Rachel Ellen

Thursday, 2 February 2017

Mushy Piles of Falafel

Last night I went to bed excited to cook the next day, knowing that I'd have a lovely blog post to write.

Today just isn't my cooking day. From the poached egg I accidentally boiled and then dropped on the cooker (the cooker was clean, the egg still tasted ok), I don't know how it happened. To the falafel incident.

I found a recipe in a little vegetarian book I bought (check out my post about a Meat Free February), it looked easy, even for a novice cook like me.

I adjusted the amounts slightly, admittedly, not perfectly, but I really feel like mine shouldn't have looked the way they did.

I've had falafel before, but this didn't really seem right, I put way too much lime in and they tasted burnt and mushy. And it wouldn't stay stuck together.

Safe to say the mushy pile went in the bin.

If anyone has any good recipes for falafel, please let me know!

Yesterday, I made Carrot and Parsnip soup, check out the blog post I wrote last year about how to make it. Now you can see how terrible I am at cooking, you can see how easy the soup is to make.

Stir fry for tea, even after staring at a full head of broccoli for longer than necessary.

So far, my veggie month is a bit hit and miss, but it is only the second day. Maybe I'll stick to the simpler cooking from now on.

Thanks for reading,

Rachel xx

Monday, 30 January 2017

meat-free February 16:10

Meat-Free Feburary

by Rachel

To me, February is all about resolutions. January is a no go. I won't go into detail now but check out my post from two years ago to see why - here.

I usually like to give something up for the full month, crisps, chocolate, that sort of thing.

But this February I've decided to try something a little harder. I'm going to give up meat for the month.

Now, I'm not a big meat-eater anyway. I only really eat chicken, mince and bacon (and other similar tasting cured ham). But I felt, if I could do a whole month without meat, how much more adventurous would my cooking and my tastes be?

I'm undecided on the fish thing at the moment, in all honesty the only fish I eat is tinned tuna. I know there are a lot of pescatarians (vegetarian but eats fish). What do you think, should I eat tuna or get rid of that too?

I've bought a vegetarian cook book, I have been scouring pinterest for meal ideas and I have spent far too much on a food shop.

My aim is to learn how to cook without meat more often, and perhaps to be healthier by eating more vegetables.

I will try and keep my blog updated throughout the month, I have a board on Pinterest called Vegetarian Meal Ideas, my username is therachelwood. I might also put some meal pictures on Instagram, username: Racheleiwood

Let me know what you think, are you vegetarian? Have you tried meat free meals?

Thanks for reading, wish me luck!

Rachel xx

Thursday, 26 January 2017

beauty 17:01

Rust Eyeshadow

by Rachel

If you follow anything in the beauty world, bloggers, vloggers, that sort of thing, you've probably heard of the Anastasia Beverly Hills Modern Renaissance palette by now. everyone is going crazy. I wasn't really prepared to spend £41 on this, I'm too poor and that is way too much on colours I've not really used before.

The colours that I was quite interested in were the reddy-pinky -rusty colours. So Red Ochre, Venetian Red, Love Letter, Antique Bronze.

So I decided to go to Boots and Superdrug to see if I could find something that might be a similar colour, but I think everyone in Sheffield has had the same idea, any palette with a slightly similar colour, or any single pot of eyeshadow that's anywhere near these colours is absolutely sold out.

The ONLY thing I found with that kind of colour (I'm not joking) was this NYX Jumbo Eye Pencil in Rust. I've never seen anyone review them before but I thought it was worth a try

The pencil is a little tough, but I think if my bedroom was a little warmer than -15 degrees it might be softer.

The colour is quite burgundy rather than red and has quite a nice colour pay off.

For anyone wanting to try that kind of colour without splashing out the £41, I think this is a really good idea

What do you think of these red colours for eyes?

Thanks for reading,

Rachel xx

Sunday, 1 January 2017

lifestyle 12:56

Happy moments

by Rachel

It's looking a lot like 2016 is going to be a year that we all recoil from in the future, the "don't talk about it" year, or kids saying "when did that celebrity die?" and we answer "probably 2016", or the history question "what was the pivotal point in 2016 that caused.. (whatever might happen in the future)?"
a) David Bowie dying
b) Harambe
c) Brexit

d) Donald Trump

And it will be, e) all of the above.

