Kim Shook

Matthew – It may very well have been a frozen pie lid. But if I could purchase puff pastry that got that airy and light, I’d buy it. And it might also have been made with vegetable fat rather than butter – I go out of my way to find puff pastry made with butter and it just tasted like butter-made to me. I can’t be sure of that, of course. The bottom crust was like short pastry – not puff. Shelby – I think that the cowboy things are some sort of BBQ sauce, maybe? To the left are little men wearing sombreros – that is salsa. And in trying to look at my picture and zooming in to try to read the label, I noticed for the first time that the box to the left of the cowboys is obviously supposed to be an outhouse!! I have NO idea what’s in that one. KA – no cream doughnuts – I’m not even sure what they are. Black pudding – stay tuned. Sausage rolls – no, because I’m not a fan of English sausage, but I make them at home all the time. Jay – that trip sounds wonderful. I think that we liked the wandering and surprises and discoveries best of all. Kit – I’ve been homesick for England since we stepped on the train at St. Pancras station. And it was the first time I’d ever been! I’m trying to put together another segment – hoping to post it tonight, but it’s already almost 9pm, so we’ll see. Thank you all for reading and responding. Reliving it is so much fun and I love that it’s appreciated!

Norm – I am too hot to even think about cooking tonight (I had tuna salad for dinner), but I wish I had a plate of that lasagna! It looks fantastic! Jerry – beautiful sear on your duck! And the sauce sounds great. I agree – it would be good with pork chops, too! Well, I finally made bacon jam. Between kayb in the breakfast thread and Jerry’s blog, I’ve been hearing about it for months and decided I couldn’t stand it anymore. It is TRULY fantastic. Thank you for providing the recipe, kayb! I told Mr. Kim that I would have to quit work and stay home and make bacon jam on a regular basis, so we wouldn’t ever run out. Bacon Jam: I made Jake’s bacon wrapped pork loin for dinner the other night: We liked this very much, Jake! The mustard/syrup glaze is wonderful! Along with red cabbage and Rice A Roni (a guilty pleasure in the Shook household): And cheese/chive rolls with BACON JAM: As you can see, I totally cheated and instead of making Jerry's poppers, I used Sister Shubert's rolls. I brushed them with melted butter then sprinkled with chives and Cheddar. Our aperitif: Peach nectar, sparkling wine and Grand Marnier. Very good. Please ignore the cobwebs in the window . We can’t figure out how to get to them to remove them. When we put the window up – they slide up; when we put the top window down, we can’t get to them .

While I would love to go to Ireland, I wouldn't go on this one on a BET. They are already getting on each other's nerves. This trip is to celebrate her 70th birthday and to help her do a little genealogical research. Great, Simon - thank you so much.

Everyone was so wonderful and helpful before our England trip, that I'm hoping to get Mr. Kim a few tips for his upcoming Ireland trip. He'll be traveling with his mother, brother and sister. All of them like most everything - the unpickiest people I know. They like to eat healthily, but a splurge isn't bad, either. I'll give their basic intinerary and if you have some ideas, they would very much appreciate it. I'll give the hotel, too, so that you will know what area they will be in (they will have a car): Friday, 8/5: Galway - Pillo Hotel & Spa Saturday, 8/6: Shannon - Carrygerry Country House Hotel Sunday, 8/7: Dingle - The Lantern Townhouse B&B Monday, 8/8: Waterville, County Kerry - Butler Arms Hotel Tuesday, 8/9: Kilkenny - Kilkenny River Court Hotel Wednesday & Thursday, 8/10 & 8/11: Dublin - Brooks Hotel I'm thinking that they will need all meals - maybe places that put together picnics, if there is such a thing, or good stores to buy such things. Really anything that will help make the trip more enjoyable and tasty! None of them have ever been to Ireland. Thanks so much!

Warm! I just scoop out what I want to use, put it on what I want to use it on, and run it in the toaster or the microwave. Or you can microwave enough to serve in a container. You don't need it really warm, just enought take the chill off and make it pliable. Let me know what you think. I'll be anxious to hear. OMG. Thanks to you and Jerry, I now have to quit work and make bacon jam all the time. I can NEVER be without this stuff. And I just made it with Neuske's - I think that when I finally get some Benton's the roof will blow off my house. I don't know whether to bless you or curse you. I guess I'll bless you and THANK you, dear!

