Super Fast Suppers, Chicken & Pesto Parcels

Posted on May 7, 2014 by Sarah Bacchus

With all the bank holidays we have had are you seriously exhausted after a long weekend of fun and partying, are you in need of a really triumphant meal that you can be proud of and are you looking for a very quick and heathy supper to cook in a jiffy. Here is one of our fast feasts just for those of you that want amazing and great food but just don’t have the time to slave over the hob for an hour. We give you Chicken & Pesto parcels. These take just 5 minutes to prepare, so look no further and stop googling “Fast meals for the family” just make sure you check out our site from time to time as we are the ones that will help you in the kitchen with step by step pictures too!!

You will need:

Chicken breasts (1 per person)
Red and green pesto
Celery salt
Fresh basil (dried of you can’t get to the shops)
Cherry tomatoes
Sides of your choice
Tin foil
35 minutes of prep and cooking time.

Grab the chicken and slice it up into thick strips, place on a sheet of tin foil load all the other ingredients on top. Really simple and really beautiful to the eye. You can add cheese and bacon bits if you have them or go crazy and add a good dollop of chilli for a really wicked kick.

Place these babies in the oven for 30 minutes and serve in the foil with your sides. We decided to chow down with balsamic mini roast potatoes, homemade coleslaw and a colourful salad.

Perfect for the busy family and perfect for those waistlines too!!

For more recipes and delicious fashion advice hop over to www.slbstyle.com or ask Sarah anything about food to fashion on Twitter @sarahbacchus

Finding Fennel

Posted on April 29, 2014 by Sarah Bacchus

Fennel is one plant that is more commonly used when dried and in curries. If you are looking for recipes for fennel the bulb itself they can be eaten raw and is delightful added to a salad. Here is a really simple dish you should try. Keep the flavours delicate as fennel has a rather a distinctive aniseed flavour. It pairs really well with celery and Lemon.

Eaten with a light tomato and basil salad for lunch, it’s a perfect healthy and rather wonderful way to keep your skin clear and also keep those dreaded pounds off too. After a weekend indulging in a few glasses of bubbly or your favourite wine, fennel is an ideal snack as its a diuretic and it has liver protecting properties when eaten raw, so it will help get rid of toxins. It is an amazing source of vitamin C, a good way to get fibre in your diet and not only does it taste great it will help to reduce elevated cholesterol levels. What a wonderful little plant this is!!

Here is a filling and easy dish to prepare for lunch or even a side dish with a nice slab of grilled salmon for supper. I have an amazing salmon and strawberry recipe I will share with you soon too! Keep your eyes out for that. Anyway back to the fennel dish.

You will need:

1 Fennel bulb
1 Lemon
6 celery stalks
2 tbs Olive oil
Ground black pepper
Tomatoes
Basil leaves to garnish

Slice up the celery and fennel in a food processor.

Add the freshly squeezed Lemon juice, Olive oil and lashings of black pepper. With clean hands get stuck in and it mix up. Garnish with basil leaves and serve with Sliced beef tomatoes, a drizzle of olive oil and a few basil leaves. Really simple and totally mind blowing on the taste buds.
For more recipes from Sarah visit www.slbstyle.com or Tweet her @sarahbacchus and have a healthy week guys!

Salmon & Strawberries

Posted on April 28, 2014 by Sarah Bacchus

As I promised in one of my other articles here is the ultimate meal. This has to be the most wonderful of dishes and when you try this you will feel like you have created the most delectable supper ever created. You will want to take credit for it but I know you won’t right! Surely you will tell everyone where you came across this brilliant recipe…. Who am I kidding you going to have a dinner party and dazzle in the compliments for weeks afterwards!

This dish will make your guests talk about how amazing you are in the kitchen, you will enjoy the accolade for eternity. Now just make sure you make it soon or you will be the one complimenting the chef.

Salmon has a very distinctive flavour that some find a little over powering and some really don’t ever have it due to this. This recipe will tenderise the flavour and give it a new twist. One that will send your pallet on a seductive journey to heaven. Its also a a very heathy supper as its very low in fat and high in protein. With all the good omega oils from the fish, perfect for glowing skin.

