Category Archives: London

This weekend, we decided to have our friends over for a Saturday brunch.  We decided on 11am–not too early because everyone had to take the Tube to reach us.  Because of the upcoming Olympics, the DLR had been shut down for “repair” so our guests had to figure out other ways to reach our flat.  That was a comedy in itself.

Yay Brunch!

I was keen on making a Praline Pull-Apart Recipe I had made at Christmas for my family back home in Kentucky.  Never mind that I caught the oven on fire (it was a small fire) I wanted to try it here in the UK.  So, I got the recipe and proceeded to go to the grocery store to get all of the ingredients.  Follow the link to the Praline Pull-Apart recipe to see what I needed.

You’ll realize this isn’t a very difficult recipe, nor are the ingredients hard to find in the US (at least in KY).  John and I went to ASDA (Wal-Mart’s European store) and found everything except arguably the most important ingredient:  frozen dinner rolls.  I had all the delicious seasoning and sauce in the world, but no rolls to put them on.  I scoured the frozen food aisle to find a suitable replacement.  The only frozen bread they had was garlic bread.  No go.

Posing with my Yorkshire Puddings. Before I knew if it would work...

Finally I came across the frozen Yorkshire puddings.  The first time I had Yorkshire pudding was with a traditional Sunday roast (made by one of my best friends in Singapore, Kerry, who made them from scratch).  They are little cups made of batter and typically served with roast meat and gravy.  By the time you eat them with your Sunday roast, they are swimming in gravy.  They are delicious, but in a savory way– not exactly the first thing you would think of to use in a cinnamon roll type concoction.

I told John I was going to do a Southern US-British fusion experiment and grabbed the puddings.   He’s used to me by now, so he was not surprised…haha.

In the oven.

The next morning I started to create the first dish of my new fusion cuisine.  I know it says to start the night before, but based on the consistency of the puddings, I wasn’t sure how that would go, so I made the executive decision to wing it in the morning.  It’s also worth stating I couldn’t find a bundt pan for a reasonable price, so I ended up using a loaf pan instead.  Not a huge deal, but the puddings weren’t my first  concession with the recipe.

Finished Product!

So, I made the dish and popped it out and the loaf shape slowly disintegrated on the platter.  Despite it’s inability to hold a shape, it turned out quite delicious.  The taste and texture were definitely different than what I made at Christmas, but it turned out ok.  Oh, and there was no oven fire this time.  That’s one ingredient I was happy to omit.  It didn’t turn out as pretty as the pull-apart did at home, or as it looked in Southern Living (does it ever?), but it was edible and some people even went back for seconds :).

I guess I’ve created a whole new type of cuisine.  Stay tuned for more culinary adventures–you never know what we’ll end up eating next!

Best part of the morning: the men cooking!

What a crazy four months it’s been since we moved to London!  We are settled in our new flat and have had several adventures both in and around London.  We are living in Canary Wharf, on the east side of the city.

The battle ship was about a five minute walk from our flat

It’s a new (within 20 years) financial district and is connected to the main part of London by the Docklands Light Railway (DLR) and the Tube.  The area is called the Docklands and used to be a major hub for shipping.  We love the location as we can zip in and out of central London very easily and we have all the amenities of the city right here–since Canary Wharf is like a city of its own.  It actually reminds us a lot of Singapore with its underground shopping malls and such.

Roman Baths

We’ve made a few friends since arriving and have had some lovely outings with them.  Back in October, we took a holiday in Bath and Bristol in the Cotswolds.  Jeremy (bravely) drove us out of London and into the countryside.  After a quick McDonalds run–haha–we were on our way to Bath.  We stayed in a beautiful three bedroom cottage off of an adorable country road with a stone fence.  It felt like a movie!

Part of the gang in Bath Circus

We went into Bath and Bristol during our days in the Cotswolds.  Bath was fascinating–it hosts the northern most Roman bath ruins which were built over the local hot springs. The Romans thought the springs were magical (it’s a hot spring with bubbles coming up) and in the days before modern scientific advances, the only explanation was that the bubbles were from the gods.  People traveled from miles around to have a chance to bathe in and drink from the magical spring.  While there, we explored the ruins, the accompanying museum, and even had a chance to try the water, which is supposed to cure what ails you.  Honestly, it tasted like metal, but I was determined to get all of the healing power I could from it.  You never know when healing water will come in handy ;).

Antics in the countryside

Our next day, we went walking on the country paths that connected the lovely farms and explored the country side.  We even ate a delicious Sunday Roast at a local pub complete with Yorkshire pudding!

In Bristol

The next day, we were off to Bristol.  It seems like a university town and felt like a much smaller version of London.  We happened upon the early days of Occupy Bristol and explored some old churches and saw a fascinating suspension bridge.  All in all–a good day in the Cotswolds!

Oxford!

We also recently took a trip to Oxford for the day with the same group of friends–minus two.  We saw the University and had a drink where C.S. Lewis and J.R.R. Tolkien met to discuss their latest works.  Our day ended with a drink in a church converted into a bar and before we knew it–we were back on the train to London.  It was a fun day–just so cold!!!

At Lewis and Tolkien's pub

London has been a fun place to live.  John is enjoying school and I am working part-time at the American School in London as a cheerleading coach.  Whoever thought I would use that skill set again?  haha.  I’m still on the lookout for other opportunities here as we will be here for a while longer.  We are already exploring options for next year (John’s programme ends in September) but are taking this time to enjoy living in one of the world’s greatest cities.

Ice Skating at Somerset House

Our date nights consist of evenings at the museums as they are open late on the weekends and free followed by a drink at one of the historic pubs in town.  It’s neat to get off of the Tube at Baker Street and think about Sherlock Holmes and go through King’s Cross and look for platform 9 3/4.  A few nights ago, we were able to go ice skating with some good friends and then we walked across the bridge to Waterloo and had a beautiful view of Parliament and Big Ben on one side and St. Paul’s Cathedral on the other.  We are so blessed to be in London and to get to experience these things.

The adjustment hasn’t been all a dream though.  It’s a whole new country, with new laws, national healthcare, different words (yes it’s English, but it’s different–I promise!!!), and a new lifestyle.  London is an expensive city and it’s cold!!!  I’ve definitely learned that I am a warm weather person.  I don’t mean warm weather as in summer, I mean warm weather as in equator. 🙂 But, all in all, we are loving our European adventure.  🙂

If you’re ever in the area…look us up!

Well, we made it to London!  We’ve been here just under a week and are enjoying our new European home.  We found a flat today (yay!!!) and are looking forward to moving in as soon as possible.  In the last few days, we have learned to use the Tube efficiently, that most everything you order comes with chips (french fries in American vernacular), and that London is much cooler than Singapore (I, for one, am missing the equator ;)).

This being my first time to the UK, I have enjoyed seeing the sites, such as Westminster Abbey, Big Ben and the Parliament Building, and the red telephone booths.  🙂  John starts at LSE on Monday, so he is doing some prep work and meeting some of his classmates.  All in all we are settling in well and are excited to get our flat set up so we can have visitors!

Our US phone number still works here and our email addresses haven’t changed–please do contact us!  🙂  Hope everyone has a brilliant week!!!

Cheers!