CROSBY COFFEE'S MOCHA BROWNIES (AS FEATURED IN THE LIVERPOOL COOK BOOK)

Having been blessed to be given the opportunity to give away a copy of the brilliant Liverpool Cook Book produced by Meze Publishing, I have also been granted permission to share one of the books fabulous recipes with you in the hope that it will inspire you to head out and purchase a copy of the book for yourself. The first recipe to instantly jumped out at me from the pages was Crosby Coffee's mocha brownies. Not only did they look divine in the book but I can confirm upon making them that they taste equally as delicious!

ASALIAN STIR FRY

That's right folks, we're going fusion on MattyB Bakes today with this Italian inspired stir fry that

uses fresh basil to really give this quick evening meal some real pizazz! I got the idea from Ching Le Huang's new book (buy it! Its brill!) and whilst basil might not be something you would expect in an Asian dish but it does work really well. Add in the stir fry holy trinity of garlic, ginger and chili and you are onto a winner. Whats better is that once you have prepped all the veg, you can this this done from wok to plate in less than 30 minutes!

HAIRY BIKERS CHILI SALAD BOWLS (MATTYB RECOMMENDS)

Check these bad boys out! Don't they look incredible! They are crispy tortillas filled with lettuce, chili, fresh tomatoes, spring onion and grated cheese. They are one of the most delicious things I have ever eaten. I cannot take credit for creation of the idea though. That goes to the Hairy Bikers. If you have never seen any of their Hairy Dieters books then this is my public service announcement to tell you that you need to go and buy them immediately. Trust me, it'll be one of the best things you ever do with your life!

HUMMINGBIRD BAKERY'S "SNICKERS CHEESECAKE PIE" (MATTYB RECOMMENDS)

Ive never really been a fan of Snickers (or Marathons if your really old school). Not sure why, think there were more appetising chocolate treats out there. So i was surprised that when I saw this recipe for what is essentially a giant snickers pie by the Hummingbird Bakery that i was instantly enamoured. I had to try it. I wasn't sure i would like it but myself and everyone who tried it had nothing but "umms" and "aaahs" to say about it.

 Basically its a peanut butter cheesecake pie. But that really doesn't do it justice. Let me talk you through it:

LUCHA LIBRE LIVERPOOL (MATTYB RECOMMENDS)

So The Mexican Night In is complete! The plate of chili I had to the left - hoovered up in no time

 But what if you want the Mexican experience but don't want to go to the hassle of cooking. This is my number one Mexican restaurant suggestion as well as where I would love to visit next time I'm being lazy and crave good chili!

Lucha Libra:

 If your ever up in Liverpool (or Manchester now I believe) please visit Lucha Libre. Not just your typical restaurant, the small restaurant tucked away in the back streets of Liverpool growing increasingly popular in the city. Capitalising on the lack of any decent street food in the city (come on Liverpool, get with the revolution!) they serve fresh Mexican treats washed down with their amazing flavoured frozen Margarita's which are worth a visit on their own.

 The decor inside is brilliant, giving that authentic Mexican street feel whilst the relatively small inside gives it a great atmosphere when busy. The seating is brilliant for all occasions - raised booths which are ideal for families, cosy two seaters for first dates and long bench areas for groups of friends looking for something to eat before heading down into their Maya night club in the restaurants basement for more of those amazing cocktails.

As for the food, this is proper Mexican street food. All the food is fresh and light, miles away from the stodgy burritos you can get in other restaurants. To the right are there sharing platters - this is what we have every time we go as you get a little bit of everything (the menus too good to possibly decide on one thing). We always choose the veggie platter which at the time of writing consists of: 

•  Veggie Tacos with marinated grilled halloumi
• Maria Sabina with mushrooms, herbs and spinach
• Veggie Tostadas with black beans and beetroot puree
• Veggie Empanadas with butternut squash and goats cheese

All absolutely delicious and perfect for sharing with your dining companions - it's the item I recommend but f you do love your meat then carnivorous versions are available

Hopefully they will continue to expand so that more people get to sample their Mexican treats but if you are planning a night out in Liverpool and are in a Mexican mood, Lucha Libre is my number 1 choice. 

Check out their full menu on their website here

Bucket List Restaurant: Wahaca

 

I never watched the series of Masterchef when Thomasina Miers won. I saw her first on her fantastic show Mexican Food Made Easy. This lead me onto her book of the same name and later Mexican Food at home. Both are fantastic buys and I'm looking forward to her new book, Chili Notes.

We often visit London and it baffles me why we have never taken time out to visit Wahaca. If the food is half as Delicious as what is in her books then it will defiantly be one to come back too. This is top of my bucket list and I hope I can write up about my experience visiting their on in the very near future.

How about you? Are there any mexican restaurants you would recommend in a heartbeat. Post your recommendations in the comment box below or drop me a tweet!

A LIGHTER BAKE

This was me last year. Taken at Chester Zoo. I looked at this picture when it was posted on Facebook and thought I really need to sort my weight out.

Now I've never been a skinny bloke and I'd lost quite a lot of weight from when I was younger. I was around 18st at one point when I was in school. It always baffled me however why I was so big. I had never eaten tonnes as far as I was aware (maybe I was a secret eater) and I was relatively active. Think I was unfortunate to have a poor metabolism.

Of course, in the past I had committed every year to going on a diet. This of course lasts 2 weeks until I have the first big night out of the year and wake up the next day with a horrendous hangover and need to eat the entire menu of Papa Johns the next day. Then I would think "well why bother" and bang, the diet is over for another year.