All in the name of Adventure.




The other day, Z and I ventured to an outer area of London to visit a friend and her daughter. She kindly offered to pick me up from the train station if it was pouring, as she lives a 10 or so minute walk from there. I figured that we would be covered, literally and figuratively, since I had a newly purchased umbrella and a rain cover for Z’s stroller. And, the rain was intermittent. When I got off the train, the rain started up a little heavier, so I bundled up and started down the road. When I got to where I should have taken a right turn, I instead took a right to cross the street and continued walking on the same street. Later, after I realized that I had walked 20 minutes in the wrong direction, I was confused that the street sign for the street I wanted, faced parallel to the street I was currently on. Usually this means you are on the street the sign reads. Not in this case. The street I needed to be on was perpendicular to the sign. In short, I took a wrong turn. The rain was heavier now. The only thing that saved me from walking even further in the wrong direction was my iphone. The GPS. Not sure why I didn’t view it earlier. Must have been my confidence in that darn street sign. In any case, I was glad I looked at the map when I did, because I was getting wet and Z was not happy with me at all. We finally did make it to our destination, and although an hour late, Z and I were met at the door with hot tea, some hearty chili and the familiar face of an old friend. Definitely made the trek worth while. and, next time, remind me to forgo the rainy walk for a nice car ride instead..

Just a few pictures from my day.

The clouds do part here in London!

some goodies that crossed my path today.

A two posts in one kinda day.

I have a computer that doesnt pick up a wireless signal for some reason, so it has taken me a couple days to get a cable..blah, blah, blah. While I was away, I was writing, and now I will post my last couple blogs..

Shopping at Sainsburys.

We are staying just on the edge of Notting Hill and Ladbroke Grove. Funny, our rental stated the house as being in Notting Hill which is known as an affluent area. We are just outside this area. It is definite much less affluent and much more diverse.

My big adventure on Friday was taking Z to the local grocery store, Sainsburys. I thought Fred Meyer or Target was a madhouse on Sundays, this place trumps both, and it was only Friday morning. Sainsburys is a large grocery store, with a little clothing, electronics and dinnerware in the mix. I steered straight for the food, as this was the bulk of the store and I knew that I would be sucked in for quite some time, and wow. I suppose it wasn’t much bigger than our local Safeway, but I was so absorbed into it all; the brands, the products, the people around me. It was incredibly diverse. All of it. Supposedly, this area is a large Indian/Middle Eastern/Moroccan population, and there was a whole aisle or two of Indian/Middle Eastern foods. Of course, there was also practically a whole aisle of Marmite and yet another aisle of canned Baked Beans (with Franks, without Franks, take your pick..) And the people, I was blown away by how many different cultures of people were around me. I suppose I have been shopping at Whole Foods too long, and where I live in Seattle is not exactly the most diverse area, but this is something that I really like about London. It seems to be such a Westernized city, but so many of its people are from so many other areas of the world. I suppose you get this to a certain extent in other larger cities in the US, but I know in Seattle, I find that I keep to the areas near to my house, areas that are familiar. I am hoping this experience will push me to explore more of Seattle upon our return!


Tooting along on the Tube.

Yesterday, 8 out of the 12 Tube lines were either closed completely, or partly closed. Supposedly, this happens on the weekends, and, come next weekend, we will be finding other ways of getting around, or we will get creative about where we venture to. On Saturday, it was pouring and we walked to the nearest station to where we are staying. It is about 12 minutes. Of course, when we arrived, the gate was locked and we were left standing there, like ‘well, shit what do we do now?’ I have always thought that being in a city with a subway makes getting around so easy and efficient, but this weekend proved to me otherwise. Getting around is like a puzzle. Lets say you need to get from A to B. Easy, you take the W line to the T line and then transfer to the F line. Only, the W line is closed and the T line is partially closed from point C to B, so you need to find the P line to connect with the Q line to connect to the F line.. and man, what a pain in my arse! Not to mention, the tube stations are less than stroller/wheelchair friendly, so poor T had to carry Z up and down and up and down the stairs. (still not sure how to tackle this one on my upcoming adventures solo with Z) On Saturday, we finally gave up and hailed a cab to the area with the Science Museums and Harrods. Yesterday, we again attempted the Tube with our handy iphone Tube Status apps this time. Because our closest station was closed, we walked 25 minutes to the next nearest, hopped on one train, and transferred to another, then walked some more. But, today was a beautiful day. So, even though it took us over an hour to get across town, we ended up seeing a great Sunday market at Brick Lane. If T wasn’t with me, I might have meandered the stalls a little more. Some great food. I had Turkish. T had Chinese. A sunny day. And to make things even better, Z was perfectly content just sitting in his stroller. Shocking, as he is usually squirming after 45 minutes. All the excitement of getting from A to B must have been quite entertaining for him!

Good day London!

I am back!

Traveling with a 1 1/2 year old is not easy, but we were blessed yesterday to have a full day of plane travel without any major meltdowns, blowouts etc. It was just tiring, having a kid who wanted to run the aisles and not sit still for 10 out of the 12 hours. But, all that said, we made it. and, at the moment, I sit with my tea and my bag of goodies from Marks & Spencer, and my sleeping baby, and it feels good.

