By Popular Demand..."The FOOD Page"
I have students who want me to photograph my food and write about it each day. This has been an ambitious undertaking. No comments about how I am in most of the food pictures by myself. People sat down as soon as the pictures were taken. Honest!
Full English Breakfast
When you order a full English breakfast, you will understand where Cracker Barrel gets its crazy notion to fill a plate or two with a wide variety of breakfast fare. Full English Breakfast is the traditional breakfast and consists of fried eggs, fried toast, sausages (called bangers), bacon, mushrooms, fried tomato half, and more often than not Heinz baked beans. You have this with slices of toast, butter, and jam and throw in a small glass of fruit juice and a couple of cups of freshly brewed tea. This kind of meal will last you till lunch with no problem, especially if you suspect that you will be at a place of inconvenience for elevenses (late morning tea time that includes a biscuit--cookie--or small cake).
Wakey Wakey! Breakfast
There is a light breakfast one eats when one does not eat the traditional full English breakfast. The lighter breakfast consists of some cereal with a bit of fruit on, tea with jam, and lots of hot tea with cream and sugar. Sometimes a spot of fresh orange juice is in order.
I loved the "everyday" breakfast that included Quaker Oats brand Oat Crisp Wakey Wakey! I went to two grocery stores to buy some for bringing home, but it was sold out! That's how good it is. Because I am so spoiled to have eaten a whole box of this cereal in 16 days, I simply must post a picture of the celebrated box's side panel.
I loved the "everyday" breakfast that included Quaker Oats brand Oat Crisp Wakey Wakey! I went to two grocery stores to buy some for bringing home, but it was sold out! That's how good it is. Because I am so spoiled to have eaten a whole box of this cereal in 16 days, I simply must post a picture of the celebrated box's side panel.
Costa Coffee and Cakes in Wantage
No Starbucks? Pay that no mind! There is a Costa shop in Wantage that serves up some serious plain coffee, lattes, and hot chocolate! And the pastries and pies are rather nice. Please realize that this spread was for four adults who knew they had a huge hike across pasture land to get to the site of the Uffington White Horse, an effigy of a horse that was carved into the white chalk of a huge hillside some 3000 years ago! And you thought your granny was old! Anyway, it was interesting to see the globalization of coffee and tea...very few traditional tea shops with cakes and pies are around anymore. There is the new European flavor thrown in for measure, and now Starbucks is starting to make its appearance in major cities. Then it will be a battle between Italian, American, and British coffee blends.
Fish and Chips from a Reading Chippy
Fish and chips are not like those you enjoy at Long John Silver's, although in pinch, Alaskan Whitefish, fries, hush puppies, and slaw are far more reasonably priced than a plane ticket!
What is it about the fish and chips one gets in England or Cornwall? Well, it is something you just have to taste, but there is a nuance that can be put into words. Fish! Have you ever been asked if you want warm water cod, deep water cod, or different degrees of plaice or haddock? Likely not if you hail from Southwest Virginia or Northeast Tennessee. The chips are hand-cut and fried fresh, not frozen or seasoned with flavored salts before deep frying. I had fish and chips six different times, and each serving was different from the others. Each establishment has its own secret homemade batter for the fish, so different regions have different tastes. There is no uniformity at all. The dinner in Reading is different from the one in Chichester and the one from London.
When you examine the above photograph of a local chippy's fare (chippy is a fish and chips carryout establishment), you will note that the large dinner plate is loaded with a huge fillet of batter dipped cod and covered with fresh chips. No hush puppy or slaw there. Armed with a large malt vinegar cruet and tomato ketchup, I made quick work of half the food before I slowed down and wondered if I could eat it all. I did because it was too good to waste, and I justified this extravagant notion with the knowledge that I'd be walking about 12 miles in the next day and a half. Absolutely, without thinking long at all, fish and chips a la Britain is my favorite meal.
What is it about the fish and chips one gets in England or Cornwall? Well, it is something you just have to taste, but there is a nuance that can be put into words. Fish! Have you ever been asked if you want warm water cod, deep water cod, or different degrees of plaice or haddock? Likely not if you hail from Southwest Virginia or Northeast Tennessee. The chips are hand-cut and fried fresh, not frozen or seasoned with flavored salts before deep frying. I had fish and chips six different times, and each serving was different from the others. Each establishment has its own secret homemade batter for the fish, so different regions have different tastes. There is no uniformity at all. The dinner in Reading is different from the one in Chichester and the one from London.
When you examine the above photograph of a local chippy's fare (chippy is a fish and chips carryout establishment), you will note that the large dinner plate is loaded with a huge fillet of batter dipped cod and covered with fresh chips. No hush puppy or slaw there. Armed with a large malt vinegar cruet and tomato ketchup, I made quick work of half the food before I slowed down and wondered if I could eat it all. I did because it was too good to waste, and I justified this extravagant notion with the knowledge that I'd be walking about 12 miles in the next day and a half. Absolutely, without thinking long at all, fish and chips a la Britain is my favorite meal.
Cream Tea in Glastonbury
Try having a pot of tea with two fully loaded scones--after walking five miles! So delicious! Scones are vaguely similar to biscuits made from scratch; however, they are sweeter and thicker. You slather the Devon cream on (looks like butter, but there is no salt or artificial coloring) and top that with fresh berry jam or marmalade. You see some homemade Cornish strawberry jam in this picture. This was probably the best cream tea I encountered...a nice little tea shop across from the Glastonbury town hall. If I ever go back to Glastonbury, I will insist on making this tea shop our first and last stops because eating there once is NOT enough! The proprietress has given me her recipe for my research. Lucky me!
