British Cooking

 I can't honestly say that I love the food here. I love the candy, but that is a given.
 
 There are a few things that I do not know how I lived without, the main one being beans on toast!!

 I'm a vegetarian and when I was back in the US, I knew which restaurants to go to to get things that I could eat and that I really liked. Same with the grocery store, I would buy certain things ALL the time...but I find that those things aren't available as readily here. ( Like yellow squash...I used to bake it, fry it, make casseroles from it...it was def a dietary staple of mine. I can't find it anywhere now! And black beans...how I miss them.)

 I honestly live off of beans on toast, jacket potatoes, and various pasta dishes these days. I used to cook loads of mexican food, and I would substitute black beans for meat in most things. My diet is probably super unhealthy as of late due to my limited recipe ideas.


My son is doing okay, he just likes chicken-anything.

I had even been considering a return to meat eating, until I watched "Kill It, Cook It, Eat It" last night. No way!

 I'm sure this is temporary and I will find new foods I like, I just hope I don't get any wierd vitamin deficiencies in the meantime:(


I do love all the cheese here, and trifle...uber-yum!

Dangerface, I'm vegetarian, too so my British picks are also limited.  I do like the availability of beans on toast when going out for breakfast (not that we do it very often).  I def eat more Indian food (never takeaways) here I think because of the popularity of it, plus my hubby loves it and easy to do veggie Indian dishes.  I like his version on sausage (veggie sausage) and mash.  I'm not a fan of pouring cream (or yogurt) all over desserts, and mostly don't really care much for desserts at all, except if it's chocolate.  Tried Christmas cake for the first time and it was so gross, so super sweet with chewy horrible dried fruit and a total waste of calories. 

I'd agree with that. Your run of the mill curry house is usually not that great. Of course, there are exceptions, but I've found that more often than not those curries are decidedly subpar. If you find somewhere that makes a good one, you're lucky! I had an excellent Indian restaurant within walking distance of my house in the US, so I don't really see curry as something new and exciting here. Also, my father is of Indian heritage so I grew up eating some pretty damned good Indian food!

Exactly, while not super popular in the US, I grew up on curry as my mom had lived in India as a child. I get mild ribbing if I make a curry that isn't 100% authentic!

I had an AMAZING curry at a restaurant in Bristol. That being said, I had an AMAZING curry in College Park, MD.    C, there's a great restaurant on Rt 193 if you're interested!

Yes, please!

Dangerface, you can get yellow squash in the UK. Try the fruit and veg markets in the summer. I KNOW you can also get seeds for it, and squash, like zucchini, will grow in pretty much any spot you may have.

I don't find traditional British food to be bad, but I don't find it fantastic either.

Traditional British food (not including imports like curries) seems to be focused on rich, thick foods like red meat, butter, creamy sauces, fish covered in breading or batter and that's not my style of eating - I like the fish but not the breading or batter.


I'm not a vegetarian, but I don't eat that much red meat. I like food that is light and maybe spiced a little.

The food that I eat here tends to be similar to food that I would eat in the US. For example, a nice meal for me might consist of a salmon filet with a small salad on the side.

You can get nice vegetarian food here, not just Indian.

Jacket potatoes with fillings are good, but you can get them in the US, so I don't think of them as particularly British.

Dangerface, I'm vegetarian, too so my British picks are also limited.  I do like the availability of beans on toast when going out for breakfast (not that we do it very often).  

 Andee, do you eat eggs? I didn't until I came here, I just try to look at it semi ethically and buy cage-free ones, but in all honesty they are starting to gross me out! It is hard to be a veggie in Meatsville.

Dangerface, you can get yellow squash in the UK. Try the fruit and veg markets in the summer. I KNOW you can also get seeds for it, and squash, like zucchini, will grow in pretty much any spot you may have.

 That makes me very happy! My DF didn't even know what yellow squash was, he thought it was a variety of ribena or something.

a south Indian restuarant in Newcastle. Must try to remember the name of it.

Not the famous Rupali, run by the famous "Lord of Harpole", the late Abdul Latif?

The beans on toast (which I haven't tried, but sounds gross to me) reminded me of beans and cheese on a jacket potato with loads of black pepper which I LOVE and I think could only be a British thing! 

I guess I just don't see curry as 'British' despite the huge popularity of it there. I find most curry eaten there (from the local takeaways) to be just as mediocre as run-of-the-mill Mexican here in the US. Yes, there are great Indian restaurants and great home cooks who can do amazing curry but I can't think of a single really amazing curry I ate in the UK that wasn't home made. I could never afford the good restuarants, though! Oh, one exception - a south Indian restuarant in Newcastle. Must try to remember the name of it.

Curry is the national dish of Britain! 

I wasn't talking about takeaway curries though - but my husband's homemade curries.  And we are spoilt for choice on great (sit-down) curry restaurants here, with Bradford being one of the UK's curry capitals.  I also like Thai curries. 

Not the famous Rupali, run by the famous "Lord of Harpole", the late Abdul Latif?

No, I'm trying to find it online... there's a chance it's not there anymore.

I think I smell curry brewing in the kitchen right now!

The beans on toast (which I haven't tried, but sounds gross to me) reminded me of beans and cheese on a jacket potato with loads of black pepper which I LOVE and I think could only be a British thing! 

You've never had beans on toast?! 

Here it is:

Leela's!

You've never had beans on toast?! 

No.    Doesn't the toast get soggy?? That grosses me out a bit.

No.    Doesn't the toast get soggy?? That grosses me out a bit.

That's the best part! 

Andee, do you eat eggs? I didn't until I came here, I just try to look at it semi ethically and buy cage-free ones, but in all honesty they are starting to gross me out! It is hard to be a veggie in Meatsville.

No, no eggs.  But I do eat dairy.  I think if you are eating dairy you're OK on the calcium front.  Protien-wise, I wouldn't worry about that too much.  Just make sure you are getting beans and legumes (if you want any tips or recipes, just pm me!) and a variety of them would be good.  Lots of different colored veggies, too!  The different colors means you're getting different vitamins and antioxidants.  Of course fresh fruit, too.  I try to do all of that and I don't worry about deficiencies.  If you're worried about iron at all (especially around that time of the month), chick peas are really rich in iron.