UK Food Adventures - Part Two

Okay, last post about the UK.  Sorry I have been so slow, but I have been tied up with other things.  After our trip to York, we headed up to Glasgow to see our favorite Scots - Robert and Mhari.  We woke up early and hopped on the train, but unfortunately our ride up North was cut short, due to some landslides from all the rain Scotland had gotten from a couple days before.  The train ride ended in Newcastle and was not suppose to leave until the following day, which was a total bummer.  What was so surprising is how calm the other passengers were.  No one became irate, everyone just went along with it, understanding that anger was not going to move the train any farther.  It was then that I realized I was not in America.  Fortunately, after a two hour wait in line outside we took a bus to Edinburgh.  The wait wasn't that bad because train employees came around with hot tea on a cart.  Our next train ride from Edinburgh to Glasgow we got tea and a Kit Kat bar.  Kit Kats in the UK are far superior compared to American Kit Kats.  They actually taste richer and more like chocolate - whoa.

Once we got to Glasgow, Robert and Mhari made a delicious coriander pasta with pesto from scratch.  While finishing dinner, we sampled a selection of Scottish beer. 

One of my favorites was Innis & Gunn which is a beer that has been placed in oak barrels for thirty days, creating a unique malty taste.  Crabbie's Original Alcoholic Ginger Ale was another beer that we tried.  It literally tasted like candy, it was hard to believe I was drinking beer.  I don't think I could drink another, but my friends seemed to enjoy it.  Dark Island and Fraoch Heather Ale were also two I really enjoyed.  

After finishing the dinner, Mhari and Robert made Cranachan, which I was told is one of Scotland's best sweet summer fruit recipes and one of the simplest to make.  It is just whipped cream mixed with honey, whiskey and raspberries; the final ingredient is toasted oatmeal.  It was very delicious.  Below is Mhari's recipe: 

Mhari's Cranachan - serves 4:
60ml/ 4 tablespoons pinhead oatmeal
280ml/ 10fl oz/ 1 1/4 cups double cream
30ml/ 2 tablesoons whisky
45ml/ 3 tablesppons liquid honey
250g/ 8oz raspberries

1. Put the oatmeal in a small pan and toast it in the oven on a low heat for 20-30minutes, shaking the pan from time to time, until the oatmeal is lightly browned.
2. Meanwhile, whip the cream until it is thick but not stiff. Add the whisky, and the honey to taste.
3. Reserve a few of the best raspberries for decoration and fold the rest gently into the cream.
4. Spoon the mixture into 4 glass dishes and chill until you are ready to serve.
5. Just before serving, sprinkle the toased oatmeal on top of the cream and decorate with the reserved raspberries.

The following day in Glasgow, we walked the whole city seeing the sights, and stopping for some tea in a cozy little spot near the university called Tchai-Ovna.  They had a multi-page menu of tea.  I got my favorite gen maicha tea, but there was a lot of variety ranging from Russian to oolong to regular Earl Gray.  The place felt like a hobbit might live there.

Later that evening we stopped at this amazing Russian restaurant known as Cafe Cossachok.  The restaurant had a very eye-catching atmosphere - red walls, scarf-lined ceilings, and high-backed wooden chairs.  This was definitely one of my favorite meals in Scotland.  We ordered off the  pre-theater menu.  I had the babuscka blintzes, which are crepe-like pancakes filled with cabbage, carrot, onion, mushroom and spices, and topped with orange sauce.  I was a little leery about the orange sauce, but it was seriously tasty.  For dessert I got torta fantastika which is a cappuccino ice cream cake with creme anglaise and currants.  It was just alright.  I washed everything down with a very good Czech beer called Korsovice dark beer.

Next stop was the Glasgow Print Studio's Tunnock's Teacakes exhibition, where one of Mhari's prints was shown.  Tunnock's teacakes are a famous treat in Scotland.  They are a small dome of marshmallow filling with a graham cracker base, covered in milk or dark chocolate.  These aren't really my thing, but it was so fun to see all the artwork based on the famous treat, and you can't help but love the foil wrapper.  We definitely bought some to take back to the States, as well as sneaked several in our pockets for later that night.  For more photos of the artwork, check out this article here.

