Christmas Cooking: Mince Pies - 2 Ways

Meow, so this is going to be my last Christmas Cooking blog posts for the year. I shall do this next year.. Read to the bottom to see what ones I will be doing next year.. I thought, what was the most festive thing at Christmas? I instantly thought Mince Pies but I know people are vegetarian and some may want a healthy version so I am going to do 2 different ways.. One is from the legendary Nigella Lawson and the other is from the great Lorraine Pascale (the Veggie Pie is also by her...)

Recipe 1:
The Short Cut Ones:
I've done these first mainly because L comes before N alphabetically so...

The End Result

 



One on their own

Ingredients:

• 500g Puff pastry pack (all butter puff pastry if possible)
• 9 tbsp Mincemeat
• 1tbsp Port
• 2 drops of Vanilla extract
• A pinch/around a tsp of Orange zest
• Some Icing sugar for dusting the pastry and for the end
• 1 Beaten egg
• 2 tbsp Maple syrup (warmed)

Method:

• Preheat the oven to 200C/400F/Gas Mark 6. Line 2 baking trays with non stick baking parchment. Roll the puff pastry out onto a surface lightly dusted with icing sugar into a large square. .
• Cut into 10cm squares using a sharp knife/pizza cutter. Cut about 3cm into each corner. Once you have done this. After this, mix the mincemeat with the port, orange zest and two drops of vanilla extract. Drop a tablespoon of the mincemeat into the middle of each square.
•  Brush the pastry with beaten egg then fold one corner into the centre letting a little overlap happen. Repeat with the other corners to make a windmill shape.
• With the remaining offcuts of pastry, make little stars and stick them on top of each pastry with a little bit of beaten egg that's left over.
• Dust quite well with icing sugar and bake for around 12-15 minutes (or 'golden brown'.) Cool Allow to cool on the tray for a few minutes before transferring to a wire rack. Brush with maple syrup and serve!

Recipe 2:
The Homemade One:
Nigella's version
These are definitely vegetarian suitable:

For The Pastry:

• 240g plain flour
• 60g vegetable shortening/Margarine
• 60g cold butter
• juice of 1 orange
• 1 pinch of salt
• 350g mincemeat
• icing sugar (for dusting)

For the mincemeat:

• 60ml ruby port
• 75g soft dark brown sugar
• 300g cranberries
• 1 tsp ground cinnamon
• 1 tsp ground ginger
• half a tsp ground cloves
• 75g currants
• 75g raisins
• 30g dried cranberries
• finely grated zest and juice of 1 Clementine/Orange
• 25ml brandy
• 3 drops almond extract
• half a tsp vanilla extract
• 2tbsp honey

Method:

• Make the mincemeat in advance.  In a large pan, dissolve the sugar in the port over a gentle heat.  Add the cranberries and stir.  Add the spices, dried fruit and the zest and juice of the clementine/orange.  Bring to a gentle simmer and cook for 20 minutes. Remove from the heat and allow to cool.  Add the brandy, almond extract, vanilla extract and honey and stir well with a wooden spoon to make it into a paste.  Spoon the mincemeat into sterilised jars and, once cool, store in the fridge for up to two weeks.
• Once you are ready to make your pies, get out a tray of miniature tart tins, each indent 4.5cm / 2 inches in diameter, along with a 5.5cm / 2¼ inch fluted, round biscuit cutter and a 4cm / 1¾ inch star cutter.
• Measure the flour into a shallow bowl/dish and with a teaspoon dollop little mounds of vegetable shortening into the bowl. Add the butter (diced small) shake to cover it then put in the freezer for 20 minutes. This is what will make the pastry so tender later. Mix together the orange juice and salt in a separate, small bowl, cover and leave in the fridge to chill. 
• After the 20 minutes, empty the flour and fat into the bowl of your food processor and blitz.  Pour the salted juice down the funnel pulsing until it looks as if the dough is about to come together (you want to stop just before it does (even if some orange juice is left). If all your juice is used up and you need more liquid, add some iced water.
• If you prefer to use a freestanding mixer to make the pastry, cut the fats into the flour with the flat paddle, leaving the bowl in the fridge to chill down for the 20-minute flour-and-fat-freezer session.  Add liquid. I often find the pastry uses more liquid in the mixer than the processor.
• Turn the mixture out of the processor or mixing bowl onto a pastry board or work surface and using your hands combine to a dough. Then form into 3 discs.
• Wrap each disc in clingfilm and put in the fridge to rest for 20 minutes. Preheat the oven to 220C/Gas Mark 7/425F.
• Roll out the discs one at a time as thinly as you can  in other word. This is easy-going dough so just get rolling and patch up as you need.
• Out of each rolled-out disc cut out circles a little wider than the holes in the tart tins. I use a fluted cookie cutter for this.  Press these circles gently into the moulds and dollop in a teaspoon of mincemeat.
• Then cut out your stars with your little star cutter or just leave them if you don't have one (re-rolling the pastry) and place the tops lightly on the mincemeat.
• Put in the oven and bake for 10–15 minutes: keep an eye on them as they really don’t take long and ovens do vary.
• Remove from the oven, prising out the little pies straight away and letting the empty tin cool down before you start putting in the pastry for the next batch.  Carry on until they’re all done.
• Dust over some icing sugar in a tea strainer and serve.

 

I hope that you have enjoyed this blog post and if you make any of these then don't forget to comment and tell me how it went. This is the last Christmas Cooking post of the year but next years will include canapés for Christmas Day morning, the perfect turkey and a classic French dessert to serve on Christmas Day for all you Christmas Pudding haters. I shall be vlogging and probably blogging about what I have got for Christmas/shopping so look out on here and my YouTube channel for that. I hope you have a Merry Christmas and I hope to see you next time!

