Cooking in the summer

Naples is hot. In fact, it's so hot you don't even want to turn on the stove some days. The oven is completely out of the question. However, we still have to eat, and tuna sandwiches every day would be boring. I sat down and thought really hard and came up with some yummy things to make. They do require turning on the stove, but I can do it in the morning while it's still kind of cool.

First, I made potato salad. I had never made a potato salad before, but it was surprisingly easy. Wash potatoes, cut into small pieces, boil for 8 to 15 minutes, drain, and cool. I added chopped onion and bell pepper. The sauce was the challenge because Tim is violently opposed to mayonaise. I substituted alfredo pasta sauce, mixed in some mustard, and it was quite good! I was quite impressed with my first attempt.

Second, I figured out how to make salsa. I chopped 2 tomatoes and 1 onion. Then I added a few squirts of lemon juice and 2 or 3 spoonfuls of chopped jalepano peppers (they come in a can, so I don't have to do the chopping). Put it in a saucepan and cook it all for a while, until there isn't much juice left and the onions are a little soft. Once it's cooked, refrigerate it. I put it on an omlette that night and as a snack with chips the next day.

Third, and Tim's favorite (I think), was the cold tomato soup. It was so good, I'll give you the recipe.
3 C chicken broth
6 tomatoes, seeded and chopped
1 onion, chopped
1 bay leaf
1/2 tsp. salt
1/4 tsp. pepper
1/8 tsp. sugar

Combine everything in a saucepan and bring to a boil. Simmer covered for 20 minutes. Discard bay leaf. Cool slightly, puree in the blender or food processer. Refrigerate.

I made it creamy by putting a couple heaping spoonfuls of sour cream in before blending. I also put in 4 smallish basil leaves because we like basil.

Tea and Fish-n-Chips

We recently took a trip to England. Tim's main goal was to survive completely on the full English breakfast, sandwiches, and fish and chips. I was just excited for the tea. The full English breakfast, was served at every place we stayed except one, and it consisted of tea, toast, an egg (runny), fried mushrooms, half a baked tomato, beans, ham, a sausage, and sometimes hashbrowns. Very filling and a good start to the day. The tea was excellent, as well. In case you didn't know this, a trip to Ireland with my mother in 2006 made me into a tea snob. This trip made Tim into a tea snob. We got to try teas from all over England and we have decided that Yorkshire tea is the best. I brought a large box of it home, of course.

The sandwiches were generally your average sandwiches. We became on very good terms with the grocery stores (Sainsbury's is an excellent store if anyone ever needs to know). Tim bought a jar of onion chutney and we hauled loaves of bread and plastic silverware around. We ordered packed lunches the day we went on our Yorkshire Dales hike, and those sandwiches were extremely hearty, complete with homemade pickles!

Afternoon tea is one of those important events in England. Sadly, we were so busy seeing all that England had to offer that I think we only sat down for afternoon tea twice. But what memorable times they were! The first was at a place called Faeryland, and it was wonderful after an hour of rowing around Grasmere Lake in the lake district. The second was after our Yorkshire Dales hike. The sun had just come out and the scone with strawberry jam and cream hit the spot. Not to mention the caffine in the tea helped immensely.

Our first fish-and-chip experience was in Llandudno, North Wales. We ate it on the promonade, surrounded by seagulls, who were all hoping to get some dinner, too. In Eastbourne, at the end of our trip, Tim got two pieces of fish, partially because a very rude seagull actually stole part of the first one right out of his hand. Then we passed a place that claimed they sold "World Famous Fish and Chips", so of course he had to get seconds. They cover the fish with malt vinegar and huge amounts of salt and it's oh-so-good!

Of course there were other interesting food products. There was the sweet chili mayo and jalapeno cheese pringles from ASDA, a Walmart cousin. In Grasmere, there is a famous gingerbread bakery and that was some good gingerbread. The candy store in Stratford-Upon-Avon supplied Tim with more of the gross jelly beans, mostly because there are two new flavors: canned dog food and centipede. The dog food is very realistic. We bought rose and lemon Turkish Delight. The rose tasted exactly like how rose soap smells, and the lemon tasted faintly of rose. There was a great variety of ciders, all very tasty, my favorite being the strawberry-kiwi. In London, there was Indian food and fidget pie (ham and potatoes under a crust).

All in all, England was a culinary treat.