Honey and
Ricotta
food, life, ramblings

Sunday 31 May 2015

May Snapshots

Most of this month was spent getting married. I promise to share those photos with you when I have them, but for now, here are some snaps taken in between one wedding and lots of work:









If you want more regular life snapshots, hop over to Instagram and follow me there!

X

Friday 29 May 2015

5 Things & No More

5 happy things from a week that has been full of exhaustion, as the previous working week  led straight through into another one:

1. Catching up over chicken with S
2. Walking everywhere
4. Dreaming
5. Asparagus and halloumi

And there has been no time or energy to read anything from anywhere these last few days. Please send me anything that I need to catch up on over the weekend...

X

Wednesday 27 May 2015

Molly Yeh: Peanut Butter Snack Cake


I seem to be going through a peanut butter phase. Every time I see a recipe, savoury or sweet, that has peanut butter on its ingredients list, it gets bookmarked to be made sometime that week. We currently have three jars of the stuff on the go at home, and this is the second time in a week that I'm sitting at my little space of internet talking about my new best friends, cake and peanut butter.

So, apologies to any of you who hate the stuff (please can we still be friends?), or any of you with nut allergies (have you tried using WowButter instead? I've heard it's kind of magic), but I know that the rest of you are going to fall head over heels in love with this one.

Molly Yeh's peanut butter snack cake is as light as a marshmallow, as salty as you want your cake to be, and so simple to put together that even I managed to get it in the oven at the end of a bank holiday weekend spent working, working, working, on my feet all day. It's a cake that arrives like a knight in shining armour when us peanut butter obsessed need it most. You need a tin, a cup, 2 bowls, and a whisk. Eat it straight out the oven with a coffee on the side, or keep a slice (or 2) in your bag to be enjoyed at some point later in the day. Eaten at 7am on a plane to Lanzarote last month, this travel-loving cake was a saviour for 4 tired, hungry people.

Friday 22 May 2015

5 Things & 3 More

This week has been a long, hard uphill struggle, with no weekend waiting for me to aim for, it's becoming more and more of a battle. There have been glimpses of happiness hidden amongst all the negative emotion:

1. Campari Soda
2. Walking through Canonbury with Maman and Papa
3. Flat hunting
4. Clean sheets
5. Pasta at Trullo

And 3 things I've read that have taken my mind off everything else:

3. Living off the waste of others, and having a 'normal' life doing so, in NYC.

Wednesday 20 May 2015

Not without Salt: Brownies with Salted Peanut Butter Frosting


'Watch out' is a good warning for these brownies. I ignored Ashley's words, which is unusual, as normally her words are sacred in this house. However, these brownies are so fabulous, I'm actually glad I didn't listen to her advice, and ploughed on through weighing, mixing, baking, and eating.

Squidy, chewy brownies, with lashings of salted peanut butter frosting sloshed on top. You'll want a cup of coffee alongside. 


Sunday 17 May 2015

Pizza & Burrata at Lardo

Since we moved to East London a couple of years ago, maman and papa have made a habit of staying in our neck of the woods when they're here for work. This means we get to spend more time with them, and we get to try out all the restaurants, cafés and bars that are dotted around our favourite part of London.

During their last visit, I strolled through London Fields while the sun set, heading towards Lardo and their famous disco pizza oven.

Service was super slow, and some of the dishes weren't worth talking about, so I'm going to gloss over those flaws and talk about the burrata and the pizzas. Because those were worth talking about.


The burrata came in a perfectly sized saucer, with a drizzle of oil on top. It needed a sharp knife to pierce the skin which held it together. When cut in to, the magical creaminess poured out, and was quickly lapped up by four hungry people.

Lardo's most famous feature is it's pizza oven which has been covered with reflective silver tiles. This searing hot disco ball serves up the crispiest pizzas, proving that all things sparkly are the best. 


My pizza was covered in courgette flowers and ricotta (yes, I am that predictable). It was just as I had hoped, and I got a little upset every time someone stole another slice of it.


Papa's was far from the light, spring-like flavours of mine, as the mushrooms and taleggio melted into a comforting mess. The smell was like a warming hug, and the taste was even better.

B's pasta with ricotta and peas was lovely, but a little too simple and too easily recreated at home. And mama said of her pasta and prawns, that if she served it up for supper at home, she would have been rather embarrassed.

