Date night, no 'maet' night

Hello all,

So once again I come to you with an update on my Vegetaruary. Last weekend was date night. My boyfriend couldn’t really get his head around the idea of not eating meat. He literally has chicken or chorizo in every meal! These are his grumpy/confused faces:

Sorry Ryan!

Finding a restaurant to cater for us both was easy, as Leeds is so full of choice and flavours. Had I tried to find a good vegetarian menu in my hometown, I feel I would struggle. Us Yorkshire folk like 'ar meat (pronounced mayte/maet), after all.

It can be a struggle getting a table on a Saturday night in Leeds if you haven’t pre-booked. However, after a quick online search on the train into town, we quickly reserved a table for two at Ciao Bella near Brewery Wharf.

It’s such a lovely place that makes you feel like you’re not in Yorkshire. It’s so modern and classy, like I’m in Central London. Anyway, after browsing over the menu, including the meat section more than once, I found one of my favourite vegetarian dishes: Spinach and Ricotta Cannelloni. Now, the funny thing is, is that I love this as a Morrisons ready meal.

I love you.

It is so super tasty and this was the first time eating the dish in a restaurant. I was far from disappointed. It was so filling, and tasty. I’m really enjoying the different flavour combinations through cutting out meat. I feel when you eat meat, it’s easy to get the fried/grilled/seared fillet of meat then just stick it with chips or some form of potato. Through cutting out meat, I find myself opening up to ideas of different food combinations and I seem to get to have all the best flavours crammed into one meal!

I think date night was a great success, and my boyfriend doesn’t have to worry so much about choosing places that cater for us both. Although, he doesn’t have to worry, as the month’s almost up! I will be going back to eating meat, but I’ve definitely learnt that it isn’t a necessity to eat it everyday.

Ta loves,

Becky

Vegetaruary: Are you nuts?!

We're halfway through January, which means I'm halfway through my own, personal creation: Vegetaruary. I'm shocked and surprised to tell you that it's been very easy! 

I mean, New Year's Day, all I wanted was bacon. Sweet, crispy, fatty bacon. Agghhhhhh - I've had a few sore heads, and vegetables cannot cure a hangover. I needed fried chicken, or bacon-y goods, but other than a few almost slip-ups, it's been all gravy baby (vegetarian, meat-free gravy, that is).

Let's see what recipe I've come up with following last week's ALDI shop!

One of the wonderful concoctions I managed to throw together without glancing at a recipe book was the sacred nut roast.

I love a good roast dinner. I'm a big fan of my meat and two veg (Hey! Less of that!) so was intrigued to see what a meatless roast would be like.

I blended mushrooms, garlic, mixed nuts (pine nuts, cashews, peanuts, walnuts), Italian seasoning and a bit of parmesan cheese, and produced this:

Ladies and gents: Becky's nut roast

Now I know what you're thinking: 'Becky?! YOU SHOULD TOTALLY BE ON MASTERCHEF!'

I know, I know, it's beautiful. But honestly, at this point - I was ready to cave and head to One Stop for some cheap chicken. I persevered though, and stuck the blob in the oven for 20 minutes.

I made some mash and boiled sprouts and carrots. I even bought some vegetarian gravy which is actually really, really good - better than chicken flavoured gravy (shock, horror)!

I ate the whole thing. It was super delicious, and doesn't look half bad once cooked and covered in gravy, if I do say so myself.

If the visuals don't put you off, I highly recommend trying a nut roast for yourself. Keep checking up for more news on my new found vegetarianism!

Ta loves
x

Happy New Year! Happy Veganuary?

Merry 2016 all! Where did 2015 go? 

What a friendly crow

It was an eventful year for me: returning to university after my internship, being reunited with my beautiful housemates, turning 21, travelling to different places in the UK and Europe, and meeting Ryan. I finished it off in style as a redhead, surrounded by great people, in the city I love: Leeds. Now the resolutions come pouring in all over Facebook #newyearnewme, going to join the gym, diet starts today etc.

