Category: food

Combinations.

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Beans on toast

There are some combinations that just go naturally together: pancakes and syrup, cookies and milk, and of course the classic all time American snack, peanut butter and jelly sandwiches.

These are all American traditions, none of which I have adopted. In England we have our own that strangely many people in the foreign country do not know. These are all things that I am unwilling to let go and still today practice on a daily basis.

Here are just a few of my all time favorites: tea and biscuits (yes you’d call them cookies), beans and toast, chips (fries) and mayonnaise, and these are only a few.

Ok these may all seem a bit alien to you but so do many of the things that Americans eat I mean pancakes and sausages, really? But you never know how good they are until you try them. So mix it up try some different combinations.

A Sun Diego Day

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I don’t think I’ve worn shorts and a tank top since October.

But it was sunny today on my vacation in San Diego so I broke out the summer wear and it was amazing.

I bought some rosemary and olive oil bread from a little place called Rustic Breads and it was absolutely marvelous.

There was a lot of glare so I couldn’t take a picture of it but this was the next thing in the display case and it looked just as delicious:

Then by the power of Ross Turner himself, I got to see my friend, Rose Hart, from CIMI!!!

She happened to be singing with her choir group on the U.S.S. Midway, fifteen minutes from my hotel.

I pulled into the parking lot and walked straight into her choir group (purely by chance) about a minute and a half before her tour started and she got onboard.

Rose Hart

After our extremely loud reunion, I walked around Downtown San Diego with my sisters and dress shopped for their graduation.

We headed down to La Jolla Shores to eat lunch at my favorite store in the world, the Cheese Shop.

I think we bought up half the stuff in there…seriously.

Then we walked down onto the beach and we saw a bunch of sea roses tangled up in the sand.

They still smelled sweet, mixed with salt and fresh sea breeze.

As we walked down further I saw three guys flying 200-foot-long kites.

Good thing it was windy…

I was very confused as to how these massive kites got into the air and I was lucky enough to see a guy launching his:

It was a very good day.

Add that to the fact that I got to see Ursula and Greg, two of my best friends ever, it was fantastic.

I love San Diego!!!

Nasty Habits.

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Eating

We all have nasty habits that are tough to change. Either we are unwilling to give them up or it’s impossible to stop. When people comment, you commit to changing and begin to take steps to prevent future incident, but this mind set lasts maybe a day and then the common cycle kicks in and you revert back to your old ways.

Sometimes the words of others don’t mean anything and you don’t want to change. Sometimes you need something more like maybe an ultimatum. For me it was someone who owned the same bad habit that has made me stop. Well at least attempt to for good.

Tonight I hand prepared a meal of Spaghetti Bolognese for my family and I. I slaved over it and put all of my heart and soul into it, just for it to gobbled up in 2 minutes by my auntie. Finding this extremely disrespectful I realized I am very similar in my speedy habits, just not to the extreme.

Luckily for me I had this realization when she first arrived, a month ago making me slow down significantly. Tonight just emphasized the terrible habit I own, keeping me on track to successfully changing.

Looking at a mirror of your disgusting behaviors is extremely helpful but not everyone is as lucky as me to have this opportunity. So next times you commit the crime just think of someone doing the same habit in front of you. How do you feel?

Pesach

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This weekend was the jewish Holiday Pesach or Pass Over.  For American Jews it is one of the most celebrated holidays, mainly because it does not consist of going to temple but rather having a seder, or a dinner.

This year I went to two seders, one at my house and one at my grandparents house.  A seder is basically a very ,very long dinner with only certain foods that must be eaten in a certain order while reciting certain prayers and telling the story of Pass over.

Pass Over is celebrating the jews release from bondage in Egypt.  It is the story of Moses freeing the Jewish slaves in which he proclaims the famous well-known line “Let My People go.”

During the seder the entire story is retold while we remember what our ancestors went through long ago.  We eat only unleavened bread to symbolize the jews frantic escape in which they did not have time to let their bread rise and rather put them on their backs and the sun cooked them into Matza.

Pass Over has much more significance to the world today then just being a jewish holiday.  On Pass Over we reflect on how blessed we are to live the lives we live and we thank our ancestors for enduring the harshness of slavery so that we may not have to.  We also discuss the world of today and how slavery is still very much alive today and what we can do.

Something New.

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Passover Plate

This weekend I experienced something new, my first Passover Seder.  Although I grew up with close Israeli family friends religion was never something that was shared between our two families. I had never experienced any part of the Jewish religion nor had any in-depth knowledge. So this experience was exciting for me.

I must admit I was a little nervous after being taunted all day about Passover proceedings. As I sat down at the table all nerves disappeared, after all it was a new experiences something exciting not something to be feared.

