Thanksgiving

This is yet another back-dated post...

As is tradition Rob and I hosted 15 people for Thanksgiving Dinner in our tiny flat on the final Saturday in November. With 15 people this year we struggled for space and cutlery so we ended up renting tables, chairs and cutlery... it worked perfectly and everyone fit in happily.

Squeezed in! 

We had the normal food: turkey, stuffing, mashed potatoes, sweet potato casserole, green beans and rolls. However there were a few lovely additions this year. I made a vegetable turkey out of Crudités following on from the success of last year's fruit turkey. While, Rob added profiteroles to the dessert cart alongside the usual apple and pumpkin pies. Following another Scott-Clark Thanksgiving tradition, Rob wrote and mastered a pub quiz after the meal where everyone provided amusing answers while one very competitive team, who will remain nameless, stormed through as very convincing winners!

It was a treat to have everyone join us and it's something we look forward to every year. Days like this really make you feel fortunate, who knew we had so many friends! Here are some photos of the day:

Preparation... this is blow-torching the infamous
marshmallow sweet potato casserole.

More prep... our turkey was so big it
took two full grown men to lift!

Sue, Will, Lizzie and Bex, post meal stupor!

Thanks for the amazing Turkey visors, Mom!
Gillian looks amazing in it. 

Bex's meal and a mutilated bird behind!
Once again we forgot to photograph the bird! 

Rob was clearly saying something important, being a very good host!

Gearing up for the pub quiz, Rob the quiz master! 

Who wants dessert!!! 

The  'veggie' turkey. 

It turned our really well! 

Rob's delicious profiteroles! 

The nut wellington for the vegetarians,
with it's own pastry turkey on top! 

A big switch-a-roo

Anyway... since I've last written a lot has gone on but mainly I have got a new fantastic less-stressful job! For any of you who have hung out with me in person of the past three years you will know that I was pretty fed up with my last job for at least a year! However, once I got over the tremendous mental barrier of actually applying for new jobs I found one very quickly!

I'm now working for Save the Children as a production coordinator. The position is a project manager for publications and printed materials across all sections of the charity  It is extremely interesting and a huge change for me. I went from working at a charity with 12 people employed in total to working in a team of nearly 20 people in a charity that employees nearly 500 people! It took a bit of time to get used to and I'm still trying to work out what it's like to work a normal 9-5 day and not be expected to be on call 24 hrs a day!

Though much happier now, I really do miss a lot about my last job, mainly my fantastic colleagues. As a leaving present they bought me a bottle of gin (huge grin), a bookstore gift certificate and a baking course to learn how to make macaroons!!! The generous and thoughtful way they sent me off is testament to how much more than colleagues they were to me, and the fact that I stay in touch with most of them now shows just what great friendships I built there!

My last week was emotional but fill with fun memories, including a charity gala (The Big Give) at Fortnum Masons where I was showered with free champagne, macaroons and luxury food!!! Here's a few photos from that night!

Mini ice creams and champagne!
A very appropriate dinner.

Just some normal pastry treats you would expect at Fortnums

Oh yeah, there was a free oyster bar... 

and amazing smoked salmon, too! 

Election Party 2012... Rombot versus Bronco Obama

This post is nearly 2 months late, but let's look back on a very exciting night... the US election!

So, I've been feeling less and less American as I spend more time in the UK. However, there are certain things that I will always cling onto and enjoy. One of them is the Presidential Election.

I don't know why I get so excited about the elections, maybe it's the fact that it's the only elections I get to vote in, or maybe because it's something that I get to do here that most people I'm friends with don't get to do, sort of a ritual I get to participate in when most of the time it's me left out of these democratic processes... or maybe it's just because I get to have another excuse to throw a party. Who knows?


So, we threw an election party at our home which was mainly a standing dinner and beer pong tournament (never really seen or played by a lot of Brits). The beer pong teams were the Bronco Obamas vs the Rombots and like the election, the Bronco Obamas won! We had a good time... until nearly 4am! Once Ohio declared that Obama has won I finally fell asleep.

As per usual we kept everyone well fed. Rob made traditional Boston Baked Beans and baby-back ribs. We also made some slider burgers and drank Coors Light. It was all very VERY American. I also baked some red and blue cupcakes for the red and blue states! I used my normal chocolate cupcake recipe with the vanilla frosting. Then finally, the creme-de-la-creme of the desserts... Pecan Pie!

I spent nearly a day looking for Pecans, there was a shortage in all our local shops so when I finally found some I made a Pecan Pie chucked full of nuts! I was delicious. I used the BBC recipe here. Then I melted butter and brown sugar together until it was a syrup and poured it over the top. I also used my own homemade pastry instead of store-bought! The pie was so sweet but absolutely amazing with ice cream or custard.

