Category: Cooking with Whatley

Last minute Christmas present idea: sorted

Need some inspiration for a last minute Christmas present? Lean closer, I’ve got something I to show you.

Need some inspiration for a last minute Christmas present? Lean closer, I’ve got something I to show you.

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tl;dr

Shaken Cocktails is awesome and you should not only subscribe yourself but also consider subscribing for a friend for Christmas. Readers of this post get five pounds off their first month’s order with this link or, if you fancy purchasing and gifting more than one box, then make sure you check out the Shaken Gifts page.

Longer version:

The modern world is moving to subscription-based models for just about anything you can think of. From music and films from Spotify and Netflix respectively; to cars and coffee in the shape of Zipcar and Pact – monthly payments for things that you only need the right amount of is without doubt, an over-arching theme of this digital generation.

The latest addition to this revolution is that of the humble cocktail.

And those behind that solution? Shaken Cocktails.

Shaken

Mastermind behind this, and all-round drinks/digital expert, Mark Jennings, tells me that Shaken Cocktails is a subscription service that, for just £24 per month, delivers… Hang on, let’s just check the website:

  • A different classic each month
    Each kit showcases a classic cocktail. Read about its history, its ingredients and what makes it great. Then we show you how to tweak the classic recipe, making a modern masterpiece.
  • Five drinks, and more
    The kit contains enough premium ingredients to make two classic cocktails, followed by two of a modern variation. Then there’s an extra slug of the strong stuff for you to try neat or on the rocks. That’s four cocktails and a shot, in every kit.
  • Beginner to Expert
    It doesn’t matter if you’re an expert or a novice. Our instructions are clear and simple, but we don’t dumb things down – meaning our kits make great gifts for cocktail lovers or for absolute beginners.

So yeah, not bad at all right?

I broke open my first kit a week or so ago and here’s what you get inside:

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That last image is the clincher for me; the whole premise of Shaken is that making cocktails at home can be a proper ball ache. You simply can’t buy the ingredients you need without spending over the odds for giant bottles of Campari or vodka or whisky or whatever. Shaken combats that by sending you what are ostensibly medicine bottles filled with the liquor that you’ll need to become a cocktail-making pro.

And they’re super cute to look at too.

On top of that the cocktails themselves are really easy to make. You might need a couple of additional extras like, I dunno, glasses to drink out of and maybe some ice for the mixing process but that’s about it.

Even I managed to get it right.

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Hmmmmmmmmmm…. 🙂

Anyway, Shaken is awesome and you should sign up, either for you or for a loved one this Christmas. It’s commitment free (you can cancel at any time) and the team behind it really believe in this being the future of home cocktail making.

Did I mention that readers of this blog get five pounds of their first order by using this special Whatley sign up link? No? OK, well I have now.

Genesis Crafty

Somebody sent baked goods to the office. This is what happened next.

Somebody sent me baked goods.

Genesis Crafty

I say ‘somebody’, what I actually mean is ‘some awesome people working with the six brothers behind Genesis Crafty‘.

In the above box of treats were:

  • One packet of four cheese scones.
  • One packet of mini sultana scones.
  • One packet of six standard pancakes.
  • One packet of chocolate chip pancakes.

First up, said package arrived at the office. Meaning the team wanted in. Obviously, being the kind-hearted chap that I am, I shared the wealth… on the proviso they agreed to writing mini-reviews of every bite.

Foolishly, I only thought of this condition after we’d opened the first and most appealing packet, the chocolate chip pancakes (they didn’t last long).

Hmm. Chocolate.

(seriously, this was breakfast and they were gone in a flash)

However, once I’d realised how famished the team were (and how much they enjoyed the first round) we made a pact to not open any more until our 10:30 coffee break.

AND THEN IT WAS 10:30 AND WE ATE LIKE KINGS AND QUEENS.

