Flower Power cocktails with Tozi: recipe

I've written before about my love for Tozi, a brilliant Italian tucked away in Victoria. Their friendly staff and brilliant cicchetti (small plates) have boosted it to a firm favourite and a definite recommendation in my repertoire. This spring, they've been seeing in the 70s trend with a range of Flower Power cocktails for a taste of Italy with a nostalgic floral twist.

A little bit brighter than your average, these cocktails are designed to whisk you away to a Mediterranean mirage (even if the blue one does look a bit scary!). The Italian in Brazil (the pink one in the back) was my favourite of the bunch as I'm going through a bit of a campari phase at the moment and it's super easy to make.

What you need

• 30ml Campari
• 25ml mango puree (Funkin do a great one)
• 15ml lemon juice
• 20ml simple syrup (it's really easy to make)
• Soda water
• And a flower for the garnish
• A cocktail shaker

What you do

1. Pour the campari, mango puree, lemon juice and simple syrup into the shaker.
2. Shake for seven seconds.
3. Strain it in a flute glass, top with soda water, add the flower and drink!

Super simple but if you fancy taking it easy and watching someone else make it for you, you can get with the groove and catch these cocktails at Tozi until June.

Bloody Mary, Bloody Mary, Bloody Mary

Bloody Marys are the best go-to drink when you're feeling a little fragile from the previous night's overindulgence. The vitamin content of the tomato juice, the you-can't-taste-it vodka and the kick of the Tabasco just have that knack of setting you on your feet again.

There's a whole wealth of recipes to try, but for a simple, easy to make pick-me up, give this one a go.

You'll need

• Tomato juice
• 50ml vodka (or just a single shot of 25ml if you prefer). For non-drinkers you can leave the booze out completely
• A pinch of cracked black pepper
• A pinch of celery salt
• A pinch of grated fresh horseradish
• A couple of splashes Lee & Perrins Worcestershire sauce
• A splash or two of Tabasco (depending on how brave you're feeling)
• A slice of lemon
• A stick of celery
• If you're feeling extra fancy, you can even add in a splash of sherry, port or red wine
• Ice

How to

1. The simplest way is to just pour everything into a tall glass or mason jar and give it a stir.
2. If you've got a cocktail shaker to hand, add everything in, along with the ice and shake it up! Pour into the glass through a strainer, and drink straight away. 
3. Or, you can be a little creative and add a large olive or a cooked prawn as garnish, rim the glass with black pepper and salt, or switch up the alcohol to gin.

Feeling adventurous?

These three recipes from the A Beautiful Mess girls look and sound absolutely delicious...

a For spice fans, the sriracha one will suit.

b Like wasabi? How about this?

c And what about basil? 

Photos taken from A Beautiful Mess

Easy king prawn salsa

I originally had a craving for some sort of prawn arrabiata but swiftly realised it was still 26 degrees and I'm going on holiday in about three weeks so no carbs before Ibiza. So I reconsidered and came up with something super quick, super healthy and super tasty.

You'll need

• A handful of prawns - I used cooked and frozen but raw and/or fresh work just as well
• Half a red onion
• A handful of cherry tomatoes
• Fresh basil or coriander
• A garlic clove
• A pinch of fresh chilli 
• Olive oil
• Lemon juice
• Sea salt and pepper
• A glug of white wine (optional!)

How to 

1. Heat a teaspoon of olive oil in a frying pan and throw in your prawns. Whilst they're cooking, finely chop the garlic and chilli, then add to the pan.
2. In the meantime, dice the onion and tomatoes, roughly chop the basil and throw it into a jug (or bowl). Add pinch of salt and freshly ground pepper, a squeeze of lemon juice and the white wine (if you're using it).
3. Remove the prawns from the heat and roughly chop up two-thirds of them, before adding to the jug and giving everything a big stir.
4. And now you're ready to serve! Pile it into a bowl, top with the remaining prawns and grab some pitta bread to scoop it all up with!

I ate it as a post-work healthy dinner but this is perfect for a barbecue - just double, triple or quadruple the ingredients! And for veggies, do it without the prawns and it's just as good (it makes a great dip with crisps!)

Cadbury Creme Egg Brownies

Now this is something that's been doing the rounds all morning, and both my housemate and my Dad separately posted links to this on my Facebook. I'm on a real healthy kick at the moment, but given that it's Easter weekend in less than 10 days, and I've been very good (and only eaten 48 Creme Eggs so far this year. Yes, I've counted.), I'm very tempted to make these incredible looking brownies.

You'll need

• 185g unsalted butter 
• 185g dark chocolate (get as best quality as you can!)
• 85g plain flour 
• 40g cocoa powder 
• 3 large eggs 
• 275g golden caster sugar
• 6 Cadbury’s creme eggs cut in half

How to

• Preheat the oven to 160C and grease a 20cm square baking tin. 
• Melt the butter and dark chocolate together either in the microwave or in a glass bowl over boiling water. Once melted, take off the heat to let it cool.
• Break 3 large eggs into a large bowl and tip in the sugar. Whisk the eggs and sugar together until they look thick and creamy, like a milkshake - if you've got one, use an electric mixer. The mixture will become really pale and about double its original volume.
• Pour the cooled chocolate mixture over the egg and sugar mixture, and then gently fold together.
• Sift the cocoa powder and flour into the egg, sugar and chocolate and gently fold in to the mixture.
• Pour it into the baking tin and cook for 15 minutes. Then take the tin out of the oven and gently press the creme egg halves into the mix, spacing them apart evenly. Put back in the oven for another 5-10 minutes.
• Leave to cool before removing the brownies from the tin and cutting into squares.