Ginger's Jollies: de Efteling

When Boyfriend & I were away at the end of April in The Netherlands, we took a trip back to one of my most favourite places in the world. A beautiful, picturesque theme park in The Netherlands called Efteling. 
I have been going to Efteling with my parents since I was a teeny-tiny toddling baby, and it's a place that - whenever I go back - I am filled with that childhood excitement and wonder.

One of the things I love so much about it is that it is completely untouched. All of the rides are completely unique to the park, the music is just beautiful, and all of the food and retail outlets have the complete "Efteling stamp." There are no franchises to be found here. Efteling is in its own magical bubble. When you're there, you are away from reality and can just completely relax.

The theme park is really family-oriented. A bit like the way Chessington World of Adventures is in England (minus the zoo.) There are faster rides for the more adventurous theme park go-er, but the majority of rides are inclusive of children and families. Many of the rides also have the means to accommodate those visitors who have additional mobility needs, which gets a huge thumbs up from me.

And even if you aren't keen on theme parks, but want to join in on a day out with your friends and family, Efteling's attention to detail is just phenomenal. The park is filled with beautiful bright-coloured flowers..... animatronics....pretty squares.....talking bins! A big section of the park is Fairytale Land, where there are things to look at, scenes to watch, and music to listen to. So even if you don't want to go on any rides and prefer to keep your feet firmly on the ground, there are still things to look at and enjoy.

A newer addition to Efteling's list of attractions, is the water/light show Aquanura which takes place just after the park is closed. It is the "largest fountain spectacle in Europe" where water is used to choreograph a dance to the music used throughout the park and on the rides. I've seen the show in the dark and in daylight and it is absolutely wonderful.

Efteling is open for a Winter season, as well as throughout the Spring & Summer and heading on in to Autumn. I have visited the park twice in the Winter and it is even more magical (if that is at all possible!) There has been a huge ice rink, winter decorations, and a plethora of huts outside as you walk around the park selling hot snacks, drinks, as well as my beloved Chocomel. 

I cannot recommend a visit to Efteling enough. I would go back to the park every year if I could, and I prefer it heaps more over Disneyland. Efteling has a more magical feel for me. Maybe because it's one-of-a-kind. Maybe because the style and attention to detail suits me more. Whatever the reason, it's a part of me, and it has a place in my heart that will never, ever die. 

Have you ever been to Efteling? 

Fir more information about Efteling, visit: 

http://www.efteling.com/

Ginger's Jollies: The Monro, Liverpool

On Saturday, I am going on holiday to France with my parents for two weeks (God BLESS the Summer Holidays!) Although I'm super excited to be going away, it also means that I will not be seeing Boyfriend for two weeks. (BOO!) With the prospect of my approaching departure from Liverpool, Boyfriend suggested that we go to The Monro as a special treat! 

The Monro is a place I drive past all the time heading back home from town, but somewhere that I have never tried, although, I have always heard some amazing things about it. And with me being the Ultimate Foodie that I am, I knew I just had to give it a try. 

They do say great things come in small packages, and The Monro is no exception. The exterior is lovely and sleek, and what greets you as a beautifully understated exterior hits you with one hell of a gigantic punch of sophistication on the inside. 

We arrived with about ten minutes to spare before our reservation, so, naturally, decided to get ourselves acquainted with the bar. Whilst we were waiting for our drinks, I got the chance to have a look around the restaurant and was amazed at how pretty everything looked. The restaurant isn't exceptionally big compared to some of the others in the city centre, but what they have done with the space works really well. The décor really made you feel at home, and reminded me of the homely, comforting feeling I get when I go in to the country pubs where I grew up....Everything in there made me feel really warm and relaxed.

When it was time, were taken over to our table, and had a chance to peruse the menu. I had looked at the selection earlier in the day, but, as usual with me, was drawn in by everything when I looked at the menu again. Everything sounded just too delicious that it came to a point where I had to make a decision then hide my menu from view. I chose the Fylde Coast Quail & Chorizo Ballontine. Boyfriend had the Cumbrian Sourced Rabbit Terrine. 

Quail & Chorizo Ballontine

OH. MY. GOODNESS. 

I had bever had quail before up until this moment, so had no idea what to expect, but whatever I had pictured in my mind, I was surpassed. I mean, just look at the presentation of my starter. Stunning. That was enough for my mouth to instantly start watering. But then I tucked in to one of the portions of quail and my heart skipped a beat. The meat was so succulent and juicy, and complemented the chorizo to perfection, and the accompaniments added a fresh note to the dish. Boyfriend wanted to try some, and it was one of those moments where I was half tempted to stuff every morsel into my mouth and say:

 "Ginger doesn't share food!" 

But I didn't, because with Foodies such as we, amazing food needs to be experienced together (and I wanted to try some of the terrine!) 

The terrine was probably the best experience of rabbit I have had. The meat was tender and went perfectly with the cranberry marmalade, adding a subtle accompanying sweetness to the bacon.

