I was lucky enough to catch them live at The Roundhouse (London, Camden) at the end of last year on their ‘Showroom of Compassion’ tour. Here’s a link to one of my favourite tracks from their first album ‘Motorcade of Generosity‘ for your listening pleasure.

Enjoy, SLS x

Any funds raised for the Leukaemia and Lymphoma Unit at UCH will go towards improving patients’ experience by providing state of the art medical equipment, amenities, complementary therapy for patients and supporting postgraduate education for nurses. The unit treats patients with leukaemia, lymphoma, sickle cell anaemia, thalassaeimia and all other haematological disorders and it is part of UCLH charities.

The London Stadia Trekathon is a 26 mile walk including many of the Olympic venues and London’s historic sights and parks on the 1st September 2012.

We’ll be donning our trainers and tracksuits for the day and walking through;

* The Olympic Park in East Stratford

* Regents Park

* Lord’s Cricket Ground

* Green Park

* Buckingham Palace

* Horse Guards Parade

* Greenwich Park

* North Greenwich Arena

I’ll keep you posted with our training updates and fundraising progress here on the blog.

Meanwhile, if you’d like to sponsor us the easiest way to do so is through the Just Giving page we’ve set up, it’s simple, fast and totally secure. Once you donate, they’ll send your money directly to the charity and make sure Gift Aid is reclaimed on every eligible donation by a UK taxpayer.

This is a charity really close to our hearts, so we’d appreciate your support. Please dig deep and donate now!

Many thanks

SLS xxx

You may have noticed that i’ve cleared out the majority of my old posts, I suppose I just thought that the first week of January is as good a time as any for a fresh start, a new outlook and a good ol’ slug of PMA (Positive Mental Attitude that is, nothing to do with being premenstrual). Whether that sentiment holds or not remains to be seen, but for argument’s sake let’s believe it to be true.

So what’s the gossip you ask? What’s changed in Sarah’s world in the last year? Simple answer. EVERYTHING. EVERYTHING HAS CHANGED. But for the good. 

I won’t bore you with anymore of the details, but I will tell you that I’m super-duper happy. And as for 2012? I just can’t wait to create some fabulous new memories.

Happy New Year x

Again, this winter recipe took my fancy and it’s far too good not to be shared with you all.  

Serves 6

• 1.2kg stewing steak
• sea salt and black pepper
• 2 onions
• 2 green peppers
• 2 red peppers
• olive oil
• 2 tsp mild paprika
• 1 tsp caraway seeds
• 1 x 400g tin chopped tomatoes
• 200ml red wine 
• 200ml beef stock

To serve (optional)

• sour cream
• extra paprika
• chopped flat-leaf parsley

Preheat the oven to 160C/140C fan/gas 2½. Season the steak all over and set aside.

Peel and thinly slice the onions. De-seed the green and red peppers then cut  into thin strips.

Heat a tablespoon of olive oil in your casserole pot over a medium-high heat on the hob. Sear the steak on all sides to colour it. Remove the steak, turn the heat down a little, add another couple of tablespoons of oil and fry the onions for several minutes until starting to colour, stirring frequently, then add the peppers and continue frying for a few minutes more.

Stir in the paprika and the caraway seeds, then add everything else including the tomatoes, the wine, beef stock and some salt and bring to the boil.  Finally add the steak, cover and cook for 3½ hours, turning the beef halfway through, by which time the meat should be beautifully tender. Taste for seasoning.

Serve with dauphinoise potatoes and a pair of slippers.

First published in YOU, Mail on Sunday

Read more: http://www.dailymail.co.uk/home/you/article-1320818/Recipe-All-beef-goulash.html#ixzz167Zt7wjk

As you know I have been experimenting with various different comfort food recipes to warm the cockles and keep out the cold weather.

The very simple tagine recipe below (again discovered while flicking through YOU magazine at work)  is one of my new favourites. Partly because it’s a case of chuck it all in the pot and forget about it while it slow cooks on the hob for an hour and a half.

