DIY Paper Pom-Poms

Just over a week ago my flat-mate and I had a joint party to celebrate our belated birthdays. I love preparing for a party almost more than the party itself, so I really enjoyed getting stuck into the decorations! 

The theme was described rather vaguely as 'Lana-del-Rey-meets-60s-Tropicana'... so I went down the route of summery pink and orange colours, pineapple and cheese on sticks, a banner of palm-trees on a sunset background, flower garlands and flamingos!

Flower Pom-Poms by day...

...and by night, with butterfly lights!
(You can also just about see my flower garlands in the background!)

I have seen lots of these pom-poms hanging up in shops and cafes ever since the party, and after so many of our guests were impressed by the home-made decorations, I thought I'd do a post about how I made them - they use up quite a lot of tissue paper, but I'd definitely make more for future parties, or even to brighten up the flat more permanently!

Freedom! Henderson's Review and Party Planning

Oh hello again, life!

I finally finished my exams on 30th May, so I have the time and energy to do regular blog posts and other frivolous things once more! I have been relishing my long-lost freedom - baking sessions, G&Ts, sunbathing, a mini-shopping spree, sleeping past 5.30am, party planning and a trip to Edinburgh have all taken place in the last 5 days... So I'm loving life at the minute - at least until I need to get a summer job!

At the moment, things are revolving mainly around organising my joint (belated) birthday party with my housemate this weekend. It's a tropical 'Lana Del Rey-meets-1960s-Miami-tiki-party' theme, so we've been planning cocktail punch bowls and retro themed nibbles and decorations. So far I've dip-dyed a bed sheet for a sunset wall-hanging, made some enormous flower 'pom-pom' decorations and lots of flowery garlands. I'm hoping to do a little post-party round-up/'how-to' on the preparations and decorations some time soon.

One of the flower pom pom decorations

Dip-dyed bed sheet

Dip-dyed hands

I also need to have a little gush over an amazing restaurant that my boyfriend and I found today during our day trip to Edinburgh. Henderson's is a great little deli and bistro with a fantastic vegetarian restaurant in the basement. Although neither of us are vegetarian, they offer a range of vegan (i.e. lactose-free) and gluten-free options, perfect for my dietary difficulties! The best part though, was discovering that the gluten-free and dairy-free choices extended to the dessert menu - I was ridiculously happy to be able to choose something other than an unimaginative fruit salad. We shared a creamy vegan raspberry and lime cheesecake and a huge dense slab of rich chocolate nut cake between us.

Dheraj got a haggis pie from Grassmarket - definitely not gluten free!

Auld Jock's Haggis Pie

Enjoying our delicious gluten-free and dairy-free puddings at Henderson's

The atmosphere there was cosy and friendly, the staff were really helpful and the service was efficient. It had a lovely Mediterranean vibe with the white stucco walls, soft candle-light and pine and sea-green painted furniture.  I would definitely go again next time I'm up, and recommend it to anyone in the area - whether or not you are veggie, vegan or gluten-free.

Maia x

Peanut Butter Cookie Chocolate Cheesecake

... AKA the Stuff of Dreams!

Cheesecake-topped cookie? Cookie-based cheesecake?

I 'invented' this delightful heart-attack-on-a-plate in a spurt of creativity, borne from the monotonous drudgery of Equity and Trusts revision. What can I say? I really needed chocolate!

It's basically what it says in the title - indulgent chocolate cheesecake with a peanut butter and chocolate chip cookie base. The saltiness of the squidgy, chewy peanut butter cookie contrasts beautifully with the rich, tangy sweetness of the chocolatey cream cheese on top - Heaven!

Birthday - Lime and Coconut Cupcakes

I have been revising pretty constantly for my up-coming exams (hence the absence of posts recently) but it was my birthday on Thursday, so my parents, brother, my boyfriend and I went out in the evening for tapas at El Coto in Newcastle. The restaurant is amazing and has separate gluten-free and dairy-free menus with lots of choice, so that was great... unfortunately, like almost every eatery I've visited, the desert menu had nothing to offer me and my dietary issues - sob!

So, about 45 minutes before I was due to leave my revision notes for the restaurant, I decided to bake something sweet that everyone could enjoy after the meal - these moist, delicately-flavoured cakes were made in my speediest ever baking session! 

And I still had time to change into my party outfit... for a girl that normally takes at least an hour faffing about getting ready, I was proud to say the least!

Chunky Chocolate, Banana and PB Muffins

This was bit of an experiment that I hoped would turn out fluffy little cupcakes - but the ripe banana, thick peanut butter, plus a generous helping of chocolate pieces weighed down the cake-mix, and they ended up being gorgeously chunky little muffins. 

Because of their moist muffin-osity, packed with all the 'good-for-you' deliciousness of banana and peanut butter, I think you could just about get away (as I did!) with serving these up for brunch on a lazy weekend.

I couldn't resist topping a few of mine with peanut butter and chocolate frosting and banana chips - possibly a bit too rich for breakfast, but they were (as Mary Berry might say) absolutely scrummy! 

Spiced Chocolate Brownies

I was craving something pretty specific yesterday - I needed to reward myself with something sweet and naughty to break up the monotony of revision, but it really had to be something rich and with a bit of bite, rather than the usual light, spongy goodness I tend to go for. And of course, because of my impending deadlines and impatient nature, it had to be relatively quick and easy to make... Brownies were the obvious solution!

Coconut Cupcakes

I've just started exam revision properly, and all I can think about is cooking lovely things! Food is such a distraction for me! I recently made some pretty good gluten- and dairy-free coconut cupcakes, so I thought I'd post the recipe on here, as a little break from my hard work...