Both Boyfriend and I took a risk and ordered dishes that neither of us had tried before, and our adventurousness paid off.

Both starters were a good portion size too, and definitely whetted my appetite for the rest of the meal. Absolutely beautiful start to the night! 

British Fillet Steak

Goosenargh Duck Breast


After we had finished our starters, and our plates had been collected, we did not have to wait long at all for our main course to arrive. The service was absolutely brilliant. Sometimes in restaurants  you can be waiting for ages in between courses, especially if you go during busy periods, but not tonight. Oh no. I'd say we only were plate-less for about 2 minutes. It was absolutely incredible! I decided to go for the Goosenargh Duck Breast, and Boyfriend went for the British Fillet Steak. We also decided to order a bottle of wine to go with our mains, and our lovely waitress was really prompt in bringing it over and pouring some for us. 

If I had been happy with the starters, by the main course I was floating on a cloud in Foodie Heaven! The dishes were beautiful. I had to sit in awe for a few seconds at how pretty the arrangement on my plate was. But then I caught a whiff of the duck and had to dive in.

Now, I'm a girl who gets excited about the simplest of things, so when I discovered that my duck was already in bite-sized chunks that did not need to be cut, you can imagine my delight. I did not need my knife at all. The duck was tender as anything, and my fork glided through the breast with no difficulty. The plum-chilli sauce packed a bit of a punch (there was definitely chilli in it) but the plum immediately appeared to soften the blow. And the parma ham crisp! I'm a lover of crispy things at the best of times (particularly bacon) and this just tipped me over the edge!

The stuffed tomato

Of course I had to sample the steak as well! 
Now, the waitress had chuckled at me as I gaped at Boyfriend when he asked for his steak to be blue, but when it arrived, my reservations disappeared. It wasn't actually still moo-ing, and there was no visible signs of blood on the plate. His steak was cooked beautifully, and his knife glided through the meat like it was butter. But what we couldn't get over was the tomato. 
It was delicious!

With every bite there was a new flavour to be found. All the ingredients had infused together inside the tomato and it had the most beautiful succulent favour you could imagine! We must have spent at least five minutes discussing what we could taste, and Boyfriend even asked for the menu back so that we could see if it gave us any clues. I've never had anything like it, and I only wish I knew how it was cooked so that I can try and recreate it myself!

White Chocolate Marscapone Cheesecake

Cheeseboard

Now, by this point I had had two very yummy courses, and, you might think that I was full, but when those deliciously naughty words "Would you like to see the dessert menu?" were uttered to me, I just could not resist! 

Boyfriend and I decided to order a pudding each and then share the two between us, because we had both been drawn to different things on the menu. I went for the cheesecake, and he for the cheeseboard. 
The selection of cheese that came with the cheeseboard were lovely. There was a smoked cheddar, a Wensleydale, and a cheese with what we think was onion in (there's no dessert menu online for me to double check.) The cheese was served with crackers, celery, butter and apple. It was like a wooden platter of cheesey deliciousness. The wedges were perfect to share between the both of us, and again. the food was displayed beautifully on the board! Just looking at it was enough to make my mouth water. 
After the cheese it was on to the cheesecake. And this is going to probably sound like the biggest statement of the century, but that cheesecake was within no doubt the creamiest, most yummy-scrummy-in-my-tummy cheesecake I have ever had! I don't know whether it was the marscapone, or the chocolate, or the layer of fruit on top, or everything all together, but it was stunning! And not too heavy either. It melted in my mouth and made me feel giddy.

We were the last people to leave the restaurant area, but there were still a lot of people seated in the bar, and the atmosphere was buzzing. You could tell everyone there was having a really good time, and there was a relaxed, jovial atmosphere as we left the restaurant. 
So. Final Thoughts.....If you're a Foodie looking for a place to eat in Liverpool, then I'd definitely recommend The Monro. It's a beautiful restaurant with beautiful, atmospheric decor. The food is absolutely stunningly presented, and tastes phenomenal, and the staff are really friendly. I left feeling really sated, happy, and already planning my next visit! 

Cook with Ginger: Pinwheels

Sometimes when I'm in the mood for baking I look for recipes that are quick, simple, and don't require much thought - especially if I am pressed for time or need to use up an ingredient in particular. 

The other week I was just casually looking through my baking supplies and discovered a jar of mincemeat that was left over from Christmas. It was set to go out of code in July, so I knew I had to use it up ASAP. 

Since we are in June now, I couldn't really justify making mince pies, so instead, I thought about what other pastry-based recipes there are out there. 

I found this recipe for Mincemeat Pinwheels on the Jus-Rol website, and knew I'd be on to a winner. 

This is how the pinwheels turned out. Unfortunately, I suffer from a grumpy old oven, so the recommended cooking time didn't quite work for me, and some of the pastry ended up a bit charred. But the flavour was lovely, and the pinwheels were overall a big success with everyone who tried them! 

