Wandering Curiosities • Page 3 of 4 • A Yorkshire Based Lifestyle Blog

March 19, 2017

Barista School at 200 Degrees – Leeds

I attended Barista School at 200 Degrees Coffee in Leeds and learnt a whole lot about coffee as well a few tricks to making the perfect latte. Leeds is really stepping up its game in the more unusual activities that you can find hidden in even the most unexpected places; like coffee shops.

I’m going to put this out there now, I am a decaf kinda girl. Caffeine under no stretch of the imagination agrees with me. Luckily 200 Degrees caters for the decaf brigade if you book a class in advance at Barista School and let them know.

The Barista School starts with our skilled barista how many times can I fit barista into a sentence? teaching you about the wonders of the coffee bean. Not to give too much away but I left feeling much more informed about my coffee choice. The class normally last 3 hours but we did the slightly shorter version lasting around 2 hours.

Part of Barista School is getting all clued up on the history of coffee. The regions that coffee is grown, how it is harvested and then turned into the coffee we know today. The different flavours, there are over 1200 flavours of coffee compared to the 800 in wine, so you really can become a coffee connoisseur. Once we learnt the theoretical side of coffee we got to test out the fancy espresso machines and try our hand at latte art.

I paired up with Gina from CultureBean and we got to work attempting to make a fancy coffee or 5. It is much more difficult than it looks. Getting a good creme, texturing the milk and having a good pouring technique, is all important. It took a fair few attempts and we made a mess more than once.

If you’re a coffee fan, this is the perfect way to spend an afternoon. I was with a group of local bloggers and we all had a great time not only drinking coffee but also learning about our friendly morning pick me up.

So I successfully completed Barista School and even got a certificate to prove it!

March 10, 2017

Vegan Banana Bread

I made accidental vegan banana bread and it was way better than I was expecting.

So I’m not a vegan or even remotely vegetarian, I do try to eat healthy but I also love cake. This vegan banana bread came about because I had 4 bananas slowly turning black in my fruit bowl and really fancied something sweet. Out came the recipe and I quickly realised we had no eggs, almond milk in the fridge and no loaf tin.

Thus the lets throw this together and hope for the best. I had an old recipe that I had written down, maybe from somewhere online and did a little altering and it worked wonders. I also went rogue and did a fair bit of prep in my nutribullet.

Ingredients

3 soft bananas + 1 medium one for decorating
2 cups self raising flour
1tsp of baking powder – I added 1/2 tsp extra as I have the fear of a flat cake
1/2 cup demerara sugar – I didn’t have any normal brown sugar
1 tbs of Cinnamon – I added 1 tsp extra because I love cinnamon
1/2 tbs of salt
3 tsp Vanilla extract
1/4 cup almond milk
1/4 cup vegetable oil – Sunflower oil to the rescue here as I’ve run out of avocado oil

Directions

– Pre heat your oven to 190c (375f or old school gas mark 5)

– Pop 3 soft bananas, sugar, almond milk and oil into the Nutribullet* and wiz for 20-30 seconds

– Sift dry ingredients into a bowl

– Add the banana mix to the bowl with the dry ingredients and mix together well

– Carefully add the batter into the pan and decorate the top with banana

– Cook for approx 45-55 minutes – or until a cocktail stick comes out clean when stuck in the centre

– Remove from the pan and leave to cool on a wire rack

– Decorate with a a sprinkling of icing sugar and cinnamon

*I used my nutribullet, mainly because I am lazy and didn’t want to mash the bananas with a fork and then mix the sugar, milk and oil together. I just broke the bananas into 1/4’s, added the sugar mil and oil to the cup and blitzed until they were combined.

Ta daaaaaaaa. Vegan Banana bread in less then an hour.

March 3, 2017

Why I Cancelled Our Sky Subscription

6 months ago I broke with my long term lover Sky and it was one of the best things we’ve done. This post is about why I cancelled our Sky TV Subscription.

Let’s start from the beginning.

I wasn’t brought up with satellite television. At home we had 4 channels (because I remember when channel 5 launched) and a tape recorder so my mum could record the soaps or the odd film at Christmas. It stayed this way until Freeview appeared on the scene and I was introduced the wonderful world of E4. Teen age me was so jealous of my friends with MTV and spending afternoons round there houses watching music videos.

Fast forward 5ish years and when I moved in with Kevin we decided to get Sky. Hello 600 channels at the touch of a button, I was so excited been able to record a program if not 2 while watching something else. We paid extra for packages, so basically ended up having everything but Movies and Sports (later I did fork out for the F1 channel when it moved away from the BBC). It was costing us £40 a month if not more for this luxury.

