Tuesday 24 February 2004

better now, thanks



I must confess, I usually buy my basil from the grocery store because I cannot grow the stuff at home. Even Jamie Oliver has trouble growing herbs like basil and coriander, so I'm not alone. I do still miss our basil plant, though. He gave us many good meals of bruschetta and pasta. We called him "Basil". I'm getting all verklempt now.



It's Shrove Tuesday today (that's Pancake Tuesday to you and me). Now here's an interesting fact: pancakes here tend to be very crepe-like and are traditionally served with lemon juice (usually that stuff that comes out of plastic lemons) and sugar. Since I'm a foreigner and everything we do is weird and terribly un-British anyway, I shall be making big, fluffy pancakes drowned in maple syrup. I used to adore Pancake Tuesday when I was a kid. Nothing but big discs of sweet doughy stuff topped with a bucket of sugary syrup and butter for dinner? FANTASTIC. Maybe one day someone will invent Chunky Kit Kat Wednesday.



Additionally, French toast or "eggy bread" is savoury, not sweet here. Maybe this is why you'll never find an IHOP in the UK.

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