It was a great evening and so much fun to share a bit of unusual americana with my friends. We have Thanksgiving every year but an election only comes every four years and no matter the occasion a party is alway appropriate!

Guinness cake... yes, Guinness cake!

Good friend, Esther, with the 'Beast'!

So at the end of softball season, nearly four months ago now, a team-mate gave me a recipe for a delicious Chocolate Guinness Cake.

I have to be honest, when I ate it I was blown away but when I started making it I was skeptical that I had been given the correct recipe. It's a very odd, non-traditional start to a cake. The recipes originally comes from the Hummingbird Bakery Cookbook, so it's got a good reputation around it but still, I was very worried! Melting butter in simmering ale is not the best smelling thing and cake is really the last thing on your mind when doing it! However.. it works, really well! Again, like my carrot cake recipe, I'd prefer you to just take a look a the scan from the book if you'd like to try it. It is delicious and HUGE, you could easily feed a small army with this recipe and I did when I brought to a friends house party, apparently there was a lot leftover, too!

Spinnin' round the city...

For about a year I have been hemming and hawing about whether or not I should get a bike. It's been obviously that cycling is the quickest way around London but I have been petrified of the London traffic. Finally, I bit the bullet and bought a bike! The monetary savings were my main motivation, nearly £100 a month! Then, a week later, Rob bought one.

My bike was brand new and Dutch-style... quite fashionable and very handsome:

Note the VERY hi-vis jacket in the basket... Safety first!

Rob's, on the other hand, is a used 1970's slightly rusted racer that we haven't photographed... for cosmetic reason! Though it's looks aren't so good, it runs well and I think he is safer on it than a normal bike because it squeals, especially at high speeds. I have secure storage at my work where as Rob needs to leave his chained at a train station every day so he opted for a bike that, if stolen, wouldn't be that big of loss. There is a method to our madness!

And now that we are officially cyclists we have become quite interested in the campaigns for city cyclists in London. There is a big push to make it a more cycle-friend city and we're keeping a close on developments. The London Cycle Campaign and Kennington People on Bikes are two great sites for finding out what's going on and getting London-centric cycling tips.

All-in-all we're saving about £200 a month and nearly 90 minutes a day by cycling, also we're getting more fit and learning lots of new back routes through London, it's a whole new city again!

Because we Cannes!

This post is ridiculously late but very necessary! In mid September we were invited to spend a week in Cannes with our very good friends Thom in Gillian. The week was idyllic and reminded me of one of my all-time favourite movie quotes from Office Space, 'I did nothing. I did nothing and it was everything I hoped it would be.' We saw no sites, visited no museums and avoided formal 'cultural' experiences as much as we could... it was perfect... relaxing and perfect! 

On the beach, with tans! 

Newlyweds, Gillian and Thom

We spent the week eating amazing food and sitting on the beach or swimming in the ocean... pure heaven. We also had just about the most perfect weather ever! I think it rained once in the middle of night, otherwise it was sunny and hot but not too hot, just right for spending 8 hours a day on the beach!

Rob and I also picked up a new hobby in Cannes, paddle ball!!! I've always watched people play it and thought it seemed a little boring, if not annoying for the other patrons of the beach. However, this visit I was mesmerised by it, I think the Cannes beach-goers are on a much higher level and therefore make it much less disruptive for others! Mid-week we finally snapped and bought a set to try for ourselves... so much fun! I really enjoyed it and it was surprisingly athletic (this was the first 'do-nothing' holiday that I DIDN'T put on any weight!)

Yep... Paddle ball champs!

All-in-all it was a perfect week, with wonderful friends. It really capped off what was one of the best summers we've ever had, I will miss 2012 when it's gone!

Carrot Cake

About a year ago my wonderful sister in-law in Australia recommend me a cake book, Family Circle, Making Beautiful Cakes. It's been out of print for while but she swore by it's recipes. I managed to track down a copy and at her advice the first thing I tried was the carrot cake.

It was delicious, and when I say delicious I mean TO DIE FOR! Carrot cake can be heavy and quite sweet sometimes, but this recipe is absolutely perfect! We had friends around and they all fawned over the cake... and not just out of politeness. I'm telling you this recipe is a real winner! A few months ago I made a version that was a third of the original for a small personal cake for a friend's birthday and she was thrilled, it's a good gift! Luckily she also took a photo of it... phew!

I really don't want to mess with the recipe so I think it's best to take it directly from the book, though I will say, I tended to use slightly less carrot by about 25g. Here is a scan of the recipe.

