Super Easy Healthy Granola

I've recently started making my own Granola, its super easy, cheaper and much healthier than the stuff you buy in the shops. It took a few attempts but I think I've finally perfected it so I thought I would share my recipe with you all.

 All you need is:
1 cup/85g of Roll Oats, I use own brand basic oats - nothing fancy.
1/2 cup/2 good handfuls of Nuts of your choice - almonds and cashews in this case.
1/4 cup of Seeds - mixed seeds work perfectly.
A good squidge of runny honey, about 2 table spoons.
A splash of boiling water.

Preheat the oven to  180°C / 350°F / Gas Mark 4.

Equipment:
Large mixing bowl
Measuring cups/scales
Whisk
Baking sheet

Grab a nice big bowl, I love my large Joseph Joseph nest bowl for this job, throw in all of your dry ingredients and give them a shoogle (a bit of a mix up).

Squeeze your runny honey all over it, this is the ideal time to have the kettle boiling with a wee bit of water in it.

Have your whisk at the ready for the next step. Pour in the water as soon as it had boiled, you need it to melt the honey a bit. Remember that you can always add more water but you can't take it away! Now get that whisk in and give it a really good mix. I prefer a whisk because I found that the honey would stick to the surface of the spoon and it just doesn't get a chance to stick with the whisk.

All the ingredients should start clumping together that classic granola style, if it's still looking a bit loose then just add a drop more boiling water or some more honey.

Once you are happy with the consistency pour it out onto you baking sheet and spread it out evenly and pop it in the oven for about 20-30 minutes. After 15 minutes check on it, I find in my oven that the outer granola tends to cook a bit faster so I give it a wee mix about at this point and pop it in for the last 10-15 minutes. Just keep an eye on it. once it's a nice golden colour pull it out and let it cool and your done.

Top Tips 

I love my granola with Skyr yogurt and fresh fruit normally but for the last week I've been having it with stewed rhubarb from the school garden, its like having rhubarb crumble and cream! 

I have mine with flavoured yogurt and fruit but if you like natural or Greek yogurt you could add cinnamon, ginger or nutmeg to jazz it up.

Keep it in a tub to keep it dry and crisp. 

Date Night - Rivage

The Rules of Date Night

Martyn and I started ‘Date Night’ over a year ago when we were still living in Tollcross, Edinburgh. There are so many lovely independent restaurants in Edinburgh we are completely spoilt! In a quest to work our way around some of these places we declared ‘Date Night’.

The Rules of Date Night;
Once a month after pay day.
Must be local (walking distance from the flat).
We take turns on who pays.
When he is paying I choose the location.
When I’m paying he chooses the location.
We never go to the same place twice for date night.

This month we headed along to Easter Road to check out Rivage. We had been recommended it by our friends The Knoxigans a couple weeks ago when we met up with them and their new pup Marvin, he's the cutest. 

I wore my Forever21 stripy skirt, Dorothy Perkins bardot top, red cardie, mary janes and it's hard to see but my tights have tiny wee hearts all over them! I'd been to Lipstick, Lashes and Locks after work to get my hair cut and the lovely Tina had curled it for me too. I did a quick roll at the front to keep my hair out of my face, some big flicks and red lips. I grabbed my bright red Cambridge Satchel push lock bag and we legged it along the road to dinner. 

About Rivage 

Rivage it at the top end of Easter Road and I must have walked past it 100 times, I used to spend a lot of time in The Mash Tun pub quizzing a couple years back, they do a great quiz and some pretty decent food too. Anyway I've walked past plenty of times and it's always smelt pretty tasty but it doesn't look like much from the outside but always seemed pretty busy. 

The contrast between the inside and outside is vast! All the table and chairs are quality chunky dark teak, well accessorised with carved partitions and features, you can see the tandoor oven in the corner from nearly every seat in the restaurant, it's great to see them preparing your naan bread and receiving it pipping hot. 

The Food and Drinks

Rivage is BYOB but they also have a small bar serving a selection of drinks. We weren't in the mood for a bottle of wine so just ordered drinks there, I had a bottle of Kingfisher and Martyn had a pint of diet coke, we also had water brought to the table as soon as we sat down which I really liked. 

We ordered popadoms to start us off and then I had the Aloo Tiki, two patties of pea and mashed potato flavoured with ginger and lightly fried, it came with a salad and riata dressing. Martyn opted for Murgh Tikka Trianga, chicken tikka with done with tree different sauces, mint and coriander, red spices and cashew and cheese. We both loved our starters, they were a very generous size and well presented. 