It was a more liberal affair that I expected with some breaded shrimp on the menu. The whole event was a lot of fun with a lot of great food. With some reading, eating and some silly dancing from drunken parents it was definitely a night to remember.

Trying something new was definitely fun and I look forward to more Jewish events in the future.

Keeping Up Traditions.

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Love

It is always important to keep up certain traditions, family memoirs that mean something personal and connect you with those who have passed or those that are far away.

Today I cooked my Grandmas recipe for an Easter nest. In no way is the recipe extravagant or different but to me it really means something.

I was taught this recipe at the age of 3. With my pull up stool giving me a little height, but not enough for my eyes to meet the counter, I would help her as much as I could in the kitchen. When I would arrive at their house I would run into the secret cupboard retrieve the stool and run into the kitchen readily awaiting my grandma’s presence to bake our Easter nests together.

As I grew taller and could reach the counter on my own the stool grew dusty but never did the recipe in my mind of the famous Easter nest. Yearly we would bake this same recipe together; it was our tradition, until I moved away.

Last year I made the nest all the way in California but it was not the same without her there. This year I will do the same. Although in many ways it makes me sad, this ritual is a joyous motion that honors my grandmother in England and connects us through a single recipe, despite the distance. This is a recipe I will pass on to my children and one day make with my grandchildren to connect to my Grandmother wherever she may be, passing on the love that I feel for her to them through our Easter nests.

Sprinkles ATM

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One of the greatest inventions has been put into use this past month.

Sprinkles, my favorite cupcake store of all time, has opened up a 24-hr/ 7 day a week cupcake ATM. That way (if any of you have seen or experienced the lines at a Sprinkles Cupcake store), you don’t have to wait for 20-30 minutes just for your share of red velvet or black and white.

This invention is great for two reasons: efficiency and novelty. People are drawn to it because they do not have to spend too much time waiting in line. Working men and women alike can pick it up with a swipe of their card.

It is also a new and exciting way to approach such a simple dessert. I personally wouldn’t want to spend too much time in a line. However, my biggest reason behind checking out the cupcake ATM is just for the heck of it.

Besides, its fun! There is a little camera that follows the mechanical arm inside the ATM that leads you to the cupcake and follows it on its journey out into your welcoming hands.

This next break, I welcome everybody to check it out! The closest one to Ojai Valley School is in Beverly Hills:

An Ideal Sunday.

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Papa Lennon's

Sunday is traditionally a family day, a day of rest, good food and relaxing. A day that includes some sort of walk or exercise and family bonding.

I woke up, ate breakfast and as my family travelled to the farmers market to gather provisions of fresh fruit and veg for the week, I sat studiously doing my homework. Traditionally on one of these days lunch  consists of a pub lunch, but as I now live in America the steak and ale pie and chips had to be constituted with a panini from Ojai’s delicious, Papa Lennon’s.

After eating some delicious food my family and I travelled up the 33 to Rose falls. Here we followed the short trailhead to the magnificent falls, nature at its finest.

After a period of time we travelled onwards to White Rocks where we admired the view from the roadside. After a long day we travelled back into town stopping for a handmade pastry and coffee at the artsy Ojai cafe, Bohemia. We  travelled home, as the sun set, preparing ourselves for the feast that would be cooked by my mother.

Now I am looking forward to a night in front of the fire with a good film and a cup of hot cocoa and a big slice of chocolate cake, after I have stuffed myself with dinner that is.

What a relaxing, ideal Sunday.

Up In The Clouds.

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On rainy days my house is literally up in the clouds. A white, greyish fluff of some sort obscures every window; the only thing you can see is the looming silhouettes of large oak trees. That is why on days when it is raining I love to be inside, relaxing in my safe and cosy abode.

With a warm fire burning, delicious home cooked food and good music I am set, and lets not forget copious amounts of blankets. Rainy days are they only days I don’t feel bad about doing nothing, staying inside and being lazy and that is why I love the rain.

So kick back, relax and enjoy the rain.

Bed

A Gift From God.

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Angel Food Cake

There’s always some sort of delicious food staring at you as you check out your groceries. Today as I checked out my healthy dinnertime ingredients this one item was angel food cake.

With a deal price of $1.99, how could I possibly resist? After all God or maybe an angels placed it there for a reason.

The purpose being that I could taste or sample a piece of heaven and that is an extremely appropriate word to describe angel food cake. Heavenly.

the I don’t know if the angels used their floaty, soft wings to beat the batter or if God created some kind of miracle, but as I chomped down on the first bite my mouth hit air. I could only describe it as how I would imagine the texture of clouds. It was light, airy, but unlike clouds we see in the sky, sweet and vanillary.

I tried angel food cake and I liked it. By taking one simple step I experienced something great, a gift from God.  So take a gamble in life and be tempted because you never know you may experience something out of this world.