Ladies Lunch and Baking

Recently I have notice the growing trend in 'Tea rooms' and dessert places opening in my local area, and the other day my mum told us about one that had opened near us, so we decided to check it out. CommuniTea Rooms is a none profit organisation that is part of a community scheme. All of the profits that they make go to organising local community projects and events. All of the food is made by them and some of the member of the community also make cakes so it all tastes great. Its brilliant that these guys are make our local community better and organising events for people to get involved in (you can find out more about them here). 

Also that same day I had a bit of a baking day. Now if you follow me on instagram (@capturing_my_world) you will know that a few weeks ago I experimented with making cornbread and it went down so well. Since then I have made it at least once a week and it is fast becoming a family favourite. It's perfect for anyone who is on a gluten free diet or even if you just want to try something different to your normal bread. It couldn't be easier to make

What you will need 

• 265g coarsely ground yellow cornmeal 
• 1 tsp sea salt 
• 1 tsp bicarbonate soda
• 2 tsp baking powder
• 1 egg
• 60g butter melted and slightly cooled
• 4 tbsp honey 
• 340g yoghurt
• splash of milk   

What you will need to do 

• Pre heat your oven to 190c/gas mark 5/375f (170c for fan ovens) and grease your tin
• In the bowl you are going to mix you wet ingredients in, put in your butter and melt it in the microwave. When melted leave to one side to cool slightly
• In a large bowl mix together the cornmeal and the rest of the dry ingredients  
• To the bowl with the melted butter add the rest of the wet ingredients and whisk until well combined 
• Make a well in the middle of the cornmeal mixture and pour in the wet mixture 
• Whisk until its all combined and forms a batter 
• Add a splash of milk to loosen the mixture slightly 
• Pour the mixture into you baking tin and bake for 30-35 mins until the cornbread is golden brown, our when you poke a skewer in the middle it comes out clear
• Slice it up and enjoy :)

Tips

• Instead of using yoghurt you can use buttermilk, in that case you don't need the splash of milk because it will be looser batter.  
• I also prefer to mix the wet ingredients in a jug instead of a bowl because then its easier to pour in the dry ingredients 
• This cornbread is perfect with your favourite soft cheese and a mixed salad
• You can also experiment with adding different flavours such as mixed hers, spice and cumin  

My sister and I also made a Banoffee pie which we have loved making (and eating ;)) for a long time. For the recipe check out my sisters blog here. I also filmed that day so here is the vlog.

Going to the park

Ever since I can remember in the summer holidays we would always go to the park. This could be either one of the smaller local parks or we would drive to one of the bigger parks out of town. The 'we' that I speak of wouldn't just be the members of the household, it would be all of the cousins, all of the aunties and uncles and even the grandma. We would always bring a picnic (sometimes even do a barbecue) and bats, balls and rackets. Even now at the age of 24 it always nice to see all my younger cousins and niece getting excited at all of animals and rides.   

For the past few years we have been going to the park a little bit earlier in the year as the blessed month of Ramadan  has taken place in the middle of the year. With yesterday being a bank holiday it seemed like the perfect time to gather the brood and go to the park. We drove to one of the bigger parks as the have animals and there is always something going on. Obviously I made a vlog of our time at the park (I didnt film the picnic) so here it is. 

Instagram Update

As stated previously at the beginning of this post, I have been pretty rubbish a blogging and showing you what has been going on with my life.  So I thought the best way to update you gust would be through my instagram pictures. If you are on instagram do come and follow me because it is where I upload the most and just to see what is going on with me (@capturing_my_world).

