Yearly Archives: 2015

The Real Taste of Italy: Food & Wine in Sicily*

06th July 2015
Foodies of the world! I have a delicious new location for you, and the good news is there is great wine to go alongside. Folks, I’m talking about the southernmost island in Italy: Sicily. Sicily is famous for fresh products and simple ingredients, in both the wine and food food for the region. So I really recommend you start researching your next holiday in Sicily if you love fresh, affordable and delicious food and wine.

Another great thing about Sicily is that every town and village has their own food or wine festival during the year, usually from spring to fall. They celebrate their produce and the typical products of their town. Here are some of my favorite food and wine festivals, also known as Sagre, in Sicily.

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Sagra della Seppia is dedicated to cuttlefish. You can feast on them in all different forms, from raw to fried to baked in a pie. It is located in Donnalucata, which is a coastal village south of Scicli. It usually happens during the month of March.

Sagra della ricotta e del formaggio takes place in the hometown of the great author Giovanni Verga, Vizzini. It is one of the oldest sagre on the island and is dedicated to ricotta products in all forms. This includes sweets like cassata and cannoli as well as savory dishes like pizza and pastas with ricotta. You will also get the chance to taste many other local cheeses. It usually happens in the last week of April. All hail the cheesemakers!

Sagra del Pomodoro and I Gusti del Barocco is a festival dedicated to tomatoes. It takes place near Scicli in the town of Sampieri. Tomatoes are really just an excuse for 3 days of eating, drinking, cooking, exchanging folk tales and celebrating their culture. It takes place during the first week of May, this year from April 30th to May 4th.

Inycon a Menfi Wine Festival is the perfect opportunity to taste some of the island’s finest wines. You can also take tours of the local cantinas in one of Sicily’s most famous wine-tasting towns. You can also taste local olive oil and other food products. Of course, there are concerts and shows to entertain your desire for nightlife. As the name suggests, it takes place in Menfi at the end of June. This year it was from June 20th to June 22nd.

Sagra della pepata di cozze is a mussel-lovers paradise! It takes place at Aci Trezza which is a seaside village on the coast between Catania and Taormina on the Ionian Sea. The first week of July gives way to this seafood celebration of the peppered mussels. They are boiled and doused with pepper, parsley and garlic. Fresh and delicious, this is a festival not to be missed.

There are hundreds of other festivals around the island, so check out a side like http://www.thethinkingtraveller.com which gives you a list of all the current dates and locations of the various food festivals in Sicily. Happy holidays, and buon appetito!

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All Dressed Up with Kaliko

06th July 2015
It’s fair to say my life has been pretty quiet over the last few weeks, with not much happening and certainly no reasons to get all dressed up. However, this wasn’t enough to stop letting out an excited squeal when THE most beautiful dress landed on my doorstep, nor was it enough to stop me slipping it on that instant and prancing round the garden.

Dress c/o Kaliko (here) | Shoes: Next (a few years ago)

This dress from Kaliko is just beautiful and it makes me feel special when I wear it. I wish it had been around ten years ago for my end of year prom as it’s exactly the kind of thing I wanted to wear but could not find, as it stands I’ve got it earmarked for a wedding NEXT summer (yes, I’m that far ahead of myself), although probably with some different shoes and some delicate gold accessories.

Kaliko isn’t a brand I’m overly familiar with, but getting acquainted with their website revealed a whole host of beautiful dresses to the point where I couldn’t narrow it down and ended up getting their friendly PR to pick for me. Major bonus points to him for choosing such a stunner!

The dress has also convinced me that I can pull off some shades of yellow, something that I’ve always believed to be a “no go colour” for me.

How would you style up this beauty?

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Degustabox- The June Edition

04th July 2015
I love it when Degustabox time rolls around and I get the chance to try out something new. For the June month the company celebrated all things Summer and sent out a picnic themed box, right up my street!
I’m sure that by now you’re all familiar with what the box is about, but just in case you’re not, it’s a monthly food subscription box that delivers a selection of new and surprise products to your door for the cost of £12.99 per one off box or £11.99 per month when you take out a bi-annual subscription. I’ve been reviewing the boxes over the last year and they never fail to impress me and get me eating outside of my comfort zone.
I’m a bit of a biscuit and sweet treat fiend so the package of Love Chin Chin snacks was an exciting discovery for me. The packaging states that it “crunches like a biscuit, tastes like a cake” and that pretty much sums it up. My pack was cinnamon flavoured which happens to be a favourite taste of mine so I very happily got to work on these…I’ll also be seeking out the vanilla ones (they also come in lemon and chilli too) to try out next. I’ve not come across anything like these before and they are perfect for sharing with friends alongside a beverage or two.
Coconut seems to be taking over the foodie scene lately, which as another of my favourite flavours/foods is no bad thing in my book. One thing that I haven’t come across until now is coconut sugar so the bag of the stuff from Coconom included in this months box was a bit of a mystery. Handily there was also a recipe for some tasty looking brownies which I plan to try out soon so watch this space for a baking post.
This month bloggers received the alcohol free version of the box, which as a non-drinker suited me fine. The Zeo low sugar drinks are delicious served straight from the fridge and come in at under 30 calories a bottle. The lime flavour was a particular favourite and these make a lovely change from diet coke or sparkling water at a social gathering and look a bit posh too!

