Kale with Apple and Onion, and Lime Butternut Squash

For the past two days at work they've been providing us with free pizza and french fries.  While every now and then I love pizza, this isn't my usual choice of food, and having it for two days running definitely made me crave a few good veggies.  I got home early tonight and whipped these two dishes up for dinner.

Lime Butternut Squash
Ingredients

• 1 small butternut squash, a little over a pound
• 1 tablespoon olive oil
• 1 tablespoon butter
• 2 teaspoons lime juice

Preheat the oven to 400 F.  Peel the squash, cut length wise and scoop out the seeds, then slice across to form 1/2 inch thick pieces.  Throw into a roasting pan.

Add in one tablespoon olive oil, one tablespoon of butter, and two teaspoons of lime juice.  Pop into the oven for about 40 minutes, stirring half way through.

Meanwhile, there's plenty of time for cooking something else, in my case Kale with Apple and Onion.

Ingredients

• 1/2 pound of kale tough stems removed
• one small white onion 
• two cooking apples
• 1/2 teaspoon Garam Masala 
• 1 tablespoon olive oil
• 1/4 cup water

Chop your onion into 1/4 inch wedges, and saute in a medium sized pot with 1 tablespoon of olive oil over medium high heat until the onion is golden brown.  Add your apples, chopped into wedges, as well as the garam masala to the onions.  Cook until the apples are tender and then add your kale.  To this add 1/4 cup of water and simmer until kale is tender.

Here are the two dishes side by side.  A healthy menage of sweet and tart flavors.

The butternut squash got nice and crispy on the outside, while the inside stayed soft and the lime added a bit of bite.  The kale dish also played on the same flavors because of the sweetness from the onions and tart of the apples.  Both dishes are healthy and tasty, though Nick found the kale a bit chewy.  I think this is a good meal to whip up when you need something easy and healthy.

What Thanksgiving is Like in England

The truth is most people in England have no idea today is Thanksgiving, unless of course they're Americans living here.  So today everyone carried on like it was any other day.  Nick and I looked into going out to eat, as a few restaurants cater to us Americans and are serving Thanksgiving feasts, but unfortunately most offers seemed like a lot of money for a lot of Turkey, and not much else.  Obviously, I wouldn't want to pay for dead turkey, as the slaughter of so many birds is really not one of the things I feel thankful for today.  Sorry had to throw that in there.

I got up for work today at 6:30, and after a chaotic day I got home around 7.  Though my thoughts were wandering to pumpkin pie and mashed potatoes all day long, and in an ambitious moment I actually spent £10 yesterday on canned pumpkin (Selfridges is the only place that stocks it - I'm thankful for that) I was too exhausted to go nuts on a Thanksgiving smorgasbord.  Thankfully, Nick premeditated my Thanksgiving laziness and bought some pumpkin stuffed ravioli on the way home.  He also made me mashed potatoes, which were slightly sweet, cheesy, and fabulous.

This was as far as our feast went in London...

But I am very thankful to have a great husband who makes me a pseudo thanksgiving meal!  It's not exactly the spread that I'm used to seeing on Thanksgiving, but I appreciated it nonetheless.  I hope everyone has a great Thanksgiving and has something to be thankful for today.

Romanesco : The Alien Vegetable

Well that's what everyone says anyways.  When you look up romanesco online everyone says its alien.  It does look pretty funny don't you think?  I've never seen or heard of it before, but we got it in our Riverford Organic Veggie Box on Friday.  That's the great thing about this box program - its full of surprises and it introduces me to things I'd never even think about buying.

Unfortunately with Romanesco, judging by the amount of recipes using it as an ingredient, lots of people are scared to try it.  However, it tastes much more familiar than it looks - like a cross between cauliflower and broccoli.  To be honest the taste is almost disappointing.  I wanted it to taste as spectacular as it looked.  No such luck though.  It does taste good, if your not setting insurmountable standards for this little green veggie.

I started off using a recipe from Jamie Oliver - but it was pretty bland so I won't bother posting it.  Here's my recipe all doctored up!

Pasta with Romanesco and Spicy Tomato Sauce  

Ingredients

• 200 grams pasta - I used conchiglie
• 1 head of Romanesco cut into florets 
• 2 cloves garlic finely sliced
• Handful of Parmesan cheese
• Extra Virgin Olive Oil
• 2 tablespoons tomato paste
• 1 good pinch of chili flakes

Boil your pasta according to instructions and set aside.  In a wok or large pan, on low heat, add enough E.V.O.O. (ha I'm so Rachel Ray!) to coat the bottom of your pan.  Add garlic and chili flakes.  When the garlic is tender add your romanesco and heat it for about 2 minutes.  

Add salt and pepper, a dash of water and two tablespoons of tomato paste to the pan.  When the alien veggie is nice and tender add the pasta and Parmesan and heat through.  

  

This is a pretty decent weeknight meal.  Quick and easy to make.  Nothing you'd write home about, but a good way to try out this new crazy vegetable.  

Thoughts on the NHS

I'm really not into politics, but since health care reform is a major issue in America right now, and since living here I've used the NHS (National Health Service) - I thought it would be interesting to explain my experiences and what the American healthcare system has the potential to turn into.

As many of you know, my less than graceful husband toppled over on a run a week before our wedding (around July 10th) and did a serious number on his ankle.  The next day he was recommended to an orthopedic ankle specialist by a family friend.  He was able to have X-rays taken and reviewed within an hour and the doctor determined his ankle wasn't broken.  She wanted to do an MRI because of the extreme bruising and swelling, but since we were leaving for England in a week, she said there was no point because there wasn't enough time to treat him.  She advised him to get an MRI when we returned to England.

