food

Reactions to “Chicken Con Carne”

Alice E. Bennett British, Cooking, Cotswolds, family, food, Humor, Humour, Swindon , , ,

Less than an hour after I upload my last post, Alice’s “Chicken Con Carne”, my phone buzzes. Two separate messages, one from Mumma B and the other from brutally honest mate Laura. Wishing we well? Asking what I’m up to? Nope, expressing concern over my grasp of international dialogue and my hands. As you do.

That’s right, I did indeed study Food Technology and the Spanish language at GCSE, with respective grades of A and B (I even won an award for my cooking). Where did it all go wrong? One word, University-catered-halls-of-residence-slash-studying-hard-slash-it-was-around-this-time-I-discovered-GoT-and-daytime-TV.

It gets worse. I visited Mumma B the other day and she’s given me a knife, that is how concerned she is. It must make her the first parent in history to thrust a knife into her daughter’s hand and beg me to take it. She even smuggled it into my handbag when I tried to leave it behind.

(The best bit? The video was recorded months ago. The face on Mumma B when I told her? Priceless.)

**

Please consider donating the price of a cup of coffee to my funding page:

Ko-Fi

**

Alice’s “Chicken Con Carne”

Alice E. Bennett British, food, Humour, Uncategorized , , ,

For this one there isn’t much to say that isn’t covered in this video. I think I’m getting better at this cooking malarkey.

And plated up…

So go on, tell me you’re not a little bit impressed. And, if you’re not impressed, it’s because you’re the one who’s been stockpiling all the beef and/or Quorn mince.

**

Please consider donating the price of a cup of coffee to my funding page:

Ko-Fi

**

I’ve Been “Cooking” Again

Alice E. Bennett adult, British, comedy, Cooking, Coronavirus, Culture, Event, food, House, Humor, Humour, Mellennial, Mental Health, Mermaid, Nonfiction, Review, sophistication, Swindon, Uncategorized, Young Professional , , ,

Recently got the kitchen done = no oven for two weeks = several takeouts and a trillion microwave meals.

Now, you guys all know how horrific my life choices can be when I set my mind to it? Well this, this shows one of those in action. Behold, me deomonstrating how to prepare one of my signature classics, “East Meets West”.

An absolute culinary pro from start to finish.

Next question, who’s coming over to mine for seconds?

(Ps, if you’re after more kitchen inspiration, here’s the link to my stodge dinner recipe.)

**

Please consider donating the price of a cup of coffee to my funding page:

Ko-Fi

**

Alice’s Signature “Three Ingredient” Cooking (Alias “Stodge Dinner”)

Alice E. Bennett Baking, British, comedy, Coronavirus, Europe, Event, food, House, Humor, Humour, London, Mellennial, Mermaid, Social Media, sophistication, Swindon, Uncategorized, Work, Young Professional , , , ,

A couple of videos that showcase just the level of my culinary abilities. I’d caveat it with something like, “it had been a long day in the office and/or it was 23:00 in the evening”, but it wasn’t. It was 19:00 and it was me, being me.

Part One – Preparation and Cooking

Part Two – Finishing Touches and the Taste Test

Oh, and here is the pastry I mentioned in the video, the free one.

I think it was a citrus tart. It tasted of lemons. It was going out of date that day, so someone came up to me and asked if I wanted it. Five days after said expiry date, I ate it (because that’s the kind of classy girl I am).

So, who wants to hire me as their private chef?

**

Enjoy this content? Please consider donating the price of a cup of coffee to my funding page:

Ko-Fi

**

You’re Welcome

Alice E. Bennett British, Commute, Coronavirus, Cotswolds, Culture, Europe, Event, food, Humour, Mellennial, Mermaid, Review, Social Media, sophistication, Staycation, Tourist, Travel, Uncategorized, Vacation, Young Professional , , , ,

I sent a thank you card to one of the restaurants I frequented when I made a solo staycation to Belfast, Northern Ireland.

(God knows what I wrote inside, I can barely remember what I ate for lunch five minutes ago.)

Whatever its contents were, The Northern Whig clearly enjoyed them enough to prop it up on their fancy bar and share it on their Instagram story.

Caption reads: Such a thoughtful thank-you card from @aeb.thewriter

You’re welcome guys, hope to visit again soon. x

**

Please support unpaid writers, like me, by donating to my funding page:

Ko-Fi

**

Geology, Politics and Guinness: My Week in Belfast

Alice E. Bennett British, Coronavirus, Culture, Europe, Event, food, History, Holiday, Humour, Mellennial, Mermaid, Nonfiction, Social Media, Staycation, Tourist, Travel, Uncategorized, Young Professional , , , , , ,

Just back, having spent a week in the lovely city of Belfast (capital of Northern Ireland, UK).

