Happy (Belated) Chinese New Year - including Wonton Recipie

Gong Hey Fat Choy

I know it happened over two weeks ago, but I have finally been able to sit down today and write about it. As our house is hard work to keep tidy and try to find the space to unpack everything into.

This year we hosted Chinese New Year for my parents, and I think we did surprisingly well. Not only because we only have three pans and managed to cook six different dishes, but because it was our first time properly hosting in our house and trying to remember where I had put things was most of the battle.

The highlight for me was the success of my handmade wontons, these were pork, prawn and chive. In hindsight I should have made about three batches, as one went to the lovely people at my local Jo Malone, one for my parents and only one for myself. Oh the Horror!

They delightfully simple to make and I urge you give it a go whenever you feel like being a little adventurous but without breaking the bank for a vast array of new ingredients.

I offer up my simple wonton recipe:

Lean Pork Mince

Unshelled Prawns

Chives

Wonton Pastry (found in every Chinese supermarket)

1 egg

I haven't put measurements as they vary dependant on how many you want to make but we used about 200g pork mince and 150g prawns.

Cut up the mince and prawns and mix in a bowl with the chives.

For each wonton you will want a small ball of the mix just smaller than a walnut, and place it in the middle of your square of pastry. Then fold the pastry in half sealing the edges with egg.

Now is where you can be creative, feel free to fold the rest of the pastry however you like, Rob and I not being overly creative folded all the corners to the top of the wonton.

When all your wontons are made you will need to deep fry them for around 3-5 minutes.

A good dipping sauce to go with them is light soya sauce, a few teaspoons of lemon juice, a few drops of fish sauce, and chopped fresh ginger.

I hope you give these a go, as they are very nice and you can also alter the ratios of the pork and prawn to suit your own tastes, or add completely different ingredients!

Jo Malone - Rock the Ages

I was delighted to be invited to a pre-launch event for the Jo Malone Rock the Ages collection. Whilst there I was pampered with a hand and arm massage and some themed mini sticks of rock.

Whilst there I was able to experience of the wonderful take on the various ages in British history, and was able to treat myself to my favourite periods. I tried the Geranium & Verbena on top of Wood Sage and Sea Salt. This to me was a perfect pairing, the wood sage helped to lift the clean herbaceous tones of the verbena without overpowering or detracting from the elegant scent. As per usual with the wonderful scents of Jo Malone the morning after the scent still lingered and helped the morning be that more enjoyable. 

I strangely fell in love with the Tudor Rose & Amber, which even though my go to's are always very floral I always make a note to steer clear from roses. It may be due to this being a new take on rose, as it is deeper than the usual rose scents that I have tried, this being helped with the amber, clove and ginger notes. Because of this I had to add this to my collection and also purchased the Velvet Rose & Oud candle as this was the closest candle to the Tudor Rose, that I hope one day they will make into a candle.

The Birch & Black Pepper is amazing, so very rich, woody and warm. I treated my other half Rob to this, as I loved the scent but sadly found it that little to smoky for myself but I couldn't bare to go without smelling it as this was my favorite out of the collection. 

I'm hoping I can afford another spending spree before the collection ends as I would love to own the complete collection, not only because it annoys me to have an incomplete collection, but the Lily of the Valley & Ivy is perfect for the spring, it has a delicate floral scent that is ideal for all the upcoming Spring picnics that I have planned. And a girl can never have enough perfume, especially when it is Jo Malone!

A surprise from my local Tesco

I thought I should share with you something I found tucked away in a corner in my local Tesco.

These cute little scented candle tins by Dolland & Devaux.

They come in three different fragrances:

Green Fig & Sandalwood, Wild Mint & Bergamot, White Thyme & Lavender.

They are nicely scented so when not lit they still give the room a nice subtle fragrance, all three of them work well together or as a stand alone scent.

In my opinion these are a great little find, they smell amazing love adorable and they won't break the bank. 

I can't wait to put these in my kitchen, and they won't look amiss in any shabby chic home. 

Winter Skate in London with Fortnum and Mason

Rob and I recently went to London to go skating at Somerset House, and we had such fun. Most of the time I spent going backwards or working as a counterbalance for Rob as he is very much a novice at ice-skating but he did well. 

Whilst here we had a most enjoyable at the Fortnum and Mason Christmas Arcade, we warmed up with pre-skate tea, green tea and elderflower and rose tea, and nibbles (no cocktails sadly as we had to have our wits about us for the big event!!)

And of course as one should never go to London and not buy anything I treated myself to a little treat from the Christmas Arcade, a Bamford Geranium Duo gift-set which includes a hand and body wash, and a hand and body lotion. I have had my eye on this for a few months now, as I love Bamford as a company and I swear by their botanical face oil which I have been using for a few years now. 

I have used this a few times since I bought it, mainly as i'm trying to save it for my bathroom in my new house for my guests, and the smell is divine it smells of egyptian geranium, twin lavenders, peppermint and blue gum eucalyptus. At this rate I won't let my guests anywhere near these. 

Jo Malone - My Wanderlust Cardamon & Moroccan Rose Candle

If you know me personally you will now I am very much obsessed with all things Jo Malone and I have very much been looking forward to the new My Wanderlust collection by Charlotte Stockdale.

Last Thursday my boyfriend and myself were invited to the collection launch at my favorite store in Norwich, Jarrold. Where we were greeted by the Jo Malone team, who at times I feel they get sick of the sight of me. We were taken on a journey of scents as we were shown the collection, after what seemed like a forever and the level headedness of my other half, who bless him has to try and keep tabs of how much I spend on little luxuries, told me I could only pick one thing for the house. 

Being me it was a no brainer as I am a lover for all things scented candles, and chose one of the few remaining Cardamon & Moroccan Rose candles.

As per usual it came home with me beautifully boxed, and is being kept for a nice day. The candle fills my bedroom fully of a gorgeous smell of holidays to the Atlas Mountains that  I wish I could go on, especially on this very wet and miserable day in Norwich. 

Not only does this candle full my room with an exotic scent but it also looks as good as it smells, this the watercolour packaging which reflects the warming fragrance of the candle. 

Soigné Macaron Collection

I bought this delightful box just before christmas and I have been rotating through the colours ever since. 

These colours are wonderful and easy to work with, i've found you only need two coats to achieve a good colour. They have a nice consistency which is reasonably thick without being horribly gloopy. The brushes have been well designed also as they are nice and flat and pick up enough varnish to cover a nail with ease. 

The packaging is something that makes me enjoy these polishes even more, as each collection comes with a box that compliments the theme. This one being macarons so it is designed much like a Laduree box (my favourite sort of macarons) 

Now for a little about the brand:

Soigné, created in France and influenced by Parisian fashion, offers a formula that includes up to 85% of plant sourced raw materials. They offer a core palette as well as fashion influenced seasonal collections. Their base coat is oxygen based so it allows for breathability, hydration and encourages healthy nails. They also offer a Gel Effect top coat for a long lasting high gloss finish.

This collection contains five colours:

Pistache, a delicate minty green

Lavande, a clean fresh lilac inspired by lavender

Caramel, a pale caramel nude colour

Fruit de la Passion, a nice bright orange/coral

Pétale de Rose. a warm pink coral colour

Where to buy soignenails.com