Food

I’M BACK

Published on August 8, 2024September 2, 2024 by simplycarinaxoLeave a comment

Well it really has been a while since I last took to WordPress and my blog. I’ve missed it and I’ve finally taken the plunge to get it up and running again. I’ve updated my site and plan to ease my way back in slowly. I’m hoping that starting my hobby again will encourage me to get out more, explore, make memories and give me a way to let my creative juices flow.

So brew yourself a coffee and let’s catch up!

A lot has happened since I first began this blog in 2017; here’s a whistle-stop tour. At the time I was crashing at a friends and working part time in a cafe in Durham as well as part time for my dad’s coffee house. I then moved into a house share round the corner and was lucky enough to find a great friend in Jess, the other girl who moved in.

After a couple of years I was able to join my dad full time at his cafe and we also began planning a new business venture together – roasting our very own coffee. Time ticked on, and as much as I loved Jess, I started feeling like I was ready for my own place and thus, after some searching, moved to a wonderful townhouse on the other side of Durham. The move also meant I was closer to work and my parents as although I had finally started driving lessons, I still hadn’t got my license yet and was relaying on dad to scoop me up to and from work.

Not long after I moved however, and just as dad and I were ready to launch our new coffee roasting venture, the dreaded C word took over the world. I went through a somewhat tumultuous time. In some ways I had a great furlough time setting into my new house and enjoying many a sunny afternoon in my lush big new garden, but at the same time I also fell into some extremely unhealthy habits and routines being suddenly all alone. It was a yo-yo of emotions of highs and lows.

Eventually though, things slowly began to open up again and the road to normality seemed unveiled. We opened the cafe on weekends for take-out coffees and cakes, whilst running our coffee roasting business Durham Coffee during the week, primarily launching as an online platform. As things continued to return to normal, we soon realised however that it was going to be too much to run the cafe and roastery at the same time and we came to the decision to sell the cafe and concentrate on roasting.

During this time I had also put myself back out there hoping to make new connections. And one day, when restaurants were open again and meeting up was allowed again a Hinge date with a wonderful guy named Luis forked a new path in my journey. What was supposed to just be lunch ran into a lovely evening out and was soon followed by date no.2 in my garden drinking wine, playing Banagrams and cooking dinner together. Although in many ways we were very different, we also just worked. He made me feel at ease, loved and accepted and was especially patient and understanding with my anxiety; it was no surprise that a few dates led to us already moving in together about nine months into our relationship.

Not long after our first anniversary we got the cutest addition to our wee family, a gorgeous little show cocker spaniel pup who we named Maya (you can check our her adventures on Instagram at @mayatheshowcocker). A year later we also unexpectedly (as it hadn’t been in our immediate plans) ended up buying our first house together which we are now in the process of slowly renovating as it was/is stuck in the 70’s.

And there you have it; a whistle-stop tour of my main life events between 2017 and 2024. Coming back to blogging now I don’t want to tie myself into a specific blogging category, but rather narrate, as my name Simply Carina xo aims to suggest, the simple everyday of my life. From renovation blogs to favourite recipes and travels with my family. Thank you for reading, it’s nice to have you along for the ride!

Carina xo

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.

GINGERBREAD BISCUITS

Published on December 23, 2017December 25, 2017 by simplycarinaxo4 Comments

Good evening beautiful souls,

A couple of days ago Jessica and I decided to bake some gingerbread biscuits and apart from placing them too near one another on the baking tray they turned out fab. They were super easy to make and I thought you might like to have a go too, so here is the recipe!

Ingredients

350g plain flour – 1 tsp bicarbonate of soda – 2 tsp ground ginger – 2 tsp of ground cinnamon – 115g butter – 175g of dark muscovado sugar – 4tbsp golden syrup – 1 egg

Method

Preheat the oven to 190 C / Gas mark — Lightly grease or line two baking trays.
Sift the flour, bicarbonate of soda, cinnamon and ginger into a bowl. Rub in the butter with your fingertips until it resembles coarse breadcrumbs; stir in sugar.
Beat syrup into egg then stir into flour mixture.
Knead the dough until smooth. Roll out to 1/2 cm thick on a lightly floured surface; stamp or cut out desired gingerbread men shapes.
Bake in the preheated oven until golden and puffed, about 10-12 minutes. Let them sit on the tray for a few minutes before moving to a wire rack.
Cool completely before decorating with icing.

