Getcha Movin' Smoothie!

SO, I've been gone for a long time! Went and had a baby about 18 months ago...and completely forgot I even wrote a blog once upon a time. The other day I was looking for a smoothie recipe for my son and I honestly gave up the search and just concocted my own. Some smoothie recipes ask for all of the fruit added to be frozen to make it thick but my little one has a tough time getting it through a straw when it's that thick so I water it down a bit.


One small handful of blueberries
One small handful of strawberries
1 TBS of ground flaxseed
1/4 avocado
4 TBS vanilla yogurt (organic preferably)
3 big chunks frozen mango
3 TBS apple juice

Blend and serve.

If your little one is like mine, he will drink the whole thing as part of a meal. Depending on how old/hungry your child is this could either be cut in half or thirds and the rest frozen for later. I tried one for myself and it really is delicious. Bonus: it has 10 grams of fiber in it and 6 grams of protein, along with a shot of vitamins C, B-6, Folate, E, Calcium, and Iron.  Can't beat that!

Well, it's been a while since I posted. Life has gotten so hectic working such long hours that experimenting in the kitchen had to wait a while. No matter! I'm back to tinkering. I made "Thumb print" Scones today and thought I would share. They are pretty delicious and only take about half an hour to whip up and bake so it's something easy to do also. I've been trying to find different scone recipes seeing as I am in the land of the scone. This reminded me of a danish with but filling just smaller so who could go wrong? Also, delicious for 3pm tea/coffee time! I highly recommend it!

* Just remember, this recipe uses self rising flour! The gluten in it will make the scones hard if you mix for too long so just remember to use as few turns as possible.

3 large lemons
2 cups self-rising flour
1/2 cup plus 2 TBS sugar
1 1/4 cups plus 2 TBS chilled heavy whipping cream
2 TBS cherry, raspberry, blueberry or strawberry preserves

Preheat oven to 425F and place oven rack in the center. Place parchment paper on a baking sheet (to fit). Finely grate enough peel from lemons to measure 6 teaspoons. Set grated peel aside. Squeeze enough juice from a lemon to measure 1 TBS. Whisk flour and 1/2 cup of sugar in bowl to blend. Add 1 1/4 cups chilled whipping cream. 1 TBS lemon juice, and 4 tsp. finely grated lemon peel; stir gently to combine. Gather together all the dough and put onto a lightly floured work surface. Kneed 4 or 5 turns! Pat or roll out dough to 1-inch-thick round. Cut out rounds with a 2 1/4 or 2 1/2 " biscuit cutter. Transfer scones to baking sheet and place 1" apart. With lightly floured thumb, press down on the center of each scone to make a deep well(you want it deep enough so that the preserves don't slide out when the dough rises while baking). Spoon about 1/2 tsp preserves into the well on the scone. Whisk remaining 2 TBS sugar, 2 TBS heavy whipping cream, and 2 tsp finely grated lemon peel in a small bowl to blend. Brush top of scones with lemon glaze. Bake scones until golden about 18-20 minutes. When finished baking, transfer to a wire rack and serve warm or room temperature.

Bon Appetite also printed this recipe in their September 2010 issue.

Something Old, Something Borrowed...

I recently realized that I am in love with granola. Not just any old granola - this granola is healthy, delicious, and one that I make by hand. Now, don't think I'm hippie dippy, but this stuff is really the best! I have it every morning on yogurt and it's fabulous. It's sweet (not too sweet), crunchy, and flavorful. However, I can't take the credit for creating this granola because the recipe comes straight out of one of my favorite cook books: The Family Chef by Jewels & Jill Elmore. The only tweaks I might add are that the recipe says you can use extra virgin olive oil or grapeseed oil - go with the grapeseed! I say this because it's such a light oil that it doesn't make the granola soggy. Also, cook the granola until it is golden, almost burned looking. If it's still pale and light when you take it out, put it right back in. Lastly, the edges will burn if it isn't shaken around/stirred well about every ten minutes or so. Convection ovens cook a lot faster so be careful if you're using one of those. Check it at least three times. It sounds like work, but think of it this way....you check the granola and go back to reading your book/ magazine/ watching TiVo! See, it's easy ;)

5 cups rolled oats (Quaker)
1/2 cup wheat germ
1/2 cup whole wheat flour
1/2 cup milled flaxseed
1/2 cup sesame seeds (white is fine but black seeds stand out better!)
2 cups whole raw unsalted almonds
2 cups whole raw pecans
1/2 tsp sea salt
3/4 cup grapeseed oil
3/4 cup honey

Preheat oven to 325F and line two large sheet trays with parchment paper. In a large bowl stir together all the dry ingredients. Heat the oil and honey in a small saucepan over medium low heat until the honey is warm and runny. Stir the oil and honey mixture into the dry ingredients using a wooden spoon. Divide the mixture evenly between the two sheet trays and spread evenly. Bake for 35-45 minutes and stir occasionally so the edges don't burn. Remove from the oven and let cool on trays. Store in airtight containers in the pantry.
It will last about 3 weeks like this. But, if you're like me, it'll be gone before then!


Another yummy recipe that's worth sharing is one that I made up myself the other night for dinner. I was making some pasta sauce to use up some tomatoes that were about to be too ripe. I had an epiphany! I used some of the Cholula hot sauce (garlic/chili) that I used the other night in my shrimp tacos. Man, it's so good I will make it all the time now! Here's the recipe:


2 TBS extra virgin olive oil
5 ripe vine tomatoes (seeds removed)
a splash of cream (about 1 TBS)
1/2 a head of garlic finely diced (2-3 TBS)
4 good shakes of Cholula hot sauce (garlic/chili)
2 good cranks of the peppercorn grinder
a light sprinkle of Maldon sea salt

First, get your olive oil heated up on medium heat in a medium size sauce/fry pan. Add the garlic, salt, pepper, tomatoes, and hot sauce. Let that cook about 10 minutes. It should be simmering, not boiling. Add the cream and let simmer five more minutes. This goes great over whole wheat pasta!

