Kitchen Chronicles: Ultimate Haute Chocolate

I don't know about you but I am a huge fan of comfort foods and indulgence during these cold winter months. I'm huge on indoor snuggling, movies under my sheets and hot cups of something pretty, which is where this sexy cup of chocolateness comes into play!

I decided to bail on the traditional powdered sachet of hot chocolate and went for something homemade and authentic, also known as a bar of Swiss milk chocolate, cinnamon bark steeped in milk, a touch of vanilla essence with cream on top, sprinkled with cinnamon dust!

Looks like you know the ingredients already! Honestly you have to try this, especially if you're a chocolate lover - the deliciousness is dangerous...

Enjoy!!!

INGREDIENTS

6 milk chocolate bar pieces [any type of milk chocolate is fine!]
Glass of Milk
1 Cinnamon bark stick
Cinnamon spice
1/2 capful of Vanilla Extract
Whipped Cream

Method: Heat milk in saucepan until hot, then remove from stove and add cinnamon bark and let steep in milk for 10-15 minutes. [The longer the more potent the cinnamon taste]

After 10-15 minutes remove cinnamon using small sieve. Then place milk back on stove and add chocolate cubes stirring the milk slowly until chocolatey. Then add 1/2 capful of Vanilla Extract.

Pour your saucepan of yumminess into a latte glass or mug and top with whipped cream and sprinkle with cinnamon spice... et voila! Heaven in a cup!!!

For my mint chocolate lovers, O yes I went there and yes it was delicious! All you need is to replace the cinnamon with mint leaves!!
Avec amour… Fiona

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Kitchen Chronicles: Mango & Pineapple Blush Smoothie

I joke not when I say my cheeks shy up when I taste something really tangy or sweet, it goes either two ways:

woah that was sour or mmm... smile, now that was yummy!

Of course in this case reaction 2 was the one when it came to this tropical concoction! As you may know I embarked on a Smoothie/Juice a day challenge at the very start of the year [instagram knows this!], and despite the occasional missed day I can say this has been one of the most consistent things in my life! I honestly think I've consumed more fruit and veg year to date than any other year I have lived and my body, skin and life in general are thanking me for it!

Ingredients? Here we go...

Ingredients [serves 4]

• 1 Mango
• 1 Mango Yogurt
• 2 Oranges
• 1 can Pineapple in natural juice

Into the blender till smooth and Bob's your uncle!

Avec amour... Fiona
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Drinking Your [Hair] Beauty: The Juicing Way

Okay so I've had my super Juicer for over a year now, and it occurred to me that I've probably only used it about four or five times, well earlier this week whilst drooling over recipes on Pinterest, I somehow stumbled upon a WPTV recording about 70 year old Annette Larkins who 1) is a ride or die Juicer and who 2) despite being seventy looks like she is fifty ish. Now I don't know about you but knocking a whole 20 years off your face is no joke! I mean honestly think of all of the benefits!!!

Now before you scroll for the Video link let me just tell you there is no way and no how I was going to have my Juicer and Blender sitting and rusting away in the kitchen, knowing that I could be indulging on a journey of surgery free youth and beauty.

For those like myself who find eating your 5 a day to be a pretty long winded routine, this certainly is the quickest 'I don't like my Greens' solution I know. Since starting I can genuinely say I feel more alert, sleep very well and generally feel much healthier. The only con about juicing for me, which I can barely call a con considering the benefits, would have to be the time it takes to prepare the Fruits and Vegetables, and the washing of the Juicer components afterwards. Of course you know I had to find a solution for that too right?!

It's simple, take a tip from the future mothers book, prepare in bulk, grab a freezer bag and get to freezer storing!!!

Took a trip to the market, even Tesco's couldn't match my three bags worth of F&V's for £5 bargain!!! 

As you can see I'm a huge fan of Philips electronics, pretty much pot luck buys but they work really well and are reliable. Fruits such as Bananas and Mangoes should not be used in a Juicer as they produce pulp as opposed to juice, for this reason I have my blender ready at the go, so that once I have juiced my Broccoli, Carrots, Strawberries etc, I can then add the juice to the Blender with my Bananas and Mangoes ready to get my blend on!

 

Packed and ready for the freezer! P.s. To avoid damaging your Juicer/Blender allow stored freezer fruit bags to defrost in a bath of slightly warmed water, or leave out to defrost for an hour pre-juicing/blending.

F&V's

Citrus Fruits [Oranges, Tangerines, Lemons, Grapefruits, Pomelo, Lime] 

Citrus fruits are high in levels of Vitamin C, which plays a vital role in keeping your skin healthy and youthful. Vitamin C which is often found in most anti-ageing serums and treatments, is a water soluble vitamin which means it cannot be stored by the body. The Vitamin found in Citrus fruits acts a powerful antioxidant that aggressively fights free radicals while keeping your skin smooth and firm. 

