EXPECTATION VS. REALITY

Sometimes I think the internet is a double-edged sword and blogs and social media have a lot to answer for expectation vs. reality.

I thought Cinque Terre was absolutely beautiful and I would never have heard about it if it wasn't for the internet. I'd seen lots of blogs and instagram pictures of the pretty, coloured houses, but despite it seeming like a really popular destination online, none of my 'real life' friends or colleagues had heard of it before!

The houses have that soft wash of pastel colour you often see in the Mediterranean, but it wasn't what I was expecting. If you search 'cinque terre' on Google Images, you're presented with hundred of images of high contrast, incredible bright colours, with very few of them reflecting the true hues of the towns. Even in my picture above, I upped the saturation a little bit. It's not to say I was disappointed by our experience - far from it - but I would imagine if you are travelling from further afield than Europe with one thing in mind, the reality can be a little disappointing.

I also think that I had an expectation of myself that, presented with such beautiful scenery, I would turn out amazing, blog-worthy photos even just equipped with a little point and shoot camera. In reality, my pictures aren't the greater, but I hope my photos from yesterday show a realistic portrayal of our trip - what it really looked like, rather than an instagram snapshot that will get liked 25 times and then forgotten about.

I'm not sure what I was aiming for with this post, but I feel like going forward, I want to discover beautiful places for myself instead of turning to the internet or blogs to create 'bucket lists' of amazing looking places that just become something to check off a list. Here's to adventuring further afield and looking beyond the instagram-able!

3 DAYS IN CINQUE TERRE

Darren and I made a quick trip to Italy before my birthday and our first stop was Vernazza in Cinque Terre.

Logistics
We flew into Pisa airport and took the train to Vernazza. The PisaMover bus takes you from the airport to Pisa Centrale station in under 10 minutes, then you take a 40-ish minute train to La Spezia before changing onto a regional train into the Cinque Terre. The trains to Vernazza only come every hour, but we managed to get a train to Monterosso, a few stops along, and double back on ourselves. The train journey took about 2 hours and cost 8 Euros. Italy knows how to do cheap train travel! Being on time is another matter...

Where we stayed
Of the 5 villages in the Cinque Terre we decided to stay in Vernazza, which has the picturesque natural harbour that is probably one of the most recognisable views of the region. Of all the villages, I think it is the most picturesque and it is absolutely tiny - perfect for feeling like a local! There aren't any hotels in Vernazza, but there are plenty of B&B's. So many, in fact, it's a daunting decision to narrow it down, but in the end we chose this little studio for its view straight onto the main square (in the first image). It was clean, modern and right in the middle of town and, once the day-trippers have left, totally quiet.

What we ate
If I'm being honest, we didn't find the food in Cinque Terre to be all that exciting; there was lots of typical Mediterranean seafood and pasta, but the quality wasn't quite what we were expecting. That being said, we had a two dinners at restaurants in the square which were tasty, though the 12 Euro per bottle/litre house white wine was probably our favourite discovery throughout our trip! For breakfast, we found Il Pirata delle Cinque Terre because it had free wifi, but their famous pastries and delicious coffees kept us coming back. In Monterosso, we loved Ristorante La Barcaccia, a little place off of the main strip that was filled with locals on their lunch break. Trofie al pesto is a regional special and highly recommended! One of our favourite meals was actually our last night when we picked up fresh foccacia, prosciutto and homemade pesto to eat in our studio - it was incredibly cheap and really delicious.

What we did
Hiking is probably Cinque Terre's biggest attraction. On our first day we walked the trail from Vernazza to Corniglia. It took about 2 hours and by the end our thighs were burning from all the uphill trekking, but it was really beautiful to round each corner and see the coloured houses of Corniglia get closer and closer. I loved all the bunny ear cactuses that lined the path too! There is one thing I have to say about Italian signage though...when we got to the end of the hike, nearly 2 hours later, there were three signs for the trail back to Vernazza - one said 1.5 hours, one said 1.75 hours and the other said 2.25 hours! I think accuracy is not really an Italian forte. We saw signs about buying tickets to hike the trails, as it's a national park, but we didn't see anywhere to buy them and were never asked for them either. Disappointingly, it rained our second day and we did't fancy the slippery cliff paths so we took the train to Monterosso, on the opposite side of Vernazza. The trains between the villages are easy to navigate and super cheap and as long as you know the timetable, there isn't too much waiting around, though we took photos of all the departure timetables at the stations as the internet told us completely different timings! We were so sad our second day was rained off, but Monterosso was fine in the rain as it's the busiest of the villages with plenty of shops and a few little churches to keep you amused. In the evenings, we were happy to return to Vernazza, sit out on the big flat rocks and watch the sun go down with a bottle of prosecco. Just a word of warning: Vernazza only has one bar, The Blue Marlin, so don't expect much nightlife!

