Golden Birthdays and British Food

Last week I was able to experience something I had been waiting for my entire life. Which is a whole 23 years. Because last week on the 23rd, I turned 23. My Golden Birthday! For some reason as a kid I was convinced that something magical was bound to happen when turning the age of the date your birthday falls on. Like you'd win the lottery. Or you actually got the pony you asked for. Except it was a unicorn. Or your dream job would fall into your lap. Well, I don't have any unicorns to vouch for my Golden Birthday Theory. And I'll surely still be working to earn my money. But I'll be doing it while cooking in a fabulously beautiful, creative and award-winning restaurant. The restaurant where I took cooking classes a few months ago offered me a job! Oh, how life is funny sometimes. I'm sad to leave my last job. I've made so many great friends there and have learned so much, but this is an opportunity that cannot be passed up! So, as I'm adjusting (yet again. I feel in a perpetual state of adjustment) and settling into a new routine, I'm grateful for every second I'm standing in that kitchen. I'm beyond blessed to be where I am. God is good!

This new job doesn't change where I'm headed in a few months, though! So my birthday lunch with my family was celebrated at a British restaurant, The British Chip Shop. I wanted to enjoy some true English food before being surrounded by it all the time having no idea what it is. After this meal, however, I've only gotten more excited for what's to come.

Here's what we devoured:

Welsh rarebit. Or what I like to call beer battered French toast covered in cheese. These Brits are onto something.

A sandwich with chicken, Swiss cheese, wholegrain mustard and sliced apple.

My Ploughman's lunch. If this is how meals are over there, I'm set! A little bit of everything.

Chicken and mushroom pie. 

Fish and chips! And they make an excellent version.

Fish and chips in sandwich form. Can't go wrong with that!

I walked over to look at this pastry display at least seven times. I am in heavennnnn.

I ordered an Eccles cake, cherry shortbread, vanilla bean shortbread, and a "spot of tea!" Eccles is the town I'll be living in, and this pastry is their claim to fame. It's surprisingly similar to the Currant Cakes I posted a few weeks ago. They had so many shortbread flavors to choose from, though these two were amazing. And I now refuse to pour tea of anything other than tea pots this adorable. 

Mom Mum got lavender and ginger shortbread, which were also excellent. 

Needless to say, I left the restaurant pretty stuffed excited for what's to come. All this talk about how undesirable the food is over there is just plain riffraff. I'm not sure how anyone can say beer-infused cheesy French toast is undesirable. And then I started P90X the following day. It seemed fitting.

Happy June, everyone! Hope you've been able to get the grill going and spend some quality time outdoors. Thanks for stopping by!

Road Trippin'

I got back from a visit to Florida a couple weeks ago. I have a bunch of family trickled down that way, so I tagged along with some of my craziest most beloved and entertaining cousins, and we had a blast. After a train ride to DC and a 13-hour bout in the car, we arrived in paradise, aka Port Orange. If only I could wake up and start every day with a run on the beach instead of the treadmill. And then casually have an ocean-side lunch. Perhaps a bit of surfing to follow. I would seriously consider moving there if I could, but I can't, and I'll explain why later.

Of course, the food was awesome. We tried a few Mexican spots (Tia Cori's-$1.50 tacos!), got our fill of gator, and did a little bar hopping. One place that had us coming back was Our Deck Down Under, where you can't tell who works there and who's just a regular because everyone is friends with everyone. The clam strips seem to be their claim to fame, but everything we tried was right on the money. The seafood was all very fresh and cooked by someone who knows a thing or two. The variety of sides (Hush puppies, anyone? Slaw?) and portion sizes definitely made you feel like you got your money's worth. And dessert--I have a love for Key Lime Pie, and they didn't have to do much arm-twisting to get me to try theirs. The thing I love about it is the tartness. Any dessert is sweet, but the fresh key lime juice is what makes this kind of pie stand out, and in my opinion, it needs to be loud and abundant. They served the pie very chilled, which was a refreshing surprise, I just would have liked a little more of that coveted lime juice in their version. But in all honesty, what do I know, I'm just from New Jersey.

