Expat Mums Blog

Lady Marmalade

This was my second marmalade season. Last year I was amazed and beguiled by the ease of making home-made marmalade. My first attempt was a triumphant success. I put oranges, sugar and water into the pot - stirred a few times in between feeding and changing the baby - and a few hours later I had a crisp, tangy, jewel-coloured jelly that set like a dream. Like gelatinous sunshine in a jar.

I'll admit I got a bit cocky. I wrote about how simple it all was, and how unnecessary it was for people to over-complicate things like cooking.

This year, it was different.

Coffee Cake, A cultural misunderstanding

You’d think after 20 years of visiting or living in America there’d be no more misunderstandings.  You’ve worked them all out.  Faucet = tap, elevator = lift and so on.  But every now and then something catches me out and a small cultural misunderstanding takes place.

This time it was Coffee Cake.

I love coffee, particularly lattes and am completely unable to get through the day without having one.  So much so, that I don’t even have to order at my local café, when I walk through the door they start making my large, non-fat, latte.  And if I haven’t visited for a few days, the barista harasses me if he cycles by me on the boardwalk.  No, that’s not embarrassing at all.

Tea or coffee?

Have you been over at Pond Parleys yet? It's a blog by book authors Toni Hargis (Rules Brittiana) and Michael Harling (Postcards from Across the Pond). Toni is from the UK, and now lives in America, and Michael is American and now calls the UK home.

Ponds Parleys' aim is to "explore, expound upon and elucidate the 'Special Relationship' between the US and the UK". It makes for some great reading.

This week's conversation is about coffee vs. tea. So head on over and let us know what you think -- coffee or tea?

This post was written by Susanna, an Expat Mums Blog founding contributor. You can read more at her blog, A Modern Mother.

Photo credit: santos

For your baking pleasure...

I made this today: Hank Shaw's Guinness Bread with Molasses. The recipe is on Simply Recipes blog.  Because I'm in the UK, I needed to substitute treacle for the molasses. It was, as Barbara Blundell might say, "Scrummy!" especially with some nice Irish butter. It's easy! Try it :-)

Hope you all had a good weekend!

 

This post was written by Just a Plane Ride Away. She took the photo too!

Wishing to know

My mother died when I was a young man.  That was many years ago, and now that I have attained an age where I can ruminate on things past, I find there are many questions I wish I had been able to ask my mother when she was alive.
 
Such as: where did you get the idea that Campbell's Tomato soup was a viable substitute for spaghetti sauce?  I grew up believing that pasta was supposed to be pink and taste like the inside of a tin can.  And what was with the chopped up Spam?  Who told you we liked Spam; certainly not us.

You say skan, I say skown

One of the many unexpected perks I discovered after my arrival in Britain was the ready availability of scones.  There is nothing like a warm, fresh scone with a nice cup of tea and I had my favortie locations for obtaining them and enjoying a relaxing half hour or so in their company.  Unfortunately, like derby hats and bucket-and-spade holidays, this is becoming a thing of the past.
 
There used to be two nice tea shops in my little town.  Now there is just one, and it is no longer nice.  We can get a Grande Moca-chinno Latte in any random establishment, but we can only use it to wash down a Double Chocoholic Muffin or a croissant.

Ramblings...

If you've read my blog for a while, you know about my ongoing love of bikes in Europe, specifically in The Netherlands. I saw this sad little bicycle in London along the Thames a couple of weekends ago. Poor thing. I have photos of happier bikes here and here.

We went to a nearby garden for tea on Saturday. Or rather I should say Roxi and I had tea while Mr. DJ and Trudy mucked around in the cold but sunny afternoon.

Roxi and I had a cozy time inside the cafe's wall-of-windows. It was a great view from where we sat, but we especially admired all of the sturdy folks who were sunning on the terrace in their winter coats. Brr!

When comfort foods differ

I grew up in a bangers-and-mash household. Hey, I'm Irish, so the "mash" part was on the menu most nights, even if the bangers were not.

My children, on the other hand, turn up their noses at the humble spud and wail for mac-and-cheese or peanut-butter-and-jelly sandwiches. (As a slight aside, every time I hear a request for PB&J I feel an urge to answer as Mumford the Magician with a flourish of my wand).

I have - seriously - tried every possible potato preparation possible and yet, at a push, they sometimes eat french fries - but only after correcting my mistaken use of the word "chips".

I admit, over the past 12 years living in the U.S., I've adjusted my diet pretty well.

I don't pine for good potato crisps any more and I have family members send me care packages of decent black tea.

Going Christmas crackers...

Roxi experienced an English "Christmas Dinner" at school yesterday.

Roast Turkey

• Mashed Potatoes

• Bacon wrapped sausages (yikes!)

• Stuffing

• Mince pies*

• Lollipops

• and Christmas Crackers

Since I have never seen an open Christmas cracker, I bought a box of 12 for us to open (pop?) during our little "Christmas morning" here before we leave.

Ever wonder why the beef smells funky in the UK?

I remember my first trip to the UK in 1990. I was an exchange student and had come to live with a family in Bath.

On the first day, I was very tired, yet very excited. It was my first time in a country outside of the US (besides a family bicentennial road trip across the US and into Canada in 1976 and the obligatory Tijuana bar hopping as a college student).

I had noticed so many differences already. Everything was smaller. Why does that sign on the side of the road say "toilet" (or is it "to let"?) And each time we passed a car I was sure we were going collide.

How to make a proper cup of English tea

The first thing you need to do when you move to the UK is to learn to make a proper cup of tea.

I am not talking Oolang, peppermint, cranberry/orange, or even the end-all cure-all green tea. I am talking about a cup of plain old black tea. With milk.

If you perfect this skill, you will go far in your new home.

A good cup of tea works wonders with builders, decorators, electricians and any other British person that comes into your home. As the saying goes, they love their tea.