Pages, Pucks and Pantry

The Olympics, Russia, and Food

It all started back in 2008 when the Olympics were held in China. Mr. L and I decided to hunker in on that Friday night to watch the spectacle of the opening ceremonies. That meant having food delivered and what else would we have delivered that night but Chinese food. Two years later, when the Olympics were held in Canada, I bought a Canadian cookbook and made Tourtiere Turnovers,and Butter Tarts in Phyllo to celebrate the Vancouver games. And thus really started a tradition. Two years ago I had a blast pulling out some of my own cookbooks (and of course buying some new ones) to cook recipes from England (Individual Beef Wellingtons and Toad-In-The-Hole being my favorites) . Not to mention visiting my local Cost Plus World Market that had a whole section of foods from England for me to try.

Figuring out what dishes to cook for the Olympics in Russia turned out to be a bit of a trial. Just what is Russian food? There are lots of things with Russia in the name that aren't from Russia (think Russian Dressing or the Moscow Mule). Russia today isn't what Russia was many years ago. Certain areas no longer consider themselves a part of Russia and seem to get very offended if you lump them in with "Mother Russia" .

And then there were the actual recipes, and this is what I had a struggle with. I have many cookbooks that list recipes for dishes that supposedly originated in Russia, where the cookbooks weren't exactly what you would call "Russian cuisine". There were Russian recipes sent to me by friends. Not to mention a gazillion versions of Russian recipes online. But which recipe should I use? The one that was handed down from her great grandmother that my neighbor swears is "authentic" but bears no resemblance to the recipe for the same dish in a cookbook of "authentic Russian recipes"?  I came across this question when I was checking out recipes for dishes from England too. I guess it all comes back to me...Did I want to spend an inordinate amount of time doing research into an Olympic countries cuisine to try to be "authentic". Or did I just want to cook some good meals?

My mind went back to a recent discussion I came across of folks not buying Cooks Illustrated Cookbooks because the recipes for certain ethnic foods weren't "authentic".  How dare they put a recipe in their cookbooks that didn't use traditional ingredients for a regional dish!? With great recipes to be found on the internet and all the strange ingredients called for to be found in ethnic supermarkets these days, not to mention all the availability of hard to find ingredients online, any recipe for an ethnic dish should be true to the same dish you would find should you eat that dish in the country it originated in (at least that was what I was getting out of the discussion). Well I said hogwash. Though I agreed on the tone and how some of these ethic dishes are presented in Cooks, I always go back to my Grandma W who recently passed away. She loved to cook and she had no problem trying a strange sounding recipe in one of her cookbooks that might be a curry from India, a goulash from Hungary, or a national beef dish from Thailand. But there were no ethnic grocery stores near her. She didn't own a computer so checking out recipes or ingredients online where not possible for her. Plus spending  a fortune on a spice or other ingredient that she might only use for that one dish wasn't feasible for her. Should that stop her from trying a curry dish from India that might have been in a old cookbook of hers that wasn't exactly authentic? Maybe that dish didn't have the complexities of a traditional Indian Curry nor the unusual ingredients, but maybe that dish was still good! And maybe, just maybe, it inspired her to seek out a bit more complex recipe for Indian Curry next time? I think sometimes those of us who have a gazillion cookbooks and read food blogs and such forget that a vast majority of families don't have the time and resources to spend on thinking/reading/researching/cooking food that some do.

I also thought about my family and the Filipino dish Pancit. My "Aunties" were all born in the Philippines as was my Mom and her Mom*. I've grown up eating Pancit all my life. And not one of my aunties makes Pancit the same way my Grandma did. And my Moms version is different than my Grams. And my version is different too. Are any of them not authentic? And the "authentic" version they had when they were in the Philippines in the 40's looks nothing like the "authentic" version I see cooked there now. So which is best? Well, all of them are pretty tasty and I would never turn down any of them! So I decided to just find some Russian recipes that I liked and just cook them. They may be authentic, they may not, but if they tasted good, that's what mattered to me. Maybe my dishes wouldn't earn any gold medals in the Russian food Olympics, but as long as I was in the game, I was satisfied.

