All Hail Hanky Panky Pancakes

I may have said this before, things don't move particularly quickly in Chester and anything evenly mildly alternative is either a raging success or a tragic flop so when Hanky Panky Pancakes opened it's doors a couple of years ago it could have easily tipped in either direction. 

However, I am delighted to say that success was all that awaited this little eatery.

B's Bakes: Raw Vegan Cookie Dough Ice Cream

 

Is it just me or does ice cream stir up some serious flashbacks?

 

Maybe it's because it's such a seasonal delight; a nod to the sunshine filled summers of our childhood and windswept trips to the seaside with sand in hair and hair in mouth. Mushed up with jelly, at children's parties and trips to the ice cream parlours on visits to America where the toppings were more exciting than the flavour you chose!

Get To Know Me: Ellie Austin-Williams

 Are you ready for another Get to Know Me?

We sure hope so because this week we would like you to meet the gorgeous Ellie Austin-Williams.

Moonlit Screening at the Open Air Cinema

Last weekend marked the 24th birthday of my older brother Ted. To celebrate the occasion he requested that any, and all, of his available family members and friends join him at Chester's open air cinema for a picnic, white russians and a moonlit screening of The Big Lebowski. 

We were more than happy to oblige.

B's Bakes: Savoury Sweet Potato Muffins

For a long time, I was very unsure of how I felt about savoury cake. Give me any flavour of sugary sweet treat, but herbs and more than just a pinch of salt...no chance. It wasn't until I started experimenting with sundried tomatoes and cheese that I realised that just because I didn't want to inhale the raw batter, didn't mean the end result wouldn't be delicious.

COMMENTING #6

The weekend is here! 

Whilst we do the Friday dance and put the gin on ice we'll let you peruse what we, at COMMENT, have been loving this week in order to get you inspired and in the mood for the weekend ahead.

Enjoy!

Get to Know Me: Lauren Currie

This week COMMENT is super excited bring you another Get to Know Me feature and to introduce you to the glorious creature that is Lauren Currie of Currie on Cooking...

What it Means to Own House Plants

It's strange, I've lived spent the last four years living away from my childhood home and keeping house to varying degrees. I've lived alone, with housemates, with a partner and even with my brother yet, it was only when I moved back in with my parents that I even had any desire to own a houseplant - and when I say desire I mean I was obsessed with the need of having one.

To me, the houseplant represented the fact that, even though I was living back at home, I was now older, wiser, more responsible, and still very much moving forward in my life...

B's Bakes: Colourful Coleslaw

There's something so very summery about coleslaw. With a satisfying crunch of fresh veg and the perfect salty/creamy/sweet balance, it really is such a wonderful picnic staple. And interestingly enough, for the longest time I wasn't really a fan. It was only after I decided to experiment and make my own that I realised I'd been missing out for far too long.

COMMENTING #5

Perhaps it's due to the warm weather of late or the fact that the holidays are just around the corner but this week's favourites appear to have gone all summer themed...

Moisturising In-Shower Salt Scrub

Don't get me wrong, I love a good pamper night but, when the weather is this hot the last thing I want to be doing is sitting in a steaming bath and spending hours slathering on the lotions and potions when I could be sprawled on the grass outside in the sunshine.

However, the heat also calls for far more skin to be on show than usual and this requires some form of maintenance. Enter my In-Shower Salt Scrub. With just two ingredients this scrub is ridiculously simple to make and will leave your skin super silky soft with no further moisturise-ation required.

B's Bakes: Cacao Coconut fudge with sour cherries

Chocolate, for many, is one of the hardest things to give up when trying to get your diet clean. Whether your opting to ditch the dairy or the sugar, not even the high quality brands can really hold their hands up to being guilt-free. As I began to wean myself off processed sweet treats, I found that I could no longer really justify my love of chocolate in the way that I was eating it, and I really needed to find something that gave me the cacao hit, without the guilt crash.

Get to Know Me: Tashi Skervin

Are you all ready for another Get to Know Me feature? The response to our first interview, two weeks ago, was phenomenal and so we want to keep the momentum going by introducing you to another beautiful creature who can be found on the internet, Tashi Skervin.

Birthday, Solstice, World Yoga Day, Campfires, Celebrations & Sleeping Under the Stars

Last weekend was a HUGE weekend for family Oliver. The weekend of the 19th-21st of June marked Daddy Oliver's birthday, the summer solstice, Father's Day and World Yoga Day. A weekend this monumental needed to be celebrated in style and therefore Mum, Dad, my Godmother Sarah, and I, packed up the car and made our way up into the Welsh hills for an incredible Kundalini Yoga Retreat at Kinton Farm.

B's Bakes: Cranberry Cookies

I have a serious thing about cookies. 

As a confessed sweet treat addict, more often than not I tend to I let my sweet tooth reign. Yet often when I'm out for dinner I'm just not feeling it the array of lemon possets or chocolate fondants. The one thing I can never say no to, however, is a cookie or two.

