I think it’s safe to say that afternoon tea is generally regarded as one of the most English of afternoon past times. Anna, the seventh Duchess of Bedford gets credit for adding such a delightful addition to the day back in 1840 after she got rather peckish in the late afternoon before an eight o’ clock dinner. It was only a matter of time before she started inviting all of her peckish friends to join her and by the 1920’s, afternoon tea had turned into a full-blown affair, frequently with dancing in posh hotels. It makes one want to swoon…
Pudding&Mess Posts
The onions are at it again. And this time they don’t even require cooking. Complete and utter show offs I tell you. Slice them, throw them in a bowl with a bit of vinegar, a soupçon of salt and sugar and what you have is the heavenly pickled onion. I hate to be without these in my fridge these days. They taste amazing in so many things. Sprinkled on top of avocado toast? Uhhmm, yes please. Or how about in tacos? Or thrown into salads? Fabulous with pulled pork to cut the richness. Or how about this…eaten straight out of…
There’s something about summer that brings out the bartender in me. I suppose it must be the allure of sitting outside and enjoying the balmy evening air to the accompaniment of a little jazz, the twinkle of fairy lights and nibbles. Oh, and the fireflies. Never get tired of watching the fireflies in the summer. I consider them payment for the humdity. Anyway, here’s a round up of a few cocktail books I have on hand at home and given that it’s wedding season I also think they’d make a great gift with a bottle of premium liquor… and maybe…
~The Woman in the Window A.J.Finn Well, imagine…a thriller that actually thrills and doesn’t induce you to lob it in the bin. This book seemed to get so many great reviews that I found myself unable to pass it up. And it’s really good…but only if you like slow atmospheric reads and not ones that are heavy on action and drama. The book jacket refers to it as a “sophisticated novel of psychological suspense that recalls the best of Hitchcock” and that’s exactly what it is. Anna Fox lives alone in her NYC brownstone and is completely unable to venture outside and…
~Orphan Black This show is actually a Canadian production made in partnership with BBC America. It takes off at a Usain Bolt sprint and just doesn’t stop. Sarah, a British orphan now living in America, is at a train station. Intrigued by a woman who is taking off her shoes and coat she watches in horror as the woman steps off the platform into an oncoming train. But that’s not nearly as horrifying as realizing that the woman looks exactly like herself. Now, being someone of a rather dubious background, Sarah grabs the woman’s bag, thinking that maybe she can…
By Its Cover is a series of posts wherein I read a book based solely on my love of the cover. No reading the jacket, no checking reviews! I just could not stay away from this book with its crazy and colourful concoction on the cover (alliteration wholly unintentional). It smacks of a sci-fi futuristic setting, so there’s that. But I still couldn’t resist giving it a go. It looks a little like a bird of paradise that has bloomed but then decides to just keep on going… in whatever direction it fancies in the moment. I did have to read…
Like caramelised onions, roasted tomatoes are another example of taking an already delicious fruit or veggie, adding a bit of heat and a couple of ingredients and catapulting the flavor out into the stratosphere. You can actually roast tomatoes in a variety of ways. You can simply toss with a bit of olive oil, salt, pepper, perhaps garlic, and roast at 425˚F, give or take 25˚F, for about half an hour. This will intensify the flavour and the tomatoes will be delicious. But my favorite way is to use grape tomatoes and roast them low and slow, which dries them…
~River There is something about this show that just immediately pulls you in and wont let go. Stellan Skarsgard, who plays River, is so raw and mesmerizing. Never before has anyone managed to convey such a wide array of emotions in such a short amount of time without uttering a single word. A momentary flash of happiness will collapse into grief while scorn twists itself into anger and then guilt. And it is all excruciatingly painful to watch. But in a good way. Sort of. River is a brilliant detective with a secret: he sees dead people. There’s a girl from a cold…
It’s May 1st. Which means we have officially crawled out of the depths of winter and find ourselves standing in the sun with the promise of summer just around the corner. In England May Day involves the frivolities of dancing around a maypole, crowning a May Queen and leaving paper cones of flowers on people’s front door. An explosion of all things spring, celebrated while the lambs frolic in the fields and the flowers poke up through the soil with a cheery hello. And if it’s May than the end of the school year is fast approaching, which means teacher…
The Aviation is a pre-prohibition drink which fell out of favour for a long, long time. The cocktail resurrection of a couple of decades ago put it front and centre but with bartenders using the oft-consulted Savoy Cocktail Book which used only the gin, maraschino liqueur and lime juice. In the early 2000’s someone discovered a 1916 version which included Creme de Violette, right around the same time that this flowery liqueur became available once more. Personally, this is one of my favourite cocktails. It’s a charming combination of flavours – not too sweet and gently floral. Drinking one brings…