Once the starters were finished and cleared our mains were soon on their way. We had ordered Gucchi Muttar, Chicken Jalfrezie, Jeera Pilao rice and a Peshwari Naan. My Gucchi Mutar was rich and creamy with large bit of mushroom and plenty of peas and was seriously tasty, Martyn's Jalfrezie had great chunks of chicken in a sauce of crushed spices and stir-fried peppers. He loved his and eat the whole dish with the beautifully cooked rice. 

The Peshwari was a revelation to me, I never order it because I'm concerned it'll have meat or worse raisins (I hate raisins with a passion, especially when they are hidden in things like apple muffins and carrot cake). This naan was delicious, after Martyn convinced me to order it, stuffed with almond and cashew paste it was delicately sweet and really balanced the meal out. 

We didn't even look at the sweets menu as we were fit to burst after all of that food, we paid our very reasonable bill and rolled back along the road full and happy.

Round up and Atmosphere

Above is the moment we realised that I hadn't stopped to capture the meal when it arrived and we'd just dived into it! I would highly recommend Rivage for a night when only a good curry will do, the food was tasty and fresh, the service was unbelievably attentive but did not boarder on intrusive and it's BYOB.

It was noted in 6 of the best Indian Restaurants in Edinburgh but the Scotsman Food and Drink, of which we have been to 5 of now. We are considering an 'away game' date night to go the the last on the list Kalpna soon so keep your eyes peeled. 

If you head to Rivage then let me know what you think! 

xxx

Rivage - 126–130 Easter Road, Edinburgh, EH7 5RJ - 0131 661 6888

Date Night - The Compass

The Rules of Date Night

Martyn and I started ‘Date Night’ about a year ago when we were still living in Tollcross. There are so many lovely independent restaurants in Edinburgh we are completely spoilt! In a quest to work our way around some of these places we declared ‘Date Night’.

The Rules of Date Night;
Once a month after pay day.
Must be local (walking distance from the flat).
We take turns on who pays.
When he is paying I choose the location.
When I’m paying he chooses the location.
We never go to the same place twice for date night.

About the Compass Bar and Restaurant

The Compass Bar is in the heart of Leith on the corner of Queen Charlotte Street and Constitution Street. It's recently had a refurb and they have extended the old bar to include a restaurant at the back. The new space is full of great lighting, exposed brick work and massive art work giving it an airy New York Loft feel.

The Compass Bar pride themselves on using locally sourced and seasonal ingredients so the menu is constantly changing, they have also recently expanded their selection of wines and craft ales behind the bar. All the food is made to order in the kitchen that you can see right into at the back of the restaurant.

I wore my new Dorothy Perkins black and white stripped Bardot style dress with my Denim jacket and now Resin Rainbow earings and matching brooch. I love this outfit, its so comfy and easy to dress up and down.

The Food and Drinks

Martyn and I arrived and were directed through to the restaurant from the cosy welcoming bar, we were met by our waitress and offered a selection of tables and I choose one near the kitchen where we could see the whole place. The menus that we were given were different to the one we'd looked at online*, we were a little disappointed we'd not get to try the Spiced Veterinarian Haggis and Cous Cous burger but there were still plenty of tasty options.

We ordered our drinks, I went for a pint of Innes & Gunn that they have on tap in the bar and Martyn had a blackcurrant and lemonade. After a fair bit of debating about the menu we finally decided on the Halloumi, Red Pepper and Pesto burger for me and Martyn went for the BBQ burger, they both came with chunky chips. My burger was amazing! It was total Halloumi karma after our last date night at Pera, there were 2 or 3 chunky slices of cheese with juicy, sweet grilled red peppers and delicious fresh basil pesto. The chunky chips were thick cut, fluffy in the middle and crispy on the outside. Maryn's burger was huge, larger than the brioche bun it was served in, dripping with BBQ sauce and Cheese and filled with Bacon. We were both very happy with our mains and decided to have a peek and the dessert menu.

After Dinner Delights

It doesn't take much to convince us to have dessert and looking at the menu we spied a couple of our favorites. I ordered the Apple Pie with Custard and Martyn chose the Lemon Cheese Cake that came with a Berry compote. The Apple Pie was lovely, lots of thing layers of sliced apple with a sweet cinnamon flavour and lattice pastry top, the custard came in a separate wee pot which meant Martyn got to try some pie before I smothered it in the custard. Mayrtn enjoyed his cheese cake and it was delicious and creamy and was a huge piece but it wasn't lemon. I think they must have run out or confused it with a vanilla one, either way it was delicious and had a buttery biscuit base. 