COMMENTING #4

Every so often we love to bring you a round-up of what we've been loving throughout the week from our favourite instagram accounts to workouts and so much more...

Busy Bees Make Time for Tea Hive

Once you leave a place that you so dearly called home it's a curious thing to discover what you miss about it. It's also a curious thing to find out what will sway in making the effort to return to that place that you have now left. For me, the eateries of Manchester are some of the best ever and Teahive would be up there at the very top of my list.

B's Bakes: Chocolate Hazelnut Spread

Is it me or is Nutella one of those foods that have just sky-rocketed to cult status?

In the blink of an eye, it's gone from being an average chocolate spread to being some kind of instagram-able pledge of allegiance. And if you've got a personalised jar, well you can expect your likes to double for sure! As a die-hard praline fan, I appreciate a good hazelnut, I do. However, I've taken to trying to avoid foods that don't feel natural or nourishing to my body, and while it may be delicious in all it's sugar-coma inducing glory, not even I can defend that nutritional index. 

Get to Know Me: B with Wellness

As mentioned last week, COMMENT is introducing a new series of Get to Know Me interviews in order to allow both ourselves and our readers to connect to more of the amazingly talented visionaries that exist out there in the ether that is the internet.

To kick start this wonderful new feature we have roped in our very own B to give you all an opportunity to get to know her better, find out what inspires her and how she stays motivated when it comes to blogs and business...

How to Move Home Again

The prospect of moving back to your childhood home is never an easy one but it really doesn't have to be as big a turmoil as some might assume...

There's a New Weekly Feature! (+ exciting opportunity)

COMMENT is expanding with a new contributing writer and exciting new features!

Let's Catch Up: A Letter From Me to You.

Hello everyone!

It has been some time since my last post and so I thought it only right that I fill you in on where I've been, what I've been up to and why I have been silent for so long...

Is This the Best Brunch in Town?

Last week, the girls & I arranged to meet up for a spot of brunch on one of the rare occasions that we were all free at the same time and I could not think of anywhere better to go than Moose. With an overwhelmingly large selection of all things brunch it is a highly popular spot and it is hardly surprising as to why...

COMMENTING #3

Back again after a couple of weeks and it's all getting a bit deep and arty in this week's favourites...

Quick and Easy Sick Day Soup

Life has been rather hectic lately. As I stepped off the train from London I received a call from my employer asking if I could work overtime as the children that I nanny for had come down with flu. Needless to say that with my immune system a little weakened from all the sugar consumed whilst in London it was inevitable that I would be struck down with the same bug. However, unlike the children, I live alone and have no one around to make me food and bring me fluids in my hours of need. I therefore keep this little recipe up my sleeve as it is super simple and quick using ingredients that can usually be found in the bottom of the fridge whilst also being warm, comforting and nourishing.

A Foodie Trip to London: Day 4

Our final day in London involved a lot of travel and the prospect of having to drag heavy luggage around a sunny, busy London. After checking out of the accommodation we were in need of a good breakfast to last us through the day and so headed to the end of the road in order to visit Leon.

A Foodie Trip to London: Day 3

The third day of our gallivant round London town produced bright and beautiful weather and we therefore decided to spend our morning exploring the delights of Borough Market.

COMMENTING #2

It's that time of the week again where I tell you what has been on my radar and can hopefully provide you with some thoughts, interests and reading for the weekend... 

A Foodie Trip to London: Day 2

Day two of our London trip was all about the shopping! So. Much. Shopping. Because, if you can't buy it in London, then where the hell can you?

A Foodie Trip to London: Day 1

Every year my mum and I head to London for a girl's trip away together involving a lot of shopping, gossiping and, of course, food. This year was no exception.

Review: Indian Healing Clay

As you may have read in previous posts on this blog, my skin and I have rarely been friends (or even civil acquaintances) so far in life and the appearance of it has frequently made me feel self-concious and depressed. With a combination of hyper-sensitivity and acne it has always been tricky to find products that can benefit both aspects particularly when it comes to face masks. Many are designed to either be aggressively acne clearing, and therefore drying, or "thirst quenching", a.k.a smotheringly greasy.

For years I avoided face masks like crazy and would, on occasion, make my own with ingredients from my kitchen just to ensure that I knew all of the contents were simple, natural and non-irritants. Whilst doing some internet research on natural ingredients that make for great masks I came across Aztec Secret Indian Healing Clay. After reading several positive reviews from people with all skin-types, I decided to give it a go.

Simple, Scrumptious, Quinoa Salad

It took me a long time to get to grips with the fact that salad did not have to be boring and that it could consist of more than just a few wilted leaves of iceberg lettuce and some watery tomatoes. 

So here is my go-to salad recipe that has never failed to be a winner and, even better, it uses up loads of scraps and only takes around 15 minutes to create.