Prices
I was concerned that being such a touristy destination everything would be really expensive, but the prices were really reasonable. Our meals - usually a starter to share, pasta and mains and a bottle of house white - cost around 50 - 60 Euros, but we ate a lot and you could easily have a huge plate of pasta each and wine for 30 - 40 Euros. A glass of prosecco was usually a standard price of 3 Euros and a bottle around 16 Euros and, if you were at a bar before dinner, that would come with crisps and sometimes little slices of toasted foccacia. For lunch, a pizza or fresh foccacia sandwich would be around 5 - 7 Euros and a small gelato costs a standard price of 2 Euros. The night we bought food to eat in our room, we spend about 15 Euros including a bottle of prosecco!

Have you been to the Cinque Terre before? Is it on your travel wish list? I have a little post coming up on Wednesday about expectation vs. reality and then I can't wait to share our days in Lucca!

BIRTHDAY COCKTAIL: strawberry + mint cointreau fizz

It's my birthday! What better way to celebrate than with a cocktail? A month or so ago my friend invited me to a private view of her photo exhibition at The Hoxton Hotel in Holborn. It was hosted by Cointreau and they served delicious cocktails from their Cointreau Fizz collection. Luckily, there was a little swatch of recipes included in the goodie bag so I could test out some of them at home and this is my favourite.

I'd never tried Cointreau before - it seemed like one of those grown-up spirits that twenty-somethings don't really drink - but it's delicious and this fresh cocktail is perfect for summer. It doesn't require any fancy ingredients and I made it at home easily without any cocktail making equipment.

To make two cocktails:
2 shots of Cointreau (about 10ml, depending on how strong you like it)
200ml sparkling water
Juice of a lime (I've made it with and without and I like it both ways)
8 strawberries
A small handful of mint leaves

In a shaker glass (I used a pint glass), muddle the strawberries with mint leaves. I used the end of a small rolling pin to get a fine pulp, but you could puree the strawberries in a blender as well.

Add Cointreau and lime juice, fill with ice and shake. Strain into a glass over ice and top with sparkling water.

The straining is a little bit fiddly, but it does make a nice, bright cocktail. I've also been leaving out the Cointreau and drinking this by the gallon for a refreshing dose of my 5-a-day that feels super fancy for just a regular afternoon.

p.s. the winnner of my blog giveaway is Polly Rowan!

THOUGHTS ON MAKING (and keeping!) FRIENDS IN YOUR 20's

I'm curious; who are your friends? Are they people you grew up with, who you might have met in your first year at school, or are they friends made from moving to a new city or starting a new job?

I have a few different groups of friends. There are the girls I went to school with, a close bunch of about 10 of us who know each other inside out thanks to living with each other at boarding school during the formative years of our life; there are the girls I went to uni with, who I discovered what it was like to really live with people, where you're responsible for doing your own food shopping and paying your own bills; the girls from my first proper job, who I started understanding the world of work with; there's the girl gang I've made through blogging, who encourage and nourish each others' creative pursuits and then there are the girls I work with now (all my friends are girls!), who I share the ins and outs of my day with and spend more time with than anyone else.

The other week I had a joint birthday dinner with the girls I met at my first proper job (at Grain Store, hence the relevance of the photo) and it got me thinking about the friends I've made (and kept) since I left school. Friends you make after school and university are such a different thing to those you made earlier in life; whereas your school friends are people you know so well - you know what they're thinking, exactly the thing you said that upset them last time you went out for drinks, what their sisters, mums and brothers are doing - your relationship is built on the past. It is so amazing to really know each others' lives, and it makes for a really comfortable friendship, but it also means that when you get together, a lot of your discussions might turn to things that happened in the past, people you used to know, etc.

The friendships you make later in life tend to be rooted in the present: especially with work friends, it might be more anecdotal and revolve more around discussions on the latest BuzzFeeds or what you did at the weekend. The funny thing that my dinner got me thinking about is how you keep hold of the friends you've made more recently. With the girls from my last job, we don't have the depth of history I have with my school friends, nor the daily connection that I have with my current work friends and it's interesting to see how your friendship shifts and you have to make more of an effort to be engaged in their work and their life...and with these ladies it is totally worth it!

And then there are the sweet friends I've made through blogging. What's amazing about this type of friendship is that we don't have any shared story. Our one common thread is that we all blog and I think it's that passionate, maybe entrepreneurial side, that bonds us together. When I see my blogging girls, I come away from our chats so inspired and light, like I could do anything, and I think it's precisely because you don't have a personal timeline with those friends, that your relationship can go anywhere you want it to you because you're not tied to gossip.

I'm interested to know - who are you friends with? Have you kept in touch with childhood friends or people you've worked with after you've moved on?