Love Carina xo

MY VEGAN MONTH REVIEW

Published on July 19, 2017July 19, 2017 by simplycarinaxoLeave a comment

Hey guys,

Firstly, I am so sorry that I have been MIA recently! I have now finally got the internet back and will be trying to get back to blogging regularly again!

As you know I spent the last month being vegan. I really enjoyed the challenge and only caved once to have a nibble, literally a teeny bite of an egg and of a teeny bite of a slice of salami. However although I managed pretty well I did miss certain things, or rather a month without was fine, but a forever without stresses me a little aha. Thus I have decided for now to allow myself the occasional exception, eg. 1 croissant a month and a dippy egg or something.

You may think well that’s not being vegan and no, it isn’t being 100% vegan, but you know what, I am still proud of myself for the changes I have made so far. Leading a mostly vegan diet is still making a bigger impact on my health, the environment and animal welfare than if I hadn’t made any changes at all! I used to eat a lot of meat and dairy and I do hope that I will eventually become 100% vegan, just not right now.

So here just a couple of my Vegan meals from the last month:

Hope you have all been keeping well!

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

AM I LACTOSE INTOLERANT?

Published on May 18, 2017May 18, 2017 by simplycarinaxoLeave a comment

Hey peeps,

As you can tell from the title this blog post is about dairy, and by dairy I mean milk products, not eggs.

For years I have now been having stomach problems, some bloating but mostly sudden extreme stomach cramps which end in explosive diarrhoea (sorry for the visuals aha but just being honest). These stomach problems have built up such an anxiety in me that I now have a fear of travelling or being in situations where there’s no toilets about in case I get these stomach cramps which I can’t control. This is making my life very restrictive, like when I go to the theatre or cinema I need to have a aisle seat, and even the smallest 20min walks in unknown places can make my anxiety rise dramatically!

Anyway, I have been to the doctors twice and they started looking into things with a blood and stool test, but nothing was really found and then I went away volunteering in November and when I came back in December I moved house, so I’ve not been to continue the testing yet, but I really want an allergy/intolerance test! Yes I know I could lead a food diary and I have tried that in the past, but it’s soo difficult to keep up with and I’ve always given up.

For a couple of months now I have been reducing my dairy intake by substituting milk for almond milk and not eating much cheese or obviously chocolate (ass it contains too much sugar) anymore and I do think it has made a difference. For example, on Easter Sunday, I indulged in chocolate and in the afternoon/evening I got a really bad stomach. Another time I had broccoli cheese and half an hour later I was on the toilet for like 20 minutes aha. So although I have never been tested for lactose intolerance, I am pretty sure I am. My stomach is definitely better when I avoid dairy, so I am taking the plunge and going completely milk free, well mostly aha.

I am now sticking to almond or soya milk, both unsweetened of course to avoid unnecessary sugars, I use dairy free butter/a sunflower spread and I actually rather like the vegan cheese I’ve been using. However I will still occasionally have a croissant or a pizza, luckily shop bought ones are usually not covered in cheese so its not an overdose like it would be on a takeaway pizza or something. I will see how my stomach continues. I definitely think there’s other things out there that don’t agree with my gut either. I will keep you updated!

Love Carina xo

WHAT I EAT IN A DAY

Published on April 5, 2017March 3, 2025 by simplycarinaxo1 Comment

Hello my beautiful friends,

Here’s a what I eat in a day from last week as I am currently in the Peak District!

So after a couple too many drinks the night before aha I had a breakfast to help cure my mini hangover. Dippy eggs, bacon and an Innocent smoothie.

I had a late start at work, my shift only starting at 12pm so I could enjoy my breakfast in peace and lunch at work was only at about 3pm. I got this yummy avocado chicken salad!

After work I hit the gym and so dinner was a bit later, but I was ready for it. I made a little portion of a chicken green veg stir fry with some corn on the cob, which I absolutely love to eat with just a little butter and salt – yummy!