 

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Christmas Gift Guide: What To Get Children

Meow, so today's blog post is going to be about what to get for children at Christmas. Sadly, this is going to be my last Gift Guide for the year. I know that they haven't been the best but I think that they've not been bad for a first attempt at Christmas blog posts. Instead of the general sections of perfume, lush, normal things and food, I am going to do sections on what to get different age ranges for Christmas. Now, remember if you get a boy a doll or a girl a spiderman, it will do them no harm and it won't affect them within their childhood or later on in life. Anyways, lets get on with the guide.

So the first age range I am going to do is for newborn to 3 years old. Now, you can get them a varied selection of things. Many people say that their children won't remember what they get on their first Christmas but it is within their critical period where children learn most things so if you get them any products that may help them learn then this will affect them in future life. I think for a cheapish option, teddies are a great option. Mainly little ones I suggest. Ones that they can keep with them within future life. You could get them mobiles (the ones for above the cot.. Not the phones haha...) You could also get them like a piano mat thing or maybe a something that talks to them.. Most of Fisher Price products do this... Wow.. You can tell that I buy lots of presents for children... That sounds slightly wrong... You could also buy them clothes as they are always apparently so cute... Most places such as Mothercare and most supermarkets do some great baby clothes which make them not too expensive.

So the next stage that I am going to talk about is from 4 year olds to 6  years olds. This is when I think it's the best time to introduce your kids to dolls and such. Maybe start off with cheap ones to begin with so if they 'accidentally' break them then its fine. I still think taking kids to places which have things like jungle gyms are great for fun and socialising so you could make a day of it and give them that as a present. I also think little cars and such are good things to give kids of this age.

7 to 10 years old next. So this is when I think you can get them the more expensive dolls/action figures and such but get them a few cheap ones if possible as there may be a good chance that they imagine murdering them for some reason and rip their heads off. I also think things such as the kids arts and crafts come into real play. I also think if possible that its good to take them out for a day as present somewhere that isn't that expensive and where kids and adults get to have fun. I also think taking them out for occasional meals come into play as they will be going to 'big' school soon so it's good to introduce them to cultured things...

Yay for children that are 11-14 because this is the age where adults start to scream and slowly hide as puberty gradually starts to happen for most children. Quite a few changes happen around this age.. School, hormones etc. Now this is the age where I think that everyone should be getting their first phone as they may need it to contact their parents if they're staying back at school for after school activities at last minute or to talk to the friends that they have recently made at secondary school or other things. I also think this is where you can gradually start getting makeup/formal clothes for the children as they will appreciate it. You could also get them game consoles/games/cds or most media things or gift cards for their favourite store at the shopping centre/mall where they meet their mates on a weekendly basis.

So the last age range that I am going to tackle is 15-17... Any later and I think we are going into gender categories. Some children rebel around this age so if they do then just breathe and cope. Big changes happen.. They slowly become adults. They may be thinking about the future and getting stressed by it.. The first thing I am going to suggest is find out what they're into for the minute and get them a gift card for it. If they're into cosmetics then get them some stuff from their favourite cosmetic store or get them some general make up or ask them what they need. Food is also a good option. Maybe a subscription to Netflix or Spotify? Posters? Gig/festival tickets? It generally depends on the person.

So I know that this has been a bit meh but if you get anyone any of my suggestions then find me on most social media sites... Just search either Jamie Sowden or thejamiesowden. Don't forget to comment if you do or if you have any other ideas then don't forget to comment... I hope that you have enjoyed these gift guides. I hope that you have a Merry Christmas/Happy Holidays and a great New Year! Thank you for reading this and I hope to see you next time.

Christmas Cooking: Veggie Pie

Meow, so this weeks Christmas Cooking recipe blog post is going to be about a  Vegetarian Nut Roast Pie. This is mainly a big meal for a vegetarian instead of having turkey. Most vegetarians get passed off with the vegetables and the off cuts and feel left out on Christmas Day. So this recipe is from Lorraine Pascale but you could do individual ones like little mince pies which may be a bit easier to handle and better to experiment with different dried fruits within the pie but it is really up to you. There is going to be a lot of ingredients but the end result is really worth it!

Picture of the final product

Ingredients:
For the filling:

• Drizzle of Olive Oil or Vegetable Oil
• 4 Leeks, finely sliced
• 4 Rosemary sprigs, picked
• 6 thyme sprigs, finely chopped
• 250g Chestnut Mushrooms, finely chopped
• 5 Sage Leaves, roughly chopped
• 600g Mixed Nuts (cashews, almonds, pecans, hazelnuts etc)
• 150g Gruyere (grated)
• 3 free range eggs
• 150g dried cranberries/dried fruit
• 125g Frozen Cranberries

For the Pastry:

• 100ml water
• 80g butter
• 125g plain flour, extra for dusting
• 150g wholemeal flour
• pinch of salt
• 1 free range egg, 1 extra egg for glazing

For the gravy:

• 3 tbsp. Butter
• 1tsp tomato puree
• 1tsp yeast extract
• 1tbsp Plain Flour
• Few Rosemary sprigs
• 600ml Vegetable Stock
• Pinch of brown sugar
• Salt and black pepper

Method:

• Preheat your oven to 200C/400F (for you American readers) or Gas Mark 6 and grease an 18cm or a 7 inch Springform tin... You should have one of these laying about if you've made a cake or a cheesecake before!
• Heat the oil in a frying pan. Fry the leeks, rosemary and thyme until softened or if you want to be precise 4-5 minutes.. (Stop at 4:30 if you want to be very precise!) Add the garlic and cook for a minute as if you cook it for too long then it burns and gives everything a burnt taste and you don't want that...
• Add the mushrooms and sage and cook for 2-3 minutes then remove from the heat and put it all into a large bowl and leave it to cool.. Take two tablespoons of the mixture and put into another bowl and leave it for the gravy for later on...
• Toast the nuts for 8-10 minutes but be careful and check on them as nuts burn easily if left unattended.... (That sounds so wrong but its not meant to...) Remove from the oven and leave to cool
• Blend the nuts in a processor or grind in a pestle and mortar until they are all a coarse powder and add it to the leek mixture with the cheese. Mix until well combined and season well with salt and pepper.
• Stir in the eggs until well combined... I shall keep saying it when needed but you get the point of mixing until its all well combined...
• For the pastry, heat the water and butter together in a small saucepan on a medium heat until the butter melts and the water is just boiling. It might not look great but it makes the pastry so its needed.
• Mix the flours, salt and egg together in a bowl (its best to just cover the egg with a bit of flour just so it all combines easily) then add the butter-water mixture very quickly and mix it all together quickly until it literally becomes a dough... Shape into a ball and then stick it in the fridge for five minutes just so it cools and so its easier to manage.
• Tear off about one fifth of the pastry and leave for later. then knead for around a minute.. Not very long.. Then roll the pastry out to around 5mm/a quarter of an inch thickness.
• Flour the top of the dough, fold into four, and use it to line the tin. Put the folded dough into the tin with the pointed end towards the middle, then unfold the dough so that the excess pastry falls over the side (it will be quite fragile so just be careful). Ease the dough into the corners of the tin. If it tears, squeeze it back together again, this pastry is very forgiving like most pastry unless it is very very thin like Filo.
• Trim the pastry hanging over the edge until you have around a 1cm border of pastry around the edge. Spoon half of the filling into the bowl (make sure to press it with a wooden spoon to make sure its fully in and compact. Put in the dried cranberries then the rest of the mixture making sure to press everything down.
• Brush any pastry that is exposed with a beaten egg. Roll the pastry that you left earlier and using the bottom of the cake tin as a guide, cut out a circle with a 1cm border so it fits all the pastry in the tin
• Put the lid on top of the pastry and squeeze and crimp it to ensure that its all together and to make it look pretty... This may take a bit of time... Cut a slit in the top of the pie to let any steam out and cook for 20-25 mins.
• Remove the pie from the oven and carefully remove the tin. It will be very hot so be careful and if you've had a drink then try not to do this straight away... Slide the pie onto a baking tray and glaze the top and sides of the pie with the beaten egg, then return to the oven for a further 15 minutes (until golden brown as most chefs would say...)
• Remove the pie from the oven, glaze the top again and top with the frozen cranberries. Return to the oven for a further 5-10 minutes. This all sounds very tedious but its really worth it and the frozen cranberries on the top of the pie make it look festive and wonderful... You will have people oohing at this and maybe some meat eaters trying it...
• For the gravy, melt the butter in a saucepan and add the mushroom and leek mixture that you left for the gravy then the tomato purée. Stir on a low heat for 2 minutes. Add the yeast extract, flour and rosemary then add the stock bit by bit. Bring to the boil then season with the usual salt and pepper (and brown sugar to give it a bit of sweetness...) Finally simmer it for 10-15 minutes then serve!

So, I hope that you have enjoyed this blog post! If you make this for any vegetarians in your family then do leave a comment and tell me how it goes.. I have no life especially at this time of year so I will read it and probably comment back! I hope to see you next time for the last Christmas Cooking post of the year. I hope to see you next time and don't forget to have a great Christmas!

Christmas Gift Guide: Women

Meow, so this blog post is going to be another gift guide! Yay! So as we are in the festive season, I thought that I would do gift guides for late festive shoppers so this one shall be for what to buy women.

So the first section that I will talk about is perfumery. Perfume is always a great thing to get a woman as they can wear it all of the time and hang the jewelled bottle on their dresser which makes it feel contemporaty and exquisite. Anywho, I shall talk about different perfumes of a different price range/different scents.

So the first perfume that I am going to talk about is the DKNY: Red Delicious. Why? Mainly because of it's colour as it is a red bottle which I think is very festive at this time of year. The scent is mainly consisted of Champagne, Lychee, Raspberry and Apple which gives a decadent sort of feel towards the whole perfume. The fruits in the perfume make it slightly festive but at the same time gives the whole perfume a sort of summery feeling. It is a great present for women alike especially

The next fragrance that I am going to talk about is Daisy by Marc Jacobs. This is mainly more of a fragrance for younger women therefore you could give this as a gift to your daughter but it could also be given as a gift to an older female figure as it is mainly a cute but flirty fragrance. The base note is mainly white woods therefore it gives a woody scent (obviously...) but also gives a light scent towards the whole product. The heart note is mainly violet therefore it gives a light floral scent to the whole fragrance. The top notes are mainly strawberries which gives a nostalgic feel to the whole thing but also gives a very sweet scent to this very flirty fragrance. Priced from £51.50 which is expensive but is worth it if you want to give someone a present that they won't stop going on about for a good while.

The last perfume that I am going to mention is going to be Emporio Armani: Diamonds. This is a very extravagant product just by the bottle. The bottle is shaped into a literal diamond made from glass which shows how indulgent this perfume is. The base notes are vetiver, amber and vanilla which gives a slightly indulgent and sweet scent as vanilla is quite a clean but rich scent. The heart notes of this product are rose, lily of the valley, patchouli and freesia. These all give a general floral scent which is good within female fragrances as it gives off a light feeling. The top notes include lychee and raspberry which give is a little floral, sweet Middle Eastern/exotic feel thanks to the Lychees. Ranging from £38.50 onwards, this is a great gift to give to a lucky woman with the wow factor!