Well I'm setting myself a challenge. Three challenges to be exact.

New Year seen in with the best friends

I have three resolutions (but will I actually stick to any? We’ll see!) 

1. Blog more: DO IT. DOOOOOO IT. YOU ENJOY IT, BECKY, SO BLEEDIN’ DO IT!

2. Tone up. Yes, this will last two seconds. Everyone says they’re going to lose weight in the New Year, but it never lasts. Last year, I lost a bit of weight after January, but it’s all come back (blame the boyfriend, beer, and desserts), but I’d like to tone up in some areas to feel a bit better about the way I look.

3. Eat more consciously. Now this brings me onto my post’s title. We as a nation eat too much meat. Too much meat is bad for you and it is also bad for our world. We are eating meat at an unsustainable rate. After visiting a Vegan Festival, I discovered amazing foods that don’t contain meat or animal products. Shock horror! I couldn’t believe it either, does anything taste good without bacon? 

Anyway, I was going to take part in Veganuary: a scheme where you become a vegan for the whole of January, but then I remembered…dairy. No cheese, no chocolate, no milk for my Yorkshire Tea, and no eggs for my yorkshire puddings. I’m just not ready for that kind of commitment. Yes, there are alternative ingredients to eggs, milk, cheese etc. but it's just not the same. 

So instead, I’m trying my own thing: Vegetaruary…it works if you say it fast. I will go all of January without eating meat. We’ll see how I get on, I’ll blog regularly, share recipes and how I’m finding the whole thing.

My ALDI shop

A Yorkshire lass can't live without her gravy

I spent £18 in ALDI on my weekly shop. I can already see the benefits to vegetarianism as my usual weekly shop comes to around £26 when buying different meats and seafood. From looking at what I’ve bought, none of the foods are standalone meals, but I’m excited to mix flavours and foods together to see what I create. Wish me luck!

Ta loves

Becky

'The Girls' - review

Nothing fills my heart more than some good ol’ Yorkshire pride. One thing that makes me proud of where I live is the talent of performers – comedians, musicians, actors etc.

As a West Yorkshire lass, I had the privilege of seeing ‘The Girls’ Musical as it makes its world premiere at Leeds Grand Theatre on the 23^rd of November – a fantastic, new stage musical written by Tim Firth, an Olivier award-winning playwright and the talented, northern lad Gary Barlow. Well I think it’s fair to say in Gary’s own words that ‘The Girls’ was ‘ABSOLUTELY FANTASTIC’.

For those who don’t know, the show is based on a true story of the Knapely’s Women’s Institute and the tale of Annie whose husband John had been diagnosed with terminal cancer. John died and the whole town was at a loss, but thanks to Annie’s best friend Chris and the other members of the WI, they produced a nude, sorry, ‘alternative’ calendar to buy a new settee in the hospital John was treated at. There is also a ‘Calendar Girls’ play and a film starring Helen Mirren and Julie Walters.

I’m a big fan of musicals, but ones I’m less familiar with always make me wonder whether I’ll enjoy it or not, as I am one of those people who loves to know the plot and songs so I can hum along. Another thing I love to do is go home and think about which character I’d like to play and why (in this, I’d like to be Celia – the feisty, glamorous ex-air hostess with a rather LARGE secret). 

The show starts with a big group number called ‘Yorkshire’ which set the scene very well but was a lot to follow, especially after an afternoon of sampling Leeds’s finest pubs. With opening numbers, they can either really kick off the show, or leave you feeling a bit lacklustre – I think this opening number is a bit of both. However, once you get into the dialogue, it’s laughter all the way!  The comedic timing of these actors, and the dialogue was incredible – as a patriot, I loved hearing a musical with a local slant to it instead of the usual Mary Poppins-esque, la-dee-dah style of voice we’re used to in West End theatre.  

