#Foodie: 3-Ingredient Peanut Butter Cups

The Food Edit:

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So, here’s the thing: the heavenly marriage of peanut butter and chocolate has long been celebrated in the form of Reese’s Peanut Butter Cups. But there’s a catch— those salty, sweet, devilishly moreish treats contain some real interesting characters. Here’s a list, just because. Ready?

• Milk Chocolate (Sugar, Cocoa Butter, Chocolate, Nonfat Milk, Milk Fat, Lactose, Lecithin (Soy), PGPR Emulsifier)
• Peanuts
• Sugar
• Dextrose
• Cocoa Butter
• Contains 2% or Less of: Hydrogenated Vegetable Oil (Palm Kernel Oil, Palm Oil), Salt, Palm Kernel Oil, PGPR Emulsifier, TBHQ and Citric Acid to Maintain Freshness [stats courtesy of Walmart]

We’ll leave you to take what you will from this, but allow me to highlight one item from the above list. Palm oil is problematic at best. I’m sure the whole orangutan/deforestation/palm oil debacle hasn’t passed you by. We won’t go into it now, but if you’d like to find out more about palm oil, take a look at this article published by One Green Planet, or this blog post by The Green Vegans, who reckon boycotting the product is actually counterproductive...

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And on to our amazing recipe! As a long-time fan of the peanut butter cup, this was one I just had to try. And let me tell you, it was more than worth it. If the luxurious sheen of melted chocolate being drizzled onto little peanut butter plateaus weren’t enough, imagine the gentle crack of the chocolate once it’s firmed up, giving onto a little pocket of paradise: a smooth, buttery filling. But I’m running away with myself.

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This recipe makes between 15 and 25, depending on the size of your mini cupcake cases.

Ingredients:

• 200g (7oz) good quality dark chocolate, melted
• 125g (1/2 cup) smooth peanut butter (no added sugar, if possible)
• 40g (2 1/2 tbsp) honey or other sweet syrup, added to taste
• Pinch of salt, if your peanut butter doesn’t have any added

You’ll also need

• your 15 cupcake cases (paper or silicone work well). I used paper cases which were about 1 inch across the top, and I got 25 out of the mixtures.  

Method:

1. Fill a small cupcake liner with the melted chocolate to the top, then turn the liner upside-down and allow the excess chocolate to drip off. Repeat with the remaining cupcake liners, and place them onto a baking sheet.
2. Freeze the chocolate coated cupcake liners for ~5 minutes, then repeat the procedure (filling the liners with chocolate and letting the excess to dip off), making sure that the sides of the cupcake liners are well coated with the chocolate.
3. Freeze again for ~5 minutes.
4. In the meantime, mix together the peanut butter, maple syrup (or honey) and salt (optional).
5. Fill the firmed up chocolate coated cupcake liners with the peanut butter filling, smoothing out the top. Leave ~1 mm space at the top for the chocolate layer.
6. Spoon some melted chocolate on top of each filled chocolate cup, so that you get a smooth, even peanut butter cup top.
7. Freeze for at least 1/2 hour to allow the chocolate to properly set. Then, peel off the cupcake liners and enjoy!
8. The homemade peanut butter cups keep well in a closed container in a cool dry place (or the fridge) for ~1 week, or in the freezer for ~1 month

Go forth and create! Let us know how they worked out for you, or go to the original page on The Loopy Whisk where this recipe was originally published. There’s lots of other really yummy things you can have a crack at!

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Pub Garden Weather - Bisley House Bar & Bistro

                                                           

                                                                   

                                                                  

                                                                        Krissy top & Emma top     

Appropriate clothing from work to the beer garden.. Summery drinks or irresistible barbecues, what ever the occasion we have some alfresco styles for your outing as seen here in our photos at Bisley House Bar & Bistro 

  

                                                                          Krissy top & Annie trouser

     



The menu offers more than pub grub! We'd even say it is more like gourmet dinning with seasonal herbs, vegetable; home grown in their own beer garden and local produce from the farmers market & local ice-cream parlours; a Cotswolds top visit by Gourmet guide  & Loving the Cotswolds

Not your average burgers, pies establishment,  with more ambitious dishes such as braised beef with pomme puree or for the veggie; sweet potato falafel with giant couscous, pickled cabbage, halloumi and tzatziki. The menu showcases tasty, rated 4 Michelin stars dishes. On the taps, the brews are well worth investigating, or if your a gin gal, we're sure we spotted a few old favourites!

Abbie dress

With a long hot summer, dresses, crop tops and jumpsuits are perfect weekend dressing. Whether you are meeting up with the girls, or off to an art gallery opening our silver Rosie dress or pink Alicia smock dress are ideal for weddings too. Flowy metallic fabrics that look right on trend with a unique quality that all Madia & Matilda designs come with. 