So this section will be the thing that Jamie never shuts up about... Yup, you've guessed it.. It's the Lush section! So the first product that I am going to suggest Lush-wise is the Snow Faity shower gel. It is very popular with women and sells out very fast, It has a very bright candy look to it but it is mainly bubblegum pink. The scent is kinda a mixture of pear drops and candy floss... The best way to put it is literally 'if pink has a scent, this would be it!' It ranges from £3.75 onwards depending on the size that you buy. The other shower gel that you should get for the women in your life is Rose Jam which reminds me of Turkish delight as rosewater is a main ingredient in Turkish Delight but ah well... The colour is a deep red/ The price is around the same as the Snow Fairy. The next product I recommend for purchase is the Shades of Earl Grey massage bar as this is a very great smelling product but it's also nostalgic to some women as it may remind them of an Afternoon Tea. It contains a lot of nutritious butters which makes your lovely lady's skin super soft.The last two gifts that I am going to talk about are the Star Light Star Bright and Dragons Egg. Star Light Star Bright is a hybrid product of a bath ballistic (bath bomb) and a bath melt. On the inside it has a mixture of butters including Coconut and Shea Butter but on the outside has a shimmery silver lustre casing. When it goes into the water, it fizzes and then turns your bath an amazing mermaid-y turquoise colour whilst the butters melt into the water which go onto your skin. This product is priced at £3.50. Get this and the others fast though as these are Christmas limited season products. This last one will have your woman oohing in the bath.. That sounds exceedingly wrong but bare with. This bath bomb beauty gives your bath scales, turns your bath water red and pops in your bath via Vegan Popping Candy which makes it sound like a dragon roaring in your bath which is pretty exciting! This ballistic is priced at £3.35 which means that it won't cost you a lot to make the Lushie in your life happy.

Dragon's Egg

Shades of Earl Grey - Massage Bar

The next thing I am going to go on about is the general presents to get the amazing women in your family. For starters, you could get them maybe a clothing item or a gift card for their favourite shop which is the best thing for someone who is picky when it comes to this time of year or someone who doesn't want you knowing their dress size... Eitherwise, you could always get them a handbag therefore you can't go wrong sizewise and the women in your life can use it for their normal day to day lives or as Sarah Millican says, 'fill it up with maltesers'... You could also get her a watch if you know that they like the bling or maybe a gift card to their favourite spa or their nearest Lush Spa?

Foodwise, you could get her the cliché box of chocolates, a big/personalised version of their favourite chocolate bar/product, some wine, a big sushi platter to make them feel like a character in SATC, a bottle of champagne or maybe a hot chocolate set for when they feel very sad.

I know it's not been a lot of ideas but I hope that you find the women in your life a present for Christmas soon! If you buy any of the above/have any ideas then don't forget to comment! My links are all in my vides on https://www.youtube.com/user/TheJamesSowden.

I hope you're all well. I hope to see you next time. Have a Merry Christmas/Holidays depending on what you celebrate!
Thank you for reading this post and I hope to see you next time!

Christmas Cooking: Christmas Chocolate Bark

Meow, so this Christmas Cooking post is going to be on Christmas Chocolate Bark. What is bark? Bark is a product that is made up of chocolate with a marbled effect to look like tree bark. It is normally eaten at Christmas and can be great to be given as a gift as it literally requires no cooking in the oven.. It couldn't be simpler!

Ingredients:

• 200g Dark Chocolate
• 200g White Chocolate
• 50g Biscuits (optional)
• 50g Dried Fruit (optional but normally in bark but it's up to you what fruit...)

Recipe:

• Break both chocolate bars into individual bowls (one for dark, one for white... That sounds racist but it's not meant to.) 
• Melt both chocolates in either a microwave for 30 second blasts each or over pans of simmering water until they're both melted... 
• Pour the dark chocolate into a pre-lined (baking parchment) deep baking tray.
• Pour the white chocolate in a downwards line and marble with a skewer or the back of a fork. (Its best to marble from each side of line all the way down...)
• Sprinkle toppings on top of the chocolate in one single layer so it sets quickly...
• Put in the freezer for a few hours (if you can wait) 
• Break up into pieces and either put onto a plate to serve to guests or wrap chunks up in cellophane.

 This makes a great canape or a great present to give to people that are big chocolate fans. This is a quick present which could be made at the last minute. If you have any leftover Christmas cookies then you could use them in the bark to make it more festive. I shall do a post on making Christmas Cookies.

I hope that you like this post. Don't forget to comment and contact me if you make this recipe. Next time, I will be typing about the first savoury Christmas recipe just to shake it up a bit so look out for that! 

I hope to see you next time and I hope that you like this post!

Christmas Cooking: Chocolate Truffles

Meow, so I was going to do videos about this but these are going to take time and I genuinely don't have the time and space to do it any time soon.. I shall be doing a video on making Spicy Malagueta Chicken for Cabana at some point in early 2015 unless I have free time within the next 2 weeks. So, instead I am going to do some recipes on what I love to cook at Christmas. This one is mainly a substitute for a present.

So the first festive post is going to be Chocolate Truffles. Why? Its easy, no fuss, very contemporary and can be very versatile. It can be an amuse bouche or a dessert or a snack or a present... It can be flavoured with anything and everything and only takes 2 ingredients to make it so it is great to start off with within this festive season.

Ingredients:

• 100g Dark Chocolate (70% Cocoa Solids at least)
• 100ml Double Cream
• 50g Butter

Method:

• First of all, unwrap your bar of chocolate. I have used a 70% Fairtrade bar as it helps workers in a third world country and does what I need it to do. The reason why it has to be 70% cocoa solids because you are melting it down and adding double cream which is sweet which dilutes the chocolate and then later on you may be using flavours on top eg chilli or orange or whatever.
• Break up the chocolate bar into little chunks as it basically shows you within the bar then put into a microwavable/glass bowl.
• Pour the cream and butter into a pan and put it onto the hob and heat until just warm.. (around 40C if using a food probe.)
• As soon as its just warm.. Just wants to be simmering. Pour the cream over the chocolate. Mix once and then leave until it becomes one liquid texture.
• Put in the fridge and wait until it is set and firm
• Use a melon baller or coat your hands in vegetable oil (can be messy...)
• Roll between hands
• Cover in a topping (coconut, cocoa powder etc) or sprinkle things such as sea salt or chilli powder on top then put back in the fridge to firm.

These beauties can be eaten as a snack or you can put them on a plate and share them with friends. If you want to give them as presents, you can put them in little muffin cases then put them in a box and tie with ribbon.
These are the epitomy of Christmas as they are sold at Christmas at markets.

I hope that you have liked this blog post. Please comment and share your creations if you make these. My social media links are all in my video descriptions. I hope you have fun celebrating throughout this period of festivities.

