Huevos Rancheros.

This is a new one, and a simple one, but a good one.

Eggs are my favourite, but sometimes a regular fry-up just won't do. This is a little something that myself, and a very sceptical Moon whipped up one Saturday a couple of weeks ago. I guess he was sceptical because he doesn't necessarily agree with tinned tomatoes for breakfast, or chilli for breakfast but I think he was curious in equal measure because Mexican food is king in our little house (after Chinese food, naturally).



This is so incredibly simple that it almost feels ridiculous to be sharing it with you but I hope it will inspire you to try a different kind of cooked breakfast this weekend, though this would also make a great brinner, particularly if you included a few black or kidney beans, yum!

Ingredients: (feeds 2)

• 1 x tin of chopped tomatoes
• 2 x tortillas
• 2 x fresh tomatoes (cut into thin slices)
• 2 x cloves of garlic (finely chopped)
• ½ bell pepper
• ½ red onion
• 2 fresh chillies
• 4 x large eggs
• 3-4 sprigs of fresh parsley (roughly chopped)
• 1 tablespoon of dried parsley
• 2 teaspoons chilli powder
• Salt & pepper (to taste)
• Cooking oil of your choice, I use coconut
• 1 x avocado (optional)

Method:

1. Heat your pan and add your oil before adding the garlic, red onion, fresh chillies and bell pepper and cooking until softened
2. Add the chopped tomatoes to your softened vegetables and bring to a simmer before reducing the heat
3. Stir in the chilli powder and salt and pepper to taste
4. Place the fresh tomatoes over the top and crack the eggs in, you'll want them to have a bit of space so don't do them too close together
5. Put a lid over your simmering frying pan and allow your eggs to cook through (5 - 8 minutes)
6. While your eggs are cooking, toast the tortillas - this can be done either by folding them in the toaster (like we did) or sprinkling them with a bit of water and popping them in the oven for 5 minutes
7. Cut your avocado into cubes ready to go on top
8. Once your eggs are ready spoon the mixture into a bowl containing your toasted tortilla, add fresh parsley and avocado and enjoy

Did you know?: Chillies are metabolism-boosting, so having them with breakfast is actually a pretty healthy way to start the day!

What are some of your favourite 'cooked breakfasts'?

And breathe...

When your colleague suggests taking in some lunchtime culture it's a difficult opportunity to pass up. When you find out that that culture involves an exhibition where 'a lady breathes on some paper and shows the results', it's difficult to get excited about it. With that being said, you can sort of find yourself regretting that initial feeling.


'And Breathe...' at the Old Fire Station showcases part of Jayne Wilton's 'Drawing Breath' body of work, in which she creates physical, ephemeral sculptures from human breath. It's much less gross than it sounds and it was actually kind of beautiful.


[Sing 1 & 2]


[Expire]



[Breathe]


[Drawing Breath]
It's been ages since I've visited an art exhibition much less found any new art that I actually enjoy. Sometimes finding things visually pleasing can boil down to something as simple as whether you would hang it on your own wall, and I definitely would. 'Sing 1 & 2' were my favourites in particularly though I really liked the simplicity of the whole exhibition.

'And Breathe...' is a small exhibition of just 7 pieces but I'd definitely recommend visiting if you're around Oxford before 14th November.


[Crowd]


[Blow]


Arts at the Old Fire Station has a range of shows and exhibitions throughout the year, as well as featuring an adorable shop featuring work from independent UK artists and designers and hosting workshops and classes, it's a really neat public space.

'And Breathe...' runs until 14th November 2015 at the Old Fire Station gallery, Tuesday - Saturday, 11am - 6pm, and it's free!

Have you seen any inspiring art exhibitions lately?

Sage + Mint.

*and how to easily spend £40 on candles and disappoint your boyfriend.


You might remember back in June when I visited the Wealden Times Midsummer Fair that I was head over heels with Produce Candles and their beautiful packaging. Well, knowing that winter is on its way and that once it gets to this time of year as soon as it's time to turn the heating on and the living room gets darker, it's time to light some candles and start hibernating.

After my sweet friends Kirstin and Dan picked me up a rhubarb Produce Candle to warm our house, I felt confident that Produce Candles really are as good as they look.




A beautiful trio - and I'm sure I can do something fun with the jars once the candles are used up.
So far, despite burning for over 8 hours (and other things candle bloggers say), they're less than 1/3 way through and by the standard of the kind of scented candles I usually buy, I'd say that for their size, that's pretty good.


It's very simple, but I love that they sort of keep with the gardening theme and package the candles with straw-like padding.


Another nice touch, for the record, tomato is delicious!



I Love Produce Candles stocks the whole range of candles, and they're actually also the company from the stall I saw at Wealden Times all those months ago.


The main touch that I love is the tips for growing the plant that your candle smells like. I already have mint and sage growing from plants in the garden but this is good stuff to know for next year's plants.


There are so many to try, but I went for sage and mint as they're my two favourite herbs. I'd be really interested to give radish and carrot a go and I'd love fig if this winter lasts as long as it's supposed to - still, I'm slightly on reserves given that they are pretty luxury. That said, I'd definitely say they're worth it, not only do they smell great but they're made from natural soy wax, which burns much more evenly and slowly than beeswax, so you get to enjoy them for longer. ♥

Never Too Many Pandas.

You can definitely never have too many pandas. As an animal lover I'm really conflicted about zoos, on the one hand there's the happiness of the animals and on the other, there's the conservation side of things. I feel that Ocean Park probably does do a lot to conserve China's native animals and actually, most of the enclosures are nice and big, and that's despite the huge theme park expansion they've been working on since I last visited.





I did actually lug my DSLR along for the ride for this excursion but my new snappy little Canon did a pretty swell job too - I'm actually thinking about getting my butt in gear and talking about my cameras in an upcoming post, and it's that little camera that had me inspired.

I just felt like my blog needed more pandas and more animals, it's been a while since my goat-crazy phase of the summer.




This monkey's weird, human-like face creeped me out a little, sorry little guy.


Making like a panda.



Making like a dancing panda.




Panda selfie, can you tell I like pandas?




Red pandas are an acceptable panda substitute and these guys were much more boisterous than they were when I visited in 2011.


So pretty.





Weirdly, and probably second to pandas (obviously), I think the goldfish exhibition is my favourite thing at Ocean Park. I think it's because it reminds me of my mum and it's actually pretty neat as they include the history of the goldfish too - bit more exciting than it sounds (only a bit).




The Ocean Park cable car is still one of the quietest places I've been in Hong Kong, gives you time to think.




It's days like this one where Hong Kong is a completely under-rated holiday destination, look at that sea!




Saw my first arctic fox, so that was neat.






Sloths: not as slow as you think.


For more panda-related fun, I would recommend David O'Doherty's 100 Facts About Pandas, the most accurate panda book I have ever read.