I was disappointed this year that Cost Plus didn't have any Olympic displays with food and drinks from Russia available. I did manage to find a few items that I took home to try. I found a local Russian deli/food shop here in San Jose, called, appropriately "The Russian Cafe and Deli". Mr. L and I had fun going in and trying to figure out what to buy. Who knew that dumplings and chocolate were big in Russia? I probably could have bought half the store up but decided to only buy a few items as I knew that I'd be spending more time watching the Olympics this year than I'd have cooking for it. I also found a small European grocery store in the area but never had a chance to go back to check out what Russian goodies it might offer. But since I've realized I now have a gigantic fondness for Russian dumplings, I have a feeling I will be heading out to my local Russian stores on a regular basis!

*Yeah, those of you that know me will take one look and say "wow, you're Filipino?". I know I don't look it but it is my heritage.

 

Happy New Year

Ahh, a New Year and new beginnings. I always love the first of the year. I'm usually still perusing all the cookbooks I've received as gifts over the holidays (and lets be honest, looking at the ones I bought myself too).  Of course the recipes I bookmark tend to be of the "healthier" variety...you know...for all those workouts I'm going to be doing (and lets be honest, I will go to the gym, just maybe not as much as I should) and for all that weight I plan on losing to be a more healthier me (and lets be honest, though I will eat healthier I'm sure there will be food that will be deep fried).  But, like Spring or the start of the school year, the first few days of the new year bring promises of change. And of course all those New Year resolutions. Which one may or may not follow.

PAGES - I changed the way I scrapbooked last year. Gone are the days of 12 x 12 layouts, now I'm all about Project Life Scrapbooking. Though I didn't keep up with it as much as I wanted to last year, I did come up with a system that works for me and I got more scrapping done than usual. One of the projects I'm continuing to tackle is going through all my Grandmothers travel scrapbooks...dismantling them, taking out all the photos of folks we don't know and trying to condense each one (there were something like 50 albums to start) into three or four pages of photos and information. It's a labor of love where I hope to have one or two scrapbooks the family can look through that shows all of my Grandmothers travels over her 94 year lifetime.

PUCKS - My Sharks still drive me crazy, but I wear teal colored glasses and every year I believe that this will be the year the Sharks make it all the way. We started the new year off by watching the Winter Classic and being thankful that we live in a temperate climate where playing hockey in blizzards is something to only watch on TV.  I can only hope that come June, I'm still watching my boys, wearing teal and winning games. And just for reference, no, I don't plan on buying this years new jerseys...I like them, but I think the large amount of Sharks jerseys I currently own should go into rotation for several years before I buy a new one.

PANTRY - I can't lie to you Marge, 2013 wasn't an easy year for me. Still trying to get used to my Mom not being here. Still trying to figure out a way to enjoy some of the things that had to be put aside for the years that I was taking care of her. For me this coming year won't be about a lot of change, as quite frankly, I've had too much of that over the past few years. And I'm not doing standard cooking resolutions like I have in previous years, except to maybe try to catch up on some of the resolutions I made and never accomplished in previous years. I think this year, when it comes to cooking, I'm just going to "be". Go wherever my cooking sensibilities take me. That may mean trying all sorts of new techniques. It may mean just lots of grilled cheese sandwiches (on white bread even!).  No pressure this year. No trying to keep the blog up, no trying to follow all my favorite food blogs because heaven forbid I may miss an incredible recipe. This may mean eating out more often or cooking more at home.  Just letting my cooking life "be" may mean not even looking at my cookbooks this year. I just don't know. And you know what? That's okay. Sometimes I feel that we are all trying to be these great cooks, trying new things, trying to post them before  someone else does, being on the cutting edge of what food is hip or what restaurants we should be eating at, spending more time online and plugged in than in front of the stove or sitting down enjoying a meal with our loved ones. So this coming year I have no idea what I'll be cooking or eating, I just know that I will slowly be learning to enjoy it more.

Though, I do know me well. I'll probably still continue to photograph my dinners and text them to my sister.  And not picking up a cookbook for a year? Yeah, very unlikely. I guess though, I'm just saying that I'm not going to worry about much this year.  I'm going to let my cooking and eating this year kind of take me wherever it wants to go. And that in itself, is kinda exciting don't you think?

Happy New Year. And may your cooking take you where ever you want it to go this year.

 

Happy Thanksgiving

HAPPY THANKSGIVING!!

