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TEA and TAKES

Category Archives: Thoughts

Learning to be at peace with yourself

08 Tuesday May 2018

Posted by Fiona in Thoughts

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Fear of missing out, FOMO. facebook, inner peace, intuition, learn to be at peace with yourself, life path, listen to your body, power of choice, power of decision, social media, too much choice, zig ziglar

For as long as I can remember I have always lived with the classic FOMO (Fear of missing out). I remember the word Fomo coming into play maybe ten years back, after the whole Facebook, social media buzz and now that everyone could see what everyone else was up to this was heightened as in your mind all you can think is, everyone else is having a much better time than me.

When I was younger I didn’t seem to have this, I remember one of my close friends forever asking me out on Friday nights when I was 16 and I was always more than happy to stay at home with a good book or a film. I would say no, leave it there, feel fine and get on with my evening and usually enjoy it.

Somewhere along the line however this changed. I’ve occasionally asked myself what was the pivotal moment where this all changed? Was it my mum telling me not to be so boring, I was young and should go out on a Friday night (Ha thanks mum!) I think every mum or dad says this to their children at some point.  We see it in films and books too, ‘What fun are you going to have from staying in? Go out and let your hair down!’ Was it maybe the introduction of Facebook and being able to see what your peers were up to?

Facebook came in to play in my second year of university and when I look back I must admit that I do remember first experiencing this. I would be going to one place for the evening and then all of a sudden would see another event was going on. Suddenly, rather than just committing to one thing, the mind decides, you know what I can make both! They’re not too far from each other, I could start at Dan’s house stay for a couple of hours then head over to Sarah’s, perfect! However, this doesn’t always make for the best of evenings. Continue reading →

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Natural Eating Guru Stacie Stewart creates Natural Tonics with Carounn Gin

18 Thursday May 2017

Posted by Fiona in Thoughts

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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 →

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The Food Sauce Bloggers Pancake Day

01 Wednesday Mar 2017

Posted by Fiona in Thoughts

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100% chocolate, alternative drinks to alcohol, Avenue Cookery School, bloggers event, Cirio Uk, dried fruit snack, dried vegetable snack, food brands, ginger drink, gluten free pancakes, hazelnut spread, healthy chocolate spread, Jim jams, Morning Dreamers pancakes mix, natural ingredients, Nothing But, Oppo ice cream, Pancake day, pancake recipe, pasta maker, pure maple syrup, Rio Caribe chocolate drops, Sambirano gold madagascan dark chocolate, Superfood Bakery, tg green tea, The food sauce, thor drinks, willies cacao

nothingbutsnack_pancakepancakes_food-sauceThe Food Sauce bloggers pancake day event took place on Sunday evening and was held at the wonderful Avenue Cookery School in Wandsworth town.

Living in north London, I must admit I am absolutely rubbish for branching out to south London however, after reading about the cookery school as well as learning that we would be cooking pasta and making pancakes for the evening, it sounded like an event not to be missed!

The Food Sauce is a fast-growing online platform that uses social media to showcase great products and support independent brands and start-ups. It exists to connect food fans, businesses and bloggers and regularly hosts events to enable lovers of food to connect and share their passion with others.

Sunday was the latest food event from The Food Sauce where approximately 15 bloggers and representatives from food brands came together to try their hand at making tagliatelle and pancakes using products from Superfood Bakery, Cirio Uk, Nothing But plus many more. Diana, owner of The Avenue Cookery School, and her son Richard were wonderful hosts, making everyone feel welcome and relaxed, with their passion, enthusiasm and sense of humour whilst also teaching us all some tricks of the trade in the kitchen.

