Take a Dickens pub crawl

A pub crawl to suit any visitor to London.

This blog is about family travel around the world without leaving the UK. Impossible? No. Here's how to walk in Charles Dickens footsteps.  This post is by Nicola Baird (see www.nicolabaird.com for more info about my books and blogs).   

Not long ago Will Self (an infamous novelist, well-known Brompton/fold-up cyclist) wrote a fascinating piece about walking in towns, see here. Apparently 100 years ago 90 per cent of all Londoner's journeys less than six miles were walked. Even the school run. Nowadays we're all too time pressed to even consider doing this. But it's interesting to think how much it would change our lives (and physiques, and appetites) if we did. And the combination of walking and a good look-see at London is a great way to get to know the layers of history this vast city offers.

Charles Dickens is famous for walking around London - no doubt done to avoid his home, identify new characters and work out tricky plots. When we next have guests from overseas I look forward to taking them on this Charles Dickens pub crawl where the great man used to pop into to dry out, warm up or chat.

Where to go for your Dickens Pub Crawl
On our (three evening!) pub crawl (we had to trial it if we were going to offer proper great expectations...) a combination of the A-Z map, Pete, me Nicola, Matthew, Ann and Hannah went to:

The One Tun, Saffron Hill, EC1 (near Farringdon Road tube)
This is now a football pub and really rather hideous. But Charles Dickens may well have borrowed one of its regulars, a man called Ikey Solomons, to dream up Fagin from Oliver Twist.
Verdict: think of it as a warm up. Pubs will only get better.

The Bleeding Heart Tavern, Bleeding Heart yard, EC1
This is really a posh wine bar/restaurant but there's a lovely nook you can sit in and dream about how the cobbled yard behind the pub was the home of the Plomish family in Little Dorrit
Verdict: so close to The One Tun and Ye Olde Mitre that you might want to linger

Ye Olde Mitre, Ely Court, EC1 (just off Hatton Gardens)
This is ever-so lovely and though it seems small it has two back rooms, a front room and an upstairs. They serve a fab range of beers, plus serve traditional City pub fare (think Scotch eggs). Lots of oak panelled walls. Both Dr Johnson and Charles Dickens here - your pub quiz question is could they have done so on the same day?* (answer below)
Verdict: fab

Ye Olde Cheshire Cheese, 145 Fleet Street, EC4 (near St Pauls tube or Holborn tube)
Just as good as Ye Olde Mitre, but with many more rooms, each with a rather different character - the stand up and drink until sick; the eatery, the snugs. It was built in 1667 and creeks, in a good way. Some say it's the pub that features in A Tale of Two Cities when Sydney asks Charles Darnay to dine after his acquittal from the charge of high treason.
Verdict: definitely a good place to celebrate life.

Ye Olde Watling, Watling Street, EC1
Actually I didn't make this venue on the pub crawl, but it was allegedly built by Sir Christopher Wren as a hostel for the guys building St Pauls. Dickens loved this pub... plus it's got 10 different real ales on tap, and lovely old beams.
Verdict: one of the best

Ye Olde Wine Shades, 6 Martin Lane, EC4 (near Monument tube)
Slight problem, it's not a pub - it's a posh City wine bar but it is l-o-v-e-l-y. It's also possibly the oldest pub in London - although that title could be the Lamb & Flag in Fleet Street, or Ye Olde Cheshire Cheese (see above) or loads of others along by the Thames. What is known is that this pub survived the 1666 Great Fire of London. Serves terrible chips, but the oak walls, generous wine glasses, mixed nuts and snugs and settles (wooden benches with backs) make up for that small hiccup.
Verdict: great place to go early in the evening as it's busier at lunch times... and the Monument to the fire of London is only a short stroll away.

