Sunday, October 31, 2010

Happy Halloween!



Now that I am officially going to be staying in the UK indefinitely, there are two American holidays I am making an effort to keep in the UK. Halloween and Thanksgiving. So in the spirit of Halloween, I carved my pumpkin, roasted the seeds and bought candy for any lucky little fellow that should knock on my door. And I've been rewarded with two tricky treaters of my very own. And Martin said no one would come by! Once we move out into the country and have our own children to torture(these kids had a look on their faces like they were being forced by their American parents to participate and were dying from embarrassment)I aim to have Halloween parties similar to those hosted by my sister that are always a day filled with fun and laughter. Hopefully we'll have enough land to have our own pumpkin patch from which people can choose the winning jack o lantern and a day enjoyed by children and adults alike. I can't wait!



One of the many benefits of living in the UK is watching the seasons change, and autumn is definitely upon us. All the trees have turned beautiful shades of red, yellow and orange, and for about a week, you are treated to sidewalks and fields filled with the falling leaves. They literally fall from the sky like large pieces of snow. I know this happens in America as well, but not once did it happen in San Francisco. It is really rather special and is a nice way to enter the cold and dark nights.



And in other news one of our chickens has been very naughty! We have two very cute door mouses (I don't like the connotation that comes with the word mice) who run around in our garden. I know the word mouse is synonymous with disease and the ick factor, but seriously, they are really cute. Think Stewart Little. Anyway, one of the poor mouses fell victim to our ginger chicken! Martin went to put them in the coop for the night and was horrified to see the back end of the mouse in the chickens mouth! A chase ensued with Martin chasing the ginger chicken and the black chicken chasing Martin. Needless to say our little friend didn't make it, and we are now a little concerned about what kind of chicken we've got running around back there! I wonder what else she has been eating?!

Made scones today for the first time. They didn't look great but they tasted great! Just need to get a proper pastry cutter and master the skill of applying the egg to the top and I will have a tasty and good looking treat on my hands. Nothing like a cream tea on a cold Autumn day.

Thursday, October 21, 2010

Bread and Butter Pudding



Bread and Butter pudding is a traditional English dessert that I had never ever heard of before moving here. It is Martin's dads birthday tomorrow and he requested I make him one and here it is. It looks burned but it isn't. It is just the marmalade cooked on top. In real life it looks really good. I used Jamie Oliver's recipe which isn't a very traditional version but Martin thought his dad would like it. A traditional recipe would be a cinnamon and eggy batter poured over stale bread and baked in the oven. After you take it out and let it set a little while then you serve with cream or ice cream. My favourite version is made with chocolate. This recipe took EIGHT egg yolks-lucky my ladies are good layers!-so I used the left over egg whites to make some meringues, which are cooking nicely in the oven as we speak. I will let you know how they turn out. Pretty good I should imagine with some fresh English berries :-)

Monday, October 11, 2010

Royal Park Half Marathon




Ran the Royal Parks Half Marathon yesterday. It was great! Sometimes during the race it didn't feel so great but I am always so proud of myself after I cross the finish line that the pain I suffered during the race seems well worth it. The pain I am experiencing now seems less worth it. I don't understand how I can basically run the same distance on the weekends but be so sore after a race! I did it with a friend-Martin's best man's wife actually-and she did a great job as well. We decided not to run together but it was great to know she was out there. My plan is to keep up the running, but perhaps limit long runs to 8 miles. Anything more just seems overly excessive. The eight mile route by my house is lovely and it is a wonderful way to spend some time outside. That I can manage.

Saturday, October 09, 2010

More Plenty



Another successful recipe from Plenty, or in my eyes at least. I still haven't sold Martin on tofu. I can get away with it in some dishes but I think he needs to be able to put lots of other things in his mouth along with the tofu to tolerate it. A dish just of tofu and rice didn't work. And this is a very spicey dish, also not popular with Martin. I however loved it and will make it again for sure. I love love love fried tofu and not ever knowing how to do it properly, this recipe showed me how. Yum!

Half marathon is tomorrow. I feel well prepared. Today is fun cause I just get to eat all day. Chocolate oats have been made and tasted and now I just need to relax unti tomorrow. Wish me luck!

We have cleaned up our veg boxes and the chicks once more have full range of the garden. Before they only had half of it, and probably the less interesting half. They seem very happy. Hopefully happy enough to lay throughout winter.