What I ate: Feta & spinach puffs and Halloumi Kebabs

The second I got back to my uni house in Leeds (well, after laying on the floor panting. It’s far too hot to drag a suitcase up hills) I planned out my meals for the week. Knowing all the good food waiting in my future is a good way to raise my spirits and makes me feel at home!

During the summer I really like having a load of pre made salads/mixes/bites in the fridge to pick at during the day and put together for meals. Usually that involves a big pork pie that I segment out for each meal, but I’m trying to cut down on pork pies again. However, that pastry taste and texture would be missed, so I thought why not make something else of my own.

I’m not trying to convince you that feta and spinach puffs are a direct vegetarian alternative to pork pies, but they hit the spot in similar enough ways. Pastry & feta: filling, caramelised onion: sweetness. 

And another element I like to keep in the fridge is leftover kebabs. Not the scary kind from takeaways, the chopped up, seasoned and grilled kind. I decided to keep the meatless theme and go for halloumi, bell pepper and onion, which would top salads nicely & add some substance!

Together, these took about an hour. Read on for the recipes!

Leftover Kebabs:

• 1 pack of Hallouimi 
• 1 Bell pepper 
• 1 small-medium onion
• [extra ideas: 1 courgette, diced chicken/lamb] 
• Black pepper/fajita seasoning/a marinade of your choice
• Kebab sticks - wilkos do packs of 4 metal ones for like £2!

1. Chop your ingredients into similar sized squares and apply to the kebab, alternating each ingredient. You want the ingredients to flavour each other. They can touch, but don’t pack them too tight or they won’t cook well in the middle. Once done, sprinkle seasoning (to taste) over each kebab, covering each side evenly.

2. You can either barbecue or grill your kebabs. I rested mine on the edges of a foil lined baking tray, so the kebabs were suspended. Some of the halloumi is likely to get soft and fall off, so if the tray is lined it will still cook nicely and be edible!

3. Grill until the tips blacken, take out to turn, and repeat until you’re satisfied everything is cooked. Be particularly careful if adding meat by chopping off a piece to make sure the centre is cooked. 

4. Store in tupperware the fridge and use to top salads/add to pasta dishes that week!

Puffs:

• Pre-made puff pastry 
• 1 bag of spinach 
• 1 pack of feta 
• 1 onion 
• 1-2 garlic cloves 
• (nutmeg)
• black pepper
• (lemon juice)

1. You don’t have to do this step, but I wanted caramelised onions in the parcels. Chop your onion in half, and then into thin [5mm] strips. Fry with oil or butter on a medium heat, and cover with a lid for up to 10 minutes, stir, add a small spoonful of sugar, then stir and cover again. Keep checking on them until they’re soft and browned. Remove from the heat and put to the side. 

2. You can use the same pan for the spinach mix. Crush the garlic and fry it off in the pan. Add the bag of spinach, maybe a little at a time until they wilt down and free up space. Add black pepper and a little nutmeg (to taste). When completely wilted, remove from the heat and stir in the roughly chopped/crumbled spinach. Add a little lemon juice to taste. 

3. Pre heat the oven. 

4. Flour a clean surface and roll out the puff pastry slightly with a floured rolling pin. Cut into fairly large squares of 3-4 inches. Mine were all slightly different sizes which resulted in different shaped parcels! Only the proper squares will fold diagonally into nice triangles, but you can fold more rectangular pieces in half.

5. When the mixture has mostly cooled, spoon it onto one half of each pastry piece, leaving room around the edges to seal. Consider how each piece will need to fold. You can easily nudge the mixture around if you go wrong though! I ended up mixing the caramelised onion into the spinach & feta, however It would be nice to spoon the onion on top of the filling, creating layered flavour. 

6. With your fingers and lukewarm water, rub a little water along the edges of the pastry. Fold each pastry down the middle, over the filling. To seal, use a fork to press the top pastry layer into the bottom, creating a nice edging. To decorate you can poke little holes in the top or place a slice of onion.

