Shopping Guide to Florence

My shopping guide to Florence has just been published in To&From magazine, click here to read it!

Pantone New Colours

I get regular emails from Pantone and always get excited when they announce new colours (I mean, will they ever run out?!). So inspired by their new 175 colour additions, I thought I'd seek out the best pieces - designer and high street - in the latest colours.

1. 3.1 Phillip Lim £335
2. CLU £245
3. Paul & Joe £375
4. Christian Louboutin £645
5. River Island £45
6. DKNY £440
7. Current/Elliot £250
8. Paul Smith £69
9. Accessorize £6

Find out more about the colours and the research behind the project here.

Hello Fresh: The Verdict

So our five days of meals from Hello Fresh are up. It's been fun and I've enjoyed cooking really great meals. We did skip a day on Friday night but it was fine to post-pone two of the meals. As long as your fridge actually functions I reckon all of the ingredients would stay fresh.

I enjoyed every one of the meals, some more than others. My favourite was the Pilaff and my least favourite was probably the salmon but only because it was something that we have regularly anyway. The boyfriend's favourite on the other hand was the duck and his least favourite was the stuffed aubergine so a mixed bag of results.

Overall, Hello Fresh get 10/10 for variety, freshness, quality of ingredients, ease, recipe instructions - everything. It's a fantastic service they offer. If a food subscription is the kind of thing you're looking for I'd recommend this any day. The only (sort of) negative comment I'd make is that the portion sizes were too big. But we used this to our advantage and had the left overs for lunch the next day so it worked well for us in the end.

Now, let's talk about price. It's not cheap. Without our discount card we would've paid £49 for five nights worth of food for two people. So not exactly reasonable on a student budget but I'm pretty sure that's not their target market. Unfortunately we won't be able to continue with the subscription simply because of the price (we usually get a week's worth of food and supplies for about £50 although I'm not going to even pretend that the quality of produce is on par) but it's definitely something I'll revisit in the future.

If you do want to try Hello Fresh you can get £20 off with this code CDK7WZ and I'd sincerely recommend you to, even if you just do it for the discounted week.

Hello Fresh: Meal Five

Stuffed Aubergine Gratin with Rocket and Herbed Bulgar Wheat

Our fifth and final Hello Fresh meal was Stuffed Aubergine Gratin with Rocket and Herbed Bulgar Wheat. As you can see from the photo, there was no rocket with our meal, neither was there cheese. Both my fault. Because of our terrible fridge (see yesterday's post...and meal one, two and three) the rocket went off days ago and in the excitement of unboxing I managed to miss the grated cheese and ended up leaving it in the box - cue nasty green mould.

This was a bit of a controversial one for us. I really liked it, the boyfriend hated it. He pulled a face the whole time he was eating it. I can agree that it's not for everyone - it's veggie for a start and aubergine is quite an acquired taste - so I wouldn't recommend this for a dinner party situation because you do get a mixed bag of opinions.

The bulgar wheat was really lovely. I've never really had it before but boiled in vegetable stock it was great. I'll definitely be using it again. And the instructions for cooking it were spot on, once again (350ml boiled water with veg stock, pour in bulgar wheat, place a lid on the saucepan and rest off the heat for 25 mins). It was light and fluffy and really tasty.

Aubergines ready to go in the oven

Frying onion and carrot

Chopped green pepper and courgette

The final plate

Hello Fresh: Meal Four

Chicken Pilaff with an Air of Pistachio

Our fourth dish (check out one, two and three here) was Chicken Pilaff with an Air of Pistachio and it is my favourite one! We actually made this dish veggie in the end because our stupid, dysfunctional fridge (that can barely be described as a fridge since it's more like VERY slightly chilled room temperature) made the chicken thighs go off. Annoying. But regardless, I really, really enjoyed this meal and would probably keep it veggie next time too. Even my carnivorous boyfriend liked it. It'd be great as a side dish as well, or to take to a BBQ in the summer.

Chopped

The chopping took me a little while but the overall cooking time was the quickest yet. I think I must just be getting used to this style of cooking.

Pomegranates 

Dressing

I don't usually think to put pomegranates in a savoury dish but it was a lovely, fresh addition, I'll definitely be using it in other recipes.

