Best Of The British Isles

 St.David's Day, the national holiday of Wales was a few days ago. St Patrick's is next weekend. Despite what others have said the UK and Ireland does have some wonderful food. It could be Devon cream teas with rich fruity scones or a Sunday roast, with roast beef, Yorkshire pudding and thick gravy.

So here's the question  - what is your favorite British and or Irish food. I would have today I love colcannon, that flavorful mash with spinach and kale added. I love added huge blobs of plant butter too for creaminess. There's also fish and chips(the vegan version with Gardein's fish fillets)These are the perfect meal for me. 

What do you like? Let us know with an answer or even a picture.

Your Coronation Meal

 Next week Great Britain gets a new monarch. You can celebrate Charles III whether you support him or not. The question is what do you make?

One of the most classic dishes comes from his  mother 's Elizabeth  II's coroation, coromation choicken. this is a relic from post war Britain.it';s chopped poached chicken cooled and then mixed with mayo , curry ,raisins and mango or apricot chuney.It suspiciously sounds like a Southern country clib lunceon dish to be served on lettuceleaves or white toast. The curry is a nod to the queen's father George VI who loved curry as did her great great grandmother Queen Victoria. I would revamp this by getting rid of the rasins, maybe adding apples and only adding a small pinch of curry.Yes,I'd serve it on toast, as you would with any chicken salad.

What can you make? Try beans on toast. I may butter the toast first and add a layer of Morningstar Farms bacon to it fo crunch and more flavor. Then there's the English fry up breakfast.(The coronation starts at 5 AM New York Eastern time next week!!!! )Many will be waking up to seeing a king get crowned. A fry up breakfast consists of fried eggs,bacon sausages,. fried tomatoes and beans. There's usually fried bread with it to mop up the egg. If it's a bit too much , then just have eggs and bacon on toast. You coul;d also just have an Englsih muffin with butter  - or turn it intoa breakfast sandwich to celebrate. A breakfast scone would be good too along with a steaming strong cup of English breakfast tea.

How will you celebrate the coronation of Charles and his queen Camilla? That's up to what you want to eat. Have a hearty breakfast or a lunch of coronation chicken salad.Be the ruler of your kitchen.

Scones, The Way Coleridge Liked Them

Today is Samuel Taylor Coleridge's birthday and surely he must have celebrated with a Devon cream tea. One of the components of any tea are scones, those mouth watering biscuits.They're an easy bake for novice home chefs along with being versatile with their ingredients. They can be just plain or filled with everything from nuts to berries to even candies.

Scones have been baked since the early 1500's and were surprisingly the size of a luncheon plate in their early days. Their origins were not England as you'd might suspect but possibly from Scotland and Holland. The Scots have something similar, called a bannock and it could be from this that our modern day ones originate from. They  could also come from the Dutch schoonbrod  translated into fine white bread. The Dutch ones were smaller , spoonfuls of dough were dropped onto a hot griddle and cooked. Even the Germans made them and also contributed to their name by calling them schoenbrod.Most foodies  as well as Coleridge himself, knew the British variations of them. These are the ones that are  chock full of currants, raisins, dates and cheese. The Scots and Northern Irish mix potatoes in with the dough and then fry them. These tattie scones are a big part of the Ulster fry up, the sumptuous breakfast full of streaky bacon, pork sausage and eggs.The US embraced scones thanks to the recent coffeehouse culture , and we probably have Starbucks to thank for that. They're mostly cinnamon and blueberry flavored here .In Utah, they're a variation of the Indian fry bread with buttermilk and baking soda.


Scones are the perfect bake for the novice home baker. You can easily make the ones that ST Coleridge probably enjoyed with his Devon cream tea.There is the Bisquick kind made with that baking mix.These are the closest to what Starbucks sells, with a confectioner's sugar glaze and stuffed with blueberries.A more authentic version is the English recipe which calls for mixing white flour with baking soda.Butter is added to this and the dry ingredients are cut together similar to what is done with pie crust.Once the mix resembles course breadcrumbs, eggs and milk are added to give it a  more doughy quality. It is then rolled out to a one inch thickness and then cut with a biscuit cutter or can be cut into triangles.They're baked in a very hot oven at 425 degrees Fahrenheit   for only ten to fifteen minutes . If you want them to have a shiny top then brush them with a beaten egg before baking.If you want to have a sweet crust then, just sprinkled granulated sugar on top after egg /butter washing and before baking. For cinnamon flavored ones just add four teaspoons of the spice to the dough.Serve them the true British way with clotted cream (which you can get on Amazon) butter and any jam, such as raspberry or red current.

Celebrate Coleridge's birthday with a batch of freshly made scones, butter, jam and , of course Devon cream tea. He would have appreciated this tea, as you will. Savor the taste of a butter and jam covered one washed down with hot milky Earl Grey.

Creamery Goodness

Nothing beats a very good dairy product. I recently got to experience two of them,Devonshire clotted cream and farm fresh churned butter. Both are amazing and truly the definition of sinfully delicious. They can be hard to come by here in the States but they are oh so good and worth the hunt.

I wrote about clotted cream and how to make it last week. Luckily I was able to find Devonshire clotted cream on the web and ordered it. To me this is the best, especially with the jam (surprisingly the French Bon Maman) that came with it. The Devonshire type is a thicker , more buttery spread perfect for any type of bread , but ideal  on scones. It's the best ingredient for having a traditional cream tea . You could also serve it alongside holiday pies and pudding,s although the best way is still with jam and  fresh baked scones (or English muffins).I  would recommend making it at home butclotted cream  can be a bit labor intensive. You can order it from The English Tea Store, Jolly Grub, or British Food Depot.

Another treat I  got to savor was farm fresh churned sweet butter. I was lucky to score it at a local farmer's market, rare now, especially since many outdoor markets are closing for the season.Again, there is nothing like this.Of course it's great for a a vegetable saute or melted and oozy in a baked potato, however it's best again on toast  or any slice of bread.It's more cream than butter and doesn't  have that waxy aftertaste that some commercially made butters possess . Some grocery stores do sell it , such as Stop & Shop and A&P in the States. However if you live near any dairy farm or creamery, then you  have the chance to buy it.

Dairy products, especially rich ones are considered taboo  yet that ban can be waived when it comes to Devonshire clotted cream and fresh churned butter. Both are just amazing, with silky tastes and textures. If you;re going to indulge, these are the treats for you. They are just truly  perfect , especially with jam and bread.