When we got back to England I accompanied him to the GP and found it to be completely disgusting.  The waiting room was smelly, overcrowded, the walls were cracked and dirty, covered with falling down posters.  My favorite poster is the one that tells you not to abuse the staff... I'm pretty sure posters like these are only necessary if the staff is doing a pretty bad job.  We had to wait ages and there were no good magazines to read.  Highlights anyone?  The receptionist called Nick and we went upstairs to an equally not sterile looking room.  This was a bit weird because the doctor's office was actually in the room - like a desk with a computer and covered in papers, and there was one of those patient bed things in the corner with used paper lining, behind what looked like a hideous floral shower curtain.

The doctor asked Nick what the problem was, but didn't bother to look at his ankle, or the CDs with the X-rays the American doctor had given him.  He said he'd schedule him an MRI, which he got on Nov. 2nd.  This means it took about 3 months to get an MRI.  I'm clearly not a doctor, but it seems to me in the 3 months he's waited, if anything was wrong his ankle would have attempted to heal itself... so it's potentially healed itself improperly which could cause him a lot of problems in the future.

The MRI was sent to his doctor's office, who called our house and asked Nick to schedule an appointment with them.  This is an indication that something is wrong, since the NHS wouldn't bother telling him to come in if everything was OK.  However, when he called to schedule an appointment, he couldn't get one.  You can only call to make an appointment 48 hours in advance, and since its so crowded, he has been unable to schedule anything.  The verdict is still out as to when he'll actually get an appointment.

Meanwhile, I called the doctors office on Friday to make an appointment for my prescription to be reviewed on my day off, Monday.   They said they had no appointments available.  This is a problem because my prescription is about to run out.  Nick's mum said if I showed up when they open at 9 then they might be able to fit me in - I'd just have to wait around and hope for the best.  So I went at 9 and after standing in a long line I finally spoke to the receptionist explaining my situation.  I told her I was sorry I didn't have an appointment and that I'd called on Friday to make one, and she said, "I know.  This place is terrible!"  In the end she was somehow able to schedule me an appointment for 4:30 today.  So I get to spend my day off visiting the doctor for a routine check up not once, but twice!

Another anecdote Nick's mum shared with me is her friend got knee replacement surgery this week.  He was completely crippled because of his bad knee, and went to the NHS.  They said they couldn't do anything about it till February, so he opted to go with private healthcare.  This cost him £12,000.  I know American insurance policies can be pretty dodgy, but my understanding of it here is most people don't have health insurance because they rely on the NHS.  But what do you do when you need healthcare and can't get it because the government run system is poorly managed and inefficient?  You have to go to private practices and pay for your treatments completely out of pocket.  

I must admit the positive thing about the NHS is it's free.  There are no co-pays and my prescription which cost me $45 a month in America is totally free here - though I think sometimes a small fee (£6 or so) must be paid for some medications.

While I completely understand the need for healthcare reform in America, I sincerely hope I never see American healthcare turning into a mirror image of the NHS.  Personally, I think the main problem with the NHS is it creates no incentives for doctors to run their practices well.  You're stuck with the doctor you have whether you like it or not - so you have no ability to bring your business elsewhere if you're not happy with their services.  They'll get paid via your tax dollars either way.  Also, because England is such a friendly nation, and will let anyone immigrate here, myself included, the systems set up cannot cope with the vast numbers of people.  I've also noticed that in England, if you say you have any small ailments (stomach ache, head ache, common cold) people will tell you to "Go to the doctor."  I think this is because it is free, so why not.  But when everyone shows up for silly things like stomach aches - it's no wonder the system is over run.

America has great, innovative doctors who have incentives to pioneer new treatments and procedures.  I think government healthcare does not challenge doctors to perform at their best.  Most Americans I've spoken to about our healthcare system say they'd like to see the equivalent of the NHS in the US, but is this really what you want to see in America?

My First Week of Work in England

I haven't posted much on here recently because I've been really busy working at my new job.  It's actually a lot cooler than I thought it would be.  The restaurant is in a brand new hotel, and they are trying to go for a cool, sexy, glamorous sort of vibe.  They're hoping to get all sorts of fancy people and we might even have paparazzi out front ready to take photos of all the famous celebs as they walk out the door.  I'm not sure if thats more of a fantasy or is actually likely to happen but we'll see.  I guess the owner is friends with some of the football (soccer) teams out here so we'll probably see some footballers, of course I wouldn't know any of them... unless it was Beckham but he's American now isn't he?

This week has been intense training.  The first couple days were a bit boring as they made us do all sorts of icebreakers, which I've never been a fan of, and they talked a lot about company policies, health and safety, communication, etc etc.

However, as the week progressed we've been doing training on lots of different drinks.  First off, we did vodka tasting.  We tasted about five different types of vodka - which sounded fun, but swirling vodka around my mouth at 9 am isn't really the way I prefer to start my day.  I was generally perplexed as people described the flavor of different vodkas, saying they tasted of vanilla, or citrus.  I felt like they all tasted and smelled like variations of nail polish remover in fancy bottles.  And seriously who swishes straight vodka around their mouth to enjoy the taste?  I'm a fan of knocking 'em back - quick and dirty style.  However, I did learn that my favorite vodka we tasted was Belvedere.  We did similar tastings with rum, bourbon, and whiskey.

