Birthday Banoffee

Yesterday was a good day =) A few weeks ago, we had booked a restaurant for dinner to celebrate David's birthday. The restaurant was Trishna and the reason we booked it was because we've been to Trishna in Mumbai and utterly adored it. We were to excited when we heard it had opened in London!

We were literally drooling in anticipation, thinking of the amazing tastes that lay ahead! Unfortunately, the fact that we had expectations resulted in disappointment. The restaurant was nothing like the Mumbai one - the menu was very much not the traditional Indian style we expected (and had so loved in Mumbai!). In fact it was mostly fish and seafood, and David and I aren't quite the fish fans (what true Mediterranean people we are!!!). Not a single chicken dish on the menu! We ate well but more than anything with the attitude of 'oh well, we're here, we may as well eat.' I greatly doubt we'll be going again - might instead save the pleasure for the next time we happen to be in India!

I'd made David a surprise Banoffee Pie in the morning. It'd been a while since I made one and was worried I might screw it up! It doesn't look the best of things but it's quite yummeh!

Here's the recipe. It's very easy, the trickiest part being the faffing around with condensed milk in the microwave bit. Enjoy!






Banoffee Pie recipe:
Ingredients
* 1 Tin (400g) condensed milk
* 3-4 bananas
* 250g HobNobs / Digestive biscuits
* half pint double cream
* 50g butter

Method
1. Crush the biscuits until they are reduced to crumbs. One method of doing this is to put in a stong bag and use a rolling pin. Another is to attack with a fork or potato masher in a mixing bowl.
2. Soften the butter and mix thoroughly with the biscuits.
3. Transfer this mixture onto a large flat dish (eg the lid from a casserole), and squash this to make a flat surface. Place in the fridge to solidify.
4. Pour the condensed milk into a large microwaveable dish (eg the rest of the casserole), cover and microwave on high for 1 minute.
5. Remove from microwave, stir and repeat. During the heating, the condensed milk is likely to expand quickly when it boils. Do not let it boil over or there will be a large sticky mess to clear up.
6. Continue to microwave and stir for about 15-20 mins. It is usually necessary to add some water during this process to compensate for evaporation. Do not let the mixture crystallise too much.
7. When the mixture is of the right consistency (a nice shade of brown, slightly stiff, but not burnt or completely crystalised...), this should be poured over the biscuit base. The toffee will stiffen further on cooling. Leave to cool in the fridge for at least 1 hour.
8. Slice the bananas into thick slices, and arrange on top of the biscuit base.
9. Whip the cream until thick and fluffy. Arrange this on top of the bananas and spread out. Chocolate gratings or cocoa powder can be sprinkled on top to give a pleasing effect.
10. Your banoffee pie is ready for eating straight away, but will improve after a short spell in the fridge.

[from here]



I wore my second pair of wedding shoes for dinner. I wanted to dress up for the man's birthday and hadn't worn them since the wedding itself, so figured it was about time. Upon returning home, I took off the shoes to rest my feet and discovered two confetti that were tucked into the shoes from our wedding. A gold one in the left shoe, a red one in the right. It was quite the nostalgic moment :)

I've saved them in some sticky tape ♥