Thai Fish Cakes With Thai Dipping Sauce

Link to cooking blog: Thai Fish Cakes With Thai Dipping Sauce

Che Chuoi—Banana, Coconut and Tapioca Pudding

Link to cooking blog: Che Chuoi—Banana, Coconut and Tapioca Pudding

Belated Birthday to Me!

M* has a knack for making excellent bouquets

My birthday was in mid-March, but my birthday dinner just kept finding a way to get postponed (M* had just pulled an all-nighter and couldn't stay awake, the preferred restaurant was closed for a month, torrential downpours prohibited cycling in a dress, M*'s being preoccupied with his intense schedule...).

I like when M* gives me flowers

Last week we decided that Friday would be the night. M* surprised me with bunches of dahlias, gladiolas and some orange, purple and yellow (lady's mantle?) that I cannot name. The dahlias were extra special as they were the flowers in my bouquet. Unfortunately we didn't make it to Haka for dinner, as my bike had issues and the restaurant is too far to reach on foot, but we had a great meal at Rice Boat, which serves cuisine from the state of Kerala in the southwest of India. We followed it up by a very romantic movie—The Simpsons—where we were chaperoned by our good friend James.

The only non-blurry photo of both of us

No Gluten-Free Goodness

I like making M* stove-top porridge—it's easy and just looks so good topped with cinnamon, brown sugar and bananas. I found gluten-free porridge made with rice and millet flakes, so I gave it a go. Sorry to report that it just wasn't a viable substitute—the consistency was there but it was too bland without hearty oaty goodness.

Not a keeper, unfortunately

Now an item that should be gluten-free but isn't due to someone's bright idea to add wheat maltodextrin—nut milk drinks. Almond milk is hard to come by in the UK, and the one store that I know carries it requires a long cycle ride. As I like mixing it with protein powder for breakfast, I was excited to find almond and hazelnut milk drinks in a nearby store. I read the labels to compare the amounts of protein and discovered that wheat maltodextrin is in both. I've since discovered that maltodextrin is usually made from corn, but is now beginning to be made from wheat. Maybe the maltodextrin people haven't noticed the growth in the gluten-free market.

Wheat—it's where you least expect it

Best Weather Forecast in Months

East Anglia, the region of England where Cambridge is located, has not been hit by the recent, destructive flooding plaguing certain western and southern areas of the UK. Still, there has not been a 5-Day forecast since early May that did not include a prediction of some rain—until today.

Three More Down

I'm (kinda) furiously trying to get through books that I bought while here or brought with me from the States, as I'm trying to lighten our ridiculously large load of clothes, school books, games, and bits and bobs (love this English expression) for a move to our new mystery location.

"The Classical World: An Epic History of Greece and Rome" by Robin Lane Fox
This is the last of the tomes that I bought this year. Fox is a professor at Oxford, and the book reads like it was written by an academic. Esoteric details wrapped in parenthetical asides engendered many a head-scratching, reread. Perhaps it's because we recently visited Rome that details of Roman history are easier for me to recall than those of ancient Greece. Or maybe it's just that the salacious stories of the Roman emperors were so shocking that one cannot easily forget them. The result: I do have a greater understanding about Greek settlements in the Middle East and Egypt, the issues surrounding the rise and fall of democracy in Athens and other parts of Greece, and how Rome took over the role as ruler of the Classical World after the collapse of the Greek empire after the death of Alexander the Great, who extended the Greece's control as far east as India.

"The Year of Magical Thinking" by Joan Didion
I had wanted to follow-up the above book with something light, and while choosing a book with at least eighty percent less text, "The Year of Magical Thinking" deals with the issue of grief and loss following the unexpected death of the author's husband during dinner. I am familiar with Didion, having read "Salvador" in college and "Where I Was From," and her skill in non-fiction writing is the key to the success of this book. This work is a poignant study in how the mind deals with grief—from unknowingly writing an address from 20 years ago on her request form for her husband's autopsy report (resulting in a six months delay in receiving the paperwork) to finding a large number of mistakes while editing her first writing assignment after her husband's death. The fact that their only child is, for a large portion of the work, in a coma or rehab after a bought of the flu, which freakishly morphed into pneumonia then into sepsis, adds to the sympathy her writing evokes in the reader. In addition, being aware that her daughter died nine-months after the book was finished, I had a sense that I was witnessing someone recovering from a significant blow, knowing, yet unable to warn her, that she would soon be flattened by another attack on her mental and emotional faculties.

