LEEDS COLLEGE OF ART FOUNDATION SHOW

As the exhibition ended weeks ago I'm very aware this post is horribly overdue, however I was SO impressed by my uni's Foundation exhibition that I had to document it anyway. The actual LCA exhibition is now available to view at Blenium, I think, which I'll definitely be visiting to pep up my ever wavering university morale as I'm sure there will be much dribble worthy work on show to goggle at and aspire to. 

I've tried to include the correct name under every piece, but not everyone has their chosen degree course listed, which I understand might be quite annoying if any of you adore a piece and think you want to get into that discipline.

Charlotte McAteer - Textiles in Practice

This caught my eye the second we caught the room. Embroidered fruit and veg with seeded decoration?? Cool. Why not.

Holly Greenwood - Printed textiles/Surface pattern

Elizabeth Parkinson

This was an insight into how broad creative subjects can be. I think this piece was in the surface pattern/textiles room. Home made makeup, cool.

Jessica Greenwood

How absolutely stunning are these sets? I aspire to own sexy loungewear, let alone make it.

Eleanor Sutton

Sara Preston - Surface Pattern/Printed Textiles

(Sara is my friendling) This project was to manipulate food which at first appeared to be the most fine arty fart of briefs but after a while we had so much fun discussing possible options (including but not limited to: pouring pink custard into the seed hold of avocados, filling the holes of waffles with sprinkles, freezing an egg and watching it melt and organising baked beans). That was supposed to inform a final outcome, and I think her patterns are so pretty.

Hannah Ennis - Fashion Design Technology

This is probably my favourite piece from the whole exhibition, omg. It's a blossom tree?? Roll neck?? Hand knitted??  Please say this is for sale.

Shannon Hamilton - Textile Design 

This is some serious geo creativity. Every single acrylic collage was gorgeous and we all had a hard time trying to pick a favourite.

(no name, wah)

I've seen photos of this piece on multiple people's social media, and for good reason! It was one of the best presented pieces of work, in my opinion. Little additions like the crates and cacti in colourful pots put the work into context, lifestyling it, which should have quenched some of the "yeah it looks nice but whats the point" mutterings from parents as it would look amaaaaazing as a feature wall.

Stuart Stokeld - Geography 

I thought it was a bit funny that this guy is doing Geography instead of continuing Graphic Design onto degree level but I sympathise that hours of paper cutting leaves a lot of time for questioning life decisions. (Kidding aside, I freaking loved these intricate pieces)

Nadia Deuskar - Creative Advertising

Katie Goodrum - Illustration

I don't have many words other than LOOK HOW NICE. I think these hangings were screen printed (or at least the white on blacks are) because I saw her printing the bottom right design and was very impressed at the time too. Screen Printing onto fabric can be so temperamental with details not transferring and blobs appearing, but all of hers seemed to come out perfectly (wow).

Matthias Nutschel - Vis Com

I'm not kidding, I want these pizza wall hangings and laser cut chopping board, pronto.

(No name, sorry!)

This was so bloody funny. Laser cut wooden masks of Kanye's many faces.

Megan Heath - Graphic Design

Fine art was really weird. I wish I'd photographed the soap dispenser that had brown gunge coming out of it - looking very much like the worst morning after a takeaway curry, but smelling pleasently of chocolate.

Esther Pearce - Textiles

Caitlin Price-Ward - Fashion Illustration

Because donut.

So that's the amazingness of the Foundation show. I feel like I would 100% have not dropped out if I went to LCA Vernon Street. It's a gorgeous building with brilliant facilities and a high standard of work, so do check it out if you're looking for the right course! Stay tuned for my post on the degree exhibition later this week! I can't wait to see what they've got on show.

Polly xo

A DIFFERENT KIND OF TOMATO & BASIL PASTA

It was definitely a pasta kinda day, however I've grown so bored of tomato sauces that I craved something else, but nothing too stodgy and creamy like carbonara. I had recently done a nice midweek food shop so had a range of ingredients in the fridge for some planned dinners for Jack and I, so although my lunch wasn't planned it turned out V nice and varied. 

This was a meal from my veggie week which I'm happy to say went really well, I took it to 10 days before I went home from uni for a short break and was greeted by the mother of all family BBQs, however I'm definitely enjoying more meat-free options these days - something I certainly couldn't have predicted last year. I think a reason people don't go for veggie options is that they seem less filling, but that's really down to experimentation in the kitchen - something I'm probably going to spend my summer doing, seeing as everyone else has gone home :')

Method:

Turn your oven to 200 degrees celsius and boil the kettle. Chop the cherry tomatoes in half and place on a foil lined tray with a little drizzle of olive oil, garlic granules and pepper. These should take about 10-12 minutes, so will be ready by the time your pasta and veg has boiled. Pour the boiling water over the pasta and after 5 minutes add the chopped broccoli, then with 2 minutes to go, add the spinach.