Richard gave us a lesson on the best way to chop an onion and garlic and we learnt that the sprout in the centre of a garlic clove is called the germ and is good to take out when you’re cooking something quickly as otherwise it can be quite bitter and will end up giving you garlicky breath (usueful tip!)

richard_avenue-cookery-school

We each had a station and got cracking with making the pasta sauce and tagliatelle. Chopping the onions and garlic first (skilfully now of course) we covered them with authentic italian chopped tomatoes from Cirio UK and then moved onto using a pasta maker to make the tagliatelle. I’ve always wanted to use a pasta maker so it was good fun and a good arm workout too!

Continue reading →

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Lentil, Quinoa and Mushroom Ragu

21 Tuesday Feb 2017

Posted by Fiona in Thoughts

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berry crumble, charity, community events, cooking group, corn bread, dorset apple sponge cake, film nights, healthy eating cooking group, homemade guacamole, lentil, lentil ragu, mushroom and quinoa ragu, north london cares, Oldfield Eats, primrose hill, sheltered housing, social isolation, soda bread, sweet potato Moroccan stew, tomato coconut curry, Vegetarian recipes, veggie bean burgers, veggie bean chili, volunteering

lentil-quinoa-mushroom-ragout

mushroom-lentil-quinoa-ragout

It’s been a while since I posted a recipe (November eek!) so I thought it was time to get back in the kitchen and start thinking about what could make a tasty meal again!

This recipe was inspired by a group I’ve been involved with since October, which is known as Oldfield Eats and is a project run by North London Cares, a wonderful charity that aims to tackle isolation and loneliness in over 65’s who live in Camden and Islington. I joined North London Cares as a volunteer back in December 2015 and have loved being involved in a variety of the different projects  they run from film nights, pamper afternoons and now a cooking group.

I had been wanting to set up a food pop up group for some time and wasn’t sure what my plans were last year with living situation so kept putting it off however I saw a post on the North London Cares website about being an organiser and running one of the groups and thought that sounded like a lot of fun! My initial idea that I pitched was to do a sort of pot luck event where volunteers and members of the community each cook a small dish and then bring it to share with each other however it just so happened that North London Cares were thinking about running a healthy eating cooking group once a month at Oldfield Estate, sheltered housing accommodation just next to Primrose Hill, and were looking for someone to help run that. I loved the idea so it was an easy decision to get involved with the project and since we started it has been so much fun. Continue reading →

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Goodbye 2016 – Hello New Year!

27 Tuesday Dec 2016

Posted by Fiona in Thoughts

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Canada, living abroad, moving forward, New Year, resolutions, turning point

changeI’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 blog post from the end of 2013 where I made this list of goals and remember feeling so positive, however it’s crazy to look back and not know what the year ahead will bring.

This year has probably been one of the most challenging for me. I’ve struggled quite a lot with decisions and feelings of regret, pondering what ifs and ways of thinking that get you absolutely nowhere. There’s been probably more down days than up but it’s also been a huge turning point year in my life. I remember being 22, and someone asked me what’s been your biggest turning point and I remember looking at them blankly as at that time in my life I didn’t really have one or quite know what they meant but I certainly know what the term means now.

A turning point can usually involve a great deal of struggle, a lot of conflict and resisting of change but when you break through it you get to such a different point where you do feel a shift, a change. And it doesn’t happen overnight either, it’s a long slog but I suppose you learn that certain things happen in life to teach you, to make you realise that you have been focusing on the wrong things and now it’s time to reassess, to appreciate the little things more and the people in your life and to also follow a path that’s right for you.

Continue reading →

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The Art of Dining & London Dungeon Presents Fire and Feast!

05 Sunday Jun 2016

Posted by Fiona in Thoughts

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alice hide, Cocktails, ellen parr, Escape the great fire, Fire and Feast, five course dinner, Food, London, London Dungeon, Moro trained chef, pop up, The Art of Dining

artofdining
londondungeon

fire-and-feast-


 THE ART OF DINING & THE LONDON DUNGEON PRESENT

ESCAPE THE GREAT FIRE

Fire & Feast

Unique evening pop up dining experience from Tuesday 14 June 2016

The Art of Dining and The London Dungeon are delighted to present Fire & Feast, a unique evening event marking the opening of an immersive new show – Escape the Great Fire – at the famous attraction. Diners will journey through The Great Fire of London presented as a five course pop-up dining experience, combining food, theatre, music and design in the atmospheric setting of the London Dungeon.

