Macaroni Cheese Balls

Price I paid
I tried these in a kind of diner style restaurant in New York for $2.50.

Colour
What was most striking about this dish was the colour of the cheese it came with.  This is American squeezy cheese and is the kind of thing that fills all cheese lovers with nightmares.  I happen to be a real cheese lover and I immediately shunned the dipping cheese and meticulously scraped it off the macaroni balls praying that the cheese inside would be an alternative.

Taste
Nope, the cheese inside was also squeezy cheese.  I wanted to try these because I always think of Mac'n'Cheese as being an American treat.  It was not, it was a stodgy and I have thoroughly looked it up and the nearest this kind of cheese has been to well.. a cheese is by containing "milk and cheese culture" which is used in the production of cheese but is not really cheese itself.  I am not being a drama queen, any other English person presented with this would also be horrified!  
As an experiment, I did eat two and I can confirm they were balls of macaroni pasta surrounded in a thick blob of squeezy cheese.  

Ingredients
Hate to think about it.

Overall reaction
Spit them out..
0/10

Korean Tasting Wines

Price I paid
My family ordered this little trio of Korean tasting wines whist in a restaurant in New York and they were a real experience.  I think it was about $15 for all three.

Colour
The nonju rine was a white colour, the black rasperry was similar to the colour of most red wines and the herb wine was like white wine with a greenish tinge to it.

Taste
The nonju wine is a milky rice wine and to me pretty much tasted like any dry white wine with added milk.  Having milk in wine seemed quite strange and unexpected but it wasn't actually unpleasant.
The black rasperry wine was very sweet and reminded me of dessert wine with Ribena? Again, I didn't dislike this but I wouldn't want to order a whole glass on my own.
Finally there was the herb wine, I really quite disliked this because it tasted like very dry white wine with a parsley smell and taste.  

Overall Reaction
Although I really enjoyed tasting all of these wines, I would never order a whole glass to myself.  I think that the "tasting wines" concept of three small glasses to share is fantastic though especially as they were three flavours I have never seen or tried before. 
8/10

Faux Beef Japanese Bake

Price I paid
I tried this "faux beef" dish at a Japanese takeaway restaurant in the food court of the Rockafeller Center in New York and it was just a few dollars.

Colour
On it's own it actually looks very unappealing so I think they have the right idea adding a little carrot and broccoli just to make it look somewhat prettier.

Taste
Although it looks pretty grim it actually tasted really nice! It was chunks of soya with a really nice kind of black bean sauce on that was not too spicy for me which was a plus.  I don't think it really needed the rice with it as there was not enough sauce to warrant it.

Overall Reaction
If I went back to New York I wouldn't make a journey specifically to re-order this dish but if I was nearby the Rockafeller Center I probably would go in and grab another one of these for a lunch.
8/10

Poppy Seed Cake

Price I paid
I was served this "poppy seed crumble cake" while on a cruise on the Queen Mary 2 and the journey price included all food.

Colour
If I had not known any better I probably would have thought that this was a chocolate cake.

Taste
In my opinion, this was not a cake and I was thoroughly disappointed.  It was a thick dry crumbly mess with a layer of very dry, solid poppy seeds.  It could really have done with a layer of jam or a more spongy base.  It reminded me of the crust of a seeded bread without the nice spongy bit underneath.

Overall Reaction
I like the idea of putting poppy seeds in a cake, but this one just wasn't for me!
1/10

Burrata

Price I Paid
I absolutely love cheeses, most of my meals incorporate cheese in some way.  This was a special on the menu in a restaurant in Little Italy in New York and the price was not specified.  I always crave this cheese as it is very difficult to get hold of in London so my dad just told me to order it.  However, when the bill arrived it ended up costing about $15 (although I would add it was 100% worth it!)

Colour
This is a soft, white cheese.

Texture
What is special about this cheese is that it is mozzarella that has been stretched along with cream to create a much softer texture and richer taste.

Smell
The smell is hardly noticeable.

Overall Reaction
I LOVE this cheese! The only place I seem to be able to find it in London is Watirose and unfortunately it has never actually been in stock so if anyone has any suggestions on where I can buy this please let me know!
10/10!!!

Flight to New York

These are just a few photographs I took on the way to New York from my seat in the plane.  I don't have a fear of flights at all but I really dislike being stuck in a small space for 8 hours and looking down. I actually took these photos on my camera to look at once I was back on the ground!

Jasmine Tea

Price I Paid
My dad bought this tea in a New York, Korean Restaurant for just a few dollars I don't remember the exact amount, sorry!

Design
I think the little slogan on the cup is sweet it says, "perfectly clear water instills honesty, sublimely fine tea installs faith."  
The cup itself is pretty cool as well because it contains it's own inbuilt tea strainer/infuser and a little lid.