Stolen Tunnock's teacakes.

The next day we took the train East to Edinburgh to visit Robert's home town.  We went to many great art galleries the first night, and the second day was dedicated to seeing the city.  After climbing Arthur's Seat, we stopped by a coffee shop called Artisan Roast to meet up with a friend.  The coffee shop was so cute and cozy and the barista was super chill.  I got lavender hot chocolate.  The lavender made the hot chocolate taste lighter with its floral notes - oddly refreshing.

Later that night Robert prepared haggis, both the authentic meat version and a vegetarian version.  I would go into detail of what haggis is, but I don't want to lose my breakfast, so I just click here to learn more.

Meat haggis.

Veggie haggis.

Ok, so we ended the trip on a haggis hoorah.  It was such a fun trip, and even better having such dear friends guide to all the charming spots.  We headed back to the US the next day, dreaming of Chipotle.

Last year around this time: I made homemade pizza, wrote about asparagus, and made these absolutely delicious rosemary butter cookies.

UK Food Adventures - Part One

I posted on Borough Market last week, but I didn't have a chance to mention all the wonderful and not-so-wonderful places I ate while traveling in England and Scotland.

I have never flown an international flight, so I was very curious as to what the Virgin Atlantic meal would be.  I ate the salad, fruit, and roll, but took one look at the "lasagna" and passed.  I did enjoy getting a glass of wine though.

The same day our flight landed, we hit Borough Market, and then we stopped by the Tate Modern and I snacked on some tasty crisps (aka chips) called Crips.  I tried Sweet Thai Chilli and although I was drawn to these baked chips because of their awesome squirrel packaging, I am really glad I got them because they were a great flavor.  You should definitely visit their website just so you can see all the other animals on their other crisps.  It definitely reminded me of Wes Anderson's Fantastic Mr. Fox.

The following day we made our way to Busaba Eathai, an absolutely delicious thai restaurant recommended by a friend.  Busaba is dark with large, low square tables filling the space.  They have communal seating, which was actually nice.  It was fun to see what everyone was ordering.  I started my meal with the Pandon leaf tea served with cashew and coconut cookies.  The tea was earthy and nutty, and was nice will a spoonful of honey.  Then our meals came.  I got the green vegetable curry with jasmine rice and my friend ordered the jungle curry with coconut rice, and we split the por-pia jay (vegetable spring rolls).  I just loved the presentation and the serving ware Busaba used.  Both dishes were very tasty and I would definitely make a trip back if I was in London again.

Later that evening we walked by Parliament ran into a very friendly squirrel.  We were in the middle of opening my favorite British candy called Maltesers, when the squirrel jumped on us to get a taste of our treat.  I wouldn't think of sharing, and the squirrel finally left after harassing us for several minutes.  It was quite the spectacle, as other tourists were taking photos of us with the crazy squirrel.  And I thought Union Square squirrels were nuts!

The next day after eating a terrible breakfast of a rock hard croissant and a disgusting English breakfast (toast, sausage, bacon, eggs, baked beans, and mushrooms), we headed to Harvey Nichols.  

My coworker had told me about the Fifth Floor Market.  Harvey Nichols is the equivalent of Barneys New York, but on the top floor there are three restaurants (Robo Sushi, Fifth Floor Restaurant, and Fifth Floor Cafe and Roof Terrace).  I didn't eat at any of the restaurants, but took time to explore the market.  The Fifth Floor Market is filled with tons of products like tea, jams, sauces, and other goodies.  Along with the perimeter was a deli, fish, cheese and fruit and veg counter.  I enjoy the concept of having a market at a high end department store and being able to pick up some things you need, but over all it was just a Dean and Deluca and nothing really special.  It was still fun to see some of the specialty items.

Mustard in tubes and elderberry jam with gold flecks.

