Here is what you'll need:

• 1 pan
• 1 sterilized glass jar/bottle
• a funnel
• 1 cup water
• 1 cup sugar
• vanilla bean

So it is really simple. Put the water and sugar in a pan. Cut the vanilla in half lengthwise. Bring to a boil on medium heat, stirring to make sure the sugar dissolves in the mix. This will take about 10 minutes. Too much and you will have taffy! That's the mistake I almost made.

You then let it cool down, and you put it in your sterilized glass bottle. I sterilized mine in the oven for about 20 minutes.



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I saw Becky form TalkBeckyTalk doing this kind of video recently and I was inspired to do my own.

Tea has really taken the internet over in the past few years and it is more popular than ever!

I'm talking you through my favourite teas and what I use to infuse them.



Do you like teas? Or do you prefer coffee? Let me know which one's your favourite!

Divine Chocolate Christmas Collection

For the next two weeks, the Fairtrade Foundation invites UK shoppers to buy products that change lives.

Of course they were a success!


What is your favourite macaron flavour?

There. I've said it.

Sometime you need to treat yourself to a latte and chocolate croissant ;)

Laika waiting for Roberto

The cafe is decorated with travel souvenirs

A little post to show off the shortbread cookies I made a little while ago. I took the recipe on Ricardo's website, a Quebec TV chef. My mum always says that his recipes are fool-proof!


You can find the recipe here.

Please do share your favourite Holiday recipes!

Since I started my weight loss journey this winter, I'm always on the lookout for healthy alternatives and to vary my diet. I have never been what I would consider a health freak or granola girl before. But since I started adding a few healthier choices in my diet, I realized that I like it! So why not continue on this right track?

I have been offered the chance to try some Hale & Hearty agave syrup*. I thought this would be a good way to replace brown sugar in my porridge/weetabix. Hale & Hearty sent me 2 of their agave syrups: Original and Maple. They also sent me a pack of their 4 Grain Pancake Mix* (well, that's a good excuse to try syrups, now!).


Hale & Hearty is a company that provides "delicious food as part of a diet free from wheat, gluten and dairy." They have a few pantry basics such as: syrups, pasta, cereals, etc.

I like the syrup, you can use them absolutely everywhere you would put sugar: tea, coffee, baking, etc. Overall, I try to avoid sugar, I don't put any in my coffee, sometimes I do in tea. But you still need a bit of sweetness in life! So for me, it's bye brown sugar in my breakfast and hello agave maple flavoured syrup.


What I like about the agave maple flavoured syrup is that it doesn't pretend to be actual maple syrup. Being Canadian, it offends me to see on the shelf a product that claims to be "maple syrup" only to discover it's actually corn syrup with a tiny bit of maple... You know, I hate false pretense!


On to the 4 Grain Pancake Mix. I liked the fact it was relatively quick to make. I did make them in a pan that was not non-sticky, and I made a mess out of it... Next time I will use another pan. It feels weird to me to eat pancakes with grains in them. It's good, but to me it's not natural.

Hale & Hearty can be found in most UK supermarkets and also online.

So when I got the chance to review Kopi, a coffee company that has a subscription programme, I was eager to be able to drink real coffee again.

For me, drinking coffee should be a ritual, something sensual. I mean by that that I like to take my time to prepare it, drink it while reading a book or magazine, and also smell the aroma!

I first open my bag of Kopi Guatemala Finca Santa Clara Genuine Antigua* last week and brew it for myself and my collegue. And all of a sudden, a burst of fresh coffee scent went to my nose as the coffee was dripping. I have forgot the smell of good coffee and wasn't even aware of it, as the smell transported me back to last Christmas at my parent's! Shocking!


Kopi Guatemala Finca Santa Clara Genuine Antigua is a medium strength coffee (out of 5 they class it as a 3). They say about it: "Richly refreshing with a lively aroma. Carefully grown on the slopes of an active volcano, this is a quintessentially clean, easy-drinking Guatemalan roast." If you like South Amerian coffees and their nutty and creamy flavour, you would like this.

The Guatemala was their October choice. Each month is a different selection of coffee. I will try to explain the concept, but first I think the image below is doing a good job at it (click to enlarge).


So basically, you pay for a subscription of coffee. You can either chose 1-month, 6-month or 12-month subscriptions. Each month you get a bag of coffee, a new one every month. The coffees are exclusive to Kopi, which means they cannot be sold in-store. The coffee comes with a little booklet explaining the origin of the beans, how you can best taste it and aslo, why they chose it. Kopi really wants to educate people and "make the emerging world of gourmet coffee much more accessible". They are also dedicated in paying the farmers a fair price for their goods.


What I like about their website and approach is that everything is well explained. If you check at their subscription options, you can see a chart with all the details of how your card is going to be charged, when the coffee is next going to be delivered, if you can cancel, etc. (Anyone with any subscription knows you usually have to decipher fine prints before signing up, but this chart explains everything well.)

Price varies between £7-£9/month, depending of the length of the subscription.

*Disclaimer: Product offer for review consideration through Fuel my Blog.

I am glad I have been chosen to review Simply Ice Cream!

I was chosen back in July, but because I had to take my holidays at short notice, and then me not being able to be home for the collection, I had a hard time to have it delivered. But the people at Simply Ice Cream were pretty flexible, and we managed to sort everything! Now, you will agree with me that ice cream is not the kind of goods that the delivery guy can leave with your neighbour or just leave a red note like the Royal Mail. Anyway, I think I was really scared about my ice cream melting, but I shouldn't have! My package arrived safely home, complete with big ice packs.

Enough said about the delivery!