Colour
The tea is a slightly yellow green colour.

Smell/Taste
I have combined these two because my opinion on all herbal teas is that it is really just "smelly water."   My real issue with this tea is that the majority of my perfumes contain jasmine and drinking water that smells like my perfumes seems to set off strange warning bells in my head that completely prevent me from enjoying any kind of herbal teas. In all honesty I am not convinced these kinds of teas have any particular taste other than warm water anyway.

Overall Reaction
I like the smell, but I wouldn't want to drink this at all!
1/10

Spinach and Artichoke Dip

The image on the left is the dish I ate in America that I thoroughly enjoyed.  The only slight issue with this version of the dish was that it had been made using squeezy cheese which is this horrible yellow gloop that completely disgusts me.

After coming home from New York I was inspired to have a go at it and my version is the image on the right.

As usual my presentation is absolutely awful so use a bit of imagination or have a go at it yourself and do it better.  Sometimes I wonder whether I should have a disclaimer on this site because when it comes to makeup I am quite a perfectionist but when it comes to food I figure it all mixes up in my mouth anyway so it really doesn't matter what it looks like!

Price I paid/Ingredients

1 Can of Artichoke hearts - £1

2 bags of fresh spinach - £1 each

1 Tub of grated Parmesan - £2

2 garlic cloves - 20p

Three tablespoons sour cream - £50 a tub

Saucepan

How to Prepare

1. Drain and wash artichoke hearts out.  Simmer in boiling water for three minutes.

2. Drain water from artichoke hearts and put in a separate bowl for now.

3. Add some oil to the saucepan and add the spinach until it is all completely wilted.

4. Drain the spinach as often it can release a lot of water while cooking.

5. Put the cooked artichoke and wilted spinach back into the saucepan.

6. Finely chop and add the garlic cloves/sour cream/whole tub of parmesan

7. Put saucepan back on the heat and stir continuously until the parmesan has melted into the mix.

8. Put in a dish and serve!

Taste

This is an American style dish although often in America they will use cream cheese instead of parmesan but as per usual, I didn't have any!  Tastes great as a side dish to a potato or as a tortilla chip dip. 

Overall Reaction

I personally thought this dip really worked well although I possibly would have used cream cheese instead of parmesan for a thicker consistency.  I also do not like artichokes in this quantity but that is just my preference so I would have either used more spinach or less artichoke.

8/10 

Gorgonzola Cheese Sauce/Dip

Price I paid/Ingredients
1 block of Gorgonzola - £2 
2 teaspoons of mayonnaise - £1 a jar
1 tablespoon of double cream - 50p a tub
1/2 teaspoon butter
Saucepan

How to Prepare
This is yet another dish that tasted much better than it looks!  The reason it looks lumpy is because I forgot to take the rind of the cheese which was quite a big mistake to be honest!
1. Cut the rind off the Gorgonzola!
2. Melt the butter in the saucepan on a very low heat to grease the bottom of the pan to stop it sticking so much.
3. Add the gorgonzola to the saucepan and wait for it to start to melt.
4. Add the mayo/cream and keep stirring until all the cheese has melted.
5. Serve! I served this sauce over potatoes and the photograph is of it straight out of the hot pan.  You can also wait for it to cool a little and the cheese to become much thicker and use it as a dip for vegetables/tortilla chips etc!

Colour
Off white cheese colour!

Taste
Gorgonzola is a very strong cheese so steer clear if you aren't into that kind of thing.  You can add a few spices e.g nutmeg if you want to create something a little more different but I didn't fancy that.

Smell
Gorgonzola actually does not have such a strong smell despite the strong taste.

Overall Reaction
I would definitely make this sauce/dip again. 
10/10

Avon Advance Techniques Morrocan Argan Hair Oil

Price I Paid
It retails at £5.50 but is currently on offer for £3.30

Design
I think the design of this product might be one of its main issues.  When you hold down the pump it disperses far too much oil I would probably only use about a 1/4 of what comes out which is very annoying as I have to waste product/get rid of the rest of the oil from my hands.  

Colour
The oil is yellow in the bottle but doesn't make a difference to the colour of your hair once applied.

Texture
I am very much in two minds over this oil.  On one hand it does make my hair feel quite nourished but on the other hand it is incredibly greasy and makes my fine hair look very oily if I use even slightly too much.  I think for thick, dry hair this would be a great product but for those with fine, dry hair it has to be used very carefully.  I also would only use this product if I was straightening my hair because I find it makes my natural curls go kind of flat.

Smell
The smell is not offensive just smells a little oily which makes sense.

Ingredients
Contains Argan oil which is made from the kernals of the Argan tree which is native to Morocco.

How To Apply
What I found works best for my hair is to apply it an hour before I have a shower so that my hair can absorb the moisture but the excess can be washed off in the shower with shampoo.

