GOING UNDERGROUND

New Year. New start.

Howdy folks and a happy 2016 to you.

January has gone super fast. I've turned the big two five this month and taken some time off to reflect.

I'm currently redesigning the blog and overcoming my writers block. My new direction will be focused on and around (but not limited to) my life and exploring London. Be that food, beer, culture or whatever else takes my fancy.

I hope you can join me on my new adventure.

LIFESTYLE | FINAL COUNTDOWN

It's the final month of student life for me and it's all kicked off!

On Wednesday I handed in my hefty dissertation and now I am working towards my final essay and exam of the semester.

I've been busy baking in the Inkwell kitchen, over the last few weeks these beauties have been baked:

Toffee, Pecan and Banana Loaf

Orange and Poppyseed Cake with Chocolate Drizzle and Homemade Candy Peel

Raspberry Bakewell Cake (only got an Instagram pic - sorry!)

I've also started working in the kitchens at Opposite Cafe in Leeds - renound for it's superb coffee and amazing food with an always lively and buzzing atmosphere. I'm loving it. I am however very busy but still managing to fit in a good work/uni/life/playtime balance so GO ME.

Some highlights of "playtime" over the past few weeks have been...

#1   Losing my Brewdog Leeds virginity!

#2   Going to the preview for the new exhibition "Feast" at the Leeds Gallery and getting to try out the incredible Whisky Tornado creation by Bompas and Parr.

#3   Feeling 10 again and going bowling - dodgy dj, cheap drinks and £1.50 games... What could be better?

#4   Accidentally ending up at the new Jewish Artists in Yorkshire exhibition at the Stanley and Audrey Burton Gallery in the University of Leeds Parkinson building on my library break... free wine and a live klezmer band!

#5   Post-dissertation drinks and buffet. More free wine...

LIFESTYLE | OUT OF THE SKETCHBOOK

Last Friday night, Inkwell hosted the preview of their latest exhibition 'Out of the Sketchbook'. My lovely and wonderfully talented friend Lorna Johnstone was one of the artists to exhibit her work.

Lorna explains a little about her work and her approach:

"I keep a visual journal. I use drawing and collected words to document and make sense of my world. For “Out of the Sketchbook” I wanted to share my creative process, linking my ongoing projects, challenges and observations together in sort of a big spider diagram. Some drawings evolve naturally, from a meditative state of mind; other times I set myself tasks such as ‘daily news drawings’, ‘a drawing a day’, or leaving messages on paper coffee cups for others to find. What I’m interested in now is removing my drawings from the isolation of the sketchbook page and laying it out with work from different days, different sketchbooks. I’m curious to see how themes begin to link together and what patterns will emerge."

You can view more of Lorna's work HERE.

Some pictures I took of Lorna's exhibition work are shown below:

LIFESTYLE | MORE BAKING AT INKWELL...

I had another afternoon of fun and baking at Inkwell last Friday, this time with my baking buddy David! We bake on the Friday afternoon so that there are cakes to sell in the Cafe the next day. Last week's cakes were a MAJOR success so I was asked back to bake this week!

To learn more about Inkwell visit my previous post HERE.

We made some nut and seed flapjacks...

Some peanut butter and banana muffins...

...and some smaller versions with cinnamon buttercream frosting.

(This was our first attempt at using a piping bag - please forgive us!).

Also in the kitchen was some delicious home made roasted red pepper soup...

...and some carrot and chickpea veggie burgers!

I love being able to experiment and get creative in the kitchen and it's great to know that we can do it for a good cause too. I'll be back again next week with some vegan cakes and a few more wonders.

Do you like my hat (and my flapjacks)?

LIFESTYLE | BAKING AT INKWELL

This week I started a new and exciting role as a volunteer for a lovely little place called Inkwell.

For those of you unfamiliar with Inkwell, it is based in Leeds and describes itself as....

"A safe, creative and accessible space where passion and skills entwine, challenging the stigma of mental health and celebrating the diversity of its participants. It seeks to engage, stimulate and absorb all abilities through creative activity. Users develop life skills such as teamwork and problem solving leading to increased confidence and improved wellbeing. We are part of Leeds Mind, an independent charity whose aim is to enable individuals with mental health problems to flourish. Our core values are: Inclusion, Collaboration, Aspiration, Respect and Excellence."

