CCR = yummy

October 9, 2010

I know this does not look like the most appealing meal in the world, but it was: red beans and rice, fried cabbage, and homemade Cheddar Bay biscuits.

Weird combo? *lol* Zach wanted some Zatarain's and his favorite food in the world (Red Lobster biscuits), and I had some cabbage I needed to use up. Cabbage stays fresh for a lo-o-ong time, but who knows when I will get to cook again this week. ;)

Originally I had planned to make colcannon, which, if you do not know, is an Irish dish of mashed potatoes and cabbage. How Irish can you get?

Well, you can throw in some corned beef, but that would not be true to form. Bubble and Squeak is a similar British dish in which leftover vegetables from Sunday's roast dinner is fried and served with cold meat. (And Rusty could not understand why I was dying to have roast and Yorkshire pudding on Sunday! It's tradition! At least I finally found some--on Monday, might I point out--and it was a HUGE dish. No wonder they eat the leftovers the next day. This same dish is called Rumbledethumps in Scotland. (I also dream of making lumpy bumpy cake. We have such boring food names here. *tehe*)

I also read that it was a Halloween tradition in Ireland to hide coins in colcannon, like the British do with Christmas plum pudding.

Anyway, one of these days I will make colcannon and Lumpy Bumpy chocolate cake, but tonight I settled on Southern fried cabbage because we already had a lot of starch in our meal. It really wasn't your traditional "Southern fried" because I started frying the turkey bacon first and used the bit of fat from that, which is NOT very much if you have ever used turkey bacon, plus a tiny amount of olive oil so it wouldn't all burn in the pan. In addition to the cabbage and bacon I added some green onions before they wilted away. Someone had commented on this recipe and suggested that you generously salt and pepper the dish. Let me tell you, I have a heavy pepper hand. :)

It was delicious--very simple and, might I add, cheap fare (about 50 cents a serving). I know it doesn't look like much, but it was good Southern comfort food.

Fairy Cakes are much better than Cupcakes...the way the Flurry was SOOO better than the Creamslush, Sonic!

[photo courtesy http://elizabethjamescakes.co.uk/index.php?module=gallery]

Did you know that cupcakes are often called "fairy cakes" in England?

Daily I am affirmed in my belief that England is one of the most charming places in the world to live. :)

A common shape that "fairy cakes" take is in the form of a "butterfly cake." These are created by scooping out the middle, filling it with icing/cream/jam, and splitting the scoop in two to top the cake like wings. Finally you dust with powdered sugar. So precious, so sweet. I would have loved this as a little girl!

I'm not much of a cake eater, but, in learning to decorate them more professionally, I have become obsessed with cakes of all sizes and shapes and flavors.

Check out these popular bakeries in England:
The Hummingbird Bakery (which serves American-quality cakes) http://hummingbirdbakery.com/
Crumbs and Doilies http://www.crumbsanddoilies.co.uk/home.html

There is also something called "fairy bread," which is toast covered in butter/margarine/honey that is then sprinkled with jimmies, colored sugar, or what you will. It is found more in Australia, and, while I think I would find it disgusting, I know US kids who flocked to ketchup of every color in the rainbow would love it!

In other news, whilst stumbling across these cake tidbits (that makes me smile), Zach was snuggling next to me in our living room during the Italy vs. Paraguay game. He always likes to stretch out across me and hold my hand, but usually I move if I'm working (er, playing) away on Edgar.

Not today. He simply put Edgar atop his lap, and I continued business as usual! He said he didn't want me to go. :)

This last picture is when he finally just turned Edgar around and held onto him while I scrolled. *hehe*

P.S. I'm getting an iPhone (Zach's old one) soon!

Flushed Away

[photo courtesy http://animatedviews.com/2007/flushed-away/]

Last night Zach and I FINALLY watched this. (We Netflixed it weeks ago...)

It was so funny and precious! Zach says it has the cutest singing slugs you will ever see. (Side note: Zach and I were discussing slugs, and he said that they were the same thing as snails. I didn't think so. He said they were like hermit crabs and found their shells. This seemed so plausible, I agreed that he was probably right then. WRONG. I googled it today, and I was thinking right--the snails secrete their shells over time, which is why they grow in a spiral from the inside out. ;)

I loved Flushed Away...but it made me miss England terribly.

The DVD came in handy this morning when I was babysitting Sayer, and the VCR wouldn't work. (There aren't many kid DVDs lying around here since the kids a.k.a. Erin and Zach grew up before the DVD-age.) So I popped this in, and the "little person," as my awkward husband calls him, sat riveted. I guess it does pay to be a "big kid," as Beverly said about Zach. Sayer's such a sweet, smart, and funny kid and minds so well--no trouble at all!

