Cooking

SNOW FLURRIES

Published on February 28, 2018March 1, 2024 by simplycarinaxo21 Comments

Good evening beautiful souls,

How has your day been?! Have you been enjoying the snow as much as me?!

I was lucky enough to have a day off today, or should I say unlucky because both cafés I work at shut today anyway because of the wintery weather snowing everyone in. Yesterday I said I just wanted the spring and sunshine already, but when it snows properly like this I can’t help but change my mind because I do kinda love a winter wonderland!

I spent the morning doing some summer holiday research and then finally being crafty and starting to work on a Lino print which made me really happy! In the afternoon Jessica and I wrapped up warm, put on our wellies and walked into Durham to get some shopping done!

Laden with heavy shopping bags full of groceries to make vegan spaghetti bolognese for dinner and ingredients for yummy cocktails we hopped on the bus back home.

Once home we cleaned the house ready for Anna who is coming over for dinner any minute now for dinner and then we’ll probably sit down and watch the Theory of Everything. Has you seen this movie?! It’s amazing and I definitely recommend it!!

Anyway I better start cooking!

I hope you’ve had wonderful day too, maybe even been off work?!

BUTTERBEAN DIP

Published on January 26, 2018March 3, 2025 by simplycarinaxo9 Comments

Good evening beautiful souls,

I have recently been obsessed with this Butterbean dip for the Peace & Parsnips recipe book. It is soo good I just had to share it with you! I use my mini food processor to blend this delight together and recommend you buy yourself one (you can find a link on my Shop page) it’s cheap and super useful. The Cookbook is another I would recommend – even if you aren’t vegan I believe it’s great to try different healthy meals you wouldn’t usually eat and have some fun exploring new recipes. Anyway here goes the easy quick Butterbean dip:

Ingredients:

Garlic (I would use at least 4 large cloves – use this as your starting point and you can always add more or less depending on your taste)
Butter Beans
Parsley or Coriander (I like to use quite a lot of fresh herbs, more than in the recipe, but again start with a little and keep adding to suit your taste)
Pepper & Salt
Olive Oil
Lemon Juice

Method:

Depending on the size of your blender you might be able to make this in one go or like me have to split the ingredients in half and blend two lots.

Chop up you garlic and parsley/coriander and put into blender
Add the Butter Beans, the olive oil and the lemon juice
Grind some salt and pepper into the mix
Now blend together

Suggestion – I admit I never measure the lemon juice and olive oil, I just keep adding them into the mix bit by bit until I get a smooth slightly thicker than hummus consistency

Ways to use the Butter Bean dip:

This recipe comes in the cookbook as an accompaniment to the beetroot burger (which recipe I will most definitely be sharing at some point too as it’s amazing!) but I have since used it in many different ways and here are some of my favourite – have a go and see what you like and if you can think of any other ways to use the Butter Bean dip, do tell me because I would love to know!

Use it like a dip (make it less thick by adding more oil, lemon juice or a splash of water) then chop up some carrot and cucumber sticks or use bread sticks, dip in and enjoy!
My favourite is probably these pitta breads – pop a pitta in the toaster and spread the Butter Bean dip on then top with tomatoes or cucumbers or whatever topping you like!
I tried this one for the first time last week and though it was yummy – the Butter Bean dip works well in a wrap and filled with delicious fresh veg like carrots, cucumber and salad – you could also add some falafel which would be scrumptious.

FAJITAS

Published on January 19, 2018March 3, 2025 by simplycarinaxo19 Comments

Good evening beautiful souls,

The other day I made vegan fajitas – it’s one of my favourite easy meals to make and so I thought I’d share my recipe with you – I hope you enjoy!

(serves 4-5 people)

Ingredients:

1 onion
4 garlic cloves
1 red pepper
3 large tomatoes
1 chilli
1 can of kidney beans
Tofu (Instead of meat I use tofu, although I guess you could use vegan mince as well)
Fajita spices
Salad
Wraps

Method:

Chop up your onion, garlic, pepper, chilli and tomatoes
Drain the tofu and cut up, then marinate in the fajita spices. Tofu by itself is rather tasteless I feel, but marinate it in fajita spices and it changes everything.
Fry your onion and garlic in a little olive oil, once a little brown add the peppers and chilli. After 5 mins add the tomatoes and kidney beans
Wash the salad (I used Kale to fill the fajitas, but it is quite coarse so any other salad would work well too)
Fill your wraps (I recently discovered these amazing beetroot and spinach wraps in Tesco – I definitely recommend). Alternatively you can use romaine lettuce as a wrap which makes for a lighter fresh meal.

Now sit down and enjoy!

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7 TIPS ON HOW TO SURVIVE A CRAZY BUSY MONTH!

Published on September 2, 2017August 31, 2017 by simplycarinaxo1 Comment

Good morning beautiful souls,

This month has been crazy busy for me! It began with me having to work 19 days in a row without a single day off! (Ok quick disclaimer, I technically had 3 days off in between however they were for my best friends wedding so although I wasn’t working, they were not exactly days off in the sense that I could physically and mentally recuperate). As soon as I had a day off I was off to Manchester to visit a friend for two days and when I got back I had one more day of work followed by one day to clean the house before my friend and her fiance came to visit me for a week. As soon as they left I was back at work again! I have never felt so stressed and busy in my life! Now I am currently away at the Lindisfarne festival, finally enjoying a well earned getaway!

Being prepared is very important for such a busy month and taking care of you body and mental health is a necessity. So I want to share with you some tips that helped me get through this month and that can hopefully help you in busy stressful times too to keep you energised and calm.

