pretend rice that's rather nice

I like rice - it's the perfect side dish to lots of meals BUT I find it to be rather filling. I may have mastered how to cook it successfully (1 cup of rice to 2 cups of water works every time) but I still lack the ability to cook the correct amount. So, instead of cooking waaaaay too much and either throwing it away or eating it out of guilt, I've found the perfect substitute which is easy to control (portion wise) and won't leave you feeling bloated after eating, plus it's one of your five a day. The answer, my friends, is cauliflower.

I think this idea has been doing the rounds on pinterest but I just wanted to say that it works really REALLY well. Rosie used it for a chinese style dish and I've seen it used to accompany an indian curry. I've now used cauliflower instead of rice the last 4 times I've made curry at home and every time it's a winner. Incase you'd like to try it, here's how...

1. Remove the leaves from your cauliflower (one should be enough for two people, or if it's a particularly small one you may need one and a half). Chop into small-ish chunks.
2. Whack the cauliflower chunks in the blender (you may need to do this in two or three batches) and pulse until it's shredded into fine, rice-size pieces. If you have a food processor you'd be better off using that, then you can just shove the lot in in one go.

3. Fry the blended cauliflower in two batches over a medium heat with two teaspoons of oil and one teaspoon of cumin. Stir it regularly and after about 10 mins the cauliflower should turn a slightly golden colour which is cooked enough for me but you could leave it a bit longer, just don't let it burn.
4. Fry the second batch in the same way (avec oil and cumin, but be warned the second batch might not need as long as the first half). Chop up a few leaves of coriander and mix into the cauliflower. And your done!

Of course, if you want to be super healthy you could just heat the cauliflower in the mircowave after you've blended it, but I do think frying it in a little bit of oil and cumin gives it more flavour. I'd be interested to know if anyone else has tried it!

the mountain was defeated

Yesterday, my friends and I returned from Snowdonia after a weekend of country air, castle exploring, much eating and drinking, costal wanderings and, of course, mountain scrambling. I am absolutely knackered - getting up for work today was seriously tough. I'll be back in the week with more pictures and stories from my welsh adventures so stay tuned!

south london love

Last weekend Mitch and I spent a glorious couple of days soaking up the sights of south london.

Saturday - Brixton
Well, yes, we do live in Brixton so most saturdays do start there but this weekend was different as the Crafty Fox Market was in town. Taking up its regular occupancy in the Dogstar, it was packed with a fabulous variety of designer/makers. My sister and I spent a good couple of hours perusing the stalls. She got a few cards and I picked up this lovely necklace (below) from Kate Rowland and bought this plate from JimbobArt for a friend's birthday. Had I had more money I would've splashed out on one of these tees from Skev. A delightful day as ever. If you missed it this time, worry not. I do believe there's going to be another one before Christmas.

Saturday Night - Peckham
Mitch and I headed to The Gowlett for pizzas (it's a nice old boozer and the pizzas were very tasty but they did take about 50 mins to arrive) before heading to the The Montpelier for a friends' birthday. Leaving the chilled-out relaxed atmosphere of the gowlett and arriving at the completely over-crowed Montpelier was a bit of rude awakening. We opted to stand outside until we were ushered in at 10:30 at which point it was so crowded inside there wasn't really anywhere to stand. Safe to say, I don't think I'll be going back there again on a saturday night. The evening picked up when we moved onto Canavan's pool hall. A bizarre little set-up with a bar area, dance floor and, surprisingly enough, a pool hall at the back. The perfect place as it provided a whole new activity (aside from just sitting down) for those who didn't fancy dancing! When we eventually departed for home the night bus was about a 15 min journey. Bliss.

image source

Sunday - Forest Hill
Having been wanting to go for over a year, Mitch and I finally got ourselves over to The Horniman Museum. It's a lovely little place with a very interesting collection. We took a wander around its pretty gardens - reading all about the various plants they grow and how they're used in medicine - before heading inside to look at the natural history stuff. For obvious reasons it's nowhere near as grand as the NHM at south ken but it has some great specimens including the famous Walrus. The main bit is free entry and as the museum is only a 20 min bus ride from Brixton station I'd highly recommend it for all south londoners :)

Wednesday - Camberwell.
Two nights ago, the lovely Jo organised a south london bloggers meet up at The Tiger. Amid ale, chips and yarn, the seven of us - Jess, Siobhan, Jo, Amy, Michelle, Leigh and myself - had a good old knit/crochet and a chat. It was a v.fun evening and they were a  lovely bunch! Plans to meet up again are on the cards :)

Knitting in progress.
I started a new scarf in the week, which I brought to the craft/bloggers meet up in camberwell, the pattern is definitely starting to take shape. So far so good!

the illustrated packing list: snowdonia

Only two days until we depart for Wales. Needless to say I am super excited. I've not been to Wales since a family holiday about 12 years ago and even then it wasn't snowdonia! We're going with a bunch of friends who are pretty much game for anything and are planning a seriously active weekend (zip wires, mountain biking, white water rafting). Me? Well, I've not got any grand illusions as to what my body can handle so it's just mount Snowdon for me. If I manage to reach the summit then I'll be happy, and will probably spend the rest of the weekend recovering. In the pub. Wish me luck and fingers crossed it doesn't rain too much!

Tuesday's Tees - Scotch & Soda

Pretty tees from Amsterdam-based brand Scotch & Soda. Rather too pricey for me but a girl can window-shop :)

good distractions #4

This wrapping paper. 

All the Cavallini wrapping paper on Paper Source is just beautiful. Some of the them would make amazing posters.

This place. 

I'm off to snowdonia next friday. I cannot wait.

This poundshop. 

The prettiest pound shop ever so you'll have to forgive them if some of the items are a fiver. It's actually a real life shop at selfridges too - but only for a limited time. I want this and these.

This scarf.

Oh and some of Claire Gaudion's notebooks and greeting cards too. Geometry and colour gradients = heaven.

This print.

Ohh Deer have just launched their new site and James Barker's 'Dinosaurs!' is one of their new additions.

This event.

The crafty fox market returns to Brixton's dogstar this weekend and the line-up looks guuuud! Particularly excited about this and this.