All you need for this dish is

Salmon
Strawberries
1/2 a glass of white wine
A pinch of salt and pepper

Also some simple side dishes of either roasted balsamic new potatoes and green beens or anything you like, it works well with pasta and rice, so let your imagination go wild.

Slice up the strawberries. Lay the salmon fillets in a baking tray and pop the slices on top.

Add the wine and the salt and pepper. Then cook for 30 minutes in a preheated oven gas mark 6 or 200c

Serve up and get ready to be taken to a place you have never been before! This dish is perfect with a nice cold glass of Pinot and lots of friends. Just so you can soak up all the comments! All good I promise you.

Have fun cooking this everyone and make sure you send me a little tweet @sarahbacchus to say het that was amazing. Once you have tried it you will be sharing this with everyone.

For more recipes visit www.slbstyle.com

The Smokin Joint

Posted on April 22, 2014 by Sarah Bacchus

The Smokin Joint is one heck of a foodies heaven. Urban street food at its very best and on the High Street in Winchester. Wednesday’s through to Saturday’s you can find Wes the owner dishing up some awesome fare. You will be dawn in by the pulled pork and grilled halloumi for those of you who are vegetarians. Made with real love and dedication, all the ingredients are smoked by Wes himself at the end of the day, ready for the next. He’s so passionate about the flavours its a real treat to just visit his stand and chat away about wondrous recipes. They have a new buttermilk chicken dish with a coating that will knock your socks off. Top secret ingredients of course!

Just look at that tempting halloumi…I think someone is ready to chow down and be taken on a gastronomic ride of her life!

We can’t get enough of the new buttermilk chicken and every time we visit Winchester we have to pop to see hime for a little snack. Topped with a tremendous homemade coleslaw that will nuzzle itself perfectly into the delicious meat. You will compliment Wes by rolling your eyes with total disbelief at how incredible it is. Who needs KFC when this beauty is in town.

Even the animal world can’t get enough of the aromas coming form the food stall. Come on drop some…anyone want to feed me! Poor pup didn’t stand a chance!

Get yourself down to Winchester pronto and make your way to the Smokin Joint soon for some seriously good food and say hello to the wonderful man himself. More importantly try one of each if you can’t decide what to go for, its so worth it.Say Hello to Wes on Twitter @smokinjoint88 and for more amazing lifestyle treats and fashion goodies head over to www.slbstyle.com and Tweet Sarah @sarahbacchus

Kyoto Kitchen Winchester

Posted on April 17, 2014 by Sarah Bacchus

Kyoto Kitchen is one of the best places to eat in Winchester. The staff are wonderful, attentive and they make you feel like you are the most important people to ever eat at this incredible Japanese restaurant.

The sushi, maki and sashimi are fabulous especially the tuna with poppy seeds, they will make you think you are in heaven. Every morsel will melt in your mouth and you will be pleasantly surprised, if you have never eaten raw fish or sushi before, you will be hooked. The scallops are always the main event for us as they are so jaw droopingly amazing, you will revel in the memories of their succulent and delicate taste for weeks on end after you have visited.

In actual fact the miso soup is on another level, you would be hard pushed to find anywhere that could possibly compare to this astonishing array of dishes. You will be blown away by the service and the food.

We ordered a few dishes, Tuna crusted with poppy seeds, Miso soup, Edamame beens, plain steamed rice and the chefs sashimi selection, washed down with a nice glass of merlot, a sensible glass of water and a tasty drop of mango juice.

This face was a picture….oooh just look at all that delicious, tasty and amazingly well presented platters. I was more than happy to dive in and savour every mouthful.

The flavours will send shivers down your spine and you will feel like an extra on master chef…Its that good!!

Every mouthful of every meal I have ever had there has been exquisite. The decor is tranquil, serene and beautiful, the staff are wonderful and the whole experience will make you want to take all your friends along for a festival of a feast.

We thoroughly recommend this fabulous restaurant!

Book a table now!

70 Parchment Street | Winchester
Hampshire | SO23 8AT
Tel. 01962 890895 | info@kyotokitchen.co.uk

For more info on places to visit, tons of Winchester delights and loads of fabulous fashion advice visit www.slbstyle.com and Tweet Sarah @sarahbacchus

Beech’s Chocolate Creams Review

Posted on April 16, 2014 by Catherine Balavage

Some things are more fun to review than others. Chocolate is one of those things right at the top of the enjoyable list.

