I recently posted a photo of my delicious chocolate chip and sea salt cookies on instagram and almost immediately got quite a few comments asking me for the recipe. So, here it is!

For our first weekend away this year, we decided to explore a bit more of Northern Ireland. 
We moved to Belfast less than a year ago but apart from discovering this beautiful city, we have not taken many trips around Northern Ireland yet (we did visit the Causeway coast nearly 5 years ago but that’s about it).

We had both our birthdays to celebrate and since we aim for non material gifts, we decided to go and visit Derry/Londonderry over a short weekend for the occasion.

​How have I been sharing recipes here for more than seven years and never once made one with celeriac?
Well, this delicious celeriac and hazelnut soup should be the first to make it here anyway.

I truly enjoy this wonderful root vegetable packed with nutty flavours. If it is anywhere on the menu when I eat at restaurants or cafés, I am almost certain to order it. I know that if you look at it in its raw and unpeeled form, it does not look especially appealing but it is worth trying a few recipes with it, including this soup.

I hope it is still 'let's wrap ourselves in warm blankets and stay cosy' weather on your side of the world because I have a wonderful recipe for hazelnut praline hot chocolate to share with you today.

A new year means an update on our ongoing goal to use more eco-friendly things on a daily basis.
The first time I mentioned sustainability at home, there were already a few changes we had made and I am glad to say we kept up with it and even added more items to the list.

Just like I mentioned in that previous post, I am not here to give you a lesson on what you should or shouldn't do for the planet. The following are small efforts, I know I am not perfect when it comes to zero waste. 
I do believe that rather than berating people on what they are not doing, applauding the small efforts each of us are making is much more useful. Even little steps are helpful.

So, rather than going into a long speech about zero waste, here are the few changes we made since my first post about sustainability at home:

Goodbye 2019, bonjour 2020!

At last, 2019 is over.
​In my first blog post of 2019, I remember writing about how excited I was for a fresh new year. Well, guess what? About a month and a half in, I exclaimed ‘phew, what a year, I’m done with it!’ 
I guess this is why I set myself goals rather than resolutions. I know that evidently some of the goals will extend longer than a year and I will not feel the pressure of having them absolutely achieved by 31st December.

So, rather than focusing on what went wrong last year, let me tell you about goals that did work. Because it was not all that bad, 2019 did have a good ending after all.