I kicked off this week by adding two more dishes to my cooking resolution. What were they? The first dish was an egg noodle stir fry with snow peas, baby corn, spinach and water chesnuts in a miso & oyster sauce. The second dish was a chili ginger marmalade cod on a bed of crispy seaweed (I did not make the crispy seaweed, but I did make the bases for the other two dishes). Next time around I will use swordfish rather than cod as the cod broke apart into pieces and the flavours competed a bit. Fasting on Mondays has been difficult - - why did I choose Mondays?!?! So after a Monday at the office it is nice to come home to a peaceful challenge. In fact I rather look forward to my dinners on Mondays and what I will prepare as I settle in to watch Glee. It is the little things that count.
During the week I logged in a few more miles. I was a bit out of sorts during this training session, but I am glad I managed to get something in. I wish I knew my plans for the evening were going to be cancelled (the polite was of saying I was blown out) as I would have stayed longer at the gym. I am struggling to get motivated for a training routine. It is not like me not to just jump into running especially when there is an end goal. I suppose the heartache of 2010 is still going - - I don't want to trigger anything again. Really want 2011 to be an A&E free year.
Over the weekend, AJ & I went to Stratford-Upon-Avon to visit Shakespeare country. I have not fully taken advantage of travelling around England. I have done day trips hear and there, but not a proper weekend. Probably not the best weekend to go on as it was ice-cold, but it was a lovely weekend in the English countryside. We took Friday off so we could take advantage of a full day of site seeing on Saturday. Before arriving at our final destination, we made a stop in Hook Norton for lunch at the nearby brewery and high tea in Stratford-Upon-Avon. On our drive to the cottage (note: I highly recommend renting a cottage rather than getting a hotel/ B&B room) we were treated with one of the most beautiful sunsets I have seen. Nearly got hit by a car trying to take this photo, but I think it was well worth it.
Rather than dining out on Friday, we opted to take full advantage of the cottage and cooked in. I added two more dishes to the resolution. For a starter I made french onion soup with Gruyere cheese. I have attempted french onion soup, but it was more like salty onion soup. This dish marked the first time on this resolution I used a recipe. I realise the trick to french onion soup... caramelising the onions and white wine. Simples! It has been nearly 4 months since giving up eating beef. I did not realise when I made that commitment how much I would actually miss it. All I wanted Friday night was good ole fashion meat loaf. Instead I had to settle for lamb meatloaf. Not quite the same without beef, but it got me thinking of a recipe that I will try next time. Stay tuned for meaty loaf concoctions ;-) After a long drive (which I did none of) and a day of eating it was nice to relax by the fire with more food and Jack Bauer. No Jack was not there physically, but season 8 is finally on DVD. I started watching the final season, but after 6 episodes I got bored...I feel bad so I am keen to watch the finale season of 24 from start to finish.
This was not a weekend to be outdoors roaming the streets or in un-heated Shakespeare houses. That said, it made Stratford-Upon-Avon memorable. We bought the 4 site tour pass allowing us entry to Shakespeare's b, Nash's house, Hall's croft and Anne Hathaway's cottage. The houses were interesting, but as no photography was allowed, I am sure you can guess how long these sites kept my attention. (if you were wonder that is Shakespeare birthplace above). This house was by far the most interesting of the houses we saw on Saturday.
I am rather taken back by the architecture here in S-U-A. It is touristy granted, but there is something genuine about the town. Granted it is my first town outside of London so I don't have a reference point, but it did not feel like Disney land. We met a couple during high tea that lived in Stratford-Upon-Avon. It made me wonder what it would be like to call a quaint countryside town home. I wonder what would happen if Niskayuna all of a sudden became a tourist destination. Hey you never know. If Obama can make a visit, it could just become the Electric-City that they called it.
Saturday evening we took a cab into town for the most bizarre meal. Before going to Marlowe's we went to the oldest pub in S-U-A, the Garrick Inn. Set in a Tudor style building, I was keen to pop in for an adult beverage and I am glad that I did. I cannot get over the pubs in this country. Each one are very much the same and different in their own standard. This was a rather strange mix and clearly the place to go before dinner. Marlowe's was a bit of a let down. Set back off the main street and on the first floor of yup a Tudor style building the restaurant did everything to be a high-class restaurant, but with a small town flare. The food was lovely, but the whole atmosphere in the restaurant was just odd. There is no describing it...
On Sunday we left our cottage (SHEEEEEP), and made our way to Anne Hathaway's (SHEEEEEEP) cottage, but not before making various stops to take photos of English SHEEP! I don't know why I found the sheep so fascinating, but I did. After my annoying request to stop the car, we finally made it to Anne Hathaway's cottage. We did not make it a long visit as it was utterly cold and I was utterly hungry. I think the cottage would have been much more beautiful in the spring/summer time as much of the bliss of the place is the gardens. In the cold grey skies the joys of the cottages are lost. So although the opportunity to photography things is ideal, feeding my tummy comes first. 
It was a lovely week of cooking, running, photography and exploring England a bit more. What made the week was the fact that I got to play with my new lens - - yes plural! Xavier has some new toys; in particular a 50mm 1.8D AF lens and macro lens with a +1, +2, +4 and +10 zoom. They are absolutely brilliant and I had a lovely weekend with them. May have annoyed my travelling partner with them, but such is life when travelling with me ;-)
Hope you are all well
xx
T
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