Serve with plain or spiced cous cous and a glass of red wine.

Serves 6

• 600g leg of lamb trimmed of fat and diced
• 2 onions
• 250g-300g plum tomatoes
• 75g stoned medjool dates
• 1 rounded tbsp ras-el-hanout seasoning – available from Taj in Brighton
• 4 tbsp coarsely chopped coriander
• Juice of ½ lemon (or lime)
• A knob of unsalted butter
• Pinch of sea salt

To finish

• 1 x 400g tin chickpeas
• 150g spinach leaves
• Toasted or plain sesame seeds for sprinkling

Cut the lamb into 3cm-4cm pieces and put to one side. Peel and finely chop the onions, if you don’t have a food processor by hand is fine. Skin and chop the tomatoes, then halve the dates lengthways.

Stir the chopped onions and spice mixture in a medium-sized, lidded casserole dish. Add all the remaining tagine ingredients, plus 500ml water. Bring the mixture to the boil and skim off any foam that rises to the surface. Put on the lid and cook on the hob over a very low heat for 1½ hours or until the lamb is tender.

Drain and rinse the chickpeas and stir these through the tagine. Scatter over the spinach, cover, and cook for 5 minutes more, stirring in the spinach halfway through. Scatter with more coriander and a few sesame seeds if required.

First published in YOU, Mail on Sunday

We were both feeling particularly lazy this weekend so Saturday was spent making a spicy pork and bean cassoulet recipe I found while flicking through YOU magazine at work last week and then carving pumpkins in preparation for Halloween while the cassoulet was happily bubbling away in the oven.

Here are a couple of pictures of the finished carved pumpkins, we were rather proud.

The cassoulet turned out beautifully and went perfectly with a glass of very cold pink champagne and some warm crusty garlic bread on the side. Here is the recipe, although I haven’t included a picture on this occasion as cassoulet doesn’t seem to photograph particularly well…

Serves 6
400g pork fillet
olive oil
sea salt and black pepper
400g garlicky or spicy sausages such as toulouse
125g rindless smoked streaky bacon diced
1 onion peeled and chopped
2 carrots trimmed peeled and sliced
1 celery heart sliced
2 garlic cloves peeled and crushed
1 x 400g tin chopped tomatoes
3 x 400g tins haricot or cannellini beans drained
600ml chicken stock
1 bay leaf
1 small dried red chilli crumbled
100g fresh white breadcrumbs

1 Preheat the oven to 160C/140C fan/gas 2½. Have ready a large lidded casserole dish.
2 Thickly slice the pork fillet. Heat a teaspoon of oil in a large frying pan over a medium heat, season the pork slices and fry each side to colour them, working in batches and removing to a bowl as you go. Now colour the sausages all over, adding more oil to the pan if necessary, and set aside with the pork.
3 Heat a couple of tablespoons of oil in the casserole over a medium heat, add the bacon and fry for 4-5 minutes until lightly coloured, stirring to separate the pieces. Add the onion, carrots, celery and garlic and continue to fry for about 5 minutes until glossy and starting to colour, again stirring frequently. Add the tinned tomatoes, the drained beans, the stock, bay leaf, chilli and just a little salt, then add the sausages and pork. Cover and pop into the oven for 2 hours.
4 Towards the end of this time, heat a few millimetres of oil in a large frying pan over a medium heat (the oil is hot enough when a cube of bread is surrounded by bubbles if immersed). Add the breadcrumbs and fry until golden and crisp, stirring frequently. Drain on double kitchen paper. Serve the cassoulet with the crumbs scattered over. 

Recipe first published in YOU magazine, Mail on Sunday

Business Directory for Brighton, East Sussex

On Saturday afternoon my man and I went along to Apple Fest at Middle Farm (located in Firle, just outside Lewes) to celebrate the arrival of the autumnal apple crops, try some of the delicious (yet surprisingly strong) ciders on offer and take part in the village-fête style activities.