Oh, I agree, Tim! Oxford was lovely and we wished we had budgeted more time there. Other than lunch, our entire time in Oxford was spent on the tour. As good as it was, we really would have liked some wandering time.

gfweb – I like your ‘old school’ breakfast very much. As much as I love bacon, sausage is really my very favorite breakfast meat and those potatoes look perfect. Were they parboiled before frying? Jan – that salmon looks gorgeous and the addition of the hollandaise puts it over the top! percyn – your pizza with the egg gave me a real ‘duh’ moment. I hardly EVER make my own pizza, but we order it all the time. I keep thinking that the next time I make one, I should add an egg, but never thought of putting it on leftover pizza. What a great idea! kayb – since Mr. Kim got into smoking, we almost always have some pulled pork in the freezer. I’m always looking for ways to use it. I’ve put it on cornbread waffles, but never thought of under eggs! Wonderful! deensiebat – those pancakes are just gorgeous! Breakfast this morning was steak and eggs: Leftover steak from last night. Mr. Kim’s eggs were cooked in some of the jalapeno compound butter that he made awhile back. Plus tomatoes and Swiss & onion bread. Mine included a breakfast favorite from my childhood: Tomatoes on toast with a dollop of mayo. I wasn’t much for breakfast as a kid, but if there were good tomatoes, Momma could always tempt me with this. Between kayb and Zeemanb’s blog, I have been DREAMING of bacon jam. So I’ve got kayb’s recipe on the stove right now. Guess I’ll have to throw together some of Jerry’s cheese and herb poppers, too! Important question here: Bacon Jam – served warm or cold?

Panaderia Canadiense – thank you so much – I’ll PM you later this week! Your beef fryup looks great – kind of like an upsidedown shepherd’s pie! I gotta try that! Parmhero – thanks for the demo! We have a gas grill and for the most part we like it a lot and I know that we use it MUCH more often than we ever did charcoal. But I think that there is room for a small charcoal grill - for doing things like those gorgeous burgers. Now that Mr. Kim is smoking, he might not be so resistant to messing about with charcoal! percyn – that crab boil is just summer on a tray! Lovely. Dinner last night was very simple – just salad, steak and sweet potatoes. I’m not sure where we got these – I THINK it was actually Food Lion, oddly enough (they have improved VASTLY in the last year) – but they were nicely marbled: The markings on the steaks are from Food Saver bags. When I’m going to freeze steaks I always season them (Montreal steak seasoning and brown sugar), then ‘suck’ them first. Dinner: Just SLIGHTLY overdone:

So excited for this one, Kate! I've loved your food and writing and humor since you started posting here and I'm just thrilled that you are blogging! The pictures of the fish market are amazing! I'd probably never eat another piece of meat or chicken if I had access to that! Maybe weird of me to notice, with all of the other fantastic stuff but I love how your books are arranged by color!