How I Miss Mexican Food!

Today, I found myself missing Mexican food so much I had to make it for dinner. So after work I trudged down to the local Waitrose (haha, the "posh" grocery store as it is known by the Brits but to us it's like Trader Jo's) to pick up the necessities. I found a recipe online - don't laugh too hard - on Gwyneth Paltrow's website "GOOP". Now, I found the website because I was reading an article about how everyone was making fun of her and her cooking style. It just so happens that WHAT she was cooking is fabulous, so who cares if she is the one doing it? Not my taste buds! Anyway, I came home and read the easy instructions and wow, that's some good food! My husband and I loved it. It's easy, simple, and tasty. Try it...you won't be sorry! Also, I have to give GP some props, she said to use Cholula hot sauce, well I'm not a fan of spice (heat spice) but this hot sauce is the shiznit! It's not hot, it's flavorful! I tried the garlic/chili version. Seriously good stuff.
Also, speaking of Waitrose and all things "posh"... Brits have their groceries delivered to their houses...all...the...time! I had never heard of such a thing unless you lived in the swank town of Beverly Hills and had a maid and a nanny already and six Land Rovers. But here, everyone does it! They even get their milk delivered in glass jars outside their doors aka Beaver Cleaver style! HA! So, I checked into it thinking it had to be ridiculously expensive or something, but no, reasonable and bonus, I don't have to go to the grocery store half as often seeing they will deliver every Wednesday. Ah, so nice! I'm really going to miss this option when I leave here and end up in Mississippi or South Dakota where the only thing delivered to your door is your mail.

Tea and Scones Anyone?

I have never loved tea more than I do now since moving to England. Because of that, my husband and I road our bikes down to Harriet's Tea Room in Bury for some breakfast. I love scones and this just so happens to be the best place in town that I have found. I will warn you though, they are enormous and when you are finished eating one, you will feel like you have eaten a brick. A tasty brick at that, but never- the- less a brick. Harriet's scones are not on the light side nor on the small side, so definitely come hungry! I got a scone, which I split and I also had the English muffin breakfast. This consisted of eggs, an English muffin, bacon (of the British variety - what we American's would call ham), and a small, undressed side salad. You are supposed to make a very McDonald's like egg McMuffin sandwich out of it. I chose to eat it in pieces. At Harriet's, there are three different varieties of scones (plain, raisin, and fruit). I always chose the plain. It comes with a side of clotted cream and strawberry preserves. My husband will layer the toppings on in heaps but I just use small amounts of the cream and preserves. Now, what would a tea room be without tea? This type of team room is very traditional in that they serve you hot water, tea leaves, a strainer, and a tea cup along with the cream and sugar. Very interesting if you've never before had to assemble your tea. I think it's the best way though and seems to produce the best results. The only thing I don't recommend about Harriet's is if you are like me and don't do caffeine...stay away from the decaf coffee. It's very weak. When I added small amounts of cream and sugar it deadened the coffee instantly. So, unless you like watered down Denny's coffee, this stuff isn't for you.

A few miscellaneous items that make Harriet's great to dine at was their bathrooms are spotless. There's also decent soap that doesn't take your skin off and they even had some hand lotion. That, to me, shows that they really do care about the customer. It's the little things! Another item is that the waiters/waitresses are always courteous and seem to come just when I'm running low on something. Hopefully, you will find Harriet's a great dining experience just as I did!

Enjoy!

Bury St. Edmunds Farmer's Market

Today, I went into Bury for the Farmer's Market that is held there every Saturday and Wednesday. They sell local goods, coffee, tea, clothing, all types of produce from local farmers, fish, meats, candy, books,household items, and even plants. I've been to it several times in the past two months and I can honestly say it's the best place to get your produce from. For instance I paid 1 pound for romaine lettuce that still had the dirt on the bottom from being picked. It's much fresher than say, produce that's had to be flown in and lost half of it's nutrients before it even touches my kitchen table. I also purchased 2lbs of strawberries for 3pounds and a pound of cherries for 1.50. I highly recommend stopping by there to see what they have and try out the local produce for yourself. Have fun!

First Go!

Hello Everyone, (ok so, everyone is just me and my husband so far!)

I decided to start this blog for a couple reasons:
1. I wanted a hobby that was fun, meaningful, and entertaining
2. I already review all the food and restaurants I go to in my head anyway, why not inform others as I go along so they too can have the blessings of knowledge!
3. I love to cook. It comes in waves like anything else in life. I read cook books like they're novels. I enjoy eating in and out.
4. I am always studying cookbooks and trying new recipes and tips. Why not pass it on?

Some ground rules of this blog:
A. I will post recipes of things that I have made myself, and hopefully pictures of everything.
B. I will post places in and around where I live that I have eaten in and my own reviews of those places. Hopefully that will educate you and in turn you will have a better experience.
C. I will post of those interesting foodie markets that are here that promise wonderful groceries that I have never seen before but can't live without!
D. I will have fun!

Tidbits about me:
I live in England, Suffolk county to be exact. However, I am American. Having just moved here from California, there is some culture shock. The food here (British food) is very different than what I'm used to. I miss Mexican food more than I thought humanly possible. But, I am soaking it all in while I am here for the next couple of years. I've already been to many restaurants and have had mostly positive experiences while being here. Hopefully, this will be a positive learning experience for all of us! I look forward to it!