Where has November gone? Somehow this month just whizzed by. I've been so busy with school, friend visits, Real Bread, Thanksgiving, and staying warm, that I didn't realize how long it had been since my last post. Mandy, my dear friend and fellow pastry chef, came to London with her husband Corey to visit for 10 days. We visited many great food markets, cozy pubs, and cute neighborhoods. Like every experience with them, their visit was filled with exploration, silliness, adventure, and good old fashion fun! And at the heart of their visit was a memorable Thanksgiving, full of warmth, merriment, laughter, and really good food.
We hosted twelve people for Thanksgiving at our tiny flat and were surprised at how comfortably we all fit in! Shannon and Sasha shared the cooking duty with me (braving the tube at rush hour to bring their contributions), Mandy and I worked on pies in the early morning, the turkey perfumed of rosemary and garlic, and the whole feast came out bountiful, rich, and delicious. Karen and her family completed our company and the whole evening seemed to twinkle all around the edges with warm magic (I'm sure the mulled wine contributed to that effect). We coveted the particularly thick English whipped cream atop our pies (I think the cream was extra high in fat because it was so stiff, even at soft peaks!) and lingered over our warm beverages. Moose farkle, a Midwest dice game, entertained us until the wee hours, along with a bottle of aquavit, a Norwegian liqueur Mandy and Corey brought from Oslo. It was an evening I am truly thankful for; one I will remember for a long time to come.
This past week also saw the arrival of a new flatmate for us: Barmy Millie! No we didn't get a dog or cat; something even more exciting...I began my own sourdough starter! After all the time I've been spending at Real Bread, I've been inspired to start baking my own bread at home again, but this time I wanted to make my own starter and ditch the dry instant yeast. So, after consulting various bread gurus, I combined equal parts organic, stone-ground rye flour and London tap water, adding a cup of each every day for seven consecutive days. And like all bakers, and with the help of Mandy, I even named my starter: Barmy Millet or Barmy Millie for short. You can see Millie getting her daily feeding in the picture. Covered with a damp tea towel, she has been growing and festering for the last week emitting some very yeasty smells, and bubbling away, all signs of a healthy starter. I can't wait to make the first loaf! Nothing warms me to the core more than an oven full of bread!
As this past week throughout the UK has turned frigid, I've realized another important value of baking...heat! Our little oven warms our flat quicker and better than any of our tuckered out radiators. Part of what made Thanksgiving so wonderful and cozy was that while outside was hovering around freezing, our flat was made delightfully warm as the oven hummed away all day, cooking pies and turkey. London has been dodging the snow predictions of the past few days, until today. We woke up this morning to our backyard covered in a beautiful dusting, as if someone had sifted powdered sugar everywhere. I felt like a kid at Disneyland! At the library today, I was mesmerized, staring out the big glass windows at the thick snowflakes flying around outside; it was like being in a snow globe all day! The novelty and beauty of the snow is still new and fresh for me, so I love the snow. But as soon as the cold sneaks through my six layers and it's no longer beautiful, I know what to do: go home, make a cup of tea, turn on the oven, and start baking!
November has been a busy month, full of friends, work, studying, bubbling starter, and cold. One thing's for sure: this has been a month and year of plenty. And I give thanks, particularly to the bounty and warmth of the oven.