I think I’ve mentioned before my general dislike of coconut water, although I did give this one from Maui&Sons a go in the name of a fair review. My tastes still haven’t developed to like the stuff though, so I can’t make comment on how good or bad this is compared to others- let me know if you’ve tried this and what you thought!

Melba Thins have featured before on the blog via Degustabox and still remain a firm favourite and frequent purchase. The Multigrain variety were new to me and I really like them. Perfect for packing in a picnic basket to serve with dips or eaten as is as a little snack on the go. The Enhance Apple & Blackcurrant water enhancer is also perfect for a picnic as it takes up next to no space and easily jazzes up a plain bottle of water. I’ve tried other flavours of this too and it’s good stuff! Jelly and I have history so I admit I didn’t try the pouch added in to this month’s box but I’m sure it’s lovely.
Kallo is a brand I’ve long loved so I was excited to see two of their products in this month’s box. The chocolate and caramel rice cakes didn’t last long as they are seriously addictive. I’ve been snacking on the plain chocolate ones for years so this new addition to the range is dangerously good and is potentially going to cost me a fortune! The savoury sea salt and vinegar snack pack are equally addictive and make a lighter addition to crisps at lunch time…yum!
Last but not least comes yet another favourite brand of mine- Brioche Pasquier who make the most perfect picnic worthy brioches ever. This month we were sent the chocolate 6 pack pitch rolls which feature soft brioche with a chocolate filling, each individually wrapped and perfect for sharing (yeah, right!). The chocolate chip 4 pack are a less sickly sweet alternative, and less likely to melt everywhere. These I could eat all day long, for breakfast, lunch and dinner. A four pack literally lasted me a day!
If you received the box this month I’d love to read your thoughts- feel free to link to your posts below. If I’ve persuaded you that you might want to sign up then you can grab a cool £3.00 discount when you sign up using the code BQXK9

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Casual Monochrome

03rd July 2015
Yeah, I know this week has been a heatwave and I should be embracing bright colours…for the most part I HAVE been embracing bright colours but sometimes comfort calls and all I want is old faithfuls, an outfit I can rely on for slobbing around doing not much at all which pretty much sums up my life lately.

Top: New Look (last year) | Trousers: New Look (similar | Shoes: Primark (alternative) | Necklace: Ebay (partners in crime)

These trousers are probably as close as it gets to me wearing joggers around the house, loose and light they keep me cool whilst the elasticated waist means I can snack on ice lollies and drink litres of icy cold diet coke without feeling the pinch. These sandals are my most worn shoes of Summer 2015 so far, I didn’t have high hopes for the comfort factor but actually I can wear them all day long without a hint of a blister. Last time I went to Primark these ones had sold out (in Bristol) so I’ve linked an alternative above, the New Look ones are also getting rave reviews!
How is July treating you so far? It’s been a slow star here but I have everything crossed that things are going to get better soon.
If you haven’t already, don’t forget to enter my giveaway with Lee Renee jewellery!

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Wimbledon ready with Lambrini

02nd July 2015
It’s Wimbledon time again! It’s probably the only time of year where I’ll embrace sitting down and watching sport on TV aside from the odd football match under duress so when the folks at Lambrini got in touch to say they had a celebratory cocktail at the ready, perfect for sitting back and relaxing with I thought it very much worth a share.
The cocktail, named the “Lambrini Deuce” features Lambrini So Strawberry (what else?) as it’s hero ingredient and combines gin with balsamic syrup- with a touch of basil to garnish. The gin is optional if you fancied a lower alcohol content tipple, or interchanged with other spirits. Being the gin fiend that I am though, when I do drink, I’ll be serving this up as suggested in the biggest wine goblet I can find!
Here’s how to make this perfect Summer drink:
1. Prepare the balsamic syrup. Mix one part balsamic vinegar to five parts granulated sugar – be sure to stir until dissolved.

2. Pour a small measure of gin (optional) over crushed ice, combining the balsamic syrup and lemon juice as you stir.

3. Take four strawberries, chopped into halves, and add them to the glass.

4. Top with Lambrini So Strawberry.

5. Gently stir and garnish with a couple sprigs of basil

All you need then is a group of your best girl pals, ready to sit back, relax and enjoy the on court action (with buckets of strawberries and cream to snack on, naturally.

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