This Thanksgiving I am thankful for the fact that I will have food on my plate to eat, knowing that many others do not. This Thanksgiving, should you find you have a leftover can of cranberry sauce, an extra bag of stuffing, an unused bag of pecans for that pie you never got around to making...please think about donating them to your local food bank after the holiday.

May you have a wonderful Thanksgiving. May you have plenty of antacid on hand, a stretchy waistband and a good pillow to plop your head on when you pass out from eating too much good food.

There are now only 27 days until Christmas. Don't say I didn't warn you.

 

The Oscars and Food

I'll be honest with you Marge...there hasn't been a lot of cooking going on in our house. Well...I take that back, meals are being cooked, food is being eaten, but there hasn't been much of trying of new recipes. It's been roasted chicken, shrimp (and crab and tuna and salmon) salads. Crock pots full of mystery meats found in the bowels of the freezer covered with jars of sauce found in the pantry. Leftover roasted veggies tossed together to make a soup. Mortadella (and salami and chicken) sandwiches. It's also been eating out. Food trucks. Restaurants. Grabbing pre-cooked meals from the deli section of our grocery store.

And while work has been kicking my butt for weeks I can't blame that on the lack of culinary experimentation in our house. No, the culprit can be described in two words.

The Oscars.

You see, last year was a bit of a trying year and nights out to go watch a movie (or nights in renting one) were few and far between. Mr. L and I suddenly realized come the end of January that we hadn't seen even one movie of the nine Oscar nominated best pictures. I knew this wouldn't do. So we set out to rectify the situation.

One of the first things we realized in our Oscar movie viewing adventure was that only one of the movies nominated was on DVD or available for download on AppleTV/Direct TV. Which meant going out to the movie theaters* and lots of figuring out movie times that fit into our already busy schedule. This also meant quick meals before movie show times (and with lots of these movies being 2 1/2 hours long meant we really did need to eat dinner first. I admit, I think there was one night where a large buttered popcorn was dinner. I also think quite a few movie hot dogs were consumed. But we managed to get a few good sushi dinners in beforehand too). 

We also, along with the best picture movies, tried to see as many other nominated movies that we could. We spent nights watching Looper and Skyfall. The Pirates! Band of Misfits (we were able to catch  Brave in the theater when it originally came out). We even were able to watch all of the Live Action Shorts (our favorite was Death of a Shadow) and three of the animated shorts (Head Over Heals stole our hearts). And just to add to what we ended up calling "The Oscar Movie Death March" we also watched The Kings Speech since we had failed to see that a few years ago (we still need to see The Artist).

It was the morning of the Oscars that I suddenly realized that though I had seen every single nominated best picture and quite a few other movies, I hadn't really thought about what to make or bring to the annual Oscar party. I had a ton of ideas, I'd even started a list of possible contributions months ago, but time just sort of got away from me. So it was a quick trip to the grocery store before heading to the party to pick up the two items you see in the photo above (we even splurged and bought some European butter to go with the French bread). I think the signs helped.

It was interesting to see all the nominated movies in such a short time frame. I think it made it much easier to compare between all of them (though we hopefully will not be doing this compacted watching schedule ever again). My favorite movie? Life of Pi, but I was not disappointed that Argo won. Least favorite? Beasts of the Southern Wild. Most surprising? Django Unchained (which I thought I would hate but really liked). Amour was extremely difficult for me since I had just watched my mom deteriorate like that. Though we liked Les Miserables, the theater we saw it in had the most horrible sound system, the film was full of scratches and I swear there was only a quarter of an inch of padding in the seat. Not the best viewing experience and I'm sure that affected our thoughts on the movie. The one movie I didn't see that I wanted before the Oscars was The Impossible since my Aunt** said Watts performance was wonderful. 

So, honestly, there just hasn't been much time to fulfill one of my favorite hobbies...perusing my cookbooks and picking out recipes to try. Of course two other factors have put a bit of a damper on my cooking...the fact that every Wednesday a food truck shows up down the street from where we live. Hard to resist just being able to walk to the truck once we are both home from work. And I also have to give big props to Mr. L, who, for the past month or so, has taken up the "food" responsibility every other week (that means he plans, shops and cooks breakfast, lunch and dinners for that week). It's giving me a bit of a breather with my current crazy work life.