Walking around today, I am already getting excited to eat my way through London, babystyle. No, not like the glamorous do, but like me, on a budget, with baby-on-the-go. London is a great place to do this, I am already beginning to see. So many ‘fast’ food places that are actually healthy and offer up good things, the food halls and the markets, I cannot wait!



So stay tuned!

There is life beyond peanut butter!

Being a first time mom, I am taking all precautions when it comes to food allergies. I come from a family of peanut butter eaters, was raised on Skippy and jelly sandwiches, with no allergies to speak of, but I am still wanting to wait a little longer before introducing peanut butter to my son.

When I was working as a Pastry Chef, I would make other nut butters for use in desserts and ice creams, so when I came across a bag a walnuts in my cupboard that had been overlooked time and time again, I decided to put them to use. I have said before that I am not a big fan of raw nuts in baked goods, but toast any nut and I will eat them by the handful.

(and, maybe only in the case of pecans, I will put them in my cookies)

I have been giving Z almond butter to sub for peanut butter, and I have to say, it is boring! I dont think the almonds are roasted, so it just lacks in flavor. I am kind of kicking myself for not thinking of this sooner, but why not just make nut butters? it really is super easy...and, you can tailor it to your tastes.

So, I took my bag of walnuts and toasted them. then, throw them in the food processor with a little salt and honey. process until the nuts release their oils to make a smooth and not too thick butter. and voila.

the best thing is, Z cant get enough of it, and walnuts are healthier than peanuts, so who even needs peanut butter?

Easy does it. Cornmeal Pumpkin Bread.

There is a blog life after this Gratitude Challenge, I promise. And, to prove it to you, my handful of dedicated readers who I am sure are tiring of seeing another post about how grateful I am for this and this and that, I want to let you in on something good that I made the other day. Cornmeal Pumpkin Bread. In my pantry these days are bare pickins’, so when I saw that I only had ¾ cup of flour and about 20 cups of cornmeal, I decided to stray a little bit from my favorite Pumpkin Bread recipe.



I love recipes these days that I can whip together in no time flat, without messing with my behemoth mixer and 10 different bowls. I have a hard enough time staying up on the house work, especially this week with a sick little guy in the house. I have been trying to use up misc ingredients that are lying around too, like that half butternut squash in the fridge that Z wont eat, and that almost empty can of pumpkin left from the other days coucous stew. Perfect. Many times I find that I need to get to the store for something, but today, everything just fell into place, out of my cupboards and into the baking pan. I love when that happens. Like I said, easy pleases me.



I wasn’t sure what would happen when I replaced much of the flour for cornmeal, but I was really pleasantly surprised. The same pumpkin flavor and a little earthiness and nice texture imparted by the cornmeal. This recipe may have just become my new favorite pumpkin bread.

Cornmeal Pumpkin Bread

2/3 cup sugar

1/3 cup plus 2 Tablespoons brown sugar

1 ¼ cup pumpkin or butternut squash puree (or a mix of both, as I did)

1 large egg

1/3 cup oil. I used canola, but an olive or nut oil might be interesting too.

¾ cup plus 2 Tablespoons flour

1/3 cup plus 2 Tablespoons cornmeal, fine.

1 teaspoon baking soda

1/3 teaspoon salt

½ teaspoon cloves

½ teaspoon cinnamon

350, grease a 9 in square pan, or a loaf pan.

Beat together sugars, pumpkin and egg. Drizzle in oil and beat to combine.

In a separate bowl, mix the dry ingredients and then add them into the wet. Use a spatula to combine, taking care not to overmix. Pour into pan and bake for between 45-50 minutes,

depending on your pan.

All Star.

I got my first pair of Converse when I was 12. They were high tops. And they were off white. They were the brakes for me as I sat on my skateboard and careened down the big hill that leads from my parents house. I used to marvel at how hot my heels got by the time I hit the bottom of the hill. The rubber wore thinner and thinner with each ride.

When I was 16, I had a pair of black low tops. My boyfriend had the same ones. I wore these everywhere. And he wore his too. He was the 'alternative' rock guy, the one that introduced me to Primus, the Chili Peppers and Phish. At the time, these bands were still somewhat alternative, as were black low top Converse. I felt cool. The following year, he would take me to the Haight for my graduation gift, a pair of white Doc Marten boots.

In College, after the days of the Doc Martens and the nose ring, I went mainstream with a white pair of Jack Purcells.

Now, I have a pair of brown Converse slides, you know, the ones that look like they lost their laces? I have worn these to death, the soles are practically worn through, and they still keep ticking. These are my go-to shoe, often worn without socks. Not long after I got these, I bought another pair, a pair of brown one stars. For some reason, these still sit pristine in my closet. As if I would be cheating on the slides to break them out before its time.

And yesterday, in keeping with tradition..or in starting a new tradition, I bought my son his first pair.