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TEA and TAKES

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TEA and TAKES

Monthly Archives: January 2015

Moving to Vancouver!

30 Friday Jan 2015

Posted by Fiona in Travel

≈ 3 Comments

Tags

adventure, franz joseph, Graceland, juniors cheesecake, juniors times square, living abroad, Memphis, Moving to canada, moving to vancouver, nevis bungee jul, skydive, travelling, trek america

So I’ve been talking about it for the past 4 years (on and off) and now I’m finally doing it. I’m moving to Vancouver! Even just typing it out still doesn’t make it completely real in my head but it is actually happening. My flights are booked, I’ve handed my notice in at work and have started looking at places to explore and possibly move to as well as started to realise I’ve got a lot to do!
vancouver
I’ve always been the kind of person who works best under pressure and I’m using that as my excuse for getting everything done in the last few weeks but the truth is I only fully decided I was definitely going to do this a couple of months ago.
rainforest-vancouver-island-canada_I applied for the visa last year before I started a new job and then found I wasn’t ready to leave, plus I have strong ties here, a great bunch of friends, family and a boyfriend of 3 years who I love. Therefore why go? The truth is going to Canada has been something I’ve wanted to do since I landed back in the UK after 7 months of travelling 5 years go.
I had some of the happiest times of my life on the road exploring different countries and meeting new people. I spent two months travelling around Asia, eating some of the best food I’ve ever had, meeting incredible people and seeing stunning scenery. In Australia I fell in love with Melbourne and Byron Bay where I lived in a caravan and worked at the local market selling coffee which was brewed less than a few hundred feet from where I slept. In New Zealand I pushed my fear level through a threshold (I’m not sure I would do today) skydiving over Franz Joseph at sunrise, bungee jumping 134m and hiking up mountains where I saw the most incredible scenery not even a camera can do justice in Queenstown. I finished my 7 months of travelling with a 4 week adventure across America with Trek America, who I would highly recommend. Not only did we mange to go to 21 states in 21 days, breakfast in Albuquerque counting as one, but I met people on that trek who are my close friends to this day. I walked blindfolded to the edge of the Grand Canyon and opened my eyes to look across at the most breathtaking sight where half of it was covered in snow and the other half was a mix of burnt orange and sunrise colours. I danced down streets of New Orleans and ate the tastiest cheesecake in my life in Juniors in Times Square. I went hiking in national parks, ate hot dogs at a baseball game in Texas and stepped into Elvis Presley’s grand mansion, Graceland, in Memphis and quite simply had the best time of my life.

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Persimmon, Yoghurt & Pecan Cake

21 Wednesday Jan 2015

Posted by Fiona in Food, Recipes

≈ 3 Comments

Tags

autumnal fruit, fruit cake, fruit of the gods, fuyy, healthy icing, light cake, persimmon cake, persimmon puree, persimmon yoghurt and pecan cake, yoghurt

Persimmon Yoghurt & Pecan cake

Persimmons are fast becoming my favourite fruit as not only are they healthy but they double up as a sweet treat too. It was my mum who introduced them to me a year ago and the first time I ever heard the word persimmon used before. To a lot of people they call them sharon fruit but persimmons are slightly different.
In Greek their name means “divine food” or “fruit of the gods.” A delicious autumnal fruit, they are perfect for using in cakes as they add a sweetness to a basic sponge and keep it moist and light. Before baking this cake I had the intention of making a gooseberry cake however I left shopping too late on a Sunday and by the time I arrived all of the gooseberries were out of stock. I knew I wanted to try a different fruit to the usual I do that being raspberries & strawberries so when I saw the persimmons I thought I would experiment with them.

Persimmon & Yoghurt Cake

This cake is adapted from the raspberry layered cake I made previously and I decided to make a yoghurt icing with only a little sugar rather than a buttercream filling which makes it a healthier and lighter cake. I loved the raspberry cake last time as the texture of the cake is beautifully light and with this new recipe it worked just as well if not better, I like to think, with the persimmons and yoghurt icing. Continue reading →

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A Christmas Down Under: Brown Rice, Pine Nut & Cranberry Salad with a Lime, Soy & Ginger Dressing

10 Saturday Jan 2015

Posted by Fiona in Food, Recipes

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Tags

baileys, BBQ, bondi beach, brown rice and cranberry salad with lime soy and ginger dressing, brown rice salad, cat sitting, Christmas, christmas abroad, Christmas down under, closely beach, healthy Christmas dinner, salted caramel and chocolate tart, summer Christmas, trifle, vodka raspberry dacquiris

Happy New Year everyone! A bit of a late blog post in this case as I have been half way across the world with limited access to Internet but very easy access to food and ice cream, (not so good for the waist line!) This was my second Christmas in Sydney and a completely different experience to the first. Five years ago I spent my Christmas morning in a hostel with 2 of my best friends. We had a great morning together but I did feel homesick and it’s a very strange feeling to see Christmas decorations up in places with the sunlight beaming onto them. I never imagined I’d come back to Australia again and never thought I’d see the day where all my family would be together for Christmas on the other side of the world! Christmas Salads sweet potato salad vodka berry daquri We did Christmas a little differently this year and it was really one of the loveliest days. As we had all spent so much on flights we decided to only spend $5 on each other for a Christmas present. I received cat hand warmers from my mum (bought back home) in contrast to a summer dress (from my brother and his fiancé) which definitely came in handy. We all woke up at different times, some of us went to mass, I went out of curiosity to see if the Australians do mass any different (answer no, a slightly shorter service and more casual dress but pretty much the same!) which was followed by a beautiful walk from Clovelly beach to Bondi beach. It was a beautiful sunny day with hardly any clouds in the sky. My dad put his feet in the sea for the first time in his life and my brothers and I spent the morning diving into waves and in my case getting burnt (I never learn!) fluffy Continue reading →

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About Me

Hi I’m Fiona, a twenty something foodie living in London who loves nothing more than cooking, eating, listening to stories and exploring. I created Tea and Takes as a way of bringing my two loves together: food and film.
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