In my memory, I know exactly how I assist you,
the kitchen warm and me adding the flour slowly.
In my home, when I only have your recipe,
I struggle to remember which order to add
the egg, butter, sugar, making it up as I go.
Showing posts with label baking. Show all posts
Showing posts with label baking. Show all posts
Monday, November 22, 2010
Monday, November 30, 2009
Where I've Been
Wow. That is the first word that comes to mind in reflecting upon the last four days: wow. As you may have noticed, I've been gone from one a day for more than a day with Thanksgiving festivities. At home in California, there are three days of traditions. For my first year in England for Thanksgiving, there ended up being three days of festivities.
The actual day of Thanksgiving my mum-in-love brought out all the surprises after she joined us in London for the holiday so I could be with family. First, it was a bowl of Jelly Bellies and a plate of vegetarian sushi. Then, I was banished to the bedroom while her and Alex decked out the living room/dining room with fabrics, candles, potpourri, flowers and food. After that, while all the yummy food a la Marks & Spencers was being heated and the cava flowing, our front buzzer rang with surprise guests of J&E (Alex's sister & her wife) with their dog, Foxy, to top off all the surprises!! Warm, loved: such a relaxing evening with my second family on this side of the ocean.
Friday brought the baking: family recipes of sugar cookies and pumpkin pies. Attempted home-made hummus and planning for our first turkey roast the next day. I even got to talk to the family and all the cousins in California via the delightful possibilities of the internet (thank you, Skype!)
Thanksgivin' a la Tooting! happened on the Saturday with 16 of us (16!) filling out the 3 tables + chairs spread Last Supper style down the center of our living space: decorating cookies'; enjoying devilled eggs, wine and champagne; feasting on the intense amount of food provided; conducting the most stellar clean-up job I've ever seen from a collective group of people at a party; and playing games and chatting until the clock struck twelve.
Endless moments to be thankful for, countless people to feel loved by near and far, epic proportions of food to be relished over.
Mmm, the food. A one a day list to be drooled over:
The actual day of Thanksgiving my mum-in-love brought out all the surprises after she joined us in London for the holiday so I could be with family. First, it was a bowl of Jelly Bellies and a plate of vegetarian sushi. Then, I was banished to the bedroom while her and Alex decked out the living room/dining room with fabrics, candles, potpourri, flowers and food. After that, while all the yummy food a la Marks & Spencers was being heated and the cava flowing, our front buzzer rang with surprise guests of J&E (Alex's sister & her wife) with their dog, Foxy, to top off all the surprises!! Warm, loved: such a relaxing evening with my second family on this side of the ocean.
Friday brought the baking: family recipes of sugar cookies and pumpkin pies. Attempted home-made hummus and planning for our first turkey roast the next day. I even got to talk to the family and all the cousins in California via the delightful possibilities of the internet (thank you, Skype!)
Thanksgivin' a la Tooting! happened on the Saturday with 16 of us (16!) filling out the 3 tables + chairs spread Last Supper style down the center of our living space: decorating cookies'; enjoying devilled eggs, wine and champagne; feasting on the intense amount of food provided; conducting the most stellar clean-up job I've ever seen from a collective group of people at a party; and playing games and chatting until the clock struck twelve.
Endless moments to be thankful for, countless people to feel loved by near and far, epic proportions of food to be relished over.
Mmm, the food. A one a day list to be drooled over:
- Delia's style turkey with butter, bacon, salt, Tony's Creole seasoning (not Delia style) and lemon
- Mashed potatoes with spring onions, butter, sour cream and milk
- Sweet potato souffle with pecans
- Southern Green Bean Casserole with home-made fried onions
- Cornbread
- Devilled Eggs
- Home-made hummus with carrots & celery
- Champagne, wine and sweet tea
- Nut-Vegetable Loaf
- Brie & Goats Cheese
- Cranberry sauce a la Britian
- Cranberry sauce a la Washington
- Hawaiian style stuffing
- Paxo stuffing
- Home-made sugar cookies
- Home-made pumpkin pies
- Ice cream, Double Cream, Cornish Cream
- New York Cheesecake
- Mini Mince Pies
- Chocolate Tart
- Bakewell Tart
- Tarte aux Pommes (Apple Tart)
- Citron Tart!
Thursday, June 11, 2009
Living Somewhere
This morning, I got up and baked oatmeal raisin cookies for a friend who is far away from home. I found a recipe online and with the last batch in the oven as I type, they didn't turn out too bad. A little dry (short on unsalted butter) but in a country where tea is prevalent, they'll be fine with a cuppa.
As I read the instructions this morning though, I sighed at remembering not only do I not have a hand beater, I definitely don't have an electric one, i.e. the kind of necessary baking tool I grew up using and absolutely loved. No, they aren't really popular in England and even though my love's mum has shown me multiple times how her grandmother used to beat her batter 'within an inch of its life,' I still struggle beating any mixture by hand.
It reminds me of my mom trying to bake pumpkin pie for Christmas in Ireland. None of the stores had pie tins--aluminum, non-stick, or glass--and neither of us had thought to pack one. The Irish make pies, yes, but thick savory pies and anything resembling the sweet slices we craved were made into little tarts. After much searching, we finally settled on pumpkin tarts for Christmas. They were delicious. Plus the cream was way better.
A friend's sister says that she hasn't lived in a house until she's baked in it. Baked once, that's a start. But it's more than just the inaugural batch of your classic chocolate chip recipe with the secret ingredient. It's finding where your baking ingredients will be kept, how the bowls will stack, the temperament of the oven, use of counter space, and where your dish cloth or apron will hang.
When you live in a new country though, it's even more than organizing and understanding a kitchen. You have to learn the new names for ingredients: Bicarbonate soda is baking soda, sultanas double as raisins; which brand of butter you prefer; and sift through the masses of sugars you never knew existed. There's Gas Marks instead of Fahrenheit or Celsius, hand beating techniques instead of mom's Kitchen Aid mixer. No, I think it's not until you have learned to bake in a new country that you begin to learn to really live in it.
As I read the instructions this morning though, I sighed at remembering not only do I not have a hand beater, I definitely don't have an electric one, i.e. the kind of necessary baking tool I grew up using and absolutely loved. No, they aren't really popular in England and even though my love's mum has shown me multiple times how her grandmother used to beat her batter 'within an inch of its life,' I still struggle beating any mixture by hand.
It reminds me of my mom trying to bake pumpkin pie for Christmas in Ireland. None of the stores had pie tins--aluminum, non-stick, or glass--and neither of us had thought to pack one. The Irish make pies, yes, but thick savory pies and anything resembling the sweet slices we craved were made into little tarts. After much searching, we finally settled on pumpkin tarts for Christmas. They were delicious. Plus the cream was way better.
A friend's sister says that she hasn't lived in a house until she's baked in it. Baked once, that's a start. But it's more than just the inaugural batch of your classic chocolate chip recipe with the secret ingredient. It's finding where your baking ingredients will be kept, how the bowls will stack, the temperament of the oven, use of counter space, and where your dish cloth or apron will hang.
When you live in a new country though, it's even more than organizing and understanding a kitchen. You have to learn the new names for ingredients: Bicarbonate soda is baking soda, sultanas double as raisins; which brand of butter you prefer; and sift through the masses of sugars you never knew existed. There's Gas Marks instead of Fahrenheit or Celsius, hand beating techniques instead of mom's Kitchen Aid mixer. No, I think it's not until you have learned to bake in a new country that you begin to learn to really live in it.
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