Drain your pasta & veg and place back in the saucepan with some olive oil. Take the tomatoes out and mix them in, along with crumbled goats cheese (or grated cheddar/mozzarella) and season with salt/pepper and basil leaves.

Notes:

• Don't skip the basil leaves, they taste amazing when you catch a leaf in your mouthful! In the photo you can only see the garnish, however I chucked more leaves into the pasta before draining so they're all mixed in.
• When stirring all the ingredients together, try to break up some of the tomatoes to spread more flavour through the "sauce"
• There is no such thing as too much cheese

And that's it, a really quick and tasty pasta dish that's a nice change from that backup jar of Loyd Grossman sauce. Let me know if you'd make this! I know it isn't really a recipe, more a meal idea, but who doesn't want more food options in their life, eh.

SIMPLE & FRUITY BANANA BREAD

Banana bread is one of those easy fall back options when you're craving something sweet and filling but don't have any chocolate. All you need to do is keep a stock of flour, sugar, baking powder & a tin at the back of your cupboard and neglect your bananas.

In case you've never heard of or tried banana bread before, it's definitely in the cake family. I could research into why it's named bread but really who has the time, life needs a dash of mystery and all that. It's also my favourite cake (bar carrot cake) and doesn't need to be refrigerated (mainly because it's always gone within two days). It's best eaten warm, so please don't torture yourself by waiting for it to cool fully before you dig in, and try microwaving subsequent slices for a few seconds because mmmmm.

Method:

Start by heating your oven to 160/180 degrees celsius and buttering your baking tray, unless you have a case like I did (I'd recommend them! There's not much worse than not being able to excavate a cake from a tin).

Chop up two of your (medium/small) bananas and crush with a fork. TIP: if the banana isn't totally ripe, pop it in the microwave for 30-ish seconds to soften! I use a fork because I like there being little chunks throughout, but don't leave too many as you'll add more later. Leave half a banana for extra chunk making.

Mix the softened butter together with the sugar until it's "fluffy" and there are no cheeky lumps of butter left, then mix in the eggs. You can whisk them up before, but to save on washing up I just do it in the bowl. Sieve in half of your flour and stir until fully blended, then add the rest of the flour, baking powder and mushed up bananas, a sprinkle of cinnamon and mix fully.

Chop some of your blackberries into halves and half of the banana into small chunks then stir them lightly into the cake mixture. Personally I don't like the blackberries to colour the mixture, they should be a surprise when you cut the loaf! Then spoon the mixture into the tin and decorate the top with slices of banana. (I've also marbled almond butter into the mixture at this point before which was divine but I didn't have any to hand this time - just a suggestion!)

Pop into the oven and bake for 20 minutes before checking. I find that the top goes brown pretty quickly, so to prevent it from burning I cover it with foil midway through. The loaf is done once a skewer comes out clean, and this usually takes 50 minutes for me, but keep checking as I guess all ovens vary!


And that's it! Sorry there isn't an "after" photo, it doesn't look that impressive until cut and this one was for Jack's leaving do at work so had to stay pure. I hope you liked this post! I'm planning on doing loads of recipe posts this summer so hopefully I'll get better at the format etc :')

SUN DRIED TOMATO PESTO RECIPE

So this week I've been a little obsessed with that jar of pesto I made from scratch and have since added to nearly every meal. In a bid to turn my messy diet around I've been looking for new foods to try and ways to home-make as much as possible. This is a really easy, quick recipe that makes an interesting addition to lots of meals and snacks. I don't know how long it keeps as I used mine up in just 4 days, oops! :')

You will need:

• A jar of sun dried tomatoes (I used M&S)
• A large handful of fresh basil (I used a full packet from Sainsbury's. You probably can't have too much basil)
• One clove of garlic (to start with, I used three which was overkill, even for me)
• Extra virgin olive oil
• 1/4 of a lemon
• Pepper
• (Pine nuts) (I didn't use them because I didn't have any, but a handful would be good, I'm sure)

Place the sun dried tomatoes into a food processor (I used my trusty Nutribullet) with a little oil from its jar then add the chopped garlic (crushing would be best as it would reduce the chance of eating a spicy chunk) and hand shredded basil, stalks n' all. Drizzle over some olive oil, but not too much at this stage. It needs a liquid to hold it together but you don't want to overdo it. Then blend it up for a minute or so, until it looks as through it's done (one colour).