                                                                                           Alicia - Long Sleeve  smock dress &  Rosie - dress 

Art  - Donnelly Sisters

 Haroden Smock & Meg Loose fit dress

Basking in sunshine, styles for weddings and outdoor parties you have plotted in your diary, our outdoors selection include our Haroden Smock, Meg Loose fit dress, Iris dress & Jasmine Jumpsuit.

                                             Alicia Smock Dress,  Iris dress & Jasmine Jumpsuit.

                   Kate crop top & Gwen Jumpsuit Art Credits - Donnelly Sisters

In the pursuit for non-crowded beer garden and reliable sunscreen, the ultimate sunny-weather challenge. If the weather fine and as predicted, why not style up for the weekend! As seen here in gastro pub Bisley House with our Navy Gwen Jumpsuit & Kate Crop top with your best jeans and heels. 

Sincerely Madia & Matilda

Box Park Shoreditch Popup

Join us for our Shoreditch Pop Up!

15th - 19th August 2018

Box Park Shoreditch

Near Shoreditch High St Overground Station.

London

For things to do in Shoreditch check out our blog post 

Sincerely Madia & Matilda

Bio-D - (D for Dauntless, Dazzling, Delightful...)

Bio-D 

(D for Dauntless, Dazzling, Delightful...)

Bio-D has been around for a while—since 1989 in fact—and there's never been a more appropriate time for them to step into the limelight. We need brave pioneers to lead the way to greener squeaky-cleanness! 

On their website, Bio-D describe themselves as being "committed to making cleaning products that don’t cost the earth, and to helping consumers contribute to a healthier, more sustainable planet". Hear hear! 

Right now, pressure is building on brands in all areas of commerce to improve their accountability and demonstrate their ability to commit to ethical and ecological practices. Bio-D have been at the head of this movement for years: all of their products are made in the UK, by people who are treated with dignity, with traceable ingredients of natural origin. They also hold a Cruelty-Free International accreditation. How's that for ethical practice?!

It's all very well to know where your products come from; it's quite another to decide whether they're good for you or not. It's become apparent in recent years that often customers are mislead by brands claiming their products are 'good' for them, when really the opposite is true. Ultra-fragranced, chemical-laden cleaning products can cause health concerns or allergic reactions rather than eliminate them. No such story here! Bio-D's range is 100% hypoallergenic. 

Despite the numerous obvious benefits of buying more ethical cleaning and care products from brands such as Bio-D, many people voice concerns when it comes to the cost. Well, how about this: would you put a price on your well-being? How about the well-being of the planet? Many commercial household products contain pollutants as well as irritants. 

There are lots of shops now around the UK where you can buy refills of your favourite eco-friendly brands for far less than you bought the original product for. This reduces the amount of empty containers put into landfill and encourages us to engage with the idea that we can choose what effect we have on the environment, whether negative or positive. 

And what do Bio-D actually make? Anything from washing-up liquid and laundry detergent to glass cleaner! We at Madia & Matilda have started to refill our in-shop washing-up liquid and hand soap with Bio-D, and take it from us: it cleans nicely, smells good and gets the job done! Our favourite is the lime and aloe vera sanitizing handwash. It smells of lime Jelly Babies! 

Keep an eye out for our upcoming competition with Bio D, as you could be in for a chance to win a 5 Ltr bottle of Laundry Conditioner! 

Sincerely Madia & Matilda

Summer Playlist

Our Summer Playlist has arrived! Listen here on Spotify


HAVANA - Camila Cabello
Touch - Little Mix 
Bang Bang - Jessie J 
Summer Time - Jazzy Jeff & Will Smith
I Wish - Skee Lo
2002 - Annie Marie 
Fine Line - Mabel Ft Notes 
Wild Thoughts  - DJ kahled 
Where are you now - Jusin Beiber Ft Skillex 
Summer -  Calvin Harris
Decline -  Raye,  Mr Easi 
Warrior - Too Many Zoo & KDA
X - Nicky Jam  & Balvin
Mahalia - I Wish I Missed my x 
Roll Back - George Fitzgerald
Go - Alex Da Kid & H.E.R
Lush Life - Zara Larsson 



Sincerely Madia & Matilda

How to Wear: Dresses

Meet...
 Kiera, Milly, Rosie, Miranda and Eloise!

Kiera halterneck dress

With its bright, vintage-inspired floral print and cropped hem, this is the
Summer dress you've been holding out for. 

Lovely Milly in indigo

This Jersey dress is lightweight and drapes nicely, making it an elegant and comfy choice for the warmer months. Its drawstring waist means ultimate flexibility (for loosening after 
BBQs/poolside picnics). 