We moved house a year later and moved our Sky subscription with us. Here we sat for the next 6 years happily filling our evenings and weekends with endless programs. We would catch ourselves timing our week around what was going to be shown and when. It was intense. Deadliest catch, Teen Mom, Pickers, the list was endless.

Early Last Year …

I purchased Amazon Prime via the student deal and picked up a Netflix subscription around the same time! We quickly lost our appetite for the endless loop of new shows and reruns. It got to the point where we would accumulate 20 episodes of something to catch up on. We couldn’t get through them it was an endless cycle of watching telly and not talking to one another.

I was studying for my post grad and working full time, the recorded list just kept growing. One evening I didn’t put the TV on, instead I played some music. We sat talked about our day and what we had been up to. That night we didn’t eat tea with something playing mindlessly in the background. It was a game changer.

Over the next few months we watched less and less on Sky, instead we picked a film from Netflix or Amazon. We listened to music and didn’t really think about watching the latest episode of whatever it is.

It got to the point around 6 months back where in the first instance I couldn’t justify paying out for something we weren’t using. Then secondly we realised that our quality of life had improved. I built up the courage and rang sky to cancel. Oh it was scary and terrifying. I almost didn’t do it when they got out their ‘don’t leave us’ offers. Yet I persisted and I cancelled. We watched the rest of the programs on the box, 30 days later good bye Sky.

This isn’t a preachy post about those 20 something’s that throw out their telly. No way – not never! I’m all for a Netflix binge with the latest series or watching 3 films back to back on a Sunday with a tiny hangover.

It’s about maybe not putting on the telly for a few hours when you get in from work, taking the time out to talk and listen to one another or just yourself. Trying something new. In my case it was buying a record player and listening to new and old music.

And finally is do you really need this? Ok it’s a nice luxury to have but almost £500 a year is it truly worth it?

Have you thought about cancelling your Sky subscription?

March 1, 2017

I Love Spring and 6 Spring Activities

Hello March, how have you come around so quickly? Spring is here. The daffodils are appearing and the cherry blossom is starting to flower. Lighter evenings are creeping closer. It’s now light at 5pm and it really does feel like the weather is starting to be a little less wintery.

I haven’t always loved spring. It’s taken me by surprise. The air smells fresh; there is something about the marginally warmer days. The fact that I come home from work and it doesn’t feel like the middle of the night anymore because that is the real killer.

I love the change in seasons, I love the daffodils, cherry blossoms and snowdrops, I love bare legs and open toe shoes and been able to spend more time outdoors.

Vintage Beetle under blossom tree Spring

Top 6 Spring Activities

A trip to the beach, perfect timing before all the summer crowds arrive and you have to fight for a spot on the sand. March is the ideal time for this spring activity. Get ready for doughnuts and 2p machines.

Farmers markets start to make more of a regular appearance, get up early on a Sunday pick up some local bread and cheese. Take your tasty goodies on a walk and have a picnic in the park.

Spring cleaning, I know it’s a bit of a cliché but having a good old fashioned spring clean is good for the soul. De clutter, donate unwanted items to your local worthwhile charity or take eBay by storm.

Sit outside at a coffee shop or even brave the beer garden. Enjoy your coffee, watch the world go by and listen to the birds. If it’s still a little chilly grab a window seat inside instead.

Visit a local farm to see the new arrivals. At our local farm they have lots of lambs and who can say no to baby animals. You maybe even able to feed them, which I’m not gonna lie is my favourite part.

Go for a drive. Specifically for me, it means my vintage Beetle comes out of hibernation. It’s warm enough to give a classic car a good run and blow away the winter cobwebs.

Do you have any plans for Spring?

February 24, 2017

Chida Cantina Leeds Newest Mexican

It’s no secret that I love Mexican food and a Taco is the way to my heart, ok throw in a Margarita and I am truly yours. So this week I went along to the Black Swan for the preview evening of CHIDA Cantina Leeds Newest Mexican.

CHIDA Cantina is going to be opening on the old Sandinista site on Belgrave Street in Leeds. It’ll be opening March 10th and I am going to recommend that you go and check them out, because well I most definitely will be doing.

We were welcomed with a CHIDA Margarita and the menu to peruse while we took our seats. I’m not going to lie, I am not a massive Tequila fan. I would normally head straight for the Gin but this was different. It was fruity, sweet and had none of the burn that I would normally associate with Tequila.

