Sunday Dinner (Mais oui!)

It was a cold, clear sunny day in London town, and while I was walking home from church I got a hankering for an old-fashioned Sunday dinner. But, what to make? Roast beef and mash? Pork chops and apples? Lasagna and salad?

Mais non, non, NON! I wanted some solid French fare. Why, you wonder, for my first home-cooked Sunday dinner in England's capital city was I being so non-traditional?

It all began on Friday, when I started reading Muriel Barbery's The Gourmet (Gourmet Rhapsody in North America). Suddenly, I needed to nibble on some dark chocolate. Then, I just had to make an omelette with some farm-fresh eggs. I hunted down some Brie. I made crisp walnut cookies. I had to put the book down!  

This book is the perfect book with which to curl up on the couch under a blanket on a cold winter's afternoon, but I warn you, you will want French food!

Back to the present, for a last-minute lovely French dinner worthy of Sunday status, follow my lead:

Roughly chop a bunch of vegetables,

simmer them with chicken in some dry red wine and broth,

serve with a side of warm herbed scones,

finish it off with an apple-berry treat,

et voilà, a simple, elegant Sunday dinner that satisfies the craving for French.

The Game's Afoot!

It's 3:45 p.m and daylight is ending. The sky is overcast. A giant pigeon watching me through the living room window. I have a pot of Lady Earl Grey beside me. It can all mean only one thing: I am in England!

I arrived safe and sound on Friday. The flight was good (class upgrades pay for themselves...at least on charter flights!), my bag arrived and my travel papers were found to be in order at the border control. Three times, hooray!

Tall Guy was overjoyed at my arrival - he even came outside at 6:30a.m. to meet me at the bus station! I planned on crashing as soon as we arrived at our flat. Instead, Tall Guy talked my ear off. Then, when he left for work, some guys came to set up our phone, Internet and TV! So much for sleep!

I sonambulated to Harrod's, Big Ben, the Globe, and the Tower. Yesterday I finally felt adjusted to the time, and it turned out to be a very productive day:
I went grocery shopping at Sainsbury's (a giant supermarket by our flat), applied for a few jobs, had a session at the gym with my PT (our gym rocks), and got a library card and signed out a bunch of books!

The coolest thing about yesterday was the library card. There were about ten different card designs to choose from, from cats to quotes by English authors. While I was initially drawn to the dinosaur, in the end I decided upon a sketch of some neighbourhood buildings (more keepsake...and age-appropriate... than a dino). Do any of your libraries offer card design options?
Today I went back to the gym for a Pilates class and a Power Plate session. Readers, some friendly advice: never combine Power Plate workouts with other activities! What's a Power Plate, you ask? Basically, a vibrating platform. So, you do your exercises while you're shaking and have to work extra-hard to maintain balance. Another piece of advice: don't talk while working on a Power Plate unless you want to sound like Darth Vader driving down a train track.

Anyway, I'm settling in. Watch for more news soon!

Winter Daze

I love snow. I really do. It's probably because I enjoy sports that require snow, or at least cold: skiing, curling, skating, watching hockey (but only if my bro is playing!). Nothing beats running on a sunny winter's day, or hiking through the woods while snow is gently falling, except maybe the feeling of heat hitting you as you come inside to wrap your hands around a steaming mug of hot chocolate.

Sure it's crap to drive in, and when I'm scraping ice off the windshield I can think of heaps of other things I'd rather be doing, but snow is also fresh and clean and beautiful. Of course you might say my romance with snow is a delusion brought on by living without it in Spain. But I really believe that if you take up some kind of winter activity, from winter hiking to ice hockey, the snow will become, if not the friend you wait for with anticipation each fall, at least a tolerable or even pleasant acquaintance.

Picture this: it's a cloudless day. The sun is shining and the snow is sparkling. You take a deep breath and breathe in invigorating, crisp air. 

Now picture this: it's a cold, clear night. You are star-gazing whilst tramping over snow covered fields, or listening for owls as you snowshoe silently through forest.



At the tubing hill

Feeling a little more adventurous? Or lazy? Go tubing. I tried it this year for the first time, and there is no walking involved. Basically, you and your inner tube ride up a slope on a conveyor belt. Then, you sit in your tube and careen down the slope with no way of controlling which direction you go. Then, you get back on the conveyor belt and repeat! Fun! Dress warmly, though (I went with my cousins and one wimped out after a few trips down), you will feel cold!

Hope we don't run into the fence!

Last week I had another first: I went to a midnight hockey game. My brother plays in a rec league at his university, and unfortunately, rec league game times are assigned by lottery. I was convinced I would sleep on the way to the arena, in the arena, and on the way home from the arena, but as soon as the cold air hit me, I was alert. Being the only spectator in an enormous area was also quite an unusual experience. If you find yourself in this situation, be very careful about what you yell - all of the players will know it was you!

That's enough about my snow daze (the daze caused, no doubt, by being awake at all hours to take advantage of the winter while it's here). Stop complaining about the weather, put on your gloves and boots and get out there! And when you come back in, drop me a line and tell me about it!

The First Post

It’s that time of year again: the time when, after days of indulging in yummy, but not always healthy, treats, we are bombarded by images of flat abs and happy looking people on treadmills. Ads stating variations of “Make THIS year YOUR year” abound. This can only mean one thing: It’s resolution time.

I can’t say I like New Year’s resolutions. I especially don’t like New Year’s resolutions that are fuelled by guilt and self-loathing. If we had a list of all resolutions made, and next December we checked it, how many would have been kept? Not many. What’s useful about that?

So why do we do it? I think we are motivated by food. We are FULL in January. We need some unplanned, free evenings. We don’t want to go to another social event revolving around food for a long while. Then there’s the weather. There is snow, and it’s lovely and white. The air is crisp. January is a clean month. And, well, the days are short and the nights are long, leaving us with lots of time to make lists...

As I said, I don’t really like New Year’s resolutions, but I do like resolutions in general. One year I made October resolutions. Another year, I tried to incorporate a new habit each month (a wise friend once told me she had learned that if you can be consistent for 30 days in a row, a new routine is likely to stick). Other monthly resolutions included trying recipes from 12 different countries and doing 12 new volunteer activities. This year I made some resolutions in August, after learning I would be spending the next 5 months in Germany (I resolved to blog – check; to learn German – check; to keep our house junk food and chemical free – check, check; and to explore my new hometown – check).

For now I think I’m done with checklists. Instead, I am going to focus on a word (upon reflection, I can sum up 2010 in one word: change. I went from high school teacher in Spain to private art collection manager in Ontario and Maine to tourist extraordinaire in Europe to chatelaine in Germany. I lived in five different houses in three countries. My god sister was granted permission to move to the U.S.A., my mom remarried, my dad got engaged, and three dear friends got married. And, and, and. The change goes on.).

My word, and by extension, my resolution, for 2011 is explore. I have an entire year to explore a new country and meet new people. I also plan on some self-exploration: I can try out different jobs, join new clubs and take new classes.

I’ll let you know how it goes. Watch for posts from England before the end of the month!

*thanks to Sarah at Pink of Perfection for posting a link to the word for the year exercise.