Mozambican Street Food from African Volcano

We love to explore all of the wonderful food markets that London has to offer. And at The Amazing Blog, are excited to share with you London’s first ever seven-course street food tasting menu featuring a variety of different Mozambican food options. Starting this April, every Saturday 9am to 4pm and Sunday 11am to 4pm at the Maltby Street food market in Bermondsey, London you too can try out the Mozambican menu for yourself.

This extensive seven-course menu is brought to us by Chef Grant Hawthorne, the owner of African Volcano. African Volcano offers a variety of hot Mozambique-style marinades and peri peri sauces. These products are based on an original Mozambique recipe and have been developed by Chef Grant Hawthorne since the mid-1990’s. Hawthorne even travelled to Mozambique last year to perfect his menu for this market.

The menu includes homemade Portuguese bread (one of our personal favourites), crab and prawn rissois, chicken livers, trinxado prawns, baby chicken and the delicious Pastéis de Nata (Portuguese custard tarte). These unique food options allow for you to see just what is possible when it comes to peri peri sauce. Often times when people think of peri peri sauces they only think of using them on chicken dishes. However, these spicy sauces can be used in a variety of different dishes, as seen in this menu. Mozambican food is definitely an unusual cultural cuisine here in London. However, after this market that may quickly change, as these dishes are sure to satisfy all of your spicy cravings. Our mouths are watering at the very thought of tasting these peri peri dishes!

While you’re at the market, we also recommend pairing the delicious Mozambican dishes with beer and wine provided by other traders in the market for the full Maltby market experience. Don't miss it!

Bread Angels - Baking Courses

If like us, you cannot get enough of good fresh handmade bread and often thought about making your own, then please read on. In the past few years, we've seen the rise of micro bakeries that sell delicious, artisan bread. We at The Amazing Blog wanted to explore this a little bit further to discover more. There is a network of micro bakers in the UK called the Bread Angels. These are a group of like-minded people who work from their home kitchens (or in one case, a sea container in the garden) in order to produce excellent quality bread that benefits their local communities.

Many of these bakers run Bread Baking Classes too, we think that this is the perfect fun activity for your weekend or a day off.  Classes are small, anywhere from 2-6 people maximum which makes them friendly and informative. The great thing is that you'll leave the course with a new found confidence as a baker along with several warm loaves to take home.

The range of classes that Bread Angels offer is really quite impressive.  There are basic, Italian, flat, sourdough and speciality rye bread making. Not forgetting the buns and sweet bread courses too.  Another interesting course on offer is their micro-bakery course.  This teaches the basic skills required to set up and run a small baking business, including how to bake a huge range of breads.

Feeling ready to hone your baking skills? Then you too can take part in any of the Bread Angel Courses nationwide. Book a spot here and experience the mastery and knowledge that the Bread Angels bring to their classes. Course fees start at £75 and include a light meal, tea and coffee and all ingredients.

Trapped in a Prison Van

If like us at The Amazing Blog you prefer your challenges to be slightly more hardcore and with a greater sense of jeopardy, then Trapped in a Prison Van could be just the ticket for you … You must be a group of at least 4 (maximum 8), and your mission, should you wish to accept it, is to escape from the prison van which is taking you for sentencing (likelihood of life imprisonment) and head for freedom somewhere warm and away from all those pesky law abiders who would do you down!

This is the latest offering from Trapped - the team who have brought various immersive escape adventure games, from fleeing the clutches of a zombie, to the potential horrors of a 90s club, but each with the authenticity of staging and props to give each player a true sense of the drama. The premise we have here is that you and your gang have been found guilty and are en route to your final moments of freedom before being 'sent down' … for good. Can you work together and escape, or do you prepare for handing everything over for a less than flattering outfit, gruel for nosh and a mattress of straw?

You can book tickets from £30 here but it is worth keeping an eye open on the website for possible discounts on offer and the relevant codes. Timings run from Monday through Saturday. It’s also worth checking on the terms and conditions, as they do offer the option of joining a larger group if you are a total of 4 - perhaps an interesting way of making new friends or indeed cellmates, should you fail in the whole point of the mission!

Friday Favourites - Chocolate bars

With Easter fast approaching, we've noticed that shops have been stacking their shelves with loads of tempting egg-shaped sweeties. While sadly, the days of childhood egg-hunting are over for us here at The Amazing Blog, we still appreciate a good opportunity to enjoy a sweet treat or two... This Easter, we thought we'd find some alternatives to the eggs. So we've chosen to feature three different chocolate brands with some of their latest bars, which will make a great addition to your Easter celebrations!

For those of you who enjoy a little floral twist in their chocolates, Urban Village Chocolates has a Rose & Bergamot milk chocolate bar that we think you'll love. Urban Village Chocolates are an artisan chocolate company that produces hand-crafted luxury chocolates with their unique recipes. We've previously featured some of their other chocolate discs which are imprinted with pretty, modern designs, see here. We think this award-winning chocolate brand produces some of the prettiest chocolate bar designs we've seen to date. 

This Rose and Bergamot Chocolate Bar is made with steam-distilled pure organic rose and bergamot oils. To complement this scented combination of ingredients, the brand also adds cocoa solids, cocoa butter, vanilla flavouring and milk. The well-balanced mix of all these ingredients makes for a luxurious, moreish and irresistible chocolate bar. Apart from being handmade, each bar is hand-decorated with beautiful floral patterns making it almost too pretty to eat! Also, this chocolate bar contains 110g of chocolate making it the perfect size to share with your friends and family (or perhaps just keep it all to yourself!) You can purchase this delicious chocolate bar here for £5.50.