George & Vulture, 3 Castle Court, EC3
This is deep in the city and was shut on the Friday evening when I reached it (how strange is that?), but maybe it is a restaurant now.  It has been the HQ for the Pickwick Club - run by fans of Charles Dickens. Despite the history don't bother. Luckily if you are just going for a peep, the oldest coffee house in London happens to be down the same alleyway, Jamaica Wine House, and that at least now serves beer and wine to the City suits, and pub crawlers...
Verdict: forget it

I found all this info out on a downloadable pdf created by islington council.
PUB QUIZ ANSWER: * no of course not! Samuel Johnson (1709-1784), Charles Dickens (1812-1870)

At the market

On Saturday, Mother Dearest and I headed out to visit the Farmer’s Market at the Triangle downtown, which we hadn’t been by just yet. I’d heard good things, and boy was I not disappointed.  After all those lessons on hunger I’ve learned these past few weeks (read the diatribe I wrote on this topic yesterday, if you haven’t already), I was ready to get out and do some serious food ogling, especially since now I CAN EAT IT.

What is it about farmer’s markets that makes you want to eat—nay, revere—your vegetables? I swear, when I see bushel upon bushel of gorgeous, fresh, and organic produce grown lovingly by locals, I sort of want to stuff my bags with them (the vegetables, not the locals) and bring them happily home with me, where I could research recipes with which to prepare them deliciously, and then feel overall better about life since I just fed myself and my husband something that came out of the ground and not a can or a carton or a box.

But alas, buying loads of organic produce at the farmer’s market is not exactly cost conscious for those budget minded individuals such as ourselves, so sometimes I leave feeling a little down that the majority of my food purchases will have to come from the boring old regular grocery store, where I’m pretty sure I picked up that 3 Week Satan Virus because that place is crawling with harried mothers and kids that were probably just playing in their own feces. 

Anyway. Enjoy the lovely farmer’s market photos below, and definitely check to see if your own city has one, too! And then go there! :)

  

And here’s what I wound up taking home…

There’s definitely some toasted raisin walnut bread with butter and strawberry-rhubarb compote in my future, as well as fresh brown eggs, kale chips, and this panini recipe with arugula! YUM. (next jam by Confituras I’d like to try is the strawberry-vanilla bean flavor… can you say HEAVEN IN YOUR MOUTH?!)

Happy Monday everyone!

On Being Hungry (or, what I learned during my unintentional 3 week fast)

It was almost three weeks ago now that my little friend the stomach bug decided to take up residence in my intestines (WOW, this post is off to a great start already isn’t? I promise I won’t be gross…), but I am happy to say that I’m finally feeling back to normal (or at least close to it), and my lab test results came back clear. Yesterday I ate an entire burger at my favorite joint downtown, and truly… it was a mouthgasm. Ask my mom. I was almost in tears, it was so good. There was a little bit of grunting and groaning and cavewoman sounds going on. Don’t judge. You’d be doing the same thing if you’d been eating toast and applesauce for three weeks straight.

Over the past three terrible weeks of the-longest-virus-anyone-has-ever-had,—ever, I have been thinking a lot about hunger.  Mainly because I was almost always hungry.  That deep, emptiness in the pit of your stomach, can’t concentrate on anything type of hunger.  Sometimes I would just stuff my face with something delicious (read: horrible), such as a large McDonald’s french fry, but then I would pay for it in spades. It wasn’t worth it. Turns out I’d rather be hungry.

I would click through blogs or scroll through photos of those I follow on Instagram, and I’d see photo after mouthwatering photo of all your delicious food shots, and I would die a little inside.  Seriously, there were a couple of times that I actually teared up, because I realized how much we take for granted the simple act of eating great food when we’re hungry. We take for granted the accessibleness of it, the abundance of it (for most folks, anyway).

For me, cooking awesome meals used to be fun. This was somewhere during, oh… maybe the first six months of my marriage? I was determined to be the good little wife that tried new recipes almost every night of the week, and I beamed when my husband loved them and pouted when a meal didn’t turn out as great as I’d hoped.  But somewhere along the way, I burned out on all the cooking (as I often do with… everything), and I never really got back into it. Now I stick to tried and true recipes (especially ones that are extremely easy), and I grumble to myself all throughout the process of preparing a meal. When I’m not begging to go out somewhere to eat, that is. Terrible, I know.

