Monthly Archives

February 2014

Lifestyle, Recipes, Vegetarian

Vegetarian Chicken Style Roast

February 9, 2014

I used to buy a Meat-free Roast from Tesco’s that Brains and I would have once in a while but more recently, we haven’t been able to find them anywhere! With that, I decided to make my own and figured I could share it with all of you lovely people.

You will need:

  • 4 Quorn fillets or Vegan equivalent
  • 2 pieces of bread
  • Stuffing (e.g sage & onion, garlic & herb, packet or home made)
  • 1/2 teaspoon Parsley
  • 1/2 teaspoon Oregano
  • Garlic Clove
  • Pinch of Salt
  • Something to bind the ingredients – 1 Egg (beaten), Oil or Soy butter/margarine for Vegan recipe

Begin by making the breadcrumbs first.

Heat the oven to around 180 degrees/Gas mark 4, place your bread on a baking tray and cook for 15 minutes each side until crisp. You can use any type of bread you like, usually I go for Gluten Free, but the stuff I had in the freezer was seeded, so I opted for some of Brain’s full on “bloating incoming” white bread.

bread

Once cooled, place in a blender until fine crumbs are achieved, add a pinch of salt if desired and half a teaspoon of parsley and oregano. Set the breadcrumbs aside for now. These freeze for up to 6 months, so if you have some stale bread lying around, put them to good use. You can also experiment with the seasoning.

breadcrumbs

 

Next for the filling. I am having a very lazy Sunday today and used a packet of Sage & Onion Stuffing, I made this up in a bowl and left to cool before starting. Roughly cut the Quorn fillets or your Vegan replacement and place into your blender. I chucked in a clove of garlic and half an egg into the mix to bind it together, but you can use oil or soy butter for this. (Despite my cutting out of nearly all dairy, I’m still struggling with eggs)

quorn

 

Roll out some cling-film onto a clean surface or chopping board, and spoon your Quorn mixture onto it, spreading it evenly in a vague rectangular shape.

quorn-flat

 

If you’ve pre-cooled your stuffing, spread this in the middle of your mixture. You can keep this in the fridge if the stuffing is still steaming.

quornandstuffing

 

Slowly take the edge of the clingfilm and fold the mixture over until you are left with a delightful sausage like roll.

rolled

 

Place this in the fridge to harden a little or place it in the freezer as it is. Once ready to use, remove from the fridge and coat with the other half of the beaten egg, (or oil/butter) roll it in your breadcrumbs and place on a baking tray.

pre-oven

 

Bake at 200 degrees/Gas mark 5/6 for around 25 to 30 minutes. Again, you can coat with the breadcrumbs and freeze this if you like, just remember to increase the cooking time if you are cooking from frozen. Remove from the Oven and bask in the glory of your very fine creation.

post-oven

 

I served mine with mashed new potatoes – skin still on, broccoli, a Yorkshire pudding and some little stuffing balls.

complete

 

I hope you enjoy this as much as I did! If anyone does find some Vegan alternatives to the Quorn that taste great please let me know in the comments below as I’d love to hear from you. I’m itching to try this out with The Vegetarian Butcher chicken that Gem and I absolutely adore, sadly it’s only available from The Netherlands so we often have to wait for Gem to whisk herself off to Rotterdam to see Roode until we can get our hands on some and because it’s so delicious, it never lasts long once we’ve got it back to England.

Totally hellbent for getting one over on all the supermarket’s and doing it myself

-Pants

 

 

Lifestyle, Vegetarian

The Vegan Kind February Box

February 9, 2014

main-box

The Vegan Kind is a new monthly Vegan lifestyle box. It promises to deliver between 5-8 products each month that are all cruelty free and Vegan – they also donate 10p of each box to the chosen Charity for the month.

