beautiful sunset I've ever seen in the UK. It spread across the horizon without anything obscuring the view. I found a chair, sat down and watched it for 30 minutes as it went through a palette of pinks, purples and oranges. Utterly Amazing. 

Sometimes It's OK To Do Nothing

Holwell, the quietest place I've ever been

'I can't. I'm busy.' I find myself saying this on a daily basis whether it's true or not. Nine times out of 10 it's true but if I tried I could reschedule, de-prioritise and end up not doing it if I really didn't want to; trouble is I am the kind of person who is always doing something - never nothing. On this blog I only record a 1/4 of what I get up to. I have countless posts piled up waiting to be published but most will never see the light of day - like weekends in Sweden, Malta and France and even a last minute seven day trip to Kenya (though hopefully that one will surface at some point), as well as craft workshops, social events, life experiences, dos and celebrations, even recipes...

There's so many things I do that I then want to write about but these days I can barely keep up with the writing I need to do for my day job, let alone get a chance to write for pleasure. So the idea of doing nothing just doesn't apply, I mean how can I do nothing when I have so much to do?

The only sound I heard other than crow cries was the squeak of this sign in the breeze

This weekend an opportunity struck and I decided to give in and give it a go: Do Nothing. I checked into Middle Piccadilly a Rural Spa Retreat in Dorset where 'doing nothing' is the preferred way of life. There are no distractions (wi-fi or internet - even my 3G was down), no TV, no radio - not even any newspapers to remind you of the stresses of the world.)

Accommodation is in a restored 17th century cottage and food is served fresh, vegetarian and healthy. The only souls you'll speak to are your therapists - massages, wraps, spa treatments are all part of the pampering, nurturing and relaxing experience. Other than turning up to the kitchen at mealtimes or being ready for your spa sessions there is nothing else to do.

There was a choice of a Detox liquid diet, raw food or vegetarian but I went for  a mix of all three

So what does one do when faced with the ultimate in Me Time? Being in the countryside and with two days of gorgeous, bright, crisp, winter weather led me to embark on three walks around what can only be described as the quietest place I have been to in my whole life (admittedly the route was called Peaceful Lane.) Even the wildlife (aka sheep) barely made a sound. I encountered few humans, few dogs and hardly any cars just endless trees, greenery and farmland.

Peaceful Lane is an understatement - it really was the calmest place I've ever walked

The retreat is popular with stressed out female Londoners - it is literally the opposite in every aspect of what goes on in the capital city. Yet faced with such peace and serenity doesn't necessarily make it easy to switch off. Initially I struggled I just wasn't sure how to fill 'nothing'. Many people come here simply to sleep; at first this seemed wrong, but the truth is I rarely get enough sleep.

In an ideal world there wouldn't be a need to escape to the country in desperate need of rest and re-cooperation but the truth is very few of us would put aside a weekend, detach from technology and mod-cons and make 'Me Time' at home.

Ok...I didn't go as far as playing Solitaire but I drink lots of detox teas

Yet here in the middle of no where it makes more sense. I didn't escape modernity completely (I took photos on my phone for a start!) but I did sit down, look at nature, attempt to meditate and take time doing things. Where normally I wash my face really quickly on autopilot I took time to massage my face wash into my skin and instead of gulping down a cuppa while moving between three rooms, packing for working and doing my make-up, I sat down held my tea until it cooled and drunk it until the mug was finished.

There are so few people around that all the sheep were staring at me!

How do I feel after living in slow-mo for two days? I wouldn't say I felt different or like a new person, maybe two days isn't enough for such as transformation but I did realise that it is OK to do nothing and not feel guilty about it. Whether or not I can 'afford' to give myself another weekend off is another matter but I do think that in an ideal world once a moth switching off from life, tech, stress, and just focussing on the moment - eating, breathing, living has health benefits that are priceless.

When you don't need to rush you really do spot the beauty in nature

Whether you check into a retreat like Middle Piccadilly for few days or are able to recreate a similar experience at home: 'doing nothing' is underrated and should be indulged in every now and again by everyone. With the Xmas holidays and new year around the corner, I dare you to give it a go.

I spent two day at Middle Piccadilly, checking in Friday at 4pm and stayed until Sunday 2pm. All meals were included and the retreat is located a 15min taxi ride from Sherbourne station, which is accessible from London Waterloo. Prices vary according to packages, mine was booked through Wellbeing Escapes and included three treatments - two massages and a mud wrap.

(I wrote this blog on the train back - I imagined myself writing in the evenings but my laptop remained in my suitcase! Two hours to kill on the train home however isn't that interesting so I decided to do something!)

Craft And Curry Night

Curry and craft is now a thing...well I've made it into a thing so prepare for the takeover! The concept is based on the supperclub idea where chefs (both amateur and professionals) hold intimate dining experiences. At its most basic this may involve someone cooking and serving dinner in their own home and members of the public booking to eat there. Menus are set in advance so you know what you're getting and the fee is usually much cheaper than eating out at a restaurant. For the chef it's a chance to cook their signature dishes while entertaining at the same time; some chefs hire spaces in which to hold their supper clubs; as long as there is a kitchen and seating then the space can work.

One of the most interesting elements of the supper club phenomenon is that if you book to attend one, you'll most likely be dining with strangers - conversation is an important as the cuisine; supperclubs aren't for those wanting to enjoy a quiet meal alone, interaction with, and getting to know your fellow diners is part of the experience. I met Nilanjani who runs the Damn Good Curry Supperclub (monthly in Walthamstow, East London), when I attended Rajiv's Kitchen Nepalese Supper Club earlier this year and last month for Diwali we joined forces to create a Craft & Curry Night.

