Lush Christmas 2020 Range: Bath

 Hey everyone! 

Welcome to a brand new blog post! I went to Lush recently to check out their new Christmas 2020 range with Luke. As there is a lot of products within this range, I thought that it would be best to separate it into three different posts. I was kindly allowed to safely smell and see what some of the products do when in action. I thought that today, I would talk to you all about the new Christmas Bath and Soap products! 

Bath Bombs:

Golden Wonder 

I have created a blog post before about this product. This bath bomb is amazing. It contains Lime, Cognac and Orange which gives an uplifting zingy yet boozy scent. It creates a lovely mixture of blue and gold within the bath and is a great product to use when you need a pick me up, especially in those cold dark mornings of Winter. 

Shoot For The Stars 

I have also written a blog post about this product before. I have always loved this brilliant bath bomb. The product smells of sweet toffee with a citrus kick. Not only does this product contain gorgeous glittering stars, but it also contains Cocoa Butter which helps you to stay soft and hydrated in the Winter months. 

Snow Fairy Bath Bomb 

if you love the creamy scent of Snow Fairy that makes its appearance throughout the festive time of the year, then you will enjoy this product. It also helps you to enjoy your pamper time that little bit more by having glitter in. 

Snow Fairy Wonderball 

What's a Wonderball?. I hear you say? A Wonderball is a 3 in 1 bath product from Lush. The way that it works, is that the product contains a big bath bomb, sugar crystals and powder that can be used as a bubble bar product and a small bath bomb which not only locks the powder in the middle of the big bomb which ensures that the powder doesn't come out. The stopper can also be used as a single bath bomb too. If you love the Snow Fairy range, then you will definitely adore this. 

Luxury Lush Pud 

I have written a post about this before. This product has a brilliant Blackcurrant scent to it, which is similar to The Comforter from Lush and has different coloured spots all over which create bursts of colour in your bath. It's definitely a great product to have when you need something to help you relax. 

Tick Tock 

This a brand new product for 2020. This product contains Sweet Wild Orange Oil and Popping Candy. Due to this, the product makes for an uplifting bath. I always love bath products that contain Popping Candy as they make my bath experience feel that little bit more special. I can't wait to use this in the bath. 

Angels Delight 

This product contains Tangerine and Orange Oil. However, when I smelt this one in store, I didn't get a powerful Orange scent which was slightly disappointing to me. I got a more creamy scent with an Orange kick to it so I am hoping the citrus notes come out a little more when I use this product. This product also shares it's scent and name with an old Soap that was sold at Lush some time ago. 

Butterbear 

This is a great product for children and adults alike. Not only is it cute but it is very softening due to the amount of Cocoa Butter that is in this product. I have also had the opportunity of making one of this beautiful bears before. If you love creamy scents that help you relax then you will definitely love this one. 

Holly Golightly Wonderball 

Again, this product can be used as three different bath products. This product was out last year, but it was in a different scent. Last year, this product had a spicy scent to it, but this year this product has a citrusy scent to it. If you love Avobath then you will definitely love this product. 

I Want A Hippopotamus For Christmas 

I kind of love shouting this product's name out loud as it just has such a whimsical feel to it. This product is also really cute as it is shaped as a Hippo. I guess a Hippo shaped Bath product also has some ethical problems to it but hey ho. If you love the Very Very Frightening Shower Gel, or the old Space Girl Bath Bomb, then you will love this product as this product has a similar scent to it with a Raspberry kick to it. 

Jingle Bells 

Jingle Bell, Jingle Bell, Jingle Bell Rock! This product looks amazing and smells amazing. If you love anything with Orange and Patchouli in it then you will adore this! Not only does this smell great, but this product also has an amazing feature to it. If you shake the Bath Bomb, it actually jingles! 

Snowman Dreaming 

Winter always makes me daydream about Snowmen and walking in the air! Lush have created a plethora of animal shaped products this year, which include this super little Snowman. This Snowman has a soothing scent of Lavender and creates a rainbow in the bath which I think is amazing. I'm not the biggest fan of Lavender but I do quite like this product just due to the Snowman itself and the fact that it creates such lovely things in the bath. 