After being exposed to the chilly air all afternoon we were both feeling quite wintery and in need of some hearty sustenance, so it seemed natural to make a traditional cottage pie to fill our rumbly tummies. Comfort food at it’s finest.

I go by this recipe which I have adapted to taste over the years. I find the addition of Marmite works quite well, but if you really do hate it, Worcestershire Sauce is a great substitute.

For the beef mince: 

• 1 tbsp olive oil
• 1 large red onion chopped
• 1 cup of fresh shelled or frozen peas
• 3 medium carrots, coarsely grated
• 2 cloves garlic, very finely chopped or crushed
• 560g good quality beef mince
• 250-290ml hot beef stock
• 1 bay leaf
• 1 tsp of dried rosemary
• 1/2 tbsp of Marmite OR Worcestershire Sauce
• 2 tbsp tomato purée
• salt and freshly ground black pepper

For the mashed potato topping:

• 750g potatoes, peeled and chopped into small pieces
• 250g mature cheddar, finely grated
• 75g butter
• 100ml hot milk
• Olive oil – to brush

 Method

• Heat the oil in a large pan over a medium-ish heat. Add the garlic, chopped onion and grated carrot and cook gently, stirring briskly for about 5 minutes. Add the mince, turn up the heat and cook for a further 5 minutes being careful not to burn the onions, stirring until the meat is browned. Add the tomato purée and cook for roughly a minute, then pour in the beef stock, Worcestershire sauce (or Marmite) and rosemary. Finally add the peas and the bay leaf, stir through then cover and reduce to a simmer for about 20-25 minutes. Uncover and cook for a further 10-15 minutes. Season with the salt and pepper, then transfer into your oven-proof dish and set aside.

• For a dreamy-creamy mash potato topping, cut the peeled potatoes into small-ish chunks and put into a large pan of cold salted water. Bring to the boil and simmer for about 20 minutes or until very tender (ideally they should fall apart). Drain and return to the pan to the heat for a moment, then mash with the hot milk and butter until both are absorbed. Add the grated cheese and stir in thoroughly making sure you have virtually no lumps and finish with a couple of turns of the black pepper mill.  

• Preheat the oven to 190C. Gently spoon the mash onto the layer of mince and roughly spread with a metal fork to create a pattern. Brush (or spray) lightly with olive oil. Bake for 25-30 minutes, until the mash is golden and the mince is bubbling underneath.

• Serve with a simple dark green salad and a glass of good Merlot.

S x

Business Directory for Brighton, East Sussex

For years I have been trying to perfect my home-roast dinner. I could never seem to get the potatoes quite right (which is clearly the most important bit), they were always a bit too soft on the outside and somehow the chicken breast always went dry no matter which recipe I followed.  

Eventually though, through much trial and error, I have fathomed the best (and easiest) method for both. My man and my friends agree!

Happy cooking!

To prepare the chicken (Cooking time will vary according to the weight of the bird – the rule is 25 minutes per 500g plus 25 minutes)

• Preheat your oven to 190°C
• Break a garlic bulb into cloves, peel and halve two of them
• Using a sharp knife make four small incisions in the chicken skin (being careful not to cut the flesh) – one on each breast and one on each thigh
• Push a knob of butter and half garlic clove under the skin where you have made each cut
• Cover the bird with rashers of bacon (you will need about five, I prefer smoked), being careful to cover the areas stuffed with garlic and butter
• Place in a roasting dish, cover with foil and pop in the oven
• Adding the bacon means that the chicken will baste itself, so you can pop your feet up
• Remove the foil cover 30 minutes before the end of cooking time to brown the chicken skin
• Use the juices from the chicken and water you’ve boiled the potatoes in to make your gravy (Tip: adding ice cubes to the gravy will lift out the fat)

