Yellywelly

The Cake Book Challenge!

29 Jun 20148 Aug 2017 Yelly

I am doing a Julie Powell! This challenge that I’ve taken on is getting more and more daunting as I think about it.

I have decided to cook through this book:

It’s a book from Jamie Oliver’s Food Tube series (I also have the BBQ Book too which is excellent!) published by Penguin Books. The book is called The Cake Book. The recipes are written by Jemma Wilson who is the wunderkind behind Crumbs & Doilies. If you’re into street food, you’ll know that C&D offers a really good range of lovely (heavy on the lovely) cupcakes. I love the mini cupcakes that they offer the most because they are bite-sized pieces of heaven! And they look so cute and dainty, almost too good-looking to eat. Almost. I thought to myself, well, if these are Cupcake Jemma’s recipes, well, they are definitely worth making!

There are 50 recipes in The Cake Book. There are 26 weeks left in the year. If I manage 2 recipes each week, I will have cooked through the entire book at the end of the year! I am thankful that I can bring the cupcakes to work or share them with friends. Because my blood sugar would not appreciate the increase in sugar intake!

I like that I am in the same situation as Julie Powell was when she started the Julie/Julia project. I have a full-time job and a long commute at both ends of the day (mind you, I’m not sure how long Julie Powell’s commute was!)! Am I crazy? Definitely. Is this self-inflicted project bigger than I think it is? Probably. But am I excited? You betcha! There are so many interesting recipes in the book. I am looking forward to making brittle! If Julie Powell can do it, so can I!

Yelly Writes

Rethink, regroup maybe?

28 Jun 2014 Yelly

The weekend’s been a bit of a washout. It rained. Really hard. As I was coming out of the hairdressers’ it was, as the Met Office predicted, showery. Very showery. No make that heavy on the showery. But because I was a girl scout (I was, really! I wore the green Girl Scouts of the Philippines uniform for 6 years!) I brought with me an umbrella. Said rain would have, most probably, put a damper on the proceedings at the Colchester Food and Drink Festival. Lower Castle Park can get squelchy when it rains. I was looking forward to going to the food festival today. So the rain wasn’t welcome! Except that I managed to get 2 important things done: my hair AND get dim sum from my favourite Chinese supermarket. I got beef and pork (and shrimp) siu mai, bean curd rolls and dumplings for frying!

I was, however, lamenting my choice of footwear. I have allowed my lovely ballet flats (my favourite pair!) to be soaked in rain water. Not a good thing, I don’t think! I may have to replace them. It’s a good thing they’re a Clark’s shoes standard and, thank goodness, there is a sale on! Mind you, that particularly design may not be on sale, but we shall see!

***

On to other things, I am a tiny bit disappointed that my giveaway hasn’t worked. Mind you, I haven’t really done anything to promote the giveaway so that may be the first thing I should address. I will wait until the last day, 6 July and see if there is any interest. If not, I shall go back to the drawing board and have a rethink! Maybe attempt Rafflecopter again?

I thought if I did too much to prepare, I would be overthinking the whole blog giveaway thing. But I think this time, overthinking may be the best thing. I want to run a really good blog giveaway and I want it to be exciting! So after 1AM on 6 July, if I have no takers, I’m going to try to give the iPhone case again. I just shake my head at the seemingly sloppy way I’ve prepped for this giveaway! In the words of Mr Knightley (Jane Austen’s Emma), “Badly done!”

***

On another note, I am quite surprised at how much I love my hair. It was cut by someone else and I wasn’t quite sure I liked how they handled my hair. Thankfully, it wasn’t something I was unhappy about. What a relief! The lady that cut my hair no longer worked at the salon that I went to. It took me almost 2 years to find someone to do my hair in a way that I was comfortable with. And now she’s moved! I was given her number and I’ve sent her a text message. I hope she sends me a text message back so that I can go where she works! Unless, of course, she doesn’t text back! Scary thought!

Yelly Writes

Surviving hump day!

25 Jun 2014 Yelly

It’s only Wednesday and I am completely shattered!

I told myself the fatigue was probably because I’ve allowed myself to go full throttle this week on the work front. I have been taking it slightly easier than usual at work because I’ve been recovering from a nasty throat infection (which I ignored at first because I thought it was hayfever!). Monday morning was my last dose of antibiotic and the prescription meds seem to have worked. My tonsils don’t look so huge now (I did say at one point that my tonsils were so big they needed their own post code!) but every now and then I still feel a twinge of pain and I must admit, I am worried that I haven’t quite kicked the infection yet. I must remember to book an appointment to see the doctor again, to just check.