Now you can give it a taste test. At this stage I added a squeeze of lemon juice, a few grinds of pepper and more olive oil. These are the three things that you can add a little of, blend, taste test and add more of as many times as necessary once the core ingredients are all in. Once you think its done, pop it in a jar. I added more olive oil once it was in and gave it a little stir. It should have a thicker consistency than your average pesto, but the oil makes it more easily spreadable/mixable!

Food ideas for your new pesto:

• Mixed with pasta, spinach, broccoli and cheese
• Spread on crackers with cheese/avocado
• Mixed with lentils and cheese (trust me)
• Added to passata to make a lush homemade pizza base
• The above but on slices of bread or tortilla wraps - super quick pizzas!
• Spread in sandwiches for an extra tang.

Let me know if you try this recipe out and how you get on!

Polly xo

Uni Room Tour

This post was definitely more suited to pre Christmas. My room had stayed relatively clean for almost 3 months, solely because I was living under the constant belief that I would be writing up a room tour that weekend. Typico of me and my life I only managed to take these photos 2 hours before my train home to Surrey. I had just put myself through a massive tidying/organising sesh to make my return to Leeds as cosy and welcoming as possible... I even dug out the hoover.

Now, if any of you follow me on twitter/snapchat (@pollyvdsz) you may have heard that along with many areas in the North of England, my accommodation flooded on Boxing Day. So, everything in these photos is now in one of two boxes: "water damaged and smelly" and "dry and thrown into this box so probs broken lol". It hasn't really sunk in because I wasn't there and haven't seen any photos of my room in particular, but I know that the water level came up to mattress height so a lot of it is buggered. Very luckily we're all insured and are being put up in a hotel for the next few weeks, so it will be fine. But now, let's take a look at the room that once was...

9 3/4 pillow - Harry Potter Studio Tour | Christmas pillows - Primark | Pinapple & Kitty pillows - Amy Hodkin | Rose gold lamp - Homebase | Phone case - obv sighh.co

Let's just get straight to the main attraction, my bed. It's where I spend the majority of my time, nicely tucked behind that curtain so passers by can't see me. Ground floor struggles. This is also where the vague colour scheme of grey begins. Did I mention I have an almost double sized bed? Just that little detail has made my quality of life SO MUCH better. Being comfy is everything. That double duvet was the only one me and Beth could find at 5:30pm on a Sunday (when we realised we wouldn't have one for the night and probably shouldn't have stopped for that 3rd coffee on the drive to Leeds as 90% of shops were closed) and is in fact the most comfortable I've ever had. Big up to Sainsbury's. 

Under my bed I have a couple of boxes containing clothes I didn't need in my wardrobe and other bits and bobs. My favourite is the box nearest the head of the bed where I keep pyjamas and a hot water bottle. It's V useful because it saves me from chucking my loungewear on the floor. :)

I wish I knew the name of the artist of those two grey prints! 

This is my view from bed. I aim to fill up that wall space with lots of motivational posters, and the two grey ones and two hidden behind that mound of scarfs on the right were from a print festival in the Corn Exchange. I've seen so many craft fairs and the like there, it's lovely! Next to my wash basket is a little radiator and just enough space for me to stand, warm my bum and think about life. Oh and the scarf mound is hanging from a set of hooks attached to the curtain rail. It hasn't fallen down yet...

Mirror - Ikea | Makeup bag - sighh.co | Coffee print | Be good & Brave print | Grey throw - Ikea

Next to my bed is a set of shelves attached to the wall. I store all my face & hair items on top, as well as my water filter because the tap water tastes like metal and worry. Just poking into the picture is my desk chair which I've covered with a lovely grey throw from Ikea. It's a nice trick to improve an ugly (red) piece of furniture, and again, grey. I didn't take pictures of the inside of my wardrobe because that was the one relatively messy part, but I was so surprised that all the clothes I took with me fit just fine. On top of it is my pathetic drying rack which has bent under the weight of my heavy wash loads (I'm trying to be £ efficient).

