My birthday cake

My mum made me the loveliest birthday cake for my birthday, which I'd like to share with you

 

She then proceeded to loose me in a shopping centre, which took me back to being 5 again, some things never change...

Sweet & Spicy, Brick Lane

Just a quickie today, before I head off to the airport and hope to take off for Poland. There's always a massive drama about getting there, with everyone literally praying for my safe arrival, and hoping that my luck hasn't run out on me just yet - somehow, every year, despite loads of flights being cancelled and airports closed, magically, on my day of travel, they reopen and my flight is the one which hasn't been affected

My mate from Hong Kong, Matt, has been here for the past few days. It's been amazing having him, as he's such a grounding influence, I wish he was around more. This is where we went for my birthday curry the other day. It's my favourite curry house on Brick Lane, because it's not like all the others - it's more of a canteen than a restaurant, filled with old men, and there's no people standing outside trying to drag you in

There's one thing that you absolutely have to order if you come here - it's the thing with the egg in it up there, and it's called Aloo Keema. It's the best curry type thing I have ever eaten! The veggie samosas are pretty tasty too...

I kind of feel like there's something really special about the food here because when I came here for my friend Tishy's birthday a while back, when I was coming down with a horrible cold, and when I woke up the next morning my cold had disappeared! To be fair, this has only happened once and when I trekked here and got a take away last time I was ill, apart from being very tasty, it did nothing. But still, it was very impressive the first time, so I wouldn't rule out it having some kind of special healing powers... just make sure you bring your own booze. We washed everything down with a bottle of posh prosecco, drunk from their plastic cups - love it! After my birthday curry we decided to go "for just one free drink" to the Vibe bar down the road. Unbelievably, DJ Vadim, whose Xmas mix I have been listening to for the past month, was playing! This is why I believe that my legendary good luck is still in good speed and I will fly today. Perhaps it's a weird thing to base my hope on, but that's just how I roll, Poland here I come!

The Penbury Tavern, Hackney

The Penbury Tavern has been the one constant in my life since I moved to Hackney. Ok, so if any of my friends are reading, I am being a little dramatic, and of course, they are always my constant. But it terms of pubs, it is The Penbury every time. Apart from being ridiculously close to my flat, they have great food and "well kept" (so I'm told) ales. They also have regular beer festivals - I went to one a couple of weeks ago, and they really make you feel like getting pissed is a learning and almost noble experience. The atmosphere here is reminiscent of a student union. In a nice way

I have never had a bad meal in here - they have fantastic Sunday roasts, pizzas like you rarely find outside of Italy, and this amazing Italian sausage with polenta. The latter is my usual choice, but after being jealous of my dad's succulent roast beef last time, for the first time ever, the whole Zak family ordered the same meal today. If you don't know the mealtime habits of the Zaks - this is highly unusual. In fact, I can't remember when it last happened. My parents have this "thing" where they feel everyone needs to order a different meal, so we can all try as many different dishes on the menu as possible. It's great in theory, but very annoying when, inevitably, you end up with the crap one

The Penbury chef is a friendly Italian bloke, who always recognises us and makes us feel at home. It's a lovely thing, although can make you feel slightly embarassed when you have the sort of family moments we have... hopefully, being Italian, he'll understand that people can get emotional at times. Strangely enough, in the course of this blog, my old uni mate, Rob, texted to see if I fancy a drink at The Penbury. I don't think I've ever been twice in one day before - now it really feels like it's back to the student union!

Spanish almond cakes aka the tastiest cakes in the world (and no butter!)

There's these little cakes, individually wrapped, that I can only ever find in Spain. And only randomly, in some parts of Spain, but not in others. They are my favourite cakes in the world, and it pains me that I only ever get to enjoy them once every couple of years or so... so you can imagine my astonishment, when the lovely Alice bought some homemade ones into work on her birthday!  I ate five of the little blighters immediately. I finally got round to making them for myself this weekend, and it's the easiest thing in the world - you simply mix all the ingredients with your hands, form little balls and bake in a medium oven for approximately 20-25min

They're not everyone's cup of tea, of course, and some people may find them "a bit dry" - I would describe them as "powdery" myself - but I have to concede that they are best when washed down with a warm drink (mulled wine worked perfectly well). A word of warning - if you do like them, you may not be able to stop. My friend, Simone, came round for lunch today, had one, and asked if she could take some home - result. The same happened with Mariana, which is a massive compliment because she is Spanish, and took some home for another Spanish girl!

Ingredients (makes about 20)

200g plain flour

200g ground almonds

200g icing sugar

100g sunflower/almond/walnut oil

100g light olive oil

1tsp baking powder

1tsp cream of tartar

2tsp cinamon

2tsp vanilla essence