It's Official......

I have my first craving, I can't stop thinking about Taramasalata. Chilled, pink, fishy dip....

on steaming hot Pita bread....Yum, yum, yum.

Although, it is not very easy to find in this part of the world. In England you can buy it anywhere, supermarkets will often carry a couple of varieties. For the record, my all time favourite is from Marks and Spencer, along with their yummy mini pitas!! I am tempted to fly back just for that!!

So today it was my mission to hunt down some Taramasalata. Firstly I went to my local supermarket, they looked at me oddly and replied that they had never heard of it. Not to be discouraged I was sure that Whole Foods would stock it. Wrong again, they too looked at me strangely as they shook their heads. Hmm, I know, there is a Greek restaurant by my house that I have driven by a million times but never gone into. They are bound to have it.

So, that was my next port of call, I bounded in there hoping to find some wonderful old Greek Grandma sitting in the corner, jumping with sheer delight that someone else was as enthusiastic about her home made Taramasalata. But alas no, not a Greek person in site, which became evidently clear when they too looked at me in a weird fashion when I asked about the famous pink dish. I was now becoming desperate and asked her if she knew anywhere in Denver that I might just get my hands on some. Her words of wisdom were to try Yanni's, another Greek restaurant in Greenwood Village. I ran home, got Yanni's phone number and dialled the number excitedly. 'Please tell me that you sell Taramasalata?'.......................'Yes we do!!!' Whoa, Whoa, Whoa. That is where I will be going tomorrow to pick myself up a pot or two or maybe three. Who said perseverance doesn't pay!!

Jamie Oliver

This weekend I managed to watch all of Jamie Oliver's Food Revolution. As some of you already know, I don't have a TV linked up to cable in the house. I just have a TV that can play DVD's. In our last house we had a TV that got all the channels and I just couldn't deal with all the adverts. I also didn't like the fact that I couldn't really control what my children were watching, so in this house we decided to go without. Great for the children but slightly annoying when I want to see something..........then I discovered hulu.com. You can watch anything you want that has been on TV recently with a limited amount of adverts - LOVE IT.

So anyway, back to Jamie and his Food Revolution..........

Do I like Jamie Oliver?? Not that much, I do find him slightly annoying with his 'fake' cockney accent, (he is actually middle class) and his 'pukka this' and 'brother that'. But, I do love his recipes and I adore his cooking attitude. I also think he is amazing live, I had the wonderful opportunity to see him on stage when I was in Sydney in 2002. I own most of his cookbooks and a couple of his DVD's. Here is another big but, BUT........I do love him for what he has done for children in England and what he is trying to do for American children too.

He started this food revolution about 5-6 years ago in English schools and to answer the question, 'Can one person really change anything?' - the answer is a huge YES!! Jamie Oliver made history, not only did he manage to change the food offered in our public schools, he even managed to get the Prime Minister to increase the amount of money spent per child on school lunches. A food hero, no doubt he will be knighted when he is older and will be known as Sir Jamie Oliver and jolly well deserved.

The thing is he doesn't have to do it. He is very successful and very wealthy, he is not doing this just for a TV show or to sell a few books, he is doing it because he is passionate about the cause and wants to be heard. I truly love him for that as it is a cause I feel very strongly about.

Food companies and supermarkets cottoned on to Jamie and to what parents wanted and made it very easy for parents to feed their children healthy, organic food. You would be amazed if you went into an English supermarket at all the wonderful organic products geared to feeding your children.

Before moving to America I only had one experience of a pre-school. My eldest Oompa Loompa went to a wonderful little school, set in a beautiful village. They had a school cook and the lunches were outstanding. Everything was cooked from scratch, using organic or local produce. I thought that this was normal.................roll on a couple of months.

I moved to America, enrolled eldest OL into the local pre-school and all was going well until they proudly showed me their weekly lunch menu. I was totally horrified and asked her what the other parents though about the menu. She replied that most parents were so thankful for the lunches as it was the healthiest that their children ate all day!! Man, I did ask myself where was Jamie Oliver when you needed him.

