Thursday, September 01, 2011

British Bites

Image via Google

This isn't a food blog for a number of reasons.  Number one: I very rarely cook.  Number two: I don't have the necessary photography equipment to lend any dish I happen to make the appearance of goodness.  Number three:  I very rarely cook.

However, I must say all the stereotypes about bad British food that Americans love to embrace and circulate amongst themselves really, really bother me.  Food in England, for the record, is absolutely delicious.  

D-E-L-I-C-I-O-U-S.

For evidence of this assertion I shall refer to the fluxuation of my weight that coincides with my time in England.  Move to England: weight goes up.  Move back to the States: weight goes down.  Move back to England: weight magically goes back up again.  There's a definite pattern at work here.   

So, I thought it would be fun to highlight a tasty British Bite every now and again. Consequently, if my fellow Yanks eat poorly if by chance they find themselves in England they will have no one to blame but themselves. 

To get this going I thought I would start with a recipe taken from the Jane Austen cookbook: pigeon pie. 

 Image via Google

First of all, you will need six pigeons that have been plucked and gutted....

Joking.  Blech.

What I really wanted to draw attention to, having a major sweet tooth, is a classic English dessert: the Victoria sponge (pictured above).  It sure is tasty.  Imagine fresh whipped cream and raspberry jam sandwiched between two layers of Madeira sponge cake with powdered sugar dusted on top.  This is what you will get if you ever find yourself ordering a slice of Victoria sponge, and I don't think you will regret it.  If you're feeling really ambitious, you can even whip up your very own sponge cake.  Although, how one would go about converting the measurements into something US-compatible is beyond me.  Like I said, I very rarely cook. 

 Partaking of a slice at the university cafe

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