I got home slightly late today because a teenager stupidly drove his motorbike through the railway. Just as the train was passing through. He wasn’t hurt but was obviously shaken. I think he was thrown from his bike. Because when I looked out the train window, his bike was lying VERY near the tracks and he was about 3 feet away from said motorbike. He also looked very afraid. Afraid enough to yell at the driver, in a very worried voice, “I’m sorry!” Even through the closed windows and doors of the train, you could hear the tremor of fear in his voice. He suddenly looked very young, ringing his hands and his face flushed bright red. The poor thing. It makes you shake your head really. Why do kids do stupid things like run a motorbike through a railway track?

In other news, I have broken the unofficial baking embargo by baking tonight. It will be coconut and jam slices. I am excited! I am baking again!

Yelly Writes

Blog Giveaway!

22 Jun 20148 Aug 2017 Yelly

As promised, I am giving away an iPhone5/5S case.

I first thought I’d run the giveaway by Rafflecopter but I need to read up on how it works before I actually use it! The competition is open to anyone and everyone who wants to provide a home to this lovely case (I was quite excited when I saw Claire in Modern Family use a similar case for her phone when I was doing my Modern Family catch up yesterday! At least I thought it was the same case).

I only ask for 3 things:

Follow me on Twitter – @yellywelly
Like this post
Leave your deets in the comments section please — say hi and leave your Twitter handle so I know that you’ve followed me on Twitter

You have from RIGHT NOW until 1AM British Summer Time on 6 July to enter!

The winner will be announced on Sunday, 6 July!

Yelly Eats

Vatrushka! Vatrushka!

17 Jun 20148 Aug 2017 Yelly

Vatru-what?!?

I know, it’s a mouthful but let me tell you, the vatrushka is most certainly a delicious mouthful. As a sidebar, and an introduction, I must say that Victoria Stewart’s (@vicstewart on Twitter) food contributions to the London Evening Standard are not to be missed. Her taste buds are spot on and her recommendations haven’t let us down so far. So if you see her byline in the London Evening Standard, read it! She has thoroughly impressed me especially since I once saw her attempt to demolish a heart-stoppingly huge burger from Red Dog.

I first heard of vatrushkas via Victoria Stewart’s article on ES. It was an article about Easter bakes featuring hot cross buns. It featured Karaway, a Russian bakery in Stratford City Westfield and its featured pastry was the vatrushka. The article piqued my curiosity because Karaway is one of the kiosks near the escalators on one end of the Ground Floor of Westfied Stratford City, near Waitrose. Their breads always look good and inviting but I’d never tried any of their products before. The Premier Inn at Stratford is a favourite of ours for city breaks because the rates are always good and the rooms are really good for what is classed as a budget hotel. When you stay at Premier Inn in Stratford, it’s easy to walk into the mall when you come from the hotel and a walk past the Karaway kiosk is almost always a certainty, unless you take a different, more circuitous route!

So on the weight of Vic Stewart’s article, I tore the pages of the article to reread when I got home and vowed to try Karaway when I had the opportunity. And, oh boy, I was definitely NOT disappointed!

A vatrushka is described as a ring of dough with a creamy filling in the middle with the addition of fruits in the middle. For my first foray into the vatrushka world, I chose the peach vatrushka (mostly because I liked peach danishes and I imagined it to be similar to a danish). I usually split things with Alan and this time was no different. As I sliced into the pastry, it felt very dense, almost like a bagel, and I struggled to slice through it (to be fair, I was using one of those disposable wooden knives, so it wasn’t exactly the sharpest of slicing tools!). So I was worried. I was worried that each bite of the vatrushka was going to sink like a leaden weight and I would be digesting my yeasty breakfast untl the early afternoon! But as I started to chew on what seemed to me as a slightly dense briochy bread, it wasn’t as heavy as I thought! It was different from a Danish because a Danish is made from flaky pastry. The vatrushka base is more bread than pastry but was lovely and light and the filling was yummy creaminess! I enjoyed every bite of it. I love peach danishes but I think there will be days when the peach vatrushka will give my favourite peach danish a run for it’s money. I washed it down with a capuccino and I must say, it was one of the more satisfying breakfasts I’ve had!