Which doesn't mean I haven't still been collecting recipes to try. Cookbooks have been bought, dishes have been pinned, recipes have been torn out of magazines and blog foods have been bookmarked. I've had this insane desire for days to hole myself up and do some baking. It's my week to cook so I think it's time to do some cooking! And maybe watch a movie or two....

*Seriously expensive going out to movies these days. Especially if you add on popcorn, soda and a hot dog. Cost of two tickets was from twenty to twenty five bucks. A large popcorn and soda was another twelve to fifteen dollars. Maybe eight bucks for a hot dog. Yikes.

**My Aunt is a movie watching pro. She goes at least once or twice a week to the theater. When she's home she probably watches at least a movie a night on the TV (between Netflix and the movie channels she says there is always something interesting to see).

It's a New Year

So, it's a new year, and I can tell you without a shadow of a doubt, that I'm very, very glad, 2012 is over. Not my favorite year. Lets just move on.

One thing I recently realized is that I haven't been frequenting the many food blogs I've come to love over the years. This lack of knowledge of what my fellow bloggers have been doing came to the forefront this past week when I started getting notifications of "The Ten Best Recipes on My Blog in 2012" posts. And when perusing all these posts, realizing I hadn't seen any of the dishes portrayed. Also realizing that I wanted to make about 85 percent of the recipes I was coming across! It was a good year last year in the food blogging world, I'm just sorry I missed it. But I'll be honest with you, I'm not going to even begin to try to catch up. Since I follow some of my favorite food bloggers on Pinterest, I know that some of those missed recipes have probably been marked, but the rest? We'll just start from here on in, shall we? In other words, lets just move on.

PAGES - Ahh yes, Scrapbooking. Didn't do much of that last year either. I did go on a nice 3 day excursion to scrap at a store in the Sacramento area...only to have it close down a few months after I was there. And I did start and stop and start various versions of Project 365 which turned into Project Life. But in a crazy "don't you already have too much on your plate" moment, I decided that documenting moments of my life to share and be able to look back on later in life was important to me. So I've started (again) Project Life. But without all the pressure to actually do it every day. I left that for Project Life Dinner. Where I take a photo of every dinner meal I have for an entire year. No really. Those of you familiar with Project Life are probably a bit gobsmacked right now. "Is she kidding?"..."TWO??". Yes, two Project Life's going on at the same time. Oh and I plan on also doing some traditional layouts this year. I suggest someone get that straight jacket cleaned. I might need it by 2014.

PUCKS - One of the cruelest things that happened to my Mom in the last six months of her life was not being able to watch her beloved Sharks play. Even if it was on TV or listening to the radio, she wanted to be able to experience one last Sharks game before she left us. She'd ask all the time "Is the lockout over?". I'm still completely pissed at the owners and players for taking that away from my Mom and I know it's that little thing that will stay with me for quite a long time. That being said, no, I am not boycotting the shortened season. I've already bought and paid for those games, I'm certainly going to go to them (or ones I can't sell anyway). The Sharks keyboard pictured? When I saw that in December I almost cried. It would have been the perfect Christmas gift for my Mom. It would have tickled her teal as she loved anything Sharks related. So Mr. L and I bought it and brought it home. We consider it her Christmas gift to us.

PANTRY - There are two people who used to read my blog religiously...my Grandma W and my Mom. But where my Grandma just read and sometimes made dishes I posted, my mom was an active participant. She not only posted comments on most dishes, she was an integral part of the taste testing team. Always honest with her reviews, she had no problem telling me when a dish didn't meet her standards. She was always passing on recipes she thought I should make and if you ever left a comment on Pages, Pucks, and Pantry, you can be sure she went and checked out your blog. 

And though I know I will make new food memories with family and friends it is that shared history that  there is no longer a connection with that I will miss most. Like the first time I had lamb (Mom and I had splurged and gone on a bus trip to a 49er game that included dinner. Alas, the lamb was bad as in get sick bad and Mom never ate lamb again). Or the time when I was about ten on a road trip to Florida where I scarfed down a roadside sold mango only to have my mouth break out in blisters (not fun). There was the time Mom and I kept ordering plate after plate of the all you can eat fried shrimp in Louisiana, my Grandparents looking on in horror at our gluttony. The Thanksgiving when I was in my early teens where Mom and I, being alone of the holiday, went to a local french restaurant and had a Christmas Story experience by being the only ones in the place (they did serve a french version of roast turkey). I can talk about these experiences, but there is no longer anyone who can provide details I might not remember, or share the laughter that comes with insides jokes revolving around these memories.