Organic Meals Served at Bateman's
We had tea at Bateman's, and the flours, vegetables, and fruits in each food item was grown/ground/preserved on site. My lunch was carrot, parsley, and coriander soup served with white farm bread and two pats of churned butter. I had a slice of Victoria sponge for dessert. To drink, there was rose water lemonade or still water.
If you look at these three traditional cakes clockwise from the left, you see coffee walnut cake. It's not just coffee flavoring! Up close, you can see that the baker ground real roasted coffee beans into a fine grind and then added them to the batter! Whoa! Talk about caffeine! Next is the Victoria Sponge, which is a rich yellow cake with a middle layer of thick Devon cream and strawberry preserves topped with a generous snowstorm of confectionery sugar. Last, there is the Eccles cake, which is a pastry filled with sweet currents and mixed citrus peel.
If you look at these three traditional cakes clockwise from the left, you see coffee walnut cake. It's not just coffee flavoring! Up close, you can see that the baker ground real roasted coffee beans into a fine grind and then added them to the batter! Whoa! Talk about caffeine! Next is the Victoria Sponge, which is a rich yellow cake with a middle layer of thick Devon cream and strawberry preserves topped with a generous snowstorm of confectionery sugar. Last, there is the Eccles cake, which is a pastry filled with sweet currents and mixed citrus peel.
Patisserie Valerie in Cambridge
Once we were checked into the Arundel House Hotel in Cambridge, we went hunting for food. It was past elevenses and before afternoon tea, so we were pretty hungry by the time we looked through the windows at Patisserie Valerie. It was the old version of Willy Wonka & the Chocolate Factory all over again--you know the scene when Charlie looks into the shop window and adores all the candy. We went in and placed our order for one tray of club sandwiches to share as well as one large tea cake to go with pots of tea and coffee. While we waited for or order to be filled, I got up and took pictures of all the different cakes in the window. Just mind-boggling. You stare at the endless array of cakes and tarts and have to choose ONE because they are so big that two won't fit, no matter how large an appetite! This picture shows one window shelf of cakes and tarts; just above were muffins and rolls that were filled with fruit, nuts, or chocolate or combinations of the three. Above that were more sweet breads, most loaded with meat or nuts. It was so hard to decide which tea cake or pastry to devour. The lady ahead of me got the last lemon sponge with lemon cream filling, so I had a shortbread pastry with lots of custard and a royal icing crown that was marbled with a beautify chocolate drizzle design on top. Lovely! Simply lovely...
National Trust Luncheon at Glastonbury Abbey
We had a very light lunch...egg and watercress sandwiches, ploughman's cheese and pickle sandwiches, Cornish ice cream, Italian latte, date loaf, dandelion & burdock root beer, and rose water lemonades. Cornish ice cream is now my favorite, and if I cannot find it anywhere, perhaps I will learn to make it. It's very heavy, creamy, and rich. Branston pickles in the cheese sandwich are rather strong in flavor, definitely sweet and tart so your mouth puckers up like you are eating lemons. It's a thoroughly enjoyable pickle, though. Delicious. Egg salad with tiny water cress mixed in is certainly tasty and very healthy as far as sandwiches go. Coffee outside in the afternoon works when the temperatures don't go above 75 degrees Fahrenheit.
Going Native Sometimes Means Curry!
What? No fish and chips for dinner? We went to an Indian restaurant and ate curry dishes because they are all the rage in England. "Everyone eats curry rather often, Liz." So, I tried my first curry dish in decades, and I loved it. The base was rice with lightly curried chicken that had been braised with a honey sauce. We had flat breads with it along with a variety of sauces to top things off. I loved the sauces that were honey and fruit based, perhaps because of Sherlock Holmes's fascination with bees and the different kinds of honey they produce.
Everyone else at the table enjoyed dishes that were more spicy, and I have to say that I enjoyed the aromas of the food at our table. I did not eat the curried lamb, but I will never forget how it smelled over rice that was covered with mango hot sauce.
Because of my positive experience at the Spice House in Launceston, Cornwall, I will likely eat curry again sometime. Going native can diversify your tastes!
Everyone else at the table enjoyed dishes that were more spicy, and I have to say that I enjoyed the aromas of the food at our table. I did not eat the curried lamb, but I will never forget how it smelled over rice that was covered with mango hot sauce.
Because of my positive experience at the Spice House in Launceston, Cornwall, I will likely eat curry again sometime. Going native can diversify your tastes!
Cornish Cream Tea in Tintagel
There were plenty of lunch choices in Arthur's eatery in Tintagel, but I had Cornish cream tea. Two scones with a large variety of spreads--and a much loved pot of tea. If you look at the assortment of condiments on the table, you will see HP Sauce. It's in grocery stores in Abingdon now, and I suppose I shall have to get some as it's my second favorite brown sauce. My very favorite is Daddies Sauce, which tends to be a breakfast table condiment for eggs. Yum!
Fox and Hounds Fish and Chips Amongst Other Traditional Dishes
There are at least three plates heaped with fish and chips if you scrutinize the table top in this picture. Are you asking what the bowl at the bottom left is holding? Well, it's lamb's liver and onions, a very popular delicacy in England. I didn't taste the liver, so I cannot advise you on whether or not you should rush to the grocery story and prepare it in mint and onion gravy on the side. I was too busy enjoying my favorite meal, you know.
More food pictures and commentary forthcoming at a later date...
More food pictures and commentary forthcoming at a later date...