Winter Garden 

Honesty I wasn't sure what to expect when I saw that Winter Garden was going the Christmas range for the first time this year. I think I was expecting a faint sort of floral scent with nothing else to it, but that is definitely not what Winter Garden is. Winter Garden contains loads of little treats, which include Ylang Ylang and Blue Cornflowers. When you smell this product, you will be left wondering what the scent is yet believing that you know exactly what the scent is at the same time. This product reminds me of Odango which Lush created at their Oxford Street store many moons ago. If you like deep, resinous, slightly floral scents then you will enjoy this one. 

Bubble Bars: 

Candy Cane Reusable Bubble Bar 

Four for you, Glen Coco! You go, Glen Coco! This product is a reusable Bubble Bar, that you put under the tap to make bubbles. The best part about these types of bars, is that you can use them again and again! This product contains, Sicilian Lemon and Bergamot Oils, which gives the product a sweet citrus scent. I smelt this last year but I don't know if it was the level of scent, or being around other products, but I couldn't smell this much when I was in the store at the time. \

Elfie Stick Bubble Stick 

This product is adorable and kind of funny. This product combines the good old buddies of Christmas with  that good old stick that helps us take photos of a group of faces when we need to. This product looks like an Elf's leg and foot. This product is also a Bubble Stick. The best way to use a Bubble Stick is to, put it in the bottom of your bath tub, turn the tap on, watch the bubbles appear, and when you have as many as you want take it out and let it dry. This product contains Labdanum Resinoid, Sicilian Lemon Oil, Vetivert Oil and Tapioca Pearls. I'm a bit confused on what the Tapioca Pearls will do in this product, but nevertheless, I can't wait to use it. 

Kinky Boots 

Put those Red Stiletto Boots on, and party during the festive season! I was a bit unsure on what this product would be when I heard about it, as I was expecting it to be have a connection to the film/musical, but it doesn't. Instead, this is a 2 in 1 product that resembles Santa being stuck in a Chimney with his Boots sticking out. The Boots are a Bath Oil that contains, Cocoa Buter to keep you soft in the cold months, which can be snapped off and used on their own, and, a bubble bar that can be used for when you want some beautiful bubbles in your bath. 

Polar Bear Plunge 

We all need a chilly Polar Bear that will cuddle up to us in Winter. This cute little Bubble Bar is a wonderful product that is back for 2020. This beautiful bear contains Spearmint Oil, so if you are in need of something that helps to relax your muscles, or, something that is Mint based then you will adore this. I absolutely loved this bar last year, so I am pleased that it is back for 2020. 

Snow Fairy Roll 

If you love Snow Fairy and love Bubble Baths, then this product is definitely for you! If you have never smelt Snow Fairy before, then imagine the smell of Candy Floss mixed with Pear Drops mixed together to create a sweet fruity scent. Most people do either love or loathe this scent. This product resembles The Comforter Bubble Bar, but instead of the comforting Purple colour that The Comforter provides, this has a Pink sparkly colour to it. 

Soaps:

Baked Alaska

This was one of the first products that I ever bought from Lush. This product has been revamped this year to fit the new Soap design that Lush has changed to this year. This product has a design that looks like snow on top which I think is quite cute. In past years, the snow on top of the snow has always fallen off when using it which has always made me think of Dandruff, but this year it stays on. This product contains, Lemon Myrtle, Ylang Ylang and Grapefruit Oils which give off a beautifully rounded citrus scent. This Soap also contains Popping Candy... I'm not really sure why Popping Candy is in a Soap but I am intrigued to see what it brings to the experience of using this Soap. 

Polar Bear 

A brand new soap for 2020! This Soap is another amazing Animal creation! This product contains, Cocoa Butter and Coconut Milk Powder, which ensure that your little paws will be super soft after washing for 20 seconds. This Soap also contains, Brazilian Orange Oil, Peppermint Oil and Benzoin Resinoid, which create a refreshing scent with a citrus kick. I didn't smell it much when in store, but again, it may be one of those that I need to use to really experience the scent of this product. 