In the afternoon, we had a tea expert come in and teach us all about teas.  I really enjoyed this part.  The restaurant apparently has one of the best tea lists in London, and they're serving the tea in the cutest little tea pots ever.  They're completely clear glass, and they're only big enough for one cup of tea.  There is a strainer in the spout so loose leaf teas float around the pot and looks really pretty.  One of the teas even blossoms into a flower when you add the hot water - how cool is that?  They taught me all about the different types and flavors of tea.

The following day we went to this coffee academy type of place to learn about coffee.  This Italian, Dolce and Gabana wearing woman who is a world expert on coffee taught us how to make the perfect cup on one of those fancy schmancy machines.

After that they sent us to a brewery.  We got really lost on the way, but when we managed to find it we got a lesson on beer and they gave us a tour of the factory.  It was really neat to see the brewery, even though I'm not a huge fan of beer.  After the tour we did a beer tasting, and I felt like they definitely converted me on the beer front.  The majority of beers I've consumed have come from kegs at college parties, so this may have a lot to do with my dislike of beers.  I learned a lot about the brewing process here and I really liked their raspberry beer.  We also tasted a chocolate beer, that I thought I would love, but surprisingly I really didn't like at all.  After the beer tasting, they gave us a coupon to go to a local pub and drink for free. So that was a fun night out.

On Saturday we went over service, which is mostly common knowledge, and in the afternoon we had a wine tasting.  I've done a wine tasting with my friend, Sarah, when she came to visit us in London, at Vinopolis, which was a lot of fun, but I didn't feel like I learned anything there.  This wine tasting was extensive and our teacher was great.  We tasted about 30 wines and are expected to be able to pair them with foods and describe them.  Since it was a Saturday night they told us to swallow, instead of being proper and spitting.  Needless to say by the end of it we were all pretty happily drunk.

Now I just have to memorize all of this information.  There's a lot to learn but its interesting at least.  We'll be opening in a week so I need to look like I know what I'm talking about by then.  Overall, I think that this will be a fun place to work for awhile and I'm excited for the opening.  I wish I could put up pictures of everything, but I didn't really want my employer to know about my blog, so I didn't take any.  That's also the reason I haven't included more detailed information about the companies I visited for training or the name of the restaurant.  I was really impressed by a lot of them so if you're interested let me know and I'll tell you secretly!

Dark Chocolate Cupcakes with Raspberry Mousse and Chocolate Ganache

WARNING - If you are on a diet, or even thinking about going on a diet you should not read this post.  The following recipe is calorie laden and may contribute multiple inches to your thighs and gut area.  If you suffer from poor will power, turn back now before this becomes a problem.

OK, glad I cleared that up.  Today is Nick's birthday!  He is at the ripe old age of 27.  Even though we are married this is actually the first birthday I have ever spent with him.  So needless to say I pulled out all the stops. No corners were cut, and calories were left to enrich the cupcakes in full force.  I used whole milk, cream and butter.  Nick requested something chocolately and fruity, and I found a fabulous looking recipe for Chocolate Raspberry Cupcakes - there's even a video showing how to make them.  I followed the recipe pretty much exactly, except they used jumbo sized cupcake tins, and we only had regular sized ones.  Also, it took me a lot longer than the 9 minutes the woman in the video took to whip them up.  While these cupcakes look intimidating, they actually weren't difficult at all - just a bit time consuming.  Give yourself a good 3 hours if you plan on making them.


Ingredients


Cupcake Batter


Dry Ingredients

• 1 3/4 cups flour
• 1 1/2 cups sugar
• 1/2 tsp baking powder
• 1/2 tsp baking soda
• 1/4 tsp salt
• 1 cup cocoa powder
• 8 oz (2 sticks butter) room temperature

Wet Ingredients

• 4 large eggs
• 6 oz whole milk
• 2 oz corn syrup (aka golden syrup in England)
• 1 tbsp vanilla

Chocolate Ganache

• 6 oz semisweet chocolate
• 6 oz heavy cream

Raspberry Mousse

• 1 cup raspberry jam (note: The recipe suggests you can make jam from scratch, but because the last time I attempted to make jam I completely failed and ended up with blistered fingers, I opted to just buy jam.  I used Bonne Maman Raspberry Jam and it worked like a charm)
• 12 oz cold heavy cream

Garnishes

• Fresh raspberries
• powdered sugar

How to Make Cupcakes:

Preheat the oven to 350 F or 180 C.

Start off by sifting 1 3/4 cup flour, 1 1/2 cup sugar, 1/2 tsp baking powder, 1/2 tsp baking soda, 1/4 tsp salt, 1 cup cocoa powder, into a large mixing bowl.

In another bowl, whisk together 4 large eggs, 6 oz whole milk, 2 oz corn syrup, and 1 tbsp vanilla.

In the bowl of dry ingredients, add 2 sticks of butter, and 1/2 the wet ingredients.  With an electric mixer, beat  ingredients slowly and increase to medium, beating for four minutes.  Next add 1/2 of the remaining wet ingredients, and beat on medium for two minutes.  Then add the last of the wet ingredients, beating for an additional 2 minutes.

Line your cupcake pan with paper liners (these really help to hold it together in the end) and fill with batter.  Bake for 25-30 minutes, ours took exactly 27.

Meanwhile, while your cupcakes are baking, make your raspberry mousse.  In a cold bowl (apparently this helps, I don't know why but I stuck mine in the freezer for a little bit) pour 12 oz heavy cream and beat into whipped cream.  Fold in one cup of raspberry jam.  Be careful not to over mix.

