The best food experiences I have had here in Britain are with others. I've hosted members of the fellowship and friends over to eat at my house on numerous occasions. I think food is a way of showing love and gratitude, so I especially like to host those people who have made my year particularly special - such as my Carecent volunteering friends, my piano teacher and her husband, and my friend Rachel.
I got to attend a barbecue with my friend Jack, his wife Jacky, and their family. It was such a lovely experience because they made me feel so welcome. Jack is a wine connoisseur, and gave me a Wine Tasting 101 experience. Jack has also generously taken me out to lunch pretty regularly this year - he's one of my closest friends in the fellowship and we have fun chatting.
I shared the most fun British fancy tea at Betty's with my friend Rachel. Bettty's is a York classic - everyone told me I had to go at least once. I was like NAHHH, because it's crazy expensive for tea and a bunch of scones. But my (wonderful) boyfriend had a little birdy (his lovely cousin) who told him that Betty's was THE York cream tea to have...so for my birthday he gave me two vouchers. And thus I did indeed get to have a proper Betty's experience. Totally worth it - the ambience was delightful, the treats and sandwiches were tasty, and I had about six cups of tea.
My roommate Emily is a fantastic cook. She loves to try new things and it's inspiring to watch her get creative in the kitchen. We were having people over for lunch so we collaborated on a Indian-inspired meal - I roasted a curried chicken with potatoes, peppers, and sweet potatoes, and she made homemade coconut-stuffed naan. It was fab.
I made my roommates their first (real) tacos! They were pork carnitas (a life-changing taco for me, because that's the taco I ate the night I went from being a vegetarian to a not-vegetarian) with radishes, arugula, and onion.
Below are another favorite type of taco - cauliflower! Roasted cauliflower with spices/hot sauce with avocado crema and cabbage in tacos is the besssst.
Following along that theme, dinner at Rachel's house one night was this yummy Mexican burrito bowl, followed by delicious chocolate lava cake.
Meals with fellow YAGMs are some of my favorite memories from the year - here we are at one of our dinners when we all got together for New Year's Eve.
Food with visitors tends to be eaten out more, which is so incredibly pleasurable because it means I don't have to wash dishes. (Dishwashers aren't common here like in the States - I will never take mine for granted again!) When my family came we enjoyed a delicious meal at Derek and Isobel's flat!
Rachel and I had a really fun day out in Thirsk one weekend in late May. For lunch, we each got a classic Yorkshire picnic platter for lunch. Cheese, coleslaw, salad, and bread.
Each month our church hosts a community lunch. This is me with some delicious apple pie and custard at the first I attended. YUM. It's normal to want pictures with food you like, right?
One of our community lunches was an American-themed Thanksgiving that I cooked. I prepped all of the food, but luckily on the day of Chantal and our friend Aline also helped me! It was my first experience making a whole turkey. It was terrifying. Thank God for my friend Jack (yes, same as above) who took me grocery shopping for the 25 lb turkey. And thank goodness I realized I had to defrost it prior to cooking it. And thank goodness I borrowed a meat thermometer from Derek and Isobel so I didn't accidentally give 25 people food poisoning. (Although it will be a cool story for the future to say I cooked my first Thanksgiving for people - in Britain.)
All that to say, I was so glad when it was over. (Everyone really liked the meal, too!)
Right after the Community Lunch, I hopped on a train to Manchester to share Thanksgiving 2.0 with my YAGM pals! We had such fun cooking and bonding. Those memories - the ones with my fellow YAGMs - are some of the most precious from this year.
The super yum birthday cake my roommate Emily made me back in September :)
I help prepare diners (called "tea" here) for the Island's Youth Clubs every Wednesday. One time I attempted to make American pancakes (fluffy, flavorful, delicious) for Pancake Day (aka Shrove Tuesday). They ended up being British pancakes (flat, lifeless crepe-like things topped with weird things like lemon and sugar). But the kids really liked when I made sloppy joes - they'd never had them before! (Literally just crumbled pork sausage cooked with ketchup/barbecue sauce. Very fancy.)