Many tears were shed as the characters faced the real issues behind the singing and joking – cancer. A really touching scene happens halfway through the second act where Chris pleads with the Women’s Institute Conference judges to help beat this ‘vile’ thing we know as cancer. It was a really touching moment as we watched two best friends standing side-by-side taking a stand for this cause, and the reality was really brought home. These women on stage weren’t all young, leggy dancers you see on the stages of musicals like ‘Dirty Dancing’ and ‘Cats’; these were talented, ‘real’ women who look like you and I. That made it even more realistic, and even more special and I think a new audience favourite.

Excuse the blotchy face, I'd just had a bit of a cry

A few nip slips, accidental or not, were seen in the final scenes as we saw the WI calendar being created, but that added to the fun of the show. Well done to the cast who braved to bare, particularly on a cold November night felt from even inside the theatre for most of the evening (but maybe that was just me).

Real standout performances were, of course, from the two leading ladies, Claire Moore that played Chris, alongside her extensive plethora of theatre credits gave Helen Mirren a run for her money, and Annie, the caring widow, played by Joanna Riding who delivered a beautiful performance of the song ‘Kilimanjaro' which sings of the struggles faced when you lose someone; comparing climbing a mountain to getting that first bus to town next to an empty seat that was once full. Gary Barlow’s lyrics must really be praised for this amazing, down to earth music. The entire cast worked so well; you really felt like you were looking into the life of a real close community.

The songs were great and the singing was to an immaculate standard, although my one main criticism would be that there were too many intros which sounded like the cast were going to burst into song, when really they were just speaking a few lines to a tune before walking off.

Nevertheless, I loved it and the second act was quite possibly the best part to a show I’ve ever seen for all the ups, downs, laughs, tears and slips. If you can go see it, please do!

Outside the street was filled with Sunflowers

Ta loves
x

Am bein’ Autumnal, orate?

Hellor! So a lot’s changed in the year and a bit since I last posted. Bad blogger. Bad, bad blogger. So yeah, first of all, sorry about that. I really wanna try and take this opportunity and make a proper go of it this time. Starting with this. 

A lot has changed. I feel a lot more confident thanks to the past year. I’ve interned at my University, taken a year out from my studies, made some amazing friends, travelled to some cool locations, met an amazing boy and eaten foods and drank drinks I couldn’t possibly imagine tasting that beautiful outside of my beautiful Yorkshire. Overall, I feel a much happier, more confident person who wants to make a real go of this blogging business.

One of the biggest changes my friends will have noticed is my hair! Out with the blonde and in with the, oh, aup, what’s that? Becky, the girl who for the past 21 years of her life has been bright blonde either through natural sun, highlighting or dyeing, has gone RED.

It was a big step. I’d spoken to a few people about the change, and they were divided. I was told it could clash with my pinkish skin tone, that I should just go for it, and that it could go ‘ewww ginger’! I bought Loreal Preference’s Brooklyn shade and went from bright blonde to dark auburn in the time it takes to watch an episode of Corrie (which I did whilst my hair developed FYI).

I was immediately so pleased with the results. When I was younger, as a natural mousey blonde, it would go dark in winter. As an awkward 12/13 year old with no make-up and a cheap pair of hair straighteners, pictures would emerge of this Hanson reject with the largest black bags under her eyes and a wide, fat nose. I always thought that darker hair would bring that look back from 2006 where it belonged. However, I was so wrong and I really suit the colouring.

Now, when I see pictures with my old hair, I can't believe I stayed blonde for so long. I went from golden blonde, to ash blonde, to platinum blonde which in the end made me look like an E.L. James novel: 50 Shades of Blonde, although no Christian in sight! Just look at how unhealthy it looked, and how pink it made my skin!

It seems to be a good colour for the Autumn and Winter months, but I’ll have to stay on top of it when the sun comes back from wherever he goes. Not sure I’d rock orange roots! My head is the colour of chestnuts, fallen leaves, and mulled wine, which is probably my favourite thing about this time of year because I get warm and drunk. YAY.