Thanks for the info about the rape/canola. And we have found Branston Pickle – at our local Kroger, no less! Good thing, too, since my FIL has become addicted also! Thanks, also, for the encouragement. I know that this is taking forever, but LIFE happens and I appreciate so much that you are all interested still! Days 7& 8 Avebury, Stonehenge and Salisbury Stonehenge was a must, of course – one can’t possibly be near it on one’s first trip to England and not go. But I’d ferretted out Avebury in some book and knew that it was a similar, but much more ‘up close and personal’ type of experience. Avebury is a charming little village with a pub – The Red Lion – and not much more, as far as food goes: 20-48k3 by ozisforme, on Flickr We’d been snacking on those lovely tomatoes and strawberries and our stash of candy on the drive down and weren’t really hungry, so we passed, but were tempted by the menu of pub food: ham and eggs, Ploughman’s, various meat pies (I adore meat pies - they are what I always request when I go to visit my parents - even in weather like this). Our hotel that night was the Red Lion in Salisbury. Very near the Cathedral and right in town – convenient for wandering. It had a lovely courtyard where we had drinks that night: 20-106m2 by ozisforme, on Flickr We wandered a little in the Cathedral Close – saving our real touring for the next morning. Finally hungry, we straggled through town looking for something that appealed. The Ox Row Inn looked good: 20-177k by ozisforme, on Flickr But had a sign requesting ‘Proper Attire’ and we were in jeans, so we started to wander on. An older fellow who was at an outside table drinking a pint and having a cigarette said, “Oh, yer dressed just fine. If I can go in, you can.” He said the food was good and that they had ‘real ale’. This is a very important and complicated (to me) designation that we heard over and over. It has to do with the ale/beer being brewed in the traditional way. There is a big ‘real ale’ campaign in Britain (and a similar ‘real beer’ one over here, I’ve learned) that goes along with promoting ‘free houses’ – independent pubs. We followed him in and discovered that he was right – we fit right in and the food and drink were quite good: 20-173k by ozisforme, on Flickr We started with some very good onion rings – tempura-style: 20-174k by ozisforme, on Flickr Light and crackly batter and very sweet onions. Mr. Kim had the fish and chips: 20-176k by ozisforme, on Flickr And I had a GIGANTIC burger with Cheddar and bacon: 20-175k by ozisforme, on Flickr More of that lovely ‘salad garnish’ on each plate. I have to say that, as much as I adore English bacon, I believe that ‘streaky’ bacon goes better on a burger. You need the fatty crunch – otherwise it’s like having a slice of ham on a burger. We did some more strolling, coming across Patisserie Valerie on Butcher Row: 20-178k by ozisforme, on Flickr 20-179k by ozisforme, on Flickr Unfortunately closed by then. But we had planned ahead and bought some goodies at Reeve the Baker: 20-166k by ozisforme, on Flickr I was so mesmerized by all of the offerings that I’d been reading about for years – buns, rolls, lardy cakes, tarts – that it was hard to chose. 20-166m1 by ozisforme, on Flickr On the right is a little treacle tart – my final choice. Sweet and gooey, it reminded me of what my mother used to say about the English – that they loved their afters so much that you could serve them ANYTHING for dinner, as long as they knew something sweet was coming (this was in the bad old days of British cuisine). My stepdad, Ted, would put up with any manner of odd American cooking if he knew Momma had some Bird’s custard to pour over tinned fruit! I thought the tart was similar to a chess pie – only with a deeper, richer flavor and a wonderful short pastry-type crust. The one on the left is Mr. Kim’s choice – Jap Cake a lovely combination of cake (very light) and apricot jam covered with a fluffy, sweet icing. In the back of the picture, you can see a bottle of my beloved Mt. Dew, which I was lucky enough to find all over the place. Since soft drinks are my caffeine of choice, I was thrilled. The Red Lion was our first experience with hotel breakfasts in England and we found them basically the same at all three hotels we stayed at – a cold buffet with cereals/granola, cold cuts and cheeses, juices, fruits, pastries and breads to toast. You could also order a hot breakfast off the menu. By and large, the quality was very good. We started almost every hotel day with this: 21-1k by ozisforme, on Flickr Fruit and yogurt. Or this variation: 21-1k2 by ozisforme, on Flickr Yogurt and granola. The yogurt was excellent, without exception. I found myself craving yogurt, granola and honey every morning. More: 21-1k1 by ozisforme, on Flickr 21-1k3 by ozisforme, on Flickr 21-1k4 by ozisforme, on Flickr Beautiful dining room. We toured the breathtakingly lovely Salisbury Cathedral and hit the road for Dorchester and the coast!

It's funny, but this issue came up tonight. It was 104 with a heat index of 126 today in Richmond. We had two lovely T-bones all thawed and ready in the fridge. And we just couldn't face them. The idea of big hunks of hot protein was NOT appetizing at ALL. So dinner ended up being a couple of scoops of egg salad and tuna salad. And crudités - I couldn't even muster the energy to make a salad! (I did use the toaster oven and make tots, though. We aren't totally uncivilized ).

dcarch – just gorgeous! Mr. Kim would swoon over that beautiful fish. The salt slabs are smart! And it's nice to know that I'm not alone on the no rare duck issue! Hot weather dinner tonight (104 with a heat index of 126): Egg salad, tuna salad, ham and veggies. And TOTS!!: (I only heated up the toaster oven) And a disappointing dessert. Someone at work today told me about a new cupcake shop. Went by and bought 6. Gorgeous cupcakes with really great sounding varieties. I tried two of them tonight – a chocolate buttermilk cake with seven minute frosting and grated coconut and a strawberry limeaid - fresh strawberry cake filled with lime curd and frosted with strawberry buttercream. The chocolate had a funky almost ‘off’ flavor, but the icing was good. The strawberry had absolutely NO strawberry flavor at all and the texture of the cake was gunky and muffiny. Gah. But they were lovely to LOOK at .

CLICK! The cover – with the spike haired guy looking over Archie’s shoulder caught my attention in the line at the grocery store. Then I opened it and saw the trio on the first page (below the cover in the linked page – you can click each one to get a larger picture) – and I had to buy it. They are named “Dude Ferrari”, “Maple May” and “Deanna Paul” and they are all celebrity chefs with the ‘Eats Channel’. So, they aren’t gettin’ paid, I guess . The ‘story’ is that they are having a cafeteria ‘throwdown’. A very funny and completely weird little bit of popular culture. Not exactly a FOOD periodical, but I couldn’t find anywhere else to put it.

