Spitfires and fire spitting cocktails

So for a brief spell it got hot, very hot over here in Good old England.. As usual I was the height of classiness and sat by my out door pool - well my son's paddling pool.

But hey I'm poor, but I've got imagination so you might see my very untanned legs in 2 inches of water - but in my head my feet are hanging off the side of my yacht in the Med lol

With the sun coming out in force, thank goodness for fruit ciders - this really refreshing Old Mout Cider very fruity and delicious.. The only down side it takes just like juice so you could end up drinking a bit more than initially planned - I only had two bottles so I was okay.  

Quick food update, I know right, most of my post lately have been drink, drink and more drink!! I using the excuse it for the blog and probably not facing up to my problems lol.

In all seriousness I found this fab, brilliant, amazing and lots of other words that describe it's epic-ness, the Med Bar Restaurant down Berwick Street in London Soho.

It has a full restaurant and then this great open window area where you can pick up a fab takeaway lunch. 

The food is great and such good value I got the Chicken and Halloumi Salad - there is so much, I was totally satisfied and stuff after wolfing it all down. For all that food the only a £5 brilliant.

When I wasn't working and eating lovely lunches I took a visit to Imperial War Museum Duxford it is a working airfield with hangers upon hangers full of plans from the start of aviation up to today (They even have a hanger full of tanks).

They were flying my favourite plane, the iconic Spitfire, the sound of it is amazing.

Every time I hear one I am full of emotion, as I think about the  brave men and Women (who had to deliver them between airfield at great risk) who at really wieghed against them odds, got into this little bits of metal and took off to protect all that they hold dear..

Winston Churchill put it best - "Never was so much owed by so many to so few" - oh getting teary when I write this. So a moment of silence for their Amazing sacrifice. 

The Museum itself is such an amazing space, albeit a very big space there is quite a walk between the hangers and on a hot day it was very hard work but so worth it.

You can even walk through a concord, it was  a bit small. It was also one of the few planes you could go on which was a shame but I understand why they don't want people all over the planes lots of expensive kit about.

It good also for the little ones as there is lots of space to run about in and there is an amazing play area for them to explore.

The food offering is also very good, they had lovely treats - my Husband has a healthy lunch of a cookie and a scone.

I opted for a sandwich instead and it was huge, it would fill up an elephant but I struggled through (lol) and good value at only £5.

So a fun day out for every one, ending, like with all great attraction, with a exit through the gift shop.

 I picked up a great ration cook book that I am going to try a few recipes from (although have no idea where to get powdered egg from). I also saw this great poster I wanted to get it and pin it on my wardrobe but it was a bit too big - if only they had it in postcard size.

So after a hard day looking at planes I decided to treat my self to a Pimms.

Now if your unsure of how to make Pimms on my You Tube Channel (Please subscribe) I have put up a video of how I like to make it - Pimms Vlog

(Disclaimer:  I know others make it differently and add cucumber, but I don't want cucumber in my drink so I didn't add it.  Well I'm sorry if you wanted it in there, next time you pop over I'll add it in for you, happy? yes, thank you)

So the drinking was slight exasperated this week, as I  went out two nights - two night and you with a toddler I hear through gasps and exclamations.

I went out with work to a great cocktail bar in Soho call The Escapologist  they do have a happy hour but we got a great offer through Time out for 4 cocktails for £16 total and utter bargain especially for London.

The bar has an interesting history, it use to be an old Mason meeting house and they have kept the decor very mystic and spook but added a couple of modern twist which make it a fun place to visit.  

I started off the night with a classic Long Island Ice tea, very nice and they even made it with diet coke for me which was nice as I find normal cola far to sweet.

It was served in a lovely mason jar.

One of the group had a fun coffee style Martini not 100% sure what the drink was called as I was told but my memory is like a sieve.

The cocktail highlight of the night was definitely the Flaming Zombie - great cocktail and brilliant presentation and worked so well with the slightly Gothic interior. 

So for The Escapologist - I would definitely give it two thumbs up. The atmosphere was great, the decor was fun and interesting, the drinks were amazing and the service was superb. If you in an around SOHO at anytime go there.

I then went out again the next night - what, what, WHAT!!!

I know right, this was a last minute thing as my crazy friend from Amsterdam was over for a couple of days so we grab a quick (4) drink. 