7. Bake for 20 minutes, making sure to check them periodically. Remove when golden on the edges and top.

8. When cooled, place in tupperware or wrap individually in foil.

I hoped you liked the post! I'm going to make an effort to do more of these "What I ate" posts as I do get a lot of messages asking for recipes of the things I make & show on Instastories. Do let me know if you make these & how you get on!! 

How To: Mushroom Risotto

If you're not making risotto this winter, get on it quick! It's one of the most wonderful, wholesome, filling and versatile dishes you could put on your weekly meal plan. Today I'm sharing a mushroom risotto, the classic, but of course if you don't like mushrooms just leave them out!

So, what do I love about risotto? All of the above, plus it's cheesy, creamy and a fab way to use up all the leftover veg in your fridge! Does anyone else usually have 1/4 of a broccoli, a few leaves of spinach and 3 string beans left in their veg draw at the end of the week? Just chop 'em up and throw them in a risotto with the last of your cheese. Sorted.

Ingredients

• Arborio rice - This is the only rice you are allowed to use, it puffs up and goes all creamy, trust me! It's been available in every supermarket I've tried, and £1 from Morrisons!
• 1 stock cube - Vegetable or chicken
• 1 glass of white wine {optional}
• 1 onion
• A tub of mushrooms - They shrink!
• Greens - Here I've used chopped string beans and spinach
• 1 or 2 cloves of garlic
• Olive oil (or butter)
• Cheese - How much is up to you, however for this recipe I used 2/3 of the brie you see above, with some left for topping. Parmesan is also a favourite, and blue cheese if you're up for it! Just combine them all if you're anything like me...

Method:

Heat up some olive oil/butter (start small, you can add later - mushrooms soak it up!) and fry off your onions and mushrooms together, on a low heat. When the onions are golden and the mushrooms have shrunk down, add the garlic and fry that off for a few minutes too. 

Rinse your rice (it's just good practice) drain and add it to the hot pan, mixing it in with the veg. After 2-3 minutes add the glass of wine and let that sizzle until the rice soaks most of it up. Make up your stock following the instructions on the box. I really don't bother with exact amounts, I keep adding hot water until the rice is done anyway! Start adding stock to the pan, one small pour at a time. Wait until the rice has soaked it up, then add in more. You need to keep stirring to ensure no rice sticks to the pan, believe me, it happens quickly! Add in your greens along with the last bit of water so it gets to boil a little.

Once all the stock has been added and the rice is fully puffed (taste test to check!), mix in the chopped brie (etc). Let this melt as you stir. Season with pepper and you're done! Serve quickly with a bit more cheese to melt on top and enjoy!!

I usually make far too much risotto for one portion, so put the rest into containers for lunches over the next few days and freeze some for a later date. If you don't hide it away, you'll definitely be back for more - it's SO GOOD!!

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I'm constantly making risotto and it's nearly always different, depending on what's in the fridge. There are so many ways to make an amazing concoction, so I'd love to bring out a little recipe zine, to share ideas? Would anyone be interested? Recipe book/food illustration is where my heart is at, it's about time I give it a go, right?!

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Where Did My Confidence Go?

I want to write and blog, but I don't know what to write and blog. You know? Well, I didn't used to know. I used to have unlimited things to talk (moan) about on the internet, but now I just have a complete compulsion to keep everything to myself. A voice that says no one cares anyway? Growing up and realising I don't actually matter, at all, to anyone, was traumatic, to say the least.

This is sarcasm.

