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by yasminaamagdyy@gmail.com | Nov 16, 2018 | Food
It’s Friday and you are probably all trying to decide what you wanna eat tonight. Well instead of mooching through your takeaway menus looking at your Dominoes or Chinese list why don’t you grab these ingredients on your way home and make a delicious stir fry?!
VeeTee have challenged me to cook up something delicious, healthy and cost effective – brilliant for a Friday night in. So I suggest throwing that takeaway menu in the bin and grab your knives and those pans and start creating.
Firstly, choose your veg and cut it up into how you want it. I went for mini sweetcorn, mange tout, tenderstem broccoli, mushrooms, pak choi and pepper. You will also need ginger and garlic for the sauce. The good thing about this recipe and any kind of stir fry is that you can use the quantity of everything that you want, there’s no right or wrong way to go about it.
Fry your veg minus the pak choi on a high heat using Fry Light oil, it’s better and healthier than using normal oil. Whilst that’s cooking nicely mix together: 3 tablespoons of light soy sauce, 1 teaspoon of chinese 5 spice, 4 crushed garlic gloves and 2cm of grated ginger in a little bowl. Throw the sauce into the veg and stir fry for 2 mins.
Add your tofu, pak choi, 1 tablespoon of sweet chilli sauce and 3 tablespoons of dark soy sauce and stir fry until cooked. Meanwhile, throw your chosen VeeTee rice pots in the microwave for 1 minute per pot. Once it’s done, add the rice into a bowl and put your veg with sauce on top. I’ve served mine with prawn crackers and viola! An easy, quick, healthy and delicious meal done in 10 minutes.
What’s your favourite fakeaway to make to save money? Have you tried the VeeTee rice pots before?
♥
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by yasminaamagdyy@gmail.com | Jun 3, 2018 | Food, Lifestyle
Don’t cast a clout until May is out! I’ve heard that saying a lot recently especially with the weather being so up and down but we are now in June which for me means Summer is fast approaching. Can you believe that we are already half way through the year? No, I can’t either!
I’ve not really got any Summer plans this year apart from a week off for my birthday with nothing planned and working, hopefully many hours so I can have some dollar in the back pocket. For someone with a passion for fashion, I am excited to see all the new clothes that come into work and I might have some time in my dairy to have a couple of days with Alice so I can style those outfits too.
Anyway with Summer approaching I thought this weekend would be perfect to put together a post on hosting a Summer BBQ! I’ll just be talking you through some of the important things for a BBQ to go don well.
The first and foremost, drinks! Pago Fruit Juices* are produced from natural ingredients sourced from the best producers in the world. They have brought out some intense but delicious fruit flavours including: Cloudy Cherry, Pear, Strawberry, Tomato, Multivitamin Tropical, and Rhubarb & Pear to name a few that are all available in a number of bars, cafés, restaurants and delis throughout the UK. Their drinks taste so good as a refreshing treat however we also used them in cocktails at a recent BBQ. You can find plenty of recipes on the Pago Fruit Juices website.
There’s no BBQ with no food and snacks so make sure you’re all stocked up. I always like a good old corn on the cob that’s been done on the BBQ. There are so many amazing veggie options these days into. My favourites are definitely the Linda McCartney Pulled BBQ Burgers and Red Onion and Rosemary Sausages, pair them with some fried onions or cheese and a side salad and then your good to go.
I don’t know about anyone else but my favourite thing about Summer is spending time with loved ones. Grab your drinks, crack on some background music and have a boogie with your Nanny and best friend. If your extremely organised, you could arrange for some activities and games but nothing is better than good food and drink and amazing company to share it with. Oh and of, course the sun which can be rather temperamental with us living in the UK.
How will you be spending your Summer? Have you got any exciting plans? Got any ideas on how to host a BBQ for your friends and family?
♥
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by yasminaamagdyy@gmail.com | May 20, 2018 | Food, Lifestyle
Whitley Bay’s coastline has been under refurbishment for some time now with lots of new places opening up from the new Premier Inn with sea views and the Crab & Waltzer which is a short walk away from Whitley Bay seafront. There has been mixed reviews since opening in Summer 2017 however it was still a place that I was eager to try.
The interior is a coastal favourite with colourful little beach huts for a children’s play area, fairy lights and fairground inspired interior including a waltzer table. I’m lucky enough to live two streets away and when I walk the dogs down the coast, I can see that it gets rather busy. If there’s one thing I love, it’s being able to see a place such as the Crab & Waltzer be surround with families having a lovely time. Alice and I was fortunate to go whilst it was pretty quiet so we grabbed ourselves a table close to the windows.
