Beginning of January

Helllo all!

I'm sure you want to hear about another thing Brits don't have that I miss? Applesauce. Plain ol' applesauce in a big jar just for eating.  I asked in the grocery store today for applesauce and they took me to the condiment aisle and showed me a tiny, barely jam-sized jar (next to the ketchup and horseradish) of Bramley applesauce - for putting on pork.  The guy was amazed when I said I just wanted it to eat!  So, Mat and I had to make our own applesauce.  It's really simple.  Just cooking apples, water, and a bit of caster sugar!

Apples.

12 minutes later - applesauce!  Much better than Mott's :) 

Mat was off on Sunday so we went out exploring in London.  We went to Spitalfields Market in east London, then walked through "the City" (aka where all the big tall buildings are).  I made Mat take my picture in front of everything.

The City.

Some super tall building.. I have no idea what it is though :)

Gherkin

I'm a tiny little dot down there next to this huge building.. again, I can't remember what it was. Some sort of finance building or something.

Then we went to Bodean's in Soho for some quality American-style barbecue.. and Blue Moon! 

I've also been spending a lot of time in the library.  I finished my dissertation proposal and wrote a whole 228 words of my 6000 word essay!  Slowly but surely making progress.

We've also started planning our weekly menu and only grocery shopping once a week.  It's a good idea but walking home carrying a week's worth of groceries is heavy.  Especially when they include a bajillion vegetables (including potatoes) and a liter of milk.  

On the menu this week - 

Butternut Squash Risotto with Sage and Pancetta

Braised Pork Shin with Saffron Mashed Potatoes

and Beef Stew

Obviously Mat will be doing the cooking on those nights.  My nights of cooking are pasta with peas (Mat made me write Pasta alla Mente on the menu so it sounds fancier) and leftovers :)

Off to do some reading about attachment theory!