I knew this box was going to launch some month’s ago, but had forgotten all about it until normal posting resumed on twitter and last month and I was informed by a fellow beauty blogger. Alas I instantly hopped over to their website to see what all the fuss was about and ended up having a sneaky try at their monthly box. *Edit – This actually arrived on Friday (I promise I’d already written this post!) but due to many distractions with it being my birthday I didn’t get around to uploading my photos until today due to our Dakesis gig yesterday evening. *

kale-crisps

First out the box was inSpiral Kale Chips – 30g – RRP £2.19.

These look interest and I haven’t tried them yet since I have already been such a piggy today, but being organic, vegan, gluten free, soya free, cholesterol free, trans fat free and no added cane sugar, if I like them – I’m guessing I’m going to be hooked! I’m always looking for healthy yet Vegetarian/Vegan snacks to munch on and Kale holds a special place in my heart since it reminds me of Gemma so I’m looking forward to trying Kale in crisp form.

organic-surge

Organic Surge Sugared Almond Shower Gel – 250ml – RRP £4.35

This shower gel is massive! Opening the top, it smell’s absolutely gorgeous too, an organic 90.8% natural shower gel – and although when I opened my box I thought “shower gel? but I don’t need anymore!” I have to remind myself that this is not a beauty box and is merely opening me up to new products that are natural and Vegan – thus helping me in my quest to make better lifestyle choices. I’m hoping with this being so natural that my Skin isn’t going to shout at me as soon as I apply it.

choc-shot

Choc Shot – 320g – RRP £3.59

I was actually pretty pleased about this, Brains and I often partake in a cheeky hot chocolate/cocoa before bed (mine is Soy, his full fat milk!)  and we’ve just used up the last of it, so a lovely liquid squeezy hot chocolate that only contains 14 calories per teaspoon – yes please. You can also use it in many other things such as baking and in cereal – so psyched to give this a go!

cinder-toffee

1066 Cake Stand’s Cinder Toffee – 50g – £1.50

I do like Cinder Toffee, unfortunately, since it’s been my birthday today I have already over indulged in too many things that are bad for me, so looking at this is creating a “diabetic wave” beneath the surface of my skin. I just know if I nibble on this albeit Vegan sugary snack, I will end up with type 2 Diabetes. Something for the cupboard though and when I’m feeling peckish I know I’m eating Cinder Toffee from a Vegan Bakery. (See how I justified it there?) *Edit: and by “it’s been my birthday today” I actually mean Friday!*

braw

Braw Bar – 35g – RRP £0.99

This is probably my least favourite out of the box, although under 120 calories and gluten free, reading the ingredients of fruits, dates, oats and flax seed didn’t tickle my fancy right away (especially with the Cinder Toffee) however I am partial to trying new snacks and will certainly give this a try – despite today’s *Edit: again, Friday – but actually I havent stopped pigging out all weekend!* gluttony over handmade chocolates, chocolate eclairs and my very own homemade chocolate caramel birthday cookies, I’m not usually one with a sweet tooth and rarely snack on sugary goods unless I’m out with others.

leaflets

With each box, you also get a Vegan recipe card and after you have subscribed to a few boxes, you are sent a cute little ring binder to store them in. I love cooking and I love discovering new recipes and although I wouldn’t usually “pay” for recipes or books these days, it’s going to look adorable on my recipe stand when it arrives.

All in all, the total amount of the products in the box came to £12.62, but this isn’t a beauty box (have to keep telling myself this) it’s not about the packaging – it’s about discovering things that fit in with my Vegetarian/part Vegan lifestyle, so I’m going to enjoy the fact that I can’t moan about “never being able to eat anything” allow the box to open me up to new avenues (products) and see what the next few boxes hold.

To get your hands on The Vegan Kind action for just £10 per month and £2.95 p&p, visit their site here.

Have you tried their boxes yet? If so, I’d love to know your thoughts?

Totally hellbent for all the animal – even spiders – and guilt free snacking!