Chocolate Pancakes:
‘Toasting should be strongly advised. Dark chocolate chips were perfectly bitter-sweet, cutting through the comforting stodge of the pancake.’ – Will

Plain Pancakes:
‘Inferior to chocolate chip in every way. Would not eat again without toasting and adding maple syrup.’  – Will
‘Fluffy but with substance. Like an intellectual bunny rabbit.’ – Briony
‘They’re very slappable.’ – Anastasia

Scones:
‘Satisfyingly cheesy, but a little dry. The food equivalent of the Graham Norton show. Without the glitter.’ – Briony

B & A inspecting...

(Briony and Anastasia are inspecting.. something in the ingredients, I think)

All in all the baked goods from Genesis Crafty were mostly super yummy. They weren’t eaten with the best of accompaniments nor were they warmed up (as we think the pancakes should’ve been) but they were still quite excellent.

If anyone else would like me or my team to review any baked goods in future then please, by all means, get in touch.

Genesis Crafty baked goods are available pretty much everywhere you’d expect them to be.

Go get some.

 

 

 

 

 

5 things on Friday #3

Five things of note from this past week. Not as exciting as I’d hoped (I’ve had a week off and, surprisingly, haven’t spend much of it online) but here we go –

1. Rubbish QR Codes.

I spotted this ridiculous QR code placement on the tube earlier this week (note: IT IS ON THE OTHER SIDE OF THE TRACK) and subsequently popped it up on Flickr without thinking about it. Jonathan Waddingham spotted it and, before we knew it, a whole new QRFail blog had been set up.

I love Twitter for this kind of stuff.
Good work, friends.

2. Troll Hunter!
I arrived home yesterday to discover that someone had sent me both the newly-released Blu-Ray of  Troll Hunter as well as a rather funky matching t-shirt. Which in turn meant that last night I finally got to watch a film that I’ve been busting to watch for AGES. You’ll be pleased to hear I was not disappointed and – freebies aside – I’d genuinely recommend seeking it out for its pure scandinavian bonkersness alone.

3. #CommsChat.
The engagement currency post from Jan 11th got a fair bit of pick up [Huzzah!] and as such, Communicate Magazine asked me to host their weekly Twitter chat with my blog post as the theme. Cracking stuff, with some really nice banter too. Worth a look.

4. The Marketing Academy
opened up nominations for their third year of scholars this past week and – having been a part of the successful first year of entrants – I honestly cannot recommend this enough.

If you know of a high-potential, rising star in the field of advertising, communications or marketing, why not nominate them today?

5. Beef Welly!
I love cooking. But last week I had guests over and one particular guest insisted on putting together a Beef Wellington with not only the best damn piece of beef I’ve ever laid eyes on (thank you Ginger Pig) but also the finest homemade meal finesse I ever did see.

It was my first and it was superb. Try it.

5 things on Friday

My mate, Marmite

How do you feel about Marmite?

Me, I love it. In fact I could eat it with a SPOON.
Obviously, some people hate it. I mean REALLY hate it.

But what if, just imagine, you’d gone through your whole life without ever trying it. Ever.

Well, one morning, out in the middle of Damaraland, that’s exactly what we discovered Manzoor had done.

Something which, of course, we had to rectify…

It wouldn’t be a NaVloPoMo post without tipping you off about someone else’s efforts…
So why not go give one of Benny Crime’s videos a whirl.

You’ll never feel the same again…

😉

Chocolate Chilli: The Video

Following on from yesterday’s Chocolate Chilli post, I thought I’d share this video that I created using images that I took with my Nokia N82 (set to ‘sequence mode’).

So this is me making chilli and blogging the recipe at the same time.

Enjoy!

http://vimeo.com/moogaloop.swf?clip_id=4074575&server=vimeo.com&show_title=1&show_byline=1&show_portrait=0&color=00adef&fullscreen=1

And if you’re wondering what the hell ‘sequence mode’ is, don’t worry,
I’ve blogged that too 🙂

Doing things in ‘sequence’ – the hidden Nokia feature

Have a great Easter folks!

Chocolate Chilli? Yum!

Cooking, believe it or not, is a big passion of mine.
I’m surprised I don’t blog about it more often actually, maybe I should change that.
The fact of the matter is: I love it.