I had much more trouble corralling the animals. *lol*

Tonight Terry came over for swimming and supper and brought the most delicious and creamy and fluffy coconut meringue pies I've ever had. His mom made them from scratch. :) I really should have taken a picture of them. He left them for us to enjoy! HUZZAH!

Adriane and Brenna, we missed you guys tonight, but we hope to see you soon!!

German Red Cabbage

[photo courtesy http://howard-family.org/germanfood.htm]

May 29, 2010

We went to the Brau Haus tonight.
Bobby got red cabbage with his sauerbraten (roast beef), and I tried it because I couldn't remember if I had before. I was SURE I had, even though I tend to HATE red cabbage and have only started liking sauerkraut again recently, so I thought maybe I had avoided it after all.

I had.
You know what is in German red cabbage?
Cloves.
Zach had said it tasted like Christmas. (He also says that about gin and cranberry juice, but that is more like watered-down summer slush. ;)~
But German red cabbage does!
Weird.
My tongue went all numb like it did when Ashley Shackelford bought those clove candies on the Jonathan Swift ferry to England and I took A LOT.
Cloves do that, even in German red cabbage.
AND I didn't dislike it. :)

One Year Ago Today...

A year ago Zach came home from his two-week study abroad trip to China. That was the LONGEST day, and it did NOT help that his plane was late AND I got a parking ticket. We were so excited to see one another that he swept me off my feet and spun me around. It's still one of my favorite memories. :)

(This was actually taken the morning he let, but I think it helps recreate the scene...)

We only got to talk to each other once when he was away, and it was awkward (as are most of our phone conversations *lol*), and his trip was so jam-packed, he didn't get to email regularly. But I lived for those emails. When I got one, I would read it over and over. I would check my email first thing in the morning to see if he had sent me one, and I would stay up late in case he could only get to a computer then. It made me feel like an incredibly old-fashioned lover pouring over love letters from half-way 'round the world. Every now and then I pull them out, and it makes me so incredibly happy to know he was planning for our future all that spring and into summer, including while on his trip.

I was so happy to see him, but I was also nervous. We only had a week until I was leaving for a three-week study abroad trip in England, and he was starting his internship that Monday after his return. I just wanted to spend all of our time together, and I wanted it to be stress-free. Time and distance changes relationships (not always negatively), but I was afraid we were going to have to readjust despite having only been apart for a total of five weeks. A LOT can change in a few days...

At the time of my birthday, I really thought he was going to propose. A week before my birthday, he had presented me with a "magic box," explaining that each day I would have to say the magic words and the box would open to reveal a gift. I thought that each present would increase in value (I don't mean in monetary value either, thankyouverymuch)--I mean I thought that, on my birthday, I would get an engagement ring. At this point, we had talked about our future, and he was WAY TOO CALM regarding the fact that we would graduate in a year and perhaps be separated--as if he knew we wouldn't.

(I don't think he gave the gifts in any set order; they were presented rather randomly.)

When he came home from China, I didn't want to let him go! When I was in England the following week, I loved being there, but I wished he had been with me and I thought constantly of our future--including getting married. (And I was certain he would propose upon my return. ;)

The Jones-Francis Nuptials

May 21, 2010

the couple at our reception right after they got engaged :)

I couldn't pass up commemorating the Jones-Francis nuptials with a couple of photos. Friday night we sent them off in style at The Saucer.

It truly was the highlight of our week. :)

Zach took this photo of me with the now newly-married couple on our Spring Break trip to Memphis in 2009. Such a crazy trip--we couldn't communicate with anyone. This is at Silky's, not The Saucer, where we celebrated last night, but it will do.

(Like Friday night, sometimes I'm not in the mood to take photos...)

Zach and Whitney creeping behind Brian at our pre-wedding celebration at The Saucer (Sept. 18, 2009)

Brian and Zach's bromance at The Saucer in Memphis Spring Break 09

Whitney and I at what now could be called the Jones-Francis, Holland-Solomon, Byrd-Pharr cookout July 09

You guys have been great friends to us, and, if it had not been for the two of you meeting, Zach and I may have never met either. You definitely are a match made in England (which, we might as well face it, is HEAVEN on Earth). :) We are just tickled pink that you two are now married!!

(We can't wait to see you again. We will miss you guys so much, but we promise to come conquer another town's Saucer near you!!!)

Zach's really going to miss doing this!