Guests got to enjoy a delicious feast cooked up by Nilanjani while I set up a craft area where diners could do some crafting as part of their evening. As it was Diwali the workshop kept within the theme with guests decorating their own Diwali diyas. These were made using empty ramkins (the type that come with Gu-Puds inside, you eat them then wash the glass containers out which can be re-used - turns out I had 16 empty ones in my cupboard!). They make perfect candle holders.

I provided trimming, sequins, gems, Indian motifs and shisha mirrors which were taped (using double-sided) and glued on. 

As a quick and easy craft it worked really well, most got made in the period before starters, after diners had arrived and got a drink ,though some made their's inbetween courses. Some diners even placed in on their tables while they ate.

The food was exceptional (I can see why it's called 'Damn Good Curry', it really was one!)

A yummy meal to end the evening was served by by Nilanjani's assistant Zoe aka The Spice Scribe.

It was an insane and busy night for one person in particular - the chef herself!

All in all it's what I'd call my dream night out - great food, friendly people and the chance to make and take something unique. I can definately see Craft and Curry nights catching on - it's a step away from what I'm doing running The Make Escape Craft Night - that for me will always be voluntary run - I'm extremely proud of the model we have) but in terms of a business idea I'm keen to explore more ways for me to combine craft and curry by working with different chefs.

In fact if you are a chef and would be interested in discussing a craft and curry night then I'm all ears! Get in touch. Find out more about The Damn Good Curry Supper club here - and if you're feeling inspired; there's no reason why you can't start up your own Craft & Curry Night - I would love to hear about it.

Publishing My First Book On Kindle

I took the cover photo at Kolkata flower market

It's taken me 10 months but I've finally managed to self-publish my first book. It's a 'travelogue' which is basically a diary/memoir style piece based on a month off that I took last December. I wrote most of it while I travelling, in the evenings, and on public transport.

Writing on a long train  journey through West Bengal

I planned to come back to the UK, spend January editing it and then publish it in February. But real life set in and it never happened. Fitting the editing side in with my day job and other commitments was really tough and I found myself disconnecting from it. Eventually I got stuck in again but that was just the beginning. 

Sunset in Kathmandu

Next came the preparing the file for Kindle part (it's only available as a digital read on Kindle for the moment, I may extend it to other digital readers and possibly print on demand paperback but I'm not sure yet.) 

This involved another few months. I looked at endless on-line tutorials and even enrolled on a four day course called 'How To Publish Your First E-Book.' But came away none the wiser, in fact it confused me even more.

Children at Darjeeling Train Station

Eventually I settled on the simplest conversion which is creating it on word, inserting some images then converting it to a html file (instructions for how to do this can be found on the Kindle Self-Publishing site. Why I didn't do that to start with I'll never know!

For complicated booked other processes would be required but as I say, for simple text and pictures it's straight forward enough, the secret lies in the formatting which happens in the word file. 

Traditional Naksha Buti weaviing in Tangali, Dhaka, Bangladesh

The book is written in the first person as that's how I've always written my diaries. One of the main reasons I wrote it is that before I went away, and while I was away, I really enjoyed reading other people's self-published travelogues. They are far more interesting than reading travel guides. 

But looking back at it now, when I dip into it on my Kindle the trip becomes so vivid, I feel like I would have forgotten so many things. Even just looking at the photographs isn't enough as they only form half a memory. Writing provides a more real picture.

The book costs £3 (I only get £1 of that!), I'm not expecting to sell many copies but I hope that anyone who is travelling to India, Nepal or Bangladesh will consider purchasing it for inspiration or if you simply fancy a read that's a bit different you'll take your chances.

The first chapter of the book (sample chapter) is available to read for FREE here. If you've got five minutes, have a browse.

Zine Making For International Day Of The Girl

The first thing I ever had published was in a zine so I am a massive supporter of the DIY zine movement. I was therefore chuffed to be asked to run a zine-making workshop to celebrate International Day Of The Girl at The Southbank. 

As well as contributing to zines and fanzines, I also used to edit my own, a craftzine called Fete which focussed on the handmade. 

For this session I decided to create a group zine. The idea was that it would be A5 in size and everyone would be given a sheet of A5 paper on which they could do anything they wanted to; draw, paint, collage, write etc...(as long as it was about girls!)

My table filled with collage materials including lots of magazines to cut up and create with.

 The Southbank also leant us the use of these rather fabulous letter stamps and provided lots of ink pads.

Elsewhere there were some other workshops running alongside mine including this fun comic creation session with artist Matt Boyce.

And zinemaking with For Book's Sake who had some fab stickers.

As it was a drop-in session I had no idea how many people would come and whether or not we'd have enough content to make a full sized zine but I'm pleased to report that during the four hours, over 25 contributors took part and they weren't just women either, there was balanced gender and age mix which makes the zine even more special.

Here are some of the pages that were created...

And these are some of the spreads...

The finishing touches to the zine were these illustrations of different girls by artist Inky Ponting. 

And here are the names of the other contributors...

The zine has been kept by Thee Southbank who are going to make a digital version of it but in the meantime in true DIY zine style they have photocopied it and sent it to the contributors - it looks just as impressive in black and white. Although blogging is a digital form of self-publishing, nothing beats the feeling of seeing your work in print.

Away from work also I've been working on my own 'self publishing' project which after months of beavering away has finally developed into something...but more on that in my next post.