London, Our Second Home…

…and because it is, this blog post could go on and on and on and ON. Don’t worry, it won’t. Someone asked about where to visit in London for the first time, so here are some of my favorite spots. If you’re looking for something specific, let me know and I’ll try to help… 🙂 I LOVE LONDON!

• small boutique shops: area of chelsea, area of soho, camden, covent garden, neal’s yard
• obnoxiously expensive stores: harrods, harvey nicols
• mall like shopping: sheppards bush westfield mall, selfridges
• farmers market type shopping: portabello, brick lane
• shopping with the crowds: topshop on oxford st, and actually, just walk up and down oxford st.
• favorite garden/parks: hyde park, kew gardens, battersea park
• cheap but tasty eating: EAT, masala zone, and my boyfriend is in LOVE with BYRON burgers
• great museums: british museum, the natural history museum and the science museum
• take a ride on the london eye, you’ll see a lot of the touristy spots from above
• run across the tower bridge and walk around the tower of london (VERY touristy but still interesting)

UGH, see, I’m already making this list waaaay too long. You really can’t go wrong when visiting London for the first time. Whenever we go back there, its like seeing everything for the first time. Its one of my favorite places to get fat in, and YES, London has GREAT FOOD! (Los Angeles has AMAZING food though…but that’s a whole otha’ post.) Even if you do experience a little gloom, and a little rain, its LONDON!!! You’re in LONDON! Buy some cute Wellington Boots and a fancy umbrella!

Wake up early, fight that jet lag, and visit Paul’s for some great, fresh, Brioche bread. Pack some in a backpack and walk along the River Thames….get lost in the neighborhoods and in the crowds. Appreciate the history in the beautiful architecture, ask a local, a friendly local, where the best coffee is. If they say, “Nero,” ask someone else. -__-

Regardless of the sights you choose, you’ll have a great time. Don’t be lazy- take lots of photos, eat lots of food, send tons of postcards and try to meet the Queen, let me know if she’s really as nice as she puts out to be!I STILL haven’t met her…that sneaky little Queen…I just want to try on her crown.

Tried to find some snap shots, but my folders are a mess….shame on me. I’ll add more as I find them. 😉 Have a safe trip to all those visiting London!!!

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xo,

Rodene

P.S. Careful of those Brit boys, you’ll end up falling in LOVE! They are quite smooth. I TOTALLY did, but brought him back home to the U.S. 🙂 *SWOOOOOOOON.

P.P.S. Stay away from the Phoenix. LOL. *I’m kidding?

Hurry Quick, Make A Dessert!

Pre-made pie crust, an unpeeled organic Granny Smith Apple, a little butter, brown sugar, cinnamon, chocolate chips and some pecans…and not even a full episode of Family Guy later, deliciousness for two. I love me some apple pie and so does my muffin top, so this was a good compromise. Glad I didn’t decide to make a full pie…I didn’t have to! The taste was definitely NOT compromised.

This is such a FOOL PROOF, RODENE PROOF dessert – try it if you love apples. WE love apples over here….might have to blog a Blueberry  version.

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xo,

Rodene

Slow Cookin’.

My slow cooker is being put into action now that we’ve settled into our home a bit more. Slow cooking has been grrrrreat, our meals have been more flavorful…more tender…and leaves me more time to focus on making side dishes and dessert. 🙂 OH, and depending on what you are slow cooking, talk about aromatherapy for the senses! To the MAX. 

I have a long list of recipes to try, but am pacing myself here….don’t want to unhealthily fatten up my bf. There’s this root vegetable stew I hear is tasty, so I’m thinking of alternating between vegetarian and meaty dishes. We use quite a bit of chicken breasts in the house, so its important to keep things fresh and new…there is no specific name for this dish…..I just used seasonings I thought would go with the cajun rice.

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Happy slow cooking! More to come.

xo,

Rodene

Chunky Fricken’ Cookies.

Nothing like a nice, chunky oatmeal cookie on a Sunday night, Monday morning, or Tuesday afternoon, actually, ANYTIME is the right time for an oatmeal cookie. We’ve made them before, but never this thick and delicious. Oatmeal cookies have an incredible texture, and the way we make ’em, pack a big punch of flavor with every bite.

This was such a simple recipe, its quite dangerous…dangerous in that, if you’re ever craving them, it’d only be but a hop, skip, and a jump away to make. Did that make sense? No, but you get it. Didn’t mean to make you do all that cardio. 😛 Anyway, we used the following: cup of all purpose flour, stick of butter, 2/3 cup brown sugar, an egg, teaspoon of vanilla extract, teaspoon of cinnamon, 1/2 teaspoon of nutmeg, 1/2 teaspoon of baking soda, a cup or so of quick oats, and depending on your taste, add some chocolate chips, and or your favorite nuts. Didn’t use raisins, I’m not a fan. As far as baking times, really depends on how thick and powerful your oven is…we baked at a temperature of 330 degrees and they were done in about 20mins.

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Happy baking!

xo,

Rodene

P.S. Sorry about the inconsistent colors in the photos..the lighting isn’t ideal in our kitchen in the evening.

P.P.S. These are so great crumbled over ice cream and oatmeal….droool.

Daily Dose of Goodness.

Daily brunches for us consists of: carrots, apples, peppers, ginger, and sometimes a slice of toast. And if I’m feeling really guilty about not eating enough greens, I’ll go ahead and juice: broccoli, fennel, parsley, mustard greens, kale, spinach, lemon, celery, cucumbers and just about anything. If you can’t stand the taste of “dirt,” then throw in some kiwi, unless you hate that as well, I’d suggest skip juicing, go with steaming. 😉 Also, we drink our juice soon after we’ve made it, I hear that the nutrients in the juiced fruit and veges are sensitive to air, heat, time and light….so the sooner you drink, the better the benefits! Don’t let it slip away.

Breville is my brand when juicing, toasting, grilling, woking, or blending. They are so awesome, hands down my favorite kitchen appliance brand so far. Kinda pricey, but a good investment, for quality & longevity “tools.” I just wish they would clean themselves, it SUCKS bananas keeping these things clean, but maybe I’m just too o.c.d. when it comes to cleaning.

Hope you have fun juicing, don’t get stuck using the same ingredients, making the same juices, mix and match so you don’t get sick of it. Here’s to a long, healthy, happy life!

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xo,

Rodene