Blog Archives
The Californian’s definition of cold
This week, we’ve had terrible rain in California. And by terrible, I mean about 3/4 of an inch of rain in a day. Highs in the 60s Fahrenheit (around 17 degrees Celsius). Nothing crazy. Certainly nothing to warrant the medley of parkas and ski caps that I’m already seeing around here.
Last week I blogged about how Brits put on their summer’s best when the weather reaches a balmy 70 degrees. By the same token, Californians are guilty of dressing like New Englanders the moment temps dip into the low 60s.
One of my favorite parts of LA Story is an LA weather report from Steve Martin’s character Harris Telemacher:
Harris: And when the weather dropped down to 58 degrees this weekend, how did you cope?
Man on the Street: I went to make sure all the windows were shut.
Harris: And, what about your pets? Were they outside? What happened?
Man on the Street: Well, the cats were out till around ten. But it got a little too cold for them and they came in.
Harris: The cats were out till around ten. But it got a little too cold for them and they came in! Well, that’s how LA coped with that surprise low of 58 degrees that turned the weekend into a real weenie shrinker!
And on that note, may your weekend be warm and rain-free! Have a good one!
The Pluralization of Lego
This weekend Lego KidsFest will be held in Raleigh, North Carolina. You can bet there will be a lot of talk about Legos there.
This weekend, we’ve been invited to a friend’s son’s 6th birthday party and when I asked my friend what her son might like for a toy, she told me that he was “really into Legos.”
Legos.
Yes, she pluralized it. It might just be the eighth deadly sin in Britain.
I think I speak for all Americans – every single, red-blooded one – when I say that we all pluralize Lego. We can’t help ourselves. We know it’s a brand name. We know you need more than one block to properly play Lego. So it just makes sense to us to add that s.
And to be fair, we don’t just do it with Lego. We do it with Barbie and with G.I. Joe and My Little Pony. We add s’s to every one of them.
But for some reason, the Lego thing in Britain is a thing. It’s always referred to as Lego, which is actually the correct pluralization of Lego. It doesn’t matter if you’ve got a handful of them or a giant British army of them.
It’s like the way moose is the plural of moose. Or sheep is the plural of sheep. Or deer is the plural of deer. Americans just never got the memo.
Do you say Lego or Legos?
American vs. British news theme songs
I’m sorry to say I’m late to the game in discovering the awesomeness that is British comedian/actor/musician Bill Bailey. But thanks to Brian Braiker, I’ve discovered his hilarious look at the differences between American and British news themes.
Toting London
Until the first GPS-powered tote bag has been invented, I’m happy with this alternative: a Maptote brand cotton grocery bag, bearing a map of London.
It’s available in white/lime green or black/orange (very Halloween, people!) and is made in Brooklyn, New York.
Just imagine how British your groceries will look in a bag like this …
Sarnie heaven
I’m no fan of Subway sandwiches, or Quizno’s or any of the so-called fast food sandwich places that dot the American landscape.
It’s not that I don’t love sandwiches. I do. It’s just that every single deli sandwich I see here fails to live up to the standards of sarnies (translation: sandwiches) you can get in Britain.
Case in point: Pret a Manger, a chain sandwich shop in the UK.
Pret a Manger means Ready to Eat in French.
You run in and choose a sandwich, already boxed and ready to go, the cashier rings you up. Done!
The lengthiest part of that process is deciding whether you want the pole and line caught tuna and rocket (translation: arugula) or the topside of beef and watercress or the Moroccan falafel and humous. I love the variety of choices and the sometimes unexpected combination of ingredients.
Best of all, everything is made fresh on the premises that day. Quick. Inventive. Delicious.
It makes the menu at Subway look positively primeval.
Hot fun in the … autumn time?
A heatwave has hit the UK. It's sizzling at 84 degrees!
It is positively balmy in the UK right now with temperatures reaching the mid-80s. South Yorkshire reports the hottest Sept. 29th (or should I say 29th Sept.?) on record with temps at 29 degrees Celsius (that’s 84 degrees Fahrenheit for Celsius-phobes).
For those of us who are don’t blink an eye unless it’s triple-digits, let me gently remind you: That’s HOT, people! Most Brits don’t have air conditioning and opening a window just doesn’t cut it. Most Brits strut around in shorts at the first sign of sunshine. If you look up the word “balmy” in a British dictionary, I’m pretty sure you’ll find a description of a temperate 70 degree day.
One thing I do find funny is that the heat doesn’t affect their consumption of hot tea. I’ve been told multiple times over the years that hot tea actually cools you down. It’s counterintuitive, they recognize, but they swear by it.
Now I’ve had hot tea in Britain on an 84 degree day and it has not cooled me down. But then again I’m not British so I don’t question. Nor would I dare suggest iced tea with lemon. Just let sleeping dogs lie. Even if those dogs are lying in sweltering temperatures sipping hot tea.
