Broccoli Salad

It’s been a really nice and relaxed weekend – which makes a change. Dave and I both had the weekend off, so we just spent time doing not much at all whilst we were at home and it was very much welcomed. We have been married for just over a year now (although have been together 12 years tomorrow) but it doesn’t seem like we have had very much time to just be. If that makes sense. That is something we are working on at the moment. We can’t change how busy we are, but we can change how we organise and schedule things. I think people overlook how important it is to do nothing once in a while. We started the weekend off with these banana pancakes and they have become one of my favourite breakfasts to have. Really quick and simple and they taste like dessert without any sugar added to them.

It was my friend Laura’s birthday yesterday and she decided to celebrate it with an 80s themed BBQ in honour of the decade she was born in. Can I just say that I LOVE the 80s. It gets a bad rep, but the music, the fashion (well, some of the fashion), the food, the games – I love it. What I mean by I love it, is that it is great to be nostalgic and relive it for a night, but I’m not about to get a perm any time soon. There was 80s inspired food like Arctic Roll and cheese puffs and these cheese and pineapples on sticks – a classic and staple at any buffet in the 80s.

Carrying on with the 80s theme, Pina Coladas were served on arrival, in a pineapple! We drank cocktails out of pineapples everyday when we were on honeymoon in the Caribbean last year, so it was nice to have another one to prepare us for when we go back this September. All drinks taste better with a cocktail umbrella.

I am still very much getting used to my new SLR camera and playing with the settings to see what works. I realised very quickly that you can know what every single setting on it does and you can be a camera genius, but if you don’t have the right light, the photos just won’t look as good as they could. Our friends grow lots of flowers in their garden, so whilst having a break from eating cheese puffs I took some photos of these pretty ones.

I didn’t *fully* embrace the 80s dressing up, but gave a little nod to the decade by wearing big earrings and wearing my hair in a top-knot. It was much higher on my head, but I forgot how high my hair was when getting into a cab and knocked it out a little. I got to say, I’m actually liking the hairstyle, so think I might try and rock the 80s hair a little more often. This style would be perfect for those hot and sticky days when you just feel like shaving your head off, but know you will regret it come Autumn.

There seems to be a theme at parties of my friends and I of having stick on moustaches – not that I am complaining. I felt that Mr Pineapple would enjoy some facial hair. His eyes (olives) were tasty too.

As any good food blogger does, they take a picture of food wherever they go. I tried a little bit of everything and enjoyed every bite of it.

We contributed to the food by taking this beetroot and goats cheese salad , some home-made coleslaw and the broccoli salad that is posted below. Can I just say, I don’t understand buying store bought coleslaw. It is so easy to make and not to mention cheaper than buying it. It also tastes smuch better and doesn’t have that tangy and chemical taste that store bought sometimes has. I made this by putting white cabbage, carrot and onion in my food processor (using the grater attachment), or you can hand grate it, and then mixing it with a little mayo (you can use yoghurt), some crushed mustard seeds, some cider vinegar and then seasoning it with salt and pepper.

This broccoli salad was a bit of an experiment, but it turned out really well and it was a hit. Even my husband, who is not the biggest fan of broccoli, had 3 helpings of it. I guess the bacon helped.