Recipe: Courgette pasta

I am a huge courgette advocate. I think it might be one of those things you only begin to like as your get older, as both me and my sister hated 'corj-ee-ette' (as we used to call it) growing up. My mum gets most of the credit for this recipe, and I added a few things in along the way. My mum first made this when a family member presented us with a giant courgette she had grown in her garden - no, not a marrow, just a really really big courgette. We had to find something to do with it, and that's how this recipe was born.

It's an unbelievably delicious and inexpensive meal and everyone I have cooked it for has loved it, even my courgette-hating boyfriend.

Ingredients:
(serves one)
2 whole courgettes - grated
1/2 red onion (optional) - finely chopped
2 or 3 cloves of garlic - crushed
Chorizo - cut into small pieces
A pinch of chilli flakes (or 2 if you're feeling daring)
Portion of pasta
Olive oil
Cheese - a small handful, grated
Knob of butter
Salt & pepper

1. Add the grated courgette to a large saucepan/frying pan with olive oil. It may seem like a lot of courgette but as you cook it, the water cooks off and it reduces dramatically in size
2. Add the chopped onion (if using), chilli flakes, salt, pepper and crushed garlic
3. Put pasta on the boil
4. Cook the courgette until it is considerably less green in colour (around 8-10 mins) then add chorizo
5. Cook for a further 3-5 minutes
6. Drain the pasta, transfer back into pan, and add grated cheese and butter. Stir through until fully melted.
7. You can either serve the courgette on top of the pasta or mix it in. I personally prefer to mix it with the pasta.

Enjoy!!

Ladies that lunch (in Shepherd's Bush)

Today my mum, my sister and I ventured to Shepherd's Bush for lunch. After walking around and finding very little other than fried chicken shops, we stumbled upon the Hummingbird Cafe. The place was rammed, which is always a good sign!

The cafe is quaint and is decorated in a sort of 'your nan but cooler' style, with floral wallpaper and pastel pink and pistachio painted wood. The menu was relatively limited, but it all looked so good, I was still torn over what to order. I went with the chipotle pulled pork and slaw ciabatta and a ginger beer, my sister went for the Moroccan lamb sandwich with tzatziki and a homemade lemonade with mint, and my mum went for the curried chickpea and quinoa salad with an iced coffee.

Overall the food was lovely! My pork was really flavoursome and packed a spicy punch and it was thumbs up all round from my mum and sister too.

Change is good!

So, a number of really exciting things have happened in my life recently. The biggest change of all is that I am now living in London! The other big change is what bought me here, a job with The Walt Disney Company. For the next year, I will be working with the FMCG team doing food product development whilst I am on placement as part of my University course.

Anyone who has gone through the trials and tribulations of placement searching knows that it's not easy. Psychometric testing, application forms, assessment days, phone interviews, face to face interviews, group interviews - I was on the verge of giving up when I applied for the job at Disney, but I am so glad I didn't.

Working at Disney has already been one of the most exciting experiences of my life. Without sounding extremely cheesy, everyday there is magical. Everyone is so friendly, the offices are incredible, and not to mention I met Mickey and Minnie the other day! I have already been given a tremendous amount of responsibility, a great deal of creative freedom and most importantly I have a job which revolves around food - everything I wanted from a placement and much more.

Having lived just outside London for the majority of my life and often visiting my dad in London, I have had some exposure to what the city has to offer in the way of food. Whether it's markets, restaurants, street food or pubs, London has it all, and I can't wait to share my foodie experiences over the next year on my blog.

(For now, enjoy this picture of me with Mickey and Minnie, looking far more excited than a 20 year old should)

My top 3 places to eat in Reading

Having lived in Reading for 2 years now, I've tried the majority of what it has to offer in terms of places to eat. The town offers a wide range of options and the riverside of The Oracle shopping centre plays host to the nation's favourite restaurant chains; from Jamie's Italian to Nando's, Cote Brasserie to Mission Burrito - I've tried them all! It's so easy to choose to eat at a chain restaurant we know and love, but if you're looking to explore something new, then try eating at one of my favourite foodie haunts.