I read the Georgia Nicolson series as a teen and it undoubtably had a major influence on my life outlook. Very insular, you'll know what I'm talking about if you've read them. Secondary school was horrible, riddled with people who enjoyed nothing more than to pick at me for everything I did, especially what I shared on the internet in The Early Years (Tumblr). The only way I toughened myself up to get through it was to believe that they were only picking on me because I was very interesting and they were very not at all. This helped a lot. It was a fun few years being a human shield of confidence. However, once this all stopped I kind of had a very belated breakdown. After college, away from anyone who had anything against me, I developed a horrible, constant expectancy that in the street, on my timeline, sitting on the other side of the coffee shop that I couldn't see to because of my poor eyesight, was a group of people who were laughing at me. I began to hold myself back from doing things just in case they came out and attacked me for it. I absolutely would not put myself out there, so obviously my ~online career~ had a ceiling. Because that's how it works, right? You share more, people connect more, they share it, everything grows organically? Well I knew what I wanted to do, I wanted to keep an online diary about running a small biz (&life) going, I wanted to give Youtube a go, but the idea of these things caused so much anxiety and worry that I just absolutely would not try. I even started to hold back on the shop side of things, the thing that made me happiest and actually proud. I worried about selling at craft fairs, pitching my products to retailers, expanding in any way whatsoever, in case it was presumptuous, I was being silly, getting too big for my boots, etc.

So these ghost people that I had imagined were there, ready and waiting for me to try something that would fail so they could laugh at it, started holding back everything that might have been if I had just tried. And I know it might have worked because I love sharing, nothing brings me more joy than being open and finding out everything about another person, and vis versa. I believe that if you have a true passion, you'll be able to make anything work! And I've had so many requests for me to start Youtube, or a podcast, but I've batted every one away. Just over two years ago I finally persuaded myself to get snapchat, and really quickly started pseudo vlogging, but these days I can hardly bring myself to do even that, for a different reason.

After essentially freezing my career, my hobby, I've watched it slowly, but predictably, fade. It is downhill. Going. On a roll, down a negative gradient. As has my motivation because of this weird, ridiculous unwillingness to try.

And God, I feel terrible, because I still get messages, requests for interviews, saying how well I'm doing and asking for advice. I'm not doing well! I'm doing pretty horribly, to be honest. I haven't been doing well since August 2014, before I left for uni. And even before then. I was probably only doing well in 2013. I definitely have the complex where I would be upset if I got a B in a test I was working to get an A on. It doesn't matter that a B is good, I know within myself what my dreams are, my goals, my capabilities, and how much or little I'm working towards them. I'm not happy now because although I'm still working every day at what I do, I used to and should be working on another level. I could still be if it wasn't for the horrible insecurity that hovers like a squishy but solid and black wall above me, not letting me through the trap door to the next level of the doll house game I could be in if life was actually a video game.

How do I explain what I'm feeling? Why it's an issue?

• I feel as though I can't design new products because they're not good enough, which comes from a general and quickly spreading, overall insecurity. I even tried collaborating for a few months because I was so insecure about my work. Totally loosing sense of what I wanted.
• I feel the decline in the success of my business, whatever area it may be, is un motivating. Obviously that's a cycle and is a side effect. Everyone goes through this, it needs pushing through.
• I feel intensely uncomfortable with putting myself out there, trying. When I do, usually I feel happy. But I rarely do. It's too much of a block to start. That's why this post is completely unstructured. I'm just getting it all out, capturing this short burst of motivation. 
• I feel embarrassed and even more insecure in my abilities because it seems a lot of people haven't noticed. I assume most people have. But the messages make it worse. I'm sorry if you've said something kind and this makes you feel bad but I just can't take the compliments if I don't consider them true..

All this has affected me at uni, too. I don't know how to talk to people anymore. I haven't been a very smooth socialiser since school, really, but it's just pathetic now. I don't have confidence in who I am, so I stay silent a lot of the time. I hate it!! People must meet me and think I don't care, or that I'm really boring. I just don't know how to present myself, why would they care to talk to me?

