Recipe Post: Roast Winter Veggies

I can't remember the last time I actually cooked something decent.  My life is so hectic at the moment that unfortunately, I'm just stuffing my face with microwaveable meals and just plain old junk.  I know I'm doing a major disservice to my body and my health in general and I do realise that I need to get back on the right track.

Hopefully, yesterday's little cooking indulgence was one small step in the right direction!  I took a couple of much deserved hours off in the afternoon and managed to be home early enough to actually cook.  I stopped at the green grocer next door who had just brought in all the fresh goodies and got myself some of my favourite winter root veggies and made myself a huge dish of roasted veggies - one of my most favourite winter warmer recipes which is just so easy to make!

Here's how it goes:

Pick up some root veggies - I bought butternut squash, parsnips, sweet potatoes and fennel.  I found a lonely carrot lurking in the fridge and added that to the mix, together with the obligatory onion. You could also add a leek or use it instead of the onion.

I just love the smell of freshly chopped fennel

despite the smiley face, this butternut squash was still a b*tch to chop and peel!

Peel and chop all veggies in thick wedges.  If you prefer the fennel or onion to be less chunky, you can cut them in slices just like I do!

Place all veggies in a dish (I like using Pyrex or earthenware ones) and just about cover with water. Drizzle a tablespoon of honey and a tablespoon of BBQ sauce.  You can swap the BBQ sauce for Worcestershire sauce - as long as the sweetness of the honey and some of the vegetables is set off with that moorish, rich flavour of either one of these brown sauces, you're good to go.

Place in a heated oven (regular oven at 250degC) and slow cook for about an hour, folding the vegetables every so often so that they cook evenly.  The cooking length is quite dependent on your oven, really, and how crispy you like your veggies! An hour will give you nice caramelised edges with an al dente consistency.

As I said, the recipe is quite easy, though it does take some time in terms of preparation ... and the butternut squash is a b*tch to chop and peel! So if you can get your green grocer to chop it up at least, it'll help. But on the whole, it's so easy and delish! You can use it as a main vegetarian dish, topped with some goats cheese or as a side to your Sunday roast ... a change from the regular roast potatoes!

Let me know if you give this a try and whether you like it or not! Bon appétit xx

confession #000061

... or, strawberry fields forever

this morning started off in one of the most idyllic ways, at least for the city girl that i am.  freshly faced and clad in my rather bourgeois fred perry stripes, ankle-grazing skinnys and ballerinas, i hopped over to the farmer's market which is actually just round the corner from our apartment in krakow.  the 10 minute trip put me in a good mood and i figure i should adopt this as a bit of a habit ... though getting this done before the 07:30 start of work day schedule may seem a bit gruelling ...

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confession #000031

... or, this is no april's fool

i've been saying that i want to go back down to my (uk) size 6 for a very long time now. i've even started this blog specifically to keep myself accountable to myself and those who choose to follow, on my progress - or lack of - in this endeavour. 

my deadline starts ticking today.  and no, this is no april's fool. i am seriously going to stick to two very arduous promises challenges i'm making to myself: 

1: stick to the diet 

2: no shopping till london

as of today i have exactly 53 days to achieve this.  this is going to be my sort of 'post-lent' sacrifice.  i must confess that i haven't really made any sacrifices this past lent.  

on palm sunday, only a budvar original would do for the lone ranger

the 40 days and 40 nights included a trip to malta where i over-indulged in junk food and a trip to berlin where a macaron day (or two or three) was being celebrated at galeries lafayette.  tell me, how could i resist? i've also done a substantial bit of shopping over the past weeks, stocking up on spring clothes, only to leave them with their tags on in the wardrobe as the sub-zero temperatures don't seem to want to lift in krakow.  

snow on good friday ... now tell me if you wouldn't comfort-eat as well?!

and since i have 53 days left to go for my mini-break in the great capital of unbridled shopping, i found it to be a most alluring incentive. 

the realisation came to me yesterday, somewhere in between buying the gorilla twins vest top from the kooples, realising that westfield shopping centre is a mere 15 minute walk from my hotel in london and scoffing a family-size box of maltesers which had been jealously saved for a 'special occasion'.  easter seemed to have fit that brief, especially given the fact that we're missing figolli here.  anyway, i digress. 