But over these weeks—the hungry weeks—something seemed to click back into place inside me. Whether it will stay clicked remains to be seen, but I think I rediscovered the joy of cooking fresh and healthy meals for myself and my little family. All I could think about these past few weeks was all the glorious food I would make for my husband when I’m feeling better and he’s done with finals, and how I’ll never again take for granted the act of sinking my teeth into something delicious (oh, and then keeping it inside my body for more than 20 minutes, of course). 

A few other things also occurred to me during this experience with hunger, one being that too often we don’t actually wait to be hungry to eat.  Because food is so readily available to us, we often snack or eat a meal at the first sign of hunger (which, I think, we actually might sometimes mistake for the simple feeling of not being full), and at least for me anyway, this causes me to not enjoy food very much.  Of course it’s never good to wait until you’re famished before you eat, since then you tend to overindulge, but I do think it’s healthy to wait until you’re good and hungry before you eat. I think this might help me stay motivated to cook real, balanced meals, and get excited about food like I was during the hungry weeks.

All just observations and thoughts I wanted to write out, for my own benefit down the line, as well as for whomever else it might concern. Hunger isn’t always a bad thing. Like every other feeling that’s uncomfortable, it just might teach you something if you let it.

Tune in tomorrow for some gorgeous photos from the farmer’s market. I’ve never felt more excited about food as I did this weekend! :) Happy Sunday!

(sneak peek of tomorrow’s post…)

Dreaming of Pizza…

…And cheese and milk and milky cereal and fried chicken and cheeseburgers and cake. Heck, I’d even take a big fat salad or a plate full of vegetables.  It would be 100x better than my diet as of late, which has included more rice, toast, applesauce, and bananas than I ever thought I’d eat.  Yep, still fighting off a stomach bug.  (We can talk about stuff like that here, right? We’re cool like that?)  I even went to the doctor the other day, and he just told me this could last a couple weeks (we’re working on the second week right now) and that I’ll probably survive if I stop eating cereal for every meal.

Anyway, I’ve been feeling sorry for myself and mourning the fact that everything delicious upsets my stomach terribly, so I thought I would further the torture by posting tantalizing photos from dinner at Home Slice the other night.  Neither Rachel or I had ever been there, so while we were hitting up South Congress for a mini portrait session, we slipped in to grab some pizza, and ohmygosh was it the best decision of my life.  Seriously, Austinites, if you haven’t tried Home Slice, GO IMMEDIATELY.  This pizza rivals the best of the best in NYC.  We got the Margherita, and I just shed a tear while thinking of it. 

Now excuse me while I go sip Pedialyte and cry over my applesauce…

PS – Have you entered the Blowfish giveaway yet? A free pair of shoes up for grabs!

Things to do in Austin: Snack Bar

A couple nights ago, Brittany and I met down at South Congress for some dinner at Snack Bar, a restaurant I’d never tried until now.  Austin is teeming with fabulous little locally owned businesses and restaurants, and sometimes I’m overwhelmed by just how many good ones out there we’ve yet to try!  I guess we’ll just have to take them on one at a time, now won’t we.

South Congress is one of the quirkiest spots in town, and visiting serves as a reminder of just why the city slogan is “keep Austin weird.”  For example, I know this is Texas and all, but it was still a little surprising to see a couple clip-clopping along the sidewalk on horseback the other night, like it was no big deal.  Or there was that one time a crazy bum was following people around and laughing maniacally while waving a cardboard sign that said “smile if you masturbate.” 

It was uncomfortable. 

But anyway, we had a really nice time, and oh my!  That burger!  I don’t know if I was just extremely hungry or if that burger was exceptionally good (probably an even mix), but YUM.  And that’s all I have to say about that! 

Double Lemon Chicken Breasts with tomato-basil (and avocado!) salsa (aka the most delicious chicken recipe in the world)

Do you guys remember the most delicious salmon recipe in the world?  Well, now it’s time for the most delicious chicken breast recipe in the world! I’ve been meaning to share it with you guys forever now—within my limited repertoire of culinary successes, this one is a definite favorite and a crowd pleaser every time!  You’ll find that it’s healthy and full of fresh flavors, and it also pairs well with anything from broiled multigrain bread to sweet potatoes to steamed rice.  We usually serve it with a simple mixed green salad as well, to amp up the veggie intake even more.  Hope you make it and enjoy! (see recipe below). 