I had a wonderful time visiting The Giants Causeway, drinking Guinness, admiring political murals, drinking my weight in coffee, absorbing the industrial significance of the Titanic…getting through a lot of local gins. It was a cultural whirlwind. Best of all, it was unbelievably sunny; it didn’t rain once!*

* – apart from the ten minutes it pelted it down, but at that point had just paid my entrance ticket to spend some time inside Belfast’s notorious Crumlin prison. (I swear I’m a normal human being deep down.)

Hopefully there will be a video coming up soonish (when I get a spare day to pull everything together), but in the meantime here are a selection of choice snaps from my staycation.

**

Please support unpaid writers, like me, by donating to my funding page:

Ko-Fi

**

Deleted MHAM Posts From the Cutting Room Floor

Alice E. Bennett adult, alcohol, America, Baking, Birthday, Book, Book Review, British, clothes, Coffee, comedy, Coronavirus, Cotswolds, Culture, Europe, Event, family, fashion, Finance, food, Friends, Garden, House, How To, Humor, Humour, job, London, Mellennial, Mental Health, Mermaid, Nonfiction, Prompt, Review, Social Media, Swindon, Television, Uncategorized, Work, Young Professional , , , , ,

Some of the photos and posts that I wanted to write for My Housemate’s a Mermaid, but didn’t quite have enough material (pictorial and verbal) to fill.

Deleted MHAM Posts From the Cutting Room Floor

  1. The time how, at the start of the pandemic, Mumma B spent hours cutting squares of old fabric to make laundry bags for NHS key workers

2. When I stayed up so late that I ended up watching a much younger Nicky Campbell presenting a Top of the Pops episode from 1990

Some people had more fun than others.

I continued to watch it, even when this was played from the UK top twenty for the week.

3. How very surreal my office was when I went back to empty my locker

4. My sister’s attempts with one of those packet face masks from South Korea

It ripped off a load of skin, but not a lot else.

5. Squeak, the cat, being rebellious

6. The time I saw my old/favourite History lecturer from University on the BBC and I absolutely lost my cool

I mean, WITH LUCY WORSLEY!!

7. The time I found this in a shop and it perked up my mood

(But not enough that I bought it.)

8. The generous gin measures down the local pub

9. The generous measures of lunch portions while living with family

10. The thinking behind this at the Travel Lodge Hotel in York

It was in the foyer for several days…

11. A post detailing the contents of my bookshelf

12. Everything about this account that started following me on Twitter

How did it take you to spot that’s a semi naked woman?

13. A post on me rekindling my creative mojo during the pandemic

14. The importance of good friends who call-out when you have really bad body odour

15. The ‘what the fudge-ness’ of this targeted advert

Yes, I did tap the link and yes, I am still getting adverts for werewolf fan-fiction as a result.

16. Lockdown birthdays

17. The large number of self-published books with Covid themes

18. The other strange things being self-published

Although I am still a bit in love with the title of this book.

19. My attempts to have a massive clear-out

…which were ultimately foiled by a mixture of procrastination / charity shops being closed / Bubble the cat.

So there you go, a snippet of how much gets filtered before making it onto this website. What can I say? You get what you pay for.

**

Please support unpaid writers, like me, by donating to my funding page:

Ko-Fi (formerly Buy Me a Coffee)

**

My Sister, On…

Alice E. Bennett adult, alcohol, British, cardiff, Children, Coffee, comedy, Coronavirus, Cotswolds, Culture, Economy, Europe, Event, family, food, History, Holiday, Humor, Humour, job, Literature, London, love, Mellennial, Mental Health, Mermaid, Music, Nonfiction, Pets, Photos, Prompt, Social Media, sophistication, Spain, Swindon, Technology, Tourist, train, Travel, Uncategorized, University, Vacation, Young Professional , , ,

This post is dedicated to my lovely little sister, Bubba B.

It’s also dedicated to my old photo achieves I’ve been trawling through with zero regard to common decency. She let me take these photographs, she knew what she was signing herself up to five/six years later.

(At least that’s what my lawyers will say.)

*Cough* anyway, here we go.

