Revenge Friday- Girl Dinner Special, what I have been up to and Notting Hill

 Hello darling, 

I hope you have had a lovely week. I thought this week I would share with you my favourite girl dinner and also like what I have been up to and reccomendations.

What I have been watching/ been up to +recommendations

Gentleman in Moscow- This is quite a sweet show. It is basically about a gentleman who has been forced into like a sort of exile in a luxury hotel. It is set in Russia from 1917. It is quite a charming show and (it feels wrong saying) it is quite easy watching- it is a nice show to watch in the evening. The last episode is out soon and I look forward to watching.

Sargant and Fashion (Tate Britain)- This was such a good exhibition. It is the exhibition of portraits by John Singer Sargent and they were really gorgeous. I went a few weeks back and I defo recommend going- it is on until early July. Btw if you are under 25, you can get the tickets for £5 and you just have to make an online account.

Ezra Collective- I went to see the Ezra Collective at the British Library which was such a nice evening. I had seen them play once before and they are so good to see live; they are so joyful and fab. I had never gone to the British Library before and I sort of want to visit properly at some point.

Peckham- I met up with my friend in Peckham and we went to Il Giardino which is an Italian restaurant just off of Peckham High Street. It's a really quaint restaurant. I had the walnut pasta which was really good. Then we went to a cocktail bar that I hadn't been to before and it is called Zapoi. It has such a romantic and quirky ambience; I really want to bring my partner. The cherry bakewell cocktail was soo good. I would say though the toilets were character building because when I went upstairs there were no lights on and so I was shining my phone torch and there were like dolls, masks and curiosities everywhere. I was so freaked out.

The People's Piazza: A History of Covent Garden (BBC Iplayer)- This is a bit random but I watched this documentary on BBC Iplayer which is basically about Covent Garden and it was really interesting. So i recommend watching it.

Girl Dinner

I thought I would share with you my favourite girl dinner components. In my family we call this sort of dinner 'pick up', like 'lets have pick up for dinner'. Sort of embarrassing when I say it in front of people. Anyway here are my favourite components:

Homemade Hummus- I love how easy it is to make hummus and it is just far better than buying shop brought. It is also made of things I normally have on hand anyway; it is tinned or jar chickpeas, lemon, garlic, olive oil and tahini + whatever spice you fancy such as zatar or paprika.

Raw vegetables- Cucumbers, carrot batons and Avocado

Sauerkraut- This is soo nice. At home we always have sauerkraut in the fridge. It is really good on top of crackers, as a side, in salads. If you are not familiar with it, it is fermented cabbage. The brand we get is Vadasz which you can find in the fridge section at the supermarket.

Cottage cheese on crackers- I used to take cottage cheese and crackers as my pack lunch to work (I would pack them in separate containers to avoid sogginess) so often. I sprinkle Everything But the Bagel seasoning on top and it is soo good.

Omelette- I don't know why I don't make omelettes more often- they are so easy and tasty. I also love trying out different cheeses inside, like I like having it with gruyere or Ossau Iraty which is really good.

Marinated Artichokes- for the marinated artichokes you can find them in the fridge section at supermarkets. They are soo good. I did used to have an artichoke recipe on my blog which was for boiled artichoke and a marinate- it was a family recipe and I gave the most chaotic instructions.

Revenge Friday

I relaxed in the morning; I was making a gift for my partner. In the evening I was meeting up with my partner for early dinner in Notting Hill. So I got there in the afternoon and it was such gorgeous weather. It was actually nice to go when all the shops were closing and the tourists were sort of leaving for the day.  My partner had driven round for about an hour and a half looking for a place to park, meanwhile there was miscommunication and I had walked up and down Portobello Road several times lol. We did meet up and we were both overheated so we just had like a leisurely stroll.

We actually wandered and window shopped along Westbourne Grove (it is just off Portobello Hight Street) which was really nice. I want to go back next time I am in Portobello because they have some boutiques such as Love Shack Fancy and Reformation. The restaurants on Portobello were so busy, we eventually found a Chinese fusion place which was really relaxed. I had a really good evening and I am pleased I went out because it was a really lovely weather that afternoon.

Also I fucking missed the eclipse- I totally did not get the memo.

Also apologies that I didn't post last week- I had a cold. I had a fun craft day at home which I felt so much better for and then I went to Oxford at the weekend. Anyway, I hope you have enjoyed reading slightly chattier blog. Let me know whether you try any of my recommendations. 

Love, 

Happy Hippo

Mummy's artichoke recipe: a Classy Vegan Starter

 Oh hey guys, 

I did say I would post an artichoke recipe that my mum loves to make in the summer and here it is. It is very close to my (artichoke) heart because it just reminds me of summery barbeques. I think someone taught this recipe to my mum while she lived in France. It is giving me summery 1970's dinner party vibes which as we all know I love. It is also vegan which means its nice for sharing although I ate both the artichokes on my own (so much for my dinner party vibes).

So artichokes come into season June to September. They are challenging to find. Waitrose will normally stock them when they are in season. Other than that, Greengrocers are your best bet. You can always ring a greengrocers to see if they are being stocked to save you the disappointment. The artichokes I brought, admittedly, were a bit over ripe. I knew that when I was buying them because the price had been slashed a lot but it wasn't the end of the world, it just meant the first few layers of petals were inedible. The rest was really nice though. 

Ingredients

One Fresh artichoke

Mustard

White wine vinegar

Olive Oil

Step 1 Artichoke Prepping

Wash your artichoke.

You should cut the stem off. Then, remove the smaller petals from the stem, just to tidy it up. If your artichoke is overripe (you can tell it is over ripe if you cut the stem in half and there is a black line going up the centre) you can remove the first layer of the petals.

On my artichoke the petals were sort of rounded but if your artichoke is spikey you can square off the spikes with some scissors.

Step 2 Making the marinade

This is where my instructions are a bit vague. But I would say equal parts oil and vinegar (1 table spoon for each). Then about a teaspoon of mustard but obviously do it to taste. Then mix it.

Alternatively, I do not see why a balsamic vinegar and olive oil marinade would not work instead. Or like if you have a really delicious olive oil. Just to give you options.

Step 3 Boiling the artichoke

Get a big pan of water and bring it to boil. Boil the artichokes for 20-25 minutes. Poke the stem with a fork to check whether it is tender and therefore ready to eat. 

I cut the artichoke in half, so it was easier to eat.

Eating the Artichoke

So remove the petals, one by one, starting from the bottom layers. Then you basically dip it in the marinade and scrape the flesh of the petal with your teeth. 

 

Then discard the petal in a bowl. As you get further to the centre of the artichoke the petals start to get smaller and like more tender. Remove these all and you'll get to the heart of the artichoke. It should be tender. Cut the fluffy bit off of the artichoke. What is left should hopefully be all edible. Quarter the heart and enjoy!!!