1 2 3 4 Cake

So I bit the bullet and reached way back to my southern roots (I was born in South Carolina) and grabbed a recipe from everyone's favourite diabetic unhealthy chef... Paul Dean!

This is a standard extremely easy vanilla cake all you need to remember is 1, 2, 3, 4. I recommend this if you are pressed for time or have never baked before. Plus... it's delicious, moist and light!


Ingredients
1 cup (2 sticks) butter, at room temperature
2 cups sugar
3 cups sifted self-rising flour

4 eggs
1 cup milk
1 teaspoon pure vanilla extract

Preheat oven to 350 degrees F.

Grease and flour 2 (9-inch) cake pans. 

Using an electric mixer, cream butter until fluffy. Add sugar and continue to cream well for 6 to 8 minutes. Add eggs, 1 at a time, beating well after each addition. 

Add flour and milk alternately to creamed mixture, beginning and ending with flour. Add vanilla and continue to beat until just mixed. 

Divide batter equally among prepared pans. Level batter in each pan by holding pan 3 or 4 inches above counter, then dropping it flat onto counter. Do this several times to release air bubbles and assure you of a more level cake. 

Bake for 25 to 30 minutes or until done. 

Cool in pans 5 to 10 minutes. Invert cakes onto cooling racks. 

Cool completely and spread cake layers with your favorite frosting to make a layer cake. I used buttercream but really anything would work.

General Summer update... food and good times!

There are few events from July and August that have been overshadowed by the excitement of the Olypmics, injury, family, work and holiday, though I think they should be mentioned as they were exceptionally good times!

Timberlina in her element!

The first of which being BINGO at the Vauxhall Tavern, which I attending three, yes THREE, Mondays in a row. A good friend and colleague introduced me to it the first time and the following two Mondays I dragged more and more friends with me! I really don't know what to say about it, other than it's a fantastic time run by the lovely Timberlina (a fully-bearded, yoga-loving drag queen)! I've won three times which means I've taken home the following FANTASTIC prizes:

1. A hospital tray
2. A plate from Skegness
3. A tin of sardines from France

The winning is obviously not the reason I turn up... the music and the show are the reason! Timberlina is an excellent host, very funny with lots of clever tricks all set to fantastic music that you can sign along to, including 80s cartoon theme songs!

He gets me.

The next exciting adventure was a trip to the London Zoo lates. You get to visit the London zoo, at night, drink booze and look at the animals... a fun night indeed! I went because I was hoping the 'Penguin Beach Bar' would have been more like a beach and included more actual penguins... not just a bar stand near the penguin exhibition, but I got to see penguins and that always makes me happy!

The night was a tad bit rainy but the sun did come out enough for us to enjoy most of the evening and enjoy some food from the world market where I had delicious vienamese noodles and a raspberry cupcake. Though I had my hopes set on the penguin show, it was the meerkats who stole my heart, I think I had a moment with one... their big eyes remind me of someone... I wonder who?!

Zoo nights! 

Finally, another new activity for us (we're just so 'into' everything these days): pub quizzes! It's not like we've never done a pub quiz, but it something we've always really enjoyed and never really got around to doing much of. Thankfully, Thom and Gillian, showed up! We've been to three and are looking for more to go to, especially as the weather cools off... boo!! And though we are not successful at winning the trivia (but we're never last and that's what really matters), Thom and Gillian did win quite big at the raffel at the end of one night! 

Big money! 

But wait, there's more! To add to all the lovely excitement at home this summer was also the summer of congrats! Two of my bestest friends in the whole wide world will be getting married next year and were engaged in the same week. Which mean I get to come home and celebrate twice next summer, I'll be in the US for the 4th of July for the first time in 7 years! 

Bun wait, there's even more! To top all this off my lovely, wonderful and generous parents also booked me and Rob, my sister and her boyfriend, and themselves on to a seven night cruise around the Caribbean for March 2013. It's been over three years since we've all been together and I'm getting so excited to see my whole family again, especially on a boat in the sun!

It's been quite a summer for us! We feel very lucky and loved. Now roll on autumn... but first a week in Cannes with Thom and Gillian (pictured above), naturally!

A week on Skye!

So just to make you all a bit more envious about how wonderful our summer has been, here is bit about our holiday on Skye!

Rob and I left immediately after our last night of the Olympics, to catch a plane to Inverness, then a train to Klye of Lochash, then a bus to Skye where we met up with eight friends for a week of hiking, swimming, communal dinners, and good times!

Don't be fooled by the map, like I was, Skye is big and the roads are small so there is a lot of driving involved. However, no matter where you are it is beautiful... absolutely gorgeous. Please note, if you were travelling with me and you're reading this, my timings are a bit off and can't really remember the days correctly... this just a rough overview and is not an accurate timeline!