We got sent a box of Beech’s Fine Chocolates Creams, actually, we got sent SIX boxes, and it really made our day. We devoured them in less than five days. Although we are not sure we should admit that.

All of these creams were amazing, although we all had different favourites. They are high quality, classy chocolates. Perfect for presents, if only to yourself.

Beech’s has been making chocolate since 1920 and contain only natural flavourings and colours.

£2.99 for 90g box.

Beech’s Fine Chocolates was opened in Preston in 1920 and has been supplying treats from its original factory in the town centre ever since, all made using only natural ingredients and traditional methods.

Beech’s currently supplies Marks & Spencer for its own brand Chocolate Brazils, After Dinner Mints, and Rose and Violet Creams.

Available from Amazon UK

www.beechsfinechocolates.com

Snack Attack! Snack Ideas From Frost

Posted on April 15, 2014 by Frostie

Choc Shot Liquid Chocolate

This is a brilliant invention. This liquid hot chocolate just needs to be stirred into hot milk. However it’s a hot chocolate that is not just for drinking. You can spread on toast, squeeze and shake for a milk shake and drizzle over ice cream, porridge and fruit. It tastes great, like a high quality dark chocolate. Not the bitter ones though, it is very sweet. It is 100% natural, low GI, GM and gluten-free, vegan and only 14 calories per tsp. Wow and wow. I think we just found out how we are going to be getting our chocolate fixes from now on.

Available from Tesco, Sainsbury’s, Waitrose and Ocado. RRP £3.59

Miso Tasty Spicy AKA Miso Soup

Really tasty, good soup from Miso Tasty, founded by pioneering chef and food blogger Bonnie Chung. Find it in supermarkets.

Cawston Press Cloudy Apple and Rhubarb Canned Drinks

These sparkling drinks are not only delicious, they are also different. Each is made from pressed fruit juices that are gently mixed with sparkling water. The cloudy apple and rhubarb both taste great and are refreshing. Has no concentrates, artificial sweeteners, preservatives or colourings.

Available from Waitrose, Booths, WH Smith and Whole Foods.

Nature’s Path Organic Nice And Nobbly Granola Bars, Dark Choc Chip and Trail Mix

These are the first granola bars from Nature’s Path, the organic cereal producer. They are gluten-free and endorsed by Coeliac UK. They are a lavish muddle of organic seeds, fruit, wholegrain clusters of golden-baked oats. The dark choc chip one has a healthy dollop of rich, Fair Trade dark chocolate and the trail mix has cranberries, almonds, peanuts, pumpkin seeds, coconut, flax seeds and gluten-free oats.

Available from Tesco.com, Waitrose and Sainsbury’s. RRP £2.99 for five.

Easy Lentil Soup

Posted on April 11, 2014 by Sarah Bacchus

Lentil soup has to be the best thing since sliced white bread with lashings of butter and sprinkled with fresh ground black pepper with a hint of rosemary to make it pop. This is really healthy, really simple and tastes wonderful. If you are looking for simple meals to cook for one just reduce the ingredients. This recipe will feed about 3-4 adults with some left over for the next day. It can also be frozen and reheated very quickly. Perfect for students looking for meals on a budget, or for a very quick supper when the larder is low!!

So very easy to do, this one pot magic takes about 25 minutes of chopping and cooking and eating time.
You will need

3 large carrots chopped into small chunks
1 tin of chopped tomatoes
1 cup of lentils
1 onion chopped up
3 celery stalks sliced thinly
3 spring onions sliced up
3 garlic cloves
salt & pepper
3 sprigs of rosemary finely chopped up
2 pints of water

Chop up the onions and lightly fry with the finely chopped rosemary and add the crushed garlic just before you add all the other ingredients so not to burn the garlic. Then bring to the boil for about 15-18 minutes. Or until the carrots are cooked though.Using a hand blender thin out the soup. Make sure most of the large lumps of carrot are blended and simply serve with crusty bread and garnish with a little rosemary.