COOKBOOK CHALLENGE: jamie oliver's crusted cod

I shouldn't really include this in the Cookbook Challenge tag because it doesn't really fit the criteria, but this Jamie Oliver recipe is too good not to share. I started the Cookbook Challenge in an effort to make more use of the cookbooks I already had, instead of constantly buying more and leaving them to languish on the bookshelf. The recipes were supposed to be ones I hadn't made before and also recipes I followed to the letter...neither of which I've done here but it's been such a long time since I cooked something from a book rather than from the internet (or my head) that I thought I'd share it anyway.

This crusted cod is a real treat. The recipe calls for cod fillet, but we used the meatier loin, which can be pricer than what you might normally buy, but the flavours are amazing and every time I make this I'm amazed at its restaurant-quality taste.

This recipe is from Jamie Oliver's 30 Minute Meals, and the full meal features crusted cod, mashy peas, homemade tartare sauce and warm garden salad, but below I've simply included the recipe for the cod and homemade mushy peas (different to Jamie's, which are a mash hybrid with potatoes, broccoli and peas).

Serves 2:
2 x cod loin pieces around 180g each
Liberal olive oil (it is a Jamie Oliver recipe after all!)
Crusty white roll
4 cloves of garlic
1/4 jar sundried tomatoes
3 or 4 cherry tomatoes (I usually add this so the sauce is less rich)
Small bunch of basil
20g parmesan cheese
Balsamic vinegar
500g frozen peas

Heat up the grill (broiler, if you're American). Put a few lugs of olive oil into a large roasting tray and sprinkle with salt and pepper. Rub and toss the fish in the oil and put under the grill in the middle of the oven for 5 minutes while you make the topping.

Roughly chop the bread roll and put in a food processor along with 2 peeled cloves of garlic and a drizzle of olive oil. Whiz until it becomes breadcrumbs and tip into a bowl.

Put the sundried tomatoes, basil, cheese, a splash of balsamic vinegar, 2 garlic cloves and the cherry tomatoes in the empty food processor and whiz into a paste.

Take the fish out of the oven. Spoon over the tomato mixture, top with breadcrumbs and put back under the grill for 5-10 minutes until the breadcrumbs are golden and crisp.

Meanwhile, cook the peas in boiling water with some salt. Drain and whiz in the food processor with some olive oil, salt and pepper.

And serve! This literally takes about 20 minutes to make and as you are using the same food processor throughout, the washing up is pretty minimal too. I recommend getting the best fish you can buy and making this for a special occasion. It's really easy to make but so impressive, and less time spent in the kitchen means more time for watching a movie or an early night!

GIVEAWAY: a gratitude list

I'm going to Italy today! I was going to line up a few posts for while I'm away, but I decided to host a little giveaway instead to win one of these One Line A Day journals. Scroll down for details on how to enter.

I've been keeping my One Line A Day journal for a couple of years now. I don't always manage to fill it in every day, but it's nice to look back on the things that made me smile on that day last year and even the year before that. 

Spring always has me feeling super positive, so I thought I would create a Gratitude List for my blog to keep that positivity going. If you'd like to take part, leave a comment with something that is making you happy right now; it could be something big like moving house or something small - perfectly ripe avocado, anyone? - or it could be something you're looking forward to, like a holiday, graduation, etc. The obvious theme is that it has to be positive! 

On Friday 24th April (my birthday!) I'll choose one person at random to win their own One Line A Day memory book. If you want to increase your chances of winning, follow me on Twitter (@catherinesprunt) or Bloglovin' for extra entries and make sure you let me know in the comments so I can count you in. I'll pick the winner at random next week. Good luck!

I'll start: right now I'm grateful for living in Europe, so we can hop on a plane at lunchtime and be on the Italian coast in time for dinner. 

ESTABLISHING A HEALTHY FOOD PHILOSOPHY

Not just eating healthily, but eating well is always at the forefront of my mind. Whether it's the way I look or the way I feel, most of it can be attributed to what I am or aren't eating and it has to be said, I feel much better when I'm being 'healthy'. But eating healthily means so many different things to different people - gluten-free and plant-based seem to be buzzwords for 2015, and I'm glad that a healthy approach to food and what's on trend don't have to be mutually exclusive, but that doesn't mean that the Dukan diet, juice fasts and so on aren't still on the menu.  

I think I already have a pretty healthy attitude to food - I eat a lot of fruit and vegetables and healthy fats, I cook mostly from scratch and don't rely heavily on processed foods, and I'm pretty good at not snacking between meals or succumbing to cravings and food binges. That being said, since going off the pill I'm still lethargic and really low on energy, my skin has been a bit temperamental and I've put on a little bit of extra squidge around the middle. I actually lost nearly 2 stone a few years ago, using a calorie counter, and while I found it a really useful method to really understand portion sizes, I find I can easily become obsessed with it; a habit I don't want to develop any further.