When we come to KC, we don't have to watch television with y'all, right?

Jerry – Crazy week here – I’ve been reading along, but not commenting, so I’ll hurry and post now before the thread closes! Your writing didn’t disappoint at all – I was laughing and getting hungry and THINKING the whole time I read. I’ve loved every bit of this and am so glad that you blogged and folks got a chance to see what you can do (both the food and the writing). Mr. Kim and Jessica are STILL talking about the coffee that you brought. He’s been lurking and reading and was really surprised that you use a popcorn popper to roast your coffee. I may be in trouble here. I cannot wait until I can build up a little leave time at work (or maybe quit completely – hope, hope) and we can come out to KC. Will you please make us some sous vide fried chicken (with some grits and Meredith’s perfectly gorgeous Key lime pie) and take us to Jim’s??? That place is SO ‘us’! "El Comedor" looks astounding – that pick your own pork is just genius! More bacon jam. Good lord, I gotta make this stuff. I had to laugh at your refutation of the idea that bacon has jumped the shark. Vicious vegan-spread rumors. Loved the pasta trio at Lidia’s! Why doesn’t Richmond have places like that? I need to move. Every time I follow an eG foodblog, I wonder that same thing. Red-X is what I WISH Wal-mart was! What a fantastic place. I’d shop there all the time. And the dioramas?? I wanna see those on our trip, too. Very honored by the mention of myself – and you describe the ‘country mouse’ syndrome very well! ‘Apologetic’ is the perfect word. How lucky you are to have a place like the Rieger. The charcuterie plate just knocked me over. Since our NOLA trip, I’ve dreamed of pork rillettes! And Gnocchi à la Parisienne is one of my favorite dishes and dead easy to make. Definitely try at home! But the scallops and sweetbreads just had me banging my head on the table. With our two mini-tummies, we could have shared that and fought over the last of that gorgeous sauce with dueling hunks of bread! I would vote for a second week of blogging, too, but I like you too much to kill you. But…Meredith would probably move home then, wouldn’t she? Hmmm……

Panaderia Canadiense – thanks for the cheese information – I really want to learn to do bagels and I think we’d love that combination! Parmhero – how did you cook your megaburgers? I love that crunchy crustiness that seems to go all around the burger! Shelby – I saw that show, too and your pizza pot pie looks GREAT! How did you do it? Mr. Kim would love that. And I went right to that pie recipe link and printed it out. I’m making that soon! Dakki – thanks for the answer about the tortillas. I’ll try that next time we have meat tacos (the shrimp ones didn’t lend themselves to that method). Genkinaonna – great idea for the duck stock – I ended up with a TON of it and I think when the weather finally gets below HADES level (104 today, with a heat index of 126!!!), I’ll try the soup! Thank you. Soba – the shrimp dish is just gorgeous and looks so perfect for the weather! Carro- atyoursenses.com - so funny that you should mention “Janssons F”estelse". I had never heard of it before, but just had it on our England trip and now here. I really liked it a lot, but I don’t think that that version had anchovies – I wish it had! Scotty – monkey bread !!! Robirdstx – little bitty bites of lamb on the bone. Nom nom nom!! Last night I got an urge for shrimp tacos, so: Jumbos with a combination of rice flour, cornmeal and Creole seasoning. Tomatoes, fried corn and – well, shrimp tostadas actually, because I’m not too good at the whole folding and frying thing. I topped them with a slaw that was tossed with a rice wine vinegar, mayo and lime juice dressing. Really good. Close up:

kayb – thanks – I’ll try all cornmeal next time. Elise – that casserole sounds wonderful. I’m a big fan of casseroles, but almost never use fish. I need to try that. RRO – that soup sounds marvelous! I’ve roasted tomatoes, but never smoked them – I’ll have to get Mr. Kim right on that. Soba – gorgeous gnocchi! I keep seeing your gnocchi and am determined to make it soon. Panaderia Canadiense – Those bagels are incredible looking! What kind of cheese? And I LOVE fries dipped in mayo – especially if it’s homemade mayo! Dakki – gorgeous tacos! Are those corn tortillas? Are they fried, or what? They look crisp, but flexible, if that makes any sense. Dinner tonight started with the traditional Shook Salad: Pan roasted duck breast with blueberry/balsamic sauce, fried corn and roasted potatoes: We really liked this sauce a lot. The balsamic cut the sweetness of the blueberries and it went really well with the duck. I’m sure that the duck was overcooked for a lot of people, but rare poultry is just revolting to me. I literally cannot get it down. It’s like trying to swallow a wad of wet paper towel. I just keep chewing and chewing and it doesn't seem to get any smaller and I cannot manage to send it on its way! The corn was some we had bought last Sunday in MD and, while still good, was not good enough to eat plain – so fried in butter with a little salt, pepper and sugar it came alive again. It was so nice to get busy in the kitchen again. The duck breast was from the freezer – I’d needed leg quarters awhile ago and couldn’t find them without buying a whole duck. So I had the breasts and a bunch of scraps in the freezer. I roasted the scraps today and will let them simmer in the slow cooker all day tomorrow. I’m hoping to get some fat, as well as some good stock. Then I just have to figure out what to do with a couple of quarts of duck stock. Dessert was homemade fudgsicles: Emily_R made these and posted them on the desserts thread a few days ago. This was Smittenkitchen’s version of a Matt Armendariz recipe. Really good. I made it with milk chocolate, since that’s what I had and with Splenda so Mr. Kim could eat them.

Emily – I made the fudgsicles!!! They were SO good! I only had milk chocolate chips, so I used them and I also made them with Splenda, so Mr. Kim could share! And, yes, next time I’ll be doubling the recipe! RWood – luscious looking cake! I love the idea of pouring the syrup over top! ET – Adorable nectarine decorations! And what a great picture!

Those oysters look absolutely pristine! Just gorgeous. And the lobster rolls sent me over the edge! I am in awe of you for blogging on the road and working! It's been wonderful and mouthwatering! And the 8 year old in me says 'thank you' for all of the 'Anne' stuff! Now go relax and have a drink! Well done!