Fried oysters, blackened scallops and hush puppies

We had a great time catching up and enjoying the surroundings. I even got offered a shoulder to sleep on during the plane ride home. Could be creepy, but I thought of it as a kind gesture (then fought to stay awake the rest of the flight). This post would have been more appropriate posted a week or so ago, but a few cool changes have come about recently and have temporarily sucked my attention away.

Cool Change #1: I'm now a contributor on HonestCooking.com, an online food magazine. I'll be writing about and sharing recipes (mainly desserts) all happily paired with a beer. Be sure to stop over there, even if you're not interested at all in more of my nonsense work. They've got a lot of new and useful info!

Cool Change #2: I'm moving to England! It's been real, America. You will always have my heart, but I gotta set sails and check out somewhere new for a while. I'll be in Manchester working through the church. I couldn't be more excited to give up everything I know to serve God in a new setting. I won't head out until September, which is good because I'm not sure how to pack everything and I think it'll take me that long to figure out. 

I hope you have some cool things going on too. If not, the weather has been pretty amazing lately. Though I really hope you have more to look forward to than the weather. Have a wonderful day!

2 Corinthians 5:17 Therefore if any man is in Christ, he is a new creature; the old things passed away; behold, new things have come. 

New Directions and Cooking Class Recap!

"For I know the plans I have for you," declares the Lord, "plans to prosper you and not harm you, plans to give you hope and a future." Jeremiah 29:11.

I've been trying to wait for life to settle a bit before attempting regular blog posts again, but that clearly isn't happening. So here I am, in the midst of four very irregular jobs, and no idea what's in store for me over the next few months. But one thing that stays the same is my presence in the kitchen. And the gym. And church.

That being said, I'm going to change my approach to this blog a bit. I'll still post recipes (since that's what I do, duh.), but I'll incorporate stuff about my fitness (since I cheat on the kitchen by working out) and my journey with God since giving my life up to Him.

First things first, a recipe! But a healthy one, for reals this time. I know most people are not a fan of plain Greek yogurt (I've heard some liken it to eating chalk..I swear it's better than chalk!), but I have a recipe for a breakfast made with the stuff that'll change their minds.  I'm actually eating it right now. Actually, I eat it every day. It's THAT good! Have I convinced you yet? Probably not.

It's just one cup of plain nonfat Greek yogurt, 1 small chopped apple, 1 tablespoon uncooked oats and some cinnamon. That's it! Mix it all together and voila! The apple adds just enough sweetness without any added sugar.

Moving on from all this healthy talk, about a month ago I took a series of cooking classes with my mom at Rat's Restaurant (dream come true much?), and we used as much butter and salt and amazingly fattening delicious things as we wanted. Take a peak at what we made!

Roasted beet and fennel salad with apples, walnuts and shave ricotta salata and a Champagne vinaigrette

Crabcakes wrapped in zucchini 

In the most beautiful kitchen in the world! 

Filleting a red snapper

Baby octopus..mmmmm

Cleaning squid...oh hey, nice ink sack ;)

All that hard work to make some killer seafood risotto!

Braised short ribs with parsnip puree and brussel sprouts. Best. Meal. Ever.

Bruleeing!

Creme brulee. Oh la la. 

And finally, profiteroles. Delish!

We worked with Chef Shane Cash, who's probably the nicest guy in the world. And how could I forget, after every meal the sommelier (Alan, who's equally as awesome!) had the perfect wines to pair it with. Dinner and drinks every Tuesday for a month? Thanks, Mama for such a wonderful experience! 

I told you it was the most beautiful kitchen in the world! (Picture provided by Rat's Restaurant)

Up next, a review of a mini food tour through NYC with one of my best friends, The Native New Yorker! Now go check out her incredibly mouthwatering/entertaining/informative blog!