Food and eating isn't something that you can compartmentalize until your heart heals. You can't ignore food until something as simple as a crab cake doesn't flood you with so many memories you feel you'll burst. You eat. And you cook. And you remember. And you build new food memories that, when you're alone and no ones looking, you smile at, with the knowledge that Mom would have loved to have heard about your new little food adventure.

So this blog continues. I admit, it's a bit hard to get back into the blogging routine. It's not that I haven't been cooking, collecting more cookbooks or visiting new restaurants, it's just that I haven't been taking notes or photographs or even thinking about capturing the food part of my life. The documentation just hasn't been done. Other priorities and pastimes have taken over the time and energy that used to be used for blogging. But the honest truth? I've missed it. I've missed the connection with other bloggers, the excitement of wondering whether a recipe will turn out or not, the kick in the butt to open one of my gazillion cookbooks and try something new. So the blog continues. Maybe this will be the year that I finally get someone to give it a good overhaul and a new look. Or not. Let's just move on.

My Mom "Roz" 1934-2012

My Mom passed away a few days ago. It wasn't unexpected since we knew last year that the lung cancer she was in remission from for twelve years had returned. Mom was a trooper these last few months, referring to her life as a great adventure, and that this was just another part of that adventure.

There will be no services per her request, and per her request her remains will be scattered at sea next spring. And as she heads out on her last adventure, she will be wearing her beloved Sharks jersey.

I will miss you Mom. Every day.

The End of The London Olympics

I always feel like I need some time to decompress after the Olympics, time to get back into my normal routine. During the Olympics my days are usually spent trying to avoid news outlets and any online spoilers (almost impossible in this social media age). Nights are spent in front of the TV trying to absorb the multitude of information that gets crunched in the "prime time" telecast. Chores like laundry or vacuuming are regulated to "next week", magazines and books remain unread on the counter, beloved TV shows rack up unwatched on the DVR, the craft room sits silent, and the cats look forlornly at their toys wondering when the big people will play with them again. Dinners tend to be quick and usually revolve around food from where the Olympics are taking place. It's pretty much Olympics, morning, noon and night at our house.

This time around was a bit different. Due to a multitude of events, I completely missed most of the Olympics this year. It got to the point that I would purposely look for who won what events during the day so that night, once I could actually sit down and watch a bit of the broadcast, I knew where to fast forward to check out the good parts. Someone won an event by a mile? Probably fast forwarded right through it. But if a race or event was a close one, even if it was between two countries I'd never even heard of, I'd try to watch the final bit, just to get a feel for the excitement.

The thing I missed most during these Olympics were the little glimpses into the town the Olympics are held in that even local news stations usually show. You know, where they go meet folks from a tiny town near the big event and show what they eat, what they do in their spare time, and what they wear. That to me is a big part of the Olympics, not only watching the events but learning about a new part of the world.

I was able to try out some interesting British foods (there are several I still haven't posted about) and cook some really good British recipes (which I hope to get up on the blog in the next several weeks), but trips to the local pubs for a Black and Tan or Fish and Chips went by the wayside.

But when I was able to get in the spirit, I had a jolly old time. I love the fact that the Olympics for me, isn't always about who wins, or if an American is on the podium (though trust me, I do root heartily for my USA). Even with the limited watching time, I did have some favorite moments.

*My favorite athlete during the Olympics? For some unknown reason, Mo Farah. Never heard of him before. Became an instant fan after watching in the 10,000 and rooted like crazy for him in the 5,000. I wanted him to run more races! Go Mo! Go Mo! When I found out his wife is carrying twins and is expected to deliver within weeks, it made it all Mo Better :)

*I admit, I'm not a big fan of track and field. It's usually the last sport I pay attention to and can't remember really truly rooting for someone since Dwight Stone back in the day. But man the women's track team had me cheering like crazy. From the dogged determination on the face of Jetter, to the jubilant smile that was shown on the face of Barrett when she won the silver in the high jump, the USA track women caught my attention and made me proud.