A wee bit o’ Billy Connolly
Last week I posted about Hunter wellie season and my mother in law responded by emailing me a link to comedian Billy Connolly‘s infamous “If it wisnae fur yer wellies” song.
It reminded me of how funny and so very Scottish he is. If you aren’t familiar with Billy Connolly’s stand-up comedy, here’s just a taste.
Divided by a common language?
My mother in law sent me an amusing article last week that I wanted to share here: “Divided by a Common Language – A Lighthearted Look at Linguistic Differences Across the Atlantic.”
Perhaps my favorite example is the fact that Brits call erasers “rubbers.” I died laughing the first time I heard that one, particularly since British parents are so insistent about packing rubbers in their children’s pencil cases before they head to school.
British rubbers - not to be confused with American rubbers.
It’s almost as funny as the British phrase “Keep your pecker up,” which means of all things, “Cheer up!” A friend of mine’s father worked with a Brit a few years back and still recalls how jaws dropped when he would naively use the phrase in the office.
A special thank you to Sue for sending this my way.
A fool-proof béchamel sauce
Béchamel sauce and I have a love-hate relationship. I mean, I love it. I love the marriage of melted butter, flour and milk, whisked quickly over heat. I love it in macaroni and cheese and in an authentic lasagne (that is, one without ricotta. Sorry, I don’t like ricotta in my lasagne, which is sadly how most Americans make it). And I love the jaunty accent in béchamel. It might as well have a beret and smoke gauloises.
But I’d say 95% of my attempts at making béchamel sauce have failed, giving me an end result of a frustratingly thin sauce, when the goal is a thick, unctuous, creamy goo.
Last night, on the spur of the moment and with a head of cauliflower in the fridge that needed to be eaten pronto, I whipped up a cauliflower cheese. For the uninitiated, cauliflower cheese is a fantastic British recipe, particular for vegetarians in your life. It’s great when paired with a roast rib of beef, but also delicious on its own. The gist is not unlike a proper homemade macaroni cheese, except we replace the macaroni for cauliflower.
And it does involve making béchamel sauce. I tried a Nigella Lawson recipe from her Feast cookbook and voila!
Mmm ... cauliflower cheese
It was a resounding success! Not only did the sauce turn out exactly the way I wanted, but the cauliflower was cooked just enough to be bitesome, not mushy. Bravo, Nigella! You’ve made a believer out of me.
Cauliflower Cheese
1 large head of cauliflower
2 bay leaves
1 stick of butter
2 teaspoons English mustard
1/3 cup all-purpose flour
2 cups milk
3 cups strong cheddar, grated, plus 1/2 cup for sprinkling on the top
Cut the cauliflower into small florets and and put in a saucepan with cold water and bay leaves. Sprinkle with salt. Bring to a boil, then drain and then refresh with cold water. Let the water drain in a colander. Then put the cauliflower in an even layer in an ovenproof dish.
Preheat your oven to 425 degrees. To make the cheese sauce, melt the butter in a saucepan and then whisk in flour and mustard, and cook over a gentle heat for 5 minutes. Whisk in the milk off of the heat, and then put it back on the heat and keep stirring until it becomes thick and begins to bubble.
Sprinkle in the 3 cups grated cheese and stir over heat until it has melted into the sauce. Pour the sauce over the cauliflower in the dish, and scatter remaining cheese over the top. Cook for 20 minutes or until the cauliflower is hot and bubbly and the cheese has browned slightly on the top.
Does my butt look greedy in this?
Gordon Gekko has never been to a Hometown Buffet.
Greed is good. Gordon Gekko’s famous line from Wall Street still rings true in restaurants across the US.
When I first lived in the UK, I was struck by the concept of greed as it relates to food. I was at a Christmas party and the host had set out a delicious spread of food so guests could help themselves, buffet-style. A British woman in front of me commented on how greedy she was for trying a little of everything. Her plate was modest. She was slim. But still, this concept of greed overwhelmed her – or at least commonplace decency welled up, enough for her to make that comment.
Over the years, I’ve heard these kinds of comments over and over by Brits. Most Americans simply aren’t programmed to think this way. We think of greed in terms of money and possessions, but not in terms of eating too much or supersizing our meals. Gluttony may have been one of the seven deadly sins, but the message seems to have evaded our collective conscience.
I challenge you to visit any all-you-can-eat American restaurant like Golden Corral or Hometown Buffet in search of this distinctly British mentality. I can already guarantee there will be no such modesty and no apologies, aside from “I’m sorry that I couldn’t have made room for that second piece of cobbler” or “I’m sorry I didn’t wear my fat pants tonight” variety.
BRITRISH.COM 