Overall Reaction
I can see the appeal of this product for people with very thick, dry hair but for my hair I have products that work much better.
6/10

Easy Banana Muffins

Price I paid/Ingredients
1 egg - £1.50 for a box
1 cup of caster sugar - £1 for a whole bag
2-3 tablespoons of butter/margarine - £1 a small tub 
2 teaspoons of vanilla essence - 79p for a jar
1.5 cups of self raising flour - £1 for a huge bag
A splash of milk - 49p for a small bottle
2-3 bananas depending on how "bananarey" you like them
Cupcake/muffin cases
Cupcake tray
Saucepan
Pre-heated oven to 150 degrees

How to Prepare
1. Add the butter (or if you forget to buy butter I successfully used Bertolli spreadable butter with a hint of olive) to a saucepan and heat at the lowest possible gas setting until melted
2. Add the caster sugar to the saucepan, if it starts to bubble at all you need to take it off the heat until it settles.  You want the sugar to melt just a little bit and mix with the butter.
3. Mash the bananas up well with a fork and then add them to the saucepan.
4. Add the vanilla essence and egg.
5. Add the flour, mix thoroughly. If the mixture looks very thick you can add a little splash of milk but be careful not to add so much it becomes watery it should be thick like cream cheese consistency.
6. Put the cupcake cases into the tray and use a spoon to half fill each cupcake case with mix.  Use as many as you need until you run out.
7. Put in the oven on 150 degrees, it should take about 20-25 mins to cook although watch them and take them out when the tops start to look a golden brown colour.
8. Take them out the oven when ready, let them cool and then serve!

Note:  I considered icing them but I felt like it would ruin the banana flavour.

Taste
I added two bananas to my mix and I found this to be plenty, they tasted yummy and quite strongly of banana.  I think these would make a great, quick breakfast snack!

Smell
The smell filled up my whole house which is my favourite thing about cooking!

Overall Reaction
I would definitely make these again. They were incredibly fast to make it took me 5 mins to mix all the ingredients together and get them in the oven.  Then just the time waiting for them to cook. 
10/10

p.s Sorry I haven't been very consistent in posting recently, I have been very busy with holidays etc!

Breakfast In Bed

I have just returned from a holiday in New York and we took a cruise home on the Queen Mary 2. The thing I miss most about it was definitely breakfast in bed on the ship!  Every morning someone would knock on my door and bring me a tray of food and a cup of tea (ordered the night before).  I could then leisurely eat my breakfast and watch a film/fall back to sleep for a bit.

The only slight negative of 7 days of breakfast in bed and feeling like royalty is that now I am home and walking downstairs to get cereal all seems to be a lot of effort. 

Peanut Butter Cups Recipie

Price I paid/Ingredients
1 large bar Cadbury's Dairy Milk £1
1/2 jar smooth peanut butter £1 a jar
3ish teaspoons of butter 50p a block
4-5 teaspoons icing sugar £1 a bag 
10ish paper cupcake cases any size you want 70p for 30
You will need 2 microwave safe bowls as well and some teaspoons

How to Prepare
This is really easy to make just follow these steps:
1. Make the chocolate base by breaking up half the bar of chocolate into small squares.  Put them into a microwave safe bowl and add 1 teaspoon of butter. Put in the microwave for 30 seconds.  Take it out and add 2 teaspoons of peanut butter to the mix.  Stir, then heat it for another 30 seconds. If the mix is not melted yet you can put it in for a further 30 seconds. 
2. Put a teaspoons worth of the melted mix into each cupcake case.  You can put in more/less depending on the size of the cases you choose.
3. Take a separate bowl and mix roughly half a jar of peanut butter with about 4/5 teaspoons of icing sugar and a teaspoon of butter.  Melt in the microwave for 30 seconds, you do not want the peanut butter to be too melted because you want it to be a nice blob on top of the base.  You could wait for the base to completely set and then spread it out like a Reece's peanut butter cup but I am too impatient and I wanted alot of peanut butter.
4. You then do need the peanut butter and base to harden before you add the top layer of chocolate so put them in the fridge for 20 mins and come back to them.
5. You then do step 1 again and pour about a teaspoonful of mix over the peanut butter to hide it and leave for a further 20 mins in the fridge.  Unfortunately I ran out of chocolate for this step so mine were not evenly covered (also because we ran out of cutlery as it was all in the dishwasher which I blame my brother for so I was using a cake fork to mix/spread it) but I promise they taste much better than they look!

Colour
Milk chocolate brown, but with hints of lighter peanut butter brown if you, like me, fail to cover it.

Taste
Exactly like a Reece's peanut butter cup there really is hardly any difference! If you don't like those peanut butter cups definitely stay clear of this recipe.