"The Witch of Blackbird Pond" by Elizabeth George Speare
I found this book at a Cambridge shop called the Haunted Bookshop. My goal upon entering the shop was to find a collection of ghost stories for a friend, but I soon realized that Haunted had nothing to do with the type of works they had available (I'm guessing the building, not the books, gave rise to the shop's moniker). In a £1 bargain bin, I spied "The Witch of Blackbird Pond," which I instantly remembered reading as a young girl (When I told my sister about my find, she replied, "You loved that book."). While I recollected reading the book, I could not recall the story. I thought that reading the first few pages would bring back a rush of memories, but I quickly read the engaging story as though it was the first time I'd encountered it. I am happy to report that Speare's tale, set in 1687, of a 16 year-old, English girl raised in Barbados who moves to Connecticut to live with her Puritan relatives, is still relevant almost 50 years after it was first published.

Applesauce—Like Mom Makes

Link to cooking blog: Applesauce—Like Mom Makes

I Can Bite You

Museum gift shops are usually worth a look, and while I wasn't overly impressed with the Tate Modern's (yes they had plenty of art books, but the rest was ho-hum), I did make a complete find: greeting cards by a London artist, Rachel Ortas. The creature (above) in most of her cards is Ai Ai. I found her web site, and I was hoping that on it there would be t-shirts for sale, but no such luck. I did email her to ask about other merchandise, and she was kind enough to send me a story book about Ai Ai.
Since I feel that I truly need a shirt with Ai Ai saying, "I Can Bite You" and one with the little girl (above) saying, "You Are The Monster," I may resort to creating my own.

Her cards also remind me of Brendan Monroe's Sour work, which I saw when it was part of a group show at GR2 in Los Angeles in 2004. This series includes paintings, sculptures, books/zines (I have two) and vinyl dolls. "The actual SOUR comes from the idea of a fruit or a pod coming alive and creating havoc and trouble," describes Monroe. Ai Ai seems to be creating havoc and trouble galore. Maybe Ai Ai can join the Orange Sour, "the most controversial and wild of the species," on some of its adventures, which are documented at Sour Sighting.

All card designs by Rachel Ortas

Gluten-free Chocolate Chip Cookies with Agave Nectar

Link to cooking blog: Gluten-free Chocolate Chip Cookies with Agave Nectar

LDN: Borough Market, Spamalot, Tate Modern

Taking advantage of M*'s classwork-free weekends now that he is just a working man—for the moment, I'm going to pretend that the final 12,000 word paper doesn't exist—we headed down for a full-day in London on Saturday. We considered splurging on a hotel (yeah! he's getting paid real money for his internship), but decided to spend the money on tickets to see Monty Python's "Spamalot." I'm not a fan of musicals, but M* is a serious fan of Monty Python. Luckily Francis, a classmate who shares M*'s encyclopedic knowledge of MP episodes, was able to meet up with us for the matinee. What did we think? Well, even though it was done in self-aware, mocking tones, the diva numbers were overkill and boring to both of us. Did I mention that I'm not a fan of musicals? We did enjoy the experience, and Act II was more of what we expected versus the first one.

M* humoring me with this shot
Bad shot of "Spamalot" audience members who arrived in costume

Before the matinee, we headed down to the Borough Market, which I've been wanting to visit since December. Fresh fish, a stall that only sells butter, multiple cheese, sausage, bakery and desert stalls, a plethora of freshly dried herbs, wines, coffee, and fresh parma ham and buffalo mozzarella from Italy—it was a feast for the eyes and appetite and wallet. Since we weren't heading back to Cambridge until late in the evening and, since we eschew the tube and walk whenever possible, we could only carry so much, we limited our purchases to a few, easily transportable items (sausage, salami, olive oil, and a brownie and gluten-free cookies for intermission). Luckily the rain didn't start until after we ate our lunch on the grounds of Southwark Cathedral, which adjoins the market and has housed a church on its grounds for over 1,000 years.