Golden Pear 

Golden Pear has been revamped this year to fit the new Soap shape that Lush are using for their Soaps. Last year, Golden Pear came in a pear shape, but this year it is in a block. If you have never smelt Golden Pear, then imagine a sort of fresh pear scent mixed with a resinous spicy scent that comes from the addition of Cardamom Oil, Brazilian Orange Oil and Sandalwood Oil. It is a great scent to use when Autumn is changing into Winter as it still has the woodsy notes you want in Autumn from Sandalwood but has that spicy hit thanks to the Cardamom. I adore this scent! 

Shooting Stars 

I'm definitely wishing for 2021 to be a lot better than 2020 when I use this Shooting Star! This product contains Star Fruit Extract, Lime Oil, Sicilian Lemon Oil and Bergamot Oil which gives this product a fresh citrus scent. This is definitely an amazing product when you need a pick me up in those cold, cold months! 

Snowcake 

Cake and Snow always go together! This product has been out many times during the Winter months in many forms. Whether that be, Perle De Sel, Snow Angel Bath Oil, or, Snowcake Shower Gel. This Soap contains, Soy Yoghurt and Oat Milk which ensures that your hands are forever moisturised when washing with this Soap. This product contains Rose Absolute, Almond Essential Oil, Benzoin Resinoid, and, Cassie Absolute, which give off a very big Marzipan scent to this product. I'm not the biggest fan of Marzipan but I do like this scent every now and again when I want something decadent on my hands.

Have you tried any of the products from Lush Christmas 2020? Let me know down below! 

Thanks for reading!

Jamie x

Lush IRL Bath Bomb Review

Hey everyone! 

Welcome to a brand new blog post! Recently, my friend, Alex picked me up a limited edition IRL Bath Bomb that Lush recently released for Digital Detox Day, so I thought that today, I would talk to you all about the product. 

Lush recently partnered up with Zoella and Digital Detox Day to create the IRL Bath Bomb. Digital Detox Day was to promote how taking a day away from social media can help your mental wellbeing. This was then emulated into IRL Bath Bomb in a number of ways, including, the relaxing scent, the colours that this product creates in the water and the name of the bath bomb itself. IRL is well known internet slang for In Real Life. 

List Of Ingredients: 

Sodium Bicarbonate Citric Acid Organic Illipe Butter Disodium Laureth Sulfosuccinate Titanium Dioxide Rose Absolute Ylang Ylang Oil Mimosa Absolute Lavender Oil Lebanese Neroli Oil  Orange Flower Absolute Cornstarch Water (Aqua) Gardenia Extract PEG-7 Glyceryl Cocoate Dipropylene Glycol Propylene Glycol Synthetic Fluorphlogopite Tin Oxide Amyl Cinnamal Butylphenyl Methylpropional *Citronellol Geraniol Hydroxycitronellal *Limonene *Linalool Perfume Colour 45410:2 Colour 42090:2 Colour 42090 Colour 45410:1 Colour 45410 Colour 77491 Colour 15850:1

When I dropped this into the bath, the first scent that I got was Orange Flower Absolute. I have smelt this before within other products, thus I was able to detect the smoky scent as soon as the scent drew itself towards my nose. After a while, the Orange Flower Absolute blended together with the Neroli to create a sort of floral, resinous citrus scent. Neroli is known to boost serotonin levels which in turn helps us be a little bit happier which we all need during these hard times. The Rose slightly made the scent a slightly sweeter within the waters, but after a few moments, the Rose mingled together with the Ylang Ylang and Lavender to create a sort of light floral sea water scent. I know that this description doesn't sound that attractive on screen, but trust me it smells great. This product would be amazing for those who like clean or citrus scents.

