Weekly Love: Week 126
Last week, on a hunt for ‘proper’ taco tortillas for Monday’s recipe I found myself in Whole Foods on Kensington High Street. Now, I’ve known about London Whole Foods since I was back in America and I had a Whole Food a few blocks away from my apartment, but I love Whole Foods, so I’d been putting off going in in case I was going to be disappointed. I wasn’t. Londoners, if it is convenient you need to start doing your food shopping at Whole Foods. They have the most amazing fish, meat, eggs and produce. There are not any additives in sight, and like the American stores they have machines pressing nut butters (I love walnut and almond), build your own granola and so many more whole foods snacks. And a great natural beauty section.
1. Perfectly cooked Kidneys on Toast and fresh smoothies for a breakfast meeting at Albion Cafe in Shoreditch. | 2. Some of the books I got with birthday vouchers: David Lebovitz‘s Sweet Life In Paris to read on the patio with a glass of rose to read on the patio in France, The Flavour Thesaurus as recommended to me by Cous Cous Bang Bang on Twitter, and Leiths How To Cook and the Leiths Techniques Bible. | 3. Sitting out on the patio working on my final essays and dissertation. I can think of worse places to work! | 4. It is like the guys at Metcalfe knew I had essays to write, sending a big box of their Topcorn to the house as I’ve joined their #topcorntribe. | 5. Picking up some wild garlic at Daylesford Organic (I also grabbed some at Borough Market) for recipe development. | 6. Champagne, strawberry and blueberry breakfast on my 21st birthday.
- Who What Where has sat down with four top fashion bloggers to talk about what they had in mind before starting their blogs, and to share some of their tips for success.
- Stylist magazine are looking for a Junior Writer.
- Emily has put together a round up of the best cupcakes in Los Angeles. By the way, I totally agree with her that Georgetown are hands down the best, and Susiecakes does the best classics!
- PUNCH, one of my favourite cocktail sites explores the history of Grenadine.
- The best Extra Virgin Olive Oil to buy at Trader Joe’s.
- Nouvelle Daily has some great tips for traveling on a budget.
- Emma has put together a great glossary of baking terms.
- Carin’s photos make me want to shop my whole French house and all my food photography props from the Porte de Clignancourt flea market in Paris.
- If you live in Manhattan and you like Greek food and seafood, you need to eat at Milo’s.
- Also in New York, I now want to brunch at Boom Boom at the top of The Standard.
- 10 Reasons Why You May Be Breaking Out.
- Did you know you can ripen bananas in the oven to make banana bread?
- Reading from the perspective of the Brit who did her study abroad in America, Her Campus’ ’16 Signs You Studied Abroad in England’ post has me cracked up, but it also works very well in reverse! Sorry that I start so many stories with the words “when I was in Los Angeles…”
- Issac goes foraging in London’s Victoria Park.
On arriving outside Rum Kitchen in Notting Hill and finding it closed last Tuesday lunch time ‘the list’ of places I want to eat at in London was consulted and we ended up eating at The Electric Diner (there is a cinema attached and it is part of Soho House) on Portobello Road. It was too dark and crowded for a real ‘Places To Eat In London’ post, but it was such a great meal I wanted to share with you a little bit of writing to go with my Instagram shots. I kicked things off with their classic Prawn Cocktail (fat juicy prawns with a a great tart Marie Rose sauce, I only wish that the lettuce had been smaller as I also had to eat all of this deliciousness with my fingers!) and then followed with their classic hot dog. Think big, juicy and American (as good at Big Apple Hot Dogs but in restaurant form) in a lightly toasted glossy bun with sticky and sweet onions, and lashings of mustard and ketchup. Yes I did make a mess of myself eating this. The fries were good and proper with skin on too, served with a nice aioli. To drink, I had the first loaded Bloody Mary I’ve ever been served, so loaded with vodka and tabasco that I’m proclaiming it London’s best hang over cure Bloody Mary. The pickles on top were all delicious, too. I ate too much of this fantastic meal with my fingers, and I really recommend you give it a go the next time you’re in the area!
7. Mexican Firing Squads on a Friday night. You can find the recipe over at PUNCH. | 8. Lemon and Blueberry cakes in the Ottolenghi’s Notting Hill window. | 9. This poor creature flew into a window, and while moving him to safety while he recovered my mother proved she was the bird whisperer by making friends with him! | 10. The team at Sainsbury’s were kind enough to send me over a box of their Taste The Difference Belgian Chocolate Praline Egglets which I may or may not have devoured all in one sitting. | 11. Making some fresh Mexican Pico de Gallo Salsa on a sunny Saturday morning. You can find the recipe here. | 12. Boosting up on something green from Canyon Juicery.
- The Everygirl has put together a great post on marketing your blog or business online.
- It may seem obvious to some, but I found Food 52’s guide on how to prep lemongrass helpful.
- A Year In Food visits the New Orleans Bayou and the home of Tabasco in Louisiana.
- Refinery 29’s Ultimate Guide To Freelancing.
- Fashionista experiments to see if how you are dressed (sweatpants versus designer clothing) still effects the service you get in luxury stores.
- A few seasonal notes from David Lebovitz and a Parisian market. He has also written a great and thoughtful piece on French food and the way the home cooking landscape in France is changing.
- Racked sits down with one of my favourite food websites, The New Potato.
- The Glitter Guide has put together a great roundup of new print magazines you need to know.
- Refinery 29 takes us on a tour of the Pin-worthy Pinterest HQ.
- Fast Company’s interview with the Birchbox founders contains some fantastic business advice.
- This piece on how Vogue has ‘given up’ by putting Kim and Kanye on the cover is bang on.
- Joy’s April Fools blog post was hilarious, and really poked fun as the funny points of food blogs.
- Shanna explores what it means to ‘drink like a woman’.
- The Everygirl sits down with Seventeen Editor-In-Chief Ann Shoket.
- How to make your own drinks umbrellas.
- Okay, you know I follow way too many blogs of photographers in Paris. Too much pretty.
- 10 intriguing ingredients that you may not have heard of.
- Sarah has written a really thought provoking post about good food/ bad food.
What have you been enjoying this week, and what do you have planned for the weekend? I’m just going to work on my final pair of university essays and my dissertation, as well as hopefully putting together a recipe or two for the blog and getting some planting done down in the vegetable plot ready for Summer, hopefully if the weather is good!
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