It pained me not to be able to bring home this delicate, melt-in-your-mouth mozzarella di bufalo.

The butter stall
M* eyeing-up the fish display
One of many sweets stalls
Sadly, none of these quiches were gluten-free, but ...
Notice the Wheat Free Option (hold the pita, serve with spork) from Damas Falafel, where we bought lunch
I was hoping this self-portrait would show the cathedral, but only a glimpse of the stone appears

After the matinee, we retraced our steps from the Palace Theatre in the West End back to the South Bank to visit the Tate Modern. M* had never been and I only had a vague memory from my first, illness-plagued trip to LDN. While we were interested in the ticketed Dali exhibit, we decided to do the museum on the cheap and stick to permanent collection. We weren't disappointed, and we would have been too tired to see all the exhibits in one day. We were both pleased with the Global Cities free exhibit, dealing with present and future issues in 10 urban centers, but there was quite a lot of text to contend with. We wouldn't mind getting back there for the Dali and the Hélio Oiticica exhibits. I had never heard of Hélio, a 20th century Brazilian artist, before, but I was captivated by the warm, rich colors showcased in the exhibition catalogue.

Norwich

When my sister was in town, we took a three day tour of Norfolk, which started in Norwich. While larger than Cambridge, Norwich's shops and markets follow the same hours—everything closes around 5:30pm. So after visiting the Norwich Cathedral, buying shoes, eating lunch, taking Carolyn through Habitat and walking the ancient cobblestone streets, stores were locking their doors and we were ready to head off to our charming B&B in Thorpe St. Andrew, The Old Rectory.

Cloisters and spire of Norwich Cathedral

Carolyn takes advantage of the space left by the destruction of statues during English Civil War.

A door knocker just begs to be knocked—even on a church

and a keyhole just begs to be peeped through.

Waiting on the steps of The Old Rectory before dinner

There are a number of dramatic, old trees on the property

Rivergarden Pub is conveniently located across the street from The Old Rectory and borders the River Wensum

Along with the ducks and swans, this Egyptian Goose came looking for a handout

Bright-eyed Carolyn in The Old Rectory's breakfast room

Rollo, The Old Rectory

Millie, The Old Rectory

Another Visitor, Another Trip to The Orchard

My sister did leave over a week ago, but we did so many things that it has taken a while to go through all of the photographs. I had close to 700, and I whittled the group of keepers down to 230.

On her first full-day in Cambridge, the weather was promising enough for us to venture the walk across Grantchester Meadows to The Orchard at Grantchester. Although we were sprinkled with a light rain occasionally, the weather, while we were relaxing at The Orchard, was lovely. The daily rain and cloud cover, which we've experienced since May, makes one appreciate the hours or minutes of sunshine.

Carolyn thought the Newnham chemist shop was very quaint

Even on a gray day the Cam and the meadows are lovely.

Carolyn opted for Diet Coke instead of the traditional tea.

A friendly chaffinch

This chaffinch really liked my gluten-free almond cake

The Orchard's apples just beginning to ripen

Sisters surrounded by hollyhocks

Gluten-free, Sugar-free Blueberry Scones

Link to cooking blog: Gluten-free, Sugar-free Blueberry Scones

Best Bagels in Britian

No, they aren't gluten-free, but I was still thrilled to find fresh, American style bagels at our local store, Derby Stores. They are delivered only once a week, on Thursday afternoons, and both M* and Carolyn attested to their quality.

We're quite lucky that the Derby (pronounced Darby) Stores has such a wide variety of foods (fresh gluten-free bread, fresh baguettes daily, Lebanese and Israeli hummus, a cheese counter, fresh produce, delicious dark chocolate dipped macaroons, etc.), a magazine selection that includes the New Yorker, and, as is common in England, a post office.

Gluten-free Beer—Getting Better

M* picked up two Green's gluten-free beers at Waitrose. I've only tasted one other g.f. beer, last September, and, while not gross-bad, it was too-sweet-bad. Our English friend James was over, and we invited him to take part in our tasting. We discovered that Green's is an English company, which surprised James, as pioneer and pilgrim, another of Green's beers, even for the English, is associated with America.