This product produced a lot of bubbles, but once the bubbles from the Bath Bomb disappeared, a lovely layer of softness appeared from the Illipe Butter which made my skin feel amazing. I loved how my skin drank up all of the lovely butter to ensure my skin was hydrated whilst I stared at the lovely colourful waters that were produced from the product fizzing and foaming. 

Sadly this product is limited edition but do let me know if you have tried it. 

Check out Lush. 

Check out my Instagram, where there are pictures of what this product does in the water. 

Thanks for reading! 

Jamie x

Dairy Milk Crispy Mint Creme Chocolate Bar Review

Hey everyone! 

Welcome to a brand new blog post! I thought that today, I would talk to you about a Chocolate Bar that I found at B&M. 

I recently found a new bar from Dairy Milk when I was in B&M. Dairy Milk Crispy Mint Creme. I have never tried it before, so I thought that I would pick up a bar to try because I love anything that is Mint Chocolate flavoured. 

'Cadbury Dairy Milk Crispy Mint Creme with mint flavoured creme & crispy mint pieces.' - Cadhury Australia. 

The texture of this product was very interesting. The beginning of the texture journey started off with the smooth feeling of the Milk Chocolate. After the smooth Milk Chocolate melted on my tongue, a blast of thick cream hit my tongue, unlike the melting chocolate, this coated my tongue a bit more compared to the smooth liquid like melted Chocolate. Finally, once the cream had left my tongue, bursts of crispy mint pieces came through. I liked these pieces, as they were a much needed contrast against the two quite smooth components of the bar. However, after eating a bit of a bar, crunching on so many tiny little sharp shards of mint honeycomb started to hurt my teeth. Yes, they were quite sharp. It was slightly intense and after a while did put me off the bar a tad. 

Even though the texture put me off a bit, the refreshing taste of this bar made me want to go back to it again and again. The richness of the Chocolate instantly hit my tongue like a grenade, ensuring me that I knew that I had bit into a bar of Cadbury's Dairy Milk, after a few moments, a wave of sweet Vanilla coated my tastebuds. I love how it cut through all the richness of the rich Chocolate. I'm sometimes a bit finicky when it comes to Vanilla flavoured products but I loved how this cream tasted. Finally, a brilliant burst of cooling mint pierced my palette. I love how the Mint mixed with the Vanilla to ensure that the Mint wasn't too much of an intense flavour on my tongue. 

Would I try it again? Honestly, maybe. The price of this bar was £3 at B&M, and even though I can see why it's priced at that price, due to the bar being from Australia and having three different components which normally makes a chocolate product more expensive. Saying that, I don't think its worth the price to an extent. I think if it was in a slightly smaller bar then I would get it every now and again, but only being able to get it in a big bar for £3 puts me off a bit especially as I know I'd be paying to end up having mint shards trying to break my teeth. There are very similar products on the market that deliver a similar textural and flavour sensation. If I saw this and was in the mood for a luxury Mint Chocolate bar, which sometimes I am then I would probably pick a bar of it up as a treat. 

Have you tried this product? Let me know down below! 

Check out my last post all about the Lush Halloween 2020 Range. 

Thanks for reading! 

Jamie x

Lush Halloween 2020 Range

 Hey everyone! 

Welcome to a brand new blog post! Lush recently released their Halloween range for 2020. I thought that today, I would talk to you all about the new range and the products that are included in this years Halloween range. 

Lush have decided that, after a rollercoaster of a year, they would only release treats for this Halloween range, thus removing the chance of any tricks happening as we have had enough tricks for a lifetime this year. I decided to pick up three products from this years range which I will talk about below. Even though, I haven't bought the rest of the range, I thought that it would be best to still include the other products in the range within this blog post, so if you like the sound of any of them, you can go and try them for yourselves. 

For 2020, Lush have released a plethora of spooky special treats. If you are a big fan of the slightly spicy Lord of Misrule, that includes Patchouli, Black Pepper and Vanilla, then you will look no further this Halloween. Lush have released their well known Lord of Misrule Bath Bomb which goes from green to red within the waters. This bomb also contains Popping Candy which creates a cool comforting feeling in the bath. Lush have also released their Boo! Shower Slime which has had an update in consistency and scent. This superb shower slime now has the same scent as the Lord of Misrule Bath Bomb and contains Coconut Shell which gives a slightly scrubby feeling to the product. 

