Yin & Gin!

It was bound to happen.. combining two major loves of my life and helpfully, they even rhyme! 😂

I finished my Yoga Teacher Training, focusing on Yin Yoga... so what better than to mix it up with some Gin tasting?!

The lovely Rachael from Panda Yoga Edinburgh, who has been a driving force behind me finally doing my YTT and getting me started on the road to teaching, was once again the motivation to make Yin & Gin a reality. (It helps that we did our YTT together and she also loves gin!)

I reached out to Solid Liquids (they're the people behind Juniper Festival in Edinburgh and Glasgow) to ask if they might know someone I could approach to help with some gin tasting notes and they offered to work with us and host the gin tastings! Never one to turn down help from experts in the field, I jumped at the opportunity.

So on a slightly grey chilly evening at the end of March, a group of gin loving yogis got together for an hour of chillaxin' yin.
Followed by 45 mins of gin tasting with Jamie from Solid Liquids.. We even managed to make a non-gin lover admit she liked the gin!

Our inaugural event was such a hit, we've decided to hold these classes monthly and hope to expand to other spirit tastings in future. We know not everyone​ shares our love of gin! (Though we think gin is like whisky.. there's so many out there, there's bound to be one you like.. You just need to try more gin! 😃)

You can find my yogi antics on Instagram under @yogawithcaz. I'll hopefully get some regular classes up and running once I'm back in Edinburgh, keep an eye on IG for updates!
Solid Liquids also hold Juniper Cruises, Beer Union Cruises and Whisky & Cheese cruises along the Union Canal. I've yet to check out the Whisky & Cheese cruise but have had two fantastic days out on the Juniper and Beer Union Cruises!

Read about my day out on Juniper Cruise here.

Ticket Giveaway! Christmas Foodies Festival 2016 at EICC

**We have FIVE pairs of tickets to give away for Christmas Foodies Festival**

Check twitter @cazmonkeysround to win!

Following up on last year’s success, Foodies Festival Christmas returns to Edinburgh’s EICC on the 25th, 26th and 27th of November.

This festive season the Chefs Theatre boasts a stellar line up, including Masterchef 2016 Winner Jane Devonshire, who’ll be cooking up her favourite family Christmas recipes for guests for the first time. Plus, Great British Menu star Michael Bremner will prepare his beautifully executed mackerel dish, ‘A Message to the Lode Star’, which earned him an unequivocal 10/10 on the show and left veteran judge and two Michelin-starred chef Daniel Clifford in tears.

Acclaimed chefs sharing their top tips for a tasty Christmas alongside Jane and Michael include:

Michael Bremner - Scottish Regional Champion Great British Menu 2016

Jane Devonshire - MasterChef Winner 2016

Marcello Tully – Michelin-starred Chef at Kinloch Lodge in Skye

Brian Grigor – Michelin-starred Chef at Number One at The Balmoral

Jamie Scott – MasterChef: The Professionals Winner & The Newport

Adam Newth - Scottish Young Chef of the Year Winner & The Tayberry

Scott Davies – The Three Chimneys

Mark Greenaway - Restaurant Mark Greenaway

Stuart Ralston - Aizle

Tony Rodd - MasterChef Finalist 2015

Neil Forbes - Cafe Marlayne

Three Sisters Bake - Authors, Bakers & Chefs

Paul Wedgwood - Wedgwood Restaurant

Fraser Allen – The Pompadour by Galvin

In the Cake & Bake Theatre, Burlesque Baker Charlotte White will create a modern showstopper of a Contemporary Christmas Cake in just 30 minutes (with not a plastic Santa in sight!), while master chocolatier Fiona Sciolti showcases a new selection of chocolate desserts and treats, as well as introducing her newest seasonal delights including Churros with delicious festive toppings.

In the Drinks Theatre, Champagne expert Neil Philips and wine experts Charles Metcalfe and Brian Elliot introduce their favourite tipples for Christmas, while Melissa Cole gives guided craft beer tastings. There’s also gin, whisky and Christmas Cocktail masterclasses on offer, so there’s a workshop to suit every taste!

To get in the festive spirit, visitors can also attend one of the brand new series of 12 Christmas Top Tip practical masterclasses which cover a range of activities, from learning the perfect way to curate a festive cheeseboard, to whipping up a Christmas spiced ice cream, and mastering the best techniques for curing salmon.

An Artisan Christmas Market introduces top producers selling a whole host of locally made delights, including cheeses, chutneys, oils, Christmas hampers and gifts, while the Pudding Hall offers up artisan macaroons, cupcakes and sweet seasonal treats.