Positivity. Let's think positively. I've considered that maybe this is an internal journey and I'm currently on the cusp of the sort after and long awaited realisation that nobody cares so do whatever the hell you want. But I think it's more along the lines of nobody cares so don't do anything, or they'll care but in a bad way and it will be terrible. Oh my god, I'm so ridiculous?

This post is like really, really crap self therapy. How do I end it..

I need to find myself, to try everything that I want to do. Because I do WANT to do it. I have the thoughts, I still have dreams. I need to try things, set goals for myself again. I need a plan, I need to meet these plans and feel proud again. I had a plan from Year 11 until uni, but I'd forgot to plan what happened once I got to uni, so completely spiralled into uncertainty. Anyway, positivity. Brains are so complicated, self worth and efficacy are hard to keep when you're capable of being your worst enemy. So what's the answer, just get over it?

I think that's all I have to say. I kind of hope no one reads this, but then again I want to share it. Happy 2017, make it lovely. Don't let others bring you down.

Illustration Friday - Rock

My uni course has a module called Responsive, where we need to enter competitions and do live briefs. Interact with real world, you know. We're compiling our submissions out of a few large briefs from places like D&AD and YCN along with as many little ones as we can manage. A fab weekly competition that most of my course are getting involved with is Illustration Friday. They bring out a new theme every week for students (and professionals) to submit work for, old or new, and it's judged on... a Friday!

I think weekly competitions like this, or any external group that push for you to post one new thing a month/week/day, are so motivating to be involved in. Having to be self motivated all the time can be exhausting, everyone falls down the creative block hole of doom every now and then, so keeping your eyes open for things like this can be what saves you. Does anyone have any recommendations?

For me, this got me back on track after Christmas. I have an ungodly amount to catch up on before next semester. *quiet scream*

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PS: I think my logo is too big on these images, but I'm having such a mare with it that this'll have to do for now. I created all my branding using a brush on my iPad Pro (Adobe sketch app) but it's not on photoshop, I can't find anything close enough, so I can't redo it to size unless I use the iPad app and that is extremely long winded and I still might have to scale it sometimes. Breathe. I need to figure out a solution.

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CHRISTMAS GIVEAWAY - #SighhStocking

- SHOP: www.sighh.co -

Oh hello! Well, the past year has been quite a struggle for me shop wise, what with balancing uni and a male and all, but you guys have kept it going. Your continued encouragement at any new product ideas I've had and support when they're released has meant the world. The support wasn't just buying them, but sharing them too, so I have even more friendly faces than ever before. For this, thankusomuch.

I used to do lots of Instagram giveaways, it was always so fun and I freaking love giving gifts, coming up with exciting hauls to send out and imagining the winner being so chuffed when it comes through their letterbox! I really want to get back into it, and what better time to try than the season of goodies - Christmas!!

About two years ago I realised "Sighh Stocking" sounded cool, so I've been trying to put a campaign to the name since then, hah! I think next year it will be a selection box you can order for Christmas - including goodies from some amazing independent stores I team up with - but lets give that another year to plan... yeah?

SO, what is this year's #SighhStocking?

Rather than restricting the giveaway to something I've chosen, I thought why not let you decide what you'd like instead? Plus, this isn't just a one product giveaway, you can potentially win multiple things you've wished for!

Rules:

1. Share the photo on Instagram AND/OR Twitter, tagging #SighhStocking and @sighh.co - This is how you're entered to the draw! 
2. You may enter as many times as you like, but no giveaway accounts!
3. This giveaway is international.
4. The photo can either be this graphic, or any of my product images - if you think they would fit your feed better, haha! These can be taken from my website or you can take your own if you already own a Sighh product! :)
5. In the description or tweet, let us know what's on your Christmas list this year. This must include at least one Sighh product, but I thought it would be fun to share other things we're hoping for too! It could give your followers ideas for their Christmas list, plus...

