Tags
balmenach distillery, cairngorms national park, Caorunn gin, eat naked, Foodies Festival, Foodies's Festival Brighton, gin, healthy tonics, how to lose weight well, natural ingredients tonic, scottish gin, simon bully, stacie stewart, the citrus cooler, the fresh mint zing, the red apple rose, the zest and honey, what's cooking
Recently at the Foodie’s festival Brighton I came across one of the loveliest tasting gins I have encounted which was Caorunn (pronounced ‘ka-roon’) Gin. Carefully handcrafted in the Scottish Highlands, you already know you’re on to a winner. But it gets better. The premium and contemporary Scottish gin has enlisted the expertise of ‘natural eating guru’ Stacie Stewart to create four tonics that balance perfectly with the refreshing taste of Caorunn gin.
The refreshingly tonics have been inspired by Caorunn’s locally-foraged Celtic botanicals. Harnessing Scotland’s unique natural resources, Gin master Simon Buley hand-picks the botanicals from the hills surrounding the breath-taking setting of Balmenach Distillery in the Cairngorms National Park. Each of the four tonics have been designed exclusively by Stacie who has a passion for using raw, natural ingredients. The home-made ingredients are bursting with health benefits without compromising on taste.
Stacie – who presents Channel 4 programme’s What’s Cooking and How to Lose Weight Well as well as being the founder of Eat Naked, the clean eating deli in her hometown of Brighton – developed the refreshing selection of natural tonics for gin fans who want natural goodness, vitamins and vitality from their drink. Continue reading
The Food Sauce 
I’m writing this before the New Year as I know I’ll probably feel different once the New Year hits as I will have had some time off as well as a break which I’m really looking forward to but a new year is always something positive to look forward to. I read over my 
Arriving in Seattle when the lights were dark was a perfect opportunity to see the skyline at night and it was beautiful. We arrived at 9.30 when the air was still balmy, and got to our air bnb apartment for 10ish. It was located in such a great spot and I loved the feel of the place. It had 5 rooms, a kitchen, living room space and although we were sharing with other people it had the feel of just being like your own house. We passed a cool looking bar on the way to our accommodation so decided to walk down the road as it was so close and check it out. It was called Revolver and was set up by a guy who absolutely loved music and had so many vinyl’s but no where to store them so decided to set up a bar and have them on show. The drinks menu had some really cool looking cocktails called drop shots, which were named after bands. We went for the champagne supernova and Black Sabbath. We drank most of the first one separately after trying them on their own and found we actually preferred the taste. Craig ordered some chicken wings and they had some super hot Jamaican flavoured spice on them that after a little bite our mouths were on fire! 
One of the main reasons for coming to Vancouver for me was due to the fact I had heard about their diverse and delicious food scene. Therefore when I discovered that the 
As you can imagine, with the move to Vancouver, things have been pretty busy for the last few weeks. I’ve been working long shifts on the show Arrow, the longest one being 17 hours so far and therefore just have not had much time to do my favourite thing, that being baking. Not only have I not the time, I don’t have any of the utensils yet. The flat I moved into is quite new so we just about have cutlery and some saucepans. It’s funny when you move into a new place, how at first you think you have enough to get by and gradually over time you realise what you have missed. The other night I steamed my vegetables and went into the cupboard to look for a drainer, we didn’t have one. I am therefore resting my saucepan filled with hot water against a plate to let the water run down and hope that my peas don’t escape with it. I didn’t think I’d miss baking as much as I do but I’ve always loved it and found I look forward to it. I also miss the cake club I used to go too and the fun conversations with the girls. My plan is to set one up whilst I’m here and run it for a few months so will keep you posted with that! It will be a lovely way to meet people and keep the tradition going. 
It’s been over a week since I took part in this delightful event put on by the 