To keep you satisfied while you explore, there will be range of international and award-winning Street Food stalls showcasing tasty snacks including calamari, steamed pork buns, macaroni cheese and Creole delights.

For younger foodies, the Elves Cookery School offers tutorials in Gingerbread man baking and Christmas Cookie decorating to keep everyone entertained.

The party spirit will be kept up all day long with vintage-style singers and Christmas Carollers providing entertainment on the Live Music Stage. Plus, to add to the fun, daring visitors can take part in daily events like the Chilli Eating Competition and test their sweet tooth with the Mince Pie Eating Contest, as well as team up to compete in the Christmas Quiz and Charades Relays.

Tickets: 

Tickets are on sale now at foodiesfestival.com or by calling 0844 995 1111

All children aged 12 and under go free to all Foodies Festivals when accompanied by an adult.

Date, Venue & Opening Times:

Edinburgh EICC, Friday Nov 25th, 5pm - 9pm

Edinburgh EICC, Saturday Nov 26th, 10am - 6pm

Edinburgh EICC, Sunday Nov 27th, 10am - 5pm

Review: Edinburgh Coffee Festival 2016

Having missed the inaugural Edinburgh Coffee Festival last year, I was excited to get along to this year's event held at Summerhall as it had outgrown Mansfield Traquair. Previous engagements meant I arrived quite late and had missed all the talks and workshops which was a shame.

I was assured the coffee cocktail workshop involved many delicious cocktails, so will have to look out for that returning next year!

It was great to chat to some familiar faces, such as Mr Eion and the folk at Burr & Co. where I'd recently been for a lovely lunch. As well as get to meet some new faces, such as the folk behind Alfie, who are using an air drum roasting technique. It was one of the cleanest cups of coffee I've tasted, will definitely be ordering from the website when I next run out of beans!

Really enjoyed chatting to the folk at Johan & Nystrom from Sweden. Their limited edition Gigisa Lot5 was fantastic as was their bottled iced teas! Their loose leaf tea tins were adorable but unfortunately not for sale at the festival.

They weren't the only ones there offering both coffee & tea, Edinburgh Tea and Coffee Company also had their wares on show. Tea lovers were not left wanting though as Pekoe Tea and Shibui Tea both had impressive selections to taste and choose from.

Tasty Buns Bakery were pretty much sold out of treats by the time I got there, but I did sneak an amaretti biscuit which was divine! Luckily Pinnes & Poppyseeds still had a healthy supply of Pumpkin Spice Caramel Cups to satiate my sweet cravings. The Chocolate Tree and The Marshmallow Lady were also on hand to supply sweet treats.

Rost were there with their food truck but I couldn't pass on a burger from Jones & Sons!

Overall, I had a fantastic couple of hours at the festival, even if my companion did throw a cup of coffee over me! Will hopefully have more time to explore next year. Although it was apparently much busier earlier in the day and it was difficult to actually stop and speak to exhibitors, so maybe arriving late had its perks!

Solid Liquids Juniper Cruise

If you follow me on Instagram, you'll know a few weeks ago on an insanely sunny Sunday I was drinking gin on a canal boat.

That's because I'd been invited as a guest on a Juniper Cruise by Solid Liquids.

They're the people behind Edinburgh's Juniper Festival if you need reassurance of their qualifications!

It was a great opportunity to find out about some new gins!

Really enjoyed the Martin Miller and Rock Rose is already a firm favourite. Nice to taste Crossbill Gin with the new Walter Gregor tonic and ginger was a nice twist.

First time tasting the lo-cal Minus 33, not a very robust gin on its own, but certainly good in a cocktail. Sometimes even if the gin is familiar, the tonic gets to be the new kid and this was the case with Daffy's paired with Fentiman's 19:05 Herbal Tonic.

 Lovely Day for a cruise. My first trip this far down the canal!

There's a small pitstop after they turn the boat around and a chance for a quick walk to stretch the legs or for a cheeky smoke break.

Solid Liquids are great hosts and really know their stuff when it comes to gins.

The menu will change so even if you're thinking, well I've tried all those gins before, you might get something different on another cruise!

Cheers!!

No complaints about drinking gin on a canal boat on a sunny day!

They run the cruises regularly, so check their website for details and get booked on soon!!

Review: Usquabae, West End, Edinburgh

Whisky lovers, there's a new playground in town!

Usquabae is underneath Ryan's Bar in the West End. The door is on Hope Street, across from the Angel's Share if you don't want to walk through Ryan's.

