Monthly Archives: August 2012
Whitebait
Photo credit: Thefishsociety.co.uk
Where do you stand on the great whitebait debate? Have you ever tried it? Do you like it or hate it?
Whitebait are very small fish that you eat whole, head, tail, guts and all. They’re usually deep fried and served with lemon and are very popular in the U.K. (as well as New Zealand, Greece, etc.) Not so big in America.
Personally, I’ve never tried them and doubt that I ever will. I don’t know if it’s a specific American sensibility of mine, but I can’t eat fish if the head is still attached. It’s a problem, particularly since Europeans don’t seem to have this sensitivity. I’ll never forget the time I ordered sole meunière when we visited a coastal town in Normandy, France, and they brought it to me whole. It was the sort of dish that would have automatically come as a filet, had we been in the U.S. and then I was too embarrassed to ask them to remove the head.
Anyway, I digress. Waitbait… care to try it? This recipe comes courtesy of Nigella Lawson.
Ingredients
- Vegetable oil, for frying
- 18 ounces whitebait
- 1/2 cup all-purpose flour
- Salt and freshly ground black pepper
- 1 bunch fresh curly parsley
- Maldon or other sea salt
- Lemon wedges, for plating
Heat the oil for frying in a deep-fat fryer to about 375 degrees F.
Put the whitebait and the seasoned flour into a plastic bag, and toss everything around to coat the fish.
Shake the excess flour by turning out the whole bag into a metal sieve, and then plunge the little fishes into the oil. Cook for about 3 minutes or until they look crispy and tempting – though I can see that for a squeamish generation, the idea of eating baby fish, whole, might not tempt. How wrong they are, if that’s the case.
Turn them out onto paper towels, and while the fish are losing any excess oil (we want desirable crunch) throw in a small handful of parsley leaves to deep-fry; watch out, it will spit. (A splatter guard is useful. Not charming, but useful.) When they have turned a very dark green, drain and serve with the whitebait, well sprinkled with sea salt and surrounded with lemon wedges.
Royal Mail goes for the gold
Photo credit: Royal Mail
In honor of Great Britain’s gold medals in the London Olympics, Royal Mail has agreed to paint a postbox gold – one for each gold medal win! What a stunning idea!
So, which postboxes are going gold? Well, they’re placing them in the hometowns or boroughs of the gold medalists where possible. Here’s the complete list of gold postbox locations. And hopefully, they will be adding more following the Paralympic Games, if Britain adds to its collection.
In addition, Royal Mail has painted a gold postbox near Westminster Abbey. Lovely!
Congrats, Team GB
Britain, you did it right!
I loved the closing ceremony Sunday night. I stayed up until almost midnight, refusing to take my eyes off of the amazing musical extravaganza (hello Spice Girls, Blur, Oasis, George Michael!), even though I had a bunch of things to do. Well, actually I did start up some laundry for a few minutes at the sight of Russell Brand doing Willy Wonka and “I am the Walrus.” Then I was back!
Read all about it, if you missed it.
All in all, I have loved these games. Moreover, I’ve loved to read and hear about the sheer surprise and delight of the British people in seeing the success that they’ve become. Philip Reeves’ NPR report “Olympics have temporarily transformed England” actually made me cry.
Third best overall?! Yes! Congrats, Team GB!
Building a better s’more
This weekend, we went camping with friends at D.L. Bliss State Park in Lake Tahoe! It was absolutely “bliss” indeed – a nicely maintained campground, near the crystal clear waters of Lester Beach.
Now, I don’t if it’s just us but we’re always a little let down by the promise of a good s’more. Do you know what I mean? The chocolate never melts the way it should (perhaps because the toasted marshmallow doesn’t provide enough heat). It’s a part of camping I always look forward to, and then the time comes and it’s a little “meh.”
Well, we tried a variation on the typical s’more this trip and it was a rousing success. Here’s the secret! We took honey graham crackers (in this case, I went with Trader Joe’s brand.)
Then smeared it with Nutella!
The marshmallows were toasted over the open fire, as usual and then added atop the Nutella-topped graham crackers.
Another Nutella-smeared graham cracker was the crowning glory and voila!
Delish! It was gooey, melty, crunchy and good. Try it the next time you are camping!