with easter being a time of renewal and all that, i found that it was high time to renew myself and renew my challenges and promises, with these two being the ones which i most desperately need to keep.  i can't let myself - or you, my dear followers - down again.  not this time.  and this, is not an april's fool. 

confession #000026

... or, breakfast like a queen

oh god, i've done it.  i've done that which i was so hoping to avoid doing.  i pigged out in that most typical 'maltese family at an 'eat as much as you like' buffet'.  and i'm feeling the worse for it. 

i've just got back from the breakfast at the maritim proarte berlin hotel where i'm staying for these couple of nights.  in all truth and fairness, the abundance and variety at this breakfast somewhat triggers you into indulgence.  whether you're a carnivore, herbivore, health freak or sweeth-toothed individual, you're sure to find something to tickle your taste buds. 

as a lactose intolerant vegetarian, i could have opted for soy yoghurt and soy milk.  instead, i decided to have one of my lactase pills which help me digest milk products and had my way with the 'real' dairies on display.  well, i did opt for the bio / organic yoghurt, goat cheese and brie versions ... but still.  tomorrow morning, i promise, i will opt for the soy versions - and other healthy stuff, i.e. less or no bread, more fruit, no fried mushrooms or baked beans ... and no pancake with nutella to end on a sweet note.  promise.  

as some of you know, at the moment i'm conducting a little find-out on where i should take this blog.   if you haven't yet answered my little questionnaire, i would greatly appreciate if you do so here.  from the feedback received so far, more outfit and travel posts are being requested ... so i'm going to be pro-active about it and let you in on a few travel points about this trip, as well as some outfit shots.  hope you enjoy them!

basically, this is the second time i'm visiting berlin and i'm lucky enough to be here for a practical seminar on social media which i need for my full time work, and which honestly speaking, interests me very much from a personal perspective as well.  i'm staying at the maritim proarte which is on friedrichstrasse - the main shopping street in berlin.  i couldn't have asked for a better location! the hotel is just a 5 - 10 minute walk from galerie lafayette and 3 h&m stores so i'm pretty much in heaven! 

having just a few hours to spare during this stay, i don't have much time to visit the sites.  i had done that about a year ago when i first came to berlin, though i must admit that in such a historic and culturally diverse city, i'm sure i haven't managed to cover them all.  i'll write an entire post on the 'must-go' sites in berlin another day as i soon have to go to register and start my first day of the seminar.  some little points about the hotel and its location though before i go ... the hotel itself is pretty fantastic:  the room i'm in has just about everything you can ask for (though i did request an additional, firmer pillow!) and the front desk staff are very kind and friendly.  i think the only thing i'm not keen on in this hotel is the over-abundance of art pieces which welcome you in the lobby and as you walk along the floors to the rooms.  i mean, i love art, especially modern and contemporary, but the sheer abundance of pieces, battling for attention, render it more of a cluttered art shop than a contemporary art space.  i'm not really sure which look the hotel designer was going for, but i suppose s/he wanted to live up to the 'proarte' tag in the hotel's name.  

as i said earlier, i'm here on work-related training, so while the atmosphere at these events tends to be a little more relaxed, an element of professionalism still needs to be retained.  that is why i chose to wear dark skinny jeans and a boxy tuxedo blazer for the first day.  i find the blazer-jeans combo to be such a 'safe' combination that you just can't go wrong with it.  i teamed these with my burberry brit vest - since i'm in the so called 'upper east side berlin' - and leopard print flats.  being (very) short, i could have done with some heels but lately i'm opting more for flats and saving heels for occasions which really call for them.  i decided to pull my hair in a low ponytail, to retain a little air of professionalism about the look (and not give much prominence to my more hipster dip-dye!).  also, i find that blazers tend to look better with hair pulled back or in a top knot, thereby emphasizing structured shoulders and making the look an altogether cleaner one. 

blazer: miss selfridge; vest: burberry brit; jeggings: suite blanco; leopard print pumps: h&m (i'm not proud of the black stockings peeping out but a girl needs to keep warm somehow!); leopard print earrings: h&m; ring: independent store

ok, it's actually time for me to start heading off to the welcome coffee but i promise to write more about this trip later today or tomorrow. have a good day my lovelies xx