I'd heard about this new whisky bar last year and had been eagerly awaiting its arrival. After having drinks in the West End with friends, I thought I'd pop down and see if it might have opened while I was away. I was glad to discover they'd been open a week already.

At 9ish on a Friday night, there were a couple of groups in already. We sat at the bar and I found it a little noisy and hard to have a quiet conversation. 

There are plenty of low tables as well as little booths to sit in which might have been a better choice.

They also have two whisky rooms which would be quite fun for an intimate tasting or just hanging out for a couple of drinks.

The main draw is the 400 whiskies they have. There's also a few gins and a selection of beers on tap and in bottles.

I can see this place being popular with the after work crowd in the West End. They also have a menu full of Scottish food, from cullen skink, to Balmoral chicken and cranachan. 

I look forward to coming back at some stage soon for a meal and to try some more of the whiskies on offer.

Review: Ox184, Cowgate, Edinburgh

Already a fan of Holyrood 9A and The Southern, I was excited to hear Fuller Thomson had opened a new venue in the Cowgate. I had been warned that it was 'very red'. It did not disappoint!

I was surprised there were only a couple of people there when I arrived at 7pm on a Thursday. The large cavernous room felt empty and I was worried it would lack atmosphere. I needn't have worried; it steadily filled up with a good mix of big and small groups. The vibe was very laid back and the volume stayed at a low hum, so while it got busy, it never got too loud to have a conversation.

Service was polite and attentive. We were seated by the window which seemed like a great idea, but made me feel a bit like an animal at the zoo with lots of Cowgate's foot traffic peering in.

We ate bacon and corn muffins and pork cheek nuggets from the bites menu, the muffins were mini morsels of fluffy, bacon'y deliciousness. I felt the coating on the nuggets were a little too hard but the pork cheek filling was tasty and my dining companion had no complaints.

Next came lobster and pork belly burger along with the smoked chicken waffle sandwich from the mains menu. I prefer my waffles with a bit of crunch but otherwise couldn't fault the light airy batter. The sweetness of the dough worked well with the slightly spicy sauce and I got my crunch from the fried chicken which I felt was a little dry. No complaints about the lobster and pork belly burger though and the brioche bun really stepped it up a notch.

Due to a slight error, I also ended up with the vege option of the waffle sandwich which has a mushroom and spinach filling. I'd let it get a bit cold before I got to trying it so I'm surely not doing it justice, but I thought it needed added texture.

Our mains were accompanied by cheese fries and charred corn. The corn was done to perfection and the home made cheese sauce on the mountain of fries had a nice spiced kick. We also tried the burnt end beans which I found too salty but can see them doing well with big flavour drinks.

Draft beers come in 1/3, 2/3, pint and demijohns (8 pints). I took full advantage of the mini servings and tried three different beers from Tempest brewery. The companion had a Bristol Vice then a New Zealand sour wheat beer. Draft beers are rotating and are accompanied by a large selection of canned beers as well as a spirit list that spans two pages. They also offer a selection of whisky flights which I'd love to try.

The meal was concluded with the Smoked Banoffee, I was absolutely full to the brim but too intrigued not to order it. I have no regrets. The bruleed banana slices on top were revolutionary. I only want to eat my bananas bruleed from now on! The homemade gingerbread is soaked in house made toffee to absorb lots of caramel'y goodness before being popped in a jam jar with smoked banana which is puréed. It's rich, it's decadent and it absolutely defeated me.

The bathrooms are upstairs and you get to walk past the open fire pit and grill where a lot of the food is cooked. It's definitely worth checking out and stop for a chat with Greg the sous chef if there's anything you want to know about the food. There's also little nooks and booth seating upstairs which would be great for small and large groups.

We had a fantastic time and look forward to returning with a group so we can try the rest of the menu and order demijohns of beer! They're open until 3am and serve food until 2.30am. Which I'll be taking full advantage of at some stage!!

Overall, I feel like there's still a few things still to tweak and the menu is ever evolving, so I look forward to many trips back and having new things to try all the time.



[On this occasion we were guests of Ox184. Many thanks for their hospitality. All opinions are my own.]

Aqua Spinning

Earlier this year, I was invited to try Aqua Spinning. My initial reaction was, what the blimmin EFF is AQUA spinning????!!??

I'd tried spinning.. Once... Years ago... It was only a 30 minute class and I almost hacked my legs off after to avoid ever having to go through that torture ever again.. The only thing that stopped me was the small inconvenience of never walking again, and the fact the spinning class was followed by a 30 minute yoga class. So a) I didn't have time to stop and hack my legs off and b) savasana solves the majority of life's problems.. FACT.

