Living on the edge like I do (and having a shortage of food due to being snowed in), I decided to take a culinary adventure in the cabinets last week. Throwing caution to the wind...
First stop - typical English snack of Baked Beans On Toast with cheese
Is this a leftover snack idea from the war ration days? It tasted like, well, toast with beans and cheese. I heard it is considered a comfort food here. Well, I did need to be comforted afterwards (just kidding). It was okay.
Next up - the mythical Marmite Yeast Extract
As recommended, I spread this on toast with a slathering of butter. It tasted NAAASTY. Very salty with an aftertaste of puke. Glad I tried it, and glad I made one point when I made a free-throw into the trash. SCORE! They advertise on their bottle that I also can buy their cereal bars. Really?
This one I discovered my first week at the grocery store. Colman's, you know I love you so. Although you are a smooth spicy mustard with a little zing, you haven't revealed your true ingredients.
My Ode To Colman's
Is that zip a bit of horseradish, my dear?
You taste so good with brats and beer!
(And don't be afraid to send me a freebie case for product placement)
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| Colman's is lovingly nestled between Wholegrain Mustard & French's Mustard (which is American, not French, silly) |
Another thing I love here is curry. It is hard to describe just how popular it is. Curry tends to be a concept, rather than a strict recipe. It can be Indian food or a just a flavorful stew. Either way, so warming on a chilly night - of which there are many!
Now I am a real sucker for clever packaging. And I think this box of a complete Indian meal is brilliant. Really delicious too. This is a far cry from the mid-century TV dinners with ''Salisbury Steak'' (notice the quotation marks) and a brick called a ''brownie''. Remember those?
It is disputed that the famous dish Tikka Masala originated in Soho, London - interestingly it has been called 'Britain's true national dish'. Britain exports Chicken Tikka Masala to India, Pakistan, and Bangladesh! Balti, a South Asian dish on most UK menus, was invented in Birmingham, England. I'm pretty sure an Indian restaurant can be found in every single town. Lucky me :)
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On the flip side, English blogger Toni from Pond Parleys wrote her opinion about the cinnamon obsession in America (here). I couldn't have agreed with her less, at first. But dear American readers, if you were to stock an empty kitchen, you would buy salt, pepper, followed by cinnamon. Right?
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We Americans have cinnamon in our toothpaste, gum, barbecue sauce, breakfast foods, and anything combined with apples. In fact, I always use it to cover up the real flavor of most things I make. And cinnamon-sugar-toast is a breakfast staple in this house. Or at least it should be.
Maybe toast with Marmite would taste better covered in cinnamon? Nah.
source: wikipedia.org
XO Laura
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