To make the chocolate ganache, boil water in a pot, and place a bowl on top of pot, being sure the water doesn't touch the bottom of the bowl.  Add 6 oz heavy cream and 6 oz semisweet chocolate to the bowl, and heat for 5-10 minutes, stirring to mix it all together.

At this point, your cupcakes will probably be done.   Once they're cooled cut a circular opening into the cupcake - I used a shot glass to make the hole, and then scooped it out with a teaspoon.

Next, add a heaping teaspoon of chocolate ganache into the opening.  Then add 2 raspberries (make sure you put the ugly ones on the inside) and a big spoonful of the raspberry mousse.  Place the caps back on top, drizzling with ganache, and placing a raspberry on top.  Sift a bit of powdered sugar on top to make it look pretty and you're done!

You know, I'm not one to brag, but these were seriously the best cupcakes I have ever tasted.  The raspberry filling is to die for, and provides a perfect tangy contrast to the bitter dark chocolate. Nick really liked them!

And so did his gorgeous colleagues, Jenny and Jenny!

Do yourself a favor and make these ASAP.  If you make them for someone, they'll love you forever, guaranteed.

Happy 27th Birthday Nick!  

Trois Bananes Jaunes

When I was 14 I went to France with my Aunt Suzy and her family.  In order to prepare me for my trip to France, my mom hired a french tutor.  She was a nice lady but I was being forced to learn french (aka study) over summer, which meant I really didn't try in these classes too much.  When I finally left for France surprisingly the only phrase I seemed to have picked up during these tutoring sessions was "trois banane jaunes" french for "three yellow bananas". In case you were wondering, I can't really think of a reason this phrase would ever be useful in France.  Unless entertaining your English-speaking French relatives with stories of your mother's failed attempts at providing you with a French education.  Money well spent mom!

However, if you have trois bananes jaunes lying around your house then you might want to make some banana bread with them.

Ingredients

• trois bananes jaunes
• 1/4 cup melted butter
• 1 cup sugar
• 1 1/2 cups flour
• 1/4 tsp salt
• 1 beaten egg
• 1 teaspoon baking soda
• 1/2 cup raisins
• 1/3 cup chopped nuts

Preheat the oven to 350 F or 180 C.  In a large bowl, mash your bananas, then add the rest of the ingredients and stir.  Put the dough in a greased loaf pan and pop it in the oven for 55 minutes until a toothpick comes out clean.

This banana bread is really easy to make, which is its strong suit.  It tasted good but for some reason it kept falling apart when I sliced it.  Oh well, Bon Appetit!

Yesterday I Got A Job

Yes it's true.  Kelly Leigh is currently employed.  On Thursday I was doing my usual applying to jobs that I felt I was qualified for and maybe could perhaps learn something from when on a whim and with a bit of desperation I thought, "maybe I should just apply for a waitressing job."  I was clearly having no luck with any jobs that were at all related to my degree.  So I went online and sent my resume to the first waitressing job I saw and continued writing cover letters for more science based jobs.  A few hours later, I get a call from a guy who says they'd like to interview me for the waitressing position the next day.  After I got over my initial shock (I was taken aback by the fact anyone actually wanted to interview me)  I agreed to meet them and went to my interview Friday morning.

I have to admit, I wasn't exactly pleased about getting the interview.  As the daughter of a caterer I've been asked countless times if I want to work in the food industry.  My answer has aways been "No."  The longer I worked and saw people who worked there for years the more strongly I was convinced this was not what I wanted to do with my life - I wanted to be on the other end.  I wanted to be catered for, not doing the catering.  I refer to my mom's staff over 35 as "lifers." Lifers have been, and most likely will be, in the restaurant business for life.  Most of them are unhappy in their job, and usually feel they're over qualified.  The reason people continue to work there is because they get stuck.  I never wanted to get stuck.

So when I went to my interview on Friday I didn't exactly go in with a strong desire to get the job.  I didn't try to answer questions correctly, but I did answer them honestly.  I didn't talk myself up at all.  I told them this wasn't a job I wanted to be doing, but I didn't mind doing it for the time being.  I even told them I'd be going home for awhile to visit my family.  The interview lasted an hour.

After it was over, I was on my way to the station and my cell phone started ringing.  They asked me to come back.  So I turned around and walked back.  Surprisingly, they offered me the job and a promotion.  I went in for a waitressing position, but they want me as a floor manager.  So now I am employed as floor manager.

I'm unsure how I feel about this.  On one hand, I have a job, which means financially we are in a pretty good position and I'll be able to meet people and be mentally stimulated.  On the other hand, I feel I am in grave danger of becoming a lifer.  I'm also aware that I won't be able to see Nick as often because our hours are going to be completely different.  I guess the thing I find most irritating is that I've been working in the restaurant industry since grade school, and after graduating with a science degree with honors, the only place I am qualified to work is in a restaurant.  Thank you Loyola University Chicago for providing me with such a useful degree.

My Veggie Burger is Bleeding!!!!!

Ok its not really bleeding, but it is pink and juicy.  All things a burger should be, if it has meat in it.  But this, my friend, is a pink and juicy veggie burger that you can really sink your teeth into.  Behold, "Best-Ever Veggie Burgers from Northstar Cafe".  I made a few alterations, if only because I was having a difficult day in the kitchen - I was out of a few things, forgot a few things and I was pretty much burning everything.  Even so these turned out really good, though they were a bit time consuming.  I was worried they might be too sweet because of the beets, but they weren't.  They were just plain delicious.