If you love anything that is animal themed, then you will love the Bewitched Bubble Bar which is returning this year at Lush. This Bubble Bar is shaped like a beautiful black Cat. If you love anything that has a fruity kick to it, then you will love this product as it contains, Olibanum and Bergamot, which give off a Blackberry scent to the product. If you have tried the new Abracadabra Bubble Stick or Sultana Of Soap from Lush then you will love this bar! 

What's Halloween without a few Monsters? Lush have brought back their marvellous little Monster in the form of Monsters Ball Bath Bomb. Not only is this product cute, but it smells amazing too. This Bath Bomb contains Lime, Neroli and Olibanum which gives off a sort of creamy citrus scent. If you have melt Calacas from Lush then you will love this. I have always adored this product as it reminds me of Mike from Monsters Inc! If you're a fan of citrus scents, then the soap from this years Halloween range is definitely for you! Ghost In The Dark contains Bergamot and Lemongrass which gives off a slightly grassy citrus kick when you use the soap. It also glows in the dark which makes even more amazing in my eyes. 

Finally Punk's not dead at Lush, as they have brought back their Punkin Pumpkin Bath Bomb this year. This product contains, Cinnamon Leaf, Lime, Sweet Wild Orange and Sicilian Red Mandarin. This product has a slightly uplifting but mainly spicy scent to it which is perfect in the slightly colder times that will be approaching us soon in the UK. 

I decided to pick up a Bat Art, a bottle of Very Very Frightening and a tub of Toffee Apple Lip Scrub mainly because they are new things from Lush that are in the new range that I haven't tried before. 

The first product that I decided to get was Bat Art. Honestly, the design of this product was enough to make me buy it. Halloween is normally associated with Bats and after a year of Bats having some nasty connotations, I'm glad that Lush are making them spooky and cute again and not a symbol of a world wide pandemic. The slightly dark purple colour of the product is so enticing, and well I love anything that is coated in glitter. Glitter makes everything better! This product creates a mixture of swirling Purples in the water. The product also creates a lake of silver shimmer in the waters which I absolutely adore. I loved just staring at this one whilst in the bath. The scent of this Bath Bomb is very interesting. It contains, Green Mandarin, Sicilian Lemon, Rosemary and Sage. These four ingredients together create a sort of herbal Blackcurrant scent that I absolutely love. It reminds me of sort of hot Blackcurrant you sometimes have in the colder weathers to ensure that you don't end up sick. I just love how the herbs work well together with the sweetness of the Blackcurrant. If you have ever smelt the Junk range from Lush, imagine that scent in a Bath Bomb. 

The next product that I got is the brand new Very Very Frightening Shower Gel. I bought this in the 240g bottle size. Whenever I see or type out this product name, I just want to start singing Bohemian Rhapsody. This product looks so cool just from the bottle as it has a neon Yellow colour to it. If you have tried the Space Girl Bath Bomb that Lush did many moons ago, then imagine that scent but in a Shower Gel format. If you haven't then, this product contains, Plantain Extract, Fine Sea Salt, Grapefruit, Bergamot, Almond Essential Oil and Lemon Juice. Imagine a sort of zingy take on a handful of Parma Violet sweets been crushed into a big jug of Blackcurrant Juice. When I used this, the first note that I got was the uplifting Lemon but when I applied water and lathered it on my hands and body, I got a big hit of the sort of the fruity floral notes which make up the Space Girl scent. The texture of this product is quite intriguing. Its not as thick as a cream, but its also not as thick as a gel per se. When I applied it to myself, the first thing that came into my mind about the texture was Serum. You know the sort of slightly watery but still slightly gel like Serums that you can buy for your skin? This Shower Gel has the same consistency as those. It doesn't foam up and lather loads, but Very Very Frightening does have a good medium sort of lather to it and it doesn't take ages to lather up unlike some other Shower Gels that have been produced by Lush in the past. 