Even to this day I have moments of unbelievable horror. A case in point is this soccer club that eldest OL is enrolled in. Each week, us Mothers take it in turns to provide the team a snack, well............I have been flabbergasted at what the other mother think is an appropriate snack, especially considering the team is made up of 4 year olds and 5 year olds!!

But I am relaxed, I don't stop my children eating these things. I do not want them to feel that they are missing out. I just look the other way and make sure that I feed them as healthily as I can when it is in my control. I also don't blame the other Mothers, I just believe that they don't realise what is in that food.

I am just so thrilled that Jamie Oliver has come over to America to spread the word. I was one of those Mothers, before Jamie showed us what was in an English Chicken Nugget, I too was in ignorant bliss. Happily feeding myself and others nuggets galore!! I believed that because things were aimed at children, there is no way that they could put anything bad into them. How WRONG was I!!!

So, I urge you to watch this series if you get the chance. It is one of the best things I have seen for a while. It is close to my heart and Jamie Oliver is an inspiration. Have a happy Monday.

Baked Eggs - Yummy, Yummy!!

I had forgotten about these little beauties until a few weeks ago. Not sure how I have gone so long without them as they are so delicious and super, super easy. They even passed the Oompa Loompa taste test with flying colours!!

All you need are eggs, cream, cheese, a bit of butter and some other filling of your choice, (e.g. bacon, ham, turkey, salami, spinach, mushrooms etc). Oh and you do need little ramekins, although I suppose you could do a super large one in a pie dish. I have never tried but I guess it would work.

So you get your ramekin, put your filling in the bottom, (I used ham). You then break the egg on top, pour over a little cream, sprinkle a little cheese and put a small knob of butter on top. Shove them in the oven (425 f) for about ten minutes. The yolks should be runny, mine weren't, they were a little overdone but they were still delicious. Serve with toast, essential for dipping in!! Enjoy.

I also thought I would share a few more of my digi layouts. These are the ones I did yesterday after completing lesson 3 of my course. Can't wait to see what lesson 4 has in store for me.

Have a happy Thursday. xx

Jam Roly Poly

Firstly, I would just like to say that the January Newsletter should have hit your 'inbox's' by now, please let me know if you haven't received one. The January kits are so super yummy and go on sale tonight at 8pm MST. I must say that I have thoroughly enjoyed scrapping both kits and am super pleased with my layouts.

Anyway, now on to the yummy bit. One of my favourite puddings has got to be Jam Roly Poly, I love it. We used to have it at school and it is one of those things that I found in adult life, I just couldn't do without!! It is so super easy to make, I felt that I had to share it with you.

Ingredients:

3 Cups of Flour

4 and a half Teaspoons of Baking Powder

2 Sticks of Butter

200ml of Milk

1 Jar of Jam, (Jelly)

Heat the oven to 375 degrees.

Sift the flower and baking powder into the bowl of your mixer, (although you could easily do this by hand). Grate or chop the butter and add to the bowl. Pour in the milk and get your mixer mixing!! Or get that Elbow Grease going!! Stop when it looks like a dough.

Then roll it out to a large-ish rectangle -

This is the step I always forget and get myself into all sorts of trouble!! Once rolled out, transfer it onto a piece of greased proof paper, (baking parchment). Then get your jam and spread it all over the pastry -

Try to leave about half an inch of pastry round the edges without jam. You then want to dab it with water. I just wet a piece of kitchen paper and sort of sponged it round the edges -

You then want to fold the long edges of your rectangle over once, just to keep the jam in -

This bit is slightly tricky, you then need to get your grease proof paper and use it to start rolling up your pastry -

Da da........... like so-

You then need to wrap it loosely in tin foil, keeping the grease proof paper around the roly poly. I then tied the two ends with a piece of string

Then pop it in the oven and let it cook for about an hour, I must admit that I left mine in a little bit longer than that - maybe an hour and a quarter -

Then cut it into slices -

It is perfect with hot custard but I wasn't in the custard-making-mood, so we just had it with some cream. Far too yummy -

Just remember that the jam gets very hot so best to wait a little bit before consuming!!! I hope you give it go as I know you are just going to love it.