We also suggest trying out Rhythm108's range of Deeelicious Swiss Chocolate Bars. This Swiss brand used the expertise and craftsmanship of their chocolatiers to create organic bars that not only are innovative and healthy but also are gluten-free, vegan and handmade. Their products allow us to enjoy a treat without compromising our healthy lifestyles. Their chocolate bars are available in three different flavours including Hazelnut Praline, Sweet 'n' Salty Almond and Super Coconut.

Rhythm 108's chocolate bars are made with only natural and organic ingredients. The ingredients include nuts, cacao butter, oat flour, quinoa and coconut which makes them healthier and tastier than competitor brands. The mouth-watering Hazelnut Praline bar is the perfect bar for nut lovers and for anyone else that enjoys succulent and high-quality chocolates. The clever mix of smooth praline and nutty hazelnut is heavenly. The Sweet’n Salty Almond bar is filled with oat and almond butter which gives it a sweet and salty taste that instantly brightens your snacking time. Coconut and dark chocolate - what an amazing combination. At the blog, the Super Coconut bar is one of our all-time favourites (and we measure our words here). The bar is an explosion of coconut flavours; add to that a fine dark chocolate, and you have an intense and delightful snack. If you’re still hesitating about trying these bars, then you should know that they have 46% less sugar than other chocolate bars. Amazing isn’t it? Tasty and healthy, so you can enjoy them without feeling guilty. You can purchase the Hazelnut Praline Bar here for £1.65,  the Sweet 'n' Salty Almond Bar here for £1.65, and the Super Coconut Bar here for £1.65. 

Finally, we have found a vegan chocolate that tastes even better than a non-vegan chocolate, and think that it certainly deserves its own 15 minutes of fame here on this blog. In fact, we've written about some of their other cult chocolate bars here. Moo Free was started by husband and wife team Mike and Andrea Jessop in 2004, and has grown from strength to strength as an award-winning chocolate brand with a loyal fan base. Any vegans out there know the struggle of finding delicious and fruity chocolates that taste like regular chocolate. Moo Free Chocolates offers a wide array of organic, high-quality vegan, dairy free, lactose-free and gluten-free chocolates. We tried out their latest Crunchy Organic Banana Bar and think it makes an ideal springtime treat.

The Crunchy Organic Banana Bar is packed with organic ingredients including cacao, cacao butter, rice powder, banana chips, and coconut oil. Everyone knows that chocolate and banana taste great together. So the wonderful blend of these two-star ingredients makes a balanced bar that is sweet, comforting and fruity. This Crunchy Organic Banana Bar melts in your mouth when you eat it and left us wanting more. This chocolate brand it has become an iconic chocolate here on our blog, particularly with the vegans in the office. You can purchase the Moo Free Crunchy Banana Bar here for £2.99. Or you can find their products across the UK, in Waitrose, Sainsbury’s and Asda, to find your nearest stockist see here.

Friday Favourites - Lip Feature

Exposing your delicate lips to these chilly winds and unpredictable Spring weather is such a risk. Fortunately, here at The Amazing Blog, we’ve got you covered. We have discovered four new products that will surely be your pocket’s new best friends.

We all know how the brutal north winds are tough on the lips and leaving you susceptible to nasty, painful cold sores. With SoreFix, you will definitely wave goodbye to the cold sores and welcome back your beautiful smile! Their acyclovir-free, zinc-based treatment blocks off the cold sores from appearing with a subtle physical filter, without any known side effects. It both treats and prevents cold sores by reducing and healing the infection. It also moisturises those chapped and dry lips with extra high UV filter, SPF 30, and vitamin E. The Lip Balm comes in two different shapes. It is available in both a convenient squeezable tube and a 10ml jar making them both lasting and cost-effective. You can purchase both products from SoreFix here for £8.99 as a special offer (at the time of publishing) .

The second product we discovered is from Balmkind. Winner of an Award in The 2018 Beauty Shortlist Awards in Best Lip Balm category. The Alpine Rose & Lysine Lip Balm nourishes, protects and soothes lips with its carefully blended natural ingredients. It contains a comprehensive list of antioxidants and is rich in Alpine Rose, Lysine (which is an essential amino acid), oat lipids with skin active ceramides, licorice root, lipid-rich pomegranate sterols, and vitamin E. We particularly like the non-tacky lightness of this balm, it's definitely a lip balm for those whose partners are adverse to a sticky lip kiss! This soft rose-scented lip balm can be used daily and leaves you with natural shiny looking lips - just gorgeous. The Alpine Rose & Lysine Lip Balm you can purchase here for £12.00.

If you’re into a more natural tinted lip products then Living Nature has got you covered.  The Tinted Lip Hydrator has everything you could wish for in one single tube. Hailing from New Zealand, this Lip Hydrator contains castor oil, vitamin E, manuka honey, jojoba esters, candelila. With the addition of calendula oil and carnauba waxes (both certified organic). This product is also free of synthetic chemicals or preservatives. The 'Lush' colour that we tried gave a subtle coral tone and a 'luxurious sheen' to the lips. The Tinted Lip Hydrator is available to purchase here for £15.00.

Last but not least, if you love rocking red, but you’re worried about chapped lips, Benecos is right for you. Their Benecos Natural Lipgloss in Kiss Me is a combination of lip plumping and moisturising. Not only does it care for your sensitive lips, it moisturises, adds colour and gloss, and protects the lips while maintaining a sophisticated look.  All of these benefits come from certified organic and natural ingredients which are castor seed oil, beeswax, sunflower seed oil, calcium aluminium and borosilicate alongside a natural fragrance. Finally, if you wish to buy Benecos in the UK you need to go here and it will be £6.95. With our selection here, you now have no excuse not to have soft, lush and kissable lips!