I enjoyed everything I tried. Some of the combinations of toppings made me wonder what they would be like, but who’d have thought Chicken and Mango would go together so well? The Yucatan Chicken was up there with one of the best Tacos I’ve tasted outside Southern California!

One of the other surprises of the menu was the Duck. Now this was something of a cross between Mexican and Chinese crispy Duck. It was bloody lovely, the duck fell apart, the pickle complimented it amazingly sat along side a the lime aioli. This as a sharing taco board was exceptional, a perfect size for 2 if not 3 depending on how hungry you were.

Now to accompany all your tacos a Margarita is obviously needed. This was Tommy’s Margarita featuring Ocho Blanco Tequila and Persian Lime juice it was light, refreshing and it complimented the heat of some of the dishes with sweetness. If I wasn’t driving I’d have definitely had another if not 2 more.

Lets Taco ’bout it …

*Whats a post about Tacos and Margaritas without a pun?

February 17, 2017

Quick and Easy Sweet Potato Salad

Sweet Potato feta and cherry tomato salad in a white bowl

It maybe a little bit of a lie to call this a salad, as I guess technically it isn’t. Or maybe it is depending on who you ask. Are carbs allowed in a salad? Is a salad allowed to be warm? Well this is a very quick and easy sweet potato salad. You’re looking at 4 ingredients and around 30 minuets of your precious time.

This rather delicious looking bowl of goodness can be eaten by 2 people as a side. But tonight been home alone, I decided to have it all to myself as a main. It was bloody lovely too.

INGREDIENTS FOR 1 LARGE BOWL OR 2 SIDES

1 large sweet potato
50-75g of feta cheese – it just depends how cheesy you want it. Add as little or as much as you want
6 ish ripe cherry tomatoes
Avocado Oil – because thats what I had in but olive oil will work just as well

DIRECTIONS

– Pre heat your oven to 190c (375f or old school gas mark 5)

– Put a healthy club of your oil in a roasting tray and pop in the oven to warm up

– Wash your sweet potato but leave the skin on, cube into 2cm chunks and dry off on some kitchen roll

– Pop your sweet potato chunks into the hot oil and cook for 25mins

– While the potato is cooking cube your feta into 1cm chunks and your tomatoes into 1/4s, pop in a bowl and sprinkle with salt and pepper

– Once your potato is cooked add it all into the bowl with the cheese and tomatoes, gently toss together (no need to drain the oil).

– Ta Daaaaaa! Pop it onto a plate and you’re ready to go. The warm sweet potato starts to melt the feta a little bit and there you have your dreamy salad.

*As you may have noticed, I don’t really have many measurements when it comes to this dish. I originally had it as a side in an Hello Fresh Meal but can’t find the recipe for the life of me so did it all my memory. So feel free to experiment. Next time I may add some garlic when roasting the potato mmm.

Sweet Potato feta and cherry tomato salad in a white bowl

February 8, 2017

Valentine’s Day: Lush Cupid Bath Bomb 2017

Valentines Lush

I did my first ever online shop with Lush a few weeks ago and decided to treat myself to some items out of the Valentine’s selection. Im not gonna lie, I am more of a go look round the shop, have a chat with the staff and grab a couple of testers kinda girl. But I wouldn’t resist a few bits including the Cupid Bath Bomb.

I was brave, I read the descriptions and ordered a few pieces. A few days later and £20 lighter a box appeared at the post office. Because annoyingly I wasn’t in and the postman held my parcel hostage for an extra day.

So what arrived in this mini haul? A Couple of bath bombs, bubble bars and a bath oil thing. I was most excited about the Cupid Bath Bomb.

So the Cupid Bath Bomb can be purchased in store at Lush or Online.
“Be still your beating heart with an opulent bathtime bouquet of calming rose and bergamot. This fantastically floral fizzer is full of uplifting bergamot, rose and violet leaf absolute, and its subtle sweetness is sure to melt your heart as it melts into your bathwater”

I didn’t get the unicorn horn bubble bar. I know, I know everyone is raving about it. But I got it last year and even though it is very pretty and Instagram friendly I was disappointed. So this year I’ve given it a miss. Even though, currently am starting to regret this decision as I’ve heard rumours of a new formula and how amazing it is.

As I am currently writing this at 36000ft trying. Desperately trying to pass the last few hours of this flight with a dose of mild turbulence. All I know is that I have the cupid bath bomb in my suitcase, wrapped in clingfilm ready for the post long haul bath of my dreams.