Lacey, pretty, Rosie

Perfect for practically anything, all year round, Rosie really comes into bloom in the sun. Wear with heels for a sophisticated style, or with flats for a fun, flirty look. 

Primrose for Spring: Miranda dress

This style is perfect for casual wear, teamed with a pair of chunky flats, as shown above. It's a great festival piece, worn with a broad-brimmed hat and lots of glitter!

The casual Eloise dress

The Eloise dress is a great casual piece. Wear with a bright tee or tights 
for a cool, Summery vibe. 

Sincerely Madia & Matilda

Fashioned From Nature: My Day at the V&A

Beetles, Bustiers and Breaking Taboos

The exhibition is shedding a light on the cruel history of the Fashion Industry, and how it needs to change

The exhibition asks viewers to think about their clothes and their relationship to the world. Image: V&A

I went to see the Fashioned by Nature exhibition at the V&A yesterday. At the beginning of the exhibition were a couple of waistcoats with gorgeous embroidery showing flowers and monkeys. The jackets themselves were made of silk and another natural fibre and dated from the 1780-89. The detail and intricacy was unbelievable. The lines of thread were so carefully coordinated and planned, so painstakingly sewn into the fabric. Craftsmanship like that isn’t easy to come by these days, certainly not that kind. Imagining somebody wearing that waistcoat is difficult: it’s delicacy and beauty somehow render it impractical.

Men's waistcoat , 1780-89, showing Macaque monkeys. Image: The Guardian

In the next cabinet were some examples of lacework. These were extraordinarily delicate and detailed. Metres and metres of hand-sewn lace, coiled like a ribbon. I thought of the craftsperson, bent almost double, the night encroaching on them as they strained their eyes to see, the light of a single candle guiding the needle in and out of the fabric like a lighthouse signalling to a ship.

But that wasn’t the full picture. Beside the exhibits were notes explaining how the raw materials were sourced and processed. Here the full story came to light. Flax and cotton gathered and woven by slaves. Factories where women and children were taken advantage of and paid next to nothing. Workers exploited, garments made in bulk by vulnerable people, water sources polluted, air spoiled, indigenous populations abused or neglected, animals slaughtered and insects harvested, natural resources badly managed, creatures hunted almost to extinction for hats and corsets. It was eye-opening and appalling.

Slaves in a cotton field, c.1850. Image available under Creative Commons license

The thoughtlessness that has bloomed in fashion which grew out of the ever-growing need to express wealth and affluence in dress, and the desire to imitate nature, has often caused populations and habitats to decrease dramatically in size. The lack of respect for animals, fellow humans and ecology is staggering. The thing is though, it’s definitely got a lot to do with class. The amount of money it took to get hold of these materials, and in such large volume, must have been astronomical. Exotic beetles, wolves, raccoons, cotton, etc. had to be imported to the UK and must have cost a fortune. The people who eventually wore the clothes would’ve had little to no idea where it had come from, or the cost to the environment of their garment. The consumer was worlds away from the manufacturer.

Muslin dress decorated with beetle-wings, 1868-9. Image: V&A

These days you can easily find out where your garment was designed and made, but there are so many steps in between these two processes that your garment could have travelled half the world before being worn by you. And you would never know, just as you would never know how the materials your garment was made of were made or harvested, processed and worked into their final form. You wouldn’t know who had laboured over your garment, or who designed it.

The Who Made My Clothes campaign is taking off! Image: The Joinery

It calls for transparency in the fashion industry, to abandon the whims of the consumer by reducing the influence of fast fashion, and for more compassion for the environment. It also demands research into the manufacturing of materials alternative to those made from oil (polyester, nylon etc.). There are so many ways to make clothing sustainably if you do the legwork and don’t cut corners. Prolific designers such as Stella McCartney have already declared war on non-sustainable fashion. Speaking to Vogue, she said: "If you’re lucky enough to have a business on this planet, you have to approach it in this [sustainable] way." The Stella McCartney website has more details of where the brand stands on issues such as the environment, nature and people. 

One of Stella McCartney's latest collections was shot on a landfill site. Image: Stella McCartney

It really doesn’t need to be difficult, and the more people do it, the less it will cost in the end. I really hope people are woken up out of this crazy dream where the clothes they buy don’t have a huge, hidden cost to the planet and its population. Because nobody in their right mind would realise how detrimental conventional fashion practices are to the planet, and then carry on as before. Nobody.

Emma Watson wears a dress made from recycled plastic bottles, by Calvin Klein. Image: Teen Vogue

Fashioned From Nature is now showing at the Victoria and Albert until 27th January 2019

Text: Ophelia, admin assistant at Madia & Matilda 

Sincerely Madia & Matilda