Teapigs Tea, which I picked up for some people.  Very tasty and the cutest packaging.

Willie's World Class Cacoa.

Whoa.  Pod Bites.  Still regretting I didn't buy any.

We tried to hit up a fish and chips place, but sadly it was closed at the time, so we stopped by an organic grocery store and had the worst smoothie of my life.  There were some adorable boxes of tea though.  I wish I had bought some.

Dr. Stuart's.  Such beautiful and unique drawings.

Make Us A Brew!  Hilarious.

Later that night we went to E & O Restaurant (standing for Eastern and Oriental).  It was a very trendy and posh setting with wood slated walls, a low lit bar, and a swank eating area.  We sat at the bar for a couple hours and then tried to get a table, but it was filled with reservations, so we waited another hour to be seated.  We started with edamame and then split the tuna roll special which was absolutely delicious.  Then for my meal I got steamed toothfish in black bean broth and my friend got the orange miso duck with shiitake and asparagus.  I wasn't that impressed with my fish - to the point that I didn't even finish it.  Chunks of fish floating around in broth just isn't my thing, but my friend said the duck was rich and delicious.  Late in the night I woke up with food poisoning, so definitely will not be going back to E & O and in fact it has been difficult for me to even want to eat fish again.  To read a perhaps less bias view of E & O, click here to see what the New York Times had to say.

After composing myself, it was on a train and off to York - a totally dreamy little city.  It was so nice to meet up with friends Nino and Daura who showed us around town.  After working up an appetite, we settled at very cute vegetarian restaurant called El Piano.  The restaurant was decorated with Spanish flare and vibrant colors.  We ended up ordering sangria and tapas - which included dahl, corn fritters, falafel, onion bhaji, tabouleh, and a jade salad - all served in little pine boats.  I loved the spidery-looking onion bhaji and the tabouleh.  Overall, my stomach went to bed happy and it was off to Glasgow early the next morning.  

More to come on Scotland later...for now check out some things from last year: Ramps are back at the Greenmarket, and you can make this tasty potato pancake with ramps.  Or you could warm up with this sweet and spicy lentil soup or make this lemony angel food cake to brighten up this rainy Sunday.

Borough Market

While in London a couple weeks ago, a made a visit to Borough Market.  Borough Market is a large venue found under the railway viaducts of Borough High Street, filled with fruits, vegetables, meats, baked goods, as well as plenty of other delicious treats.  It is open Thursday through Saturday, but I happened to go on the very busy Saturday.  I thought the Green Market in NYC was crazy on a Saturday, but Borough Market took it to a whole new level.  

The streets were filled shoulder to shoulder with people, sampling cheeses, cider, and fresh pasta.  I was sad to say that I was too late to snack on any vegetable empanadas or falafel, so I had to settle on mediocre winter vegetable soup.  

Still my friend had a Cumberland sausage sandwich from Baxter's Cafe.  We wandered, or should I say we were pushed around the various vendors, and were truly amazed by the amount of different food.  Every vendor I came across was extremely friendly and happy to share a sample.  I loved the fresh mushroom ravioli that was sauteed in butter right in front of me from La Tua Pasta.  I sampled some chocolates from Dark Sugars, which were good, but not great.  And then we got some cider, which isn't worth talking about, but they did have clear cups made out of corn.  I am all for the bio-degradable products, but these cups were seriously flimsy.  Every time I grabbed my cup, I was afraid I was going to squeeze it too hard and the cider would gush out.  

We ended up grabbing a table and watching the market slow down into the late afternoon.  Overall, not all the food we tried was wonderful, but I was just so glad to go and see something that New York City really needs.  That is why I am so excited for the New Amsterdam Market to open up in June.

What is Wrong With America...

This is the KFC "Double Down" sandwich.  No bread.  Just fried chicken breasts, cheese, bacon, and the Colonel's special sauce (aka mayonnaise).  540 calories.  KFC will start serving it on Monday.  Seriously messed up.