About a week ago I made this dark chocolate chilli con carne and tonight, I’m doing it again.
This time round, I’m going to share the recipe 🙂

So, you will need:

Main Ingredients

  • 900g of good quality braising beef
  • 1 large white onion
  • 2 cloves of garlic
  • 2 red chillies
  • Olive oil (for frying)

Seasonings

  • 1 tsp hot chilli powder
  • 1 tsp ground cumin
  • 1/2 tsp ground coriander
  • 1/2 tsp ground cinnamon
  • 1 pinch of dried oregano

Cupboardy Stuff

  • 2 x 400g tins of chopped tomatoes
  • 2 tbsp tomato purée
  • 20g dark chocolate
  • Salt & black pepper
  • 2 x 400g red kidney beans
  • Beef/Vegetable Stock

So first get yourself large oven proof pan of some kind; I used a massive metal saucepan. It needs to be biggish with a tight-fitting lid. Got that? Good.
Next, preheat the oven to 150C/130C with a fan/300F/Gas 2.

Cut the beef into 1cm-2cm chunks. Peel and chop your onion and garlic; deseed and chop the chillies.
In the pan, brown off your beef on the hob in a little olive oil in batches of for 2-3minutes and put it to one side. Add a little more oil to the pan and then gently cook the onion, garlic and chillies for a few minutes, then stir in your chilli powder and cook for a couple of minutes more.

Remember your beef? You should do, you only put it down five minutes ago. Put that back in the pan and coat with the rest of your seasonings. Stir in both tins of chopped tomatoes and your two tablespoons of tomato purée and then heat through. At this point, we come to the part you’ve been waiting for:

Now stir in your chocolate :)

Season to taste; salt, pepper etc, put the lid on your pan and place in the oven for 1 hour. Yep. ONE HOUR.
Hungry yet? I know I am. Right, while that’s cooking nicely, rinse and drain your kidney beans. You need to stir these into your pan after the hour is up (adding stock if you think the consistency is too dry).
Whack it all back into the over for a further hour, yes – another hour – or until the beef is tender.

Once finished, serve on a bed of rice and enjoy!

MIR: Doing things in ‘Sequence’ – the hidden Nokia feature!

Last week I was fortunate enough to be invited along to take part in a new food-based event rather amusingly entitled: ‘Nom Nom Nom‘.

The brainchild of London Underground blogger, Annie Mole – Food 2.0 Nom Nom Nom (to give it its full title), was a LOT of fun.
I was there in two capacities. First as a representative of SpinVox (lead sponsors of the event), and second, as a competitor.

The event you see was the online/digital version if you will, of Masterchef.

As one half of GO TEAM SIX (the other half being my good friend Ribot, foodie, photographer and a mobile UI designer to boot), the challenge was twofold.

First to create three dishes (one of which had to be cold) for four people in just under two and a half hours. The second to create ‘output’ for the Nom Nom Nom blog pages.

Ribot and I, being the mobile geeks of the group, Qik’d and photographed EVERYTHING. I went armed with my trusty N95 8GB, my spare N95-1 (packing an 8GB Micro SD), and also my rather snazzy Nokia Tripod.

Tripod

After reading a blog post by a fellow contestant – one Russell Davies – I had an idea for the day’s content. As well as Qikking left, right and centre and of course, snapping anything that moved I decided to set my N95-1 to SEQUENCE MODE.

What is this crazy mode of which I speak? Well, at first I had no idea. I even put a call out to try and find some software for my phone that would allow me to do this… One email conflab with Mr Davies later and it turns out that this mode is right there!
And what’s more – it’s been there the whole time!
Look!

sequence 1

I never knew it was there. I had to be told about it. That’s right. The first Mobile Geek of London didn’t know about sodding sequence mode!
(but it’s OK I did my research and not many other folk knew about it either)

Moving swiftly onward I popped my N95-1 into the tripod (as shown above), and set sequence mode to go off at 1 minute intervals…

sequence 2

sequence 3

Over the course of the afternoon, while Ribot and I put our chosen dishes together, my cheeky little handset took 154 different photos, and to what end?