After ordering drinks, I opted for a banana milkshake whilst Alice went for a flat white coffee, we browsed the menu. We kind of already knew what we wanted so it didn’t take long however there are many choices suitable for all kind of taste buds. The food turned up quite quickly but again I think that was because it was quiet and there wasn’t many tables in front of us. Alice had the New York Cheesecake Pancakes which was topped with vanilla mascarpone, fresh blueberries and biscuit crumb whilst I went for The Waltzer Pancakes that had bananas, Nutella, peanut praline and salted caramel sauce.
Overall, our experience at the Crab & Waltzer was a really good experience. It’s a lovely place to go for brunch during the week however I know that Chloe from New Girl In Toon went about a month ago and her experience was very different. The waitresses were extremely friendly and delivered the food promptly. The pancakes were delicious and extremely filling!
I’d love to know if you’ve experienced the Crab & Waltzer. What was your experience like?
♥
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by yasminaamagdyy@gmail.com | May 2, 2018 | Food, Lifestyle
How often do you celebrate the little things in life? Of course, there are celebrations such as Father’s/Mother’s Day and Easter but what about the everyday things. Very rarely do we stop and just give ourselves a little pat on the back for achieving something which to many is rather insignificant but for yourself could be something a little bit bigger than that. Life is so busy for everyone; including me and you that sometimes you just gotta sit back and take some time to enjoy the little things.
Mark and I have had a rather turbulent relationship. We started talking across the internet during our final years at school. We bonded over our hatred for History lessons, music and other teenage things. Those MSN chats would last for hours and suddenly we found ourselves texting each other and Skype calling each other to the early hours of the morning, sorry mum and dad. On the 15th May 2009, we had our first phone call conversation and from then we just couldn’t stop talking to each other. Skip forward a few years and here we are, I have been in a fair few shit relationships in the past. Some I have shared on this little corner of the net and some that I’ve kept private. He has a clever little boy, one who I have fell in love with also.
As we go along this journey, I feel as though we should congratulate ourselves because no matter what life has thrown at us. Mark and I are together now and sometimes I have to pinch myself that I am not that teenage girl typing away behind a computer any more and that he is actually mine. We have life goals and things that we want to achieve together. I’m so proud of us. When bakerdays asked if I would like to review one of their letterbox cakes, I knew it would be the perfect opportunity to celebrate being together with Mark.
bakerdays are the creators of the letterbox cake. Based on the edge of Sherwood Forest, they deliver cakes across all over the UK. The best thing is that they fit through your letterbox, no more waiting for the following day to go and collect your parcel or having that awkward conversation with your neighbour. I didn’t really understand how it could fit through my letterbox but it did.
This is the Rainbow Swirl Cake. All the cakes can be personalised for any occasion. There are a variety of flavours to choose from including: chocolate, victoria, lemon drizzle, gluten free, wheat free or dairy free. There’s something for everyone. I went for the chocolate because that’s our favourite.
The cake arrived safe and sound enclosed in an adorable metal cake tin. It comes with a little tab for you to easily lift the cake out and slide onto a plate or cake stand. There was also a little card with it too – it’s the little things. The cake was delicious! It’s the perfect size for two people to share as well.
bakerdays can also provide personalised cupcakes and balloons so you can plan the perfect celebration for any occasion. If you have something coming up that a cake would be perfect for (hint hint, Father’s Day) a Bakerdays cake is ideal. I have a 15% off code for you to use on the Bakerdays website. If you enter the code JULYJOURNAL15 at the checkout you will receive the discount. The code expires on the 31st May 2018.
THE GIVEAWAY
bakerdays have kindly offered my readers a chance to win a cake of their own. The winner will be able to select any design and choose the flavour they would like. Entires are via Rafflecopter below. The giveaway is open to the UK only and will close at midnight on Wednesday 30th May 2018. Full T&Cs are below.
a Rafflecopter giveaway
Terms and Conditions
- The giveaway is UK only.
- Please only enter the giveaway if you plan on staying around. This giveaway is to say thank you to my lovely readers. People who follow and unfollow just for the giveaways make me upset.
- The giveaway will run from 2nd May 2018 until 30th May 2018
- The winner will be announced via Twitter.
- All entrants MUST follow The July Journal on Bloglovin, Twitter and Instagram.
- All entries will be checked and any false entries will be disqualified.
- The prize is one personalised cake from Bakerdays. The winner can choose which cake and flavour they would like. It will also include delivery from Bakerdays to a UK mainland address.
- The prize cannot be exchanged, swapped or refunded. It will be sent directly from Bakerdays therefore they will receive the winner’s name and address.
- The winner will be randomly selected via Rafflecopter. The winner will be notified via Twitter and through their email. If no reply has been received within 7 days from the initial contact another winner will be randomly selected.
Good luck to anyone who enters and thank you for supporting my blog. I love you all!
♥
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by yasminaamagdyy@gmail.com | Mar 30, 2018 | Food, Lifestyle
I have been eager to try out Evan’s Bistro in Whitley Bay ever since returning to the North East. It took three family events to finally convince everyone to trust me and try the family-run restaurant. I’ve heard so many amazing things about the restaurant and even just scrolling down their social media accounts made my taste buds tingle.
