Grocery Shopping in London

When I first came to London, one of the first things I missed were the massive glamourous grocery stores of the US. When I visited the US last December, I was reminded of the fabulous grocery stores there are back there.



This isn't to say that there aren't proper grocery stores here. I've come to appreciate Sainsbury (our primary grocery store) and Waitrose (our we need to feel pampered grocery store) considerably, and they are (though smaller) just as good a grocery store as one you would find in the states.



We also go to Tesco's a lot as it is our closest grocery store. Though smaller than Sainsbury and Waitrose, it still carries almost everything one would need.



The cooperative is a fun store, though a bit pricey at times, and not as well stocked as Tescos, it is another alternative.

When we really need something small, basic, and quick, there is a convenience store just 3 blocks away. It is a little divey, but it has a lot of the basic essentials, and I can pick up milk, eggs, or bread when I take the dogs out for their walk in the morning.

It is a little strange not to see produce and eggs refridgerated, but they seem to be fresh, and I haven't had a problem yet. I do miss the lightning, thunder, and artificial rainstorms that grocery store produce aisles in the states have - very entertaining. I can only imagine what someone from outside the US must think when they see this crazy American custom.


As we are on foot when doing our shopping, we tend to shop small and often. Occasionally, when we need our fix for larger portions, we have been known to hire (rent) a car and drive up to the American giant superstore, Costco. However on our most recent journey to Costco, Tony and I realized that it doesn't fit into our lifestyle as much as it used to. We have learned to buy in smaller portions as we don't have a massive refridgerator with a spare one in the garage. Nor do we have a large pantry or storage cabinet in which to store entire flats of soup and soda.


We're adapting to the British way of grocery shopping life. . .

A Pet Emergency

This has been a crazy week, and I thought briefly that we might lose Bentley. Evidently, he ate a piece of a dog toy, and it became lodged in his intestine. There may have been 2 pieces, we are not quite sure. Early in the week, it became clear that Bentley was in discomfort and pain, and that something was stuck in his digestive tract. He was stretching and writing in pain. We hoped he might work it out or throw it up as he'd done in the past in similar situations, but this time, no amount of vomiting seemed to work.

After 36 hours with no real signs of improvement, and a clear deterioration of his health as a result of not eating or drinking, we took the dog to our local vet. Sadly we don't have pet insurance. . .

They put Bentley under and took a bunch of x-rays. It appeared that the obstruction had worked its way into his large intestine, and that it would resolve itself on its own with a little more time. Feeling very releaved, we took Bentley home that night and for the first time in 36 hours, we managed to get him to eat a spoonful of food.

The next morning, Bentley seemed to be a bit better. He ate some soft food and was drinking water. It looked like he was on the mend, and with the help of Nurse Pepper, he'd be back to himself in no time.

Unfortunately, the following morning, Bentley began acting strange again. He refused food (which is unheard of for him), and wouldn't drink. He hadn't thrown up by the time I left for work, but by around noon, it was looking haggard and was throwing up. We took him back to the vet.

This time they found the second obstuction in his small intestine. It was quite sizable, and they decided to operate to get it out of him. The operation was a success, and they removed a 1 inch diameter piece of a rubber dog toy. They kept him overnight for observation.

We visited him the following morning to check up on him. His tail wagged weakly when he saw us, and though a bit dopey on morphine, he looked in much better shape. They told us that he had eaten 1/3 of a can of food that morning. We had to leave him for a second night of observation so that they would be sure of his continued improvement.

Thankfully, he is home now and recovering. He looks to have a speedy recovery. And though we had to spend a small fortune to save our special little guy, I guess he's worth it.

We'll give him this one time. . .

One thing is for certain, he's wearing a muzzle when we go to the park from now on.

The Royal Wedding

There was this little wedding ceremony that dominated the attention of the media and indeed the entire country for the past 5 months since it was announced. That being the marriage of Prince William and Kate Middleton. The powers that be have tried to redub Kate as Katherine, but somehow Kate has stuck.





At last the big day has arrived. Tony and I debated whether or not to go down to the Mall to watch the events in person, but the expected crowds of over 1 million kept us at home where we could watch it from the comforts of our own couch.


It was wonderful to see the excitement of everyone as the fateful hour drew nearer and nearer. The ceremony was down at Westminster Abbey, and the participants were all driven in cars along the mall to the church.