With a pinwheel success under my belt I wanted to go for another round using the same recipe, but with a different filling.  Both Boyfriend and I love lemon curd, so I decided to give that a try. I was a bit anxious at first about the consistency of the lemon curd, as it would be a lot more fluid than the mincemeat...

.....But we all need to take risks sometimes!

To be honest I think I used a bit too much lemon curd on my first batch, because when I was making the pastry "Swiss roll" shape, the filling was spilling (oh a rhyme) out of the sides. But it made for a really gorgeous flavour. I did try to bake for less time on these ones, but my oven still decided to take it's bitterness out on my pastries! 

DAMN YOU OVEN!! 

Yesterday I made a second lemon curd batch and used less filling. The construction of the pinwheels went better, but I still got a generous spread of lemon curd across the pastry. Now I just need to work on convincing my oven to not not take out it's frustrations on my offerings.....We shall be having words! 

On this recipe, I think I spent a maximum of £7 for all the ingredients. I bought the pastry on special offer for the lemon curd, already had the mincemeat, and bought 6 eggs, which covered all the batches I did. 

£7 for about 35 -40 pinwheels isn't that bad really!

Ginger x

Z is for Zit Zapping

I have never had the best skin. Growing up, I was one of those teenagers who had a huge amount of spots that just seemed to appear on my face as soon as I hit puberty, and never left. 

It wasn't easy at all. Nearly all the girls in my year at school had perfect skin and perfect hair, and there I was with a mess of ginger hair on my head (the teenage years were incredibly frizzy because my hair just couldn't decide if it wanted to be curly or wavy,) and a load of red pimples on my face. 

Although my skin has cleared up a lot since being a teen, it isn't perfect. I am still really prone to breakouts and sometimes I have zits of DOOM that just don't ever seem to go away. Add to that scars from previous spots, and I tend to look really red and feel really self-conscious. 

On one of my frequent trips to the Lush shop in Liverpool, I got talking to one of the shop assistants. I had read a lot about their face masks online, but needed a bit of guidance on what to go for, because my skin is a) combination and b) incredibly sensitive! 

She recommended to me the "Mask of Magnaminty" which is designed for acne-prone skin. She also recommended "Coalface" to try alongside the mask. 

Mask of Magnaminty contains a range of ingredients that help combat breakouts and perk up the skin. I use it about 1-2 times a week, focusing on problem areas on my face. I apply a thickish layer to where I have spots, leave for 5 minutes, then rinse off. It always leaves my skin feeling zingy and smelling minty-fresh!  The mask really helps to reduce inflammation, and push my skin in the right direction to start looking better. It's not harsh on the skin at all, and is a perfect skin-pampering product. 

Coalface is a solid cleanser that foams up when you use it with water and apply it to the face. It is designed for oilier skin, and acts as a cleanser and an exfoliater in one. Because I have combination skin, I only use Coalface once a day (usually at night) as it does dry out the drier patches on my face. Since using the cleanser I have really noticed a difference in the clearness of my skin. I still get spots, but my acne scars have faded, and my skin looks brighter and happier in general, and it always smells fantastic after I use the cleanser!

Using these two products together has really made a difference to my skin. I'll probably always suffer from spots, but having good quality, effective products that I can turn to in times of trouble really makes me feel a lot better about it! 

What's your skincare routine? Are there any other Lush products you have tried? 

Ginger x

Botanics All Bright Cleansing Foam Wash | Just Add Ginger

Lately, I have been really lazy with my skincare routine! I decided it was time to change, and picked up the Botanics All Bright Cleansing Foam Wash from Boots whilst on a shopping trip, to try and get myself into better habits! 

I have really, REALLY sensitive combination skin, so always try to go for products with natural ingredients. My skin reacts to things really easily.

The All Bright Cleansing Foam Wash is £2.66 on the Boots website. That was one of the main reasons I was drawn to it....budget busting cleanser ahoy!! 

The scent is what I would describe as "clean". There aren't any definite notes I can pick up in the smell. It just leaves your skin with a really fresh scent. Definitely my cup of tea! 

I used this cleanser twice daily for five days on the go, and for the first few days, my skin felt really soft after using the cleanser. I could feel that my skin felt cleaner. It was lovely. 

But then....something happened.

The cleanser, although leaving my cheeks super soft, left my T-zone really dry and sore. I am sure that on normal or even oily skin this cleanser would be great, but for me, using it every day was just turning out to be too much. I'm not sure what it is, but something in the ingredients is just too abrasive for my skin. 

I think the Botanics range in Boots is great. I've used products from the range before with no adverse effects. I do think though, that if you do have sensitive skin, the Botanics All Bright Cleansing Foam Wash would be much better used as a once-a-week scrub. That's what I'm going to do with mine. Hibiscus is a skin brightener, so using this will be good to lighten up duller looking skin in these Winter months!