Of course, I drink a lot of tea here....
As well as indulging this winter in many delicious cups of cocoa!
Molly and I shared fab burritos when she came to visit, and had so much fun cooking together.
And when I visited Grace in February we treated ourselves to Five Guys! (It soothed our inner American.)
I made my roommates their first (real) tacos! They were pork carnitas (a life-changing taco for me, because that's the taco I ate the night I went from being a vegetarian to a not-vegetarian) with radishes, arugula, and onion.
Below are another favorite type of taco - cauliflower! Roasted cauliflower with spices/hot sauce with avocado crema and cabbage in tacos is the besssst.
Following along that theme, dinner at Rachel's house one night was this yummy Mexican burrito bowl, followed by delicious chocolate lava cake.
Meals with fellow YAGMs are some of my favorite memories from the year - here we are at one of our dinners when we all got together for New Year's Eve.
We all agreed this was a top-notch dessert from our March YAGM retreat - waffles and whipped cream.
Food with visitors tends to be eaten out more, which is so incredibly pleasurable because it means I don't have to wash dishes. (Dishwashers aren't common here like in the States - I will never take mine for granted again!) When my family came we enjoyed a delicious meal at Derek and Isobel's flat!
Each month our church hosts a community lunch. This is me with some delicious apple pie and custard at the first I attended. YUM. It's normal to want pictures with food you like, right?
One of our community lunches was an American-themed Thanksgiving that I cooked. I prepped all of the food, but luckily on the day of Chantal and our friend Aline also helped me! It was my first experience making a whole turkey. It was terrifying. Thank God for my friend Jack (yes, same as above) who took me grocery shopping for the 25 lb turkey. And thank goodness I realized I had to defrost it prior to cooking it. And thank goodness I borrowed a meat thermometer from Derek and Isobel so I didn't accidentally give 25 people food poisoning. (Although it will be a cool story for the future to say I cooked my first Thanksgiving for people - in Britain.)
Right after the Community Lunch, I hopped on a train to Manchester to share Thanksgiving 2.0 with my YAGM pals! We had such fun cooking and bonding. Those memories - the ones with my fellow YAGMs - are some of the most precious from this year.
The super yum birthday cake my roommate Emily made me back in September :)
Of course, I drink a lot of tea here....
As well as indulging this winter in many delicious cups of cocoa!
Molly and I shared fab burritos when she came to visit, and had so much fun cooking together.
Eating alone is inevitable and common for me, as my roommates have pretty different schedules. As I eat, I often read a book. Yes, I do know there's a lot of literature out there about not reading while you eat, but it's been a pleasurable activity since as early as I could read, so I'm doing it. (One bad habit I actively try to avoid, however, is eating whilst looking at my phone - that's bad! also messy!)
However, my treat night is on Thursdays, the start of my weekend, when I will often indulge in a weekly Netflix-and-dinner date with myself.
Sometimes I talk to people on the phone or Skype with them while I eat. This might be gross for them (lol SORRYYYY), but for me it feels like I'm having an actual lunch- or dinner-date. It's not feasible for people who live alone to always be sharing meals, but it is possible to make each mealtime a happy, peaceful experience.
And this is the key - a joyous mealtime. Because to me, food is about love and sharing. It's about a profound appreciation for the the privilege of eating what we want, when we want it. It's about the tactile sensations, the colors, vibrant flavors. Each meal is a communion, even when we are alone.
However, my treat night is on Thursdays, the start of my weekend, when I will often indulge in a weekly Netflix-and-dinner date with myself.
Sometimes I talk to people on the phone or Skype with them while I eat. This might be gross for them (lol SORRYYYY), but for me it feels like I'm having an actual lunch- or dinner-date. It's not feasible for people who live alone to always be sharing meals, but it is possible to make each mealtime a happy, peaceful experience.
And this is the key - a joyous mealtime. Because to me, food is about love and sharing. It's about a profound appreciation for the the privilege of eating what we want, when we want it. It's about the tactile sensations, the colors, vibrant flavors. Each meal is a communion, even when we are alone.
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