I've been having a great time recently, I've just returned from a holiday in beautiful Rovinj where it was amazingly hot. Only this last week I attended the 25th Anniversary of The Hyatt Birmingham where the party, food and drink can only be described as amazing, I love the Hyatt.
I'm out and about for the next three weeks and for the majority of the time I'll be away from home. Today I'm in Beckenham and tomorrow I'll be trying to avoid the rain on the southbank in London where I'm reviewing a restaurant with Paul my London based blog partner. This next week is going to be a mix of culture, food, the odd glass of fizz, visiting a few independent coffee shops and shopping.
We're then going home for a few days and moving on to The Wirral for culture, food, and so on and so on.....then we're off to the Lake District, Scotland and the Peak District.
The blog is going to be a bit erratic but both Paul and I have some fabulous posts coming up:
The limited edition luxury trout that costs £300!
Christmas in July with Waitrose
Zwilling Press Event
The Hyatt Birmingham 25th Anniversary Party
Microplane Review
Stellar Cookware Review
Restaurant Reviews
Camp Bestival
Recipes
And that's just for starters! So please bear with us whilst we battle our way through the blog posts.
After indulging over the last few weeks we needed a few lighter meals, although true to say there is cheese and pasta involved in this meal which is no bad thing.
You will need:
Bag of washed prepared mixed leaves
Vine cherry tomatoes
Sundried Tomatoes
Cucumber sliced
Red grapes
cooked crispy smoked streaky bacon
2 small rounds of goats cheese
Dressing:
3 tablespoons extra virgin olive oil
1 tablespoon balsamic vinegar
Freshly ground pepper
Sea Salt
For the farfalle salad
110g farfalle pasta
Small handful of pine nuts
Small amount of washed spinach leaves
Extra Virgin Olive Oil to drizzle
Freshly ground pepper
Sea Salt
1. Arrange the salad ingredients onto a plate.
2. Grill the goats cheese gently until starting to melt.
3. Place the grilled goats cheese onto the salad.
4. For the dressing: Add the ingredients to a small bowl and whisk until mixed together. Pour over the salad immediately before serving.
5. For the farfalle salad: Fill a pan three quarters full with water, bring to the boil, add a sprinkle of salt. Add the pasta to the pan and cook on a gentle boil for 10 minutes or until cooked.
6. Drain the cooked pasta and rinse under cold water.
7. Place the cooled pasta to a bowl, add the spinach leaves and toss.
8. Place the pine nuts into a small frying pan and toast on the hob until lightly browned. Remove from the pan and cool.
9. Add the pine nuts to the salad.
10. Drizzle over the extra virgin olive oil.
