Top Five Favourites

If I've made it through half the year and survived, the excitement building up for a holiday is overflowing. As each year comes and goes, Christmas and the family summer holiday seem to be the only two rotating seasons. Christmas, then summer holiday, then Christmas... Hopefully, that means there's soon to be some sort of plane tripping and swimming involved. I am really getting more excited than anyone else at the fact that I will be able to buy fresh fruit and vegetables at the markets in Tenerife and get really pretty photos of colourful stalls #instagramming. This half-year has had ups and downs, feet-up-on-the-couch moments and rekindling my love for spaghetti hoops.. and then eating them by the tin-ful. This half-year has been completely necessary, and so is this holiday. 

So, completely non-flying, non-holiday related thoughts have filled my mind.

1. Enter: The Roasted Chickpeas. Not just one chickpea, but many. Oh so many! This versatile legume (it's a legume...) is so tasty when paired with soy sauce. The soy caramelises and gives a sweet/salty taste. I am currently LOVING adding salt and Thai 7 spice (which is a gorgeous blend of chilli flakes, garlic, ginger, coriander seed, lemon peel, cayenne pepper and cloves). #HECKYES! 

2. Oprah said 'Follow your passion. It will lead you to your purpose.' Listen to Oprah. She's my favourite kind of person.

3. I love discovering new lovely individuals at random moments (either I find them, or they just pop up). This week, I have been loving Essie Button, and she makes videos, which is fun! 

4. Can something be a favourite before it has been touches? I'm saying yes! I was lent the first book in the trilogy, 'Divergent', and I am so so excited to read it. I have been forcing myself to read the book I am currently on so as to finish it quicker so I can make a speedy start on this one. Air conditioned hotel room reading, pool lounger reading, under the restaurant table reading, beach towel reading. This is going to be my number one summer read! (It is also a film but, really, who can watch a film before reading the book? Not me.)

5. Hopefully you have a carrot and maybe an onion somewhere in your fridge. Because, that way you can attempt to recreate this beautiful dish I had at a local food pub, The Hospital Inn. Precautious at first, because food pubs and vegans are not the best of buddies, but #watchout because this big boy was so yummy and so sweet and caramelised and just plain mad amounts of deliciousness! The original dish was served with pulled pork or duck, so I asked for the stir-fried veg in the oriental sauce - and, really, who had duck when you get extra oriental, sweet, sticky sauce?

Byeeeeee! Cheerio!