Winnings:

1. The first draw will win a selection of the Sighh products they wished for, PLUS I'll buy them something else off their wish list too! Makeup, food, pyjamas, anything that isn't crazy, like, a car..! :')
2. The two runners up will win a selection of the Sighh products they wished for. If you happened to purchase these items for Christmas/end up getting them from your friends, I'll organise exchanges :)
3. Plus, loads of chocolate. Duh.

End date:

This competition is two weeks long, and finishes on the 14th of December 2016. The First draw will happen on the 7th of December (so get those entries in early!) and then the runners up will be chosen on the 14th. 

The winners will be picked using a random number generator, on both dates. Instagram posts will be added to the Twitter hashtag list, so it's an even field! 

I'm always nervous to launch campaigns like this! I really hope you guys think it's a goodn' and want to get involved! I'd appreciate it so much. I feel so FESTIVE doing this and I can't wait to pick winners and buy them goodies!!!! GOOD LUCK TO ALL AND A VERY MERRY CHRISTMAS!

Rebrand: Packaging Update!

YAY I HAVE FINALLY REBRANDED EVERYTHING!! My shop and I had a little makeover this summer and I am super happy about it. Relieved too. I managed to go 3 years of thinking I was a graphic designer without taking my own branding seriously enough. I had the same compliment slips and a logo for aaages and really didn't feel they represented my style any more. Finally, during my extended uni summer break, I had the time and the motivation.

There's a lot to go into on this topic, but for the past year or so I've felt very odd about my shop. I really did want it to become a collaborative place, but after experimentation I've found that I'm just not comfortable with that. I wanted to bring it all back to how it started, little ol me in my bedroom, drawing things that make people smile, for a jobby. I wanted to reconnect with everyone who has supported Sighh for years now, as during my first year at uni I definitely let things slide. So the rebrand aims to connect me with the customer, in a fun, pretty way.

Step 1) Packaging! I want people to get excited the moment they see the parcel at their door. I want them to know instantly where it came from. This is also important for Christmas time, if your family/housemates have a habit of opening your post and you don't want surprises ruined!

Stickers are great because you can have more detail in them, but stamps can have just as much of an impact, and really add the personal touch. Especially the ones which don't work. That is also a risk. I designed these with an idea of where each would go, so worked out the measurements according to my packaging. For example, the "Open me, I'm fabulous" and "thank you!" stamps go on the seal of envelopes, so they had to be short. I wanted the "Hello, I am your new stuff" to be larger as it would decorate the front of the parcel. 

I made these simply by inking them with a paint brush, scanning them into photoshop and tidying up the edges a bit/moving elements to improve their composition and sizing them according to the measurements on the manufacturer's website. Links at the bottom of this post! The artwork you supply stamp companies with needs to be solid black and white. The black will be what's stamped, and the white will be cut out. If the detail is too fine, it may not print well, especially on uneven surfaces like jiffy bags. I think ink work was ideal! 

The logo stickers come in 3 different colours, which make up my shop's new colour palette! I they'll be alternated on packaging/branding products. I kept teal, the colour of my previous branding, for consistency (plus I love it), but added coral and pops of mustard which I feel are more me. 

Different packaging require different stamps. It's all about what fits, and the composition. I wanted the packaging to be personal, but not messy. 

Stickers will go inside cases like this, so you never forget where you bought them! Apparently people do. Humph. 

And now onto the part I love the most - the thank you slips!! Oh man. I found my A6 compliment slips weren't doing the job after launching enamel pins, which use small jiffy bags. I had to fold them, and it looked crap. Branding material should fit in seamlessly. So, these babies are A7 which only makes them 10x sweeter! I got them from Printed - if you decide to order, do a girl a favour and use my link (https://t.co/JlubOALKpq) which will save me money on future orders! :')

After seeing photos of people pinning up my old thank you slips on their walls, I wanted to make the reverse side a piece of lettering, or illustration, to fit that purpose. I think when these run out, I'll order a range of designs for people to collect! :) The "yay/pretty" have a stamp effect, linking with the packaging. I was going to hand stamp them but I didn't think I could cope with the ordeal it would be. These have been printed on 270gsm gesso paper, which links with the textured background of my website. Them details tho. 