London. 1666. The capital is a disaster waiting to happen; timber houses packed cheek-by-jowl, just waiting for a spark to set the whole city ablaze. At the Dungeon Tavern, a feast is being held in honour of Sir Thomas Bludworth, the Lord Mayor of London. The evening is beset by rumours and worry about a fire that started the previous night and is said to be spreading to all areas of the city. Bludworth’s staff, at his behest, are trying to keep a lid on the creeping panic, but as the evening unfolds it becomes clear that this could be the guests’ last meal and they may not make it out alive…

Guests will get an exclusive taste of the London Dungeon’s new ‘Escape The Great Fire’ show as well as sampling some special gallows humour courtesy of the London Dungeon’s Jester and the Plague Surgery, which is dealing with a nasty case of the Great Plague. Continue reading →

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Pike’s Place, Bubblegum Walls and the best yoghurt you will ever have in Seattle

19 Wednesday Aug 2015

Posted by Fiona in Thoughts

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air bnb, BBQ Chicken Pizza, Best Pizza, Black Hole sun, bubblegum wall, drop shots, Elleno's, Elvis Room, EMP Museum, hazelnut salted caramel ice cream, Kurt Cobain's House, make your own cocktail, Music tour, Pike Place market, Pumpkin Pizza, Revolver, Rocco's, Seattle, skyline, Space Needle

Seattle bubblegum Pike's Place Market Space Needle Cat in books toreArriving 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! Continue reading →

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Las Vegas and 30th Birthday celebrations

21 Sunday Jun 2015

Posted by Fiona in Thoughts

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Adult's Disneyland, Air Canada, Bellagio, Bellagio fountains, Best steak Vegas, Caesar's Palace, Casino, clubs in Vegas, Cocktails, Deacon's Corner, Golden Nugget, House of Blues Vegas, Las Vegas, Lobster Bisque, Luxor, m&m world, Mandalay Bay, Mandarin Bar, Michael Jackson One Cirque Du Soleil, multigrain pancakes, Pyramid Cafe, Steakhouse Vegas, The New York hotel, The Strip, The Venetian, travelling, Vic and Anthony's

Mandalay BayBellagio Fountains Bellagio Dr Evil Las Vegas Fortune teller

It’s been a fair bit of time since my last blog post therefore I wanted to get back into it and thought a good way would be to document the trip Craig and I just took for his 30th Birthday.

Being a huge fan of Poker since he was about 15, Craig had always wanted to go to Vegas so before coming out to Canada we were planning a trip we would do together that would hopefully involve Vegas and we managed to work out a great 14 day trip which not only included Vegas but meant that he could be there for his birthday! The trip we planned included Vancouver, Las Vegas, San Francisco, Seattle and finally Portland.The country I was most excited about visiting was San Francisco but I was surprised to find I actually preferred the others, I think solely for the food!

After having a couple of days in Vancouver which started off amazingly with a trip to Kitsilano beach followed by a friends bbq it was overshadowed slightly by a stressful day of moving house therefore the knowledge that we were going on a ten day adventure soon after helped ease the stress from that day.

So to begin with, destination one, and the place where we celebrated Craig’s 30th birthday it would have to start in Vegas! You might either love or hate Vegas but you most certainly will never forget it. I stayed two nights there five years ago when I did Trek America and I can still picture vividly driving through the city and looking up at the all the huge billboards, the vast amount of hotels, casinos especially the New York hotel with the roller coaster coming out of the top and Statue of Liberty replica. Vegas is as some people call it “An Adults Disneyland”.