Green Vegetables [Spinach, Broccoli, Kale]

Green vegetables, especially high in Vitamin A help to strengthen the cell membrane and also regulate the release of toxins from the cells. Research suggests that the nutrients found in dark green vegetables may prevent certain types of cancers and promote heart health.

Berries [Strawberries, Blueberries, Raspberries, Blackberries, Cranberries]

Berries are packed with Antioxidants which help to protect the skin from harmful free radicals. Berries also help the body produce collagen which keeps skin, supple, soft and youthful.

Avec amour... Fiona

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Weekend Pinterest D.I.Y | Chocolate covered Strawberry Grooms

For those of you who don't know about Pinterest major news alerts... It's the B-O-M-B! I'm ride or die for Tumblr but no joke Pinterest is an absolute paradise for D.I.Y lovers like myself who crave to be visually indulged, and even more importantly, who love to store images of things they desire to own, buy or make in the future! I've even got a Wifey Project Board on there! You know how we do... fail to prepare and prepare to fail *wink wink*
In hopes of stimulating the mind of my poor little sister who finds herself extremely bored in a house full of grown divas who spend all of their time blogging or in cyber world, I decided to commit Sunday afternoons to a splash of D.I.Y fun with my little pudding pot a.k.a baby sis Mary! She's actually so much more fun than the other two boring sisters grumpy Mo and Lambchops... #whoneedsthemanyway!
So here is what we got up to!
[Did I mention we threw the Groom in there as our Fathers Day gift to the pops! Cheapest but yummiest gift to date! #word!]

The Ingredients

The Process

To begin with we melted the white chocolate in the microwave stirring at 20 second intervals. When melted Mary dunked each strawberry [pre-washed] into the chocolate.

Drool!

Hope no one's watching!

Once covered into the fridge for 5 minutes they go! Side note: will invest in non-stick paper next time, foil wasn't the best option.

The Results

To create the 'V' shape dip strawberries in milk chocolate at 45 degree angles vertically.

She did them all by herself minus the bow! #Teardrop... so proud!

The Bloopers!!!

Whoopsie my hand slipped!

Fat kid loves cake? Did I explain the earrings???!!! Her little ear holes are closing so I found a gentle stretching technique!!! Hoochie Mama earrings!

Making me look a fool! Dribble vs Indulge!

Want some Pinterest fun? Check out my faves & boards here
Avec amour...Fiona

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Wednesday's pictures... Birthdays & Glamazons!

With exam period in full swing I spend most of my days head down and in books, I eat, sleep and breathe German and as you can imagine it does get a tad bit tiring!  Well yesterday I had no choice but to let my hair down and indulge in my housemates evening birthday celebration. I haven't had time to do a Wednesdays words post so hopefully Wednesdays pictures will suffice!

The evening began with dinner in a fantastic Thai restaurant with impeccable interior design, followed by a ladies only sleepover, which consisted of relationship talk, dancing and sweet vanilla cupcakes! 

Honestly this had to be the best de-stress activity I've done this month! Sometimes a girls just gotta have fun right?!!!

Pre-dinner photo's! 6 weeks no heat, my hair loves transitioning!

Prawns, beef, chicken! What in the world to eat?!

My smoking platter - those prawns were to die for!

Me and the beautiful Birthday Queen

Photo fun <3

Avec amour...
Fiona ❥

Dinner Dates and Curly Heads

I've said it a million times and i'll say it again! I love eating out! I had such a lovely evening with some close friends yesterday to celebrate my housies new job. I'm sure you'll recognise her face from previous posts where we are eating out yet again! [1 , 2]

We all ventured out to the Leeds Corn Exchange which very much so reminds me of Italy! The interior design and heightened ceilings are stunning, enough to make you melt!

Anyway here are some pics and a few captures of my curls from my recent twist-out!

Enjoy!

I guess the surprise worked! Dimples in full form ^_^

Glimpse of my curls and T's new braids!

Now isn't this A-mazing! Two dimensions in one!

Chef @ work

Grubs up!!!

OKAY well Mocktails!!!

Avec amour...

edF ❥

Dinnertime Delight's- The Creamy Mash Shepherds Pie

My housemates and I started a new venture together at the start of the year. We decided to allocate ourselves to a day of the week and individually cook for one another. I absolutely love it and think it has brought us closer together! I should have posted this yesterday but didn't get a chance... twas my first time making it, and it turned out pretty good. I added some mayo and butter to the mash which made it extra creamy!

I took inspiration form this recipe and tweaked it to my liking!

I'm so in love with food blogs right now... Have you heard of Smitten Kitchen? If your a budding chef at heart then the blog will have you salivating!

Avec amour...

edF ❥