I also ordered a smaller amount of thank you slips with a blank reverse side, so that I can write little notes to customers. This is SUCH an important thing to have considered if you're developing your own packaging. You don't want customers to be confused when they receive the parcel, before checking their inbox, and a note is a lot more personal than an email. It's also nice to write little messages to friends who order, without using scrap paper - which looks messy!

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And there you have it. My new branding! I'm going to actually talk about the reasons behind it in detail in another post for the graphics-y folk who might be interested. This was more a visual overview :)

The branding will be rolling out from now on. Phone cases might take a bit longer, but I'm sending off the materials to my supplier tomorrow.

So what are your thoughts? Do you prefer it to my old stuff? Do you feel it links up with my new website? Do let me know your thoughts below, or on twitter. Isn't it ironic how I spent my summer doing graphics stuff, just after I decided to change my degree to Illustration! Lol, life.

IN THIS POST:
Stickers and thank you cards: printed.com
Wooden stamp: https://www.englishstamp.com
Stamps with plastic handles: https://therubberstampcompany.com/traditional-rubber-stamps
Packaging: http://www.ukpackaging.com/

The Importance Of Planning Meals

I won't tell you how much money I've wasted over the past two months, since moving house. What little respect for me you may have, would be gone and never to return. I recently downloaded Toshl Finance on my phone, in a vague attempt to understand where all my dolla was going, and although I never manage to keep it up for more than two days at a time, I've become aware that my trips to the Co-op are costing far too much, and are far too regular. Having a pretty good supermarket so close is a blessing and a curse. Why stuff a weekly shop into your puny student fridge when you can just pop out everyday to get something for dinner? WELL there is a reason. It is money management and health. There are two reasons.

Money Management

If you don't plan, using up what you already have in your cupboards, you're going to be spending unnecessary money. Instead, you can plan your meals and only buy in the extras you need, with a budget in mind, so you're halving the ingredients you could be picking up to make a meal. Why pick up curry sauce and rice if you already have pasta in? Just pick up some pasta sauce. That is the general idea. If you are in desperate need of a curry, this is fine. I am talking about believing there is no option other than curry. There is. Your pasta is waiting. On another note, curry sauce and pasta is a really good combination. Get the curry sauce, fuck rice.

Health

If you take time to plan your meals, you're less likely to impulse buy that reduced pizza, or order in a takeaway. But also, you can make your meals a lot healthier by using up your veggies. Invest a couple of pounds in vegetables for the week and see how you can use them up by putting them in every meal. If you buy bell peppers to dip in hummus, why not fry them off and add them to pasta sauce, on top of pizzas, in curry or in your scrambled eggs. It's the same with spinach and broccoli, they can be added to most meals. 

You want pizza but you have wraps/bread, pasta sauce, cheese and vegetables in the fridge. Make a pizza with that! Recipe here. 

This morning, I was thinking of going to the shops later to find something for dinner. But after contemplation over a cuppa tea, staring out at the perpetual morning rain, I went through my fridge and cupboard. It only took half an hour to realise I could last another week for just £6!! Bloody heck.

Take a look at what I came up with and try to do the same with what's in your cupboards. This wasn't premeditated for the blog, it's just a normal day with a fairly random assortment of food I had left over. I think I'm in a good position because I have a really well stocked cupboard, so my food shops are mainly for perishable fridge food. Once the base ingredients are there, shopping is fairly cheap!

As so many of you are just moving to uni, would anyone be interested in a cupboard tour? I know, it sounds funny but I reckon it would be useful to some. I wish I'd seen one! 

Let me know if you see any more meal potential in what I have written down, that I haven't thought of! It would be cool to find more ideas! :) 

Happy eating,