breakfast of avocado on sourdough with a green smoothie
So, first things first... I'm sorry I've been a bit MIA again this week. I had a little break away on Wednesday to Friday and then have been just trying to take a bit of a 'chill pill' the last two days and have a bit of a tech detox - let's just say it feels really good!
Anyways, I wanted, as always, to share my week with you. It's been such a lovely chilled week as I only worked a few days in the clinic and then trotted off so as I type this I am feeling chilled, re-energised and rejuvenated!
buckwheat pasta with artichokes, spinach, basil dressing and parmesan cheese
I know, I know! Parmesan is not vegetarian but I am not the most practicing veggie out there! No I don't eat meat, but I eat a little (or in the case of this week... a LOT!) of fish and I am not too fussy if food has been cooked on the same griddle as meat etc etc. After all, it was only just over two years ago that I stopped eating meat altogether. I'm getting there though. However, pasta was delish too as always. Need to change the options up soon, these posts look the same every week!
(top) harissa hash with poached eggs and sourdough toast & (bottom) the matcha pancakes with berries and cashew cream
Wednesday morning treat was breakfast with my Mamma at The Garden in Hale. As I was off for a few days I thought I would spend some time with her. We had a lovely morning and even stopped off to do a bit of shopping in The Edit... Well it would be rude not to right?!?!
So, incase you're interested this is where I ended up! The most lovely and chilled place within an hour and a half of Cheshire... Hoar Cross Hall! These are just little sneaky peeks of a post that I'm going to do on this place. I went a couple of years back and I must say it has seriously improved so much since then.
Love these little chilling pods. I spent so much time in these!
Sneaky peek at some of the food too. I love fine dining food when it actually fills you up!
fruit salad with orange sorbet and honeycomb
Wagamama yaki udon
udon noodles cooked in curry oil with chicken, prawns, chikuwa, egg, beansprouts, leeks, mushrooms and peppers. garnished with fried shallots, pickled ginger and sesame seeds
I don't know what it is all of a sudden, but on the way home we went via Cheshire Oaks and hit up Wagamama again! Twice in a week, seriously not like me! I was craving some kind of greasy noodle thing and this really hit the spot. I think all that fine-dining took it's toll, I needed some junk. All about balance peeps... All about balance!
breakfast tea & a matcha latte at Common Ground by alty market
Then it was time for my weekly catch up with my beautiful Laura. I was so excited to try Common Ground as I've seen so much on their insta page and it just looks bloody cool! Well, it was! The staff were so so helpful and friendly. Plus how beautiful is this matcha latte! They do a wide variety of non-dairy milks too and a lovely range of drinks. Everything from good old-fashioned teas and coffee to turmeric lattes and cocktails! Oh, and they do sexy little cakes too! I would highly recommend giving it a try if you're in Altrincham.
so cute!
Lovers till the end! Ha ha! I love how this heart stays until I finished it - so beautiful!
So, after all that decadence over the last few days, Friday night called for something much, much lighter - well, lighter for me anyways! I made a mahoosive salad for dinner with some salmon. I will be honest, we had been travelling, I was still chilled out and couldn't be bothered to do too much cooking. So, this is the super lazy version! I basically bought lots of prepared vegetables (sweet potato and butternut squash and also a casserole mix, plus a cauliflower, green beans and little gem lettuce) and popped them in the oven and roasted them for 45 mins. Then added them to a big bowl with some artichokes, pepperdew peppers and lettuce. Gave it a drizzle of balsamic glaze and ta dah! Salad is done! Easy peasy lemon squeezy! :)
shredded turnip in puff pastry
Saturday afternoon was time for dim sum. I needed to nip to town to take something back so we decided to nip to Glamorous whilst we were in the area. We did it a bit different this time and ordered a main dish to share and then a few dim sum plates too.
prawn dumpling
stir fried beef, peppers, black bean sauce and ho fun
(I obviously just didn't eat the beef! See, I'm a bad veggie ha ha!)
King Prawns a la plancha
Saturday night was a meal with my Mamma. We went to Porta as she has not tried it before and I was craving it! As always, it was delicious!
Fried squid Andalucian style with alioli
(from the top) Purple sprouting broccoli with romesco sauce, Fried Padron peppers with Maldon salt, Patatas Bravas, Fried squid Andalucian style with alioli
rice bowl with leftover roasted vegetables and a lime wedge
I love leftovers! I literally make extra food sometimes just so that I can have leftovers. There is nothing better than being able to walk past the fridge and nip in for a cold roast potato or stuffing ball ha ha! Anyhoo, I made this rice bowl with the leftovers from friday night. I just reheated everything in a pan and had it with some brown rice and chilli sauce. It tasted amazing! How people can say that Vegan food is bland or boring have no idea about good plant-based food! This was so full of flavour and was so filling! Plant based food it not just a lettuce leaf and a packet of lentils - trust me!
How was your week? I hope it was nice and you had time to enjoy the sunshine. What was all that 'weather warning' about on Thursday?? For goodness sakes, I was outside doing yoga under an old oak tree (one of the highlights of my trip!) and there was not a rain drop or even a cloud in sight! Ha ha!
I hope you had a lovely week too! Thanks so much for reading,
Big love,
Em x