Ingredients

• 1/2 cup basmati rice
• 1 white onion, diced small
• 1 pound of beets, diced small
• 2 tablespoons cider vinegar
• 1 can black beans, mashed with a fork
• juice from half a lemon
• 1 tablespoon extra virgin olive oil
• 2 tbsp fresh parsley, minced
• 2 tbsp fresh mint, minced
• 1 tsp ground coriander
• 1/2 tsp thyme
• 2 tbsp all purpose flour
• salt and pepper to taste

Start by dicing your onions and beets.  Maybe I'm not that good with a knife but dicing beets was a pain - just so you know.  Next add a bit of olive oil to a pot over medium heat, and throw in your onions, cooking them until they're soft.  Add your beets to this pot, covering it and cooking it until tender.  While this is happening throw your rice in a pot and boil it.  Basmati rice only takes 12 minutes so that's easy.  The beets take awhile to get tender - make sure you stir it every so often so they don't burn.  I got lazy and burnt mine a bit.  The recipe calls for 3-4 cloves of garlic at this point, however, I forgot to add garlic.  Silly me.  Then Deglaze your pan with 2 tbsp cider vinegar.

Combine your mashed beans, rice, and beets in a large bowl.  Add juice from half a lemon, 1 tbsp olive oil, 2 tbsp parsley, 2 tbsp mint, 1 tsp coriander, 1/2 tsp thyme, 2 tbsp flour, and salt and pepper to taste.  (Note : I forgot to add flour at first, and they totally fell apart when I tried to cook them!)

Next heat a skillet over high heat, and add enough olive oil to coat the bottom of the pan.  Form the mixture into small patties and place in pan.

It'll take about two minutes on each side.  After you flip it you may want to add some cheese so it'll get all gooey and melty.

Put it between two slices of bread, or preferably a bun if you have one.

Be ready for a veggie burger taste explosion in your mouth because this is not your average meat substitute.

Stitch 'n' Bitch London Part 2 : The Stitching Bit

Tonight I went to my first Stitch and Bitch London meeting in the Royal Festival Hall.  I found a large group of knitters in the lobby and promptly sat down next to a few girls.  I asked one girl if she knew how to knit and if she would teach me.  She looked confused, but agreed to do so.  I later found out that this was her first time at stitch and bitch, although she had been knitting since she was seven.  After awhile I noticed that there was a group of "learners" sitting directly behind me being taught by what seemed to be someone who was a regular.  Oops. Leave it to me to force randos to teach me how to knit. Oh well.  My teacher for the evening was a very friendly and nice girl who was knitting gloves into an anime character for her friends birthday present this weekend.  I feel this speaks wonders to the type of girl she is.  Because of the configuration of the chairs I ended up mostly speaking to her, and another woman, who seemed to be a couple years older than me and much more professional looking.  The other woman was working on a baby sweater, maybe, she wasn't really sure yet what it was going to turn into.

After I'd started to get the hang of this knitting thing and they could stop instructing me, their conversation turned quickly to their love of all things knitted - no passion for all things knitted.  I've never really known any hardcore knitters before but I was really surprised by how enthusiastic they were about yarn, needles, knitting patterns, and the stress relief that comes from mindless knitting.  Um... I don't mean to be rude but I thought we were supposed to be bitching?  I don't know much about knitting related things so I must admit I found it difficult to chime in during parts of the conversation.  Though this was probably for the better because it allowed me to focus on my pretty mangled looking beginnings of a scarf.

Overall the girls were very encouraging and helpful.  As I looked around, I saw a wide range of women from all ages and all walks of life.  Surprisingly, I also saw quite a few men.  Unsurprisingly, they weren't exactly manly men if you know what I mean.  One older man, wearing cut off jean shorts far shorter than anything I own, and a senior citizen by his own admission (he's been enjoying free rides on the tube because of it) spoke to us briefly about his love of the knit.   Also, I was very impressed by one mature bird's (this is my new phrase for all women over 50) black and hot pink sweater she was knitting.  It had all sorts of patterns on it and her fingers moved so quickly just whipping it together like it was nothing.  I definitely enjoyed the characters here and everyone seemed to be genuinely interested in helping eachother with their knitted goods.

While Stitch and Bitch was a comfortable and friendly atmosphere, I'm just not sure I share such a passion for knitting, and admittedly I found it a bit boring at times.  Perhaps this is just because it was my first time, and maybe I need to give it a few more chances before I really get into it.  At the very least I am pleased with myself for taking proactive steps towards establishing my own social circle here, because lets face it - moving to a new city is tough, and showing up somewhere with no familiar faces takes some courage, for me anyways.  Anyways, I hope to get a purple scarf out of the whole ordeal.

Make Your Own Hummus

Most people I know love hummus.  In fact, it was even featured on Stuff White People Like, because apparently all white people like hummus.  I, for one, am a white person who loves hummus. Go figure.  I also know that most people do not make their own hummus, they buy it already made in the grocery store.  I seriously don't know why everyone does this because making your own hummus is so easy and a lot more economical.  I make hummus all the time and I haven't posted it before because hummus recipes are a dime a dozen and mine isn't original at all.  But I thought maybe people who are out there wasting their hard earned money on hummus never thought to look up the recipe for it so maybe by posting this I will inspire them to go ahead and make it themselves.  So here is my hummus recipe for all you hummus lovers out there.