I decided to sit down with a couple of recent cookbooks to discover their attitude to what we should and shouldn't be eating, what they have in common, and how they differ, to see if I can come up with a healthy food philosophy that's easy (enough) to stick to and makes me feel good. Grab a cuppa, it's going to be a long one!

Deliciously Ella by Ella Woodward 

Philosophy: A plant-based diet, free from gluten, dairy, meat, sugar, processed foods, chemicals and additives.

What I like: Ella appreciates that the way she eats is restricted by her illness, and that if you want to supplement the recipes in the book with organic meat and dairy, then that is completely fine. It's easy to eat salads when the weather's cold, but there are some really hearty recipes in the book that are perfect for when you just want a bowl of carbs and cheese. I've already tried the lentil bolognese and it was amazing.

How to eat like Ella: Prepare in advance and cook big batches of quinoa or brown rice at the weekend that you can add to roasted vegetables for an easy packed lunch or quick week-night supper. 

Recipes to try: Gnocchi with pea pesto, homemade hummus, sweet potato brownies

The Art of Eating Well by Hemsley + Hemsley

Philosophy: Whole, unprocessed foods. Embrace healthy fats, dairy, organic meat and fermented foods; cut out gluten and sugar. 

What I like: Everything! I feel like I already think about food in the same was as the Hemsley sisters. I'm a big fan of cooking with butter, and not trimming all the fat off meat, as it tastes good and keeps you fuller for longer. They also recommend eating full-fat dairy - low-fat alternatives are usually loaded with sugar and they don't recommend soy as it is heavily processed and usually genetically modified. Unless you have a dairy or lactose allergy, there's no need to swap milk for soy milk. 

How to eat like the Hemsleys: split your plate into thirds - fill two thirds with low-starch vegetables, leafy greens, seeds, dairy and fats and fill the other third with either pulses and starchy vegetables or protein (I usually take a meat or carbs approach to meals too). Don't see fat as a bad thing - it is more satisfying and, if you are cutting out unprocessed foods, then you are unlikely to be eating any trans-fats. Introduce fermented foods - like miso or sauerkraut - to balance good gut bacteria and drink bone broth (essentially stock), which is rich in collagen to repair and soothe the stomach's lining and aid digestion. 

Recipes to try: Pablo's chicken (pictured), whole roasted cauliflower, Sri Lankan lamb curry, green goddess dressing.

I Quit Sugar by Sarah Wilson

Philosophy: Whether it comes from fruit or from cake, sugar is sugar. Sarah was eating around 25 teaspoons of sugar on a conservative day - from honey, three pieces of fruit, dried fruit and dark chocolate, not even taking into account hidden sources of sugar like sliced bread - which was making her feel tired and lethargic and aggravating an auto-immune disease that she had developed. Quitting sugar takes time, but her approach follows an eight-week plan to ease into.

What I like: Wilson has the same ideas as the Hemsleys - good quality meat and dairy are integral to her recipes - and the plan is easy to follow, with instructional tables and lots of ideas for substitutions.  

How to eat like Sarah: Give yourself realistic goals, but also be strict. Cut back gradually, but have lots of variation to keep things exciting. The book is mostly sweet recipes - which I don't find as appealing because I don't have much of a sweet tooth - but it's perfect for if you are really struggling with cutting down on sugar as there are plenty of tasty things to make. 

Recipes to try: courgette breakfast cheesecake, coconut curry meatballs, rooibos chai

I'm pleased to see that most of my food ideals align with Hemsley + Hemsley, and it's more a matter of willpower for me. The main thing that I've taken away from reading all of those books is that I should be eating less sugar, so I'm going to embark on Sarah Wilson's 8-week plan after I get back from Italy and my birthday (it only makes sense!). I don't have a sweet tooth, but I do find that I want to eat something sweet in the afternoon when I'm at work (never at the weekend) or after dinner, which is definitely more of a habit than a craving. 

I'm really looking forward to trying some of the recipes in the book and finding a healthier food philosophy that works in the long term. I'll definitely get back into my Cookbook Challenge and share some of the recipes I cook on here. Do you have any favourite food blogs you think I'd like? No cakes, obviously!

CINQUE TERRE/LUCCA TIPS

Darren and I are off to Italy next week! We'll be spending 3 nights in Vernazza in the Cinque Terre and 2 nights in Lucca (that picture is actually the view from our Airbnb window!). I'm excited to eat my body weight in pasta and gelato, drink lots of cheap prosecco (I hope!), see some beautiful sites and hopefully practice my Italian.

Have you ever been to either place? Weather permitting, we'll be doing some hiking through the villages in Cinque Terre, cycling around the old walls of Lucca and stopping off to see the Leaning Tower of Pisa on our way home, but I'd ove to know if you have tips - especially restaurant recommendations!