*Oscar Pistorius. Asked by 19 year old from Grenada to trade bibs (ultimate sign of respect).  Said teenager goes on to win his countries first ever medal (a gold). Chills.

*Bolt. Didn't know, didn't watch, didn't care. Never been a fan. Not sure why but I think I prefer my Olympic athletes a bit more modest in their accomplishments. Just because you are the fastest man, doesn't mean you are the best athlete in the world. I'd prefer to spend time with Pistorius or Kirani James from Granada than Bolt any day.

*Those damn Mom commercials got me every time.

*The whole Bond thing during the opening ceremonies? Priceless.

*Yes, I did care What Kate Wore. I also paid attention to the tight little swim trucks and the very tight clothing on some of the male athletes that showed much more than was respectable. Though I didn't have a problem with the whites the USA athletes wore during the closing ceremonies, I had a huge problem with the big polo logo! (and that they were made in China...sigh).

*My favorite gold after Mo? David Boudia. The final in the platform diving was nerve wracking and yes, I think Tom Doyle is adorable.

*I really didn't have a problem with NBC's basic broadcast (though get rid of Seacrest-he seemed bored and uninterested on what was going on). There was plenty of broadcasting on the many channels that we could DVR and watch, we just didn't have the time. I did have a big problem that there was no Ann Curry. I also had a problem with NBC for not giving us the entire closing ceremonies! No Davies or Kate Bush? WRONG!

*I know there are those that really disliked the music during the closing ceremonies. They wanted something "more". Well to me, that was an ultimate concert, I knew every one of the bands or singers, yes even One Direction, and would have given anything to have actually been there.

*I had a friend in the closing ceremonies. It was fun to read about his secret practices, to see some of the photos he snuck out of the venue before that evenings show.  If you paid attention to the folks on the green truck during the closing ceremonies, you probably saw a brief glimpse of him.

There were of course many more highlights during the London games, from medals in archery (I took classes in high school way before it was Hunger Games cool), to Gabby, Phelps, USA women's soccer, beach volleyball...there were a whole lot of USA medals and a whole lot of stories to go with each and every one of the athletes that competed during the games. Though I didn't get to fully immerse myself into these summer games (note to self: do not plan a major garage sale and participating in an out of town Color Run during any Olympic goings on) I still had much joy watching what I could.

And yes, I'm already trying to see if I have any Russian Cookbooks for the 2014 Winter Games and am taking a quick look at Brazilian foods for 2016.  This has turned into a fun tradition at Olympic time. And you do realize that the winter games are only 18 months away?!

 

Happy Birthday Mom!

My Mom turns 78 today.  This is a photo of her with a sassy haircut and awesome sunglasses taken last year.

Happy Birthday Mom, I love you!

The Olympics, London, and Food

It all started four years ago when Mr. L and I sat down to watch the opening ceremonies of the 2008 Olympics in Beijing. We were hungry, so it only seemed appropriate that we had Chinese food for dinner. The fact that we didn't want to miss a minute of the festivities led to us ordering enough Chinese food for at least ten people and feasting on it for days. It occurred to me that with all the Chinese cookbooks I had, I should have been cooking from them during those Olympics. I vowed that the next Olympics, I would use my vast collection of cookbooks to find recipes representing the country the games were held in.

Which led me to the Vancouver Winter Olympics two years ago. Only I didn't own any Canadian cookbooks so I had to go out and buy one. Yes, an excuse to go buy another cookbook. But I managed to find several wonderful recipes during those Olympics: Butter Tarts in Phyllo Dough and Tourtiere Turnovers which came from the A Taste of Canada cookbook.

Which leads us to these summer Olympic Games in London. Now I have never been to London so I don't have any personal recollections of foods like I did from Canada. I've been to British Pubs. Many actually. And I'm quite fond of Black and Tans though I don't like beer (go figure). And there was all that hoopla last year when there was this wedding in London and I went all out with all things British. But I've never stepped foot on British soil. Mr. L has visited. Even my mother has been there. She lived there for several years. Graduated from high school from there actually. She was even there 60 years ago when Queen Elizabeth was crowned! It was fun listening to her stories about that event during the recent Jubilee. And I still have the tea towel my Grandma W gave me from her trip to London the week after Charles wed Diana (I also still have the vinyl recording of the event she bought me at some shop in London).

