The Adventures of Sarah and Paul
Aug 5th 2008sarahDessert & Food
Even after my valiant attempt at compromise, Paul was still begging me for a rhubarb crumble. I decided I couldn’t take it any more, so I gave in and made him a rhubarb crumble. I have to say I think he enjoyed it. Although, apparently it wasn’t quite good enough. He tells me that it lacked crumble.
However, I’m not sure how he could tell with all that cream.
I’m not sure he’ll be getting another one.
Jul 31st 2008sarahDessert & Food
When I got married, my mother told me that sometimes I might have to make sacrifices. I don’t like rhubarb. But Paul does. So what’s a girl to do? Compromise, I guess, and that’s where a strawberry rhubarb pie comes into the picture.
Okay, my mom never really talked to me about marriage and compromise until I was about five and a half years in to my marriage. Yes, that’s just about a week or so ago. I think before I got married she obviously thought that my moving half way across the world to live in a strange country made it clear that sacrifices might have to be made in this relationship. So, instead of hearing this motherly advice at the beginning of my marriage, my mother decided to impart this wisdom on to me one night recently when I was discussing the fact that Paul kept bugging me to make rhubarb crumble.
So, sacrifice and compromise? I never thought that would mean that I would find myself making a rhubarb and strawberry pie. Space in my house, certain foods, lots of laundry – sure, I was ready for all sorts. But I never really thought I’d end up having to make anything out of rhubarb. But I have. I made a strawberry rhubarb pie. I thought, I like strawberries, Paul like rhubarb, we both like pie… Strawberry rhubarb pie!! That’s a pretty good compromise!
And it was good. I didn’t think I’d eat any of it, but just look!
How could I resist that? And guess what – I loved it! It got great reviews – Paul has said that it is as good as it looks there. Considering it contains both of his favorite things – rhubarb and strawberries – he should be pretty happy. I would make this again in a heartbeat.
With this pie I also made my first lattice top. That wasn’t nearly as hard as I initially thought it was going to be. The whole crust came together for me really well this time. Usually I struggle just a bit trying to bring it together to roll out, but this time it was perfect! I can’t resist giving you another picture, I’m so happy with it!
I bet you’re wondering if I’m still getting asked for rhubarb crumble. Yes, in fact, I am.
So, while this was a pretty good compromise and we both enjoyed the results, it just simply wasn’t enough. Paul has again started asking for rhubarb crumble. I just might have to break down and make it for him some day. Talk about sacrifices!
For the recipe, you need one doublecrust pie crust for a 9 inch pie pan, then strawberries and rhubarb to fill the pie.
Then take 1 1/2 cups sugar, 1/4 cup flour, 1/4 tsp nutmeg and 3 eggs. Mix everything together, with the rhubarb and strawberries. Fill the pie, and do up the crust top. Then put it in a 400 degree oven for 50-60 minutes. And there you have it! Gorgeous!
Last Tuesday, I went to the Punch Tavern with a few friends for one of the wine tastings that they do. I’ve gone before, to a champagne tasting there, and it was good fun.
The tastings they do at the Punch Tavern are quite informal, which is good for a novice like me. They have a guy come in from OddBins, which is a wine shop here in the UK, to do the tasting. He brings in a selection of wines and walks you through the tasting. You get 8 wines to taste through the course of the evening, and the evening costs £12.50, without dinner. The cost with dinner is £20.00. I’ve never had the buffet, but I have to say it smells pretty good.
About the tasting itself, you first get talked through smelling the wine. You’re free, and indeed encouraged, to volunteer what it is you smell. After you’ve smelled the wine, you then get talked through how to properly taste it. Once you’ve tasted the wine, again it’s a bit of a free for all. You’re encouraged to speak up and say what different tastes come out of the wine. It’s ok, though, because for people like me, who don’t normally speak up in crowds, you can easily discuss it with the person next to you and learn a lot from what everyone else is bringing forward. As the evening goes on, I find that it’s a lot easier to join in with everyone else.
Also, at the beginning of the evening, you’re given a sheet of paper with all the types of wine that you taste listed. There’s space there to take notes, and after tasting and talking through each wine, we guess the percentage of alcohol and the price, which can sometimes be quite surprising. You also will learn quite a bit about the wine making process, as the guy who does the tasting is quite educated in the wine you’re tasting.
These tastings are quite a good and simple way to learn more about wine. It seems to be a usual crowd that goes, because people seem to recognize each and they also seem to have a good rapport with guy in charge of everything. This makes it less intimidating to someone who just enjoys an occasional glass of wine and would like to just broaden their horizons a bit. This is the second tasting I’ve gone to there, and I definitely hope to be able to go to a few more.
Jul 19th 2008sarahDessert & Food
…or ice. It looks more like ice to me, even though it tastes of elderflower.
Admittedly, I didn’t know what I was doing. But, considering the recipes I had for sorbet were mainly thin liquid, fruit and sugar, I thought I could have a go and see what happens. And so I did. And it turned out okay. Here it is in all it’s glory.
I made it using elderflower cordial, not the flowers themselves. Basically, I just made up the cordial to make a liter of liquid, put it into my ice cream maker and let it go. When it was mostly frozen, I transferred it to this container and froze it the rest of the way into the freezer.
It turned out ok. The flavor (which is the most important thing!) was nice – mostly due to the fact that I was using a shop bought cordial and not something I’ve made myself. I wouldn’t mind trying to make my own cordial at some point, but I would never do it using any of the flowers around here, unless we had a tree/bush in our garden, which we currently don’t.
From my point of view, the elderflower flavor is definitely a British thing. I had never had elderflower before I moved here, and all I can remember from home is some vague story about elderberries (which I’m sure is related to the flower!!) and my old neighbor making jam from them. I’m still not sure what elderberries taste like, but when I first tasted elderflower, the flavor seemed quite familiar to me. The flavor itself is unique and hard for me to describe, so I’m sorry I’m not more helpful. All I can say is I enjoy it.
I’d definitely make the sorbet again, but I might try a bit harder at finding a proper recipe next time.
On the phone the other night, my mother suggested to me that I just might be homesick. I thought she might be right, so I decided to attack this in one of the best ways possible this weekend. Now, generally this includes planning a holiday and getting the heck out of Dodge for a while. However, because I haven’t got a holiday planned for me until September, I had to find another way around this problem.
So what did I do? I made myself a good home cooked meal, that’s what I did!
Yep, food. Besides travel, whinging to Paul, and having a good cry, food is one of the best ways to get myself over my homesick blues.
With the cleaning done on Saturday, I set myself up for a good kitchen session on Sunday. I made two old favorites and a brand new recipe. You may have read all about my gelato, so here I’ll tell you about the old favorites I had to have. Fried chicken and potato salad. Below you’ll see a picture of the fried chicken I made:
Now, doesn’t that look good? Okay, maybe not if you’re vegetarian, but it sure looks good to me! And it went down a treat with Paul as well.
The funny thing is I don’t remember really liking fried chicken and potato salad all that much when I lived at home. Now, I get really hungry for it and feel almost compelled to make it. I think maybe because fried chicken was something I had at least once a year growing up, and the potato salad I would eat numerous times throughout the summers at home. When I moved here, I know I went at least two years without either. And I’m pretty sure I didn’t start making it myself until last year, when I was in my own flat for a year. Either way, now my summer here doesn’t seem to be complete without it. It also really helps combat the homesickness bug that hits every now and then.
