Spaghetti with Bok Choy

Here's what happened: I was in the mood for lots of garlic, crushed red pepper and olive oil with spaghetti (otherwise known as aglio e olio, but if I'm being honest, I never think of that entire phrase in my head when I'm putting the dish together) and some bok choy was sitting around solemnly waiting to be forgotten. As home cooks like to do, I asked myself "why not?" and threw some shredded bok choy in with the pasta (this step was done a few minutes before the pasta was done). I am happy to report that it worked out! The bok choy didn't add a ton of flavor, but it brightened things up visually and the spaghetti pairing was an unusual way for me to enjoy it. I may end up doing the exact same thing with the rest of the bok choy; it's just so simple yet delicious.

London

I have wanted to visit London for a long time (my whole life, possibly). A steady diet of Jane Austen, "Love Actually," and BBC shows will do that to a girl. So, I was beyond thrilled that I finally made it over there! It was wonderful to take in the immense history, the gorgeous parks and all that tea. As an American, I will admit that England has a magical quality to me, so I took great delight in the small, ordinary things. Case in point: eating crisps in a pub, which is something I've seen British TV detectives do after a long day at the office (also, calling bagged chips "crisps" was a small thrill). Here is a collection of my London eats:


A full English breakfast was a major to-do item on my list. Beans on toast!


Lovely scone with clotted cream and jam at afternoon tea. The allure of clotted cream is completely deserved.


Mango lassi at Dishoom, a very busy, modern Indian restaurant. The ruby chicken curry below was excellent.




My favorite version of fish and chips was at Kerbisher & Malt. These fish nuggets were notable because of the batter. Not at all soggy! Plus, the shop design is super cute.


And lastly, a very good chicken pie with a beautiful crust, which revealed to me that I had never had a proper savory/savoury pie until this trip.

Since this was my first trip to London, I was interested in trying a lot of "traditional" fare. But, next time around, I would love to have more ethnic food as well as visit some of the current/hip darlings of the restaurant scene.