Well, with the content that came out of it, I was able to create the following video:

Shot on a Nokia N95-1, standing on a Nokia Tripod and edited together using Windows Movie Maker, (who needs a Mac anyway?)

I know this ain’t ‘news’ per se. But it’s a feature I didn’t know about and it’s made me look at my N95 in a completely different light.

I thought I’d share it and show you just what’s possible.
The original N95 still manages to surprise even me.

Brilliant.

Yup – its been ages I know

My life in as little words and as many pics as poss.. ya ready?!

Here we go!

Last time we spoke I had spent the weekend in Canvey mildly drunk.
Here I am. Mildly drunk.

I went back to work after all that time off..
..and I went in thinking it was gonna be sunny..

But.. it wasnt:

It was rainin’..
Ah well..

That week it was Jobber’s birthday – we went to the pub:
Jobber and his mate Wing (more on him later), outside the pub…

He’s a good bloke our Jobs… that’s him on the right.
Gonna miss him from the Mail.. admittedly probably JUST him.

Moving on..

The weekend after that: England got knocked out of the World Cup.
It might’ve been the weekend before –
I really cant remember –
My days are swirling together through a mist of champagne and white wine..
Wergh.
Either way – Boooo.. England went out.
We don’t talk about who won it or whatever because nobody cares.
In all seriousness this World Cup will go down as the Cup of Cheats as SO many teams employed under-hand techniques on their road to the finals..

Not.
Good.

Anywhoo..

I watched our last game with my mate Jim.
..and here we are:


Yes.
We are drunk.

..and don’t ask about the sombreros.
I have no idea.

The following day I went to my see friends Roger and Aidan..
They live in this proper nice penthouse apartment overlooking Clapham Common..
The lifts are a bit old and scary mind..
Here I am, in a lift, a bit scared:

So yeah – that was cool.. the corridors are bit ‘Overlook Hotel’ too..
I keep expecting to see a kid on a tricycle screaming “Redrum.. Redrum..” at me… ahem.

But yeah – had a g-r-r-reat time. Roger did some fantastic food.
They’d been down to the farmer’s market in Balham that morning and got some lush veg..
Yum.
..and we spent the rest of the day yelling obscenities to passers by..
Yay.
(that was actually the most puerile fun I’ve had in ages – hehe)

Ooo oo oo!
I forgot!

The Friday before that..
My friend Vicky took me out to the ‘Che’ Exhibition at the V&A Museum.
The V&A:

It was SO cool… They had a big celebration of all things Cuban and there was food and dancing and Mojitos… oh how we love Mojitos…
I don’t know much about Ernesto ‘Che’ Guevara..
Here he is:

Or in fact I should now say.. I didnt know much about him.
The exhibition was wicked – REALLY interesting man..
The guy’s a legend and it’s amazing how his image has grown in the way it has considering this pic was a complete fluke..
Amazing stuff.
So yeah – Vicky took me out to dinner afterwards to a place called The Priory in Olympia.
It was lush and we had SUCH a nice evening just chattin’ y’know?
Was cool.
Tors – if you’re readin’ this – I owe ya!
:o)

Anywhoo – where was I?
That’s right Sunday at Roger and Aidan’s.
That was cool – called a few people a few names and then went on my merry way home..
Bahahahahahahaahahah!
___

Monday – back to work.
Eugh..

But – It was the final leg of my three year stint at the Mail.
The week kind of happened without incident…
Well – aside from The Wing (remember him?) wearing this disgusting shirt…

Talk about Ocular Rapage.
(and yes – that’s Jobber again.. WORKING! Shock Horror!)
Heheheh…

THIS is how you look good at work:

Urinals and all.. lol

Anyway… My last week at work..!

It was cool..
Unsurprisingly I got hammered on my last day.. about two bottles of red wine at lunch.
Probably the best part of a bottle of champagne in the afternoon and then..
God knows how much white wine at the pub afterwards..

But yeah – these are my girls:

Christina, Laura and Louisa… lovely they all are too.
See ya girls – nice workin’ with ya.. Bless ’em.

Apparently they were at my leaving drinks..
But I REALLY dont remember…
Apparently I may’ve embarrassed a few people – I’m sure I’ll hear about it all eventually.. lol

Whoops..
Ah well…

But!