Plants & their pots - Ikea | Kitty pot - Anthropologie | Mug - John Lewis | Tub - Ikea

Coal/teal print | Grid pot | Copper coaster - Anthropologie

Okay these shelves are my PRIDE AND JOY. It's so important to surround yourself with inspiration and prettiness so above my desk, I've done just that.  From the top left are my design books, held up by the most beautiful bottle of Vodka (thank u mum). The Tough Love prints I sold a few months ago are the biggest feature here, for when I need a kick up the arse emotionally. On the bottom shelf are more notebooks, mostly used as props for product/blog photography, more prints, the NICEST mug from John Lewis that was only £3 (!!), I also picked up a coral version which usually sits on top and matches the print behind perfectly (heh heh). I keep pens in the giant pencil sharpener and rings/watches in that ADORABLE kitty pot. And at the end I store my recipe books in a tub for easy access. I've scattered various plants and cacti around these pieces to add some greenery, which really does make all the difference. Remembering to water them is a right pain though. 

The mysterious red square in the corner is my notice board, but it's really ugly because it hurts to pin photos up so they're very scattered. It may as well not even be a notice board. It feels like wood covered in fabric.

Tray - John Lewis - Acrylic organiser - maybe Muji | White pot - Homebase

This is my attempt at desk organisation. I haven't photographed my desk as a whole which yes is a bit annoying, but we all know social media is only for the highlights. Along from this is my monitor, one of the best purchases ever because I can watch catch up TV & Netflix while I work, woo! Also I don't know why I have so many tapes. I can't use that many tapes.

Porridge soap - Lush | Soap holder - Homebase - Adorable milk bottle - I can't remember!

This is all I'm prepared to show you of my bathroom, as the rest is 40% toilet, 50% shower and 10% blue sink which nobody needs to see in detail. I probably should have photographed the mini basket (from Tiger) I have hanging from the hook on the back of the door. It's SO useful as it has three hooks under it which I use to hang my towels, and in the basket I store face masks. I really advise buying hooks that have more hooks, it's genius. 

Fun fact: on the floor I have a grey squishy matt that has a hole so it can surround a toilet's base. I bought this thinking I was very clever and wise but then got home to realise the toilet's base goes into the wall, not touching the floor, so now I just have a stupid shaped matt.

Black faux fur - Urban Outfitters | Camel - H&M | Green - Anthropologie

My coats hang just as you walk through the door, partially obscuring the already teeny mirror. Below them is now the shoe graveyard.

Little bowl - Urban Outfitters | Plant - a Florist in Leeds | White pot - Anthropologie | Copper plate - Vintage

I bought this large copper plate a few months ago, determined to find a use for it, and actually I think it works well as my little "essentials" drop off as I walk through the door. I've only forgotten my keys ONCE. On it I keep every day items like my keys, spare change, earphones and glasses, as well as some drinks to grab as I leave and a collection of nice tea bags (that I'll definitely be taking with me to uni now I've designed a travel mug!). In the pot I keep pins for the notice board, ready for when I'm prepared to use them. I usually keep a bowl of bananas next to this so I can have one in the morning as I usually don't have the time for a nice breakfast before uni.

And finally, I get to read this sweet piece of decor gifted to me by Beth (thank u) every day before I head out. I adore it.

So there's my uni room! If you're heading to Leeds in September next year and want to know a little more about my accommodation/how I'm finding it, pop me a tweet and I'll see if I can help :)

Polly xo

Relatively Healthy Uni Meals

After seeing how many people tried out my last two recipes (the veggie bake and banana oat pancakes) I thought I'd make an effort to record more meals that I enjoy for you! This post has been a long time coming, but I can't blame myself for focusing on my degree, right? So get those taste buds ready. I hope you enjoy the clickbait titles.

Chunky Mash Meal

I absolutely loved this meal! It was so filling and comforting, plus my leftovers served as the nicest lunch at uni the next day. You can of course mix up the fillings to suit your tongue, but here's what I did.

You will need:

• One large potato
• Smoked bacon 
• Half an onion
• Some broccoli/spinach/peas (a green vegetable of your choice)
• Pesto
• Cheese
• Salt
• Olive oil

There are two ways of cooking your potato. The one I did here was annoyingly complicated and took almost 3 hours. Mainly because the oven wasn't on for the first hour... but let's not dwell. If you'd like to have stuffed jacket potatoes, wash your potato then rub it with a little bit of olive oil and salt before popping it in the oven for an hour at 220 celsius. If you'd like a load of mash, peel your potato, chop it up into medium sized chunks and pop in boiling water until you can easily stick a fork through them. (20-30 mins)

While the potato is cooking, chop up your onions and bacon and pop them in a frying pan. You can use some olive oil for this, but bacon does release its own fat. When they're almost done (onions are floppy and golden, bacon is dark pink) you can add in the greens. If you're boiling the potato you could chuck the greens in there instead for up to 5 minutes.