I would like to wish all of you a wonderful New Year, may 2010 be a very happy and healthy year with more scrapbooking, more blogging and definitely more Jam Roly Poly!!!

My Tuck Box

I received this wonderful present from my brother yesterday and I have got to share it with you. It is a Tuck Box from Fortnum and Mason. Fortnum and Mason is the most amazing department store on Picadilly in London, it has been around for years and specialises in food hampers at Christmas time.

Tuck is a school term for sweets, (candy). Most schools have a Tuck Shop, a little shop in the school which sells sweets, crisps, and drinks. I was very lucky as our school Tuck Shop was amazing.

So I opened my box and saw this glorious box:

I opened the lid and this is what I found:

I then tore apart the tissue paper to reveal the 'loot':

It is full of old fashioned sweets, sweets that I had when I was a child. Sweets that I haven't seen, let alone eaten for over twenty years. So I want to say a huge thank you to my brother and his wonderful American wife and his beautiful children - you know me too well!!

I must admit that I have hidden my Tuck Box, I have told Prince Charming about it but haven't showed it to him yet. I might share some with him, if he is good but I have no intention of sharing it with the Oompa Loompas. I mean for them it is just a source of sugar, they would be as happy with a packet of M&M's. But for me each sweet will be a journey, a long journey back down memory lane. I couldn't be happier with my gift, it is just so perfect, I just wonder how long it is going to last!!!

Mince Pies

Yummy.......................
Mince Pies, Christmas isn't really Christmas, (for me anyway) without Mince Pies. You either love them or hate them. Prince Charming hates them, only me and baby Oompa Loompa love them.

People who are not familiar with Mince Pies assume that they are a savoury mince meat pie but in fact they are a sweet cake like treat filled with dried fruit and apples. They are called mince pies because the filling included suet, which I'm sure you know is raw beef or mutton fat. Now, people replace the suet with vegetable shortening but the name lives on!!
I particularly like my Mince Pies with Mulled Wine, (hot red wine with orange peel, cloves and allspice). Most people who invite you over for drinks and nibbles will actually invite you over for 'Mince Pies and Mulled wine' over the festive period. They sort of go together very well.
If you are going to make Mince Pies, (I never have) most people will just use a pre-made mincemeat filling. They will then just make the pastry and add a dollop of this in before putting it in the oven.

These are the ingredients you would need to make your own mincemeat, I imagine rather labour intensive but probably well worth the effort.

If you would like to have a go at making some Mince Pies, I have found some good recipes on the internet. This one seems quite good and this one is good if you want to make the mincemeat from scratch. So that is the Mince Pie covered, tomorrow I will be talking about the good old English tradition of Carol Singers, another thing you either love or hate at Christmas time!! Have a happy Wednesday.

Show and Tell

Meet Fred. Fred is 30 years old and arrived safely at my house yesterday after a long air trip from England. For all my wonderful American friends, you wont know who Fred is. In England there is a company called Homepride, they started off making flour, now they make all types of food. Fred is their logo mascot and over the years that have made the most wonderful Fred memorabilia. In 1979, they made this, Fred the baking set.

His hat becomes a sieve:

His face is the mixing bowl:

Inside his body is a measuring cup and measuring spoons:

And in his little feet are two wonderful cookie cutters:

In 1979, I received Fred from Father Christmas. I loved him them and I love him even more now. Every day I was mixing, stirring and baking, he was my best friend!! Middle oompa loompa loves to bake and I wanted to get him a little baking set all of his own. I couldn't find anything I really liked and then I remembered Fred. My little friend Fred, so I made a few phone calls, called in a few favours and we were set to go. Fred was coming to America!! And now here he is, back where he belongs in my kitchen. Although I have got to wrap him first and put him under the tree!!! I just had to tell you about him.

Whilst we are on the subject of packages and England, look what also arrived. My bits from the British Food Shop, mainly chocolate I might add!! I place an order with them once a year, just before Christmas. They do all the wonderful Cadburys chocolate tree decorations, chocolate coins, mince pies and lots of other yummy stuff. The downside, and there is a big downside, is it is frightfully expensive. There are some things that I really just can't bring myself to buy, I catch myself shouting at the computer...."$8, how can that be $8, in England that only costs 29p (50cents)!"

