Beat the "walk of shame"

We've all been there...

I LOVE this advert! I feel like it really captures the atmosphere of the holiday season and gives us all some helpful advice: if you're looking good, the shame is dramatically reduced!

What's your worst walk-of-shame moment? and What's your best strategy for beating the embarrassment?

Caribbean Christmas

This is the first year that I will not be going home to my little island in the sun for Christmas. This year will be new and different and exciting all the same. But there are a few things that I'm certainly going to miss from home. Most of them are food... surprise, surprise. These are the things that define Christmas at home for me.

Ponche Crema

Mmm... Ponche Crema! This is a little bit like American Eggnog, but very very alcoholic and infinitely more delicious. It is rich and creamy, and with a perfect sprinkling of nutmeg it just tastes like Christmas! You can find a recipe here. I must stress that it wont be any good unless you use a proper West Indian dark rum, preferably Cockspur. Don't even try to use Bacardi! Throw that shit down the drain!

Pastelles

Mmm... Pastelles! So this is a Trini/Venezuelan dish. There is a similar Bajan version called Conkie that you can read about here. Really I prefer the Trini version (and this is the only time you will ever see me admit to anything from Trinidad being better than Barbados). The filling is a mix of meats, heavily spiced and finely minced. It's then covered in a cornmeal casing and wrapped in a Banana leaf. From mid-December to mid-January my family eats these for breakfast at least twice a week. Pastelles really make me feel Christmassy!

Parang Music

So I really love traditional Christmas songs- Jingle Bells and Let it Snow and all the usuals. But these songs don't really tend to be party songs. No one ever jumped up to the dance floor for Rudolph the Red Nose Reindeer. At home we need something to dance to! We always need party music and Parang fills this space for the Christmas season. Most Parang songs, just like Calypso, are filled with suggestion and innuendo. Parang is funny, fun, festive... oh I just love it! 

Breakfast

Ok, so Cadbury biscuits obviously are not West Indian. Or even very Christmassy for that matter. But this very tin of biscuits means Christmas to me. You see, my family is a bit obsessive about presents. We're all pretty much grown, but still are up before 7 on Christmas morning to see what's under the tree. This means that there is no time at all to make or eat breakfast. Instead, a nice big tin of Cadbury Biscuits gets opened and we all gorge ourselves on chocolate while wrapping paper and ribbon gets torn to shreds!  

Christmas Ham

Mmm... Ham! Turkey is not the holiday meal of choice at home. It's ham. A nice big pig leg, honey glazed, covered in cloves... my mouth is watering just thinking of it. My Dad has one of these electric carving knives that whirs and buzzes as he carves our ham. The noise of the knife plus the smell of the ham is like a magnetic pull to the kitchen. We often eat it faster than he can carve!

 

SORREL!

Of all the things that mean Christmas to me, of all the delicious things that I love, none compares to my absolute obsession with sorrel. I LOVE sorrel! This beautifully red, fragrant juice is the most wonderful thing that December has to offer. A glass of sorrel with my pastelle in the morning, a vodka-sorrel to match my party dress in the evenings, sorrel-tinis getting mixed up on Christmas Eve... oh my oh my oh my. Many of you know what I'm talking about, but for those of you who have never had the pleasure of this beautiful drink, I cannot even describe to you how nice it is! It's like nothing else I've ever tasted. And if anyone reading this can tell me where I can get sorrel in London you will be my new best friend! Seriously, I'll bake you something delicious. 

If you're looking for more delicious Caribbean eats, head over to Skip to Malou* today for some more perennial dishes!

Things I find on the inter-web + some other junk

1.) Nursery for Men

I find this weird. And maybe a little bit offensive. I don't know... Men? How do you feel? I kind of feel sorry for Australians.

2.) Carlsberg prank

Beer adverts make me wish I liked beer. Not sure I would have passed this test. Would you?