Christmas Gift Guide: Men

Meow, so this post is going to be about PRESENTS! So, even though I am poor as I am a student, I thought it would be good to show you some stuff that I think are great Christmas presents for this year. I shall go through different price ranges and for different people. If you're a late Christmas shopper then this is the post for you!

So the first blog post is going to be directly aimed at men. So if you are male and are wondering what to get for Christmas or are a woman and are wondering what to get your man for Christmas then this may be the perfect thing for you.

So, a well known gift for men at Christmas is perfume.. Well aftershave? You know what I am on about... So, I shall put a picture of each product that I talk about with a caption of the price and a link if you want to buy said gift.

The first product in the perfume section is Paco Rabanne: One Million. This is a very distinctive smell. The base notes are leather which is known in most men perfumes as this gives off a sensual yet masculine scent. The heart notes include spicy masculine flowers which accentuate this. The heart notes include Blood Mandarin which give it a zesty scent. The gold casing makes it an indulgent purchase and as people all over the world have been raving about it. It makes it the ultimate present. Even though it is at £39.50. It is worth it.

One Million 50ml EDT - £39.50

The next perfume is Eau De Gaga. Now this is aimed more at teenage men. This is from a very well known person with a high male demographic. With base notes of leather which as I have said is a must in most men perfumes. Heart notes of White Violet which is known as the Hermaphrodite Violet which gives it a floral yet musky kick. At first, you get a kick of lime then the leather comes through and it just smells so good The bottle is a classic black glass design echoing the vert well known design of Chanel. It is unisex but aimed more at men. Ranging from £19 or more, it makes it a great product.


Eau De Gaga - 30ml Gift Set - £13.49

The next aftershave that I am going to talk about is Invictus... Imagine this one as One Million's older mature cousin... It has a group of things within the base notes including patchouli and wood which make it florally yet masculine via the wood and makes it obviously woody. The heart notes include bay leaves which are used in cooking and perfumery which keep the masculine scent but gives a hint of nature The top notes include grapefruit which makes the fruit cut through the other things within the aftershave and keeps it fresh.. It reminds you of a more manlier version of One Million which I think Paco Rabanne wanted to do. It comes in a clean glass like chrome bottle which kind of scream MAN and seductiveness which they wanted to do. The price ranges from £37 onwards.

Invictus 50ml EDT - £37.35

The final male perfume that I am going to talk about is Giorgio Armani Code Ultimate. The base notes include woody amber, leather, Tonka bean and vanilla which in my opinion balances the elements of scent. The heart notes include different woods which gives off a masculine feel to the whole product. The top notes include mandarin, grapefruit and star anise. This gives off a vibrant zesty feel with a hint of spice which kind of reminds me of Christmas eg Mulled wine which makes it a great Christmas gift. The bottle is mainly chrome and black with a sleek design which echos the feel of the product as it is meant to be seductive.. Aren't most male products meant to be 'seductive'? This product costs around £50 which is expensive but worth it to be honest.

Code Ultimate 50ml EDT - £49.50

Now going onto Lush.. I know.. I never shut up about it but they do some great products for men. The gifts are wrapped in recyclable fabric. It makes it a very great present,

First of all, I am going to suggest The Snowman FUN. This is a great squidgy creative product. You get a strip of black and orange with the rest of the FUN being white. It means that men can keep their masculinity via the smell of carrots and creating manly little men to be murdered under the water or via them using them. Most of the other FUN eg the blue are the best for men. The other products such as Sea Vegetable, Big Blue or BB Seaweed are very clean yet masculine therefore they are great for men as they echo the smell of men. It is a clean sea like scent which most men do like. Christmas wise, most products are very spicy and musky therefore they are great for men but ones such as Hot Toddy are the best for men as they contain a lot of spice therefore men won't feel unmasculinised when using them.

Snowman FUN - £5.00

Said snowman that you can make from FUN

Sea Vegetable - £3.10 per 100g

Big Blue - £3.35

BB Seaweed - £6.50 - 75g

Hot Toddy - £3.95 - 100ml

Now for the actual products, personalised mugs are the best thing for them as they can drink anything out of them. Other things such as graze are the best as you can choose which things go into the box therefore you know that they will like it. If you want to go all out then you can get them a watch or maybe an iPhone if you want but personalised things or vouchers such as a day of golf will be the best thing for them unless they personally wants something. For that teenager in your life, you could get them merchandise of their favourite band/artist, this way you will know that they will love it and be grateful compared to just money where they pretend to read the card.. (Have we all done that or is that just me... Oops) You could buy them gift cards to their favourite store. You could also buy them tickets to their favourite artist/band if they're on tour. A good store to check is Pulp or you could just give them money if they're too picky and you don't have time to sort them out.

iPhone 6 & 6 Plus ranging from £539+

If you want to go ultimate then you could get them a gift card for a tailored made suit which is pretty decadent but worth it for that special man in your life as they will be using it for events that are needed eg that New Years party that everyone is going to. This way, you will know that he will like it and that it will be practical within the future which you need to know when you're splashing the cash on big presents.

Foodwise, you can make them something eg pate or something mainly savoury. Things that include stout could be quite good unless they have a favourite food then buy them some of that to show that you know that you know what they like. You could also buy them liqueur based chocolates or a bottle of their favourite alcohol. You could buy them a selection of their favourite cheeses as there is some great local/national cheeses within the UK. If they go to a certain restaurant every so often such as Cabana or TGI Fridays then you could get them a gift card for that for when they feel meh or once they've done their January sales. The options are limitless...

Cheese Selection

So I hope that this post has given you some ideas for what to buy for the men in your life this Christmas season. If you do buy anyone any of these products, please do comment or contact me via social media. All of the links are in my videos or just search TheJamieSowden on places... Im normally lurking and meowing somewhere... The next gift guide will be for women so look out for that!
I hope to see you next time!