But when it comes to British food, the only things that really came to mind were...well...bland food. That and Indian Food (not so bland). Cucumber sandwiches. Pease Pudding and Porridge Pie. Scones. No matter, I had plenty of cookbooks from British authors that I could cook from. Nigella Lawson. Jamie Oliver. But when I started looking through those cookbooks, I began to wonder. Is this really British food? Or were these recipes "dumbed down" a bit for Americans? Should I be cooking "authentic" food from the British Isles? And then do I include foods from Ireland? Scotland? Knowing how popular Indian food is in England, do I include that too?

Obviously I didn't know much about so called British food, so off I went in search of some answers. Just what is considered British food?  How authentic are recipes?  Would I ever have enough guts to try Black Pudding? (ahem, that's probably a no on that one). And then I realized I was spending far more time researching about England and food and far less time actually cooking said food. So I decided that during these 2012 London Olympics, I'm going to be cooking from cookbooks by British authors and cookbooks about British food (no matter how Americanized they might be). I'll probably leave out foods of Ireland and Scotland (though I'm tempted to make Scotch Eggs again) but I won't rule out a run to the nearest Indian restaurant to try out a version of Tika Masala.

I did find a very interesting book called Eating For Britain (A Journey into the Heart and Belly of a Nation). Alas I wish I was able to get a copy of it sooner as it's an interesting look at exactly what constitutes British Food. I've started reading it but I have a feeling lots of tv watching of the games will curtail me finishing it anytime soon.

I was completely bummed to find out that the local British store here has closed. As you can see by the photo, when I went there a year ago to stock up for the Royal Wedding, I found quite a few wonderful British items to try. I have a friend scoping out the local Aussie store to see if they carry any interesting British foods I might want to try. I also found quite a few items at my local Cost Plus (World Market) store which we'll be trying over the course of the next couple of weeks

Yes, I did buy a couple of new British food cookbooks to go with the cookbooks I already have. One which has become a favorite...so many things to try...and one which I probably will never cook from as the recipes were from professional chefs in London and a bit more complicated than normal.

Using Eat Your Books, I was able to find British recipes included in many of the non-British cookbooks I own (16 recipes for Yorkshire pudding, one even from my Colorado regional cookbook). Except for a few exceptions, I'm trying to make the recipes that come from British authors and cookbooks and not use recipes from other sources. The big task has been to actually narrow the number of recipes down to a manageable quantity. Who knew I'd find so many interesting British recipes to try!?

Hopefully, you too, have caught Olympic fever. And hopefully, maybe sometime during the next few weeks, you'll find yourself having some British food, even if it's just a spot of tea. Feel free to leave links to any posts you have if you've made some British dish for these games.

All I know, is that in two years the Winter Olympics will be held in Russia and two years after that the Summer Olympics will be held in Brazil. I think I need to start planning food festivities now!

We Turn Five

Imagine my surprise when the holiday weekend was over and I suddenly realized that my blog had turned five. Imagine my being even more surprised when I went to look up what I said last year on this blogs fourth anniversary and realized I'd completely forgotten and hadn't even mentioned it. Life does seem to get in the way at times doesn't it?

But, I still enjoy blogging. I still greatly enjoy all things food whether it's looking through all my cookbooks, checking out my favorite food blogs, reading all my food magazines (there are so many but I still miss Gourmet), cooking with my Mom or trying out new restaurants in the area. Oh and cooking...yeah, still enjoy that too (grin).

I still haven't changed this blog much in the design department since I first started. I keep saying "next year" and well, after five years maybe it actually is next year? If I can just find someone who knows about Typepad blogs to help (I'll even pay a nominal fee!) maybe that will happen. And I have two new cameras that I'm hoping to have time to learn and experiment with...alas, the light or lack of natural light, hasn't changed much in my kitchen which continues to be a problem. Not to mention two cats who just don't seem to understand why they can't be involved with food photos!

Thanks to all of you that have commented and those that have just read my posts and gone away. Thank you to those that have tried recipes I've posted, bought cookbooks I've highlighted or tasted recipes I've cooked. Thank you to those that have helped with Typepad/Facebook/Twitter/iPhone problems, have mentored me on food blogging, given me recipes to try or sent articles for me to feature. Thank you for being a part of my blog life. Thank you for just making this adventure I'm on a ton of fun.