How to Drink Less and Still Party Hard

It is a bit of an ongoing debate: "To be truly healthy can you still include alcohol in your diet?" Certain diet plans say yes whilst others say absolutely not. Once I found out I had PCOS I did my research and the same advice kept coming from all angles - cut out sugar, in as many and all forms as you can and, yes, this includes alcohol. The problem was, and this was probably a massive contributing factor to my PCOS in the first place, I am an out-and-out party girl.

Spring Health Kick: Seed Sprouting

It's the beginning of March and Spring is starting to, well, spring. As we watch daffodils and crocuses come into bloom I feel my body reawakening and craving fresher foods, more movement and the general shrugging off of my winter state of hibernation. In order to kick start this process, it is around time of year that I like to reintroduce sprouted seeds / beans back into my diet as a fantastic means of bulking up salads, soups and omelettes. They are exceptionally high in protein, fibre and B vitamins whilst being deliciously nutty flavour and crunchy texture.  

If you fancy giving sprouting a go then here's how to do it.

3 Oils and Different Daily Uses for Them

When I was a teenager I used to think oil was the devil. I hated the taste of it on my food, the texture of it on my face and couldn't BARE the idea of using it after a shower before getting dressed for the day. However, when I turned the meagre age of 12 I suddenly had a huge growth spurt (I know, young right?) and was one of the first people in my year to develop stretch marks, acne and well... everything else. It was around this time that I began to research what I could do to diminish the deep purple scars that were showing up all over my body and, thus, my love affair with oils began.

A Meeting at North Tea Power

Sometimes living alone and also working from home can become a real drag. Little interaction + little encouragement = low motivation. So a couple of weeks ago I made arrangements with my oldest friend Becky, who is in a very similar situation, to meet up and go for breakfast in order to discuss life, boys, business and all things blog related. 

COMMENTING

COMMENT is launching a new weekly segment! COMMENTING will, from now on, be posted every Friday and will be a round-up of everything I have been obsessing over in the week. Every week the categories will remain the same displaying my favourite thing in relation to that category. This new segment will hopefully provide some reading material/inspiration for your weekend.
Happy Friday to you all!

Paleo, Chocolate Truffle Protein Balls

If ever there was a way of combining a healthy post-workout snack with chocolate then I was determined to find it. And, now that I have, I am going to share it with you lovely lot.

Love Juice? Then Head to Love Juice

I love afternoon tea. There, I said it. In fact, it's not just afternoon, there's brunch too... and supper - in fact any meal that is not really a meal but is at the times of day when one should be at work and therefore eating cake, and generally being decadent, feels all kinds of sinfully wonderful. One of my favourite people to while away an afternoon with is undoubtedly my mother but since she has been juicing (see previous post for more details) finding places to gain appropriate sustenance has proven tricky. Enter, Love Juice.

My Three Favourite Juices... from Jason Vale's, Super Juice Me

I was first introduced to Jason Vale, the Juice Master, and his juicing philosophies when I was still in my mid-teens and my mum was re-training as a nutritional therapist. I was instantly on board and have remained a bit of a fan ever since.

An Evening at Teacup

Teacup is one of those absolute gems of a teashop that, come rain or shine, has people queueing out the door every single weekend. Located in the heart of Manchester's Northern Quarter, Teacup is cute and quirky without quite becoming a hipster cliché like many other places are in danger of doing these days. Although their vast collection of cakes and tea are some of the best I've ever experienced (keep reading for evidence of this) they don't just rely on their sweet treats and charm thus, therefore, excelling in all other areas of their menu too (I am still yet to find anywhere in Manchester that delivers a better Eggs Benedict). So once I discovered that Teacup were planning to begin an evening menu I grabbed my best foodie-friend Laura, and we decided to make a night of it. 

Emotional Abuse: How to Forgive, Heal, and Move on.

February 6th, 2014 was the day that I finally decided I'd had enough and that I deserved more from my life, especially my relationship, and so I packed my bags and walked away from my boyfriend, our home together and the daily rollercoaster of emotional turbulence that he would subject me to. 

Why I Gave Up Giving Up...

So today marks the beginning of Lent, a period of time where, according to biblical text, for forty days and forty nights Jesus fasted as he crossed the desert and resisted the Devil's temptation. To honour this scripture it has become that of tradition that, during this time before Easter, we sacrifice something in our daily lives in order to appreciate just how much we have to be thankful for.

Review: Freya Luna

For almost a year now my skin has been a complete mess. A combination of hormones running riot, emotional upheaval, major stresses and complete lifestyle changes have resulted in acne, hypersensitivity, hyper-pigmentation, eczema and major dullness.

Easy Peasy, Gluten Free, Guilt Free Pancakes

Shrove Tuesday is one of those days that we all look forward to every year as it offers us the rare opportunity to openly stuff our faces free of shame and judgment. However, whilst your mouth might be screaming "hell-yeah", if you're anything like me the combination of wheat, gluten and dairy that goes into making a traditional pancake batter will leave your stomach screaming "what the hell have you just put in me woman?!"

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