How To Get Addicted To Lush

Meow, so I thought that I would do a new post.. My friends and family all know how addicted to Lush I am... I mean there's a new store/shrine in White Rose which I have been wanting to go to because well its a Lush store. They did have a bloggers event but I couldn't go as I was surprised with ARTRAVE tickets but the store is amazing so you should go and check it out... It's going to be amazing and its going to smell lovely.. It will also have wonderful lovely staff and have sparkly vegan products.... Ugh, it's just heaven... The one in Trinity Leeds is my shrine at the moment. I love the shop and the staff and everything.. Back on topic, my friends ask me whats the best Lush product to try? How did you get addicted to Lush? What makes them different? Should I go into a shop and see what it's like? I say yes to all of these but this blog post will explain it more in detail...

So, how did I get addicted to Lush?
Well, it all started thanks to these two girls.. Emma Blackery and Zoella/Zoe Sugg... They did videos on a Lush Christmas Haul.. This opened my eyes. Even though this was over a year ago, I still fell in love with the products. I wanted to go in store and smell them. I wanted to see what they meant by Snow Fairy. What a silver star smelt like when a girl says it's citrusy? What a melting snowman smelt like? I know this sounds really silly but I loved the gimmicky festiveness of it all... I loved the fact that you could drown a melting snowman in your bath or crush a star up or let the childhood of Snow White fizzle away in your bath..

What was the first product you ever bought?
I got things at the Boxing Day sale thing and I just loved it all.. I got a Dragons Egg, Twilight, a few festive ones and other things. Everyone raved about the Dragons Egg... Lush are very comical of their product names and concepts.. We don't test on animals and create Vegan products but lets make the consumer seem like they're murdering unborn dragons via a bath bomb... The Dragons Egg bath bomb is amazing! This marvellous bath bomb turns your bath water to a mixture of an orange-y/gold colour... It literally looks like a dragon is breathing out fire into your bath. Whilst the bath bomb unfurls and creates a scaly foam on top of a amber bath, it also reveals vegan popping candy which literally makes you feel like you're at the side of a fire. The smell reminds you of sherbet. It is very Autumnal. Priced at £3.35 (https://www.lush.co.uk/products/dragons-egg .) Twilight is also a bath bomb. This one is based on sleeping and lavender. The bath bomb smells of lavender and Tonka. As the bath bomb unravels under water, it turns from a dark orange to a deep purple which makes the bath even more calming. As the Dragons Egg has popping candy, the Twilight bath bomb has glitter in which makes your bath look like the epitomy of Edward Cullen but also replicates twinkling stars in the night sky. This one is also £3.35 (https://www.lush.co.uk/products/twilight)

Why Do I Love Lush?:
I love Lush for various reasons. The first reason is that their ethics are amazing. They don't test on animals which is great for cosmetics which doesn't harm animals like other well known brands. They raise money for charity. They sell Charity Pot which the money sold from them (except VAT) goes to charity which is amazing. They also raise awareness to said charities. They have done this in ways such as the #SaveTheBadgers bath bomb. They also believe on only using natural ingredients to create Vegan/Vegetarian products which is amazing for the skin, body, environment and other things. Lush also try to keep the environment clean via not using packaging unless needed. If packaging is used then it is recycled. For example, the shower gel bottles and recycling 5 black pots to get a free face mask. The staff are always amazing. They are lovely and if you need any advice then they will happily give you it. They greet you amazingly and they are just so nice. The products are amazing as they contain natural ingredients therefore they are gorgeous for the skin and body. They are Vegan so you can literally feel holy as they are all amazing.

What Products Do You Recommend?:

Christmas/Seasonal:
The Gold FUN is a must.. Even though it is £5, it is amazing! You can use it and mould it into anything. It has the expected Lush Christmas sparkle and it smells like honey and toffee.. It's just divine! The Golden Wonder is amazing too! It smells of lime, cognac and lime (check the What's In My Lush Box review for details on pricing and a more in depth description...) The Magic Wand is also great for Snow Fairy addicts (check what I just said...) Also, get Snow Fairy shower gel if you can or just go and smell it! Santa's Lip Scrub is also so divine as it tastes of cherry cola and is amazing for your lips... Star Light Star Bright is also very amazing! It is mainly a Bath Melt not a bath bomb. It is very citrusy as it has orange, lemon and lime oils in. It is also very festive as it is glittery. These are just a few of my seasonal recommendations. If you like the spicier things, try Hot Toddy, The Melting Snowman or the Luxury Lush Pud

All Year Round:
As I have mentioned, Twilight and Dragons Egg. Try the Space Girl, Sex Bomb and Honeybee bath bomb! Also try the Catastrophe Cosmetic face mask as it contains blueberries which calms down break outs. Try the Honey I Washed The Kids soap as it smells of honey and toffee and does amazing things to your skin. The Comforter bubble bar (check review blog) is amazing and so is the Dorothy Bubble Bar. The shower jellies are amazing, vegan and different. It's Raining Men (yay for a LGBT catchphrase) shower gel is amazing.. It is literally the soap in liquid form. The shampoo bars are great but ask the staff depending on your hair type. The massage bars.. The Strawberry Feels Forever? Wiccy Magic Muscles is amazing. They work on couples or as a moisturiser for one or just for fun. Lush also do make up which is amazing but slightly expensive.

How Can I Become Addicted?
Just go into a Lush store. If you live near the outskirts of Leeds then go to the White Rose one as it has just opened up. It is a modern store. It's amazing. It is friendly within and just so beautiful or if you live in Leeds City centre or can get there then go to the Yorkshire Flagship store on Commercial Street with amazing members of staff, stunning architecture, wonderful bright walls, cute organised stations for certain products and much more. Buy some of the stuff that I've recommended or go into a store and talk to a lovely member of staff and they will sort you out. Another tip is to buy a lot of stuff and then just turn your bedroom into a mini lush store and just hibernate and use the products.. If you like the smell or a feature eg texture or colour of a product then you may want to get it again or just buy everything that catches your eye/has lustre/glitter on.

