food Archives - SAHARASPLASH

saharasplash26 August, 2016

Marinade Masterclass with Heinz

Things started off pretty well this week for Yasmine and I as we made our way to the ever trendy East London for something very special. I made a bad decision to walk from Bethnal Green to Shoreditch High St in the midday heat to catch the overground but we made it on time, if not a bit hot and sticky! We were in for a real treat as we rocked up to the Berber & Q Bar and Grill for a marinade masterclass with Heinz.

We had the Berber & Q to ourselves for the duration of the afternoon, it was such a great place for the type of food we were cooking- homey but incredibly saucy which really reflected our surroundings.

We got settled in and met our masterchef Josh Katz as well as the Heinz team, the Golin team and some great guys from Unilad too. We got our very own Heinz aprons to wear as we went through everything from kitchen safety to the ingredients which looked so good!

Heinz Peri Peri & Honey Glazed Smoked Chicken Wings

For the rub- preferable to rub and marinade the day before

1tsp Smoked Paprika

1tsp Cayenne

½ tsp Cumin, ground

1tsp Black Pepper, coarse

For the marinade

60ml Heinz Peri-Peri Sauce

1tbsp Lemon Juice

10ml Maple Syrup

For the glaze- combine all together and heat on med/high before using on the wings

150ml Heinz Peri-Peri Sauce

90ml Clear Honey

30ml Lemon Juice

½ tsp Black Pepper, coarse

The Kitchen had its very own smoker so as soon as we had glazed the chicken all over, in they went! If you don’t have a smoker, here’s where the BBQ comes in. We grilled the lemons and added chopped parsley to finish this dish.

BBQ Whole Head of Broccoli, Harissa & Charred Spring Onion Aioli

The next part we got a little hotter as we went over to the grill with some fabulous veg. I learnt how to blanche and flame grill a broccoli too!

For the Charred Spring Onion Aioli

80ml Heinz Salad Cream

50g Crème Fraiche

2 Spring Onions, blackened on the grill & finely chopped

1 Garlic Clove, minced or finely chopped

15ml Olive Oil

15ml Lemon Juice

After blanching the broccoli we put them on the grill to make them lovely and crispy. To garnish we used 2 tbsp harissa and roasted hazelnuts to go with the Aioli, I cannot believe how intense and flavoursome this dish was!

We also did a duck recipe too but I couldn’t have it due to the soy sauce involved. But luckily, Josh was kind enough to create my very own duck and seasoned with a little Heinz Peri Peri, salt and pepper! All the sauces we used in the recipes from Heinz were gluten free and I think you should definitely try using some for a marinade or glaze the next time you fire up that BBQ! Thank you so much to Berber & Q, Josh, Heinz and Golin for such a wonderful marinade masterclass with Heinz, we are now fully stocked up on all the essentials for a while!

Saharasplash x

Thanks for reading my marinade masterclass with Heinz, why not check out some more great gluten free food, this time from Sainsburys!

saharasplash21 June, 2016

how to do a ‘girl’s night in’

Last week was my final week at my job. I have now left the office for the life of a full-time blogger, and I simply cannot wait to get started! I am hugely excited about this, and so I wanted to throw a little get together with the ladies to celebrate my new beginning. This blog post is all about how to do a ‘girl’s night in’ with style and I have some amazing companies that are a definite must for anyone planning on throwing the perfect party.

First up, you need to think about a theme. A theme is a great way to get everyone excited and will also help your guests to decide on a dress code too. My theme was carnival, so lots of bright colours, frozen cocktails and pineapples! I found an amazing company who helped me with the event, and they are Talking Tables. Talking Tables are an online retailer who specialize in party accessories and decorations. They have so many ranges for any occasion- birthdays, weddings, tea parties and of course an array of excellent goodies for a girl’s night in. I decorated the flat with fiesta fan garlands around the doors and sofa in wonderful bright colours, and we had a few parrots adorning the tables and chairs!

For the main table, we had the most amazing pineapple accessories, from pineapple picks for the giant cocktail glasses to pineapple sunglasses! We also had some flamingo ones too for some epic selfies. You can’t go wrong with some silly props to get everyone having some fun!