We also tried the cinnamon apple bun, because the cinnamony breads are hard to resist! I wasn’t disappointed. It was DELISH! It was the perfect combination of sugar, cinnamon, apple and a hint of cardamom all enclosed in their signature briochy bread.

After that first taste, we went back to get some more Karaway goodies. They make delicious cakes too! Really, really good cakes that are airy but oh-so-decadent! Everything can be washed down by really good (and not watery weak) coffee of your choice.

The little Karaway kiosk offers good coffee that goes very well with their delicious bakes! The staff are so pleasant as well, always ready with a smile and an answer to the most simple of questions! So if you’re ever in that neck of the woods, stop and sit down and have a cup of coffee and one of Karaway’s excellent bakes! It’s not only amazingly good, it’s also amazing value for money!

Yelly Writes

One month anniversary…

16 Jun 2014 Yelly

…of not being able to blog!

It frustrates me that I haven’t been able to devote any time at all to blogging of late. I seem to always be apologising to everyone and no one for not being able to write anything. But sometimes I wonder, are you listening out there…anyone?

I am sitting in my front room guiltily typing out words while I am off sick from work. I’ve had what seems to be a throat infection for a few days now. My throat still hurts like heck, even after a 3-day course of antibiotics. I have had tonsillitis since moving to the UK but not quite this bad. I’ve had to take one day off but that was mostly to make sure I rested. I took most of Thursday and all of Friday off sick and yet I still find myself without energy. I’m hoping to get another doctor’s appointment so that I can be checked to see if this isn’t anything more than a throat infection (I am listening to the doctors’ surgery hold music as I type!).

But to go back to my blogging issue, as with everything in my life, I think I need to just sit down and be devoted to it. I used to be. When I started blogging I used to be vigilant, I used to blog nearly everyday. And not too long ago, I managed to post one entry a day! The excuse that work is more involved does not fly because I used to blog even when I was terribly busy! I guess the difference is that, now, I can’t blog at work.

I really need to devote myself to this. I am going to embark in another blog revamp and I think that’s what’s the most daunting for me. I want to make sure my blog entries are more focused and that my blog is a bit more of what I want it to look like! I’m seriously considering getting my own domain and seriously committing myself to writing more and writing better blog entries!

What say you dear reader? I would love to hear your thoughts!

Yelly Writes

One snapshot!

16 May 201419 May 2014 Yelly

On the 12th of May I received a tweet!

The tweet said that I had been selected to win a goody bag from Carnaby Street and Sister. And what a goody bag it was!

This was the photo that won me my the fabulous goody bag!

Thank you Carnaby Street! Y’all know how to give a birthday girl a good time!

Yelly Writes

Looking for Rizal in London Town

14 May 20148 Aug 2017 Yelly

Dr Jose Rizal is the Philippine national hero. He was an opthalmologist by profession. Although he wasn’t directly involved with the actual rebellion against the Spanish colonial goverment, he was a member of the Filipino propaganda movement. He wrote Noli Me Tangere and El Filibusterismo, two novels which are credited to have inspired the rebellion against Spain.

Rizal was well-traveled and well-educated. He studied in Madrid, in Paris, and in Heidelberg in Germany. He was a polyglot and a polymath. I remember my early years in school, from Grades 1 to 3, we studied Jose Rizal’s life. We learned about his parents, Francisco and Teodora, his siblings, Paciano, and his nine sisters, Saturnina, Trinidad, Maria, Lucia, Josefa, Concepcion, Narcisa, Soledad and Olympia. One of the stories from our little Jose Rizal books that I distinctly remember was an anecdote about how devastated Rizal felt when his little sister Concha (Concepcion) died when she was only three years old.

When I moved to England, one of my friends told me about a blue plaque that bore Jose Rizal’s name. The Blue Plaque scheme is run by the English Heritage, honouring the notable men and women of the world who lived in London by placing a blue plaque on the houses or buildings which they lived in or worked in whilst they were in London. I didn’t know about this. I knew that Jose Rizal had memorials in other countries, but I didn’t know about the blue plaque in London.

