L A T E L Y

• It may not look the most appetising and it sure as hell doesn't sound the most appetising, but I am still making this pasta with smoked salmon & kidney beans all of the time. Ok it's a bit of a weird combo. And the first time I made it I expected it to be awful. But for some reason, it just works - get the recipe here.
• I want to tell you that I have finally finished painting & decorating the flat. But I would be lying. As there's been a tin of radiator paint sitting unmoved in my hallway for the past 3 weeks. Must. Stop. Procrastinating.
• A rare moment of silence while Ava coloured in. Approximately 20 minutes before her and her other pint sized pal wrecked havoc on what was an otherwise tidy flat.
• I was introduced to my very first Herdsman's Lunch on a recent trip to Culross. Soup so thick you could stand your spoon in, delicious home made crusty bread, lashings of salty butter, ripe & juicy fresh tomato, chutney, salad & thick, smoked carvery ham. I would pick this over a Ploughman's any day of the week.

• A recent work lunch at Trattoria Genova where I ate Insalata Caprese (my favourite summer starter), followed by the most delicious pesto gnocchi I have ever tasted. If you live in Paisley or the surrounding area then this place is a must try!
• Summer, however, is no longer with us. And one of my favourite parts of this time of year (apart from all the cosy blankets, slow cooker recipes and scented candles), is the amazing setting skies I get to see from the comfort of my living-room
• New restaurant alert. I haven't had a chance to properly taste the food yet in brand new Al Forno in Glasgow's South Side. I can however confirm that the coffee & cannoli is out of this world.
• As we are talking about food (do I talk about anything else?), I think hotdogs are my new favourite guilty pleasure. Always with onions, always with that weird American bright yellow mustard you see in American style diners. And always all over my white top. I'll never learn.

• I am currently obsessed with any type of abundance bowl. And I am DIY'ing it all over the place. Mixing it up with my favourite grains, my favourite greens, maybe some chargrilled aubergine, always with a massive dollop of hoummous. How can something so healthy taste SO good?
• Gin. With lemon. Because it was all I had and I decided to go old skool. And it turns out I've been so busy hipstering my favourite spirit up with slices of cucumbers and lots of different types of fruit that I forgot how nice a classic G&T with a slice of lemon actually was. So there you go.
• Soup season is upon us! And I am on fire. I mean literally, I don't have enough room in my freezer for all the soup we are making!
• Pizza night. AKA Saturday nights at ours. Accompanied by Haribo, sometimes Maltesars & always whatever culinary treat we've baked that afternoon. All in front of X Factor. It seems Friday's are out and Saturdays are our new favourite night of the week.

• Speaking of whatever culinary creation we've baked that afternoon, Ava and I have been getting pretty good at this baking malarkey. Including these tasty little chocolate and shortbread cups and some rather yummy chocolate chip cookies that we managed to make about three dozen of! 
• Celebrating a lot of good news coming all in the one day.  I will basically celebrate anything if there is fizz involved.
• I was gutted to have never got the chance to try Bo Kantina before it closed it's doors recently. However I was super excited to see a pop up stall during a visit recently to Loch Lomond Shores. My sister & I split this Korean style burger and it did not disappoint.
• Finally, we bought a light box. And we can't stop playing with it. Even if we do keep falling out over who gets to put the letters in. She's at school now though so she needs to be more mature and give me a shot.