Spring Break: The Edible Version

As most of you know. Food is kind of a hobby for me. Not just cooking and baking. Not just restaurant dinners or dinner parties. I really enjoy and appreciate food.

This post is dedicated to some but not all of my wonderful food appreciation moments during Spring Break.

My first night in London was spent at Wembley Stadium watching a Euro Qualifier. I was pretty impressed with the concession eats but alas, I had also been on a plane for 10 hours so I didn't take any photos and just shoveled food in my mouth.

The second evening I met up with my old friend Mrs. T. who used to live in SF with me. We used to get up to some good times in our twenties. Catching up after over a decade was really wonderful, just like the elongated meal we shared at Granger & Co. in Notting Hill

Grilled Octopus

A Tuna Poke kinda salad with this lovely little bit of grass that tasted like the sea

Prawn fettuccine with rocket aka baby arugula

2 days later we found ourselves Mrs. B & Mrs. T out and about at Burrough Market with the boys. This place was just full of beautiful things to go home and cook with or eat ... whole stalls of cheese! But we took advantage of the deliciousness being cooked up on-site.

Sausage of Love, Sausage of Joy -- A song one never tires of.

Okay so the stall this next photo is from is a Thai food stall. These little circles are usually used in Thai cooking for these coconut snacks called, Khanom Kroak (I still like the plain Jane ones -- no corn, no floating green onions etc like when I was a kid). I've noticed this type of pan is also used for Japanese Takoyaki.  And me? I have a mini version of this pan at home that I usually use for good old fashioned pancake balls also known as Ebelskivers. But look!! Lo and behold I can wow my friends and family and use the pan for perfectly fried quail eggs!

Quail Eggs!

Moving along through the Burrough Market ...

Sausage! The Kid put ketchup on mine, but none for him. Dijon is OK, yellow is the devil's blood - avoid it if you can people

Mrs. B went the way of a beautiful veggie curry. Mmmmm.

Did I mention we went to Paris for 2 days? Yeah, I told you it was a whirlwind. I realize the photos of lunch were taken on The Kid's camera/ipod so I don't have pics of that for you. However after our fabulous lunch at a little bistro off the side of Sacre Coeur (which is now why I'm obsessed with recreating stuffed artichoke hearts with mushrooms and lardons -- wasn't pretty, but wow tasty), we walked through Monmartre and enjoyed the pretty food sites around us.

Tasty buttery cakes in a multitude of flavors

These are chocolates made to look like olives

And yes these are chocolates too, made to loo like quail eggs.

The boys had an excellent time and were in good spirits the entire Paris trip. No whining! It helped that they had goals. They were determined to eat waffles and crepes. So even after a big lunch after we made our way to The Trucadero the boys had sweet on their minds and bellies.

Je voudrais une gaufre avec chocolat, s'ilvous plait :)

For dinner that evening we headed across town to Les Halles and had another bistro/brasserie dinner. I had to have oysters while in Paris.

Even the smallest oysters are larger, but still, very fresh and tasty. Close your eyes can you taste the sea?

The Kid's steak was very large. He prefers his medium rare, but even for me, the initial service was a little underdone. The server was so kind and with no scoffing brought a whole new piece even though we said we just wanted the existing one to be cooked a little longer.

The boys were all about steak frites. The rib-eye in France is the Entrecote cut

He managed to eat his dessert. He was so pleased there were about 5 photos of this on my iPhone. Alas, this is the best one.

Mousse au chocolat -- desserts and food ... the gateway to kids speaking French ;)

Second day and second lunch in Paris was over in the Latin Quarter before our visit to Nortre Dame. I don't know how we were still eating though The Kid claims he would still go back and eat his way through Paris. Mrs. B. says she still is not hungry (I left her 3 days ago, so that's saying something, ha!)

My boeuf bourguignon -- perfect for the rainy day we were having

Mrs. B's pate plate - perfect with a small bowl of soup

The ever important espresso. Look at the creme on that thing! Kept us going a while longer.

produce of a small Vietnamese market

produce detail

Don't be fooled by the cuteness of this penguin. This jar of Nutella was the size of my Kid's head.

Roasting chickens and potatoes and tasty tasty things

Yeah, that's a pig

Last supper at the Pub with my dear friends.

I promised my husband I'd have one beer for him at a pub while he was holding down the fort at home.

Fish and Chips with smooshy? peas -- interesting.

Hi!!

Whoa, Mr. B's fancy pie. I'm obsessed with meat pies right now.

There was so much more to feast on both literally and visually. We had an amazing dim sum with the Family. The Kid says, they always know the places to go as he was talking about the soup dumplings with his Dad, but I did not take any photos. There were so many things I wish I could share (scotch eggs!) but this is the best visually I've got to share.

Thanks for coming by. :)