So as I said, this was for Lush newbies and I recommend for you to go into a shop and try something and purchase something that's new and that interests you. I hope you have a wonderful week and I hope to see you soon.
*meows and disappears*

Cabana VIP Event (#CabanaLeeds) | Trinity Leeds/Trinity Kitchen

Meow, so its time for another blog post.. I didn't know my SD card wasn't in my camera because my family like to use my camera and not tell me they still have the SD card... Anyways, Aaron may have filmed a bit but I'm not sure if that's going up... Basically, I got an email from a friend that works at Trinity Leeds asking if I wanted to go to an event for Cabana so I said yeah and went... I'm going to tell you about the night and what Cabana is and what they are all about and their delicious food and drinks...

Outside Cabana 

So I brought Aaron as he can do photography well and I also thought that it would be a good idea that he got to know about different cultures of food rather than letting him just live off the generic pizza student lifestyle. We walked through Trinity Leeds and made our way to Trinity Kitchen where we could see Cabana as soon as you came up from the escalators as its bright font gleamed above its door. We were met by Katie who works for PR and had emailed me to make sure I had everything sorted out for the event. She was lovely when emailing me about everything and even more public when I met her at the beginning of the event. We talked and finally shook hands and found out me and Aaron were Digital Marketing. Katie then wished us that we had a great time. We said thank you and then went in to be greeted by another person who I'm guessing were the front of house.

#CabanaLeeds
Use this if you tweet or talk about them on social media!

 We went in and were asked if #CabanaLeeds could be written on my hand which I obviously said yeah.. This was the moment when the event truly kicked off.. So the whole concept of #CabanaLeeds was so other people could see the tweets and that they saw what you thought of Cabana... Every one of my tweets with #CabanaLeeds was good feedback.. I shall tell you why below. Cabana loves social media! Once this happened, we made our way down to the bar.. A very handsome member of staff asked if we wanted a Caipirinha. What's a Caipirinha, you ask? It is a focktail mainly made up of a South American spirit called Cachaca. This particular cocktail comes in a variety of flavours such as pineapple, passionfruit, mint and strawberry... As we wandered around after, I shall next tell you a bit about Cabana... 

Me drinking a Caipirihna

So what is Cabana? Well for all of you newbies, it is a Brasilian (Brazilian? Brasilian?) barbecue restaurant that has mainly had restaurants within down south but as the new Trinity Kitchen boasts great cuisine (which is so damn true) they thought, "great students, great places, great food... Let's create a restaurant there!" The restaurant outside and in is vibrant and enthuastic with colour, sounds and patterns. The founders (Jamie Barber and David Ponte) wanted to bring Brazil to the UK and that's what they did!

Table pieces on each table showing bright colours on every table.

Walls of Cabana bring Brazil to Leeds

When we were 'networking' (being socially awkward and just wandered around) a member of staff (I'm going to see if I can get the names of anyone I mention after as I don't remember names well at first) came up to us and asked us if we had any questions.. Aaron asked if the pattern of the steps was based on either a road in Rio or Selaron's Stairs in Rio which they were which showed how much of Brazil Cabana wanted to bring to Leeds. The member of the staff also said that all of the chairs were recycled. Basically, Cabana works closely with communities in Brazil such as Recicla Jeans who make the recycled furniture then Cabana pay the communities for the seats and bring them over which shows how dedicated they are to help Brazil be more recognised and loved within the UK.

Mosaic steps based on Sebaron's Steps in Brazil

Recycled Chairs from Brazil to Leeds.

We took some more pictures (if they're not in the blog post then they will be in an album on my Facebook: http://on.fb.me/1r66ESi) and met Music and Eyeliner for a few minutes... Her blog is here: http://www.musicandeyeliner.co.uk/) Once we had taken the photos, we wandered back near to the bar drinking our mint Caipirihna's. We were offered some corn nuts which were crispy, crunchy, slightly sweet but slightly salty with a hint of spice. They were absolutely lovely.. Forget the innuendos but I genuinely would be able to eat these nuts all night long.. I had to prise myself away from them.

Toasted Corn Nuts (£1.95)

After this, we were complimented with cheesy dough balls (yes, bring on the innuendos...) Even though me and lactose don't get along, I still wanted to try them... They were absolutely gorgeous! They were fluffy on the inside and doughy and slightly crispy on the outside.. Coeliacs, don't be alarmed... They are gluten free so you can get in on the action of cheesy dough ball action instead of the usual watching everyone eating glorious gluten based products whilst you sit there feeling left out.. We were next offered Pulled Pork Sliders.. These were in the same dough balls but cut in half, filled with succulent pork then sandwiched back together. A slider is literally a new contemporary dish which are usually in the form of a mini burger. As I just said, the pulled pork was very succulent and juicy which means you could tell that the chef/chefs behind it had put effort into slow roasting it for a long time to make sure it could be pulled off the bone for the sliders.. The pork was slightly spicy with mainly spice and not heat and melted in the mouth. They were absolutely delicious. They were that delicious that we didn't take pictures of them and just ate them... Sorry... We couldn't help it!

We had another wander and took some pictures of the candles and lighting as we thought that it was good that Cabana had different lighting and candles on tables compared to other restaurants. Candles give off the fact that Cabana would be a great place for a first date as street food and getting to know someone is a great mix! The lights above in the restaurant give off a great sort of zumba/ballroom/funky club vibe which sounds weird but you'll understand when you see the pictures...

Romantic candles on each table

More casual yet quirky tealights

Slightly out of focus lights from sbove

Lights from above

Fairy light-esque lighting

Festive photography skills

Party inspired lights from above near the bar & grill

After many more photos were took, we were greeted by a waiter with Chicken Coxhinas... These are croquettes of shredded chicken.. So good! Crispy morsels of goodness! (Wow, Jamie,.. You're great with words...) These were crispy yet succulent. The chicken was on point and had quite a bit of spice but it was nice against the croquette! Next we had Spicy Malagueta Prawns.. Cabana is very well known for their Spicy Malagueta food but I shall talk about that later on... These were sticky but soft.. The prawns were cooked but not rubbery.. The sauce was slightly spicy hence the name but they were sticky and slightly sweet... They are the sort of food where you either need to get dug in and get napkins or lick your fingers afterwards or you stay away from them and regret it when you miss out on them but its your call... They also do other street food such as ceviche (I may have had this but im not sure if i did but it was remnant of this but ah well...) Ceviche is fish cooked in lime juice... We didn't have all of the menu but if you want to be exotic then I suggest you going in to try it.

