#Project366 – week 35

More snapshots of Spanish seafood and refreshing ice-creams I enjoyed in between siestas during the final week of August…

Day #239 – Making my own Chunky Monkey with banana and chocolate gelato for pudding in Palamos

Figgy pudding (and figgy starter!) at 10 Greek Street

Whilst my boyfriend was working away in the good old US of A for the past fortnight, I made the most of my faux-single status by block-booking my diary with girlie dinner dates. Just like Carrie Bradshaw, there's a group of like-minded ladies that I regularly meet up with in the City - but the difference is that our stomaches are the only thing we care about satisfying!

#Project366 – week 34

Looking back at these snapshots from the first week of my summer holiday in Spain really makes me want to jet off to somewhere sunny! Don’t worry, I still managed to fit a few runs and plenty of laps across the outdoor pool to balance out my diet of ice-cream and alcohol!

Day #232 – Refuelling with a “honeycomb” of different forms of vegetable cannelloni (the pumpkin version was particularly delicious) at Jamie’s Italian inside Gatwick Airport

#Project366 – week 33

Are you on Pinterest? I spent a stupid amount of time on Friday night rearranging all of my photo boards, so I now have a huge selection of #foodporn images organised into meal types ranging from brunch and salads right through to dessert and drinks. I divided my mains into categories depending on whether their key ingredient was cheese, meat or seafood, and even created a whole new board for my favourite autumnal amber vegetables – pumpkin, squash and sweet potato!

My #project366 pinterest board remains untouched however…a record of my personal challenge to capture a food-related photograph every day for a year. These update articles are long overdue, but I do make sure I keep the Pinterest board regularly updated so please subscribe to it in order to see my latest snapshots.

Here’s a reflection on my favourite culinary moments from mid-August…

Day #225 – Vibrant carrot, chickpea and apricot tagine ready to serve with lamb steaks grilled with Gourmet Spice Co’s Ras-el-Hanout mix, that I’d ordered using the gift voucher Love Your Larder kindly gave me for being their Blogger of the Week

Power foods #2 – porridge that’s just right for Goldilocks

So apparently today is World Porridge Day - which means it's the ideal time for me to tell you about one of my favourite "power" foods!

Porridge hits all three "power" food buttons – it’s full of fibre that burns up fat, contains beta-glucans to boost your immunity against nasty bugs, and as a complex carb it increases serotonin levels to keep you calm on dark and chilly mornings!  

#Project366 - week 32

A combination of meaty evening meals and fruity daytime snacks (plus a sweet chocolately treat!) during this mid-August flashback from my challenge to capture a food-related photograph every day for a year...

Day #218 - Testing out Sharpham Park's speltotto included in my Flavrbox, with an additional spicy boost courtesy of Flavours of Spain chorizo

Power foods #1 - spicy prawn stir-fry

This morning I decided to make the most of the autumnal sunshine and run round my local park in South East London.

You could tell there'd been a seasonal shift since my last race around the outdoor track - the air felt crisp, mist rose up from the boating lake, and the clear blue skyline was mixed with an amber hue from the trees preparing to shed their leaves. My route was dotted with spiky horse chestnuts and there were even a few bright red holly berries dotted amongst the fawn bushes.

Clearly we are now descending doggedly towards winter, which can only mean one thing...flu season isn't far away. But I'm launching a pre-emptive attack against sniffles, sore throats and fuzzy heads by packing my plate with turbo-charged "power" foods, which I recently learnt about thanks to Women's Health magazine.

Chocolate cheesecake brownies and jigsaws

When you've been happily dating someone special for a while, you forget what life was ever like before.

Back then, you felt like "He's Just Not That Into You" was a documentary about your relationship history. Back then, you admired that special someone from afar through star-struck eyes, and dreamt of the day they would finally wake up and notice you.

Now, you forget how lucky you are to be enveloped in the love and support of someone so awesome every single day.

Storifying a Soho lunch photo spread @CopitaTapas

After a chaotic week running around Brighton for the Lib Dem conference, where I avoided starvation solely by binging on the Grand Hotel's breakfast buffet and snatching canapés at evening drinks receptions, I was desperate for a proper lunch.

Selina from Yummychooeats and I were also due a celebration of our friend anniversary (or "friendiversary", as I like to call it), having met just over a year ago at the Tech 'n' Taste food blogging conference. So I tweeted her at the start of a much-needed lieu day to see if we could check off one of our long list of Soho restaurants for a spot of lunch. This Storify shows what happened next...

#Project366 – week 31

Do you remember what you were doing back in August? No, me neither…which makes this #project366 roundup post slightly problematic! Let’s imagine the sun is still shining and we’re wearing flipflops and sunglasses rather than boots and scarves…

Day #211 – Fantastic surprise of a fresh raspberry hidden inside this creme brûlée pastry tart served up at the Original ATM travelling market held in the beautiful grounds of Deans Court in Wimborne, Dorset