Love Carina xo

MARCH FAVOURITES

Published on April 3, 2017 by simplycarinaxo3 Comments

Hello my beautiful friends,

So we are now into April and it’s time I share my March monthly favourites!

Vikings – OMG you guys, so if you haven’t watched this yet you must get onto it! Vikings is a historical drama which follows the story of Ragnar Lothbrok a farmer who filled with a curiosity to explore rises to fame by raiding England. I don’t really want to give anything away, but there’s a great set of characters, cinematography is dark and matches the style of the show and it really is up there with Game of Thrones regarding brutality and action. Of course it is fictional however it is inspired by the sagas of the Viking Ragnar Lothbrok, one of the best-known legendary Norse heroes and notorious as the scourge of England and France, and I love getting a look into the culture of past societies.

Ratings: IMDb – 8.7/10 Rotten Tomatoes – 91%

Face Spritz: I have been loving this Vitamin C face spritz from the Body Shop. I use it every morning after I cleanse my face and it just makes me feel fresh and awake!

Ball Mason Jars: After watching so many bloggers and vloggers drink their smoothies in beautiful jars I had to get myself some of these gorgeous Ball Mason Jars! I love them so much and use them every single day! I made sure to buy big jars, 945ml, as it makes me drink more, and I never drink enough aha. So if I have one of these glasses filled with water next to me I will continue to sip at it throughout the day.

Smoothie Bowl: My berry smoothie bowl or smoothie has become so much part of my morning routine that I don’t feel right and refreshed in the morning if I don’t have it aha. Here’s my recipe:

1 large banana – frozen berries (about double the amount of the banana) – 1/2 tbsp of cocoa powder – a little almond milk

Blend together, you will need a good blender and something like a muddling stick to stir the fruit, you want a nice thick consistency, so start with only a little milk and rather keep adding to it. Then top with whatever your hear desires aha. I usually use oats, chia seeds, cocoa nibs, fresh fruit and coconut.

Audible – Ok so I am obsessed with audible at the moment! Audible is a monthly subscription service of audio books. I only signed up for the free trial and payed for one month before cancelling as I can’t afford £8 a month at the moment, however they also have some cheap books which you can buy without being subscribed. So I stocked up on a couple of audio books which keep me company on my walks to town. 4-5 days of the week I walk to town and back whether it be for work or for the gym and it’s around a 25min walk so I get a good 1h of listening in most days.

The book I enjoyed most recently was Bleak House by Charles Dickens. I had seen the BBC adaptation years ago and enjoyed it, but the book was even better and is definitely worth a read, although the BBC adaption is totally worth a watch too.

Well that wraps my monthly favourites up, I hope you enjoyed it, let me know what you’ve been loving in March too!

Love Carina xo

WHAT I EAT IN A DAY

Published on March 29, 2017March 29, 2017 by simplycarinaxo2 Comments

Hello my beautiful readers,

Time for another what I eat in a day.

So yesterday, as most Tuesdays, I had a day off and spent all morning working on this blog and planning future posts. For my breakfast I made this yummy smoothie: 1 banana, 10 frozen strawberries, 1 slice of pineapple, 1tbsp of cocoa, 1 tsp of matcha powder, 1 tsp of green boost powder!

At 1.30pm I was still working on my blog whilst catching up on watching YouTube, but paused to make a quick bite of lunch – courgetti spaghetti – yummmm! 1/2 a courgette, a handful of olives, tbsp of green pesto, 1 slice of ham, pepper et voila!

In the afternoon, I went to the gym doing some cardio and some weights. When I got home I cooked some dinner – a tasty green veggie stir fry rice dish! Broccoli, green beans, kale, bean sprouts, onion, garlic, chicken and soy sauce! Twas very yummy and I treated myself to some beer too, a light 2.8% small bottle from Lidl.

After dinner, I ran myself a bath and had another beer and watched some very powerful and interesting documentaries about the meat and dairy industry – I will write a post about these documentaries soon! Well that’s it for today or rather yesterday aha! Hope you enjoyed!

Love Carina xo