But actually, amongst all the events going on in the world, in 366 days, some of us had some really positive moments. So, I'm just going to mention a few moments that made me happy this year.

1. I spent a year out of education for the first time since I was 4. I worked the whole year, saved a whole lot of money.

2. I passed my driving test, something I've been dying to do for years but I just needed the money, and just last week, I drove for the first time since my test as one of my Christmas presents was 3 weeks of insurance.

3. I applied for, got a place on and started a masters degree. To say I underestimated it, is a massive understatement. I've never been as far behind with work in my life, I was convinced I wouldn't even get it finished. But I just about managed it. Now onto the second term.

4. I managed to buy Christmas presents, don't underestimate how much of an achievement this was for me this year in terms of money and time. I even think people liked their presents.

5. I've met loads of new people, I've spoken to strangers regardless of how nervous it has made me, and I even made some new friends.

6. I finally completed my resolution I've had for years of drinking more water, I don't even know what this years resolution can be without that.

7. I've learned how to cook new things, from scratch as well.

8. I've worked hard, in many different aspects and I'm really pleased with my lazy self for that.

For all the terrible things that this last year will be remembered for, don't forget to give yourself a pat on the back for everything you've achieved this year, keep your head high and continue on to next year with a positive outlook.

Thanks for reading,

Rachel xx

ps. The Queen, I hope you're alright, let's not start 2017 with a black mark.

Thursday, 15 December 2016

beauty 17:09

Too many new things

by Rachel

On Tuesday the 6th, I went to The Clothes Show. Unlike everyone else (it seems) I have never been to it before and I ended up going to the final day ever in Birmingham before they move to Liverpool.

I didn't actually buy any clothes, although there was some really nice stuff. I got quite a bit of make up and skin products due to the deals that were on. Maybe I need to go to a make up show.

Here's a nice big list of the things I got and my initial impressions on some of them.

First thing was the £3 show bag, which had a few bits and bobs in. I haven't actually used many of these things. The nail varnish is lovely, and below, I have paired it with a couple of the other Barry M nail varnishes from the day. The other thing I have used is the popband, pictured top left. It is supposed to be comfortable on your wrist and work as a bobble. I have quite smooth heavy hair so maybe it's just me, but it didn't hold very well.

So the Barry M stuff. At their stall, they were selling this little set, with the make up bag for £10. For me, it was worth it for the nail varnishes, never mind the other bits.

The nail varnishes are great, apart from the blue one that needs a particular top coat to use. The first and the fourth shown in the picture are the two I used on the picture further up, they are currently sold as a pair in Superdrug. They dry reasonably quickly compared to the last Barry M varnishes I have had.

The lip products and the palette are a little disappointing and some a little unusable (the loud mouth lip thing, it's sticky and a really unpleasant colour.) But the lip balm, is quite nice, it's a little moisturising and is purple tinted. I think I'll stick to just the nail varnishes with Barry M in future.

Glamour magazine had a stall and they were offering a gift bag with all of the below, January's magazine, and a years subscription for £9. As someone on a magazine journalism who buys the mag every month, this is a great deal!

The coconut shampoo and conditioner is really nice, I was in need of quite a good conditioner so I'm really pleased for this! I'm excited to use the St. Tropez fake tan, I've never used their products before, let's see f they can convert me from St. Moriz. I love the bottle for the finishing spray, I don't think it's any different to many hairsprays but a really great size!

And of course, the part we've all been waiting for, Spectrum brushes!

Spectrum had a stall there which was absolutely swamped. I did initially want the pink handled ones which are everywhere but they were sold out. Then I spotted this set, which is almost the same as the set in the glam clam (£59.99), without the brush carrier, these brushes were £25, that works out at £2.50 a brush can you believe it? B06, which is an eyeshadow blender, is my favourite so far. The brushes are super soft and completely vegan and cruelty free, which is great. They only pick up a little bit of product, which is good in most of the brushes, however the large one, I would prefer it to pick up more product.