Ingredients

• Juice of 1 lemon (I like it really lemony, but you may want to use a bit less if your not such a citrus fan)
• 1 can of chick peas aka garbanzo beans
• 1 1/2 tbsp tahini
• 2 cloves garlic (pressed)
• 1/2 tsp salt
• 2 tbsp olive oil (plus extra for garnish if you're so inclined)
• A pinch of paprika (optional)
• 3 tbsp water 

All you have to do is throw everything into a food processor and hit the go button until its the right consistency.  I'd say that looks about right.  If you like it thicker, add less water.  If its too thick, add more water.  Simple.

Scoop it out and put it in a bowl.  Sprinkle with extra paprika and a bit of olive oil, for presentation of course!

Wasn't that easy?  Serve it with some warm pita bread, or if you're feeling super healthy opt for carrots.  Delicious!  

Stitch 'n' Bitch London Part 1 - Mostly Bitching

You may have noticed on my List of Things to Do that go to a Stitch 'n' Bitch night is number 7.  If you haven't heard of Stitch and Bitch, basically they are knitting groups, at which you can do your fair share of bitching, while you're stitching.  Stitch and Bitch London holds these meetings at various cool locations throughout central London, and they teach you how to knit for free!  How cool is that?  Well, if you ask me thats super cool because most things in London are EXPENSIVE.  And since I am in need of meeting people and making new friends I thought this would be great and they must be friendly people if they're willing to share their mad knitting skills with low lifes like me for no moolah.  All I have to do is show up with knitting needles and yarn.

I try to create mini adventures to keep myself entertained around here.  Nick is in the Holy Land doing business (not with God though) so that means I'm extra bored.  So today I went to Loop, a shop for all things knitting.  This place isn't even remotely close to where we live but it looked cute and it was a good excuse to go to a new part of London.

So I take the tube to the Angel stop on the Northern Line and I head off on my way.  I'm supposed to walk North towards this one street.  Ok sounds easy enough, except the street is DIRECTLY across from the station.  How I'm supposed to walk towards it, unless I'm crossing the street which clearly isn't what google intended, is beyond me.  So I willy nilly pick a direction and start walking.  Google says its supposed to be a 16 minute walk.  I walk for awhile and I feel like I am not going in the right direction because the street seems way more windy then it looks on the map.  However, London doesn't believe in well placed street signs.  They may or may not be posted at the corners.  Also they're not like street signs like in America, they're posted on the sides of buildings making them much more difficult to spot.  So I kept walking until I actually found a street sign and learned I wasn't even on the street I was supposed to be on and I was supposed to be walking in a straight line.  Good one.

Can I just say I want a fancy shmancy phone with GPS?  My darling husband (who has lived in London his entire life I might add) uses one all the time, and he gave me his piece of crap really old nokia which is useless for people like me who have no sense of direction.

Anyways.... I turned around and hiked for a half an hour in the other direction and finally found the shop.

It was cute, as expected, and the shop keeper was a friendly Canadian who married an English guy too.  She said she's been here for 20 years, I assumed she liked it, but she said she didn't and warned me not to have babies or else I'd be stuck here too.  Thankfully, that is most definitely not on the agenda and I will continue with my prega-phobia.

Anyways she told me to pick out some yarn, and then she got the appropriate needles for the yarn.  Apparently the yarn you use corresponds to your needles - who knew?   She gave me rainbow colored ones.    Do you like my purple yarn?

I'll be attending my first stitch and bitch session tomorrow night at the Royal Festival Hall and I'll let you all know how the stitching goes, as I'm sure you've noticed the bitching part will not be a problem.

Bedside Table : Shabby to Chic

I've been doing this thing lately where I find things to do that need to be done, except they don't need to be done as badly as the things I'm avoiding doing. Mostly I'm avoiding painting jobs. We really need to paint our newly refinished conservatory and our guest bedroom needs a bit of a paint job so all you people fancying a trip to London will have a nice place to stay. However, I've said in the past that Nick despises painting, and I currently don't have enough motivation to do two rooms on my own. So for now I'll just continue with my silly, but pleasing little jobs.

My project this weekend : turn our bedside table from shabby to chic. This is the bedside table I had to work with.... A cheap thing Nick thinks he bought at B&Q, for about £10-£15. In his favor it is real wood. This is great because it means I can paint and repaint it without much problem, if it was some Ikea junk then I wouldn't have that option. Not that I'm totally sipping hatorade on Ikea, my entire college bedroom was furnished by them, I just like things that you can change.

Since the wood was unfinished I didn't have to strip it, and I was too lazy to sand it. So I just took the drawers out and attacked it with Dark Oak Satin Varnish we got at Wickes for £7.33 - not bad.

I'm not an expert at furniture refinishing, but I do read directions. It said for the first coat to dilute the varnish with 10% water. So thats what I did. Then I did two more coats of just varnish. I learned that following the grain of the wood is important, because when I was lazy and didn't it looked bad, plus it says this on the directions. Other than that it was so easy. And here is the finished product:

Is it just me or does that lamp seriously remind you of the lamp from the brave little toaster? I think its really ugly but I can't throw away lampy...

Anyways I think it looks more expensive now... for some reason dark wood = expensive to me.

I even painted the inside. I wasn't going to, but then I thought I was being super lazy so I did in the end. I'm not sure if this means I'm not lazy or I'm just OCD. What do you think?