Tip no.1 – PLAN YOUR MEALS

After a long day at work I usually never know what to cook when I get home and I stumbled about the kitchen nibbling on stuff before I eventually decide what to cook! So having it all laid out before you means no wasting time being indecisive!

Tip no.2 – MEAL PREP

A very easy and important one! When working long days (which working at my dads coffee shop is as I have to leave the house at 7am ish and don’t get home till 6pm ish) I often can’t be bothered to cook in the evening. Thus the temptation for quick unhealthy carb filled meals or a takeaways is soo much more tempting (especially as I have just discovered the Lebaneat 3 mins away from me which makes Borak Sabanekh, a deep-fried Lebanese pastry filled with onion and spinach, that is absolutely delicious!). Also as my friend Nadia and her fiance came to stay with me, it was good to have some meals cooked in advance so I didn’t have to waste time when they were here, stressing about cooking; I can just defrost and warm up a soup or a curry in no time at all, quick and easy!

Tip no.3 – GET A GOOD NIGHT’S SLEEP

This is an important one for me! I’m terrible for not getting enough sleep. It is something I really need to make a conscious effort with. I try to go to bed between 10pm-11pm and I feel so much better when I do manage this and get 8-9hs sleep. My usual is more like 6-7hs and I don’t do well with little sleep!

Tip no.4 – CREATE A PRODUCTIVE MORNING ROUTINE

The other week I woke up at like 4.55 am!!! I think my housemate going to the toilet woke me up or maybe it was the sunrise as it was so bright already, who knows! Anyway as I couldn’t get to sleep again I browsed my Instagram and grumbled over the idea of whether I should rest some more or be good and just get up and start my day. About an hour later I decided to start my day on a positive high by being productive. I made myself a cleansing green tea and started planning some blog posts. About 40 mins later I made a smoothie and then headed to the gym followed by a swim before starting work at 10 am. Go me! The sun was out that morning and I was on such a high from having started my day productively! It really helps me feel good if I give myself some time in the morning to get things done before work!

Tip no.5 – DRINK PLENTY OF WATER

Again, another thing I have always been terrible at! I never drink enough water; so of course I had to put this on my tip list. Staying hydrated is very important and can help the body feel less sluggish a symptom I feel I live with 24/7. So my aim was to drink 2 liters of water a day and that could be made up from water, tea or squash. When I am home I find it a great help to have my large 900ml mason jar next to me and then I will automatically just keep sipping from it! Although I usually didn’t manage 2l a day, I definitely increased my water intake and am continuing to make a conscious effort to drink more.

Tip no.6 – SCHEDULE IN SOME ME TIME

Let’s say 2-3 times a week; set aside some time for yourself to relax. Candles, incense, a movie, a hot chocolate, a bath, some pamper time with a face mask and calming music, whatever feels right for you, just make sure to give yourself some time to relax and put your feet up!

Tip no.7 – EXERCISE

I really struggled with this over the past few weeks as I was just so exhausted from working long days. The only exercise I managed to fit in was Yoga on a Wednesday evening. However I do know that getting some exercise done makes me feel instantly better as I’m doing good to my body and feel like I am being productive. So I will try and schedule in a little bit more exercise again now, at least 2-4 times a week hopefully, even if it’s just a 30min swim before work!

It just makes me feel so much better about myself if I’ve started the day with some exercise 🙂

Well these are my top tips on how to survive a busy month! I hope you find these tips helpful and I’d be interested in hearing about your best coping mechanisms for busy stressful times!

Love Carina xo

VEGAN WRAP PIZZA

Published on June 22, 2017June 24, 2017 by simplycarinaxoLeave a comment

Good morning guys,

Yesterday I decided I would try making a pizza with wraps. I have seen so many people doing this and thought it was about time I tried it. I was plesantly surprised! It was yummy!

I started by putting a very thin layer of tomato pasta sauce on a wrap and then putting a second wrap on top. I thought a slightly thicker base would be nicer and the little tomato sauce stuck the two wraps together. Then I topped the second wrap with more tomato sauce, shallots, cherry tomatoes, vegan feta, salt, pepper, dried basil, parsley and oregano and cooked in the oven for about 10 mins till cheese had melted and the wrap looked crispy. Finally I topped it with fresh basil and a drizzle of balsamic. It really was rather tasty and I shall definitely be making this again! Its so quick and easy!! And filling!!

Have you ever tried wrap pizzas?? What are your favourite toppings, I’d love to know!

Love Carina xo

COOKING A 3 COURSE VEGAN MEAL

Published on June 17, 2017 by simplycarinaxoLeave a comment

Hello friends,

Yesterday my sister came down from Edinburgh for the day and so I had the whole family over for dinner at my new place, which was really nice!

I love cooking for people and so I had great fun making a three course vegan meal for my family.

For starters I made an avocado dip which we ate with a yummy toasted organic white loaf, topped with tomatoes.

Mains was a kinda curry using all my leftover veg such as carrots and bean sprouts. The curry wasn’t spicy as my mum can’t eat spice, however my sister, dad and myself sprinkled it with some chilli flakes which gave it a nice bite of heat.

And for dessert we had a scoop of Alpro hazelnut and chocolate ice cream with warm berries – mmm!

I love having my own place and I’ve really settled in now. It was so nice having the family over! Catching up together and playing a game with dessert. Codenames by the way is an absolutely brilliant game and I urge you all to get your hands on it!

Oh and I know it’s random but I spotted my first ladybird today! It put a smile on my face so I thought I’d share hence the seemingly irrelevant cover photo!

Well I hope you have a great day guys!

Love Carina xo