All the royals arrive dressed in either their Military Dress Uniforms or in their very best Outrageous Formal Hats. The queen was dressed all in yellow, and her husband Prince Philip, who is 90, was dressed in full military wear. Prince William and Prince Harry were both in their uniforms.

There was so much speculation about what Kate's dress would look like, that I felt it would be anticlimactic when it was finally revealed, but nonetheless, it was beautiful and worth the wait. Much has been made comparing it to the dress Grace Kelly wore when as a commoner, she also married into royalty.





Prince William and Kate make a handsome couple, and I think represent to the British people a symbolic movement into the future for their nation.





The couple rode back to Buckingham Palace in a beautiful open-air horse drawn carriage. It was a wedding ripe with pagentry and fantasy.










An appropriate final view of the new Royal Couple was of them kissing on the balcony of Buckingham Palace. The hope and promise of a bright future.





Pepper didn't know what to make of all the craziness, but instead hid under the table.










There has been all kinds of merchandising of the wedding, and I have to admit being party to it. I had to have the Will and Kate Pie.

I have to admit that it hasn't topped my favorite pie list, but it was a good respectible pie.



I've had the beer. A nice golden beer.





I've bought the souvenir plate featuring pictures of Prince William and Kate. This will be our official plate from England.

I even found a recipe for the official alternative wedding cake (the groomsmen's cake), made at Prince William's request for the reception. It is a cake made with tons of dark chocolate and tea biscuits. I made it for our dessert that evening. Very rich and very tasty.

It's been a fun time to be here in London. That and we got a 4 day weekend out of it. . .

Pavlova

I'd never heard of it before coming to the UK. That is the national dessert of Australia - The Pavlova. I first heard of it on the show, Masterchef Australia.

Pavlova is basically a meringue topped with whipped cream and fresh berries. It is held up as a challenging dessert to get right as a result of the meringue. I tracked down the Masterchef Australia Recipe and also watched a few How-to videos on YouTube.com. From these I felt up to the task to make it for our Easter Dinner dessert.



I got up early that morning to make the meringue, which after an hour in the oven at 100 degrees Celsius came out nice an fluffy. It collapsed a little in the middle, but it was still crusty on the outside and light and marshmallowy on the inside.



Just before serving, I whipped up the whip cream and topped it with some fresh cut strawberries, blueberries, and kiwi fruit - the traditional fruits served on it.

It was a delicious, light, warm weather dessert. I can't wait to make it again this summer.

Here is the recipe if you want to try making it.

Australian Masterchef Pavlova

The ingredients are:

150ml egg white
220g caster sugar
2 tbs corn flour (or corn starch), sifted
2 tps white vinegar

Whipped Cream

Fresh Berries and Kiwi Fruit

The method is:

1. Preheat oven to 150°C.

2. Place the eggwhite in the bowl of an electric mixer and whisk until stiff peaks form. Gradually add the sugar, whisking well, until the mixture is stiff and glossy. Add the cornflour and vinegar and whisk until just combined. Shape the mixture into an 18cm round on a baking tray lined with non-stick baking paper.

3. Reduce oven to 120°C and bake for 1 hour 20 minutes. Turn the oven off and allow the pavlova to cool completely in the oven.

4. Top with Whipped Cream and some fresh cut berries and Kiwi fruit.

A Proper Absinthe Drink

Ever since coming to Europe, I've wanted to try doing a full fledged traditional Absinthe drink. Recently, our friend, Lisa, from Paris came to visit, and she brought a bottle of organic naturally-colored Absinthe. She even brought the essential piece of equipment necessary to do a proper Absinthe drink - an Absinthe spoon.

The traditional Czech way to serve Absinthe is to pour the shot over a sugar cube, and then light the liquor infused sugar cube on fire. Once that burns out, you trickle cold spring water over the cube until it dissolves into the liquid. Then you stir it in, and your drink is ready.

What is interesting is that the liquid goes from transparent green to a milky green color. In the 1800's this was often attributed to the Green Fairy. I think it is really some sort of small chemical reaction.

Absinthe has an herbal anise flavor. It is actually quite refreshing, though it is very high in alcohol.

I can testify that in its current form, even with the traditional Wormwood extract included, I experienced no hallucinations or ill effects. . . that I am aware of. . .