Vegetarian 3-Way

Cincinnati Chili is an institution in the Queen City.  Most of us Cincinnatians grow up on this stuff.  Even my family of food snobs appreciates a coney or a 3 way (or both) from Skyline.  Cincinnatians like an occasion to gorge ourselves on this stuff, especially after sporting events.  It was always great fun to get some Skyline after a summer swim meet.  (Note: I refer to Cincinnati Chili as Skyline because that's the chain I'll go to bat for, many an argument has occured in the Nati due to allegiance to various chili restaurants) 

You may be wondering, however, how my vegetarian self can eat this bowl of ground beef atop spagetti?  Well first of all I have a confession.  I tell people I went vegetarian in the 3rd grade.  This is mostly true.  I continued to indulge in Skyline for about 2 years till 5th grade when my morals got the best of me.  Whew!  Glad that's off my chest!  I will have you know that skyline does do a black bean chili which is vegetarian.  It's good, but its not as good as the real deal.

I ate black bean chili for years, feeling disappointed that it just wasn't totally up to par.  Until one fateful day when I was driving my friends back to school in Chicago from Cincinnati.  Liza's family had given her bags full of Cincinnati chili related products.... and she forgot them in the back of my car.  I meant to give them back to her, but we were both really busy, honestly, and they sat in my car for a long, long time.  And then one day it dawned on me - I could use vegetarian ground beef with the skyline chili packets and make it vegetarian!  So I stole Liza's Cincinnati Chili packets and went to work in the kitchen - and wouldn't you know it - this vegetarian chili is totally up to par with Skyline!  My meat eating taste testers claim they actually can't tell the difference.

Since I'm not as fancy as other bloggers, who come up with their own concoctions of ingredients for Cincinnati Chili I just make my mom send me packets of Cincinnati Recipe Chili mix.  If you don't have a native Cincinnatian willing to send you these then you can also get them on Amazon, here.

When I make this at home I use half a packet.

Put this in a pot with 3 oz of tomato paste.

Then add 3 cups of water to the pot, give it a good stir and turn the heat all the way up.  Add your "ground beef" - In America I was a big fan of Boca's veggie ground beef, but in England we use Quorn mince.  We use the whole 300g package.

Bring your chili to a boil and then turn the heat down and let it simmer until its at the right consistency.  This can be a bit of a personal preference.  I think it perfect when the water's boiled down to just above the top of the chili, but thats just me.  Nick likes it dryer.  Either way it'll take about 45 minutes.

When your chili is almost done throw some spaghetti in a pot.  We use whole wheat so we can pretend we're eating healthy.  Grate some mild cheddar cheese.  A (large) handful per 3 way is best.

Then to assemble, place spaghetti on the bottom, then chili, then cheese.

This makes enough for three 3-ways.  Serve with Tobasco and enjoy your meat free skyline!  Trick the meat-lovers and whip this up during a Who Dey game and see if anyone notices its veggie.  Chances are they won't!

Cincinnati

Please read this post in tune with Joni Mitchell's "California"

Sitting in a park in London, England
Lookin' around and it sure looks bad
They don't do interpretive dance
That was just a dream some of us had
Still a lot of lands to see
But I wouldn't want to stay here
It's too old and cold and settled in it's ways here
Oh, but Cincinnati
Cincinnati I'm coming home
I'm going to see the folks I dig
I'll even kiss a flying pig
Cincinnati I'm coming home



I met party animals in the South of Oz....

Who did the shark shuffle very well

They gave me back my smile
But left me with a cow-milking smell
Oh the Toole, Tom O'Toole
He baked good pies and cakes
And I might have stayed on with S2C there
But my heart cried out for you, Cincinnati
Oh Cincinnati I'm coming home
Oh make me feel good Queen City land
I'm your biggest fan
Cincinnati, I'm coming home

CHORUS:

Oh it gets so lonely
When you're walking
And the streets are full of strangers
All the news of home you read
Just gives you the blues
Just gives you the blues

So I bought me a ticket
I caught a plane to Namibia
Went to a party down a red dirt road
There were lots of pretty people there

They're saving cheetahs, collecting poo
They said, "How long can you hang around?"
I said "a month, maybe two,
Just until my dyke spike grows out..
Then I'm going home to Cincinnati"
Cincinnati I'm coming home
Oh will you take me as I am
Even if I don't eat ham? 
Cincinnati I'm coming home

CHORUS:

Oh it gets so lonely
When you're walking
And the streets are full of strangers
All the news of home you read
More about the war
And the bloody changes
Oh will you take me as l am?
Will you take me as l am?
Will you?

We're coming home Dec 14th - 29th.  Hope to see everyone then!

Things I Want to Do Before I Leave London

I decided to start a list of things I wanted to do before we left London.  We don't have plans to leave London, but I had one of these lists going senior year at Loyola, and I never completed anything.  

My top two activities on that list were...

1. Get wasted at Hamiltons (the bar near campus.  I never had a single drink there - but I did have a quesadilla one night)  
2. Go to a cubs game

It seems those things would be so easy to do.  I don't know why I never did them.  Lame.

So here's my London list.  I've included things I've already done mostly just because it makes me feel better about myself to have things crossed out on my To Do lists.  Please note this is a work in progress and will probably change as things get added so anyone who has been here and has suggestions of things I really need to do then I may add them if I actually like them and want to do them.  Oh and they're in no particular order. 

