I admit,
Rhodes Bakery has been in Greenwich for a few months now. But honestly, it never looked that great walking by. And, if I've been to the market I've stocked up on all of my baked goods from the stalls there (usually on a Sunday around 4.30 when everything is half price). But my folks were down for the weekend so we popped in.
And I'm impressed. Mostly. I'd walk back there for more of their mini pecan tart. Actually I'd walk to the other side of London for one. They're amazing. Just the right sized for one person. Although I wish I'd bought another one. The little Siany-sized portion was £2.85, so it's not cheap but it's certainly more substantial than a cupcake. They're so yummy. Perfect pastry, just enough maple syrup and loaded with yummy pecans. It's small but perfectly formed. I even managed to sneak a brownie sample on my way out too. Yep, full points for those as well.
There's a little cafe bench and they do coffee as well. That said, I'm not sure how comfortable it would be to sit in with the takeaway punters and queue right behind you (and kids running up and down) so I think I'll stick to takeaway. Still, it's nice to have the option.
But there's little things that stop this from being a "must go to Greenwich" bakery. Again, I have issues with the boxes. Is it so hard for a bakery to find sturdy boxes? It wasn't such an issue with my tarts as they were solid, but after a windy walk along the river, my cupcakes would have been icing splodges. The lid wasn't even taped down so something dainty would have no chance of survival.
And then there was the issue that confused me most of all? Instead of buying two pecan tarts, I bought one pecan and one Bakewell. I've got a bit of a thing for traditional desserts at the moment. But as yummy as my Bakewell tart was, it had no jam in! None! Excuse me, Mr Paul Rhodes!? Where was my jam?! What I had was a very tasty almond tart. But a Bakewell it was not.
That said, Rhodes is definitely more of a hit than a miss and I will be back to try the brownies. And perhaps all the pecan pies. They're fantastic. If there are no pecan pies when you go, you can all blame me. I've eaten them all. Yummysome.
Want to check out Rhodes yourself? They've got a stall in Borough Market, or you can pop to their bakery in Greenwich which is on King William Walk right by the indoor market.
I’m not ashamed to admit a deep-seated love for fancy fruity cocktails, involving copious amounts of exotic ingredients like cherry liqueur, strawberry puree and juicy chunks of fruit. But as the weather starts to get wintery and dismal, I find myself erring away from the fruitier end of the cocktail spectrum. At this time of year there’s something very comforting and indulgent about delicious cocktails with lashings of chocolate, milk or cream. And since we loved the coffee cocktails Starbucks kindly supplied to us last week so much, we’ve since decided that cocktails based on coffee liqueurs are the way forward while it’s cold and grotty outside.
This is one of those "what if...?" recipes.
The Domestic Sluts got invited to a swanky beauty event at Bourjois earlier this week. We spent the evening trying out make-up and drinking tasty cocktails (supplied by yummy Starbucks). I asked them nicely if they'd give us the recipe for our favourite - the Colombia Coffee Fizz. It looks like a latte, but tastes much yummier. There's enough of a coffee kick to keep you wide awake too, so you won't fall asleep on the bus and miss your stop.
Honey roasted parsnips are one of my favourite things about Christmas dinner. Second only to roast potatoes. Parsnips are so tasty and somehow mine never taste as good as my mum's. But, they're a pretty close second. They'll come out sweet, sticky and gooey which compliments their flavour beautifully. You can use this recipe with carrots as well, or if you like both, mix the two up in the same pan. Make more than you need though, people will always want more of these.
I might love my little Macbook (enough to have a name for her) and I'm very much an internet 
Organised by Qype, and with wine donated by the magnificently generous Book Club, we had a wonderful time getting tipsy, chomping so much chocolate that we felt a bit sick, trying on vintage feathered hats and tittering over the erotica and the dizzying range of adult toys and accessories.
Our competition winner, Becs, bought some of these Sailor Jerry-style Bebaroque pop socks. One of Bordello’s glamorous assistants was modelling some similar stockings, and we were all very smitten with them. And although at the time we teased Becs that pop socks just aren’t stylish on anyone other than kitsch little old ladies, now that I’ve seen them out of the packet, I retract that accusation, and would like to publicly assure Miss Becs that I’m sure she’ll look just as debonair in the ones she purchased. If you want to get in on the inevitable pop socks revival, you can bagsy the same ones for £18.
I became a bit obsessed with this pink glitter corset by Velda Lauder, which made me come all over all Moulin Rouge. But, I must admit that my ardour eased when I spotted the £300 price tag. I’m not sure anyone loves me enough to splash that amount of cash on letting me dress up like a glam-spangled circus girl. I might still put it on my Christmas list, though, just in case I manage to bag a rich secret admirer with theatrical tastes in the next few weeks. No harm in hoping, is there? 
I know at first glance, you might ask why I'm writing a recipe for the perfect gin 'n' tonic, but honestly, it's not as simple as throwing some gin in a glass with some Schweppes. There's an art to it. Just like a vodka and orange isn't a screwdriver. For a start, the perfect G&T had better have cucumber in it. Yep, throw out those limes and opt for cucumber instead. Trust me.
Karen Millen are very hit and miss for me. I don't like much outside of their dresses, but their dresses are too pricey for me to buy. But I've fallen in love with this leather jacket. It's such a great cut and it's a stunning colour. It'll fit right in with all of my cute little vintage dresses and shoe boots. It's in the sale too! Hurrah! Unfortunately, 'in the sale' doesn't mean affordable for me. It's still £199.