Days 4-6 Oxford & the Cotswolds Tuesday, May 17th This was the morning that we left London. Mr. Kim went out to get breakfast while I organized things at the flat. He came home with this: 17-1k by ozisforme, on Flickr Be still my heart – a full English!! (Except for the mushrooms and grilled tomato, which was fine by me!). I have ‘issues’ with English sausage (I prefer all meat versions of sausage and will have my cereal in a bowl, thank you very much), but even THAT was welcome to this crazy Anglophile! The bacon was fab, of course and the eggs perfect again! Mr. Kim has this prejudice against those beans, though. Having an English stepdad (some of you probably remember Ted Fairhead who used to post here) beans on toast was a regular breakfast item for me growing up and we always used Heinz vegetarian beans to approximate English baked beans. Mr. Kim believes that if there is no pork in beans, they are not fit to eat (I can see his point, but still like beans on toast myself). So it was off to Paddington Station again for us. This time, we took the train (as opposed to the Tube) back out to Heathrow to pick up our car. Mr. Kim was the driver and I (and the blessed GPS – Jeeves, by name) the navigator. As you can imagine, hilarity ensued for the following eight days. Since it has nothing to do with food (except we did eat in the car a couple of times), I’ll spare you all the car stories. Suffice to say, we never got irretrievably lost, hit anyone or anything, or got a moving violation (MOVING violation – ‘nuff said about that). We arrived in Oxford, shaking bags of terrorized jelly some time later. I had chosen the Turf Tavern for lunch. I can’t even remember where I heard about it (it wasn’t here), but when I looked at pictures online and saw the menu, I thought it sounded like a place we would like. It is also VERY hard to find – down crooked alleys and around multiple corners. I am so glad that I noticed that mention, where ever it was because it was EXACTLY the kind of food and place we were longing for. The place is charm itself – quaint and OLD with a friendly staff and great outdoor seating: 17-5k by ozisforme, on Flickr We started with a pint of something dark (sorry) for Mr. Kim and a half of cider for me: 17-6k by ozisforme, on Flickr Cider became my drink of choice in England. I’m not a beer/ale drinker, but I love cider, so I was in heaven. Mr. Kim IS a beer/ale drinker, so he was in heaven too. Nice, that. Mr. Kim had a cheeseburger with Shropshire bleu, chips and some soppy cole slaw: 17-6kkkkk by ozisforme, on Flickr We had slaw a few times in England and I have to say that it is the one thing that we didn’t find that they do better than the US. It was, without exception, overly wet for us. I like creamy slaw, but this was just too much. But the burger was great and the cheese was fantastic! I had another wonderful meal (you’re going to get tired of hearing that) – Beef & Abbot Ale pie with chive mashed potatoes and braised red cabbage: 17-6k6 by ozisforme, on Flickr With lashings of really good gravy. Look at that pastry: 17-6k7 by ozisforme, on Flickr We had a wonderful tour of Oxford – we wished that we had more time to wander on our own, but were glad of the knowledgeable tour guide, who took us places and pointed out things that we never would have seen otherwise. The dining hall at Keble College: 17-27m by ozisforme, on Flickr How could food NOT taste good in such a setting? Even this stuff: 17-41k by ozisforme, on Flickr What do you suppose Florida Chicken is? We left Oxford, sorry to not have more time, but very excited about finally getting to the Cotswolds! Onrushpam gets a HUGE thank you from us for suggesting a website for rentals in England. It was through that website that we found the 400 year old Grade II listed cottage that was to be our home for the next three nights. Green Court: 18-6k6 by ozisforme, on Flickr It was everything I wanted – old, charming, in a village and it even had a kitchen: 18-8k2 by ozisforme, on Flickr We were too tired to try to ferret out somewhere to eat, so we just went to the nearest place that we could find on a map. It was called The Ragged Cot and was just beautiful: the_ragged_cot by ozisforme, on Flickr Originally a 17th century coach house, it is now a gorgeous upscale inn and restaurant with gardens and lovely outdoor seating, a snug and a sign proclaims that it welcomes dogs and wellies. The people were friendly and welcoming. So why were we so underwhelmed? I’m not sure that it wasn’t my own fault. The food was upscale and I just don’t think that that was what I really wanted for my first meal in the Cotswolds. We should have probably just gone to the pub down the High Street from Green Court. We started with homemade bread and marinated olives: 17-95m by ozisforme, on Flickr Mr. Kim also had the cream of wild mushroom soup: 17-96m by ozisforme, on Flickr He said that the mushroom flavor wasn’t really very apparent. My main was New Season Lamb Cutlets, Wilted Wild Garlic, Janssen Temptation (a layered potato dish) and Marjoram Relish: 17-100m by ozisforme, on Flickr The Janssen Temptation was very good – a TAD undercooked, but delicious. But all that liquid at the bottom? That is a big pool of pure melted butter. It kind of sapped the flavor of the lamb. Mr. Kim’s main was Honey Cured Pork Chops, Vichy Carrots and Warm Potato Salad: 17-99m by ozisforme, on Flickr The pork was excellent – tender and juicy and VERY porky. No dessert – we were exhausted and already thinking about curling up under the fat, ploufy duvet at the cottage. Wednesday, May 18th Our hostess had stocked the kitchen with bread, butter, tea, milk and basic condiments. I’ve already mentioned how much better we found the ‘ordinary’ food to be in England. The bread is a good example. It was just regular plastic bagged supermarket bread (I later found the same brand in a Tesco) – but the taste and texture and even the size was world’s away from Wonder! I actually had a hard time getting it in the toaster! Our first stop was a Tesco supermarket in Stroud. On my blog, I had to explain WHY I would take the time to go to a supermarket while on vacation. It’s nice that I don’t have to do that here! I do love going to markets in new places and seeing all the things that are different and unusual and they are great places to find gifts to take home. But this was the first thing we saw when we walked in the door: 18-8mm by ozisforme, on Flickr Sigh We were very excited about the Crunchie and Flake ice cream, though: 