So papa and I left happy and full, and maman and B left underwhelmed and with food envy. So if you go (and I do recommend that you do), stay safe, and have pizza and burrata. You'll be a very happy bunny if you do, and a rather sad one if you don't.

Highlight: the creamiest burrata
Lowlight: the slowest service

Lardo, 197-201 Richmond Road, London, E8 3NJ

Friday 15 May 2015

5 Things & 3 More

5 happy things from this week:

1. Lunch in the sun
2. Sending our wedding invites
5. Energised evenings

and 3 things I think you may want to read:

1. Making myself even more excited about life in NYC as I dribble my way through this blog post.
2. This unbelievably upsetting story about a pregnant 10-year-old being denied abortion.
3. Learning about the bikini, the world's smallest swimsuit.

X

Thursday 14 May 2015

Date Night In: Somewhere in Italy


It's only over the last year that B and I have started having date nights. And by that, I mean date nights in. Date nights where B stops working on his degree, I rush home from work, and we cook together, with a drink in one hand and a wooden spoon in the other. These evenings have become a week night ritual, a ritual which we love, and which we have promised to continue, whatever the circumstances.

When Ashley Rodriguez published her book 'Date Night In' on Valentine's day this year, I must have been one of the first to turn through its pages, bookmarking every menu she has created, and finding myself becoming uber-sentimental as I read her calming words.

I have a feeling that this book, with its seasonal menus, will take us through the year for many years, on a journey of date nights, as we follow Ashley's recipes and eat every morsel this book has to offer.

One of our favourite creations from Date Night In, came from the 'Somewhere in Italy' menu, which reads as follows: Aperol Spritz; Crostini with Ricotta, Prosciutto and Peas; Pasta e Fagioli with Crispy Prosciutto; Grapefruit and Olive Oil Cake with Bittersweet Chocolate. The crostini (well, and also the spritz) has become a favourite, which I know will be made again and again and again, on date nights, and non-date nights, for many nights to come.


Monday 11 May 2015

Micro Moon Breakfast at The Modern Pantry

We spent our wedding night at The Zetter Townhouse where we were spoiled with an upgrade to a room with a gold tiled bath, treated to glasses of Champagne, and where we finally ended our magical day with a cocktail in the beautifully bonkers Townhouse lounge.


The next morning we needed some recovery fodder, so, after a long soak in the glittering, metallic bath, we skipped across St John's Square to The Modern Pantry, for breakfast in the sunshine.


Black coffee and a zingy mint and summer berry smoothie were sipped while soaking up the rays on this quiet bank holiday Monday morning. 


But minutes later, the smoothie which I had been so excited by lost its space in my heart when I was presented with the best waffles in the world. No exaggeration. These are the best waffles in the world. Coconut and cassava waffles, pineapple and thyme salsa, salted peanut brittle, and coconut yoghurt. I refrained from adding bacon. I didn't refrain from denying B more than a teaspoonful: these waffles are not to be shared.


Oh, and I should mention that B was thrilled with his cornbread, egg, chorizo and salsa, but I didn't take much time to give it any thought. I was a rather overcome by my waffles.

Highlight: the best waffles in the world
Lowlight: dusty coffee

The Modern Pantry, 47-48 St John's Square, London, EC1V 4JJ

Friday 8 May 2015

5 Things & 3 More

5 happy things from my first week as Mrs B:

1. Wedding flowers covering our flat
3. Nom nom chocolate. Even more special as it has mine and B's name on the front.
4. Waffles at The Modern Pantry
5. Polaroid photos

And 3 things to read over a cup of coffee this weekend:

1. This response to the being Beach Body Ready campaign
2. David Lebovitz chats about Martinis
3. Some beautiful pictures of Cape Verde have my dreaming of sun, sand and sea.

Happy weekend!

X

Wednesday 6 May 2015

The Simplest of Wedding Cakes


Flicking through cookbooks the day before my wedding, trying to decide which cake was suitable to mark this occasion, I remembered the years and years of birthday parties where Jamie Oliver's chocolate cake would appear on the table. I thought back to it's shiny chocolate glaze, fluffy sponge, oozing whipped cream, bright fresh berries, and my decision was made.


So it was that the night before my big day, we cut into this simple two-tiered chocolate cake, threw some extra berries on top, and celebrated love, life and cake.

Monday 4 May 2015

Lanzarote Snapshopts
















































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