I was sent three flavours to try out: Raspberry, Stem Ginger Marmalade and Heavenly Honeycomb Crunch.

The first one I tried was the Raspberry one, as I felt it was the "safe" choice. It was good, but I was expecting something sweeter. Simply Ice Cream doesn't contain additives and preservatives, so I guess that explains it! I really liked the creaminess of it though. I feel this is what the ice cream from the old days tasted! Simply Ice Cream, the name says it all, I think!


Then I didn't want to eat all that ice cream to myself, so I shared the Stem Ginger Marmalade with my boyfriend*. I was reluctant to try this one on my own, as I usually not a big fan of ginger. I was pleasantly surprised though. It was not too spicy, just enough sweet, and again, creamy. The ice cream was flecked with ginger bits, so the balance cream/garnish was spot on. We had it with some cupcakes, and it was a good combination, even though at first we could think that too many flavours were involved.

Lastly I eat the Heavenly Honeycomb Crunch one. Now my hopes were high for this one, and I feel I was disapointed. It was good, but a little too sweet for me (I can usually stand lot of sweetness) and it was barely crunchy. It tasted like caramel, with the aroma of honey making appearances sometimes. I think this one could be really good if the sweetness was more balanced. This is one of their core flavours.

So my favourite turned out to be the one I thought I wouldn't like! (Sometimes it's good to go out of your comfort zone...)

They also do Special flavours that changes regularly, using seasonal produce. The ice creams are made from natural ingredients, doesn't contain additives or preservatives, are gluten-free and are suitable for vegetarians.

For more info on Simply Ice Cream: http://www.simplyicecream.co.uk

*My boyfriend's verdict is that it's really creamy! He really insists on it!


*Disclaimer: Product offer for review consideration through Fuel my Blog.

On Saturday, my boyfriend and I went to Westfield to grab some holidays clothes. While we were there, we had the opportunity to try Joe Delucci Gelato*. What a great way to get us in the holiday spirit!

I was invited by Joe Delucci Gelato via Fuel my Blog to review their ice cream. I'm not the one to say no to sweet things so I was pretty excited! I got Nick to come with me, and Saturday was the perfect day to have ice cream in London. in fact, many people thought so too as the queu was pretty big (but moved quickly ;) phew!).

Here is what Joe Delucci offers:

Joe Delucci's supply delicious gelato (Italian ice cream) to restaurants and café bars throughout the UK. We also operate a number of Ice cream parlours in busy shopping centres where you can try over 20 flavours on a daily basis.
Joe Delucci's are on a mission – to change the way we Brits think about ice cream and drive inferior products from this green and beautiful land.
Just because its cold, sweet and whipped with air doesn’t mean its any good – something the Italians have known for years!
Joe Delucci's gelato is made using fresh fruit and natural ingredients blended with Piemonte milk (or sometimes even water) as opposed to the heavy cream used in traditional British ice creams. This makes for a far more intense flavour experience and also makes our gelato lower in fat – so you can eat more of it. Fantastico!

Now, I always have dilemas when eating ice cream and gelato. I know I want chocolate (definitely chocolate!), but never know what else to chose, as everything seem so good! The lady at Joe Delucci gave me some of those little spoon samplers ( Mango, Fondente Nero, Cioccolato and Fragola). I finally decided on Cioccolato (Chocolate) and Fragola (Strawberry). Nick went for the Ciokomenta (Mint Chocolate Chip) and Frutti di Bosco (Fruits of the Forest).


I was not disapointed with my ice cream, in fact I took my time to savour it! Nick liked it as well, and being lactose-intolerant, is a rare treat for him (he took two Lactaids to be sure everything will be alright!).

A two scoop cone is about £3 and they also offer sorbet and milk shakes.

Now all we need is summer to finally come to the UK!

*Disclaimer: Product offer for review consideration through Fuel my Blog.

If you love fruity herbal tea, you have to try the Organic red berry and rose tea* from Storm Tea! I was recently invited to review their silk pyramid tea, and this is the flavour the choose for me. And the choice was perfect! Hmmmm!


Our super fresh and fruity tea with chunks of strawberry and apple. Squeezed full of vitamins to help keep colds and flush toxins away and rounded off with the delicate edge of rose petals. Naturally caffeine free.
Ingredients: Hibiscus*, apple bits*, rosehips*, strawberry bits* rose petals* natural flavour. *Certified organic by the Soil Association.
Unlike the other tea boxes and bags, Storm Tea's are clear, which is good as you get to see how the leaves and fruits are! What you get is a "silk" pyramid, full of fruit bits and loose leaves. You will not get the powders you often get with other brands. My boyfriend compares it with picking dry fruit from the groceries. We can't help but looking at the leaves and fruits inside the bag, it looks like potpourri!


And talking about potpourri, the smell of the tea is vibrant and enticing! A fruity and tart blend!

As you can see from the image above, the tea has lots of room in the bag, which leaves room for them to expand.



A perfect cuppa! This tea is flavourful and really, a storm in a cup!

If herbal tea is not your favourite, they also have a choice of black and green teas to choose from.

As the "silk" pyramid bags are made of plastic, I was a little concerned about the disposal of the teabags. After reading the Storm Tea Eco Policy, I found out that they are made of a special plastic that is recyclable and non-toxic when incinerated. I thought it was quite cool!

A box of 15 teabags is around £3.99 on Storm Tea's website, which is a good value for the quality you get.


You can also find Storm Tea on Facebook and Twitter:

http://www.facebook.com/profile.php?id=100001824319612
http://twitter.com/stormtea

*Disclaimer: This product was send to me for consideration to review. Opinions expressed are my own.