1. London Street Brasserie

Situated right on the river and serving the most mouth-watering of menus, visiting this restaurant is a must. Although slightly pricey, the A la carte menu epitomises good food. If you're on slightly more of a budget, then I highly recommend the seasonal set menu, offering 2 dishes for £16 (a bargain for such amazing food). When I went, I had beetroot and goats cheese arancini with a celeriac slaw to start and for main, what I can only describe as the best steak I've ever had.

2. The Oakford Social Club

If you're after a more laid back dining experience, Oakford is the place. Although a music venue by night, head there in the day for the guiltiest of diner food and the coolest of cocktails. There's chicken wings, mac and cheese and burgers with toppings galore - and we're not talking your standard toppings either, they do pickled onion Monster Munch and peanut butter?! If that isn't enough to convince you, then I don't know what is.

3. Abbot Cook

Conveniently positioned right at the end of my road, this place does pub food how pub food should be. Although the prices are slightly higher than those of standard pub grub, you definitely get what you pay for. Their menu offers traditional pub dishes but done really well. There is also a set menu, which my friends and I have tried. Although it doesn't offer some of the pricier dishes, it was all still lovely and really good value (the whitebait is a must if you can stand eating fish eyes - lots of my friends couldn't!). I also went on my birthday and had the amazing veggie board, which actually had very little veg on it at all (apart from tempura cauliflower, but unfortunately, I don't think deep fried vegetables really count) They also serve a gazillion different lagers - no joke.

My blogging claim to fame

During my amazing month working at Sainsbury's Magazine I had the opportunity to do some really exciting things. From photoshoots to food tasting (a LOT of food tasting) I enjoyed every minute of it.

The majority of the work I did was to do with the digital side of the magazine. I was given the responsibility of the magazine's Pinterest (which you can find here) as well as writing blog posts for the magazine blog, which as you can imagine, I thoroughly enjoyed!



One of the recurring features on the blog is 'We cook the books', where a member of the team cooks a recipe from a newly released cook book. I went for a chocolate tart from David Lebovitz' new cookbook 'My Paris Kitchen'.

You can read all about what I thought of the recipe and the finished tart by reading my blog post on the Sainsbury's Magazine site here.

(Excuse me whilst I have my "look Mum,
it says my name at the bottom!" moment)

We love The Larder!

Recently on a visit back home to see my family in Leamington Spa, we decided to head out for lunch. My mum, my sister and I are possibly the most indecisive people when it comes to choosing where to eat, but after my mum had described The Larder in Leamington, we all agreed we had to try it. Describing themselves as 'a simple honest approach to coffee, food and service', The Larder sounded like something right up my street, metaphorically and literally - it's actually round the corner from my house, lucky me.

When you walk in, the space seems relatively small and there is a table running along one wall COVERED in different foodie bits - heaven! From salads to soups, cheese tarts to cheesecake, this place has it all, and even better, it's all home cooked! The 2 lovely ladies we met explained to us that it's all made in the kitchen on location which was an added bonus. There is additional seating downstairs which you get to by walking through the larder (hence the name) which is a really lovely touch. The décor is really simple but very tasteful.

The idea is, you pick yourself up a little tray and go along the table picking out the bits you want. There were also little containers to take the food away in - perfect for a day spent in the park. I went for a roasted butternut squash and red onion mix, a spicy beef tart, fattoush (Lebanese bready, salady goodness), a crispy tortilla cube and a capuccino. It was all so delish and really good value for money.

All in all, if you're in Leamington and looking for somewhere to eat, head to The Larder for top quality coffee and delicious homemade food! If it's a nice day outside (optimistic, I know) then it's the perfect place to pick up a mini picnic.

A quick update...

Tomorrow I will be starting a month long internship with Sainsbury's Magazine! Not only am I excited to work with such a successful magazine, but it will provide a useful insight as a career in food is my ultimate goal! As well as gaining some valuable experience, I will be able to learn a lot about what they do at the magazine and hopefully blog about any exciting projects I am involved with.

As well as getting an idea of the marketing and PR that takes place at Sainsbury's magazine, I will also have the opportunity to eat plenty (yay!) thanks to their in house test kitchen! It really doesn't get much better than that.

A 9-5 job and the daily commute to London may mean I will be slightly MIA on my blog, apologies in advance!