Leftovers Galore ...

Somehow during the course of buying groceries in the last 2 weeks, it seems I have collected a variety of ingredients which are highly perishable. Not sure if it is due to the humidity, but the produce stays fresher in the fridge here than in Canada. My family usually helps me get rid of all the food, but this time guess it's all up to me!




In Britain they love their bacon, it is also different than the bacon in North America. They use slabs of back bacon here, which is a bit thicker and a fuller cut. I chose the double smoked apple wood bacon, it tastes great in a burger by the way. The local cheese here is also a bit different, it is more pungent and flavourful. In the pic, you will see two different kind of cheeses; the lighter one is called White Cheshire and the creamier one is called Vintage Country Farmhouse Cheddar.





Unsure of what to do with all this food and not wanting to over think, I decided what better way than to wrap it all up!

It was a bit difficult to render a picture with all its content nicely tucked inside, so I used a glass to prop it up. Think it did the trick!

My First UK Job ...

As we all know, London can be quite expensive to live in. Therefore to supplement my lifestyle, I was able to get a temp job at Harrods.

For those who have not been to London before, it is basically a big department store similar to Holt Renfrew but a bit larger. Since there is only one in the world, it is a big tourist destination.

Apparently Harrods has 2 big sales every year, one in the summer and one in winter. I applied for a temp sales rep job, but I am currently doing some admin clerical work. The sale does not start until June, so do not now what is to come...

It is an interesting place to work, definately different. I have to walk through an underground tunnel every morning to get into the building. Employees are not allowed to use the main doors. Also, even with my employee discount, I still can't afford anything. lol!

Since most of my time was spent at Harrods, I wasn't able to update this blog as much. Will post up more pix in the next couple of days!

Another Lamb Dish ...

Since I bought two packages of lamb mince on special, needed to find some other way of utilizing this ingredient besides making burgers.

This is my take on the Chinese version of mince beef with egg on rice. I purposely slanted the rice for different appeal but not sure if I really like the outcome. Nonetheless, it turned out the same once everything was mixed together and in my stomach.

The Joy of Parking ...

Now and then I hear these random chain rattling noises outside my flat. This time I actually got up from my comfy couch and checked it out.

Turns out a parking permit is a pretty valuable commodity in the complex. If you do not have one, you get your tires chained to a triangular plate.

After a couple hours, the chain rattling started again.  I knew it must be the owner of the 1 Series (118i) coming to get his car back.

Apparently it costs around $200 CAD to get the triangular plate off. And I thought parking tickets at 797 Don Mills were bad.

Just in case, chose to use this blurred pic for privacy issues, lol.

First Home Made Dinner

Now that I have settled down a bit and have extra time. I had the chance to make home made lamb burgers. With the limited stock of ingredients I had, it came out pretty tasty!

Lamb Burger (Marinated with sauteed red wine onions with Herbs Du Provence)
over toasted Naan topped with Creamed Horseradish & Courgettes. 

Traveling Abroad...On a Budget

As I am currently on a budget, the best thing to do was to buy ingredients in bulk. But that doesn't mean I wanted to eat the same meal all the time. Therefore, using the same ingredients I made two relatively different dishes.

Green Curry Lamb Chop Stir Fry with Courgettes

Pan Fried Lamb Chops with Mint Jelly & Sauteed Courgettes 

The Competition...

While walking in central London, there was Laduree in the tiniest spot all covered in gold. Apparently these fresh Macarons are shipped in from Paris each morning.

 

As you can tell they make a lot of different varieties, not sure which ones to copy yet. (Salted Caramel, Strawberry, Vanilla, & Rose)

Pistachio, Lemon, Chocolate, & Bitter chocolate

We bought a couple to try, lemon was my favourite. Guess there is a lot of work ahead to perfect this recipe.

French Macarons!

This is what I have done today, made Macarons. With the help of my friend Christine, we tried out this Hazelnut & Dark Chocolate recipe. For the most part, it turned out great! Just needs some minor tweaking.

I also had a chance to play with my camera which is also a plus. Still need to learn all the functions on it though. We were thinking of making different Macarons and selling it at the local Greenwich Market. Currently someone is selling cupcakes for 2 pounds each! Hoping we can cash in on the tourists too.

If you want to know more about the market:
http://www.greenwichmarket.net/

Better yet, you can always come to London and help.

First Home Dinner

This was the first home cooked dinner I had in my new flat. Although it is not from scratch, it is pretty good! It is Meat Cappelletti (Proscuitto & Grana Padano) topped with Tomato & Marscarpone sauce. Also had fresh baked butter baguette. Can't forget the red wine, but unfortunately do not have any wine glasses yet. Therefore, had to drink it out of a mug  

Finally moved in!

Below is a virtual tour of my flat. It is well kept but still has its problems. The day before I moved in there was a big leak from the ceiling in the washroom. There wasn't any electricity and the washing machine wasn't working. All has been fixed now!

Will upload some pics from outings when I have a chance. Cheers.