Best roast potatoes

• Peel and chop potatoes into small-ish pieces
• Parboil in salted water until quite soft but not completely cooked though
• Swoosh them around the colander to fluff them up/smash the edges slightly
• Put them to one side and leave them to dry out in the colander for a while (the longer the better, but at least 30-40 minutes)
• Put half duck fat and half sunflower oil into a roasting dish along with a couple of unpeeled cloves of garlic (a good glug of sunflower oil and about a tablespoon of duck fat)
• Put the dish of oil into the oven (190°C) to heat up
• When the fat is hot and starts to spit, remove it from the oven
• Carefully put the cold potatoes into the dish and coat them in the hot fat
• Sprinkle the potatoes with some salt or mixed herbs and make sure they are evenly coated
• Put them into the oven at 190°C for roughly an hour and a half until the potatoes are golden all over
• Perfection! Crispy on the outside and fluffy in the middle!

I like to serve with cauliflower cheese, al dente carrots, broccoli, garlic-fried courgettes and of course a big glass of chilled Sancerre.

Enjoy! S x

Business Directory for Brighton, East Sussex

Having left home at quite an early age I became quite domesticated quite quickly. Lest to say because of this fact I do enjoy a good cook-off in the kitchen every now and again – no copies of Vogue in my oven.

One of my favourite recipes for having people over at the weekend is a good ol’ homely lasagne… I tried the following recipe out (developed over many years through trial and error) on my man last week and in the case of Man vs. Food, man won.

Meat sauce shopping list….
500g steak mince from the Butcher
200g smoked bacon – chopped with fat removed
250g white button mushrooms – diced
1 beef stock cube
1 glass red wine
1 red onion – chopped
1 large carrot — grated
1 tin chopped tomatoes (I like the ones with herbs)
1 red bell pepper – cored and diced
2 sticks of celery = diced
2 cloves garlic – very thinly sliced
4 tbsps Olive oil

For a good bechamel sauce I use this BBC recipe:
http://www.bbc.co.uk/food/recipes/database/bechamelsauce_70004.shtml

Toppings
1 box Napolina lasagne sheets
1 mozarella ball — torn
270g medium cheddar = grated
Small piece Parmigiano-Reggiano — finely grated

Preheat the oven to 180ºC/350ºF/gas 4. In a large saucepan slowly fry the bacon, then add the onion, carrot, celery, pepper, mushrooms and garlic and about 4 tablespoons of olive oil. Mix together, then add the beef and beef stock. Cook for about 5 minutes, then add the tinned tomatoes and the wine and bring to the boil. Simmer for about 40 mins. When the sauce is done, season to taste and put to one side. Then start making your Bechamel sauce…

Turn the oven to 200ºC/400ºF/gas 6. To build the lasagne, rub the lasagne dish with olive oil, lay some sheets of lasagne over the bottom and add a layer of meat, a little white sauce and a sprinkling of cheddar and Parmesan. Repeat the layers, finishing with a layer of pasta covered in white sauce. Tear over the mozzarella and sprinkle with some extra Parmesan. Cook in the preheated oven for 40 -45 minutes until golden.

Allow to cool for minimum of 1 hour and cook for a further 40 mins on a slightly lower heat, this will ensure the layers stay firmly in place (I hate sloppy lasagne ).

Et voila! Serve with crunchy salad, garlic bread and a glass of chilled Pinot Blush - deliciousioso! S x

Business Directory for Brighton, East Sussex

Since then, it’s been something I carry with me in my mind everywhere I go.

Two roads diverged in a yellow wood,

And sorry I could not travel both

And be one traveler, long I stood

And looked down as far as I could

To where it bent in the undergrowth.

Then took the other, just as fair,

And having perhaps the better claim,

Because it was grassy and wanted wear;

Though as for that the passing there

Had worn them really about the same.

And both that morning equally lay

In leaves no step had trodden black.

Oh, I kept the first for another day!

Yet knowing how way leads onto way,

I doubted I should ever come back.

I shall be telling this with a sigh

Somewhere ages and ages hence:

Two roads diverged in a wood, and I–

I took the one less traveled by,

And that has made all the difference.

Robert Frost