Though, being someone who prides myself on having an open mind and being willing to try (just about) anything once, I thought I'd give it a go. I'd recently survived Metafit, what's the worst that could happen??

Luckily Unfortunately, both the dates on offer were while I was out of town. So I passed my spot on to Dave, resident PT. Below are his thoughts..

I was unsure what to expect when I was given the chance to try out this new health and fitness craze. Organised by Simply Health, who teamed up with the Royal Commonwealth Pool in Edinburgh. 

I attended regular spin classes a few years ago to prepare for a cycling challenge for charity, so I had some ideas of what to expect. However, Aqua spinning although similar creates an overall experience that is very different. 

Obviously the first and major difference is the fact there is water involved. Before you ask, the bikes are submerged in water which straight away creates a very different environment to train in. 

The bikes are raised up out of the water to allow bikes to be adjusted in the same way you would for a regular spin class. I will admit this was very cool process to watch, almost mesmerising as you watch the water disappear. 

The set up process has one major difference, this is in relation to the set up process for the resistance on the bike. That you have set for the entire session.  

This is either, easy, medium or hard. Although this does not mean the resistance will remain constant throughout, because when you pedal faster the water causes extra resistance. So this meant every time we did tabata style interval sprints (as fast as possible for set times starting with 30secs on 30secs off) the resistance considerably increases.

We were all kitted out with special aqua shoes and we also had the option of webbed gloves (which we were told was to add extra resistance at the end of the class).
This may sound daft, but the first technique we had to master was to pedal smoothly. The bikes don't have a flywheel to assist, so you have to apply equal force with each foot to allow for a smoother ride. This was fairly straightforward, just requires a little extra thought. 

As soon as we got started you can feel the difference and one of the major differences between this and regular spin sessions is the fact we can work the upper body as well as the legs. This adds an extra dimension, especially as this is achieved by becoming a child again, only difference is that you are actually encouraged to splash each other.

This added dimension means that you almost forget you are working out.The added resistance with the webbed gloves does make a difference with the upper body training in particular through the shoulder joint, and utilising both chest and back muscles. 

The smooth consistent resistance caused with the water means it is low impact so would benefit anyone.I would definitely recommend this as a great way to workout for all the usual benefits associated with exercise but this is also great fun too. I think its important to keep variety and enjoyment in any training plan, so why not give this a shot and see what you think?

So there you have it folks..

To be honest, I'm now quite keen to give it a go!! Will have to look into getting along to a class when I'm back in Edinburgh.

Many thanks go to Simply Health for the invitation and the chance to try Aqua Spinning!

Check out their blog post here.

Passenger at Usher Hall, Edinburgh

Passenger put on an absolutely cracking show on Wednesday night. I had been slightly worried about going to see "just one guy with a guitar" and also not knowing too many of his songs. I'd listened to his new album Whispers a couple of times and knew the tunes but none of the lyrics. I really needn't have worried, I had a brilliant time!

The support act was a three piece group called 'the once', hailing from Newfoundland, Canada who were fantastic. Gerry has an amazing voice and Phil's banter was priceless! Funny how sexy voice and creepy voice are the same.. just depends on what you're saying!! Andrew must have played three different instruments in the half hour they were on stage, so kudos!

Not only was Passenger fantastic but the entire crowd were great as well. The atmosphere was electric! Everyone just really got into it, singing, clapping, holding up their phone torches and most importantly, being quiet when asked. So if you are reading this and you were in the audience that night. THANK YOU!! You were part of what made the night so fabulous!

Passenger, or Mike.. Was just so personable, it's always great to get a bit of banter and to hear the stories behind some of the songs. Apparently 'Let Her Go' was written in 45mins as he sat in a dressing room before a gig.. Whaaat?!?

He has a long history with Edinburgh, as a busker on the Royal Mile to playing gigs at The Caves and he seemed genuinely happy to be in the city & glad to be playing The Usher Hall.

 Not only did he play and sing, he had such energy, it was infectious and at one point the entire crowd was up on their (our?) feet. The illustrations on the backdrop were adorable and showed a couple meeting, dating, having a family and getting old together.

It was my first visit to the Usher Hall and it did not disappoint! The building is just as gorgeous and intricate on the inside as it is outside, if not more so. The seats were comfy and roomy enough for those with long legs. The levels were tiered sufficiently so there was no peering through heads and no fear of being stuck behind a tall person.

Passenger & the once on stage together for the encore

All in all, it was a fantastic evening in a stunning venue!! Wish I could do it all again!! Ben Howard has some big shoes to fill on Saturday!!