After this me and Aaron went to go get a drink from the bar as Aaron was filming certain bits for a film and I was kinda vlogging on his camera. This bit will probably sound so cringy to me but so funny to you... Basically, the very handsome bar member of staff asked what drink I wanted and I thought, "I'll try a cider" therefore I asked if I could have a cider and then got me a glass. So basically he poured the kiwi and lime drink into the glass then apologised for it dribbling at the top then I replied, "Its okay... Worse things have happened..." Did I flirt with a member of staff? That's right I did... Ugh.. Oh god..

The infamous cider..

.

The bottles behind the bar.

The infamous bar

So this is when the main event kicked in... The above was just a start food wise.. The grill and the chefs finally kicked into full swing! The following may not be order as lots of food was coming around and its all from memory... It was just such a good night! So there was the Zingy Lime and Garlic Chicken... This is mainly for people who can't handle a lot of spice. It was so nice.. The chicken was succulent. You could taste the citrus notes of lime and then you got a bit of a hint of garlic. Then skewers came round... Oh the skewers.. I cant exactly remember what they were called but they were absolutely gorgeous...The skewers came in three flavours. Chicken, Beef and Pork (I'm pretty sure there was a lamb thing which was absolutely gorgeous yet punched with spice but I can't remember...) More Chicken came through my fingertips and into my stomach until the infamous Spicy Malagueta Chicken happened..

 

Spicy Malagueta Chicken (£8.95)



A piece of meat from the skewers...

So, earlier on I was on about the prawns but this is a whole other story. So Cabana are very well known for this sauce as the Malagueta Chillies are close to Cabana's heart. These go into their marinade which creates their Spicy Malagueta products. So the chillies go into a sauce with a lot of other ingredients to create the sauce which it is marinated in. The sauce I am on about is available to buy in store. The chicken is then marinated overnight. It's then skewered with delicious crisp cooling bell peppers.to accentuate the fact that it has Chilli Pepper in the dish. After this, the dish is brushed with a Honey Mustard glaze then cooked on open coals which gives it such a smoky flavour. It was succulent but spicy. It was slighty crispy but coated in sauce. It was just wonderful.. Too wonderful to put into words.

Sweet Potato Fries (£3.95)

Sweet Potato Fries

 So once we had eaten our weight in Chicken which was somehow possible, a waiter came round and we tried Cassava chips. Cassava is a vegetable in South America which if eaten raw it can kill you so it is cooked so it can be edible. The taste of them reminded me of a parsnip crossed with a sweet potato which sounds weird but you have to go and try them to understand what I mean. As I had tried the deadly vegetable if raw, we were then offered some Sweet Potato Fries. Now, I was about to grab one when they said, "you can take the tin if you want.." Hmm... CHALLENGE ACCEPTED! Me and Aaron started eating these lovely crispy fries that are flavoured with rosemary which just makes them more gorgeous taste wise but slightly gives an exotic scent to them at the same time. After a while well after the food wall hit us, a waiter came and cleared our table, then we instantly drunk a bit of our ciders and went,"y'know what would be amazing? Desserts!" at the same time.. What are friends for, eh? Once we had said that, we took some photos... Well, selfies.. At an event, you have to create a memento of the night so thats what i did... It was probably unprofessional of me but hey ho...

Cute Brazilian Influenced Selfie

So, this is the final bit of the night.. Awh... It's been such a fun night I thought to myself... Dessert came around.. We were given little plastic bowls with delicious frozen yoghurt in... The flavour in question ended up to be peanut butter.. The flavour was strong but it was needed against the canvas of the frozen yoghurt. The flavour was strong but sweet and salty at the same time which was great after some spicy filling food.. The yoghurt would calm down any spice you had and yet had a thick texture which was great for a dessert... It had everything it needed..

Now we thought.. That's it.. Nope. There was 2 more desserts to come around.. The second dessert was a chocolate cake.. Yes one for all you chocoholics... Coeliacs, come and get some as this cake had no gluten in... Just like the dough balls! This cake was dense, fudgy and moist.. What else do you want from a cake?! I've had a few chocolate cakes in my lifetime and even if I've felt sore from it afterwards because my body has a love/hate relationship with lactose then it has not been worth it whereas this cake was just unbelievable.. I kind of had three pieces which sounds greedy but if you're going to be handed cake then you might as well as have it and eat it all!

The last dessert was amazing.. They saved the best until the last.. It was all the best but still... It was Snowball Doughballs.. I had heard of these but never had them. Oh my god, they were heavenly! Little gluten free doughballs with nutella secretly hidden on the inside dusted with icing sugar... I could eat these all day! They were small but so nice. They were doughy and oozy on the inside... I can't sum this up in words but they were just so gorgeous!

We were drinking still but we were waiting to be kicked out at some point when all of a sudden, the founders that we had bumped into earlier came round with bags.. This was amazing.. We were given bottles of the Spicy Malagueta Sauce with vouchers on top for when we next to come. A perfect end to a perfect evening,.. I will be definitely going to Cabana again and telling everyone how good it is because it was just amazing! If you live near Leeds or London then I urge you to go to Cabana as soon as possible
Thank you for Cabana for having me, its staff, Katie Hayes and the founders.
Please go to Cabana and try it if you can because its amazing.
Thank you to my friend Aaron for photographing (http://www.youtube.com/user/lesmiserableone
I'm going to be doing a video with the sauce at some point so check out my channel for that and maybe the vlog (if possible) going up soon.. http://www.youtube.com/user/TheJamesSowden
Have a great week and I shall see you soon!