Author: Oana

Canned Food Challenge

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I love a challenge, of any sort, so when CannedFoodUK approached and challenged us to cook using canned goods, rather than fresh, I, of course, had to say yes! We do use canned food in this home already, don’t get me wrong but it is only for a few recipes. Our famous spaghetti bolognese is most of the time made with canned tomatoes and we have also been known to resort to a can of rice pudding, when in need for a sweet treat but other than that, we are limited in our consumption of canned goods. I do think that this streams mainly from the recent food scares and theories that fresh is best and we are certainly victims of the latest health trends here. But are those trends always accurate and is canned food to be demonised? I embarked on a virtual search to find out what the real truth(!!) might be and I did discover some stunning facts: Canned fruits, vegetables and beans are considered minimally processed. After being picked at peak …

Cinemagic World Premiere of A Christmas Star: A Review

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Last night, we had the great honour and privilege to attend the world premiere of the locally produced movie A Christmas star and boy, what a treat we were in for! Belfast-based youth film festival charity, Cinemagic (which also celebrates 25 years of existence and continuous service to the local community this year) welcomed in the Odyssey Cinemas, Titanic Quarter Belfast over 2400 film fans, film industry supporters, cast and crew, in a spectacular fashion, bringing the magic of Christmas to the city early: Quoting from the film’s press release last night: “A host of actors and supporters of Cinemagic including Pierce Brosnan (James Bond), Suranne Jones (Scott & Bailey, Doctor Foster), Robert James-Collier (Downton Abbey, Coronation Street), Bronagh Waugh (Hollyoaks, The Fall), and Richard Clements (Good Vibrations, The Fall) feature in the movie made by young people, directed by Richard Elson (M.I. High, Steffi), and written by Maire Campbell (Punch); and the festive story, set in Northern Ireland, is narrated by Liam Neeson (Taken, Schindler’s List ), features a cameo from Kylie Minogue and …

#MilkDrinkersMilk: Challenge with Cravendale

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I strive, each and every day, to make my daughter understand that she is a Super Girl. I do it because I love her, I believe in her abilities and also, because I know her! She is compassionate and caring and loving. And feisty and clever and sassy. Sometimes, I reinforce my belief in her abilities by buying her the right books and toys that I know would enhance her already vast knowledge of the world. Other times, I tell her she is clever and smart and that I am proud of her. On yet other occasions, when we roar at each other (anyone else having a girl who is nearly 6, going on 16 :-)?) she knows that her words have power  to bring comfort or to hurt and that she is the one with the ability to choose what to do with them. Most of the times, I show her my love in the simple things: helping with homework, giving her a bath, reading her a story at bed time, organising a play …

Halloweek: Cooking with HelloFresh

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Back in September last year, I discovered this amazing company called HelloFresh, which deliver fresh food boxes with a difference. The differences, rather, that set HelloFresh apart from and above similar food box delivery services are: the excellent quality of the products, the careful outsourcing of each and every fresh ingredient and the thought that goes into creating the most delicious, fun, relatively easy to make and healthy recipes! This Halloween, HelloFresh got in touch with a number of parent bloggers in the UK and invited them to a family cookalong event, hosted by the wonderful founder of the company, Patrick Drake in the HelloFresh headquarters. We were lucky to be part of the bloggers invited to the event and it was with great trepidation that we awaited the delivery of our HelloFresh box! Hello Fresh offers at the moment a selection of recipe boxes, to suit various needs and family units. Last year, we used to order the Classic Recipe Box, which offers a selection of 3 or 5 delicious recipes and all the …

Best Halloween Ever in Derry, Londonderry, Legendary…

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It has been a while since I posted a travel review on the blog and I am glad to be back with a cracking post for you today! Last weekend we were offered a couple of nights in a cottage in Coleraine by the very lovely team at Cancer Fund for Children. We had read in the Irish News that Derry had been voted as the best Halloween destination in the world, so we decided to brave the one hour drive and go and check it out! The Halloween celebrations in Derry indeed are, an absolute treat! First of all, the atmosphere is fantastic, and the celebratory mood is prevalent way before you even set foot in the city center, where all the buzz is and most organised activities take place! Families are out and about, dressed up in Halloween attire, matching most times and all! I am so sorry, in retrospect, that I did not bring my professional camera along and act like Brandon from Humans of New York, I think you would have …