My Sister, On…

My Sister, On…Contemporary Art

My Sister, On…Prehistory

(My Sister, On…World Domination of Prehistory)

My Sister, On…Geology

India On…Hipster Coffee

My Sister, On…Making Friends

My Sister, On…Interior Design

My Sister, On…Cultural Portrayals of the Female Body

My Sister, On…Wine Tasting

My Sister, On…Home Removals

My Sister, On…Interpretive Dance

My Sister, On…Travel

My Sister, On…Motivational Talks

(And finally – for now) My Sister, On…Questionable Photography

There you have it! Stay awesome, sister of the sea.

(PS, because no one is perfect…)

Alice On…Literature(?)

Yeah, I’ve no idea either.

(There may be an “Alice On…” sequel, or two, coming soon.)

**

Please support unpaid writers, like me, by donating to my funding page:

Buy Me A Coffee

**

London Recalling: The Throwback-set

Alice E. Bennett adult, alcohol, Anniversary, Art, Brexit, British, chocolate, Coffee, comedy, Commute, Coronavirus, Cotswolds, Culture, Dating, Economy, Europe, Event, fashion, Feminisim, Film, Finance, food, Friends, History, Holiday, Humor, Humour, job, Literature, London, love, Medicine, Mellennial, Mental Health, Mermaid, Music, New Year, Nonfiction, Photos, Prompt, Religion, Review, shopping, Social Media, sophistication, Swindon, Technology, Television, Theatre, Tourist, train, Travel, Uncategorized, University, Vacation, Young Professional , , , ,

“The past is a foreign country; they do things differently there” – L.P. Hartley

Tower Bridge

A year ago today, I returned from a London city break and published my first post. I’d spent a year living in the UK capital, so for me it marked a refresh of the best bits of city-living, including art galleries, theatre performances and catching up with old friends.

Days after my return I was left encumbered, battling a mystery illness. Those following weeks I pressed on the best I could, putting it down as another one of those viruses which circulate in densely populated environments. A year later I’m no closer knowing what struck me down; we all have our theories.

Back then, my friends and I had whimsically noted the high-adoption of face coverings being worn by the predominantly Asian tourist base. We mused on the foreign illness that was gripping other continents, but to comprehend the possibility that our own country could already be rife with disease was a step too far. We were better than that, we were British. Instead, we continued to pack ourselves into dense sweats to watch live music, feasted in noisy restaurants and embraced fondly.

If only we’d known.

So, with perhaps a naively romanticised view of what were truly the last days of normality (late January 2020), here are all four parts of London Recalling.

London Recalling – the Mini-Series

Part One – Straight Lesbians, Like Us

Part Two – The Creative’s Curse

Part Three – Solo Sell-Outs

Part Four – Wapping Old Stairs

**

*Donation Station*

Enjoy this content? Please support unpaid writers, like me, by donating:

One-Time
Monthly
Yearly

Make a one-time donation

Make a monthly donation

Make a yearly donation

Choose an amount

$5.00
$15.00
$100.00
$5.00
$15.00
$100.00
$5.00
$15.00
$100.00

Or enter a custom amount

$

Your contribution is appreciated.

Your contribution is appreciated.

Your contribution is appreciated.

DonateDonate monthlyDonate yearly

**

UK Christmas TV Adverts 2020

Alice E. Bennett adult, alcohol, Baking, British, Charity, Children, Christmas, clothes, comedy, Culture, Europe, Event, family, food, Friends, Holiday, Humor, Humour, London, love, Mellennial, Mental Health, Mermaid, New Year, Nonfiction, Poem, Prompt, Religion, Social Media, Technology, Television, Uncategorized, Xmas, Young Professional , , , , , , , ,

This post has been sparked off my Mumma B, who only the other day asked me about this year’s John Lewis Christmas advert.

The thing is, she comments about the lack of visibility, but at the same time records everything on her YouView box purposely to skip all the adverts. You see the dilemma here?

Basically I’m posting all the Christmas adverts for the main UK players so that my mum can see them in one place (and once only).

I’ll add to the list as and when any additional companies release theirs (please do also poke me with a metaphorical stick in the comments). Otherwise lets get to it! In no particular order…

UK Christmas TV Adverts (2020)

John Lewis / Waitrose Supermarket

Aldi Supermarket

Lidl Supermarket

Walkers Crisps

McDonald’s

TK Maxx

Argos

Barbour

Very.co.uk

Amazon

Tesco Supermarket

Asda Supermarket

Morrisons Supermarket

Sainsburys Supermarket

Boots

Lego

Dreamies Cat Treats

M&S Food

Disney

Coca-Cola

JD

Ralph Lauren

(Disclaimer: All videos above have been lifted from YouTube via the URL. I don’t own any part of these videos.)

**

This isn’t a sponsored post. Support an unpaid writer like me by donating to my funding page: Buy Me A Coffee

**