Smell
Melting peanut butter smells so good and it fills up the whole kitchen which I love!

Health Benefits 
Um...... well peanuts are healthy? I used milk chocolate AND butter so maybe I can count that as a dairy product and therefore part of my daily calcium intake..?? Or maybe not...

Overall Reaction
These are delicious even if they look kind of dodgy! 10/10!

Holiday Makeup Essentials

These are my holiday essentials!

1. Two hair bands

Great when it is hot and I can't be bothered to sort out my hair!

2. J'adore Dior mini perfume

I was given a set of minitures which has proven very useful for holidays, each bottle probably lasts me 3 or so weeks.

3. 17 Pressed Powder in Neutral

When it is hot oily makeup can look shiny so I use this to tone it down

4. Illamasqua nail varnish in Jan.

I don't want the hassle of changing my nail colour on holiday so I just take one fairly neutral shade

5. Nail Clippers

Always useful!

6. Bourjois Flower Perfection Foundation in 51

I take this foundation as it is a powder formulation that makes my skin matte.

7. Bourjois 10 hour sleep effect foundation in 71

This is an oilier foundation that is still light but is good if I have dry skin.

8. MAC 190 foundation brush

Although I swear by stippling brushes, stuffing them in a makeup bag ruins the bristles so I just take a normal flat brush.

9. Revlon Lip Butter in 045

Moisturising with colour!

10. MaxFactor lipstick in 110

Amazing lasting power it will stay on all night.

11. MaxFactor lipstick in 040

"

12. Avon Rasperry Lipsalve

I use this over the MaxFactor lipsticks as they can be slightly drying

13. Benefit BrowZings in light

I wouldnt go out without it

14. Benefit HighBrow

Makes you look fresh faced no matter what time in the morning it is!

15.Tweezers

Good idea to take some if you are going away for a while.

16. Lancome HydraZen SPF15 face moisturiser

I always put on moisturiser before my makeup and this one is good and has spf

17. Bourjois Blusher in Rose D'Or

Comes with a handy brush inside the lid!!

18. MAC concealer in NC15

Great for a quick coverup before going out if I can't be bothered with foundation

19.Illamasqua eyeshadow in Control

A neutral colour that goes with everything

20. Chanel Waterproof eyeliner in 10 Black

My favourite eyeliner ever!

21. Lancome Black Drama Waterproof Mascara

This mascara does not budge no matter what which makes it perfect for wearing in the day all the way into the night!

How Mirrors Are Made

I found this video while searching YouTube.  As you might have seen in my other posts I really do love knowing how things are made so I found this video quite interesting.  It is 5 mins long so I would suggest letting it load and skipping forward bits where there is lots of waffle from the annoying voice over person!

Roast Vegetables in Palma!

Thought I would write a quick post about these yummy roast vegetables that I ate on a recent holiday to Mallorca.  After a few days worth of McDonalds and Subway at the Magaluf strip we decided to head to Palma for some real food.  It was just vegetables with a hint of soy sauce. I don't know whether it was just the fact that we had found real vegetables, or that it actually was as good as I thought, but at the time it was the best pile of vegetables I had ever eaten. 

On a side note courgettes are vile, they are wannabe cucumbers, squashy with no taste, although on this occasion I ate them.  I had not seen anything green on the plate for a week other than the limp lettuce in my Subway sandwich (which I might add kept being upgraded to a footlong which now horrifies me).

If anyone reading this visits Palma, make sure you head on down to the lovely Italian Restaurant near the marina.  But you will have to guess which one since I don't remember the name of it....

MAC concealer

Coverage of a brown pen line on my hand

The packaging

The packaging

Price I Paid

I paid £11 for this product from the MAC store.

Design

I quite like the design of this product, small enough to fit in a handbag but still contains alot of product.  I also really like that you can see through the lid of the packaging to have a proper idea of what the colour is. 

Colour

This is NC15 which is a yellow toned concealer.  

Texture

I really do not like MAC foundations as I find the colours are not quite right for me and the formulas end up patchy but this concealer is pretty good actually.  I think this particular concealer really needs to be used on its own without any foundation.  When I covered it with foundation I found that my foundation seemed to drift off the areas where I had applied this product and had become quite powdery even when it was oil based foundation. It does have amazing coverage though as you can see from the picture above and therefore if you have found a shade close enough to your skin colour you probably don't need to put any foundation ontop.

Smell

No smell

How To Apply

I would strongly recommend applying this product with a brush if you want to cover anything specific like a blemish etc and using your finger to smudge the edges of where you have applied it to blend it in.  It does work very well as a concealer.

Overall Reaction

I normally buy the natural collection concealer which retails at £1.99 and works better under my foundation while there being more product for my money.  Although this MAC concealer works great if I just want to use a concealer on its own.

8/10