I am thrilled to have introduced you to my dear old friend Fred. Have a happy Thursday.

Happy Thanksgiving Everyone

I am extremely thankful that I met my friend Patti, she is just wonderful and has made my transition of living in America so much easier. She has graciously invited us all round to hers to celebrate Thanksgiving in true American style. So no cooking for me, although I will be taking some very yummy canapes along.

This was my 'Thanksgiving Lunch' attempt last year:

Not really American, more like an English Christmas Lunch. Roast Potatoes rather than mashed, brussel sprouts with stilton and walnuts, red cabbage with apples, paxo stuffing, and my favourite, small sausages wrapped in bacon. Oh and some bread sauce, can't have turkey without bread sauce.

So have a wonderful Thanksgiving, I know we will.

Supermarket Snooping!!

I returned from the Supermarket yesterday and decided I had to photograph my shopping. I must admit that I am getting pretty desperate for shots for the old project 365, (will be quite pleased when it is done and dusted to be honest). Anyway, once I had placed all my produce on the kitchen counter, I was actually very pleased with myself. I felt that this particular shopping trip was worthy of a 'food standard healthy food shopping award', (if one existed). It is not often that my shopping actually looks like this, where are the crisps?, where are the sweets?, where are all those exciting treats?

It then got me thinking, I love looking at other people's shopping trolleys to see what they have put in there. I especially love watching the 'single man' placing his trolley contents on the conveyor belt, usually packed full of microwave ready meals and toilet rolls!! I love watching everyone, just seeing what kind of food they are buying. Then trying to imagine what they are going to cook. This is especially fun in Costco where people are buying things in such vast quantities, I wonder what on earth they are going to do with a 10lb pack of pickled gherkins!!

Am I the only one or do we all do it??? Have a happy Thursday.

Snow Day- Part 2

The snow just keeps on coming!! I am sure that I have never seen this much snow before. Larry, my amazing neighbour, has snow-blown my front path and drive - thanks Larry!! Wasn't really looking forward to getting the shovel out.

So what does one do on a day like this??? Make Fairy Cakes, (cupcakes) of course!!

There were ring side seats for those not old enough to participate.

I also got the chance to use my favourite $4 garage sale item, my mixer, love it soooooo much. (Wouldn't you love to be able to bake cakes in your underpants - oh the joy of being a child!!).

My Little Helper stirred.....................

and most importantly, tested the cake.

Then waited patiently whilst they cooked.

Then to the best part, decorating the cakes. I picked these Martha Stewart Halloween stencils up a few weeks ago from Michaels - loving you Martha. Super easy and super Halloween style.

The kettle has just boiled, I am off to make a cup of tea and test one of these delicious creations.

Chicken Jelly - to eat or not to eat?

My in-laws love chicken jelly. I have been amazed at the excitement that is has caused in the kitchen, especially when spread on a piece of toast. I must admit that I don't actually find it that appealing but I do feel that I may be missing out.

I always pour the excess fat and juices off a roast chicken into a jar, (I like to use the fat for cooking). Once the fat rises you are left with the chicken jelly at the bottom. In the past I have always thrown it away but feel that I should really give it a go.

Whilst contemplating whether or not to eat the chicken jelly on toast, I decided to cook some cookies. Love this recipe, it is super easy and the results are great.

I got the recipe from this book. It is probably the best cake and biscuit book I have ever seen. Susan Purdy is a bit of a legend and I have a lot of respect for her. She is probably the true 'domestic goddess'!! Unfortunately this book is now out of print but I managed to pick it up from Amazon through the second hand sellers.

I will let you know my chicken jelly decision but I am a little too full at the moment to think about it, too many cookies!!!

The Lasagne Cook-Off

I am happy to admit defeat, my lasagne was good but not good enough. My American friends won with their odd ricotta cheese, sausage meat, weird looking pink, lasagne. It was totally delicious and made my traditional Italian lasagne look like a very bland, poor relative.

Fear not my fellow Brits, I will make sure that I win next time by suggesting we do toad-in-the-hole!!!