Travel The World In A Box With Kitchen Trotter*

Last October it was suggested that I review new foodie subscription box, Kitchen Trotter. Of course, I jumped at the chance and duly researched the box. The concept is simple, each month a selection of ingredients are pulled together around the theme of one country and sent, beautifully packaged, to subscribers alongside a handful of recipes to help you make the most of the ingredients. So far, so good.

There were issues with delivery but when New Year and the box finally arrived it looked great. The pattern is evocative of the Far East with its deep red and Palm trees, Russian dolls and colourful stamps. Excited, I unpacked the tons of styrofoam peanuts that appear to be the MO for anything involving food, and began to uncover the treasures inside.

How To Cure Hangovers

Last month I learnt how to make my own chicken nuggets. Why am I making a kids' food you might well ask? The answer lies in avoiding a repeat my latest birthday celebrations. I was so hungover that I went to a fast food place down the road from my flat the next day and my hungover brain instructed me to order twice as much as I needed. Even worse it was 6pm and I'd just thrown a coat on over my pyjamas - now that's a true walk of shame! When alive enough to regret my mistake I figured that I needed an alternative at home, so that I could just throw a tray into the oven and wait for the timer to (quietly) beep, that would also be healthier.

All About Me

I figured my bio needed updating now that I've had this blog for a year and a half. But, I asked myself, what's the point in changing it if you don't notice I've updated it? My clever solution, if I say so myself? Post it here for all you lovely people to read! I hope you enjoy an insight into me.

My name is Lily and I enjoy cooking for family and friends, especially if it involves baking (even better if it's about midnight and not a sensible time to be cooking). This is sounding like an AA introduction. I'd better start again.

Hi, Lily here, I'm 20 21 22 years old and I read French at the University of Manchester (currently on my ERASMUS year in Poitiers, France). My gap year was spent in Singapore where I finally got over my fear of spice and embraced Asian cuisine, helped by cookery classes in exotic locales such as Cambodia, Thailand and Indonesia. When I'm not talking about food, I'm not really sure what I talk about. Asia? Books? Food? Oh wait, that's the subject I'm not meant to get started on. I began this blog to connect with other foodophiles and have somewhere to direct friends and family to when they ask for a recipe. Thai green curry and gooey chocolate chip cookies seem to be the most popular with my friends.

I have lots of gadgets in my kitchen but the one I love most is a bright orange KitchenAid mixer that gets pointed out if people don't admire it soon enough. My kitchen is also stocked with all sorts of weird and wonderful ingredients that I'm still working out how to cook with. Dried barberries, anyone? My inspiration for recipes, sadly, isn't delivered to me by David Bowie flying in on a tiger made of lightening, but comes from food magazines, recipe books and my mum (who cooks sensible yet tasty food like this lentil bake. No barberries for her).

Tastebuds are funny things and everyone's are different so if you want to tweak a recipe to your tastes then I won't hold it against you, and I'd love it if you would comment your changes so that I can give them a go, so long as they don't involve mushrooms. I hate mushrooms. Email me (lily.helen.carden@gmail.com) with requests for recipes and stalk me on Instagram (@gorgeousgateaux), I won't bite.

Join me on my crazy journey to make the best food I can; laughing  when it goes wrong and celebrating when it goes right.

Birthday Dessert

I turned 22 on the 26th of December and was sick of cakes after a spate of birthdays recently. Initially I decided to have a birthday starter instead (of cheese soufflé) but one of my friends posting a photo of some caramel that she was making swayed me in favour of homemade vanilla ice cream drizzled with salted caramel (my current, and long-lasting, weakness - last year's cake was a set of salted caramel fondants). Previously I've always bought in my salted caramel sauce from the excellent Artisan du Chocolat in London as I don't want to see just how bad for me it is, but they sadly don't have an outpost in Poitiers nor Talmont (they should really look into that) so I had to bite the bullet and make it myself.

First off, I'm sorry but it is as bad for you as you think it is, however, it's even more scrumptious than you think it will be so just enjoy it! My pan of caramel is currently cooling and every time I pass it I take a spoonful, thankfully there's a lot of it!

Time To Cosy Up

It's the new year and the weather is definitely getting colder (finally) and so I thought I'd make the ultimate in comfort classics, tartiflette. Traditionally eaten after a long day on the ski slopes and appropriately filling, it's perfect for a winter night to be eaten by a roaring fire after a long walk in the countryside. Apparently, it's not such a rustic dish as one might think and was actually invented in the 1980s by the Reblochon (cheese) makers to boost sales!

Last Minute Gifts and Stocking Fillers

It's only a week until Christmas and while I'm sure most of you have already bought the majority of your gifts (if not check out my guides here and here) you might still be looking for a few little pieces, maybe to go in stockings? If so, then this is the list for you. All of these present ideas can be bought from chain shops (I love independents but by their very definition there's normally only one of them and that's just not practical for last minute things) and most cost under £10. With the other posts I have chosen a make and then suggested some of my favourites within their collection, while here I shall switch between item (e.g. biscuit cutters) and shops, depending on what you can get where - Paperchase have so many gorgeous things that it seemed silly to have a long list of ideas with only one item in each and all from the same shop!

Paperchase

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I think these christmas pudding bin bags (£10/12) are so cute and would make a great gift for the cook, and makes taking out the bins a bit more fun (as far as taking the bins out can be fun). Continuing the christmas pud theme is a set of juggling balls (£6) perfect for big and little kids alike. For me, recipe books are one of my ultimate weaknesses but I often find it hard to find my favourite recipes in a hurry (at university alone I have 30 or 40 cookbooks) so I write up my favourite recipes into a (now tattered and stained) Paperchase recipe book that a friend gave me for Christmas 2014. Paperchase sell fun patterned ones (£10 each) and a slick Molesine recipe journal (£18) that I aspire to, or finally you could go for loose cards and a box to store them in (paperchase £10), which are easier to transport. The other thing I rely on at uni is a meal planner to stop me from impulse buying my food (an expensive mistake). Normally, paperchase have a great selection in multiple sizes and also straight shopping list pads, but online they only seem to show this one (paperchase £8) which is a bit too cartoony for my tastes. Finally, for the cocktail enthusiast, there's a sweet gold toned cocktail shaker (£18) that says "Cheers!".

Gifts for Foodies

For those of you who would like to buy a present for a food-lover but don't want it to be, you know,  food, then here's a gift list for you. I've put together a few things that I have given or received in the past and loved, as well as a few things that I'm coveting. If you do want to give someone a food extravaganza for christmas then here's a link to my christmas hamper guide.

PANDORA

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Pandora have a few food related charms, my all time favourite being the cupcake (coincidentally the reason I bought a pandora bracelet in the first place). They also have some seriously cool looking cakes, including a three tiered one (that I can no longer find on their website). In fact, there are some many that I like it was hard to choose just three to show you. The cupcake (Pandora £40) was obviously on the shortlist but then, should there be an ice cream cone (Pandora £35)? A pineapple (Pandora £45)? or a teacup (Pandora £25)? In the end I decided to add to the list a pretty espresso maker (Pandora £35) for coffee lovers and a cool chef's hat (Pandora £35), appropriately named "I love cooking", for all those recipients who would just rather be cooking! If you need to get the bracelet (Pandora) to go with the charm then they start at £35 for a multi-strand strap and go up to £1,200 for a gold gold one! Don't worry though - the silver ones are £55 and hold at least 15 charms, or you can buy a leather one (£40-£50) although they recommend a maximum of 7 charms as the leather can stretch.