TrendLife Food

Leeds is laying out a smorgasbord of tasty bites for foodies of the north in their festival from 25th - 27th May. Enjoy a whole host of events and offers from Create, as part of the Leeds Loves Food festival this year. Catch their talented chefs live on stage at the Theatre Kitchen at 4pm on Saturday 26th May, or why not book onto the'Create Loves Food Quiz' for a morning of foodie fun? You can also find out how to make the perfect Yorkshire afternoon tea or pick up a signed copy of Brian Turners lastest recipe book. For a full list of events and times head on over to the festivals site:

http://www.leedslovesfood.com

It may be rainy and grey but we have some news that may make you smile: it's National Chocolate Chip Day! Hoorah! Have all those childhood memories come flooding back yet?

So first a fun fact and then a classic chocolate chip cookie recipe to mark the occasion.

Chocolate chips were invented in 1933 when Ruth Graves Wakefield of the Toll House Inn in the town of Whitman, Massachusetts added cut-up chunks of a semi-sweet Nestlé chocolate bar to a cookie recipe. 

Simple but perfect chocolate chip cookies:

 Ingredients:

• 350g of flour

• 1 tsp bicarbonate of soda

• 1 tsp salt

• 225g butter

• 175g caster sugar

• 175g brown sugar

• 1 tsp vanilla extract

• 2 eggs

• 350g chocolate chips

   

  Let's Bake:

  Preheat the oven to 190C/375F/Gas 5.

  In a bowl mix the flour, baking soda and salt.

  In a second bowl, mix the butter, sugar, brown sugar and vanilla extract until creamy. Beat in the eggs. Slowly beat in the flour mixture & then stir in the star of the show, the chocolate chips!

  Halve the dough and roll them into sausages. Cut them into 2cm thick slices and place on a baking tray. Let everyone know they were lovingly made by your fair hands by stamping each cookie with the "Home Made" stamp from GettingPersonal.co.uk.

  Leave plenty of space inbetween the cookies as they will expand when they cook.

  Bake for 9-11 minutes.

  Devour with a glass of cold milk!

   

OR if you're feeling lazy and indulgent you could use Triple Chocolate Chip Cookie Mix from Prezzybox. It makes chocolate cookies with creamy Belgian milk and white chocolate chips, making this product a dream for any chocoholic. 

This weekend 40 bakers will descend on Brixton Market to battle it out to be branded best bake. The event is being judged by local businesses and celebs Victor Scalzo from Patisserie Valerie and Levi Roots. The event starts at 10 so you can buy the fares but the winner won't be announced until 1. To top off the event they will have swing dances throughout the day too. What a wonderful throw back for a saturday morn.

The deep and rich aroma of roasted beans can rouse you out of the deepest slumbers and help shake off the cloudiness of late afternoon energy dips. But gone are the days of thinking coffee as simply a necessity, an ever day occurrence lumbered in with the washing up and commuting; coffee has fast risen to become known as the daily luxury. With connoisseur worthy coffee shops springing up all over the country, we are all firmly coffee appreciators now and have begun experimenting with drip methods, antipodean influences and pressure brewing. If you’re looking to widen your horizons, chase your next caffeine hit or discover new methods then we’ll see you down at the London Coffee Festival. If you can’t make it there are lots of events going on for Coffee Week (April 23-29) and it’s all in aid of Project Waterfall.

Now I have had a small bone of contention with Mr K after I excitedly bought a giant Fondant Fancy birthday cake, with the sole intention of devouring it single handedly, only to find it tasted nothing like it's little sister. Anyway a long, and ignored, complaint later I have never since been able to find satisfaction with his cake.

That was until I could get cake, for free, at the bus stop.

At first I turned up my nose at the people excitedly pulling out their prize, but as the bus had not yet arrived and people were rubbing their tummies in slow motion induced delight, I sharpened my elbows and made my way to the front. Needless to say this experience was no high tea at the ritz, but the satisfaction was humble and my ever pessimistic nature was for a brief second lost at this heart warming of gestures. The way to my heart certainly comes in the way of free, baked goodies.

From now until the 1st of April the cake connoiseur will be giving away a breath taking 130,000 slices (this is honestly the stuff of my dreams) in the genius bus advert dispensers.

The slices come in five different flavours: Angel Slice, Lemon Slice, Pineapple Slice, and the two Easter varieties - St Clements and Simnel Cake.

Please resist the temptation to re-route your bus though ladies, lets not get greedy.

Locations:

CORPORATION STREET BIRMINGHAM

BULL STREET BIRMINGHAM

RENFREW ST GLASGOW

HOPE ST GLASGOW

FINCHLEY ROAD CAMDEN

EDEN STREET KINGSTON

WELLESLEY ROAD CROYDON

TOTTENHAM COURT ROAD CAMDEN

THE BROADWAY WIMBLEDON MERTON

EUSTON ROAD CAMDEN

CHALK FARM ROAD CAMDEN

NEW OXFORD STREET CAMDEN

HIGH HOLBORN,GRAYS INN ROAD CAMDEN

CROSS STREET MANCHESTER

PICCADILLY MANCHESTER

KING ST MANCHESTER

MILTON STREET NOTTINGHAM

THE MOOR SHEFFIELD

HIGH STREET SHEFFIELD

If like me your love for Jamie Oliver has been fully rekindled after watching only a few minutes of Jamie's Great Britain, then you MUST get down to the ExCel centre this weekend!

Prepare for the festive season and treat yourself to an indulgent and entertaining day out. Discover a world of food and drink, and learn from the best in the business with chef appearances from Jamie Oliver, Hugh Fearnley-Whittingstall, Rachel Allen, Gary Rhodes, Eric Lanlard, Michel Roux Jr. and many more. 

Enjoy seasonal menus from some of the capital's top restaurants,and polish your holiday entertaining ideas at the wine and cheese matching, beer or chocolate tastings.

For tickets, visit tasteofchristmas.com or call 0871 230 7132

After the enormous success of their first Free Lunch Giveaway way back in March, the lovely Stewed! team are going to be at it again in December! They have teamed up once again with their fellow purveyors of healthy, premium goodies, Pulp and Firefly and as a pre-Christmas treat will be handing out 1,000 free lunches to commuters all over London. The covetable lunches will consist of a lemon, lime and ginger Firefly tonic, a Pulp 100% pure fruit pouch and a Stewed! one-pot wonder (which are wonderfully gluten-free).

They’ll be out from 7.45am from 5^th – 9^th December at London Tube Station locations.

Top tip: The locations will be announced the day before on their twitter account @stewed, so keep your eyes peeled and your elbows sharp.

www.steweduk.co.uk

Do you know your Chablis from your Chardonnay?

Time to brush up at London's Wine Show at Olympia then. From taste testing (the best bit) to expert advice and wine walks it's the perfect excuse to spend an entire day surrounded by wine (Christmas still feels a way off). You'll also get free entry to Masterchef: LIVE and all the Torode/Wallace goodness.

The Wine Show; 11-13 November; from £20.50; Olympia, Hammersmith Road, W14

www.wineshow.co.uk