Winchester

As part of Adrian’s summer training regime, we went to Winchester so he could run in the Clarendon half-marathon (an off-road affair, all along tracks etc. in the woods). We couldn’t get a train down there early enough on Sunday morning to make the start time, so decided to make a weekend out of it.

We headed down on Saturday morning, then walked about 20 minutes through town and out the other side to our B&B. It was my first time (well, that I can remember at least), in a traditional B&B and this one was really just a spare room that they were letting out. It was really nice and comfortable though – I wish I could have swapped the bed over for the one we have in our flat! But we weren’t in Winchester just to appreciate a nice B&B – it was time to get out and explore town. The first thing we came across was the Hampshire Farmers’ Market festival thing and boy, did we come, eat and conquer that! As well as having nearly every sample under the sun, we had a water buffalo burger, a watercress burger (both slightly different tasting from the other!), an Eccles cake, and then to top it off, a ‘lardy cake’. And, I’m ashamed to say, despite its massive size (and the fact we’d both had burgers), it hardly took any time to finish off at all. Who would have guessed that the combination of flour, fat and sugar could be so appealing...

After the market it was time to walk off all our excesses, so we signed up for a walking tour of the main sights of the town. John, our guide, was a wealth of information and we saw Winchester School, heard all about the history of the town, and then (my favourite), the last house Jane Austen ever lived in. To top that off, after the tour we visited Winchester Cathedral where she’s buried. I don’t know where I’d be with a bit of Pride and Prejudice in my life so it was lovely to stand there and appreciate her work.

After that, and before it got dark, we headed up St Giles Hill where we could look out over the whole town. They had some particularly appealing ladybugs on the handrails of the park too which totally captivated me for ages! A massive dinner of pasta (it’s all about the pre-training bulking up!) and it was home for an early sleep. The next morning dawned incredibly wet and soggy – good for the ducks but not so much for the runners! But Adrian’s a hardy soul and ended up coming 12th overall and smoking his previous PB which was awesome! I on the other hand went shopping and ate a cream tea which was shamefully nowhere near as energetic (although possibly more fun...).

After the run we had some lunch and then it was off to see the Great Hall where they have the Round Table (as in King Arthur and the Knights of the Round Table) hanging on the wall which was pretty cool. It was made in 1250 or something ridiculous and is in remarkably good nick. (I imagine it’s been painted a fair few times since then though!).

So thanks for the good times Winchester – perfect ‘mini-break’ destination from London I’d have to say!

Vegetarian experiment

So as some of you know, I've been experimenting with being a vegetarian over the last few weeks. The intent is to give it a go for a month and then see how I'm feeling and whether I'd like to carry on with it. For me, the trial is excluding fish, but I'm not going so far as to exclude rennet (I love cheese too much...). The main intent has been the unsustainable way meat is being produced and the impact that it has on our climate. We can't continue to cut down rainforests just so we can eat hamburgers.

The month is up this weekend and I have to say, I've actually really enjoyed it! We've definitely eaten a whole lot more vegetables - you plan the meal around the veges rather than the protein side of things I find - but it has helped that I do really like tofu and quorn. And while I know that the idea of quorn can be a bit icky (fungus cooked in large vats...mmm...not), it's actually really handy to have on hand. We've had two quorn meals - nachos and Thai red curry - but have always bumped them up with beans or mushrooms or something else. I haven't felt too tired or anything, but Adrian has noticed he's had to have a bit of steak occasionally because he's doing quite a bit of training at the moment (oh, and fyi, 1h32 and 12th place in the Winchester off-road half marathon yesterday - awesome!!).

I did have a slight faux pas moment when I ate a tuna sandwich offered to me without even thinking about it (my head was elsewhere), but as it was completely unintentional I'm giving myself a free pass for it!

So, do I think I'll continue? The main downside has been eating out. We went to a Vietnamese place in Chinatown and of the bazillions of choices, about two were vege and they were so disappointing. Another example, we were in a pub in Winchester yesterday and it was either a plain salad or a mushroom suet pudding. I'll just let the thought of what a mushroom suet pudding would look like sit with you for a second shall I?? (Needless to say we went elsewhere).

I think that the final conclusion is that while I won't buy any meat to eat at home anymore, and will actively look for the vegetarian option, if I really want to have a piece of salmon or some roast lamb when I'm out, then I will. I think reducing my meat consumption (albeit dramatically) rather than having none at all is the most sustainable option long-term for me.

Helicoptering over London

On Sunday night we had the most exciting 12 minutes I've had in ages - helicoptering all over London!

Adrian's brother Stefan is currently working as a doctor on the emergency helicopters out of the London Free Hospital at the moment. The helicopter has to fly back to its home base every night (to Denham, just north of London) and there are two empty seats every night - and Sunday night it was our turn to fill them!

We were so lucky to do it as there are no scenic flights over London because it's such a busy air space - and we got the perfect evening with clear skies in every direction.

Have a look at the rest of the photos here!