Breakfast of champions
Ever wonder what Michael Phelps eats for breakfast? Read on!
You’ve heard that breakfast is the most important meal of the day.
Well, BBC Breakfast recently asked the important question – what does Michael Phelps eat for breakfast? The answer was pretty fascinating.
- Three fried egg sandwiches, with cheese, tomatoes, lettuce, fried onions and mayonnaise
- Three chocolate chip pancakes
- A five-egg omelette
- Three sugar-coated slices of French toast
- A bowl of grits
- Two cups of coffee
There you go, folks. The makings of an Olympian may be hidden somewhere in that combination (along with a lot of swimming, of course!). If you’re curious, you can read what he eats for lunch and dinner, too.
On weekdays, I generally go with two cups of coffee, and that’s it until a mid-morning snack of trail mix. (Yes, there is a reason I’m not an Olympian). But on weekends, I enjoy making pancakes, scones or cinnamon rolls for the family. In fact, a couple weekends ago, we indulged in this amazing biscuits and gravy recipe from Portland’s Mother’s Bistro & Bar, which is easily the best biscuits and gravy I’ve ever had.
So what do you eat for breakfast? The full English? Something more continental? Cereal? A cup of joe?
Go Team GB!
Team Great Britain’s Mo Farah celebrates after winning gold in the men’s 10,000 meter final. Photo credit: Jason O’Brien/Action Images via Zuma Press
If you haven’t been keeping score, Britain has the highest number of gold Olympic medals in 104 years! Go Team GB! It’s staggering and wonderful and unexpected and I have never been quite so excited to watch the Olympics. I’ll be a sad to see it all come to an end this weekend.
On a side note, I’ve started reading “Gold in the Water: The True Story of Ordinary Men and their Extraordinary Dream of Olympic Glory,” a swimmer’s story by P.H. Mullen, who apparently holds one of the fastest times for swimming the English Channel! I’ll let you know how it is!
Great British Beer Festival
Photo credit: Getty Images
And before you say things can’t get any better in the U.K., in waltzes the Great British Beer Festival, which runs through Saturday in London Olympia (not to be confused with the Olympic village!).
And before you assume, it’s going to be the usual round-up of Boddington’s, Newcastle Brown Ale and Tetley in a can, well, check out their beer list. They have over 800 cask and bottled real ales, ciders and foreign beers from around the globe.
I’ll cheers to that!
An Olympic stitch in time
In honor of the London Olympic Games, a secret knitter has struck, leaving a beautiful spectacle of knitted Olympic athletes on the pier in Saltburn-by-the-Sea near Teeside! I love the details – and the mystery of their origins. It’s so magical!
Photo credit: Richard Rayner/North News & Pictures
My Country Tis of Thee
Andy Murray is the first British man to win the Olympic gold in singles tennis since 1908.
Did you watch the Olympics this weekend? Andy Murray’s win? Jessica Ennis’s gold? Amazing, right?
I loved the medal ceremonies, the descent of the flags of the three winning countries, and then the dignified strains of “God Save the Queen.”
Or was it “My Country Tis of Thee”?
Yes, I did get a kick out of the comments on Twitter from Americans who commented on how surprised they were that “God Save the Queen” and “My Country Tis of Thee” share the same tune or those who think that the Brits stole our song. Check out some of the comments.
Blame it on Samuel F. Smith, who wrote new lyrics to “God Save the Queen” in 1832 and made it a hit. Why couldn’t he have come up with an original tune? There were lots of songs that hadn’t been written yet in 1832 – “Call Me Maybe” … “Party in the USA” … “Bohemian Rhapsody.” Couldn’t he have put his lyrics to one of those? More on the origins.
My MIL got tickets to the Olympics!
My mother-in-law and a friend of hers spent last weekend camping and attending a couple Olympic games last weekend and took photos!
They saw the sailing in Weymouth and sat next to three-time Olympic sailing champion Ben Ainslie‘s mum and dad.
They also watched the canoe slalom in Waltham Cross, just days before the Brits Tim Baillie and Etienne Stott took home the first ever British gold medal for the men’s canoe slalom double!
Thanks to Sue for sharing her photos!
BRITRISH.COM 