Once your baked potato is cooked, leave it to cool slightly then chop it in half. Spoon the insides out into a bowl (careful not to break the skin!) and roughly mash with a fork. I say fork because I don't own a masher yet. That's why it's a chunky mash. If you have the time/ability to fully mash a potato with a fork then don't talk to me. If you've boiled the potato, drain them then put them in a bowl and again, roughly mash with a fork. You can then mix in the rest of your ingredients, a couple of spoonfuls of pesto and some grated cheese.

You now have the chunky mash, which you can either put into a baking tray or stuff back into your potato skins. For the latter, I'd do it by hand rather than a spoon. Top both with a sprinkle of cheese then back in the oven for 5 minutes.

 I Love Myself Bangers N Mash

Sometimes you just NEED an internal hug, and you absolutely cannot go wrong with sausages, potato and gravy, but this is my way of making it less boring. My Romanian flatmate found the term "bangers n mash" very odd, and yes it really is... what the heck.

You will need:

• One small sweet potato (or half a medium)
• An onion
• A couple heads of broccoli 
• Butter
• Really nice sausages (I LOVE Cumberland pork & apple ones)
• Gravy (powdered Bisto is my norm)
• One clove of garlic
• Olive oil

Pop your sausages in the oven according to their cooking guidelines. 

Peel and chop up your sweet potato into small-ish chunks, you can see mine below. I like to chop them small because they cook quicker and are easier to mash with a fork. Boil those away in a saucepan for about 15 minutes, and pop some chopped broccoli in half way though. Next time I'll probably add spinach as well for the last 3 minutes.

Meanwhile, fry your chopped onion on a moderate heat in some olive oil, add the garlic, mix up some gravy (however much you need) and pour it in. Leave this sizzling away at a low heat, stirring occasionally.

Once you can easily stick a fork through your sweet potato bits, drain them and then get mashing. I used some Ikea tupperware for this because I still don't have adequately sized bowls, but hey, less washing up! You can add a small amount of butter here if you wish. Add as much as you need to the plate as leave the rest in the fridge for later.

Now all you need to do is add the sausages, pour on your onion gravy and dribble everywhere.

Not A Takeaway Pizza

I'd just like to announce that I've been at uni for 62 days and I haven't bought a readymade pizza yet. Let that sink in. Honestly WHERE is my medal. Well, for those of you trying to count how many you've consumed in your time at uni, or how much that's cost you, this recipe should change ur freakin world. I never thought anything would satisfy me the way a Texas BBQ does.

Essentials:

• Wholemeal wraps
• Passata (tomato puree from a carton/can)
• Paprika (I like the smoked version!)
• Oregano 
• Garlic
• A spoonful of pesto
• A Pinch of salt/pepper

Topping ideas: 

• Chorizo 
• Ham
• Veggie meat alternatives
• Bell peppers
• Broccoli
• Onion
• Mushrooms
• Actually, anything. That's the beauty of pizza.
• Cheese

Turn your oven onto 220 degrees celsius and pop in the wrap on a pizza tray. This will crisp up the wrap so that it doesn't go all soggy when the sauce is applied. I usually have it in the oven while I'm chopping up my ingredients, but if you think that'll take more than 5 minutes, maybe put it in half way through.

Chop up all your ingredients into small pieces. They won't be in the oven for very long so they need to be small enough to cook through. 

I've given you the ingredients I use in my tomato sauce, but measurements are to taste and will vary depending on how many you're cooking for. Start with pouring as much passata as you think you'll need into a small bowl. A teaspoonful of paprika should do, but I don't think there's such a thing as too much paprika. Then sprinkle in the rest of the herbs/seasoning, a spoonful of pesto (or two) and mix well.

Take your wrap(s) out of the oven and spoon on your sauce. Spread a thick layer around, almost touching the edges - there's no crust on this pizza! Then decorate your pizza however your tummy wants and put in the oven for up to 10 minutes. You should check after 6-8 minutes. When the sauce has turned darker and the cheese is bubbling, it's ready!

To serve you could leave it to cool for a minute then cut into pieces to share, fold into a calzone or throw on some lettuce and make it a pizza wrap.

_____

I really hope you enjoyed these recipes! Please let me know if you try any of them and if so, do tweet/instagram me photos!! I'm never not happy to see food.

Polly xo