So You're Dating a Brit - Sugary Treats Galore!

Last night, I was dead tired from a long day at work and just couldn't blog. This is a combination of activities and culinary adventures that happened yesterday and today. I may have been too tired to write, but not at all too tired to make scones! Now, the scones were a bit of a cheat and I'm coming clean. I didn't make them from scratch and they were from a mix that was not imported from the UK. The red raspberry scone mix was from Spokane, Washington. Cost Plus just didn't have any other choice of scone mix and I wanted scones to go with my Somerdale Double Devon Cream that was imported from England.

The scone mix is even a bigger cheat, because all I had to do was add water and form balls of dough on the cookie sheet. It couldn't have been easier.

They didn't turn out as pretty as when I have had them at local tea parlors, but they did taste yummy. I spread the cream right on it, rather than also adding a jam. The Double Devon Cream was good, but not nearly as good as when I have had it out. I think that might be the difference between a jar and making it fresh?

The best cream that I have ever eaten came from a place in Pasadenawww.rosetreecottage.com. The Rose Tea Cottage has great scones, tea and cream. They also have an entire section of their store dedicated to General Norman Schwarzkopf, whose apparently a big fan of afternoon tea. Weird, but true.

I enjoyed the scones so much, that I ate them for breakfast. As stated on the jar, I put the cream in the fridge. This didn't work out so well. In my sleepy stupor, I didn't notice that the cream had separated and needed to be mixed up again. This morning, I took a scoop of cream from the top and it was rock hard, barely spreadable.

Last night, I watched another episode of Downton Abbey. Speaking of which, here is a photo that ~~007~~ Dan took of a road sign near his home.

Awesome!

And also speaking of Downton Abbey...This afternoon, I went to see The Best Exotic Marigold Hotelthat starred (among other, definitely a major ensemble movie) Maggie Smith and Penelope Wilton. In the movie, Smith's character loves McVitie's HobNob cookies, which I happened to have in my Cost Plus bag!

Really yummy! I'm not going to delude myself into thinking these are a healthy snack, but they did seem more so than similar American types of cookies. Not at all greasy, HobNobs are kind of oatmealy and really crunchy. I would definitely go out of my way to buy these again. I understand why Smith's character filled her suitcase with them when she moved to India!

So You're Dating a Brit- Mushy Edition

Tonight, I wanted Mac and Cheese and thought that it would be a good time to bring out that can of Batchelors Mushy Peas. I washed it down with a bottle of Fuller's London Pride Beer.

The beer, brewed in Chiswick, was very good. To be honest, I'm not a great judge of beer. I don't possess a discriminating palate. I like nearly everything that comes my way. If it's beer, send it my way! I can best describe it as a heavy beer that went well with the Mac and Cheese.

I have always put peas in two categories. First, fresh peas. I love fresh, firm, sweet peas. Second, canned peas. Always a bit yellow in tone and semi soft, not a favorite, but I will eat them if it's the only veggie option. I love vegetables. Mushy Peas are now a third pea category for me and I didn't like them!

I followed the directions on the can which said to heat them gently in a saucepan on the Hob (which I am guessing means stove top and a new word that I've now picked up. ~~007~~ Dan has never called it "The Hob"). Here it is cooking, looking like a bad Science experiment, somewhat toxic. It's actually exactly the color of the slime that they use on Nickelodeon!

The consistency is odd. It's firmer than American canned peas, but it's also sitting in a thick mush that's almost like dried up pea soup. It's bland. I'm curious if people have ways of spicing it up and making it taste better. Also, what's it served with? I've seen it on menus at local pubs, but I've never ordered it or noticed what it was paired with. I am usually too busy wolfing down my Shepherds Pie! I gave it a go, but definitely not a fan of Mushy.

And, I of course enjoyed my dinner while watching the fifth episode of Downton Abbey. I loved the flower show part. Lady Sybil is also fast becoming one of my favorite characters.

So You're Dating a Brit - Eating a Finger

Today, I decided to pick a treat that I know ~~007~~ Dan likes, because he got excited when he saw it at Cost Plus ( a trip prior to the secret shopping trip for this blog segment). I am stuffed to the gills from eating too much crap today, so I stuck with sampling just one thing.

Anything called "Finger" is automatically a bit suspect in my book, but I still thought that I would give it a try. It's good, but not in an obviously way. I didn't immediately love it, I thought it was okay and then I looked down and noticed that I had gone through half of the package. Oops. It's like a potato chip, (or as Dan calls it, a crisp) you can't have just one.

It's made by Cadbury and I learned something about Cadbury chocolate...My favorite seasonal candy are Cadbury Creme Eggs. Here is the US, they are only available for Easter, but in England they're available year round. I think the American way is better, because if I could just buy them whenever I wanted, I would be two hundred pounds! When Dan's dad was visiting from England, he brought over a bunch of creme eggs for me, months before Easter. It felt like winning the candy lottery. I was giddy.

Other than having them out of season, the other reason why these eggs were special, is because they taste different. The US versions of the eggs have wax to keep the chocolate from melting. This makes the chocolate in the English version creamier. Heavenly. I had no clue that I had been missing out of having the optimum creme egg experience all of these years. A tip, creme eggs pair great with champagne.

As I ate my Finger ( it drives me nuts that it's called finger and not fingers), I watched the fourth episode of Downton Abbey. I was gleeful to discover that season two has just been added to HuluPlus, I won't run out after seven episodes!!! Score!!!