Sweet Potato and Orange salad || My Favourite Recipes | Foodie Friday

 This recipe is a family favourite in my house. My Mum passed it down to me, and she got it from my Aunt. In New Zealand we tend to use "kūmara" which is a New Zealand variety of sweet potato, but your average "sweet potato" will work just as well. This salad is perfect on the side or on its own. A mixture of sweet, sour and crunch, this salad recipe is always a crowd pleaser, and is super simple.

Incredible Bonfire night in Lewes || The Brighton side of life

Lewes is the Bonfire capital, boasting the worlds largest Bonfire Night celebration on the 5th of November, with 3,000 participants and 80,000 expected spectators. This small town of 16,000 locals, grows immensely for this annual tradition.

"Imagine a head-on collision of Halloween and Mardi Gras and you're well on your way to picturing Bonfire Night, Lewes style – barrels of burning tar, processions of thousands of fiery torch-bearing crowds, massive bonfires and firework displays" —Rough Guides, Daily Telegraph

We left Brighton at 4:30pm to catch the train to Lewes. The trains were crowded but running regularly to accommodate the mass influx of people. We arrived early and trekked our way up to our chosen vantage point, where conveniently, the Pelham Arms Pub was right across the road.

Happy Halloween: Pumpkin carving and sugar skulls || The Brighton side of life

The festive season is upon us as soon as the leaves start to change, and it is noticeably more infectious living in the Northern hemisphere, where pumpkins are actually in season, (as opposed to in New Zealand where Spring has sprung) the weather gets noticeably cooler and the leaves scatter the footpath. I have found myself  "falling" for the season, with all its orange hues, the excuse to drink lots of warm comforting tea and the opportunity to expand my winter wardrobe. Cute cozy hats, come at me!

Who doesn't love a good bear or fox hat?

With pumpkins in almost every shop window, we made an event of it with our fellow Kiwi Brighton-ites, by having an evening carving pumpkins and muling over cider. An activity thoroughly enjoyed by all, at very little expense.