If you need a good angled contour brush, this w7 one has done me proud for quite a while now, I picked it up for about £3 when I first wanted to try contouring and it's amazing. The only real difference between that and the spectrum one is that it picks up more product. So with a light hand, it's a really great brush. It's £6.95 on the website, but have a look around cos their stuff is cheap in a lot of places.

What do you think of anything I got from the show? Will you attend the new Liverpool show in the summer?

Thanks for reading,

Rachel xx

Wednesday, 7 December 2016

food 20:34

How to be a grown up - Cook a vegetable

by Rachel

Are you a student? Or a rubbish cook? Or very unsure what on earth to do with a vegetable (other than asking for non on your pizza) Then look no further.

Use this recipe to impress your family and friends. You can make soup AND use vegetables!

Ok sorry for the cheesey opening, but all of that applies. This is a really easy recipe to follow for even a novice cook (me). The ingredients are pretty flexible so don't worry too much but obviously, if you only add one carrot, there's going to be a difference

This is an adaptation from this recipe > Carrot and Parsnip Soup

Serves 3/4

First things first, ingredients:

4 decent sized carrots (I've used 5 cos they were small)
4 decent sized parsnips
1 onion
1 garlic clove
A stock cube (chicken or vegetable will work)
1 tablespoon of Chilli powder
Salt (to taste)
Pepper (to taste)
Oil
1 tablespoon of butter (or margarine)

Don't worry if this seems a long recipe, I've just really broken it down. Now let's get stuck in.

1. Peel your carrots and parsnips, and chop the end of each one so you don't have the stalky bit, I chop a bit of the bottom end off too because I don't know if you need to.

2. Chop your carrots, parsnips and onion, do the carrots and parsnips reasonably small (like the picture) so they cook properly.

3. Grab a good sized pan and heat the butter and a small amount of oil (to stop the butter burning). I used margarine because I don't want to buy butter just for this and it worked just fine.

4. Put the pan on a low heat and add the chopped onions. Crush your garlic into the pan (I fully advise getting a garlic crusher, I suffered without for so long but just got one for my birthday - I'm 23 let me live). You want to keep this on a low heat so you don't burn the onions, you want them to soften and look a little clear. Heat this for about 10 minutes.

5.Add 1 litre of boiling water and your stock cube together to make your stock. Add this mix and your carrots and parsnips to the pan with the onions and garlic. Add salt and pepper however you like it, I like a lot of pepper and minimal salt. And add your chilli powder, again, depending on how you like it, if you have hot chilli powder like I do, add a little less.

6. Bring mixture to the boil and then simmer for 30 minutes with a lid.

7.Make sure the vegetables are soft. Use a hand blender to liquidise.

And you're done! BBC food website says to sieve the soup before eating it, but I actually don't mind if there's small bits of veg still in it.

Now you have quite an impressive, wintry, slightly spicy soup. Tell your parents you'll make soup on Christmas day!

Let me know if you have a go at making this soup and how it goes, good luck!

Thanks for reading,

Rachel xx

Thursday, 1 December 2016

university 16:47

Snapchat Challenge!

by Rachel

Tomorrow I will be doing a Snapchat challenge for an article in my uni portfolio.

For that challenge I will be getting as many Snapchat trophies as possible in that day. I have created a new Snapchat account: RachelScape

So, anyone that would like to follow my snapchat journey, or would like to send some pictures to me, or even receive some from me, add the account!

I will update you all on how it goes in a few days!

Thanks for reading,

Rachel xx

Thursday, 2 February 2017

Mushy Piles of Falafel

Monday, 30 January 2017

Meat-Free Feburary

Thursday, 26 January 2017

Rust Eyeshadow

Sunday, 1 January 2017

Happy moments

Thursday, 15 December 2016

Too many new things

Wednesday, 7 December 2016

How to be a grown up - Cook a vegetable

Thursday, 1 December 2016

Snapchat Challenge!

Rachel

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