Fit for a Queen

Birthdays — I had one last week, and so did the Queen (mine was my real birthday but on the other hand it wasn't marked by a public holiday, so I suppose Her Majesty wins that contest...) My birthday was on a weekday, but I made excellent use of the weekend for a delicious dinner at Almustafa Lebanese restaurant (omni, but they explain very clearly on their website that their vegetarian dishes are vegan, which is always a welcome sign of an understanding kitchen), and a home-cooked brunch of the kind I'd usually go out for.



You've got your roasted herbed tomato, your fried seasoned mushrooms, your hash browns and sausages and your (over-)wilted spinach.

My birthday spoils included some chocolate. The dark-coated orange pieces by Delicaseys are sublime, and I also recommend the grapefruit I've had before. And thanks to Mandee I had a chance to sample the new bars from Go Max Go: the Cleo's peanut butter cups and the Snap rice crackle bar. Delicious!



I didn't bake or eat any birthday cake at the time, but I made up for that on the public holiday by pulling some plain chocolate cupcakes from the freezer and smothering them in peanut buttercream icing. The marriage of PB and chocolate still doesn't make me wax lyrical the way it does some people, but I'm certainly a convert these days. I happen to know this is also the Queen's favourite flavour combination*.



*Well, I'll bet you can't prove that it isn't.