After a successful first country week, we packed our bags, grabbed our passports and headed to England!
The kids picked the location for this week, and I'm sure it had nothing to do with them wanting a tea party. If you've been following for a while you know that we used to live in England, though we left when Zahara was 14 months old. Asher was born here in the States. I've been back a couple of times since then, and even brought Zahara on a girls trip last May. So needless to say, we have very fond memories of England.
Making Jam
Our first activity for the week was making our own jam. When I lived in England, there was a summer I went a little crazy making jam. Once you start though, it's hard to stop. It's so easy, if a little messy. This round we made strawberry-rhubarb and strawberry jam. We tried the Joy of Cooking's strawberry recipe, but it was only OK. I am still in love with the strawberry-rhubarb recipe--highly recommend!
Making Scones
You can't have a tea party without scones. We used my favorite recipe from BBC and they turned out perfect, as always. Dan also made a different recipe with raisins that turned out well too. And he made Fat Rascals, which are a local treat we used to enjoy at Bettys in Harrogate. Bettys' recipe is secret, but these turned out pretty close.
Tea Party
For our tea party, Dan made clotted cream (from scratch!) and finger sandwiches (nutella and jam; and cucumber and hummus). We drank our favorite Yorkshire tea on our fancy china. Hot tip, check your local thrift store for tea sets. We bought all our china for pennies. They don't match, which I think is part of the charm.
Talking to Friends
I thought it would be fun during British week to talk to people who actually lived in England. I arranged for a call with many of my British friends--my yoga mums. We still all keep in touch regularly but we rarely have time for video chats anymore. Among the eight of us, we now have fifteen kids! And to think we all met when we were pregnant with our firsts! The video chat was chaotic, but fun nonetheless. It's always good to connect with friends.
Funny story about Zahara. She's been listening to a ton of audio books lately. She listens while she colors, snacks, in the bath...any free time she has. And a lot of these books have a British narrator. So now Zahara can speak in a really good British accent!
Other British Food
Yes, England week was pretty heavy on the food elements. And you know what, that's OK! To round out our week, we also had a big brekkie--one of my favorites. It includes hashbrowns, baked beans, grilled tomatoes and mushrooms, runny eggs, toast, and sausage.
We had a great week in England. Next up, Mexico!
Making Jam
Our first activity for the week was making our own jam. When I lived in England, there was a summer I went a little crazy making jam. Once you start though, it's hard to stop. It's so easy, if a little messy. This round we made strawberry-rhubarb and strawberry jam. We tried the Joy of Cooking's strawberry recipe, but it was only OK. I am still in love with the strawberry-rhubarb recipe--highly recommend!
Making Scones
You can't have a tea party without scones. We used my favorite recipe from BBC and they turned out perfect, as always. Dan also made a different recipe with raisins that turned out well too. And he made Fat Rascals, which are a local treat we used to enjoy at Bettys in Harrogate. Bettys' recipe is secret, but these turned out pretty close.
Tea Party
For our tea party, Dan made clotted cream (from scratch!) and finger sandwiches (nutella and jam; and cucumber and hummus). We drank our favorite Yorkshire tea on our fancy china. Hot tip, check your local thrift store for tea sets. We bought all our china for pennies. They don't match, which I think is part of the charm.
Talking to Friends
I thought it would be fun during British week to talk to people who actually lived in England. I arranged for a call with many of my British friends--my yoga mums. We still all keep in touch regularly but we rarely have time for video chats anymore. Among the eight of us, we now have fifteen kids! And to think we all met when we were pregnant with our firsts! The video chat was chaotic, but fun nonetheless. It's always good to connect with friends.
Funny story about Zahara. She's been listening to a ton of audio books lately. She listens while she colors, snacks, in the bath...any free time she has. And a lot of these books have a British narrator. So now Zahara can speak in a really good British accent!
Other British Food
Yes, England week was pretty heavy on the food elements. And you know what, that's OK! To round out our week, we also had a big brekkie--one of my favorites. It includes hashbrowns, baked beans, grilled tomatoes and mushrooms, runny eggs, toast, and sausage.
We also picked up fresh fish and chips from a local pub. We've never been there before, but the Queen Vic was really good. The fish was super flaky, which I love. The mushy peas weren't great, but everything else was.
See our other country weeks here.
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