I'm beginning to sound like a broken record now but the portion size was definitely too big again. It was fine though, we just kept some back to eat for lunch the next day.

Check back tomorrow for our fifth and final meal from Hello Fresh!

The final plate

Hello Fresh: Meal Three

Pan-Fried Salmon with Homemade Guacamole and New Potatoes

Our third meal from Hello Fresh (check out One and Two here) was Pan-Fried Salmon with Homemade Guacamole and New Potatoes.

This was the easiest one yet, simply boiling potatoes, frying salmon, mashing some avocado and flash frying the spinach to wilt it - I can handle that.

Again the instructions for cooking the salmon were flawless (4 mins in a frying pan, skin side down followed by 4-5 mins under the grill and then a teaspoon of butter in the pan to finish). I often don't eat the skin because it gets soggy whilst cooking but this time it was crispy and delicious. It probably helped what good quality the fish was though - apparently it's from the same supplier the Queen uses, and you can tell. The guacamole was also lovely with the addition of red onion and chilli.

The salmon - from the Queen's fishmonger

Guacamole

Now, I had my portion problem again. I'm pretty sure it's just me. Looking back at photos I feel pathetic that I could barely eat half of it and left all three potatoes. I think there's a certain element of not wanting to eat your own cooking (does anyone else get that?) but I used the left overs to my advantage this time and saved some of the spinach back to make a salad for lunch the next day.

The final plate

Hello Fresh: Meal Two

Pan-Fried Duck with Pommes Mousselines and Pancetta Peas

The second meal we decided to try was the Pan-Fried Duck with Pommes Mousselines and Pancetta Peas.

Recipe card

I found this dish quicker to make than yesterday's meal. I think it was a slightly simpler recipe (less stages and only using the hob rather than hob and cooker) and maybe I'm just getting used to the style of cooking a bit more.

What first struck me was the richness of colour of the duck fillets and plumpness of the cuts. I don't think I've ever even cooked duck myself before but having seen the usual offerings in the supermarket, these looked considerably better.

Duck and pancetta

This might sound like a silly thing to say but the potatoes were in great condition too. Pre-washed with no ugly bits, they were better quality than most of the types you get at the supermarket. The peas were also really plump and fresh.

Fresh peas

On to the cooking. I found all the stage simple and Hello Fresh's method for frying the duck was full-proof. 6 mins skin side down followed by 5 mins on the other side followed by resting - crispy skin and pink inside perfection. I also really liked the idea of boiling potatoes in stock which I've never tried before, it definitely lifted the flavour. They also suggested a new (to me) way of mashing potatoes - pushing them through a sieve. Not only is this a great technique to get super smooth mash but it's handy for people with no masher ie. me.

Duck frying skin side down...

...Then fried on the other side

I really enjoyed the whole combination on the plate. I often find multiple-meat dishes a bit too heavy but this balanced really well. However, I am starting to notice a trend: portion sizes are too big, again I was unable to finish it (although the boyfriend didn't complain). Having said that though, I am a small eater when it comes to meals so I'm not sure I'd suggest for the portion sizes to be smaller, although for me it is a little too much.

The final plate

Missed the unboxing of this week's Hello Fresh box? Click here

Hello Fresh: Meal One

XO Chinese Chicken with Stir-Fried Sweetheart Cabbage

The first meal we chose was XO Chinese Chicken with Stir-Fried Sweetheart Cabbage. All the ingredients come in the exact amounts the recipe calls for so it's very easy to assemble with no counting or weighing (it feels like you're on a cooking programme!). You're supplied with a super easy to follow recipe card with step by step instructions and photos.

The recipe card

It took me quite a while to get all my ingredients prepared. I'm a fairly slow chopper and have been known to take my time in the kitchen. Once this was all done though, the meal was quick and easy to make (apart from my grill which annoyingly stopped working halfway through). The recipe card says that the meal can be made in 25 minutes and although the cooking part probably only took 15 minutes or so, the preparation took me a little longer. However, with practice I reckon I could get it down. It also doesn't help that my kitchen is only about 2 metres deep and 1 metre wide - with limited utensils - so I was juggling all the preparation over various plates and boards.

