Calling All Babies!

Hi Dear Readers,

My friend and mentor, Carolyn, and her husband Reed, are looking to expand their family through adoption. Please take a moment to read more about their family (their son Josh is adorable!) and pass it along to anyone you know! Thank you friends :)

Reed, Carolyn, and Josh

CLICK THIS LINK TO READ MORE

NEW BLOG, NEW ADVENTURE

Ok folks - I'm going to try something out. I created a new blog that explains it all and I want you to go over and check it out...as in RIGHT NOW. There's no time to waste!

CLICK ME NOW

Speeding right along....

Today...I got my first ever speeding ticket. I saw the cop...I saw it coming...nothing I could do to stop it...and I got a ticket :( Womp womp...

So it's been 2 weeks since I got back from London and I'm getting back into a normal routine - with some British influences ;-)

Marmite on toast with egg and pain au chocolat I brought back with me from London (oh, and my Marmite mug)

My first 'grown up' watch - purchased in Bath

NO. WAY. How have I not found this place before??? Cardullo's brings in food from across the globe...including EUROPEAN NUTELLA! OMG it's amazing...yes, I got the big jar. 

I also got clotted creams so that I could have scones, clotted cream, jam, and Assam tea :)

Guess what I'm making....

My very own full English breakfast! Complete with a London copy of the Metro

Hey Mom - doesn't this look scrumptious?! :-P

Sunday brunch with the ladies at Plough & Stars

Get it? Plough...and stars...

...and Nutella French Toast :)

Tuesday morning - I went on a little run to Alewife and then took the T back. After Monday's bombings, security was stepped up on the T

Beautiful spring tulips

Dinner with the roomies - Korean BBQ at Chung Ki Wa

"Soft Drink" in quotes

I got the LAST JAR :-D

Eating my European Nutella straight from the jar on a baguette - as it should be

A quiet night in...

Finally broke down and cracked open the Truffle Mayonnaise I bought at Harrods that I've been saving (that didn't take long, did it?) and had it with (what else?) French fries :)

Spring is finally here!

Sunday brunch with the ladies at Brookline Lunch

Mmmm mmm good

Really? As in....really???? 

Proof that yep - I got it :(

Onwards and upwards friends! 

Hay Mayonnaise

As you may recall, I tried a wonderful Hay Mayonnaise while I was having Sunday lunch with Simon, Mark, Becky, Hallie, and Craig at Trinity in Clapham. I wrote in to the chef begging for the recipe (because I couldn't find it online) and he obliged! I'll walk you through how to make it:

First - gather ingredients. Yes, that's hay you see. As in hay from a pet store. Just make sure it's not treated with any chemicals and you're fine! You'll also need eggs, salt, vegetable oil, Dijon mustard, white wine vinegar, and a lemon.

Next up - coarsely chop the hay (a decent-sized handful should do). I ended up using cooking sheers - that was easier

Then toast it in about 4 tablespoons of oil. Careful - it will get smokey. You want the flavor of the hay to seep into the oil. Add in another cup (yes, 1 cup) of oil after a few minutes and let it cook some more. Then set aside and let cool until it's about room temperature. (I got impatient and stuck mine in the freezer.)

In the meantime, measure out 3 tbsp. of white wine vinegar, 2 tbsp. of Dijon mustard, zest from half the lemon, and 2 egg yolks (just the yolks!) into a food processor and whir it up.

Once your oil is cooled, use an immersion blender to further blend and chop up the hay.

Next comes the 'hard' part - emulsifying the oil *SLOWLY* into the other ingredients. Pour in just a teensy bit at a time into the food processor and whir it up, bit by bit. This is what makes the mayonnaise!

Once you've added in all the oil, add about half the juice from the lemon and a dash of salt and mix it in.

Serve with veggies - radishes are key! I added sliced green pepper and baby carrots.

(I also used some to spread on my sandwich - tasty!)

According to most websites, homemade mayonnaise will keep for 2 or 3 days (since it's fresh, it's not like store-bought mayo that keeps forever). I hope you enjoy it!

London Adventures, Part 3

I'm almost caught up on sleep and back into my normal routine...I'll definitely be hitting the gym come Monday - maybe I ate a little too well on this vacation... ;-) Here are the last remaining pictures from my trip (great shots of London by day, and by night):

Lunch with the Simons at Polpo 

Me and Duff

Om nom nom - another tapas style meal where we got to share 8 or 9 amazing dishes (plus dessert!)

Sooooooooooo.....gooooooooooood....

Me in a Simon Sandwich

Next stop - drinks at Bar Americain

Art Deco

A "classic American bar" (as the website says)

Cocktail time :) 

Boys and their tech toys....

Next up - a quick stroll through Chinatown before....

....heading into Empire Cinemas to watch....

...my first ever 3D film (!) which was...