Moroccan-inspired meatballs

I notice that my recipe section has been sadly lacking lately, so I thought I might post some of the recipes I make up along the way - which might also help me when I try to make them again!

So here's what we had for dinner last night:

Mixed together 1 finely chopped red onion, 3 cloves garlic finely chopped, 250g lean minced beef, 1 egg, about 1/3 C flour, salt, pepper, 8 finely chopped prunes, generous teaspoon each of dried coriander, cumin and cinnamon (all ingredients entered in the order I remember adding them into the bowl!). Formed together in balls and lightly fried on each side.

Review: delicious! However, next time I'd cook the red onion first because it was a little on the crunchy side. The cinnamon and prunes were a good combo - but it was actually hard to pick once they were cooked what it was giving them the sweetness. I might reduce the prunes to about 6 next time... We had them with corn on the cob and a big green salad. I reckon they'd also be good in a tomato-based sauce and on an orange couscous...yum!

Be sure to wear some flowers in your hair...

As my flight to London went via San Francisco it seemed rude not to take advantage of a short stopover - particularly as Miles (Rachael's boyfriend) is currently living there and had a couch with my name all over it!

After arriving, wending my way through the hills of SF's suburbs in a shared shuttle bus, then getting the keys from Miles, it was off to Pacific Heights. Miles lives on the border of Pacific Heights and the Tenderloin - so near to all sorts of interesting things! Day 1 had fantastic weather which I absolutely had to take advantage of, so I walked down to the Marina, checked out the Golden Gate bridge in all her afternoon sunshiney glory, then around the coast and back up the steep cable car street home. Oh, and via Whole Foods - or as it's colloquially known, Whole Wallet... It's definitely expensive but such delicious food! With a bit of mozzarella and proscuitto I transformed Miles' fridge ingredients into a pizza...mmm...

Day 2 dawned bright and sunny again, and after a sleep-in to recover from the plane ride, I ran down Van Ness Avenue to try and make the midday free tour of city hall - unfortunately just missing it by 5 minutes! But never fear, another one was scheduled for 2.30pm so I investigated downtown while I waited. It was a bit sketchy, what with all sorts of people muttering to themselves (and yelling to themselves too), and if I wanted to buy some dodgy goods I'm sure I was in the right neighbourhood, but interesting nonetheless. It was also directly adjacent to the fancy part of downtown (Saks 5th Avenue and the like) - I guess all the locals know exactly where the borders are!

Back at City Hall I had an absolutely brilliant 1 and 3/4 hour tour with our guide Al Lopez. He knew everything! It was fascinating how the building's had such an unstable history - completely destroyed in 1906 by an earthquake, rebuilt, hosted some infamous marriages (Marilyn Monroe and Joe DiMaggio), another earthquake in 1989 (whose cracks are still visible today) and political assasinations (Harvey Milk). It's a beautiful building as well - I would definitely recommend stopping by if you're in town!

After that it was a short stroll back through the Tenderloin and again to Whole Foods where I found some tamales for dinner. I'd always wanted to try them - just to see what they were as I'd heard the name and heard that they can be delicious! I can attest that they're quite delicious and I'll keep my eye out for them in London! After dinner Miles and I went to the California Academy of Sciences for their NightLife event. It was brilliant! The museum is packed with people, there are cocktails, DJs, and the ground floor aquarium (where we spent most of our time) was all dimly lit so the amazing colours etc. of the fish can be seen really well. I particularly liked the pulsating jellyfish and scaredy-cat seahorses. Hopefully some of the photos come out! We even managed to get a cab home without waiting too long which was an absolute coup.

The next day was nice and lazy - I slept in, checked emails etc. and then ventured up to Japantown where I had to physically restrain myself from buying every single piece of crockery I saw... I particularly loved these crumpled china mugs - like these ones - but thought they might be a bit inappropriate considering how close to (ok, over) the luggage limit I was! That night Miles and I went out to a delicious Thai restaurant in Pacific Heights, then into town for some cocktails at a kind of hidden bar behind another bar - very urban cool ;)

Saturday (my last day) ended up being a behemoth (we walked about 5 miles or 8km). First we walked to Chinatown for some dim sum (or yum cha as I've always called it) at a place called Gold Mountain - at US$11 each it was an absolute bargain. Their sticky rice was the best I've ever had - definitely another recommendation! Then, to work it off we went to a place called Precita Eyes in the Mission District. This is a community-based mural art organisation - murals being a big part of Latin American culture, and with 75% of the Mission's inhabitants being Latin American, no wonder it set up shop there. We went on a tour with one of the muralists (Patricia Rose) and saw hundreds of different murals. The streets were packed as there was a food festival in the neighbourhood at the time so it felt like a really buzzy, full-on place. The murals were beautiful and it was so interesting to hear their back stories.

Then it was off! Our taxi driver home from the Mission (and mine onwards to the airport) had been to NZ recently and was a great find - chatting all about this and that. I worry that I didn't tip him enough - it's so difficult to know what to do!! As with all other NZers I fervently wish the whole thing just didn't exist...

And then to London where a whole lot of new adventures await!