Homemade Guacamole - Recipe

Guacamole brought to us by the Aztecs, translating to quite simply avocado sauce.

I love Guacamole, whether it be in a fajita, burrito, or simply dolloped on top of some nachos. It seems to be more expensive than other Tex Mex dips, and that combined with a thought pattern of 'how hard can it be?' inspired me to start making my own.

It is actually really simple and I don't know why I have never done so before!

Las Iguanas - Leeds

*chain restaurant alert*

Unlike some foodies out there I don't mind chain restaurants. You know what to expect and you can go back time and time again and get the same food (good hopefully) and experience no matter which staff are in. I particularly don't mind chain restaurants who change their menus either seasonally or just to give it a bit of a mix up.

Las Iguanas often change their menu and so I don't mind going there every now and again. They also do a bargain lunch deal and two for one cocktails during happy hour. On this occasion I hadn't been to Las Iguanas for a fair few months and had noticed that they had mixed up the menu a bit.

We were shown to our seats and given menus. We both decided to go with the lunch menu as it's £6.90 for one course and an additional £1.50 or £2.50 for a starter. You can also add a glass of beer or wine for £1.50 or a soft drink for just a quid. However we decided to get cocktails. There are 6 non-alcoholic cocktails to chose from and my friend chose the Virgin Pina Colada. As it was happy hour I was going to go for the two for one cocktails and have two to myself, but looking at the ones you can choose from on the happy hour list... and noting you can no longer get Sangria I didn't bother and just got a glass of Sangria. My friend loved their Pina Colada and I felt that my Sangria was OK, it wasn't great and I'm sure they used to be better, I think they need to go back to their old recipe.

Neon Cactus - Call Lane, Leeds

Recently I seem to be craving spicy food... all the time! So when I was out shopping in Leeds city centre the other week and it came to deciding upon where to have lunch I knew I wanted something spicy. I wanted to try somewhere I had never visited before and I didn't fancy Indian or Tapas. So whilst I sat cradling a cup of tea in Primo's I googled 'Mexican Restaurant Leeds City centre'.. the top results were Las Iguanas (although I'm sure it's more ranging South American cuisine rather than just mexican?), Pinche Pinche (Not city centre), and Escobar (see review here).

Taking a better look through the results I saw Neon Cactus and noted that it wasn't too far from where I was as it's located on Call Lane.  I had a look through the menu and both my shopping partner and I agreed we wouldn't mind trying it out.

I don't go out too much any more, I've left my wilder days behind me, so I have never been here in the evening although I think it used to be Dr Woo's correct me if I'm wrong?

Appeltaart - Dutch Apple Pie

After tasting the most amazing apple pie ever in Bruges I had to try my hand at making one just as good. I did a bit of research and found that there is a difference between English apple pie and Dutch apple pie.. for one thing they call it Appeltaart. It's a lot sweeter than English apple pie and it is absolutely amazing. There is no need to sweeten it up with custard, just a side of ice cream to give it that lovely hot cold contrast.

Panini Cafe - Hull

You'd be forgiven for thinking a Cafe called 'Panini Cafe' sells just paninis and sandwich-lunch type things... It's actually more like a greasy spoon. Just what we were looking for when we stepped off the ferry from Hull. We had not eaten a proper meal since the previous day in Bruges as we flat out refused to pay £15 for breakfast or £20 (each) for a buffet dinner..

We were hungry and dying for a fry up.

What we hadn't planned on was that when we docked in Hull it would be Sunday morning. Early Sunday morning.

So we spent a good while wandering around the deserted streets of Hull trying to find somewhere that was open other than McDonalds, Greggs and Starbucks.

Bruges Food - featuring De Hobbit

Bruges for those of you who don't know is in the North of the United Kingdom of Belgium, it is the largest city and capital of West Flanders. This medieval city has been preserved in time most of the buildings are in excellent condition, and as a result the whole city centre is a world heritage site.

Cornucopia - The Corn Exchange Leeds

This weekend after weeks of build ups, advertising and tweeting Cornucopia landed at the Leeds Corn Exchange. Cornucopia was created to showcase the goodies of local producers and businesses.

This magnificent building designed by the ever famous Yorkshire architect Cuthbert Brodrick (yes it is not just the name of a Wetherspoons)... his other iconic buildings include Leeds Town Hall, The Grand Hotel in Scarborough, and Leeds City Museum (previously The Mechanics Institute and then later Leeds Civic Hall).

Cornucopia: a horn of plenty, symbolising nourishment and abundance... also the name of a famous Leeds Mural...