So I came back from Dubai to the rainy north of England 

The leaves started changing colour 

The picture of the cake I made for Eid Ul Adha made it into this Sorted Food video :)

It was still raining 

Autumn was in full swing 

My friend got married and it was beautiful wedding 

We went to Morocco

It was my birthday and this was a handmade car from my sister (you can see her blog post about it here)

The festive lights is Manchester Arndale were looking very nice 

The days were getting shorter and I realised that I was awake (most of the time) before the sun was 

And before I knew it, it was new years eve, and because it is my grandma's birthday in new years day we always spent the day with family and I baked a cake 

I was experimented with colours 

And had my first rainbow cupcake order

We finally started putting our VHS tape onto DVDs

One of the advantages of having shorter days is the I would see this whenever I left work 

No comment ;)

I was working all day on pancake day so the next day I made savoury sweetcorn pancakes with mushrooms and a freshly laid fried egg  

I bought a new baking book which I love 

I'm really getting into gardening 

I love watching the plants starting to pop out of the soil 

Also trying to be more healthy 

And Spring has officially sprung 

So now you are up to date with what has been going on. I think I might make this Instagram update a regular feature I quite like it. Remember for all my goings on check out my instagram (@capturing_my_world) and until next time, bye :) x 

Dubai Diaries - Going to Abu Dhabi

So whilst we were in Dubai, we took a mini road trip to Abu Dhabi. We took off straight after breakfast on a Friday so we could make to the Sheikh Zayed Grand mosque for Friday (jummah) prayer. It was probably the best experience of my life so far and the highlight of my year in 2013 ( as stated in this instagram post ). The mosque was the purist of whites set of against the bluest of skys. The architecture and structure was just amazing and I was totally in awe of its beauty. We also visited the Emirates Palace Hotel which was full of decadence and sheer opulence. Of course I took loads of picture and a vlog as well so here they are. 

Love these flower motifs on the ceiling 

So beautiful

A miniature model of the mosque

Through the key hole 

There were these floral tiles around the walls

The hustle and bustle after prayer 

Love these gold palm leave on the pillars 

Basking in the sun

Me

Mini domes 

Basking in the sun 

The ceiling of the Emirates Palace hotel

Surrounding buildings 

The Emirates Palace hotel 

Oooohhhh fountains 

Water steps

This is the last of the Dubai Diaries series, I hope you have enjoyed it :) 

Dubai Diaries - The Creek

So on the same day as we to the souk's, we also when on a boat ride on Dubai creek. As stated in the previous post it was probably one of the hottest days of the trip and he fresh breeze and the shade of the boat was much needed after walking around the souk's. The ride lasted about an hour and wherever you turned and looked there was something different to see. From the amazing architecture of the surrounding buildings to import/export boats, to restaurant boats, to mosques and peoples houses.

I love the architecture on the building 

Imagine praying right next to the water

Import/export boats 

The driver 

Restaurant boats 

Hanging his clothes up to dry

Contrasting glass building 

A little mosque hiding in between the houses 

Here is the video

Dubai Diaries: The Souk's

What is that you say? It's been four months since my last post. Eeeekkkkk!! Well I have no elaborate reason for my absence. It has been a complete contradiction of being busy at work and just procrastinating when I get home. That is not say the things haven't been happening in my life (if you follow my instagram you will have seen). There has been another holiday (to Morocco), my birthday, the new year, making and eating lost of food and just life stuff. But before we get into all that I realised that I haven't finished my 'Dubai Diaries' so here goes.

When you think of Dubai you think of the tallest buildings, the biggest malls, the seven start hotels and all of that which is all well and good but I really wanted to see and older part of Dubai with the souk's and the markets. We could have spent the whole day just exploring all the narrow alleyways, but the day we went it was probably one of the hottest day of the trip which was clear by the amount of water that was consumed that day. That didn't stop us from being totally in awe of all the touristy trinkets, spices, colours and aromas.

Traditional shoes

Camels 

Colourful umbrellas 

Love the design on this lamp 

Garlands 

Oooooohhhh the lights

All the spice mountains ( I don't even know what half of them are)

Another narrow alleyway of the markets 

Some more spices that I don't know 

 So here is to getting back into blogging and not having another four months off.  `