*Now I’ve taken my bath and it was honestly one of the best Bath Bombs I’ve used in a while. It smelt divine and left my skin feeling all soft and lovely. It was actually perfect after a long flight. Ok I know it makes me a bit of a basic bitch to take a bath bomb on holiday, but actually it was one of the best decisions I’ve made in a while!

February 6, 2017

Valentine’s Day: Alternative Things To Do When You’re Single 2017

I haven’t been a single Pringle in a while, but there is so no need to become a hermit and pretend that Valentine’s Day doesn’t exist if you are. Every year it seems to be marketed heavily towards couples, but hello a little bit of self-loving on V-Day is most definitely allowed. In fact any day of the year it’s allowed!

1.Have a pamper evening, face mask + book + no phone (unless your balancing it behind the taps in the bath to watch a film). It also can include a bath and a fancy bath bomb or a long shower, and then wrap up in your dressing gown.

2. Go out with friends. Maybe a girly afternoon with cocktails? Lunch or go fancy and for afternoon tea.

3. Buy yourself some pretty underwear; wear it on its own around the house or even under your work clothes to feel extra sassy.

4. Take a seat on the sofa, with snacks in easy reach and settle in for a night with your secret man crush *hello Jon Hamm* binge watch a few episodes of your fav show staring them or maybe a film or 2.

5. Go on a day date by yourself. The cinema is a perfect choice, even if you go with someone you sit in the dark, not talking for 2 hours. And by yourself you don’t have to share the pick-a-mix.

6. Pop to the market and get yourself some fresh flowers, they’ll brighten up home and are the perfect indulgence if can’t normally justify them.

7. Bake something. Chocolate chip muffins? Yes please. Of course you can steal one or two fresh out of the oven.

It’s not that scary to be single on Valentine’s Day. Celebrate you; we don’t get to do that very often. And if all else fails, really it’s just another day in the year, so don’t put pressure on yourself to make a big thing out of it.

Are you planning a little bit of self loving this year?

February 4, 2017

Valentine’s Day: Alternative Things To Do As A Couple 2017

I’ve never been one for going out for a meal on the 14th February for Valentine’s celebrations, there are a few reasons why but I refuse to pay extra for a meal just because it’s the V-Day, sat a little bit too close to other couples looking into each other’s eyes eeek and the service can be a cruddy because it’ll be busy.

Here’s a list of other things that you could do instead of the usual meal out malarkey.

1. A good old Marks and Spencers meal deal, they even do a special V-day menu with a bottle of something sparkly for £20.

2. Pick up a lush bath bomb or 2 and treat yourselves to a shared bath, try not to argue who has to sit against the taps though.

3. Go out and do an activity, one year we went ice skating at the local rink. It was empty and all kinds of fun.

4. If you have the day off or it falls on a weekend, wrap up warm and take a trip to the seaside. Share some chips on the seafront and maybe a bag of donuts.

5. Make a den. We did this on New Year’s Day and it was so much fun, we watched films, ordered a takeaway and sat snuggled up inside.

6. Get dressed up, put on some fancy clothes but stay in play some music and dance in your living room.

7. Head out for a coffee and cake, maybe your local shop will do heart shaped biscuits? Hold hands, giggle, maybe have a cheeky kiss and treat it like a date
When it comes down to it make the day your own, just be a couple and do what makes you happy. I know people that would love to go for a fancy meal out, me less so. You don’t have to buy into the whole grand gesture thing either, especially if you can’t really afford it. Something small and thoughtful will mean just as much.

Do you have any plans for the 14th?

February 1, 2017

Valentine’s Day: Wishlist for Her 2017

Welcome to the first Wishlist of 2017. A Valentine’s Day special.

I’ve browsed the internet and found a few thing that you could get the lady in your life. And guess what they’re not all super tacky chocolate roses on a stick (Even though they are all kinds of awesome). There’s a mix of prices, things you can pick up on the high street, online and a few bits from independent makers.

Primark Barlette and Knickers £8/£4
Etsy Secret Message Mugs £15
Diptyque Limited Edition Fragrance £65
Firebox Unicorn Night Light £9.99
Nikki McWilliams Jammy Heart £32
Instax Mini 8 + Film £69.99
Moon Pig Mixed Roses £30
Finest Imaginary Heart Earrings £8

I’ve always celebrated the big V-day and bought myself a little something all for me, this year its been Lush goodies and maybe that Primark set, because we all need some lovely new underwear to take over the world in. Me and Kevin tend to exchange cards and a small gift but tend to stay in, order Chinese food, plonk ourselves on the sofa in front of a film or 2.

Have you treat yourself to anything nice this Valentines Day?