3.) Porker floats above Battersea Power Station

I promise this is the only time I will ever link you to a Daily Mail article. It has good pictures, and that is why I chose it. Pink Floyd is re-releasing re-mastered versions of all of their albums. In case you don't know this (shame on you) their 'Animals' album featured a picture of an inflatable pig flying over the power station. To commemorate that album and to get some hype for its re-release, they put up another pig! Flying pigs = just plain funny. I live real near to Battersea now and so I got to see the big ole ham in the flesh. I think it's a clever PR move. Did any one else see her?

4.) Skip to Malou*

Fellow-blogger Malou has just started an incredibly cool series of posts called Windows to the World. She's borrowed the idea from somewhere.. and frankly, I'm jealous I didn't think of it first. Each post is a photo taken through a window from somewhere in the world with a short caption. Today is Dubai. Can't wait to see where she will take us next week!

That's all for today folks! Not too many words.

My Love of Food Part II: Food P**n

While I would love to spend all of spare time eating and cooking delicious things, it just isn't the best idea (see previous post as to my deserved weight). So the next best thing is staring at delicious things! I can spend hours flicking through luscious images of everything from simple fruit salads to ultra-decadent chocolate monstrosities! I always prefer the latter. Here are some of my favourite sources of sensual, cuisine imagery.

Crap I Eat (And Drink) - This is probably my favourite food blog. There is nothing simple, minimalist, or healthy about the food featured here. The name of the game is decadence. He has an attraction to exotic foods and strange flavour combination, but also a genuine love for classic comfort food. The focus is less on photography and more on descriptive (and funny) writing. Seriously, I can hardly wait for the next post!

Crap I Eat (And Drink)

Cherry Tea Cakes - Jana, from this blog, lives in DC and bakes up all kinds of tasty treats. This is my go-to blog if I'm looking for a recipe for a tasty dessert or tea-time treats. She also uses her blog to raise money for local food banks. Pretty inspirational stuff. Cherry Tea sounds like Charity.. get it?

Of course, the blog-o-sphere is not the only place for one to find food-pleasure. My addiction was probably initially sparked by the Food Network. My favourites are Iron Chef America and, of course, Ace of Cakes. Duff and his friends make AMAZING cakes! My personal preference for a celebration cake is a traditional stacked, but no one can help getting hooked on the masterpieces they make at Charm City Cakes!

Charm City Cakes. Yes that IS cake!

Unfortunately, when I moved to the UK I realised fairly quickly that Food Network is a scarcity. So I had to grow attached to some Brit-cooking-shows. My favourite is the Great British Bake Off. Every week is a whole bunch of beautiful baked goods accompanied by minimal amounts of reality-TV drama.

Of course, there is the crown of all Food Porn: foodgawker. If you don't already know and LOVE this site, prepare to be delighted! Food Bloggers extraordinaire all come together and contribute to an endless stream of mouth-watering photos of all kinds of food. I have literally spent entire days on foodgawker. It is pure bliss!

Hosts of The Great British Bake Off

I'd Trade All My Tomorrows

In a few days I will be leaving Sheffield. The thing is, I’m rubbish at goodbyes. I’ve watched some really amazing people leave and I haven’t said anything more sentimental than “see you later”. It’s just really difficult to sum up the meaning someone had in your life as they are walking out the door. I’m rubbish at goodbyes. But more than that, goodbyes are just rubbish. This post is my attempt to make up for all the rubbish goodbyes so far and hopefully avoid future rubbishness. All the people that were in my life this year meant something really special to me. You made this one of the greatest years of my life. I’ll miss you all more than you really know.

Here are some reminders of what the post-grad year was all about:

Making Friends

  

Falling Out

Eating Healthy

Plenty of Exercise

Being Cool

Being Cold

Celebrating

Occasionally we did a little bit of work

Just for you, Ailin.

And everyone needed a little rest every now and then...

Don't be sad if you aren't in my photos. It's not because I don't love you.. it's because I don't have any photos of you. And to be fair, by the quality of these photos, you probably don't want to be in any! 

I love you all, and I'll miss you all! Goodbye to Sheffield! Amazing city, amazing friends, amazing year :)