18-8m by ozisforme, on Flickr 18-8m3 by ozisforme, on Flickr And, of course, the odd crisp flavors: 18-9mm by ozisforme, on Flickr And THIS was interesting: 18-9m by ozisforme, on Flickr We bought some bits and pieces and a few gifts (Mars bars, McVittie’s biscuits in a commemorative Royal Wedding tin) and loaded up on our favorite English candies – Flakes, Crunchies, Maltesers, etc. Lunch was in Painswick, an impossibly charming Cotswold town – my favorite place in England. We ate at the pub – the Royal Oak Inn: 18-40k7c by ozisforme, on Flickr The owner, Keith Ayres (who I don’t think is the chef) is a bit of a wise guy – they serve a dish called Puppy Dog Pie that has caused some controversy. He even put up missing dog signs around town. Lunch started with an unusual (and gratis) appetizer: 18-40k8 by ozisforme, on Flickr That is a delicious blackberry sundae. The server asked if we would like it since she’d made too many. Well, it might have been in the wrong order, but I’d never turn down fresh blackberries! For lunch we shared a local cheese plate: 18-40m3 by ozisforme, on Flickr Stinking bishop washed with pear juice, also with nettle rind, local stilton, Hereford hop cheese (with hop rind), baguette, butter and quince paste. The chef (or Mr. Ayres – if they aren’t the same person – sorry) brought it out and patiently named and explained the cheeses to us. He also told us something that I’ve never heard before – he said that the quince paste was to be used as a ‘palate cleanser’ – not to be eaten with the cheese. I’ve never heard that and always just piled a sliver of paste on top of my bread and cheese. Who’s right? The cheeses were just gorgeous – the stinking bishop was our favorite. We debated trying to find somewhere to eat dinner, but I was ACHING to use that kitchen – even in a small way, so we had dinner from the bits and pieces that we’d purchased that day (mostly at Tesco). That BACON: 18-107k by ozisforme, on Flickr 19-1m by ozisforme, on Flickr Bread and cheese: 19-2m by ozisforme, on Flickr The cheese was Stilton and Laurels Farm Red Leister. We love anything stinky, so the Stilton was our favorite. Cox apples and strawberries: 19-3m by ozisforme, on Flickr Some gorgeous little tomatoes: 19-4m by ozisforme, on Flickr I had the best BLT (minus the L) I’d ever eaten: 19-4m2 by ozisforme, on Flickr Dessert was dark chocolate shortbread and a raisin scone: 19-1k by ozisforme, on Flickr Thursday, May 19th Breakfast the next morning was bacon butties with the rest of that incomparable bacon: 19-2k by ozisforme, on Flickr And some really good clementine juice that I wish I could find at home: 19-3k by ozisforme, on Flickr We drove to Chipping Camden and I drooled over the windows: 19-15k by ozisforme, on Flickr Gorgeous town and not too crowded. Does anyone know what this is: 19-45k1d by ozisforme, on Flickr There were fields of it all over the Cotswolds. Obviously cultivated. My MIL thought maybe Canola? We drove to Upper Slaughter and walked the public footpath the mile to Lower Slaughter. Two more amazingly picturesque villages – places that, as an American, I hardly believed existed. We had lunch at beside the River Eye at The River Café: 19-56k3 by ozisforme, on Flickr A really lovely place to relax and eat and the locals were good company: 19-56k7 by ozisforme, on Flickr The place is a combination gift shop, ice cream parlour, restaurant and museum. Other than the two manor house hotels, it seems to be the only commercial place in the village. And that’s the way the locals want it apparently. The owner, a jazz singer from London is not a popular fellow in Lower Slaughter, it seems. Be that as it may, we had a simple but good lunch here. And were serenaded by lovely 1940’s music (my favorite era). Mr. Kim fell in love with two things at the River Café. One was this fantastic ginger beer: 19-53m by ozisforme, on Flickr The other was my sandwich: 19-56k by ozisforme, on Flickr Cheddar cheese and pickle. He did the whole “where have you been all my life” with that combination. That lovely salad is called a ‘salad garnish’ in England. Everywhere we went that modest phrase appeared on menus and we got these really good side salads. Mr. Kim’s sandwich: 19-55m by ozisforme, on Flickr Roast beef and horseradish. A little dry, but tasty. We got to Bourton-on-the-Water a little late in the day for any real sightseeing, but I managed to find an open cookware shop and did my own brand of sightseeing. I wanted every tea towel I saw (I LOVE English tea towels), but managed to only buy a new tea tray. I needed a new one and do you know how hard it is to find a tea tray in the US? They had DOZENS – mine is pink and has cupcakes on it. Naturally. We also stopped in a little mini-mart here (we had become addicted to Crunchie Biscuits and were hoping to restock) and found THIS: 19-167k by ozisforme, on Flickr WTF???? We had dinner in Cirencester at the Black Horse. During our trip, we really tried to eat at ‘Free Houses’ as much as possible. The Black Horse is part of the Marston’s chain. But it is not exactly like eating in a Red Lobster. There were still the pub regulars – like the old guy who nursed his pint all night and read the newspaper. And the food was pretty good – my meal was certainly better than any chain I’ve eaten in in the States: 19-179k by ozisforme, on Flickr Pork and Hereford Cider Hot Pot – pork slow cooked in Hereford cider and sage sauce with caramelized Braeburn apples, Chantenay carrots and new potatoes. The bread was awfully good, too. Mr. Kim’s meal: 19-180k by ozisforme, on Flickr Sirloin steak, half a grilled tomato, peas and chips. The less said about that hard clot of a ‘tomato’, the better – but the chips were great and the steak was pretty good. Friday, May 20th This was the morning that we left the Cotswolds, so we packed up, bid a fond farewell to our little cottage and went to Cirencester to find breakfast. Our wonderful and reliable GPS (named ‘Jeeves’ by us) found CAKE (or maybe The Cake House – I can’t remember): 20-1k5 by ozisforme, on Flickr Breakfast was teacakes: 20-1k6 by ozisforme, on Flickr And yet more bacon butties: 20-1k7 by ozisforme, on Flickr Terribly reluctant to leave, we did a little window shopping. Lick the Spoon – a chocolate shop: 19-168k by ozisforme, on Flickr 19-169k by ozisforme, on Flickr Sadly, closed at that hour of the morning. A butcher shop: 20-1k8 by ozisforme, on Flickr Pasties!!: 20-1k9 by ozisforme, on Flickr Farewell, Cotswolds…On to Avebury, Stonehenge and Salisbury!