We flew out on the 1st June and had a quick and really good experience with Air Canada. I had previously called up to see if they could possibly make an announcement to say Happy Birthday to Craig on the plane and spoke to this lovely woman who said she would work something out. She kept me on hold for 15 minutes so in the end I had to cut her off and then I thought to myself I probably should’ve just waited however a few minutes later she called me back and said that she would try her best and would email me when she had found out what they could do. Unfortunately I never heard from her again, however, on the plane I spoke to the flight attendant and they were extremely accommodating. As Craig was taking out his wallet to order a rum and ginger and I was trying to persuade him to just buy a coke the lovely ladies brought over a little bottle of prosecco and wished him Happy Birthday. Soon after an announcement was made which was pretty hilarious as lots of people on the plane turned around and were staring and wishing Craig Happy 30th.

We arrived in Las Vegas after a two and half hour flight and stepped off the plane into 32 degrees heat. Our hotel was fairly close to the airport so we just jumped in a cab and were at Mandalay Bay within twenty minutes. The shiny gold beautiful building was big enough to simply stay in for a week! Decked out with four swimming pools, a wave pool  (we tried this and it had one wave very 90 seconds -crazy!) a nightclub, casino, restaurants, bars and more it was incredible value for money and a fantastic choice to stay. Although located at the end of the strip we found it was close to many of the other bars and restaurants we wanted to try out (with the exception of Craig’s birthday dinner) so it worked in our favour.

Continue reading →

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Eat Vancouver Festival – 2015

08 Friday May 2015

Posted by Fiona in Thoughts

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1000 Blossoms, Anna Olson, BC place, Blenz, Calli O' Brien, celebrity chefs, Ceramic Knives, chocolate macaroons, Chocome, Coconut macaroons, Cornmeal Crust, Craft Beer, Dave's Killer Breads, Delissio Rustico, diplomatico, Earth's Own Food Company, Eat Vancouver Festival, Harvest Moon, Honey Bee Zen Apiaries, Jamaican Jerk pizza, Keep Food Fresh, Keramikos Kitchen, Mark McEwan, marzipan macaroons, Matcha Tea, My Matcha Life, Ned Bell, Project Chef, Saaman Bakery, Saman Bakery, Superchefs, sustainable beekeeping, teach kids to cook, teaching kids about nutrition, Tito's Handmade vodka, Urban Fare, Vikram Vij, walnut macaroons, wine and beer tasting

Chocolate FountainProject Chef

Choco MeOne 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 Eat Vancouver Festival was taking place last weekend I couldn’t think of a better way to spend my Saturday than sampling produce from some of the finest food producers in Vancouver. Not only this but Eat Vancouver festival offered a line up of top culinary stars and restaurants from across North America who were there throughout the weekend to participate in hands on workshops, share their cooking expertise and leave their fans with some useful and handy tips to take home with them.

In its 13th year Eat Vancouver is Canada’s largest festival and certainly not one to be missed for any foodie out there. Held at BC Place the festival took place from Friday to Sunday however there were a series of food events that took place across Vancouver from April 26th until May 3rd. Cherfs such as Anna Olsen, Mark McEwan, Ned Bell and Vikram Vij took to the stage throughout the weekend and there was also a Craft Beer Alley where you could discover a new brew. In addition to this for families, Dr Greg Chang from SuperChefs, provided special interactive demonstarions for kids each morning to help build their knowledge about nutrition.

Raclette Continue reading →

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Chocolate, Amaretto & Almond Cake

02 Thursday Apr 2015

Posted by Fiona in Thoughts

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amaretto and almond cake, amaretto and almond torte, amaretto and hot chocolate, Arrow, baking, blondies, cake and cava, chocolate, chocolate cake, chocolate torte, delicious magazine, delicious recipes, house psrty, Moving to canada, moving to vancouver, travelling, work in film, working in tv, working in Vancouver, working on a tv set

Chocolate & Amaretto cakeAlmond Chocolate & amaretto cake 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. 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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