Teapigs

Quite a change of pace, I know. But I'm fascinated by the various ways I can manipulate the available light and camera settings to produce different effects. At the same time, I'm experimenting with--as I mentioned yesterday--some different brands of English Breakfast tea. Today's choice was Teapigs. Funny name. BOLD taste! Maybe just a tad too bold? Of course, I haven't yet tried to tone it down with a bit of sugar. That might help. Next time. 

Rishi

Having a bit of fun here shooting product pics as well as enjoying a break from my more usual brands of tea. I spotted these Rishi tea sachets at one of my local grocery stores and decided to give them a try this morning. I have to confess, I probably don't have the most sensitive taste buds. One brand pretty much tastes the same to me as any other. Oh, one might strike me as a little more bitter than another (is that the caffeine?). Rishi's English Breakfast tea, however, seemed to me, at least, pretty smooth from beginning to end. Was there enough difference to make me switch brands? Mmm, probably not, especially given how pricey Rishi is compared to the others. But . . . it makes for an interesting change of pace.

How about you? Have you ever tried this tea? And, if so, what did you think? 

Blueberry Patch

 

 

Ah, this is what people are after! 

 

 

 

Carluccio's

 

 

Took a quick tea break at Carluccio's in Cambridge's City Centre after our rehearsal and before our midday concert at Great St. Mary's. 

Tea & Croissant

 

 

Speaking of tea, this is how they serve it and almond croissants at The Fitzwilliam. So utterly civilized! :-)

Prep

After cooking in the copper kettles, the fudge is transferred to this marble table to cool before being cut into individual slices for sale.

Fudgery

There are one or two members of our choir who, for some reason, seem obsessed about fudge. So several of us marched down to a Cambridge "fudgery" where we were very kindly shown how the rich concoction is made, beginning with how the ingredients are heated in copper kettles.

Caffé Nero

Cambridge, England

Not plugging anything here. Just sayin' that Caffés Nero often seemed in just the right places at just the right times.

The Royal Oak

So the story behind I found myself eating at The Royal Oak in Ripon begins with the dinner I enjoyed the night before in Harrogate. There the waiter, learning that I was to sing the next day at Ripon Cathedral, heartily recommended that I grab lunch here. He was right. It was a great place to eat. Plus I was welcomed there by a very cordial and, I must say, quite accommodating canine maître d'. :-)

Meat Pies

 

 

Appleton's in Ripon. Reminded me of the "meat pies" I ate as a kid living in England not far from here.

Caesar Salad

It seems like an odd thing to record what you ate on a trip, I know, but I've learned through hard experience how important maintaining a decent diet can be on a choir tour. So it was that I chose this Caesar salad with chicken at the Winepress Restaurant in the Maids Head Hotel in Norwich after singing evensong at the cathedral and before getting a good night's sleep (no pub crawling!) before the next day's bus trip to Harrogate by way of a rehearsal stop in Stamford.

What to Call It?

Well, . . . I started out last night with the idea of preparing my go-to black beans and rice. I sliced and diced my onion all the while wondering what I could do to maybe vary the fare a little. That's when I came across a recipe for something called Middle Eastern Rice with Black Beans and Chickpeas. Not surprisingly, therefore, what I came up with then was a mix of both, leaving me with the perplexing problem of what to call it. :-)

Sweet Potato & Ground Beef Chili

 

Okay, switching to a completely different subject, I tried cooking up a recipe I found recommended either through the Washington Post (a subscription I may not renew after this past year's row) or the New York Times. In any case, it turned out great! Used red pepper flakes instead of cayenne pepper (I think I must be allergic to the latter), and substituted Legendary Brown Ale for Modelo Negra. 

Fruits & Veggies

The name Barbados Peppers, I think, probably says all that needs to be said about these little bombshells I spotted growing in one of our CW gardens.

A much safer alternative might be the squash.

Morning Tea

Just now (this afternoon) finished reading Liz Cheney's book. By far and away, the most important thing she had to say (although everything she said before led up to her statement) are her final words:

"Every one of us . . . must work and vote together to ensure that Donald Trump and those who have appeased, enabled, and collaborated with him are defeated.

This is the cause of our time."

Pareve

 

"MK Pareve Kosher Certification is a kosher certification provided by the Montreal Kosher (MK) organization. The MK is a widely recognized and trusted kosher certification agency based in Montreal, Canada. The MK Pareve Kosher Certification is specifically focused on certifying food products as 'pareve' in accordance with kosher dietary laws."  -- Common Share

"Pareve (from Yiddish: פאַרעוו for "neutral", in Hebrew פרווה‎, and also parve and other variant English spellings) is a classification of edible substances that contain neither dairy nor meat ingredients." -- Wikipedia

Hoagie

 

Turns out that my "chicken hoagie" at Mellow Mushroom has a history.

"The Italian sandwich originated in several different Italian-American communities in the Northeastern United States from the late 19th to mid-20th centuries. The popularity of this Italian-American sandwich has grown from its origins in Connecticut, Pennsylvania, Delaware, Maryland, New York, New Jersey, Massachusetts, and Rhode Island to most parts of the United States and Canada, and with the advent of chain restaurants, is now available in many parts of the world. Sociologists Edwin Eames and Howard Robboy identified thirteen different terms for the submarine sandwich in the United States." -- Wikipedia

My friends shared a vegetarian pizza. All good, as people say. :-)

Mellow Mushroom

 

Ate lunch here on New Year's Eve. My first time. Great atmosphere. Good service, even on what appeared to be a rather busy afternoon.

Eggplant Parmigiana

 

So I got curious about the origin of this fabulous dish that I enjoyed at Francesco's: 

"The eggplant arrived in Italy during the 15th century – when the Arabs brought it from India. This part of the story already takes us to Sicily: According to this thesis, the city of Parma has nothing to do with it – not even the Parmigiano Reggiano cheese. This version states that the term actually derives from the Sicilian word ‘parmiciana,’ the little wooden strips that form a shutter – recalling the partially overlapping arrangment of fried eggplant used in the dish." -- La Cucina Italiana

Felice Anno Nuovo!

 

Francesco

A salad is just a salad, unless, of course, you slightly caramelize the red onion slices and add peppercorn dressing. Whew! And brace yourself for the pepper!

Felice Anno Nuovo everyone!