Food prepped (My only work surface space)

Although I chopped up the whole chilli (seen above), after trying a minuscule piece (and spending the next few minutes coughing and spluttering), I decided to only put in a pinch of it.

Chicken (butterflied) grilling with the XO sauce and marinade

Stir-frying the chopped ingredients

I'm pretty pleased with how it turned out. The dish was certainly flavoursome and tasty. When I originally saw how many noodles the menu required I was dubious if it would actually feed two people but when I plated up, I couldn't finish mine. The chicken was fantastic quality and all the herbs and veg were super fresh.

The final plate

Check back for tomorrow's meal - Pan-Fried Salmon with Homemade Guacamole and New Potatoes!
Didn't catch yesterday's post? Click here

Hello Fresh: Unboxing

Hello!

This week we're trying out a new food subscription service called Hello Fresh and as a half review/talk with my readers I thought I'd feature our first 5-day experience with you all. I'll be blogging everyday this week with photos of our meals and cooking and let you know what I think about it.

So without further adieu, let's get started!

I thought about describing how the service works myself but Hello Fresh do it so well, I've pasted below what they say about it.

"Every week our chefs create amazing recipes for you that are easy to prepare. Our meals are interesting yet simple. And we ensure that your diet is balanced and varied...We source only the highest-quality and freshest produce. We'll also introduce you to ingredients that you won’t find in your local supermarket...We deliver your recipes and ingredients to your door every Tuesday...Recipes typically take only 30 minutes or less and don't require fancy equipment."

Sounds great, right?!

And what's even better is that the subscription is completely flexible so you can cancel, put on hold or change your order at any point - as long as they have 6 days notice before your next order. You can choose between the veggie box or the meat and fish box. 

The easy to follow recipe cards

This week we received the ingredients and recipe cards for:

- XO Chinese Chicken with Stir-Fried Sweetheart Cabbage
- Pan-Fried Duck with Pommes Mousselines Pancetta Peas
- Pan-Fried Salmon with Homemade Guacamole and New Potatoes
- Chicken Pilaff with an Air of Pistachio
- Stuffed Aubergine Gratin with Rocket and Herbed Bulgar Wheat

Fresh veg on top

The root veg and bags of rice/noodles, bag with the meat in (which is insulated with ice packs to keep them cold in transit) and a bag of "Little Bits" including spices, dried herbs, breadcrumbs and dried fruit and nuts.

The insulated packets of meat

"The Little Bits" bag contents

Prices vary but for 5 meals (meat and fish) for two people is £49. We actually had a gift voucher for Hello Fresh which gave us £25 off our first box. This brought the price down to £24 - a bargain for 5 days worth of food.

Check back tomorrow to see how our first meal turned out!

If you'd like to try Hello Fresh, you can use this code - CDK7WZ - which will give you £20 off your first box!

Flush Magazine

I'm excited to show you my second freelance piece I wrote for this month's Flush Magazine. To read the piece and the rest of the magazine, click here.

Mini Victoria Sponges

In honour of National Cupcake Week - I'm pretty sure that's a real thing and if it's not, well it's just another excuse to make cakes - inspired by something I must have read earlier this week but I just. can't. remember. what?! I decided to make mini Victoria sponges.

They are an example of one of the reasons I love baking so much. Little effort but the results are visually impressive and they taste even better.

They're super easy to make so I didn't use a recipe, just a packet sponge mix. Don't judge me, I'm a firm believer that life is too short to spend hours honing that perfectly light and delicious vanilla sponge when it can be just as easily bought from the supermarket. I still added two eggs and water to it so I don't completely count it as cheating.

I used my full-proof fantastic silicon cupcake cases - I will never go back to paper cases now - and decanted the mix over 12 of them and baked them for about 15 minutes till the tops were golden and a knife came out clean.

After they cooled I cut them in half, spooned some strawberry jam and whipped double cream over the bottoms and sandwiched them back together. I sifted over a little icing sugar to finish them off.

N.B. If anyone is interested, I actually tried Elmlea's Double Light cream which can be treated the same as a regular double cream but is half the fat. I was a bit dubious as to whether it'd whip up in the same way and although it took maybe triple the time to do it (no more than 5 mins with an electric whisk), the result was exactly the same. I don't even know if I'd be able to tell the taste difference either and it's even the same price as the regular version.