Member Since:
Feb. 2001
Cooking Level:
Expert
Cooking Interests:
Baking, Slow Cooking, Low Carb, Healthy, Vegetarian
Hobbies:
Sewing, Gardening, Camping, Photography, Music
My husband and I are from England. We came to the US for two years over 40 years ago. We never went back there to live.We love Maine.
My favorite things to cook
Absolutely anything nutritious. We try anything but only from scratch. No boxes, no mixes unless I make my own mixes. I avoid as many additives as possible due to chemical sensitivities.No MSG, no artifical sweeteners.
My favorite family cooking traditions
Yorkshire puddings, in the US Pop-overs. Everyone raves about my mile high popovers.I was raised in post war England we were poor. No Roast Beef for us we ate Minced meat, Whatever the butcher chose to put in there. It was served over the Yorkshire puddings. Roast Beef was a Christmas day exclusive in those days.
My cooking triumphs
Roast leg of lamb basted with "cafe au lait". Seared Lamb for 30 minutes then basted every 30 minutes with coffee. Served with English mint sauce. Mint leaves finely chopped and soaked in malt vinegar with a teaspoon of white sugar added. American Malt vinegar I need to cut with water.This is my favorite company meal main dish. This usually has Popovers by popular demand.
My cooking tragedies
My grandmother raised me and the worst cooking tragedy was hers. She loved to bake little cup cakes and put hot water frosting on the tops. My after school snack was one of those cakes. They were usually great but one day it was awful, I never complained just stuck to it and ate it.When my Uncle, her son came in from work he grabbed one and made the most awful scene,my grandmother was beside herself and I cried. She had mistakenly used Corn starch instead of icing sugar(frosting sugar ) and the tops were like concrete. She was upset with me for not complaining. I loved her too much to do that. Had I done so they would have been thrown outside to feed the chickens before my Uncle ever tried them. --My big tragedy-I should have spoken up.