Yes, yes, YES! I am so excited about this blog! I love your writing, my friend - that careening, exciting, breathless plummet - will it end in a blaze of glory, or a train wreck??? I'm betting GLORY - it always does on Unsaved Loved Ones. Mr. Kim and I have the honor of actually KNOWING this delightful couple and are crushed that Meredith moved to KC instead of Jerry moving HERE! Can't wait for every moment!

Andie - thank you so much! I knew that I could count on you! I can't wait to tell my stepmom all about them - we were so perplexed! Kerry - how funny and just about what I expected. But wouldn't it be cool if it really worked?

Kerry - have you actually tried the Eggstractor? Not sure if this counts for this thread, but my dad and stepmom sent me some family stuff that they didn't want and knew I'd find a home for. Some pieces of glassware: P1090722 by ozisforme, on Flickr The pattern is Moon & Star. Don't know any more about it, but I collect pressed glass and depression glass, so I love it. I thought that the footed bowl would make a nice small trifle bowl (it stands about 8 1/2 inches tall). The other pieces are silverplate: P1090720 by ozisforme, on Flickr They are obviously the same pattern, but all three have different markings on the bottom. The pitcher says: Barbour Bros. Co. Quadruple Plate 76. The goblet looking one says: Barbour Bros. Co. Silver Quadruple 76 and the other piece says Barbour Bros. Co. Quadruple plate hard white metal with a little hallmark: P1090724 by ozisforme, on Flickr I was really hoping that someone (Andie - you here? ) could tell me what the goblet and small pot were used for. The goblet is 5 3/4 inches tall and the other is 4 inches. With the band across the top, the 'goblet' doesn't look like you could comfortably drink out of it.

kayb – thanks for the bacon jam recipe – I can’t wait to try it. BTW, your veg plate is lovely. Do you use all cornmeal on your beautiful fried green tomatoes? I usually do part flour or panko, but I really like the look of yours. Ben – your scallops are gorgeous – what a sear! Dejah – your broccoli slaw is just beautiful! I love broccoli slaw, but haven’t gotten as creative as you did – I’m in love with the idea of yours! I saved your description for later. Bruce – I’ll trade one of my sandwiches for a wing and one of your Mrs.’ lovely little potatoes! Shall we meet at Pope’s Creek and share a pile of crabs? Soba – I have a whole set of those knives and they get used a LOT!! Jan – the liver is spectacular! I am a big fan of liver, but the family is NOT, so I don’t do it much. The sauce/gravy looks delicious, too. RRO – I agree with Scotty – octopus sausage is cool! And serving a scallop on top is genius! Nikki – You can’t really make fried ripe tomatoes the same way – the flesh just melts into nothing. Too bad, because they would taste spectacular! I’ve barely cooked at all this week. It’s funny how when things in life get crazy, the first thing that gets jettisoned is cooking (something I love) instead of laundry (something I hate) . Tuesday night was sandwiches, salad and corn again: Egg salad and ham: A sandwich I loved in England and tried to recreate. The combination of the egg and ham is wonderful (think of ham and deviled eggs at Easter). When I had it in England there was also a layer of sliced hard-boiled eggs. Tuna and cheese:

Emily - I just copied that fudgsicle recipe. I'm going to make those SOON! My MIL came over the other night to look at our trip pictures. We went out for Pho for dinner and then came back for dessert and photos. I made Dream Cookies (just a really simple shortbread-type cooky that I’ve made since I was a kid – our favorite cooky) filled with Nutella: I also threw together these little lemon curd tarts with Greek yogurt and blueberries: They look a bit like googly eyes . The tart shells were purchased, so this dessert went together in just a few minutes. I took the leftovers to work on Friday and they were still good – the shells were crisp. So these also hold well.