Once we had settled our bill we wondered through to the bar area and decided to stop for a last drink before heading up the road. They have a good selection of spirits behind the bar, we opted for a Gentleman Jack for Martyn and a Tia Maria for me, I'm going through a Tia Maria and Coke phase - I think its the cold snap were having and its nice and warming. We found bar stools and a table in the corner and enjoyed our drinks. 

Round up and Atmosphere

The Compass is a really nice bar and restaurant, it looked as though you can eat in the cosy bar as well as the more formal restaurant area which would be lovely in the evening by the fireplace. The atmosphere is relaxed and the staff were attentive and friendly, especially the bar lady. It won points with Martyn as they are also dog friendly too. 

We'd defiantly go back with friends for an afternoon pub lunch or even brunch, they do a fully veggie breakfast!  

They are very good at keeping their Facebook and Twitter up to date with their specials and daily deals so its worth checking them out too.

If you head down let me know what you think! 

xxx

*Looking now the link to the menu we looked at is out of order.

Date Night – Serrano Manchego

Martyn and I started ‘date night’ about 6 months ago when we were still living in Tollcross. There are so many lovely independent restaurants in Edinburgh we are completely spoilt! In a quest to work our way around some of these places we declared ‘date night’. 

The rules of date night;

Once a month on pay day.

Must be local (walking distance from the flat).

We take turns on who pays.

When he is paying I choose the location.

When I’m paying he chooses the location.

We never go to the same place twice for date night.

We visited some great places around Tollcross; Mezbaan, a brilliant South Indian place which is superb value for money and fab for vegetarians, Tuk Tuk, BYOB which I love and more modern ‘Indian street food’ style Menu and My Big Fat Greek Kitchen, traditional Greek food in a quaint wee spot that had the most tantalising flavours just to name a few!

Our first Leith date night was at Serrano Manchego, a bright wee Spanish tapas bar on Leith Walk, we’d walked past it a few times while doing food shopping or running errands. I had said that I’d like to go there and Martyn had nodded in agreement. On our way back from the weekly Lidl adventure I popped in to book a table for the next date night, the place smelt amazing and the staff were very friendly.

So Monday night came round, I got home from the gym, showered, did my hair, my face, put on my pretty new H! by Henry Holland dress and grabbed my we red Push Lock Cambridge Satchel bag. Martyn got home from work and changed his polo shirt (it’s so much easier to be a boy!) 

We arrived at 7pm and there were a handful of tables already in, it was that nice level where you can have a conversation without having to shout across the table. We were asked if we’d like to sit but the window, which I jumped at, and were handed a drinks and food menus. I chose a lovely Rioja, Don Paulino Crianza, and Martyn ordered a diet coke.

We had a look over the menu trying to decide what we wanted to share, what meat to get him and what mushroom based dish I should get, I’m veggie and he hates mushrooms! I would say we over ordered but our lovely, authentically Spanish, waitress would probably have let us order the whole menu without stopping us. We had bread with oil and vinegar, manchego cheese, quince jelly, grapes and nuts, pimientos de padrón, garlic mushrooms, patatas bravas, chorizo al vino, serrano & manchego croquettes and a last minute edition of chorizo sausage & chicken skewers (which really were not needed). It was a lot of food and it just seemed to keep coming! Martyn definitely didn’t need the chorizo al vino and the skewers! Saying that it was all delicious, the pimientos de padrón were a highlight for me as I’d had them on holiday last year and devoured them, the mushrooms were so tasty and the manchego was buttery and smooth. Martyn assures me that the meaty options were also to the same high standards and you could tell by the clear plates and bowls.

After stuffing our faces we were offered dessert, we ordered churros – we should have only ordered one to share… but we didn’t… They were sweet and crisp with a pot of warm chocolate sauce and a scoop of ice cream – dreamy! We took our time tidying them up, the feel of the place is very relaxed, we never felt rushed but at the same time didn’t feel as though we were waiting a long time for our food. As we over ordered the bill came to slightly more than we would normally pay for date night but I think we learnt our lesson and would still come back.

Over all we really enjoyed it, the food was fresh and tasty, they obviously take a lot of pride in it and the atmosphere of the place and the staff were friendly. I think it would be a great place to go with a few friends and catch up, order a couple bottles of wine and relax in the authentic Spanish feel of the place. I’d definitely recommend it to family and friends.

Serrano Manchego - 297 Leith Walk, Edinburgh - Website