Our favorite? Discovery. Pioneer, a lager, was fine, but a little too apple-y. The three of us found Discovery quite satisfying. Having a beer loving Englishman's approval meant a lot. All I need now is a purse that doubles as a cooler, so I can finally drink beer in a pub.

Curious as to the ingredients of the beers, I went to the Green's web site, but I only found a list of what is not in their beers: Gluten, Crustaceans, Eggs, Fish, Peanuts, Soya beans, Milk, Lactose, Nuts, Celery, Mustard, Sesame seeds, Sulphur dioxide and Sulphites.

Imperial War Museum Duxford—Flying Legends Air Show

I was surprised when my sister responded enthusiastically to an outing at the Imperial War Museum Duxford–Europe's premier aviation museum. What caught Carolyn's interest was the Flying Legends Air Show—showcasing 'warbirds': classic American and European piston-engine combat aircraft.

Memphis Belle B-17 Bomber

P51 Mustang Big Beautiful Doll

I knew M* would be up for a visit, as he's expressed interest since we learned the museum was only seven miles away—a very bikeable distance. Since attending the air show, he's discovered that the museum offers flights to the general public in spitfires and a biplanes—for a fee of course. As soon as he can arrange it, he'll be taking advantage of the opportunity.

Guinot Wing Walking Display Team (air acrobats)
Mustangs take flight

While not knowing much about planes (the above information was pilfered from the museum's web site and Wikipedia—surprise!), I found the 3 1/2 hour show completely engrossing. There were so many planes that one could never get bored. I actually filled up a good portion of my camera's memory card (260 photos and five videos) and drained its battery—unfortunately moments before the group flyover finale.

Me and Carolyn in front of a PBY Catalina
Spitfire returns to the ground

A bonus to the day was discovering wooden children's toys by Orange Tree Toys in the museum gift shop. My favorite was this airplane height chart.

List of participants:

TFC: P51D Mustang G-CBNM
TFC: P-51-TF Mustang N251RJ
SHF: P51D Mustang N-167F
RAC: P51D Mustang G-CDHI
OFMC:P51D Mustang G-BTCD
Rob Davies: P51D Mustang G-HAEC
TFC: Spitfire V G-LFVB
TFC: Spitfire XIV G-SPIT
Kennet: Seafire G-KASX
HAC: Spitfire V G-MKVB
Corsair Warbird: Spitfire F-AZJS
Cliff Spink: Spitfire XVI G-OXVI
Cliff Spink: Spitfire V G-LFVC
ARC: Spitfire XVIII G-BUOS
ARC: Spitfire IX
HAC: Hurricane G-HURY
Hurricane G-HURR
TFC: Corsair G-FGID
Corsair Warbird: Corsair F-AZVJ
ME109 G-BWUE
Fw 190
TFC: Bearcat G-RUMM
TFC: Hellcat G-BTCC
TFC: P-40 G-CDWH
TFC: P-39 G-CEJU
TFC: Wildcat G-RUMW
TFC: Staggerwing
TFC: Hawk 75
D Koblet: M/Salunier HB-RCF
Kennet: AD4 Skyraider G-RADR
I-15 Bis: Polikarpov 2089K
RNHF: Sea Fury WB-930
Lufthansa: Ju52 D-CDLH
Salis: Ju52
Saab B-17
Tumelissa
TFC: Nimrod G-BWWK
HAC: Nimrod
S'Worth: Gladiator G-AMRK
S'Worth: Lysander
S'Worth: Hind
DOBAF: B25 Mitchell N-320-SQ
Dakota Norway: DC3 LN-WND
A Walker: Jungman
Capel: Yak11 -static
Mew Gull
Arrow Active
Guinot

Carolyn Arrives

Carolyn arrived yesterday, and, after a quick nap, she set out to familiarize herself with Cambridge. This is not a hard task, even on foot, as our town is just not that big. Here are a few photos from our walk, which Matt accompanied us on, to The Orchard at Grantchester.

Carolyn in front of our quaint, Newnham chemist shop

Carolyn bucking tradition by having a Diet Coke instead of tea.

Robin searching for food Carolyn had tossed into the grass.

This chaffinch really like my gluten-free almond cake.

Apples coming into season at The Orchard.

Amy, Carolyn and hollyhocks.