-Pants

 

 

Festivals, Metal, Music

February Most Wanted

February 7, 2014

As the first month of the year is already over, I guess it’s time to cast my attention (and purse) towards all of the things I’ve been collecting for my most wanted list now that I can almost justify spending a few pennies here and there.

 

l'occitane-thumb

My first pick of the month is the new Sensual Red Cherry Collection from L’Occitane. I’m a sucker for all things cherry-esque as well as being overly fond of the L’Occitane hand creams, I’m just itching to try this out but at £42 for the set (reduced from £64), I’m not sure I can fork out for this just yet. (Beauty boxes take note – all of the samples please!) If your expendible income is a little more forgiving than mine this month you can head over to the L’Occitane website and try this out here.

behemoth

 

Moving away from beauty temporarily, the next thing on this month’s list is the new Behemoth album “The Satanist” – usually I’d have pre-ordered this and awaiting it’s arrival eagerly, alas I haven’t been as quick off the mark and have become a metal warrior who has fallen behind. Not to fear though, it’s available to stream through Spotify and due to me rarely leaving the house in my self-employment I’m able to enjoy this album in full – albeit with adverts – to my hearts content until I get my hands on the physical copy. It’s a truly magnificent album and has such a dark aura about it, my favourite track is the last one “O Father O Satan O Sun” – if you would like to partake in some black metulz you can stream Behemoth on spotify or support them by heading over to behemoth.pl and buying all of their merchandise.

 

nars brush

I do not need any more brushes – especially after my birthday haul (post coming soon) – but with my new found love for contouring, but the NARs ITA contour brush looks to be -the- most perfect brush for the job ever! Unfortunately the price is a little out of budget at the moment, but I’m definitely going to keep an eye out for upcoming offers or the very least – something similar from another brand. You can get around on the internet (sadly not currently availably on the NARS UK website) for £55 – however I have found it for just £25.95 here – although having never used this site, I’m not sure of it’s validity.

hellfest

Hellfest 2014 – What a line up – so many dreams of Gem and I driving to France to sup on wine (perhaps not for me), munch baguettes and listen to metal. I’d worked out how many night shifts I needed to do to get the extra money for two tickets. Unfortunately this sold out the other day, so probably one that is destined to stay on my wishlist. If you want to weep endlessly at the line-up you will be missing out on click here – if you already have tickets – click and smile a smug smile, thinking of those less fortunate than you.

caravan

Since my dreams of Hellfest have been smashed to the ground, it now means I can use my saved money towards a caravan, something Gem and I have been talking about for a while, but now we are nearly a quarter of the way through the year, I really need to get my behind in gear if I was to live it up “glamping” style at Wacken this year with a shiny (because of the Manowar gold we are covering it with) waterproof caravan.

I’m in awe of myself for the distinct lack of cosmetic items featured in this month’s most wanted – don’t fear though, I am not a girl converted – just a girl who want’s too many things of which can not be squeezed into such a small post as this.

What non beauty/cosmetic items are on your most wanted list this month?

Totally hellbent for the days where festivals didn’t sell out

-Pants

 

 

 

Nails

Debenhams Beauty Box Nail Varnish

February 4, 2014

I received one of Debenham’s Beauty Box sets this Christmas and was pleasantly surprised at the contents – of which came 8 beautiful nail varnish’s.

Now Debenham’s isn’t really the sort of store that I think of when it comes to nail varnish, in terms of it’s own brand stuff, but the colours from this box are absolutely gorgeous!

b-box-red

The first two here are my favourite – this is two coats and the pigment’s are just superb. The purple is so bright and the other three are various shades of red/pink, however none of them are too pink for me to wear which is a bonus. Unfortunately, they don’t have any names or shade numbers.

b-box-gold

The last four were these gold and silver shades. The first gold has a bit of a pinkey hue to it and the silver is really metallic which is great. The gold glitter was only one coat! I’ve never found a glitter that is so textured in just one coat and I’m super excited to try this out over some varnishes from my ever growing vast collection.

Debenham’s beauty box has been heavily reduced since Christmas and is now only £12.50 instead of £25.00 and contains the following:

  • 2 x cuticle tool
  • 2 x nail clippers
  • Nail scissors
  • 1 x nail stencil set
  • 3 x eye shadow
  • 3 x eye shadow palette
  • 2 x lip pencil
  • 2 x eye liner
  • 2 x mascara
  • 7 x lip gloss
  • 8 x nail varnish
  • 2 x nail file

You can find this and other tiny treat’s and mini beauty box sets direct from their website here.

Has anyone else tried out this little bundle of joy? If so I’d like to know your thoughts.

Totally hellbent for surprising treats

-Pants

 

 

Hair

Aussie “Dual Personality” Coloured Hair Protector and Shine Serum

February 3, 2014

aussie-colour-serum

I’m a bit of a sucker for hair products – anything to keep my locks in tip top condition considering it’s length and it’s bright red colour. I’m also a bit of a sucker for Aussie and their three minute miracle is a frequent “hair pick me up” go to so when I saw this a few years ago it became one of my favourite hair serum’s ever.

This serum helps to protect coloured hair and makes it lovely and glossy, without making it look greasy. I always use a serum when straightening my hair and this also helps keep the frizz to a minimum (along with the trust GHDs.) It smells beautiful and it doesn’t feel too sticky or greasy like some hair serum’s can. The best thing about it, is that I only need a coin sized amount for my whole hair, which means the 75ml bottle lasts for a lifetime. The only time I steer clear of this is when my hair has faded to it’s crazy pink colour, the shine is a little overbearing and my hair needs a little more frizz control and less colour protection when it get’s like that, so I switch to some other products. Did I mention it’s small enough to throw into your festival bag for those hot summer day’s?

You can pick up Aussies Coloured hair protection and shine serum from Superdrug here for only £4.99 and while your at it, check out the rest of their range.

Totally hellbent for killing two hair problems with one hair product (totally not into killing birds)

-Pants

 

 

Fragrance

New Avon perfumes 2014 – “Our Story For Her” and “Femme”

February 2, 2014

Avon Our Story for her and Femme perfume

 

Avon seem to have a new perfume launch every campaign at the moment, but these two are my favourite picks of the bunch by a mile! I find that Avon fragrance can be a bit hit and miss, especially with the older scents that seem to all smell very similar to me. The newer lines seem to be vastly improved on the classics though, and if you’re looking for purse friendly fragrance with some personality I think you’d do well to take a peek (or a sniff!) at either of these two.

 

Avon Our Story for her

 

Our Story For Her is part of a very Valentines-ey duo (The other fragrance being the somewhat obviously Our Story For Him). Described as “A romantic blend of sparkling bergamot, sensual jasmine and creamy vanilla”  you’d be hard pushed to pick up the boasted citrus tones, as this is heavily leaning towards the Vanilla base.

For me though, it is the heavy vanilla that makes it so appealing. I’ve always been a fan of very sweet scents, and this is the fragrance equivalent of a candy shop.

Currently on special offer in the Avon webstore for only £5.00!

 

 

Avon femme

 

Avon Femme is the newest Avon fragrance at the time of publishing and described as “Pink grapefruit and luscious pear glitter against gardenia blossom, magnolia and waterlilly, and diffuse down into warm amber woods”. I will say that this is a much more complex fragrance than Our Story For Her, and strikes me as being much more mature. It’s a very pretty scent, fruity and feminine without being too sweet or girly. The bottle is very pretty also and wouldn’t look out of place next to far higher price fragrances.

I’d definitely recommend it for those who are after a feminine fragrance that is grown up but still with hints of a fun, flirty undertone.

Avon Femme will be available from the next campaign at the introductory price of £15.00

Totally hellbent for fabulous fragrance that doesn’t break the bank!

– Gem