G.I. Joe! Can't say much for the movie, but it had some great action sequences and it was awesome seeing it in 3D...a very relaxing way to spend a Friday night :)

Next morning - trying my hand at Simon's infamous breakfast. First step, gather ingredients

Next step - boil eggs. THIS STEP IS CRUCIAL. Must use the tip of a knife to *carefully* poke a tiny hole in the fat end of the egg (to allow air to escape and not let the shell crack) and then place the eggs in already boiling water for 6 minutes and 36 seconds (precisely!)

Next up, get some good, chewy, seedy bread and toast it...

...add butter (always add butter)...

...add Marmite (I'm obsessed, so I put on a lot - this is not for the faint of heart...you may need to tone it down a bit)

Next up - add peeled soft-boiled eggs and shop up on the bread 

NOMS - a great start to any day!

I <3 Marmite

Like I said....slightly obsessed (crisps, crackers, cashews - all flavored with yeasty goodness!)

Saturday was the Grand National, so for fun we went to Paddy Power to place some friendly wagers

Took a couple tries, but finally figured out how to fill out the thingy

10 pounds on Imperial Commander, 10 pounds on Cappa Bleu

Then on to Coat and Badge for a nice pint (and to watch the race, of course) 

Pretty pub

Haha....they call them 'loos'

Bunch of chaps watching intently

Checking our odds

Oh my gosh - Emily won something!  

Cappa Bleu came in 2nd! Strangely enough, a horse with 66-1 odds, Aurora's Encore, won the whole thing (if I had bet 10 pounds on her, I could have had close to 700 pounds on my hands....alas, it wasn't meant to be). I didn't win anything major, but I did get my money back ;-)  

That night - dinner at Mark and Becky's. Becky made an *amazing* salmon tartare with quail egg as an appetizer

So pretty! (and delicious)

Time to make sushi...

...if we can pry the guys away from their technology...again...

Ready!

:)

We may have gone just a teensy bit overboard...but it was SO GOOD

Uh-oh...something's not quite right...

hot...HOT!

It's a dreaded *wasabi bomb* (don't worry, they recovered with extremely clear sinuses)

What's going on here? 

Simon why are you holding things to the light?

....oh....that's why...

Multi-tasking Becky

Rockband time! (I was on vocals)

A lovely dessert wine (highly recommend it)

Simon as Dr. Manhattan....I really need to see the rest of Watchmen

Sunday morning - last full day in London. Gotta start it off with a full English breakfast (made by Simon)

We actually fit a lot into our last day of site-seeing, including a stop at Waterloo station (this is where a scene from Bourne Ultimatum was filmed - watch the clip by clicking on this link) 

Another shot from the movie

Next up....a surprise (what could it be??)

An 'insider's spot' in London! This is the view from Paramount (the bar/viewing floor of Centre Point)

You can see the London Eye in the distance

Parliament 

Emily was here 

See the greenish building with the dome in the middle? That's the British Museum! 

Remember in Part 1 where I had the pictures of the glass panes on the inside? This is what it looks like from the outside :) 

The Simon Stance

The actual bar

Very pretty :)

Next stop - Neal's Yard

Unfortunately the cheese shop was closed, but we still got to walk around and see the pretty courtyard

Then another surprise...

....The Delaunay!

...for...

Afternoon Tea!

Petit fours

Finger sandwiches

Scones (mmmmmm) 

Accoutrements

I *finally* got to try clotted cream! This was the perfect combination of warm scones, cold clotted cream, and fresh strawberry jam

Interior

Twas quite lovely :)

Now a walk onto Trafalgar Square 

See Big Ben in the background?

I'm at the very center of London - this is a statue of King Charles I

I....can't remember what this was. It was bound to happen eventually... 

Being a tourist (just for a minute!)

I spy the London Eye

And Parliament

This is actually called the Elizabeth Tower (Big Ben is just the clock in the tower) 

Progression of nightfall...

I am SO EXCITED that I got to see London by night - it's something I've always wanted to do!

Inside the 'pod'

Great interactive video that showed what you were looking at as you went around

Next up - a series of photos as we went around the eye (took about 30 minutes to make the full rotation)

 

A pod and Parliament 

This is a shot Simon took earlier in the evening 

And to end the night (and the trip) - our last cocktails

At Skylon

Japanese Sour for Simon, Zeal Raspberries for me (great cocktail menu)

And finally...our last shot together. This really was the perfect way to spend the last day of my trip - I can't believe we were able to do as much as we did in just one afternoon! 

I really can't believe just how fitting this vacation was - it was just the right combination of relaxation, good food, seeing sites, and being with amazing people. I think the pictures do a good job of illustrating all that I got to see and do, but they're not able to fully capture all the experiences I had. London became one of my absolute favorite places in the world - I can't wait to go back!