Double Lemon Chicken Breasts with Tomato, Basil, and Avocado Salsa
Serves 2
*The original recipe can be found here, but I modified it a bit and also added avocado to the salsa.  It can be left out though, of course. It’s GREAT either way! Also, if I’m feeling lazy or want to make the recipe even healthier, I just saute a plain chicken breast and put the salsa on top. Still very yummy! 

Ingredients

For the salsa:
1 medium roma tomato, diced
1 small avocado, diced
1 tablespoon of chopped fresh basil
1 teaspoon of minced garlic
1 tablespoon of extra virgin olive oil
Pinch of salt

For the chicken:
2 boneless chicken breasts, pounded until 1/2 inch thick
1/4 cup flour
1 teaspoon of grated lemon zest
Salt and pepper to taste
Extra virgin olive oil
A few wedges of lemon

Directions

Mix salsa ingredients and set aside.  Using a fork, combine flour, lemon zest, salt and pepper on a flat dinner plate.  Rinse and dry chicken, then dredge in flour mixture (coat both sides).  Set aside.  Heat a large saute pan over medium heat and add the oil, using just enough to coat the bottom of the pan. Add the chicken and cook both sides until juices run clear, then add generous amounts of lemon juice. Top with the salsa, and serve!

This meal makes a happy husband, see?

Even Gracie and Cooper want in on it. 

Happy Tuesday! :)

Easy, Delicious, and Freezable Shepherd’s Pie

This weekend I tried out a recipe for Shepherd’s Pie, which is a traditional English dish I’ve always thought sounded yummy.  And don’t be silly, OF COURSE my desire to try it out had nothing to do with the fact that it always sounded decadently delicious when mentioned in Harry Potter/Hogwarts banquet scenes or because experiencing a Hogwarts banquet/attending Hogwarts is kind of my lifelong dream.  Nothing to do with that at all. AHEM.

Anyway, this recipe was really good, and it makes quite a bit, so you can freeze some in separate containers to take out as needed for lunches or quick dinners.  A definite winner, in my book!

I love that you can see the steam rising off the plate.

I followed this recipe, and I’ll type it out for you here too, with a few of my notes!

Shepherd’s Pie
about 4-6 servings

Ingredients

1 1/2 lbs ground beef – I used a tad bit more than 1 1/2
1 chopped onion
2 cups vegetables – I used a frozen bag of carrots, corn, peas, and green beans, but separated the carrots and      cooked them a little longer as noted.
1 1/2 - 2 lbs potatoes (3ish big ones)
8 tablespoons butter divided (1 stick)
1/2 cup beef broth
1 teaspoon Worcestershire sauce
Salt, pepper, other seasonings to taste

Directions

1 Peel and quarter potatoes, boil in salted water until tender (about 20 minutes).

2 While the potatoes are cooking, melt 4 Tablespoons butter (1/2 a stick) in large frying pan (or if you want to cut out some of the butter in this recipe, I bet you could sub this for extra virgin olive oil. I used butter this time though).

3 Sauté onions in butter until tender, over medium heat (10 mins). If you are adding vegetables, add them according to cooking time. Put any carrots in with the onions. Add corn, peas, and green beans (or whatever you’re using) either at the end of the cooking of the onions (I added them now since the veggies were frozen), or after the meat has initially cooked.

4 Add ground beef and sauté until no longer pink. Drain the grease (it’s easiest to just put a big lid over the meat and veggies and drain it into the sink that way). Add salt and pepper. Add Worcestershire sauce. Add half a cup of beef broth and cook, uncovered, over low heat for 10 minutes, adding more beef broth if necessary to keep moist.