Talking Tables really do have such great quality items, even the patterned plates and wooden spoons helped to tie the whole carnival theme together.

For food, I went for something really easy and simple that you can’t go wrong with- chilli. I made a meat as well as a veggie chilli for everyone in less than 30 mins. You don’t want to keep your guests waiting ages for food, and getting a takeaway for large groups is pretty expensive. The ingredients for the chilli (mince, tomatoes, kidney and baked beans) plus rice will have you and your guests covered for under £15 which is a great budget, especially if drinks are happening!

Onto the drinks, I went for frozen cocktails. You can get these at all the major superstores and they are the perfect thing for a carnival theme! Fruity drinks are always going to be popular in the summer months, and it’s a great way to keep everyone happy without spending a fortune on spirits and taking up your time by making cocktails on the night. I want to thank Talking Tables for providing such a fantastic array of party accessories which made the night, the giant cocktail glasses were just perfect for our cocktails to share!

When planning how to do a ‘girl’s night in’ the right way, I wanted to organise something fun for us to enjoy as well as the selfies, drinks and food. This is where my second guest comes in- My Showcase.

Founded by 2 great women, My Showcase is an online store for luxury beauty products, but they also host parties so you can have a My Showcase expert come in with their products to talk you through them. This was such a nice surprise for my guests who didn’t know what to expect, and we had a wonderful time trying on makeup and spraying ourselves with wonderful scents! A few stand out brands of the night were Connock London, New CID and Aurelia.

To get more info and to host your own My Showcase party, click here. A massive thanks to our Stylist Katie for bringing her My Showcase selection for us! Plus a huge thanks to all my ladies who helped to make the party so great!

So there you have it, my how to do a ‘girl’s night in’. I would say to sum up, a mixture of the right theme, good home-cooked food plus a surprise for your girls will make your perfect night in!

Saharasplash x

For more lifestyle, check out what’s on my wach list right now!

PR Samples included

saharasplash17 April, 2016

The Blogger’s Tea Party at PopUp Patio

It’s that time again, time for another Bloggers Hangout event! This event was focused on food and drink and was hosted at the Pop Up Patio in Hoxton. It was a great location for a smaller event, and I took thetrousseaudiaries along with me too!

First, to the fashion:

I’m wearing a white lace boho blouse from Forever 21 and some tan high waist wide leg trousers from F+F. I went with a funky print shoe from the M&S Limited collection to finish my look- I got these in the sale at just £8.50! Best buy of the month.

Now, onto my top 5 brands from the event:

The Cocoa Den

The Cocoa Den is a company owned by Kate Burton who specialises in handmade chocolates. She creates the most intricate designs in chocolate, it was wonderful to see her creations as well as taste them too! Virtually all her chocolates are gluten free and they were so lovely! Here are my favourite designs:

Just Bee Drinks

Just Bee drinks were really awesome. They have just gone through a complete brand relaunch and I was really pleased to meet them at the event. They infuse each drink with just a single drop of honey and they use the best honey from this family-orientated business. They stock in Selfridges, Fortnum and Mason or you can buy from them directly too. A 12 pack is just £19.99 and they have 3 delicious flavours to choose from:

Chikas Snacks

Chikas snacks were really popular at the Bloggers Tea Party. Inspired by West African heritage this company is all about making a change for the better. Chikas snacks offer you a way to eat healthily (suitable for vegans and gluten free) and at the same time help do some good. For every subscription box ordered (starting at £4.99) you will also be paired with a child who needs support to receive an education. The snacks are so delicious, my favourite was the plantain crisps!

Drink Me Chai

Drink Me Chai are the number one instant Chai drink in the UK. I know I have been guilty of spending way too much money on chai tea lattes in Starbucks in my time, and so Drink Me Chai are the perfect solution for saving money and still being able to have those luxury drinks. Much like a hot chocolate, all you have to do is add hot water or a water/milk combo to 3 teaspoons of the mixture. It’s so perfect and blended so well, it’s definitely the best instant drink I have tried. These are available in Sainsburys, Tesco and Waitrose for £2.50!

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Snact

I reviewed these guys in my snackly box review a few months back, and it was great to try some more flavours. These snacks are 100% fruit so they are vegan and gluten free. The flavour is intense and so fruity! These are the perfect snacks for on the go, busy bloggers and for in the office too. They have also just launched a brand new flavour- apple, blueberry and banana which I am dying to try, they didn’t have it in time for the event so if I get my hands on a pack I will let you know on Snapchat and Twitter!

Thank you so much to the Bloggers Hangout team for organising such a fun event, Merrell and I had a great evening and we will definitely be blogging more about the brands there in the coming months! If you have any questions about any of the brands mentioned in this post, feel free to reach out to me on Twitter.

Saharasplash x

Catch up on the latest beauty post here- I trialled Mintycoco natural teeth whitening for 14 days!

saharasplash10 April, 2016

Brunch at The Hard Rock Cafe

I hope this post isn’t too long, but I just have so much to say about this particular spring weekend. I’m going to start with the outfit, then move onto the food and the drink because boy there was a lot of it! If you read on to find out what I got up to last weekend, I can’t promise you won’t come away feeling really hungry! You all have to go to brunch at the Hard Rock Cafe…

So first to the fashion:

I decided to go all black for the Rock and Roll brunch, black is my go-to colour and always looks classy. I’m wearing a Karen Millen crop jacket on top of a bodysuit and skirt.

The lace skirt is from Forever 21 and my bodysuit is H&M. I accesorized with a pair of gorgeous gold heels (also forever 21) and my bag is from LYDC.

Croc print and lace crochet really work well together!

So now onto the main event at the first ever Hard Rock Cafe to open, we queued outside and waited to be let in for 10am!

We were seated just inside on the main floor. We had great views of the restaurant, bar and also the band setup behind us.

As well as all you can eat for food, there were bottomless mimosas, bloody mary’s, tea and coffee.

The band led by A.J Moore and Johann Tingall played 3 sets, each set to go with the 3-course brunch. They played breakfast at tiffanys and other really great classics from Journey to Wheatus!

The waiters didn’t stop moving for the whole 2 hours, they were so happy and were enjoying bringing us the food just as much as we enjoyed eating it!

As you know I am gluten free, and the Hard Rock Cafe really has outdone itself since getting accredited by Coeliac UK. Craig, Jonathan and the kitchen and staff have made sure that anyone looking for a gluten free meal can come and enjoy not only the brunch on Sundays, but also enjoy a main meal and dessert from their gluten free menu. For brunch, I had just as much choice as the regular customers- they made gluten free pancakes and waffles which were fabulous, and I even had fried chicken which I have never had in any restaurant since being a coeliac! This along with mushrooms, tomatoes, crispy bacon and diced potatoes saw that I didn’t need to eat another bite for the rest of the day.

The bottomless brunch experience was absolutely amazing, I cannot thank the Hard Rock Cafe enough for such a great time. You can book your bottomless brunch for next Sunday right now right here! They are running the brunch right up until the end of April so get in there and get stuffed! (in the best way possible)

Saharasplash x

For another amazing experience, find out all about how I got to meet a real live owl at one of the poshest places in town!

saharasplash13 February, 2016

Grease is the word at The Hard Rock Cafe

I’m back and reporting from another amazing event- this time I was headed to the Hard Rock Cafe in London for a Grease themed night! The Hard Rock Cafe kindly invited me to the event as a blogger and I was thrilled to accept the invitation. So I’m here to tell you how Grease is the word at the Hard Rock Cafe London.

First things first, I stopped off at Rush Hair Salon on Piccadilly Circus after work for a masterclass hair session. The salon is doing a masterclass campaign this season so do go and check the details out here. They taught me how to back comb and had me style my own updo, I’m sure if you follow me on Twitter and Instagram you’ve seen the before and after photos, such a difference! So after my masterclass and my new updo, I was ready to step back in time to the 50’s and go have some fun at the Hard Rock!

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Pop Picturehouse partnered with Hard Rock to provide a full night’s entertainment. As well as the movie complete with actors playing the Rydell High heartthrobs and pink ladies, we also had a photobooth, makeup stations and themed props around the bar. Here are a few shots around the venue so you can see how fabulous the set up was on the night.

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makeup by Billie Eva

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An amazing setup and photobooth sponsored by simply ice cream

After having a cocktail and ordering some classic nachos (gluten free without the cheese sauce) we all gathered round the film screen and stage at 8pm to watch the movie. Grease has been and always will be one of my favourite movies of all time, so I was singing along with everyone else! Joining me on the night were Luisa, Lissa and Jasmine (pictured below with the actors)

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The actors came on at all the right moments and really lifted the already high spirits of the audience. They mimed to the best bits of the movie and danced perfectly to the classic songs- we all loved it!

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The next Pop Picturehouse event is happening very soon at the Hard Rock, this time it’s Spiceworld! Check out the Facebook page here for more info on how to get tickets.

I thoroughly enjoyed the event, it was so different to anything I’d been to before. Grease is one word which will never get old in my opinion, so thank you so much Hard Rock Cafe in collaboration with Pop Picturehouse for a rock n roll event!

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My very own yearbook!

I will be heading back to the Hard Rock Cafe very soon to do another review- this time in the restaurant!

Saharasplash X

If you’re up for another post featuring rock n roll, why not check out what I got up to at Icebar London

saharasplash2 February, 2016

A Twist on Toast with Kent and Fraser

It’s time for a good old gluten free blog post! I am raving about these new toasties from Kent and Fraser. Kent and Fraser are a London-based bakery who specialise in creating fabulous gluten and wheat free treats. These vary from biscuits and shortbread, to the all new toast range which I am so thrilled to talk to you guys about. Here’s to gluten free goodness as I look into a twist on toast with Kent and Fraser.

I have always been one for a chocolate or five during those days where you wake up and then carry on with your day as usual. It is fairly safe to say that I love it, sometimes a bit more than I should. So what really got me was how Kent and Fraser managed to turn a savoury snack into my new favourite guilty pleasure. Instead of reaching for the belgian seashells, I have been happily munching away on my crunchy toast slices. They are so unique and innovative as they put together flavours which you never think could work- but they really do!

Kent and Fraser have three mouthwatering flavours to choose from-

Cherry, Pecan and Poppyseed

Cranberry and Almond

Olive, Walnut and Pimenton

All three have such a luscious and rich flavour, you can eat them au natural or they are great served with traditional cheese and butter. The cherry pecan and cranberry almond really do satisfy my sweet tooth and I’m finding that I don’t need to reach for anything else after my main meal. They are chewy and crispy at the same time and the fruit really comes through to compliment the twice-baked toast slices. I like to eat these as they come- you don’t need anything extra as you can see, each slice is packed full of nuts and fruit.

Olives and walnuts are not two ingredients that I have in my cupboards, and it’s safe to say that I have never eaten a walnut on its own in my life. But I cannot get enough of these little green beauties. The pimenton comes through too but it’s not a harsh taste at all. The ingredients are perfectly balanced to create an artisan masterpiece, and for gluten free food that is definitely worthy of a hearty commendation. I love the olive and walnut toast with my favourite soft cheese- applewood cheddar. The smokey flavours of the applewood on the toast makes for one scrumptious snack!

I decided that I would have a little shoot in my London kitchen. I had so much fun eating the remainder of the toast snacks while photos were taken for about half an hour- aren’t the boxes just so colourful and bright? And then they were gone, oops! I’ve not enjoyed a gluten free snack like this in a long time, and Kent and Fraser are definitely worth trying out for gluten/wheat free goers and coeliacs.

The packs are only £3.35 each and are available to buy from the Honeyrose bakery website here. I really recommend trying all three out even if you are not partial to certain ingredients used in the toast. They really did surprise me in the best way by creating this wonderful twist on toast- so thank you Kent and Fraser! They also have a wonderful selection of biscuits, cookies and shortbread too!