Wine and Olives

On the whole it has been a quiet weekend, with lots of tea being drunk and few a long walks in the morning sun. There was also the Saturday afternoon cocktail, a French Martini, vigorously shaken in my own humble kitchen, and sipped on the couch whilst listening to Benjamin Francis Leftwich – a beautiful debut album.

Food occupying my thoughts is nothing foreign. I regularly find myself staring into space, experimenting with ingredients in my head. As I drank my cocktail, I thought about how delicious a dessert would be that was based around this drink, which is how this inspired cheesecake was born. I say inspired, as I decided against adding any vodka to the cheese mixture. I wanted to recreate the delicate flavours of the drink, rather than concoct an alcohol laced dessert. As a result, this cheesecake possessed all the qualities of a good French Martini: sweet, delicate and a real treat. This recipe makes four individual cheesecakes.

‘Pop-up’ seems to be the word on the street in Edinburgh at the moment. With so many glittering reviews of food cooked in more humble settings than your average restaurant, the pop-up has stood out as a recession busting way to enjoy good food without paying restaurant prices. But does this mean you compromise on restaurant quality? In today’s case, most definitely not as the girls dubbed ‘Tealicious‘ laid on a spread that would truly be the envy of many an Edinburgh establishment, especially those that call cucumber sandwiches and a scone afternoon tea.

The cosy setting, comfy couches and vintage tea plates created the perfect setting in which to hold a floral themed afternoon tea. Upon sitting down and sipping on my cherry blossom tea, I marvelled at the selection of sweet and savoury treats on offer, and was stunned by the sheer level of skill on display. Handmade orange blossom macarons and violet berry eclairs were but a few of the sweet treats on offer, with beetroot and walnut muffins and a range of freshly baked focaccia breads occupying the savoury part of the occasion.

Tealicious was a wonderful experience. Three talented bakers delivered a first class experience for 10 food lovers who know their baked goods inside out. If you haven’t already got your ticket to the next Tealicious event, I suggest you join the back of what I can now only suppose is a very long line.

A sourdough loaf from Herbie in Stockbridge.

Some macarons from Patisserie Madeleine.

A homemade dessert shared with friends.

You don’t need to worry, I’m not about to stand up and sing. But what I do need to do is proclaim my love for Nutella. Built up over years of Nutella slathered on toast for breakfast, this delicious chocolate spread has been part of my life since I was old enough to take a bite out of a slice of toast. And now I’ve given it up for Lent.

40 days without Nutella will be quite an ask. To put it plainly, I don’t crave chocolate. In fact, a bar of chocolate is something that I rarely eat. But Nutella is a different ball game. On toast, rice cakes, pancakes, and when I’m looking for something really indulgent, I even add Nutella to a slice of chocolate cake. Yes, the next six weeks are going to be very hard. I’m not quite sure how I will cope!

I am sincerely thankful that Edinburgh has not been plagued by the arctic-esque scenes recently witnessed south of the border. Despite this, we have experienced a particularly chilly few weeks, where gloves, hats and scarves have become must haves in order to brave the great outdoors.

Being somewhat forgetful at the best of times, I recently failed to pack my woolly companions for my 40 minute walk home from work. Oh how I missed them. Teeth chattering, I knew that in order to defrost thoroughly, something more potent than tea would be required. A thick, hearty soup of lentils and sweet potatoes was born.

Soup is something I regularly marvel at. Quite a strong statement I realise, but there are so many positive things to say about soup. It’s versatile, it’s healthy and alongside being delicious, it’s very cheap to make. In the winter months, I make a large pot of soup every Sunday. This decants perfectly into daily portions for lunches at work. But I’m not in any way averse to eating the same thing for lunch five days in a row – if you are, my delicious money saving method could prove a little difficult.

Today’s soup is spiced with chilli and cumin, and really did the trick when it came to warming me up. You might like to tone down the spice (those of you that know me well are used to my love of chilli), or try my recommended recipe – it will certainly leave you with a warm glow. I enjoy the chunks of sweet potato through the soup, but it is also delicious blended. This recipe serves eight.