What I do remember (and this would be pretty damn hard to forget) is what my lot bought me for a leaving present..
Check it out!

A nice shiny shiny Nintendo DS Lite.. “Ooooooooooo…”

Yeah man! Awesome –
I am proper impressed..


Anywhoo… my mate Laws came over that night.
Came to my party and everything – it was cool.
She’s a good girl she is – helped me get home!
(dont remember that either – apparently I made us get on the wrong tube but I dont believe her – you hear that Laws?! You tell fibs woman!)
lol

So yeah – the following day my mate Martin threw me a champagne breakfast picnic on Twickenham Green.. it was brill.
Me, Laws, Roger, Aidan, Martin and his girlfriend Lyddy all went…
Here we all are:

Laws & Martin, Martin & Lydia,
Lydia & Adian, Aidan & Roger,
Roger & Me, Me & ….a big church!

But yeah.. the picnic was wicked – Martin made all the food himself and we got hammered… again! I think I didnt really have a hangover per se.. I just carried on drinking from the previous night.. lol
Anywhoo – so we’re all sittin there and Martin says:

“Dudes! Check it out! Pac-Man!”

We had a bit of a chuckle about that.. but THEN.. Martin says:

“Weergh! Those poor ghosts! No wonder those f**kers run! Look at him from the front!”

I laughed so hard… Hahaha.. One of the funniest dudes I know, is Martin.
Love him to bits..

So yeah – after our AMAZING picnic:

Laws and I headed back to Canvey to catch with friends and family.
It was all good.

Had a wicked night on the Isle of Canvey then headed back to Sunny Twickenham..
(not much of a story there I know – but I was out of it and I really dont remember much)

Back in Twix – I thought i’d get an early night..
Right up until I decided to move my room around…
You ever get that?!
No?

Just me then..

Ach well..
At least I have a proper cool desk now:

Yes true believers – that is where yours truly sits when he is recounting his stories to you…

Nice huh?
I think so.. makes life online a lot more enjoyable..

Moving on…

Started at my new job Monday.
All good.

I now work for a company called Refresh Mobile – www.refreshmobile.com

They make things called Mobizines – www.mobizines.com

Its absolutely wicked.
I love it.

The hours are longer – but to be honest – I only noticed that on the first day when I didnt really know what I was doing.. since then – its been cool.
Non-stop. In fact im doin more hours than I should be…
I love it…

Today is Thursday.
Well – its now Friday because its gone midnight – started this blog ages ago.

I’m shattered….

Laters

PS – Ooo! Check this out!
Its Me and Martin!
Aidan did it for us..

How cool is THAT?!

I love it..
In fact – you can tell I love it because i’ve got a printed copy of it above my desk…

My friend Naomi (we call her Roger – she’s Aidan’s girlfriend) says we look like some kind of twisted parallel universe version of Miami Vice..

Hahahahahaahahah..!

Liver Flush Drinks: A Guide

Morning all –

A quick blog for ya – I’ll update real soon I promise – been UBER busy!

Anywhoo – as you those of you who have just seen my new profile will have noticed…
I’ve just discovered the wonder that is YouTube!

So.. I’ve been posting vids left right and centre – lol

Now – remember my trip to Thailand?
Well – I had to pre-cleanse for two weeks leading up to it…
and THEN, on top of that!
I had to drink these things called “Liver Flush Drinks”.

They ming. Like Ming The Merciless.

BUT!
In case you ever want to try it – here’s a quick guide:

Liver Flush – Part 1

Liver Flush – Part 2

Liver Flush – Part 3

Liver Flush – Part 4

Please bear in mind that this was filmed way back at the end of April.

Back when I had hair.

…and a beard.

And an extra 28lbs or so!
So yeah – I look slightly different these days!

Enjoy!

:o)

….more to come soon.

PS – I’m in the final stretch of my notice period of my current job.
I’m finding it REALLY difficult to care about my work..
Hence me posting this when I should really be busy doing something else eh?

lol

..’til next time true believers.