For starters, we shared the crispy potato skins which came with a delicious dip and side salad drizzled with balsamic vinegar and also a portion of BBQ pulled pork nachos. Both of the dishes can also be made for vegans which I think is so unique as many small restaurants struggle to cater for vegans. I had most of the potato skins and they tasted delicious but the nachos were freshly made and tasted equally amazing.
For mains there was such a massive selection of food that was on offer that it was hard to choose just one. In the end I went for the Spag Bol as it came with garlic bread and sounded amazing. It definitely lived up to its expectations! My cousin tried the classic fish and chips which was served with mushy peas whilst the rest of my family opted for the chicken burger marinated in peri peri sauce served with cheese, onion rings and chips.
The food not only looked amazing but tasted equally as good. All the food is locally sourced and freshly made which you can really taste when eating your meals.
Of course, with so many divine desserts to try, we just had to treat ourselves. I went for the sticky toffee pudding with butterscotch sauce and let me tell you that this was out of this world. I’ve had a fair few sticky toffee puddings in my time but this one stood out from them all! My cousin opted for the chocolate brownie with a scoop of vanilla bean ice cream. It was so rich and gooey! Finally my aunt went for the Sicilian orange and almond cake which came with pouring cream – although not my favourite of the three, the cake tasted amazing.
I’ve never been to Evan’s for a meal before but this has definitely been one of my favourite places to eat throughout the North East and this is definitely somewhere that I will be returning sooner rather than later. Mark, the chef, came out and served our meals and the other owner (I didn’t catch his name) waited on us hand and foot. He made us feel so welcome on top of having a friendly and enthusiastic manner. The menu has a range of foods suitable for even the fussiest of families including a good selection of vegetarian and vegan friendly meals. They have a brilliant children’s play area and I’ve heard that they are dog friendly too.
Have you ever tried Evan’s Bistro before? What’s your thoughts? Are you going to give it a go?
♥
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by yasminaamagdyy@gmail.com | Mar 16, 2018 | Food, Lifestyle
The Botanist Newcastle is somewhere that I’ve heard just about everyone mention however I’ve never been myself. Don’t get me wrong, I’ve always lusted over sipping cocktails over Newcastle city centre in one of the prettiest restaurants in the city. As you can imagine when Alice asked me to be her plus one to review their vegan menu for Spring 2018 that I squealed with excitement.
From the moment we walked into The Botanist, we felt a lovely welcome from all the staff members. It was as though I had walked into a fairytale with magical, photography worthy features everywhere you looked. We were shown to the table with a lovely view looking over Grey’s Monument and it had perfect lighting for all those snaps. Our main waiter, Jack was such a lovely person and catered on us hand and foot. He was a young, enthusiastic and knowledgable waiter who was patient with us when we were taking a while to decide. After much deliberation, we went for the Tempura-Fried Cauliflower, Tenderstem Broccoli and Kale Manchurian and Curried Houmous. Both of us agreed that the tempura-fried vegetables was our favourite; it was served with a delicious sweet and sour sesame dipping sauce and in all honesty, I would happily have a bowl of this starter as a main. The Curried Houmous was delicious as well and I would recommend if you like a little bit of spice or Indian food. It was served with flatbread and crudités.
I went for the Falafel Burger for my main course which came with tahini dressing, harissa jam, spiced onions and rocket. For the side, I chose to have sweet potato fries because who turns down that option?! My main course tasted amazing! The harissa jam was something I was a little worried about as I am not too keen on spice but the tahini dressing cooled the spice down a little. I would definitely have it again. Alice went for the Malaysian Vegetable Curry which was served with coconut rice. It was similar to a Thai Green Curry but was extremely spicy and something that I definitely wouldn’t be able to handle although it does look amazing.
We weren’t too adventurous with drinks however I would love to return for a cocktail or two in the evening. I had the Homemade Lemonade which was the best thing I have tasted in such a long time whilst Alice had the Raspberry, Grape & Elderflower Cooler which tasted so fruity and sweet compared to mine. Definitely something that I would pick in the future.
You can imagine by this moment that we were both in a food induced coma and was ready for a nap but we still had dessert left. We both went for the Homemade Banana Doughnuts which came with salted caramel sauce and peanut milkshake. I don’t even have any words for this dessert apart from – it was delicious! It’s a no brainer that you must try this dessert before the season is out.
I’m so happy that I have finally had the opportunity to visit The Botanist Newcastle. It’s so beautiful. The restaurant and bar is so dreamy and magical, the service is like no other where the waiters go above and beyond to cater for you and the food quality is just on another level. If you happen to be around Newcastle, I highly recommend you experience it. I can’t wait to go back!
Have you been to The Botanist yet? You can find your nearest restaurant by checking the website.
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