As the hubby wasn't working, meaning  the little one was covered, I venture out for another night in a row.. Gosh it like I'm in my twenties again - although more weighed down with life and responsibilities - yay adulthood. 

This time I went to Black and Blues on Mortimer Street .

So for our first drink, I decided to pair, good friends I haven't seen in a while with an glass of fizz which always works well lol.

After the Fizz we moved on to cocktails as they have a great happy hour of cocktails at £5 each.

My first cocktail was Bubble Trouble -I  am a sucker for a layered cocktail. (My Friend had a Lychill Out) it was a mix of Vodka, Melon, Lychee, Mango and Fizz.

We also thought it was prudent to get some food.

They do amazing food platters we got the Hummus one. 

and a cheese one - (Also we got a portion of chips each but shhh I was trying to pretend I was sophisticated)

For my second cocktail I had a Black and Blue punch (Friend had a Classic Champange Cocktail).

It was a mix of Vodka, Pomegranate Liquor, Lychee and Lime and Fizz, very refreshing

My last cocktail was a Frozen Lava - Fruit Vodka mixed with Forest fruits, creme de mure, hazelnut liquor, cranberry juice and cream.

OMG it was fan-bleeding-tastic.

It tasted exactly like Raspberry ripple ice cream in a glass - so creamy and nommy

And I also think it kinda looks like the planet Jupiter.

To end off the night had some more fizz, but I also found out the flower they had on the table were called, Flaming Katys - Right that is now my favourite flower going to definitely get some for my garden.

Although I do kill every plant I've ever owned so I don't know how long they'll last lol                                              

Last thing as I missed it on the in the Cinema, I got Zootropolis, didn't get much Buzz in the UK so didn't really know what to expect.

Verdict - very good and is worth a watch and another watch, as it's got a lot of in jokes which can be missed on the first viewing.

No Wine (Wait, What!!) Risotto

Two posts in the same week I am spoiling you lol.

Also this is a cooking post yay - give the public what they want, even if they don't know they want it :)

So back from the Yummy Scrumminess of Scotland and with having all the fun and the drinks, it's back to the diet (Boo) but I get to try out new things so (Yay).

So I decided to make Risotto, I adore Risotto and I have a lovely summer recipe (which I will do this summer as I can take shots in my new Garden whoop whoop) of a Lemon Chicken and Spring Onion Risotto that I do  make with wine.

But as it winter and not the nicest weather here in Kent I wanted to stick with a more winter theme and because I was dieting I omitted the wine. 

So I decided to make Mushroom and Leek Risotto.

Actually a really easy recipe taking about 15-20 minutes but for the whole time you need to be on it.

For the ingredients I used, Risotto Rice, Stock Cubes , Mushroom (chopped), Quark and a bag of sliced leeks (Yes I know that make me super lazy) 

So for this recipe you need a bit of stock - I used three cubes in 1/2 Litre nearly a pint of water. 

So as usual I used spray oil and emptied about 200g of Risotto Rice in to the pan gave it a bit of a stir for 1 -2 minutes. This is when I would normally add a glass of wine and cook it down - 

Instead I just added the stock, bit by bit.

When it was around half way through the stock and about 5- 6 minutes into cooking time along with the stock I added in the chopped up mushrooms - I cooked the leeks separately in another pan as I like my leeks nice an tender. 

I cooked this for about another 10 minutes before adding the leeks, really easy but you have to keep stirring which is normally fine, but as any parent out there know that getting a toddler to behave for a few minutes is an achievement but 15 straight minutes without need to help them with something is hard. So memo to me next time making this either the other half needs to be about or he's in bed as I only managed to just save it from all sticking to the bottom of the pan doh. 

After I added the leeks I stirred in a spoonful of the quark to give it a slightly creamy texture then serve. 

Quick easy and yummy. I had so much that the next day I even managed to use the left over.

I roasted some skin free chicken breast which I added some chili and roasted tomatoes along with it. So still really healthy but another added twist to it. 

On both accounts a very filling tasty meal which is great when you're dieting as there is nothing worse than being hungry after dinner as I find for me that is optimum snacking time.

Although saying that I have now become obsessed with Muller light yogurts, I never had these two flavors before but they are supper yummy.

I even mixed in Raspberry with the Vanilla Chocolate Sprinkle one for a between meal pick me up. .

And my other favorite of their's the Banana and Custard, I had with Blueberries as a quick breakfast treat at work.