When we finally caught up with everyone we were quickly stuff into a car and whisked away to climb a hill... too exhausted to go with the crowd, Rob and I did a shortened version but still got to see some stunning views!

After our nice evening walk we settled into the cottage we were renting and met our new neighbours.

Neighbours

On the cottage porch

The cottage

Once settled and after a good night's much needed sleep we woke up, put on our boots and began a hike in the smokey mountains near the house (just behind us in the photo above). The girls were wimps that day and did not go to the top but the boys headed all the way up. Taking his life in his own hands, Rob tried to travel back down via the waterfall but eventually swtiched his brain on and chose the safer path! phew! 

That evening three of us (me, Emma, and Tom) decided to head out to a nearby beach for a swim. Tom and I decided that the quickest route back to the house, after what seemed like an annoying hike to get to the beach, would be to swim. Luckily we had a support team of Rob, Esther and Ali to take our stuff with us and greet us with a beer after we were done! 

See the black speck in the water... that's us swimming! 

Well deserved beer after the first swim

The next day we did another swim in the morning at a nearby Fairy Pool, which was the first time we were introduced to our tenth travelling mate... the midge! Midge's are horrible tiny nats that bite worse than misquitoes and swarm around you like a plague! When we got to the pools they came out and the only way to get away was to get in the water, which was freezing but lovely and clear. However, once we were done swimming you had to race like a madman to get your clothes back on and escape from the swarms of midges eating your flesh! For the rest of the week we battled these tiny invaders and in the end, they won... we left and they were still there, knawing at our skin whenever they could!

Swimming in the fairy pools near our house,
gorgeous and fresh water! Note: midges are a bit camera shy

Second group of fairy pools we visit with a lovely arch.
Midge breeding ground for sure!

That afternoon we swam yet again, this time to an island, Scalpay! Johnny, Tom, Emma, Fiona and myself all swim while the lazy four left over, Ali, Tom J, Rob and Esther, puttered around the area on a 'speed' boat. I was told it did not go nearly fast enough!

Lazy boaters!

Fantastic swimmers and their support boat!

Esther and Rob on the boat

That evening we met up with Tom and Fiona's Aunt and Uncle and had a lovely meal at Red Skye, a restaurant I highly recommend if you ever visit. I had the black pudding with scallops... DELICIOUS! 

So far I had managed to keep my hiking to a relatively low level, I'm much more confortable in the sea. However the next day there was no avoiding it... we were hiking up a very high hill (though I would call it a mountain). Marsco, it's about 750meters high and was a 6km hike. The first 4km are reltively flat then the last 2km is about a direct verticle shot, and you are hiking on skree (loose rock), without a path... sounds safe and fun right?! I thought I was going to die at least three times going up and plenty more coming down but the views were worth the effort and I definitely was proud of myself for getting all the way up there! Plus there was a bar at the end so there was clear motivation to finish!

Surveying the best way to 'scramble' up Marsco

On the top... we made it! 

The view from the top of Marsco

Top of Marsco 

Rob at the top

Our reward... That's a lot of Scotch Whiskey!

The next day was a bit more low key, not as much physical activity. We visited the Taliskar Distillary and learned all about whiskey and tried a bit! It was informative and fun, and now Rob and I think we know a little more and are trying to enjoy whiskey, not just use it for gravy... but I think I like gravy more. 

The distillary... super interesting

That evening was epic... we waited about 5 hours for Tom J and Ali to make what can only be described as the most labour cottage pie EVER!! They started around 6pm and we sat down to eat at 11pm, they blamed the AGA cooker in the kitchen but I'm more inclined to think it was the beer and tequila that seemed to be flowing in and out of the kitchen the whole time! When we did finally dig into the pie was delicious, for 5 hours worth of work it better have been. It was a very memorable night. 

Serving up 'the pie'

We spent the last day lounging around the cottage and recovering from the previous day, gearing up for a day in Edinburgh for the Fringe festival before we headed home. 

Last night eating at the local put, our crew after a fantastic week! 

In Edinburgh we saw a show the night we arrived and enjoyed walking around the festival and seeing plenty of pubs along the way. The next morning we played golf on a small par three pitch and putt course where Rob, true to form got yet another hole-in-one! A very fitting and usual end to a holiday for Rob. 

The clubhouse of the course

Celebrating his hole-in-one!

No explanation necessary!

We were home that evening and I was already missing the lovely fresh Scottish air and the mountains. It was an amazing holiday with such nice people and great scenery! I'm just so glad I have photos to remember it all. Here is the one that will stick in my head forever though: