Bank Holiday Plus

Bit of a hodge-podge today as its been a while since I last wrote. Having said this, id be surprised if you can tell the difference between this weekend and last, as we are BBQing in almost every shot.
The weather was just so lovely- sunshine absolutely everywhere!

Went a bit mad with the old light leak. Incidentally if you're interested in Apps and the like check out Lumi (iphone & Android)

Stayed in the sun till the cows came home

Picnicking on Devil's Dyke.

Steiner throw back...

We made some proper buff food (recipes to follow).

My absolute favorite flowers, a present from The Boy.

 xXx

Kick Start!

My Grandma came to visit today and in true Grandmotherly style she showered me in wisdom and went to great lengths to ensure my continued health and well-being.

yes that is a Hawaiian shirt.

Health giving swag.

new running shoes!

Went for a jog with my new running shoes this evening. What a treat?! It was like running on springs I can't believe the difference. I had my feet 'analyzed' on this thermo stuff, apparently I have 'neutral' feets... I also learned that you should get new trainers every 3-9 months, or more frequently if you run more than 3 times a week.

I also got round to getting a rail card (finally). My have things changed since the last time I used a photo booth! It tells you to do all the usual stuff 'place head in frame', 'adjust seat' etc etc then it says: 'Do NOT smile'!!! Can you believe it?! what if your natural face is smiling? total rubbish! I smiled anyway. Fuck you Photo-Me photo booth!

xXx

Pad Thai!

Last night we made the long awaited Pad Thai. It was delicious despite the facet that (predictably) it didn't quite taste like the real thing.

Phee and I spent Sunday pretentiously swishing about Brighton shopping in 'authentic' markets in the hope of recreating a realistic Pad Thai. The saddest thing is we found almost everything we needed in that bastion of middle class virtue- Waitrose...

For a meal that is supposed to be quick to make, not to mention made at lightening speed, quite a lot of preparation is needed.

Thought I'd share the recipe with you guys. Enjoy!

1. First off (cooking for veggies) meant replacing meat with tofu, which had to be pressed then heated to draw out all the moisture. this took fucking ages! If you're a vegetarian, or cooking for one, here are some decent instructions on how to prepare it before Pad Thaiing. (I advise doing it otherwise it all falls apart when you get down to business).

Warm on low heat, turning tofu every 8 mins. or so. ours took about 45mins.

marinade ingredients: Salt, Garlic, Soy Sauce.

I made a marinade for our tofu and left it soaking over night. A Thai women we met on our ingredients buying excursion told us to add salt to soy sauce to replace fish sauce. I often use coarse salt to pulp garlic if I'm adding it to a marinade or dressing- in this instance I just added a little more.
You will need: coarse salt, 1 clove garlic and enough soy sauce to cover your tofu. finely chop garlic then smosh it over the salt with the flat of your knife until pulped.

I used a recipe for Pad Thai that I found on this brilliant Blog. its the best I have found so far, check it out.

3. Soak the noodles: for Pad Thai use luke-warm water and soak until they are pliable but not fully cooked. Ours took about 25 mins. drain and add oil to prevent them from sticking to each other.

4. For the Sauce: the marvelous Chez Pim has this to say on Pad Thai sauce: "lead with a salty flavor, follow by a mild sourness, then just a gentle sweetness and a soft caress from the chilli at the back of my throat at the very end." so this is what I went for. Mine didn't turn out quite like this (too sour) but was tasty non the less.

You will need: 1/2 cup Tamarind Paste, 1/2 Soy Sauce (I added the left over marinade to the concoction), 1/3 Brown sugar (melted over a low heat in water) and a good pinch of chilli powder and chilli flakes. Heat the Sugar first then add the others and simmer gently.

5. As I mentioned earlier, you have to be super speedy once you actually start cooking so its best to have all your ingredients ready to go.

Soaked Noodles, Bean Sprouts, Tofu, Spring Onions, Pickled Beetroot, Lime, Chinese Cabbage, Chillies. We had grated carrot too but it doesn't seem to have made an appearance here.

You can add pretty much what ever you like to Pad Thai but we used- Bean Sprouts, marinated Tofu, Spring Onions (we couldn't find Chinese Chives), Pickled Beetroot (we couldn't find pickled turnip- and beetroot made it all pink which was fun), Lime, Chinese Cabbage, Chilli (de-seeded and chopped) and illusive grated Carrot.

 6. Heat your wok until it starts to smoke

7. Add oil (we used Sesame)

8. Add Tofu and a table spoon or two of your sauce (add extra garlic if you fancy it). Cook tofu until crisp and golden.

9. Add noodles and 1/2 cup of warm sauce. (best to have your sauce to hand and warming on a hob throughout).

10. Stir all vigorously making sure to keep everything moving until the noodles are soft. (if you find the sauce is evaporating too quickly add a bit of water. Again, its good to have this to hand as everything happens pretty quickly. Add more oil if your noodles are clumping.

11. Push noodles to one side and crack an egg into the wok. I found that the egg cooked too quickly and sort of disappeared. Next time I' going to try adding it last- I'll let you know how it goes. Toss all together.

12. Add bean sprouts, pickled beetroot, cabbage, spring onions and toss all together. Add more sauce if things are looking a bit insipid and pale.

13. whack it all on a plate sprinkle liberally with Peanuts, chilli and carrot.

14. Serve with booze (any you like but dry white wine and cider go particularly well). ENJOY!

xXx

Betty!

It has been a hectic few days, and the next few are set to follow the trend.

On Tuesday I cycled for 2.5 hours to purchase a wok in preparation for the date night Pad Thai. Saw some pretty bangin' views of the white cliffs.

the aforementioned wok.

Regular readers will have heard of Betty- the office hound. She has been staying at the Penthouse the last few days and in that time I have transformed into one of 'those' people. So, without further ado, here is a glut of dog related imagery.

Desperate for walks

Excitement on the beach.

Riding the open top bus on our way to the Downs (for MORE walks)

Mid-walk tipple at the Royal Oak

Never ending steps that went on and on...

...and on. I was told at the top by a well informed 7 year old that there were 154 steps (it felt like more).

The view from the top was pretty good.

The day started off really hot and sunny but then this strange sea mist set in and took over. Everything looked all Pirates Of The Caribbean and spooky. On the way home we saw this ship, mentally close to the old pier. It looked like a ghost ship but I have since been told that it was doing some 'buoy maintenance'. Much less exciting.

Look how close it is to the shore!

More walking. Phee and Betty.

Hope everyone is having a gorgeous week. Only one more day then its the weekend! Yippee!

xXx

Nike Convicts

Hello All,

Another glorious weekend spent sipping Pimms in the sunshine and feasting on roasts. I also went to the cinema to see the new Batman film which I thought was pretty good.

Sunday Roast, The Pelham Arms, Lewes.

A pint of Pimms? Don't mind if I do. and a crossword? naturally.

The Pelham does a tasty roast, my one criticism was the lack of veg variety- one piece of carrot didn't cut it for me. The spuds however where amazing (so crispy I could barely cut them!). 

Inspired by my new trainers, that have been affectionately christened 'Convict Feet', I have designed a new shoe for Nike... Nike Convicts.

Convict Feet

The New Nike Convicts

I also gave drawing clothes a bash (if you haven't seen Andrew Mashanov's work check it out here). it is so much harder than I thought it would be!

I saw the coat this guy is wearing on a girl in town and I want one! Alas I have not been able to find it anywhere.

Hope everyone had a lovely weekend!

xXx

Its August

Hello Loves,

Phee and I went out to Giggling Squid last night for date night, and enjoyed a rather tasty Pad Thai.

Check out that beetroot flower!

We try and do date night 2 nights a month, 1 night in and 1 out. Its mad that when you live with someone, and see them every day, so often you don't make the effort to actually see them. ANYWAY next date night is Wednesday and I was going to make Pad Thai. however, having seen the 'real' thing, it suddenly seems a more daunting task. Will keep you all posted.

The Lion & Lobster

Outdoor fire at The Lion & Lob.

This is the pub I have been meaning to do a roast review about. its a really cool little pub- sort of feels like a pirate ship tardis inside with windy staircases and surprise decks and all sorts AND, most importantly, their roasts are delicious. Sadly I have left it too long to write a proper review but I do remember this: their gravy is AMAZING! Obviously I will have to go back for a second sampling.

Chalk & Cheese are a bangin' combo!

This photo pretty much sums up the difference between Phee and I. The convict feet are mine, the sparkly necklace is Phee's...

Went all Burton on the drawing front. Love his stuff.

Finally I found this wonderful Tumblr the other night, check it out its well worth a look. I keep meaning to try and draw clothes, but I don't seem to be that good at it, which is a shame as I would love to draw like this guy.

Having started with food, I shall end on it too. Here's what I had for lunch today (because you're all just dying to know)- almost healthy!

Smoked salmon, felafel, radishes, tomatoes, beetroot salad, tzatziki and CRISPS!

See you on the flip side!

xXx