I love being red, and even more recently I’ve had a lot of hair lopped off. IT’S SO SHORT NOW OMG. I’m loving this new look and feel sassy af. Thank you to everyone who’s complimented my new look, I even plan to go a bit redder next time!

So, I hope to carry on blogging. I have a few ideas ready to post in the next couple of weeks. Please, if you enjoy it, keep telling me to post stuff otherwise my next post will probably be December 2016. Who knows?! Maybe then I’ll be rocking a green cropped ‘do! Hopefully not though!

Ta loves

x

Don't be a cat this Halloween! Costume tips

Halloween is just around the corner. It’s meant to be a night of fun, surprises and sugar/alcohol (depending on your age). I’ve spent the last few Halloweens at parties. Not by choice! If it were up to me, trick or treating over the age of 16 wouldn't be classed as begging! Anyway, I digress.

When I think of Halloween, I do think of sweets and alcohol and having fun, but I also think of blood, zombies, scary things! So why is it that when I show up to a party nowadays, I have to double take that I haven’t walked onto Andrew Lloyd-Webber’s stage? Cats everywhere!

I love cats, cats are great. But 99% of girls dress as cats for Halloween, which make it very unoriginal and very…boring. It’s a safe choice, whereas I've always loved thinking of different, strange costumes as it’s one of the only times in the year where you can go totally crazy with how you dress. This post is just a bit of fun but I want to share Halloween dress up ideas with you all and hopefully give you some inspiration to avoid the safe option and avoid ruining your favourite eye-liner drawing on your whiskers! Take a look at my top 10 Halloween dress up ideas:

1)      The Joker

So I thought I’d start with the costume I chose for last Halloween. I went as the Joker from the Batman Dark Knight trilogy. I love the Batman franchise, and Heath Ledger was unbelievable in his portrayal of what was to be one of his last roles. I love the clashing purple and green that the classic Joker wears, but there’s something about Christopher Nolan's portrayal of this Joker that made it a perfect Halloween costume as it's so sinister and creepy. My hair was just past shoulder length, so I thought I’d put a wash-in, wash-out green dye on and leave it curly and messy. I then covered my face in white face paint before smudging black eyeshadow all around my eyes. Using some liquid latex, I was able to create two giant scars starting from my mouth and finishing halfway up my cheeks. Then the last touch, once the liquid latex had dried, was to go over my lips and the scars with a bright red lipstick. I’m not very good at precision (I doubt I’d ever be able to post a nail or make-up tutorial) so it was easy for me to make a big, blotchy mess of my face from just smearing lipstick and eyeshadow all over.



Is it strange to find this look attractive?

I was a poor second year student when I went as the Joker so decided to find the clothes for this costume at the cheapest price possible. I found a purple velvet blazer on eBay, originally from Zara, for just £7 and it was perfect! I matched it with a green dress from Primark that came to £5 and wore tights and ankle boots. Claire’s Accessories had a neon green bow-tie that brought the entire look together and I was ready to go out as the Joker. I’d recommend this idea to anyone, as I was super proud of it. It has so many perks: people complimented my outfit and were really impressed so that was really nice to hear, plus it’s a great conversation starter if you want to discuss the film or Heath Ledger. 

*WARNING* However, a word of warning. I had a major blonde moment last year with the ‘wash-in, wash-out’ dye. It turns out I had bought a semi-permanent green dye by Directions, made worse because it had been applied onto bleached hair! So, yes, I spent the next month with green in my hair, and everyone made sure I knew about it. It was eventually subtle enough to be dyed over but I’ll never forget that Halloween now! If you do follow this costume idea, either buy a wig or read what dye you’re actually using. Oops.

My hair stayed green for a month!

2)      Porcelain Doll

They are terrifying! I cannot comprehend why people collect these things? The only reason I could ever think of having one of these dolls in my house is to use it as inspiration for a Halloween costume! I think it’s a great girly Halloween idea as you get to wear a cute dress, curl your hair in ringlets and have immaculate make-up. I think the more make-up, the better for this costume. Again, the outfit itself can be found on eBay or in Charity shops and can be dressed up with a pinafore and knee high socks. False eyelashes and white eyeliner will give you that big doe-eyed stare. If you want to go all out, you can buy contact lenses to change the colour and size of your eyes which makes the look 10x spookier. To make yourself look even scarier, cover yourself in fake cobwebs to look like you have been hidden away, or draw cracked lines on your face as though you have been dropped and smashed. I think this is a great look and it’s very girly for those that like to still feel pretty on a night out. 

Why would you collect this?



3)      Disney

This can have a similar effect as the Porcelain Doll, as you can dress girly and still be scary with Disney characters. When searching for inspiration online, I have come across Disney characters under the Halloween section (Malice in Wonderland, Snow Fright etc.). But I never see girls dressing as Disney villains! When you look back on the films you watched as a child, it’s surprising you turned out okay after watching Mufasa and Bambi’s mum die. Disney had some really dark, horrible moments, which make them all the more ideal for Halloween costumes now that you’re older. My top three Disney costumes for Halloween would have to be:

-         Ursula, The Little Mermaid. I think this would be a fantastic costume, and I’m yet to see it on Halloween. Buy a long black strapless dress with a fishtail effect on the bottom, or make your own with extra fabric! Then backcomb your hair and apply bright, popping eye make-up. Perfect your husky cackle and you’re ready to go.

Sassy.

-         Cruella De Vil, 101 Dalmatians. This is what I am going as for Halloween this year and I can’t wait! I bought the outfit online in a pack which comes with a black dress, a bejewelled choker, a faux (I hope) Dalmatian fur shawl and long black gloves. To finish the look, I have purchased two coloured hairsprays. I’m going to centre part my hair and spray one side black and one side white. Please note: no puppies were harmed in the making of this Halloween costume.

Cruel Devil.

-         Maleficent, Sleeping Beauty. What an amazing idea, if I do say so myself. If I hadn’t already planned and bought my outfit, I would definitely be going as this for Halloween. Following the release of Maleficent starring Angelina Jolie this year, it is such a current and glamorous fancy dress idea that can be made so easily. Outfits are available online and in fancy dress shops, but you can also make the outfit yourself, if you’re quite a crafty person. Again, a long black dress will do. If you can source a black cape and wings, wear them too. For Maleficent’s horns, you can create them using newspaper, PVA glue and paint. Mould the newspaper, cover in PVA glue and wait to set. Then paint them black. You can then attach the horns to a black swim cap, a headband or hair slides.  I think this look would be amazing this Halloween and would love to see one of you give it a go!

Why am I not her?

4)      Carrie

Classic horror films are some of the best. I’m trying to stick with a theme of girly/sexy costume ideas that you can feel both scary and confident in. Carrie is one of the best Halloween costumes for girls. The best part about this outfit is the getting ready. It’s like prom night all over again. You can do your hair and make-up really nice, put on a gorgeous ball gown…then cover yourself head-to-toe in red paint. Okay, so it must feel pretty devastating to have your hair, dress and make-up ruined in the middle of your Prom Queen acceptance speech, but it makes a great Halloween costume. You also get to wear a pretty tiara. Win-win.

I'd look pretty angry too if you ruined my dress.

5)      Karen Smith, Mean Girls

PLEASE somebody go as Karen Smith for Halloween! This Halloween costume would get the whole party talking, for all the right reasons. If you don’t know what I’m talking about, leave this blog post now please. Just kidding. To summarise, in the chick-flick Mean Girls i.e. the greatest film you will ever see in your life, a fifteen year old girl from Africa finds herself lost in American teenage girl world. Halloween to her is dressing up scary, but Halloween in girl world is dressing like a slut. Here's a gif to explain:

To pull off the Karen Smith, you will need:

• A black leotard
• Mouse ears
• …and not much else.

This is one of my favourite moments of the whole film, and would make a fantastic Halloween costume.

Bless you Karen Smith

6)      Spider

If you’re a creative person who likes making their own outfits, a Spider is a pretty fun outfit to make and wear. Stuff two old pairs of black tights with newspaper and sew the crotch to the sides of a black, long-sleeved dress. Then using string, connect the two legs of your tights loosely together before sewing the higher leg loosely to your sleeve. Repeat the process on the other side of your body and you should look like you have eight legs when you lift up your arms. Cobwebs and thick, spikey eyelashes should complete the look. I don’t think there are enough spiders, at Halloween parties of course (God knows there’s TOO many around my house). It’s a fun, creative costume that will get people talking and I don’t know why more people don’t dress as it, when nearly everyone at the party will be scared to death!

I couldn't find a good enough picture, therefore, this spider has 10 legs.

7)      Alex (Alexander the Large), A Clockwork Orange

Alex is one of the scariest fictional characters I have ever read about/seen. A quick summary for those who don’t know: Alex is part of a gang who steals from, rapes and assaults people for his own enjoyment. When he is caught, he is used in a social experiment where he is injected with a vomit inducing drug that is administered whilst he watches videos of assault and rape. So I think that small synopsis justifies his place in this post. I dressed as Alex in my first year at University. I didn’t want to wear the strange nappy-esque pants over some trousers, so opted for a girlier look.

Nice nappy.

I wore a bowler hat, a white t-shirt, braces, tights, a tutu skirt and black doc martens. I painted my face white, coating one of my eyes to make it look pale. On the other eye, I applied mascara, eye-liner and false eyelashes to the top and bottom lash lines. Voila! I loved it! I then spent the rest of the night posing in a rather sinister fashion in the background of other people’s pictures. I suppose when you look the part, you’ve got to play the part a bit. This was a great Halloween costume that I would definitely do again.

Creepin'



 8)       The Black Swan

Since the 2010 Oscar-winning film, I have loved seeing girls dressed as the Black Swan for Halloween. Again, it’s a great, feminine costume that also has the scare factor. I really enjoyed this film and think this would make a great Halloween costume for anyone. All you need is a black dress, or top and tutu. Tie your hair up and use a donut and grips to secure it in a ballerina style. You can go all out and wear ballet shoes, or just wear pumps. Use eyeliner to create a thick, harsh flick on both eyes to finish the look.

 

I have always loved dressing up as something quite original and creative, but I’ve also liked to keep a girly essence to my outfit, especially when I'm going on a night out for Halloween. I hope this post has given you some inspiration for your own outfit. Remember, no cats and also no twinkly, sparkly vampires – Twilight is off limits! Don’t be a pussy – try something new this Halloween (if you’ll pardon the pun).

Have a great time!

-          Becky

Welcome to Yorkshire

Hello and welcome to my blog - Tea and Puddings.
You may be asking yourself "why is there a blog called 'Tea and Puddings'?" (I asked myself the same question when I clicked 'Create blog'). However, I wanted a fun, quirky name that would reflect my writing style, my topics and me as a person, and as a proud Yorkshire 'lass', I thought I'd call my blog after two of its greatest 'exports' - Yorkshire Tea and Yorkshire Puddings.
I hope this won't disappoint you, but my blog will not focus on me showing you how to make a good brew or some puds for your Sunday roast (although that has given me a great idea...). My blog's initial aim is to be something that people will enjoy reading, whether it's a post about make-up, lifestyle, food, politics, animals, fashion, music or brain surgery. Maybe not that last one, but I would still like to be a blog that does not limit itself to the constraints of its title and can hopefully have something for everyone on  here. So I hope you enjoy reading this blog, as much as I will enjoy making it!

Thanks for reading!
Becky