It was something I had to find. I was Filipino and proud of my country. I get all choked up seeing the Philippine flag flying and ruffling in the wind whilst hanging outside the Philippine Embassy on Suffolk Place! I found out that Jose Rizal lived in the very posh area of Primrose Hill! After getting the exact address, I did the only thing a proud Filipino would do, find the actual plaque! I dragged Alan with me as I tried to find 37 Chalcot Crescent. Before we found Rizal’s plaque, we discovered that the house he lived in was just around the corner from Sylvia Plath’s old house!

I didn’t want to do the cheesy thing of posing right next to the blue plaque but, oh my goodness, was I so proud to see the words “Dr Jose Rizal, 1861 – 1896, writer and national hero of the Philippines, lived here.” He apparently lived here in 1888 as a lodger. His rent was £2! I’m sure that wasn’t exactly cheap then!

I only wish I’d seen this with my parents when we were traipsing around Camden, after our visit to the Jewish Museum. I’m sure they would have beamed with pride, too, that this young, talented man from the Philippines, who lodged at 37 Chalcot Crescent, was recognised by English Heritage as a person of note.

Pinoy pride!

Yelly Eats

The Nordic Bakery

11 May 20148 Aug 2017 Yelly

I am a lover of cinnamon. Cinnamon bun, cinnamon cake, cinnamon rolls…you name it, if it has cinnamon I will want to try it!

The year I moved to England, Alan told me about this little tucked away coffee place called the Nordic Bakery that made really good cinnamon buns. It was in Golden Square in Soho and being a non-native, when we went to pay a visit to it, it seemed to take forever to get to it (of course I’ve completely changed my mind now because I know that everything – well, mostly everything – in London is within walking distance of each other!). When we got there, the place was packed and very busy and we ordered a cinnamon bun. They packed it for us, and we took it back to the flat. I had it and was a tiny bit disappointed. It was nice – but to me, it was nothing to write home about.

I have, however, kept an open mind. I liked the vibe of Nordic Bakery while I was there (it was probably not even 5 minutes) but the blue and dark wood interiors were indelibly stamped in my mind. Every time we chanced upon Golden Square, I looked at Nordic Bakery and wanted to go in, sit down, have a coffee and a pastry (or four!).

Then just this month, I had the opportunity to enjoy the Nordic Bakery twice in 2 weekends. Everything was delicious! Even the cinnamon bun which I thought was disappointing the first time I had it. Everything was really good because, for me, a recalcitrant diabetic with a sweet tooth, everything sweet is to be taken in moderation, and the goodies on offer were not toothache-inducingly sweet!

With a lovely chocolate sprinkled cup of cappuccino (I loved their coffee but will probably try one with an extra shot of espresso next time)

I enjoyed their deliciously spiced lingonberry bun. There was a lovely aroma of cardamom that went really well with the sweet-tartness of the lingonberry jam that was generously spread over the top of the very light cake.

Yesterday, I had a selection of pastries: the savoury but deliciously creamy potato Karelian pie

followed by the yummy apple Tosca bun (it looked like it was going to be so sweet but it wasn’t! It was lovely and light and the apple flavour came through each beautiful bite!)

and I had the classic cinnamon bun to finish. The cinnmon bun is one of Nordic Bakery’s best selling products. By the time we had finished our coffee and cakes the once full basket on the counter was empty! This isn’t your typical doughy cinnamon roll. The layers are thin and light and oh-so-cinnamony. The outer layers are also thin but almost crispy that they crackle when you slice or bit into them. It has certainly redeemed itself! It goes way too well with a hot cup of coffee!

I was so intrigued by the Tosca bun that I had to buy the cookbook. It is filled with the wonderful recipes of all the Nordic Bakery favourites. It’s not going to stop me from eating at the Nordic Bakery but it will certainly tide me over until my next visit!

My first Nordic Bakery cookbook bake is the Tosca cake. It was so easy to make! Am so excited to have coffee this afternoon (it’s a bit sad, isn’t it?)! Join me for a slice?

You need to visit the Nordic Bakery if you’re in London. It’s a really nice place to have coffee and something sweet or something savoury. The staff are helpful and are ever so patient when you have questions about the food on offer. The service is quick and I love how everything is served in pretty plates, trays and mugs of varying shades of blue. I’ve yet to try the rye bread sandwiches but they look so delicious and I intend to try one when I pay my next visit. They have a branch in the Golden Square in Soho. Apart from the Soho branch, they have one on New Cavendish Street and on Dorset Street, both in Marylebone.

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