Bringing The Indian to the First Thanksgiving

Wow! SO politically incorrect, except I really am talking about Indian (spices) and this was my very first Thanksgiving to do the cooking.
There’s some irony in the fact that I had to move to England (i.e. the land pilgrims were escaping) to finally roast my first turkey.
I was a little apprehensive, especially when I woke [...]

Playing Tea Party with Grown-ups

As soon as we announced our move to London, the threats requests to stay with us poured in immediately.
I tended to ignore the ones who framed their request as “Oh wow, a FREE place to stay in London” (Not quite. Get a hotel, freeloaders) versus the ones who said, “Oh, how we will miss you [...]

It’s The Little Things That Make a Life More Bearable

With my entire family coming for the holidays, I’ve been kicking myself for leaving my favorite “family cookbooks” in the States– the ones sold to raise money for our parish or local hospital and have recipes titled “Aunt Susie’s Very Best Christmas Morning Casserole” or simply “Party Potatoes”.
These cookbooks contain only the tried and true. [...]

Aubergine?!

What would you call this?

Our friends and family reading this from across the ocean would call it an eggplant. Certain ones would  simply call it “ewww”…
(You know who you are?)
However, if you are one of my loyal British readers… or my TWO-YEAR OLD SON… it’s an aubergine. [pronounced: oh-ber-jeen]
Aubergine?!
Yes, the child who only six months [...]

Blogging Under The Influence

Last night, I ran a brush through my hair, put on eyeliner and a shirt WITHOUT peanut butter stains, and headed into the city to attend my very first London Bloggers Meetup…
I was nervous about going, especially as I looked over the profiles of the other attendees…
Strategic Online… Director of Internet… PR Guru… Techie [...]

Actual Size

I’ve never been great about judging exact weights and measures.
For instance, I couldn’t really tell you if my “glass” wine is the recommended 3.5 oz or more like the whole bottle…
Similarly, if I were to do my weekly grocery hoarding online and purchase something like… say, a 100g bag of tortilla chips, I wouldn’t know [...]

Mexican Food: Instructions Not Included

Forty-one days since my last (real) Tex-Mex and it suddenly hit…
A CRAVING!
Earlier in the week, we grabbed dinner at a place proudly serving fajitas. We noticed that on a humongous blackboard by the bar someone had  carefully detailed step-by-step instructions on how to eat fajitas.
When a couple nearby ordered them, they came out on a [...]

For the love of Pancakes!

Overhead from three teenage boys (15-ish, maybe 16) while riding the Underground’s Central Line. (Feel free to supply your own British accents.)
“The pancakes in America are AMAZING! They’re so fluffy and round.”
“…and they give you so many! You can get STACKS of them. Big ones and they’re SO GOOD.”
“I would go back to America [...]

E-Produce and Just About Anything Else I Want…

This past weekend when I whined about… er, mentioned having to do my grocery shopping. I will now admit that I was being a bit over-dramatic.
I DID have to buy in groceries, but I actually took care of it from the warmth and comfort of my cozy sofa… ONLINE!!!!
(And the clouds part and angels from [...]

Over the Pond and Under the Sea

We don’t normally plan our weekends around a specific theme, but if we did, this past one would have something to do with fish and water.
Certainly, something clever that’s just not coming to me at the moment…
The weekend was mostly rainy and gray. Because of it, we got a late start and our Saturday [...]