Maine Maple Syrup and French Toast

Maine, USA

We often spend summers in a small quiet town in Maine, far away from the hustle and bustle of London. Apart from trekking in the woods, canoeing on the lakes, swimming in the sea, watching the loons on the lake or wild turkeys in the garden, we get to eat really fresh homegrown food. OK, I watch the loons and wild turkeys while the boys do those other strenuous activities! 

I do collect wildflowers and paint while I'm there. 

And of course, I eat!

French Toast with Maine Maple Syrup

My lovely mother-in-law sent her two grandsons each a bottle of fresh Maine Syrup as a Christmas surprise and to brighten up a cold January London day, I made them French toast to go with it. Thanks Nana!


Maine Maple Syrup

So, I cracked some sunny eggs!

Made the French Toast. Why is it called French Toast?

Sprinkle with cinnamon if you like, but I like it with the Maple Syrup-  lots of it and sometimes add pecans and sliced bananas!

                                                                             
                     
Scramble the remaining egg batter.

 A real Maniac Breakfast!

 Pemaquid Point Lighthouse, Maine

England again!   


This is a quick and easy meal for a cold winter's night! 

Bangers and Mash

Bangers

Bangers are what we Brits call sausages and mash, of course, is mashed potatoes. There are over  over 400 types of bangers in the UK, differentiated by the meats (pork, beef, venison, lamb etc), seasonings and other ingredients used to form them. 90% of us eat them almost weekly for breakfast, lunch or dinner and the industry is worth over £659 million per year. Make sure you get good quality bangers!

Bangers used here are Pork and Leek, Scottish Beef and Black Pepper and Chipolatas

Mash

Mashed Potatoes can be plain but in this dish I added English Cheddar Cheese and Chives

English Cheddar Cheese

An easy trick is to grill the sausages for half the cooking time then place them on top of the aubergines (eggplant), sweet peppers, courgettes (zucchini)  red onions, rosemary and coarse black pepper and roast the lot in the oven until the sausages are finally cooked.

Make your favourite brown gravy using some of the sausage and vegetable dripping,
garnish with  fresh basil. If you're in England, you could cheat and use Bisto Caramelized Onion Gravy and add a dash of red wine!

England Roast Lamb

England

Flag of England

From this green and pleasant land that is England spring more tasty eats than the country is given credit for.  One such delicacy is its lamb, which is best roasted with  onions or shallots, garlic, coarse black pepper and half a bottle of red wine. For me the trick was not to overcook it. Follow the cooking time on the store label or ask your butcher.

English Lamb roasted in red wine and shallots

Served with Yorkshire Puddings, Roast Potatoes and tender stem broccoli

Yorkshire Pudding originates in the town of the same name located in  the North of England and is made with a batter and served with all types of roast meat and gravy.

Roast King Edward Potatoes 

There are over 80 varieties of potatoes grown commercially in Britain, but not all are good for roasting. We like these as they come out crispy on the outside and fluffy on the inside. They are tasty and 'moreish'.

This is a typical Sunday Roast dinner in England but we love it anytime!

For dessert, I made a Rhubarb, Apple and Ginger Crumble -  easy and delicious served with Green and Black's Vanilla Ice Cream!

Some cultural symbols of England!

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/File:Symbols_of_England.png

Polish Kielbasa

Polish Flag

Poland  

Poland is on my list of places to visit, having met so many wonderful people from there. My friend Maya has promised to take me to the Wieliczka Salt Mine, the Kraków Cathedral where Karol Józef Wojtyła presided before assuming his lofty position as Pope John Paul II and the museum dedicated to the great 
composer, Chopin. One place I also hope to go to is the Radio Cafe in Kraków, owned by a friend of the family where no doubt I would be able to sample some authentic Polish fare. Until then, I have to settle for what we find here in London. 

Kielbasa and Cabbage

One of the best things about London is the variety of authentic foods from everywhere. My son loves 

Kielbasa, (sausages) and Pierogi (dumplings) and often picks up his own supplies on the way home from school and brings his spoils home for much obliging Mom to prepare. Fortunately, it is an easy and very tasty dish that can be whipped up in minutes!

Kielbasa (Polish Sausage) with Cabbage

Main ingredients: Kielbasa (sausages), cabbage, red onions, shallots and crushed garlic cloves, salt pepper, paprika and a little olive oil to saute ingredients.

I cut the sausages on an angle to fry them quickly with very little oil on in a nonstick pan.

 These are Pierogi, Polish dumplings which can be brought fresh at our local Polish shop. They are tossed into boiling water for a few minutes and served with dill and sour cream.

For hungry young men, roast potatoes seasoned with dill hits the spot!

Paprika adds a little zest to the dish!

And, for  grown-ups only, a splash of Polish Vodka will 'cut the grease', as they say in some parts.

Na zdrowie!

Côte d'Ivoire (Ivory Coast) Kedjanou

Côte d'Ivoire (Ivory Coast)

Flag of Côte d'Ivoire

Mask of  Côte d'Ivoire 

As I was searching for music for a friend of my father's who wants to explore African music, I heard a song from Côte d'Ivoire (Ivory Coast) which provided my inspiration for dinner. I've never been there, but after working in Haiti many years ago, I love the mix of African and French in music and food. I searched for recipes that included what I had in my cupboards and refrigerator after returning from our holidays in sunny Bahamas and Fort Lauderdale and this is what I came up with.

 Kedjanou

The main ingredients are chicken pieces - on the bone is best for flavour - chopped onions, tomatoes and aubergines (eggplants). Key spices included bayleaf, thyme, ginger, garlic and chilies. 

Kedjanou  is normally cooked slowly in a tagine, but I used my trusty 20 year old Le Creuset pot! 

Aubergines (eggplants) are delicious with any meat, but  you could also use okras.

 Boiled cabbage, carrots and potatoes worked well as a healthy and warming winter side dish.

Kedjanou is traditionally served with attiéké (a starchy dish made from cassava flour. But we ate it with boiled white rice and potatoes. It could also go well with couscous or fufu.

Click here for the recipe that inspired this dish. http://www.congocookbook.com/chicken_recipes/kedjenou.html

Learn more about Côte d'Ivoire (Ivory Coast) here - the source of the flag and mask above. http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/C%C3%B4te_d'Ivoire

Welcome

The Big 'D' -  an epic Burger

Welcome to London 2012 – the year of the London Olympics and Wendy’s culinary Olympiad!

The Olympics is a wonderful way to bring the world together in peaceful and meaningful contact. Eating together is another.

We enjoy the company of people from around the world and through them we have the opportunity to sample tasty treats from their homelands. They also inspire my cooking and so I will share with my fellow foodies, a dish or drink from a different city or country – including London and other British regional capitals.

Although I will prepare many of the dishes or beverages, I love eating out so will include some tasty treats sampled in restaurants as well as those cooked, enjoyed or prepared by my family and friends around the world!

So, let’s cleanse our palates and start our yearlong worldwide tour of food and drink from Britain and around the world.

Bon appétit!