A Very British Christmas Feast

   I think I will always remember our Christmas Feast in Cambridge. It was a massive feat of deliciousness. 

   We began with a "starter" of shrimp with Rose Marie sauce. Oh my word. I don't even like shrimp but this was delicious! And even better, it's extremely easy. The fancy Rose Marie sauce is really just ketchup and mayonnaise! Mix. Serve. Impress. (You don't have to tell them it's just ketchup & mayonnaise if you don't want to.)

   Then dad cut our bird (or birds, depending on how you look at it). Since we were in England we knew we had to do something special for our Christmas feast, so we got a three-in-one bird. Basically there are three birds (we choose chicken, pheasant, & duck) stuffed inside each other! And then there's bacon on top. Anna approves.

   Right before the meal we all stood in a circle & popped our Christmas crackers! We don't have crackers in America which is a real shame because they are so fun! If you have never heard of a cracker, they are little circular packages with treats & (very often) a paper crown inside. You pull them apart and they open with a loud crack! We donned our paper crowns and sat down to enjoy our feast.

   Mum really is spectacular. We had our three-in-one bird (chicken, pheasant, & duck), sweet potato casserole, bacon wrapped sausages, bread sauce (so British), & cheesy Brussels sprouts. The bread sauce was (unfortunately) only enjoyed by mum, but everything else was a winner! My favorite? The Brussels sprouts. Who would have thought. They were amazing! 

   We feasted. We laughed. We told the (endearingly lame) jokes from our crackers. We talked. We acted out the charades from our crackers. We laughed some more. We reminisced. We toasted mums amazing cooking. It was a good night.

P.S. Just as a disclaimer, that's Raspberry cordial, not wine. =)

P.P.S. After our feast, Joshua & I rushed off to watch the Doctor Who Christmas special! Goodbye 11th Doctor!

Macaroons & Dauphinoise

   We really do eat healthy. Mum is so good at making delicious & nutritious meals for us. The problems come when I want to make things. Because I like sugar. And cream. 

   So all the things I make & post on here are not the healthiest things to eat. But they are the tastiest. Here are two new recipes I've found!

   A few weeks ago I went over to a friends house to watch The Great British Bake Off finale! I figured since it was a bake off finale we needed a treat to munch on. Enter the first recipe: coconut macaroons. I used this recipe {here} and they turned out beautifully! I definitely want to make them again. I suppose that's the problem with scrummy deserts. You want to make them again. *Sigh*

   Last week we had some friends over for a wonderful dinner with lots of veg! I wanted to make something for it & we had lots of fresh potatoes. Enter the second recipe: cheesy dauphinoise (basically, potatoes baked with cream & cheese). I roughly followed this recipe {here}, but made a few changes.
   Firstly, I used gruyere cheese instead of cheddar.
   Secondly, instead of heating the cream first, I simply mixed all the ingredients in a bowl (except for half the cheese), poured everything in a baking dish (sprinkling rest of cheese on top), & baked for an hour & fifteen minutes.
   The result? Creamy divineness.

   A word on double cream. We do not have double cream in America. It is one of the things I will miss most when we go back home. It is so thick you can almost stand a fork up in it. Almost. You see in the picture above how it looks like the dauphinoise is dripping with butter? There's not a teaspoon of butter in there, it's just double cream. Mmmmmmm...

   So there are two divinely delicious recipes that you absolutely must try. I'm sorry. Do you have a favorite recipe that is so unhealthy but so worth it?

A Yummy Week

   Sorry for my absence, I had trouble uploading my pictures this week, but I'm good now! 

   I'm finally feeling settled in our new rhythm of life. School is going well, & I hope to do a post about it soon. I also had some lovely visits with new friends, so the week has been quite delightful.

   As I look back at my random pictures from the week, I have to laugh. Most of them are of food! I got some pictures of other subjects, but the majority are of yummies. =P We've eaten well this week.

   This is a soft boiled egg. Basically it's like a hard boiled egg, but creamier & the yolk is runny. I used these instructions & my eggs turned out wonderful! (I cooked mine for about five & a half minutes.) You should give it a go, they make a delicious & easy breakfast! 

   Sabbath Tea from last week. 

   Mum has been amazing with our suppers. The other night she made this focaccia with rosemary loaf & used our leftover couscous, vegetables, & eggs to make this lovely medley of flavors! I hope I can cook like her one day...

   This was my first ever green smoothie! I've been wanting to try one for a while, and I'm so glad I finally did. If you've never heard of a green smoothie, basically it's made with fruit & some kind of leafy green. My friend Emily sent me this recipe & it wasn't just tolerable, it was good! I'm definitely going to make it again, it gave me a ton of energy & I felt so healthy!

1 cup milk
1 tablespoon flax
1 tablespoon peanut butter
A handfull of spinach
One banana (preferably frozen)
3 ice cubes

It makes about 2 glasses though, so next time I will probably half it.

   Then Saturday we had a grand adventure going to the village of Coton. I got a ton of lovely pictures which I will share with you soon! But for now, here is a picture of my humble yet tasty picnic lunch. Nutella & Pringles are the best.

   What can I say? I really like food. =)