Things I want To Do Before I Leave London 

1. Get a puppy and give it a very English name (like Harry or Charles, but I'd call it Charlie) - oh and I want it to be an English puppy - like an English Setter, or Pointer, or Bulldog.  
2. Take a trip to Paris with Nick
3. Visit relatives in France (may or may not be in conjunction with trip to Paris)
4. Go to a comedy show
5. Go to a night club and rage
6. Go on a boat tour down the Thames
7. Go to a Stich 'n' Bitch night
8. Go to Ireland
9. Go to Scotland and catch Nessi (OK we didn't catch Nessi, but we did go to Inverness)
10. Go to Stonehenge (Does anyone know if this is as boring as it looks?  I feel like I should go... but it looks so boring)
11. Go to Bath
12. Buy something antique at Portobello Road Market
13. Get a job 
14. Visit London Zoo
15. Visit Museums
1. Victoria and Albert
2. Natural History Museum
3. National Gallery
4. National Portrait Gallery (My personal favorite)
5. Tower of London (Crown Jewel's are here - her majesty is so BLING)
16. Take Aerial Level 1 Circus Arts classes at Circus Space
17. Finish fixing up the house
18. See Big Ben and Parliament
19. Take Pictures of the Guards
20. Visit Borough Market
21. Ride the London Eye
22. Go to a Musical
1. We Will Rock You
2. Billy Elliot
3. Little Shop of Horrors
4. The Lion King
5. Lord of the Rings (Most boring musical ever DO NOT SEE THIS)
6. Thriller
23. See a major concert at the O2 
24. Go shopping at Harrods and Selfridges

In the Mood for Pizza?

Sometimes you just want a pizza.  Everyone likes pizza, and everyone also has their own opinions about it.  Besides the thin crust versus thick crust debate, you can probably debate on hundreds of other issues.  Meat lovers or veggies?  White sauce, red sauce, pesto sauce - hell I've even heard a case for no sauce!  I do have a soft spot in my heart for no-frills, cheap, Papa John's cheese pizza - but last night I was in the mood for something a bit fancier and perhaps not quite so bad for you.

I made my own pizza dough from Martha Stewart's recipe from Everyday Food.  I don't actually own this book but I found it online here.  I'd like to know if this is legal?  Publishing peoples recipes for all to see on the internet without paying for them... Maybe this will be the next of the big internet copyright issues... like Napster for foodies.  Anyways until I hear otherwise this is what I did....

How to Make Martha's whole wheat pizza crust:
In a large bowl, combine 1.5 cups warm water with 2 packets of yeast.  Let it stand for about 5 minutes, then add 2 tablespoons sugar, 2 teaspoons salt, and 1/4 cup of olive oil - whisking it together.  Then slowly add 2 cups of whole wheat flour, and 2 cups All-purpose flour.  Wow you just made dough!  But its not ready yet - let it sit for an hour.  The recipe suggests transferring your dough to a bowl greased with olive oil, and then greasing the top of your dough as well - I did follow this step but I have a feeling it just created an extra dish to wash.

After your dough has doubled in size knead it on a well floured surface for a minute until smooth.  I then used a rolling pin and rolled it to fit a baking sheet.

Then you get to the fun part - putting on your fave toppings!  We made a half and half pizza.  On the first half we put some store bought pesto, sliced tomatoes, and fresh mozzarella.   Then on the second half we put tomato paste (I know totally generic - should've made my own sauce), shredded cheddar and mushrooms.

Then we baked it at 400 F or 200 C, for approximately 13 minutes.  And we got this...

Yum.  The dough was pretty thick so if you fight for the thin crust team then you could obviously just use two baking sheets and roll it out to your desired thickness (and cut baking time down a bit).  Making your own pizza is easy and fun and best of all you can make it exactly the way you want it.  What's not to love?

Spiced Pumpkin, Lentil, and Goat Cheese Salad

This is one amazing salad.  It has everything going for it.  It tastes fantastic, and its not only healthy, but hearty enough for a fall meal as well.  This recipe is from Bon Appetit October 2009, and you can find it here, on epicurious. The recipe claims to serve 6, but this is if you're having it as a starter or side salad. It only served two of us as a main course for dinner, granted we did go back for seconds.  I think it would make a perfect fall lunch as well.  Here is the recipe with the slight variations I made...

Ingredients

• 3/4 cup green lentils
• 6 cups of pumpkin cut into one inch chunks from one two pound whole pumpkin    
• 2 tablespoons olive oil
• 1 teaspoon ground cumin 
• 1 teaspoon hot paprika
• 1/2 teaspoon sea salt
• 1 package (about 4 cups) mixed greens
• 1 package of goat's cheese (100 grams)
• 1/4 cup sliced fresh mint leaves
• 1 tablespoon red wine vinegar.

Preheat oven to 375 F, or 190 C.

Place 3/4 cup green lentils in a bowl of cold water and let soak for 10 minutes.  Meanwhile, remove the seeds and guts from the pumpkin.

Then remove the skin and cut it into 1 inch pieces.  Place these in a roasting pan.  Pour two tablespoons of olive oil, 1 teaspoon cumin, 1 teaspoon hot paprika, and 1/2 a teaspoon sea salt over your pumpkin and toss until everything is evenly coated.

Place pumpkin in the oven and roast for half an hour, mixing about half way through.  At the same time, boil your lentils for 30 minutes.  After 30 minutes is up, drain your lentils and place them in a large bowl with your freshly roasted pumpkin.  Add mixed greens, goats cheese, 1/4 cup of mint, and one tablespoon red wine vinegar.  Toss it all together and you'll have a great fall salad.

This salad is really good.  I enjoyed the contrasts in this dish.  For texture, you have crunchy greens, against soft pumpkin, and lentils.  Then for taste you have the sweet pumpkin flavor with a hint of spice versus the earthy taste of lentils, the salt of the goats cheese, and a bit of sourness from the vinegar.  My picture doesn't do it much justice, but visually it is appealing as well, as the purples, oranges, and greens make a very pretty dish.