The final product that I decided to grab was the Toffee Apple Lip Scrub. I have a Lip Piercing so I always like to try out new Lip Scrubs from Lush as I love the natural ingredients that are in them, but also I love to see how they work when it comes to using the product near my piercing, as I have tried some in the past that haven't gotten along with it. This product evokes memories of Bonfire Night to me. Cold dark evenings, the sound of fireworks erupting the world around me and the feeling of eating a terrific Toffee Apple whilst the night sky illuminates with a rainbow of colour. This product contains, Caster Sugar, Extra Fine Sea Salt, Jojoba Oil, Shea Butter, Bergamot, Geranium and Sandalwood. I had a problem when trying this out. It wasn't a big problem, it was more to do with the aesthetic of the product. Online, the product looks like it is meant to be half red and half green side by side, whereas the batch that I received seemed to have the red and green on top of each other instead. I kind of got Apples with a hint of Salted Toffee more than Toffee Apple, nevertheless I love the taste of this Scrub and I will use it throughout the Autumn season. I loved what this product did for my lips. There was a good amount of scrubbing power, which ensured that my lips felt cleansed and amazing, but also the oil stopped it from feeling like I had gone over my lips with Sandpaper. Some scrubs that I have used have felt like this before and have actually irritated my lips which has lowered my self confidence in the past. 

I think that I may have to pick up a Lord of Misrule Bath Bomb and maybe some Boo! when I next pop in, as I enjoy the scent more when it's a bit colder. 

Have you tried any of the Lush Halloween 2020 Range? Let me know down below! 

Check out my last post here. 

Check out Lush.

Thanks for reading my post!

Jamie x

S&B Foods & Hyper Japan Virtual Japanese Dinner Party Event

Hey everyone! 

Welcome to a brand new blog post! I was invited to a virtual Dinner Party by the wonderful guys over at S&B Foods and Hyper Japan, so I thought that today, I would talk to you all about it. 

Since 1923, S&B Foods has been producing a marvellous mixture of food products including, curry sauce mixes and much more. You may know S&B for their gorgeous Golden Curry Mixes and their terrific Tube Wasabi products that have made the brilliant brand become world-wide. Personally, I believe that if it wasn't for S&B and their amazing products, the majority of the UK's population, would be scared and confused when it came to cooking Japanese food at home. 

Before the Virtual Dinner Party, Hyper Japan kindly sent me a box of the S&B Golden Curry Japanese Curry Mix In Block in Medium Hot to cook with to make my own personal Japanese Curry, so I had something to bring and talk about to the Dinner Party. I followed the recipe on the back of the box, which I will include below this paragraph, but I added a few extra things, including, Chilli Paste and some Garlic to garnish the dish with. 

Golden Curry Recipe: 

This recipe makes 5 servings, but you can always make more or less. 

Ingredients: 

Protein (This could be Beef (or Chicken, Tofu etc, chopped - 450 g

Medium Onions, minced - 1 3/4 (350 g)

Medium Carrot, chopped - 1/2 (100 g)

Potato, chopped - 1 (150 g)

Vegetable Oil - 1 Tbsp

Water - 540 ml

S&B Golden Curry Sauce Mix - 1 pack

Directions:

Stir-fry meat and vegetables with oil in a large skillet on medium heat for approx. 5 min.

Add water and bring to boil. Reduce heat, cover and simmer until ingredients are tender, approx. 15min.

Turn the heat off, break S&B Golden Curry Sauce Mix into pieces and add them to the skillet. Stir until sauce mixes are completely melted. Simmer approx. 5 min., stirring constantly.

Serve hot over rice or noodles.

I cooked my food and waited for the Zoom call to start up. After a few minutes, we all joined and said hi. The Party was about to begin! We all talked about how we made our Curries and presented them to the camera. A fair few members of the group, said that the sauce itself needed a bit more heat for their liking, and, I agree. If you like your curries on the slightly mild sweet side then this block will definitely suit you. I love Japanese Curries, so this block was an easy way for me to get my fix, but I have started to like a touch of heat with my Curry which is why I added a touch of Chilli Paste to my dish. Other members of the party talked about using a Rice Cooker, I have been meaning to invest in one for a while and hearing how easy this appliance makes cooking for some of the members of the party has made me want one that little bit more! 

After we talked about how we had personalised our dishes, we were introduced to Avinash Shashidhara. They talked to us about three different recipes that can be made with the S&B Golden Curry Block. I loved this, as I never end up using a whole block in one go if I'm making a Japanese Curry just for myself. The dishes that he made with the block include, a Lentil and Vegetable Curry, Mixed Vegetable Puffs, and,  Monkfish Curry but other Fish or Seafood could be used. I thought that I would include the recipes below. I know that I will be making the Lentil and Vegetable Curry as it sounds amazing to have on those cold Autumn nights, or for me, after a virtual day at University. 

Lentil and Vegetable Curry: 

Pigeon Peas/Any Lentils - 150g

 Carrots (diced) - 2

 Potatoes (diced) - 2

 Tomatoes (diced) - 2

 Green beans - 100g

Turmeric - 0.5 tsp

S&B Golden curry mix - 0.5 block

Tamarind juice - 1 tsp

Salt to taste

Tempering:

Oil - 2 tsp

Mustard seeds - 1 tsp

Curry leaf - ripped up

Method: 

Wash the lentils.

In a heavy bottom pan, add the lentils (pigeon peas) and tomatoes. Cover with water about 1 inch above level. Add turmeric and start cooking over medium heat.

Cook until lentils are really soft (top up hot water if needed), keep stirring occasionally. This should take about 25-30 mins.

Once lentils are nearly ready, add the rest of the vegetables, tamarind juice and half a block of the curry mix. Cook until the vegetables are ready. Keep on low heat and get ready to temper.

For the tempering, heat oil in a small frying pan, add mustard seeds, once they crackle, add the curry leaves and dry red chilli and toss lightly. Once fried, add the tempering to the lentils, stir it in and turn heat off

Serve hot with steamed rice. 

Mixed Vegetable Puffs: 

Filling:

Cabbage - 0.25 chopped fine 

Onions - 1 finely chopped 

Green Chilli - 2 finely chopped 

Potatoes - 1 peeled and chopped 

Carrots - 1 peeled and chopped 

S&B Golden curry mix - 0.5 block 

Oil - 2 tsp 

Salt to taste

Pastry:

Ready to roll puff pastry sheet - 2

Egg - 1 for coating/wash 

Method: 

Prepare the filling by frying onions in the oil, followed by chilli, once fried, add the vegetables – potatoes and carrots first followed by cabbage. Season with salt and the S&B golden curry mix. Allow the vegetable to cook until soft and ensure the mix is dry. Allow this mix to cool. 

Prepare the pastry sheets by rolling them out on a dry and cool surface, divide each sheet into 6 rectangles.

Prepare a tray lined with greaseproof paper and lay one of the rectangles on it. Preheat the oven to 220°C (200°C for fan assisted)/425°F/Gas Mark 7). 

 

In each rectangle, add a tablespoonful of the cooled down mix on one half, leaving a little space on the sides to be able to fold over the second half and seal three sides. Use a bit of egg wash if needed to glue the two sides together.

Leave enough gaps between the puffs and prepare the trays. Brush the tops of the puffs with egg wash.

Place the trays in oven f and bake or approx. 12-15 minutes, or until the pastry is risen and golden brown.

Monkfish Curry: 

S&B Golden curry mix - 0.5 block 

Monkfish fillet(cut into cubes) - 1 fillet 

 Tomato ripe chopped - 3

Onion chopped - 1

Tamarind Paste - 2 tbsp 

Turmeric - 0.5 tsp 

Coconut milk - 250ml

Fish/shellfish - 500g 

Sunflower oil - 2 tbsp 

chopped ginger garlic - 2 tsp 

Method: 

Heat oil in a pan and add the onions, and ginger garlic and cook till light brown

Add the tomatoes and continue to cook for a further 10 minutes till it turns into a smooth sauce

Add the curry block and the tamarind paste and continue to cook for a further 5 minutes Add a tin of coconut milk and cook till the sauce thickens

After watching these recipes being made, we asked questions that we all had about the dishes that had been created. These questions included adjusting certain ingredients to adapt the dishes to our needs and dietary requirements. 

After this, we watched an amazing video about S&B and then we said our goodbyes. 

I had such a wonderful time, creating my Curry and hearing other peoples thoughts and ideas on how to make the dish that little bit more delicious for when I cook it again in the near future. 

What's your favourite Japanese dish? Have you cooked Japanese Curry before? Let me know down below!

Thanks to the wonderful staff at Hyper Japan, S&B and Avinash Shashidhara for inviting me to the Dinner Party and holding the event.  

Check out S&B Foods. 

Check out Hyper Japan. 

Check out Avinash Shashidhara. 

Thanks for reading! 

Jamie x 

Thanks to S&B Foods and Hyper Japan for inviting me to this event. This post was created in exchange for an invitation to the event. All views and opinions are my own. 

A Little Celebratory Socially Distanced Photoshoot

 Hey everyone!

Welcome to a brand new blog post. I thought that I would change stuff up and talk a bit about what has been going in my life lately and talk about a little phptpshoot that I did to celebrate finishing a Undergraduate Degree at University. 

As I have just mentioned, I recently finished a Degree at Leeds Beckett University. 2020 has definitely challenged me in every way possible and I'm pretty proud of myself that I was able to finish a three year University course which included writing a ten thousand word dissertation during a worldwide pandemic. 

My dissertation was about the representation of visually impaired people within the film and television industry and how basing a character on three main tropes can make society perceive an image of the visually impaired community which isn't completely true and how these industries forget to actually include real visually impaired people or their real life stories, compared to things such as blogs and YouTube videos which do. 

At the beginning of this year, I was figuring out whether I wanted to stay in Leeds for another year and if I wanted to carry on with my student story via enrolling in a Masters Degree, as I think that we need to discuss how the representation of disabled and LGBTQIAP+ people within the media needs to be changed to showcase a more true representation of the marginalised groups. I also think that the media needs to showcase some form of good representation of invisible disabilities as well as visible disabilities as I  still think that the world isn't as educated on invisible disabilities as much as we should be and seeing a true representation of them within the media would help us to be more educated on the matter. I have decided to not stay in Leeds for another year due to how the lockdown this year has affected me mentally and I believe that I need to prioritise my mental health more than anything else this year. Even though I am not living in Leeds for another year, I have decided to pursue a Masters Degree within Media and Culture. 

To celebrate graduating, as graduations have been postponed during 2020, I decided to have a mini socially distanced adventure whilst I was in Leeds. This included a great meal at Blue Sakura. If you haven't checked out my post about Blue Sakura, then click here. I love eating Japanese food and getting to eat it to my hearts content at Blue Sakura is forever a beautiful blessing. Once I had filled my boots with food, I went to a little photoshoot within a park that is located in Leeds City Centre to take some photos as I liked the way that I looked and I wanted to show the world via social media that I had graduated University. 

Here is one of the photos from the photoshoot. Thanks to Alex that took these at a 2 metre distance. 

The mask is from RedBubble. The Shirt is from Jacamo, which I have included in a blog post before, which I will link here. The Jeans are from Primark. The Jacket is from Next and the shoes that I absolutely adore are from Boohoo. 

I love this slightly smart, slightly casual look and I love the hint of shimmer from the shoes. I also love the Blazer/Jacket and honestly, I need to invest in a couple more as they just jazz up an outfit when you want the outfit to feel that little bit more special. 

Have you been to Blue Sakura? Do you like the outfit? Let me know down below.

Read my last post all about the Lidl White Chocolate, Coconut and Cornflakes Bar. 

Thanks for reading! 

Jamie x