LATELY...

I've been going out quite a bit lately... I think I spent only Monday night in this past week...
Last night I met up with Cat in Dalston and we went to the Spurstowe Arms, on Greenwood Road, for a catch-up chat before she leaves for Japan. It was a bit packed because it was Friday, but we managed to get a small table and had a good time. I definitely would like to go back for Sunday lunch. The food there seems to be really good. We had some wine and charcuterie last night and the quality was excellent.
I lingered in bed for most of the day today because my mum thought it was okay to call me at 3am while she was pigging out on Nutella! (we are a all a bit unconventional in my family...). The conversation dragged until almost 5am, therefore the sleep in today. I crawled out of bed at about 6pm and got ready to meet Giulia and Tommy for a bit of a St Patrick's Day celebration.

Ready to go! I like playing with my hair lately :)

I met the girls down at the Big Red on Holloway Road. Super packed. Because I didn't eat all day, I was particularly ravenous. We decided to order some food. Giulia got a burger, Tommy a bean chilli with rice and I had one of my classics: cheesy chilli chips and buffalo wings. It said on the menu that the chilli KICKED ASS, but yeah, we like spicy...

My God!!! It was so hot! Tommy couldn't finish hers. Mine was really tasty, but burnt like hell. I drank my Guinness in 5 seconds to extinguish my mouth. A real kick ass chilli :D

A BLAST FROM THE PAST #2

Oh my God!!! Why did I think of this?!!! I used to love dancing to this one... I didn't remember the video though, quite random... Well, it was ages ago... I probably didn't have a TV or a computer :D
Empirion 1993 ☻☺☻☺☻☺☻☺☻☺☻☺☻☺☻☺☻☺☻☺☻☺☻☺☻☺☻☺☻

GOOD THINGS TO EAT AND DRINK :)

I've been up to Fuji Foods near Alexandra Palace to get some Japanese food basics. I had almost nothing left in my cupboard; no miso, no rice, no sesame oil, no NATTO!!! I managed to get everything I needed and decided to prepare this salmon/ikura don for dinner. The shiso leaf tasted amazing and the final overall result was exaclty like at a restaurant. The only difference was the price. My home made don came up to approx. £5, if you order the same at a Japanese restaurant it would cost you an average of £12!

A couple of weeks ago I watched "Waitress" and started craving pie... Last weekend I baked a "Southern Pecan Pie". I'll post the recipe and new pictures soon. This was a first experiment and I've promised Tommy and Giulia that they could have one especially made :)

I like Costa's mocha. I only get it on a weekend. Today I got a star!

Giulia's famous Mango Margaritas. Perfect for our Mexican food and movies night :)

A BLAST FROM THE PAST #1

I watched "La Haine" for the first time in 1997 with my boyfriend of the time, a total arsehole with only one redeeming quality: good taste in movies. Since then I've watched it many times. Still, it gets to me everytime as if it were the first. Definitely one of my favourite films.

CHICKEN WINGS AND FRENCH TOAST

Tommy had the brilliant idea to make French toast out of a panettone Giulia brought back at Christmas. So good!!! It also works well as a base for trifle. We get so much panettone over Christmas that after a while we have to come up with alternative ideas to finish them off :)

On Friday night, after two pints at the Wheterspoons near the office, I was not only starving, but also craving chicken wings... We ended up at Yildiz on Blackstock Road. When Giulia and Tommy found out where I was, they rushed down, too. We had chicken wings, lamb ribs, liver, turkish sausage, salads, dips and scrumptious bread basted in the juices of the (real charcoal) barbecue meat. Very satisfactory and reasonably priced :)

SATURDAY

Fun (and a bit blurry) memories of Saturday night...




As usual, nothing comes up to Crouch End when it snows, so I had to walk part of the way home...

IF YOU WANT TO MAKE ME HAPPY...

... get me bagels from Brick Lane!




Thanks Tommy :)