I spent yesterday afternoon baking away in the Inkwell kitchen. Hopefully what I produced was an acceptable collection of baked goods for them to sell in their cafe this weekend. (I am unsure as I didn't get to taste anything I made!).

I made a victoria sponge with freshly whipped cream and strawberries (pictured above), a tray of cinnamon and sultana flapjacks (no picture - sorry!) and a batch of extra gooey and naughtily chocolately brownies.

If you are Leeds based, it's definitely worth taking a visit to Inkwell to check out all that is available and on offer to the public. They have a cafe every Saturday, numerous arts and craft workshops during the week, as well as a monthly instrumental night and secret cinema night.

If that hasn't persuaded you enough the check out the post by Culture Vulture HERE as to why you should visit Inkwell :)

LIFESTYLE | KRAKOW

Post first-semester cheeky getaway to Krakow completed.

Four days in pictures...

...and now four days before term starts again to recover from overindulging on Grzane Wino and Szarlotka!

LIFESTYLE | KRAKOW TRIP

My sister and I have booked a lovely little (and rather cheap!) get away to Krakow next month for three nights. It will be absolutely freezing and most definitely snowing but I do not care!

I will be returning to what I like to call my second home after being a stranger for what will have been seven months. It cannot keep me away and it already feels like that period of my life is drifting into the distant haze of all past memories and experiences.

It will be a strange experience to visit as a tourist rather than as a place that was home to me for ten months. 

I am however really looking forward to revisiting some old haunts and hopefully being surprised by some new discoveries.

I wonder if it will feel like I ever left?

LIFESTYLE | PROCRASTINATION

AH. I AM HATING ON FINAL YEAR.

So much stress. So much drama. So much eurghhhhh.

My first "official" dissertation deadline is looming (3000 word hand-in) next Friday and I am running around like a headless chicken. My days are over-run by sticking to a routine fuelled by severe amounts of built-in procrastination.

Not so productive...

Anyway, sorry for being M.I.A. as of late.

To make up for it I'll share with you a little bit of my procrastination.

I did a little breakfast feature for the Leeds Student news paper on the benefits of oats...including some delicious porridge variations/recipes which you can check out online here.

This weekend is unfortunately procrasti....WORK-orientated.

I am however very much looking forward to a sneaky bit of Saturday baking tomorrow so keep your eyes peeled! Let's hope it's a bit more successful than my All-Bran loaf which I made last Saturday...

...can anyone tell I forgot to add the baking powder?!

(It was still pretty damn tasty!)

LIFESTYLE | PARENTS, GOOD FOOD AND BIRTHDAY 'TASCHES

Oh HI November! ...You crept up pretty quickly didn't you.

Last week was a bit of a mad one for me.

Lots of work, appointments, sorting and ENTERTAINING to do!

I had the pleasure of my parents visiting for a few days which was just wonderful.

We got a bit stuck for finding somewhere to eat on Wednesday night as all the taxi companies were overloaded by Halloween-crazed students, so we ended up down my local pub for our evening feed.

I must admit that I wasn't initially hopeful, but, I was terribly impressed with the Hyde Park Pub's offer of two puddings for £4.15. We shared two rather generous portions of Sticky Toffee Pudding with ice cream and Toffee Apple Crumble with custard which were very obviously microwaved from frozen but really managed to hit the spot. I also tried the special edition Rekorderlig Winter Cider which is apple cider flavoured cinnamon and vanilla - everything I love in a bottle.

I am already planning on heading back there this evening after some firework/bonfire night fun for an indulgent pudding overload and some mulled cider fun (they serve the Rekorderlig warm too!).

We also went back to a favourite of mine on Thursday. Thai Aroy Dee, a remarkably cheap yet authentic Thai restaurant located between an adult superstore(!) and an oriental supermarket on Vicar Lane in Leeds.

Thai is perhaps my favourite cuisine and this place comes second (next to Horai in Krakow) on my list of the best Thai restaurants I've eaten at.

Friday night was David's birthday!

We made Banoffee Pie (sorry for the bad picture) and donned some birthday tasche's, then we headed down to A Nation of Shopkeepers for some good old times.