5 Mash potatoes in bowl with remainder of butter, season to taste.

6 Place beef and onions in baking dish. Distribute mashed potatoes on top. Rough up with a fork or spoon so that there are peaks that will brown nicely.

7 Cook in 400 degree oven until bubbling and brown (about 30 minutes). Broil for last few minutes if necessary to brown. (my potatoes were still white after 30 minutes, so I did end up broiling them a bit to give them that nice color).

Hope you enjoy!

Try Solomon time for lunch...

This blog is about family travel around the world without leaving the UK. Impossible? No. Here's how a wet March weekend turned into a Sol fest with authors Will Randall and Rosie Millard - plus the Pacific Islands Society of UK and Ireland. This post is by Nicola Baird (see www.nicolabaird.com for more info about books and blogs).   Pix show Afu, Sara and me (that's for you Jenny Wate!), and then a lunch group taken by Nell and her friend Fernanda. 


For reasons entirely due to Michael Tuhanuku of Honiara this song makes my family think of the humid, beautiful Solomons. So you can read this post listening to it if you want! It's Soul Sister by Train. 

SATURDAY: First organise a Pacific Special Book day and tempt some wonderful writers to give a talk in front of afficanados and islanders belonging to the Pacific Islands Society over in Earls Court, London. We were so lucky to get Will Randall who wrote the yet to be bettered book about the Solomons, Solomon Time. Years of teaching has left him an expert public speaker too. He gave a fabulous talk filled with humour and bon mots (well, he does live in France now).

Nell had been asked to talk a little about Solomon Islands Development Trust which does such important development education work - and both Sara and I worked for years ago. Mali (Sara's university student daughter) and Lola (mine) also gave a powerful advert about why the Tetepare Descendants Association needs support, making their respective mums proud. Then Rosie Millard read with pezzaz from her entertaining book Bonnes Vacances: a crazy family adventure in the French Territories which took her through the South Pacific via New Caledonia. Who would have thought this would spring so many tough questions, and none about trying to work and travel with four small children?

SUNDAY: If it's too carbon intensive - and expensive -to get ourselves back to the Solomons (15,000 miles away), then the answer is to tempt those people who love the Solomons around to your house. You do this by never mentioning we are vegetarian - instead we quickly become pescatarian when I'm thinking up a menu that is UK seasonal but includes fish (eventually settled on a cod-like white fleshed fish from Cornwall which the fishmonger said was called Poutin after what Posh Spice does. Name is still a mystery, but it does cook easily.

Result: lunch was enjoyed (I hope, I was too busy gossiping to notice how the food went down) by Afu, temporarily working here in an extremely high-powered job (she's meeting the Queen next week!), Sara and Peter who were part of the early team that helped allow people today call Tetepare "the largest uninhabited island in the Pacific" and provide an alternative to logging. Will joined us - and then there was Pete who has a chapter on the Solomons in his book, There's A Hippo in My Cistern which recounts his slight inept ability to cope with sleeping in a cave in Belona or master a bush knife or catch and gut a fish... And I've got Coconut Wireless, a whole novel about love, life and gossip based in Honiara (which you can download for FREE if you go to www.smashwords.com/books./view/29742  and use the code NP86T before 2 April) or just pay £1.92 off amazon.

Happy Valentine’s! (+Walton’s, Austin)

Happy Valentine’s Day, y’all! Any big plans for tonight, or did you love birds out there celebrate over the weekend?  My husband will be with his mistress, law school, tonight. Sigh. 

Yesterday my mom and Edd met me for a quick lunch at Walton’s here in Austin, one of Sandra Bullock’s two restaurants in town.  I’ve been wanting to try it forever now, and I was so pleased to finally visit!  The food was delicious, and I felt like I was in a little NYC cafe.  I’ll most definitely be returning.  Nice work, Sandra! :)

heart shaped macaroon 

BFT (bacon, frisee, and tomato sandwich)

Edd enjoying his carrot cake cupcake

Walton’s, you get an A!

Also, thanks to those of you who’ve asked about Edd lately.  I owe you guys a post, it’s just something kind of difficult to write about right now. 

Tell someone you love them today!