Salade de Chèvre Chaud

Good evening there starving fellow students, or other amateur cooks browsing for inspiration :)

Young Rucola Salad, Cranberry Jam, Homemade Croutons, Goat Cheese, Olive Oil, Salt & Pepper, Oregano

Bake slices of baguette in the oven, then top them with slices of goat cheese and bake for 3-4 min. Smear the plate with cranberry jam, then throw in the rucola. Place the warm goat cheese croutons on top, sprinkle with salt, pepper, oregano, and olive oil.
This is a variation of the salad served on my mom’s wedding day, so loads of sentimental attachment involved here for me ;) But even without the history, this salad is different, and delicious. Also an easy way to impress whoever is coming for dinner, and can be a prelude to a meat dish for example, or great on its own as a light dinner without company involved!

P.S. It works really well with toasted pine nuts. (Remind me to buy some in France, the prices for nuts are for some odd reason exuberant on this island I’m on.)

Asparagus Cream Pasta

The other day I went to the supermarket and saw asparagus, a lot of it, and cheap. So without giving it a second thought I just grabbed two bunches. Aand this is one of my various asparagus-based dishes that week (it goes without saying, I will not be craving asparagus for a while now):

 

I used this recipe, but I used extra thick single cream. The trick is to use a mixer for the sauce, because then you’ll really incorporate the asparagus into the cream, which makes it so much yummier.

Enjoy and stay tuned for the three new salads I’ve tried this week!

xoxo

P.S. Consume in moderation. No, seriously, it is so easy to overeat with this dish. It is delicious and all ‘green’ but it is also quite a hearty meal, so don’t get too excited while serving, keep the portion smaller than what you would usually eat. I speak from bitter experience…
P.P.S. It is always a good idea to preheat the plate before serving, and an easy way of doing that (if you can’t be bothered to do it in the oven) is to simply put the plate under the sieve, so that when you strain your pasta, the plate will be warmed by the water you boiled the pasta in! Be careful though, it does require a minimum of dexterity not to burn yourself when pouring the water out and drying the plate ;)

Trench in Brick Lane

 

 

I am wearing: Gap trench, Zara blouse, COS jeans, H&M boots, Massimo Dutti scarf, Asos by Misha Barton bag, Michael Kors watch, Barry M Mint Green nailpolish

Mixing different kinds of pastel colours can be refreshing, especially on a grey day like this. Without forgetting (how could I) a bright touch of colour on my nails as well as glittered boots to make me look my age and not too office-y.

Again, sorry for the lack of posting but 3rd year doing English at UCL is a lot more time consuming then it seems!

xxx

Frenzy

Hello again! Long time no write, sowwy. This polish is my new obsession, I borrowed it from my cousin during our stay at my home in France. Now I’ve got to buy it myself, this is one of those polishes that looks very clean and discreet while being quite ‘modish’ as my step-dad put it. Because it’s so versatile, I can see myself keeping it on or reapplying it for a couple of weeks (as opposed to changing colour every 3-4 days, which is how I choose to complicate my life). And when it chips a little, you can’t see it as much as with a brighter polish, so it’s pretty practical. As you see on the photo above, it has a very light lilac shade. Lovely lovely lovely.

Outfit post coming up soon, have faith!

xx

Adriana Voloshchuk

Hello dears,
I would like to introduce you to a young and talented discovery, who recently designed her own fashion collection – which is, you have to admit, oh so cool!

As you see her designs have clean lines and colours, and have something architectural about them. Since I’m not a big fan of complicated outfits with thousands of patterns myself, I find the collection pleasant to the eye. This last dress is my personal favourite! Another thing to know is that one of her main ideas is to create outfits that are versatile; suitable for business meetings as well as afterwork parties.
I’ve interviewed Adriana for you, so that she can tell you about her brand herself.

Me: How did you come to designing a fashion collection after a degree in architecture?
Adriana: I have always wanted to become fashion designer and dreamt of getting into CSM since I was 12-13. However, once I got in for Foundation Course and experienced Fashion as a degree Course, I realised that it is not quite me and the environment that students study is very stressful and unfriendly. I had another interest in design, which was architecture. I graduated CSM and worked for an architectural firm for a little bit and realised that it is not me and I wouldnt want to sit in front of computer for the rest of my life and drawing plans.

I applied for an internship at Michael Kors as an assistant to Sales Executive of Russia and Eastern Europe, and I got it. I was very much involved in the wholesale for all departments of Michael Kors (second line)….. but I really missed the creative and design part of fashion. So I started to design dresses for myself, which I wore to work and people started to notice them and ask me where I got them from. After 9 months of working for Michael Kors, I realised that there is demand and interest for my designs and I should try it out on my own. So I decided to use the skills that I learnt in Michael Kors and apply for my own fashion brand. As soon as I left, I started working on my first collection, AW12.

Me: Who is your girl? Describe who you design for; is it for yourself?
Adriana: The girl who I see wearing my garments, would be a young specialist or perhaps student with wealthy background. 24-35 I would say. It is designed for a girl who is strong/powerful/feminine/determined and knows what she wants with busy lifestyle.

Most of the garments that I have designed would be very much suitable for me and I would definitely wear them to work or meetings. However, SS13 collection came out quite young and I did less dresses for work and more casual wear, which can be worn on every day life.

Me: Where do you see your brand going? What is your next step?
Adriana: I want to create strong collection between clients and the brand itself. I would like to sell in department stores and boutiques, as online world is slowly picking up. I am currently working on launching online shop on my website and hopefully the sales will pick up from there.
Inspiring huh? It’s nice to hear about girls making it on their own. With time and experience I think the Adriana Voloshchuk brand could really become something. Let’s wait and see ;)

Photos from Adriana’s site: adrianavoloshchuk.com

Mint asymmetry

Hello to all of you out there, the numbered few. I know, I’m really terrible at posting when I’m travelling… But I did have this outfit post prepared so – ego te absolvo?

Zara Top, Lee Wrangler Jeans, Vintage Prada Bag, Kenneth Cole Watch, H&M Shoes and Glasses, Miss Sporty Nailpolish

These were taken just behind St Paul’s Cathedral. The sun kept hiding from us, but we (almost) made it look sunny. London – you have summer issues. Where I grew up, July = 30 degrees celsius. Anyway I did find a day to wear my favourite mint asymmetric top. If it was warm out, I would most probably live in it. As my dear photographer Bara pointed out, I like asymmetric tops with a drop hem like that ;) might finally hit the sales leftovers and get me some more!

Toodeloo

Beef and Turkey Deli Wrap

Wholewheat tortillas, Philadelphia cream cheese, roast beef slices, avocado, roast turkey slices, tomato, basil, salt and pepper

I had this type of wrap as a late night snack from a corner shop, and then craved it ever since. Since everything is always better homemade, I decided to make my own deli wrap with a couple simple ingredients. Make sure the avocado and tomato are sliced thinly. To make a nicely shaped wrap, put the ingredients on top of each other in the middle, then fold the tortilla from the sides and roll it up from bottom to top. It’s quick and simple to make and doesn’t require any cooking, but it’s so much more exciting as a lunch at home or at the office than your usual sandwich ;)